As a fresh-faced 19-year-old, he seemed the perfect person to start our eBay shop selling everything from toolboxes to wood-burning stoves (yes, that was something in our inventory back in 2004). He’s worked in every part of the business, assisting our engineers on their duties, getting involved in the sales side, and dealing with customer service. Seeing every aspect of the company is one of the things he credits for helping him get to the place he is today.

Autoquip started operating in 1968; back then, humans hadn’t set foot on the moon, TV was still broadcast in black and white, and Jaguar were just launching the XJS, but over the last two decades, technology has become an increasingly important factor for the business. Despite being a self-confessed technophobe, Ben recognised that technology was vital in pushing the business forward. From introducing the TEXA multi-brand diagnostic tool to the company’s inventory to future-proofing Autoquip for the next generation of electric, hybrid, and even hydrogen vehicles, it’s important to look forwards.

Ben’s time at Autoquip has seen many global upheavals, from a worldwide financial crisis all the way through to the recent pandemic, tough times for any business. However, Ben puts our continued success and growth (our staffing levels have increased 5-fold in the last 18 years) down to the team he works with, “I believe in people, I believe if you look after staff, they will, in turn, look after you and I truly believe we have got a fantastic team here at Autoquip from the office staff to the area sales managers to the engineers out on the road. We always need to be looking ahead to the next product, the next journey the motor trade is going in, and so I think always having your ear to the ground and not getting stuck in the past because “that’s the way we have always done it.”

This belief has always been integral to our business. Ben remembers his father telling him to always give people the time of day when they come to visit and to “never turn anyone away as you never know what they can share with you that may change the direction of the business.” This probably explains why many of our customers are also friends outside work.

And so, just like Ben’s favourite car, the Bentley Continental GT Convertible, a car that still gives a wow factor no matter its age, we look forward to moving forwards whilst still retaining the aspects of Autoquip that make us great. So here’s to the next eighteen years