30 Nov Championing local with Farmlay Eggs
Since the inception of the business in 1957, Gray & Adams has served a diverse range of customers within the UK and created bespoke solutions for each customer’s individual needs. With innovation at the heart of the business, Gray & Adams endeavours to solve customer problems and add value to their businesses, through nurturing close relationships with customers and understanding the challenges and opportunities that arise in their day-to-day operations.
One such customer that Gray & Adams has serviced through innovation is Farmlay Eggs. Based in Aberdeenshire, the business has been in operation since 1946 and now services the major supermarkets in the UK with quality eggs from their flock of over one million hens.
Managing Director of Farmlay, Robert Chapman tells us of the relationship,
“Being Aberdeenshire based, we are very local to the Gray & Adams Fraserburgh depot, and I bought my first double deck trailer in 2010. Being based some distance away from many of our customers’ depots, Farmlay took the decision to operate double deck trailers to cut our operational costs and maximise our efficiencies.”
He adds,
“Back in 2010, there was some discussion of lowering CO2 emissions within the industry, but it wasn’t as prevalent as what it is now, so at the time, this wasn’t the main motivation for purchasing the double deck trailers, however, I’m certainly glad I did as the conversation around protecting the environment has become more prominent. The double deck trailers significantly reduced the number of journeys our drivers made which has had a positive effect on not only our environmental impact, but it has also improved our profitability too.”
As the business and customer base grew, Robert then approached the Gray & Adams team about a challenge his drivers were facing. He explains,
“After my initial purchase of a double deck, I was delighted, but the feedback from our drivers was that the increased height of the double deck was providing new challenges within the parameters of a standard loading bay. My intention was to keep purchasing double decks, but I wanted to speak with the team at Gray & Adams and find a solution.”
Gray & Adams met with Robert and the team at Farmlay to discuss finding a solution and the stepped roof double deck trailer was a result of this meeting. The new trailer design with a stepped roof completely negated the challenge of working within limiting parameters at customer depots. The solution, designed by Gray & Adams, avoided the need for depots to make expensive modifications to their loading bays to accommodate double deck trailers, thus adding value to the whole supply chain. The stepped roof double deck trailer design is now patented to Gray & Adams.
Robert also shared with us his thoughts on the service he receives from the team at Gray & Adams,
“The service we receive is absolutely first class.”
He goes on,
“I’ve always felt that the team go out of their way to understand your business and they are happy to present new and innovative ideas, but the sales team certainly don’t force you down a route which ultimately isn’t going to be right for you. They are a large company who operate like a small business, listening to their customers and ensuring you get the same level of service, no matter if you are putting in a large value order or a smaller one, you get treated the same.”
He then adds,
“The aftercare service is also great, nothing is too much trouble for the repairs team. Farmlay feel really valued and that’s why I, in turn value the relationship with them.”