douglas-gillespie-and-paul-nicholMitsubishi Forklift Trucks dealer wins industry’s highest accolade

Hearing his name called to receive the Fork Lift Truck Association’s highest honour at this year’s Annual Awards for Excellence, left Douglas Gillespie stunned.

“It’s a wonderful surprise, and a credit to the success of our team,” said the founder and Managing Director of Scotland’s premier forklift dealer, Douglas Gillespie Plant.

Having joined the FLTA in 1972, founding member Douglas became only the ninth recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award in the prestigious event’s history.

FLTA President Paul Nichol who presented the award, revealed that Douglas’ nomination had attracted an “unprecedented raft of supporting letters”. A longstanding Douglas Gillespie Plant customer summed up the company founder as “the embodiment of the forklift industry in Scotland”.

Nichol added, “His customers emphasised our winner’s integrity, his fairness and his passionate commitment to customer service. His employees highlighted his support and genuine care, inspiring loyalty and excellence in equal measure. The company that bears his name remains one of the most successful and highly regarded fork lift companies in Scotland, if not the whole UK”.

The presentation took place at a glittering awards ceremony at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole hotel, on Valentine’s Day, in front of a large audience, including the materials handling industry’s leading figures.

When Douglas commenced operations in East Kilbride, Glasgow, in 1968, his company had just two employees and six forklift trucks.

Today the family firm occupies three acres of custom-built premises in Glasgow’s Darnley Industrial Estate, employs over 30 staff and maintains a rental fleet of more than 600 forklift trucks and sideloaders, servicing customers nationwide.

Throughout his career, Douglas has championed contract hire in the UK and pioneered mobile tyre facilities. The Mitsubishi dealer was also one of the very first companies to be accredited by CFTS to offer Thorough Examinations in Scotland.

Hearing the news, Mike Jones, General Manager of Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks UK, said: “I’m delighted to hear of Douglas’ well-deserved award. A friendly, personal approach and a genuine commitment to customer care is something we expect from every dealer in the Mitsubishi network. Douglas and his team at DGP stand as a shining example of what that means.”

Douglas Gillespie Plant
Tracey Gillespie
Tel: 0141 880 8811
Email:
enquiries@douglas-gillespie.co.uk
www.douglas-gillespie.co.uk
Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks
Greenline 0845 371 3048
Email:
info@mitsubishi-forklift.co.uk
www.mitsubishi-forklift.co.uk
Tel: 0118 988 0221

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