Allied has eyes for global dominance

Back at reception, what is most striking is the Mexican flag sitting proudly on a flag stand.

The reason, explains Mr Facenna, when we’ve taken the weight off our feet in his office, is that the company is proudly manufacturing in the country as it plots a way into the lucrative US market.

It’s a far cry from the workshop that Mr Facenna and his brother Michael set up in 1993. The global business now turns over £120 million and employs 600 people - many of whom are drawn from the local area, where deprivation is rife.

It is not hyperbole to say Allied Vehicles is one of the great Scottish business success stories. Fittingly, Mr Facenna’s spirits are high.

“The company is having a good time,” he says. “We’re averaging 15 per cent growth every year in the four years since the recession.”

In 2015 it supplied more than 6,000 vehicles and is on track to grow further this year - substantially so when a new and improved contract with Motability UK is signed.

“The UK is so far ahead of the rest of Europe when it comes to wheelchair accessible vehicles,” says Mr Facenna. “So our 50 per cent share here is bigger than all Europe put together.”

And as it encroaches into European markets, Mr Facenna's view is global. Which brings us back to Mexico.

Allied is selective about the manufacturers it works with. The premise is simple enough - it takes in vehicles from the likes of Peugeot, Volkswagen or Mercedes and uses skilled workers to convert them into accessible version. Last year Ford was added to the list of suppliers, with one very good reason.

Peugeot doesn’t sell into the US, but Ford is as American as apple pie.

“The plan is that we’ll build Peugeots and Fords [in Mexico] and the Fords will push into the US market,” says Mr Facenna. “The US market is big but they’re all buying these £60,000 conversions. There is no one, or it’s just starting, where smaller affordable models are being supplied.”

And it's not just geographically that the company is expanding. Minibuses, private ambulances and welfare vehicles are next - with 200 jobs expected to be created in 2017 as a further 60,000sq ft facility is built.

There is a particular pride in Mr Facenna when he talks about his workforce. He still attends inductions every Monday to personally meet every new employee.

“I go over the philosophy of the company. It’s all about getting the right people with the right attitude,” he says.

Mr Facenna tells the story of employing a deaf panel beater, who turned out to be “one of the best workers we’ve got”.

This emphasis on giving opportunities to those who may otherwise struggle to find work illustrates how Mr Facenna uses his position to address issues in the community.

And the business has also played a huge part in the local community, having acquiring the local Speedway Club, Glasgow Tigers, after questioning why the incumbents were asking for much more sponsor money.

“They had £100,000 of debt, it was basically good people trying to keep their club alive. One director, who stacked shelves for Asda, had put in £10,000 of his own money.”

The Facenna brothers stepped in, cleared the debt, acquired the ground the speedway team used, and opened a training academy which now has 200 children learning the sport.

“This is about giving back to the community,” says Mr Facenna, who estimates that he and his brother have spent around £2m on the Glasgow Tigers.

It’s been as much of a success as their business - crowds have gone up from 300 to as many as 2,000, and last month the Tigers got their hands on silverware, winning their first Knock Out Cup since 1994.

Plans are afoot for expanding the facilities, including a training track for speedway, five-a-side pitches and a training academy with classroom and workshops.

Like all family businesses, succession is never far from mind, and having recently promoted son Peter to the role of managing director, Mr Facenna has ensured the company and its philosophy continues for at least another generation.

When asked about a five-year growth plan, Mr Facenna laughs. “People plan, we just see the opportunities come up,” he says, acknowledging that he operates very much in the entrepreneurial spirit.

And having built a reputation that is admired across the world, those opportunities are not in short supply.

“I was approached by a company who could get 1,000 vehicles a year into China, they asked us to build them, knowing we put out quality,” he said. “That could be another 150 jobs here. There was another US company asking if we would be interested in manufacturing their tail-lift vans here for Europe. That would be another 80 jobs.

“Loads of opportunities come to the door.”

Not only that but the company is also making more of its own parts, and doing so at a time when manufacturing in the UK is on a steep downward slope.

“The reason we started manufacturing is that some of the people doing work for us went into administration. It was stopping production and… well that will never happen again.”

Mr Facenna estimates 30 per cent of its components are made on site, with around 70 per cent being locally produced.

And he adds: “What you don’t see here is the depot in Coventry, Edinburgh, the seven engineers and 40 sales staff all over the UK; we’re in the fortunate position where our competition are miles behind us.”

The way Mr Facenna is going, it’s unlikely they’ll ever catch up.

CV -

Gerry Facenna set up Allied Vehicles in 1993 with his brother Michael. Over the last 23 years the company has become the biggest supplier of wheelchair accessible vehicles in the world, and as the company continues to grow, the Facennas have spent £2m in the local Possilpark community, buying the local Speedway team and helping children achieve their potential with training facilities.