A van hire business founded “by accident” by two Dundee friends is celebrating its 30th birthday.
Economy Car & Van Hire, on Perrie Street, was set up by Alex Neillie and his business partner Harold Davidson.
Three decades later, the business has five staff and has invested £1 million in its fleet in recent years.
Alex explained how the pair’s need for a van sparked the beginnings of what is now a successful business.
He said: “We had to try and hire a van for something, but we couldn’t find one, so that’s how it all started.
“We’d sold properties and we had a contact in BT and started off with about six or seven ex-BT vans and a couple of cars.
“It was a secondary business for both of us because we had other businesses when we started this. It was run by my sister Janice.”
‘A huge change’
The business was dealt a huge blow when Harold died in 2014 after a battle with prostate cancer, age 67.
His family decided to step away from the business shortly after and Alex’s son Stuart stepped in to take over his share of the business.
At the same time, Alex left his role in financial services and Economy Car and Van Hire became the focus of the family’s attention.
“That was a big change,” Alex said. “We had been mates for a long time, back to the late 1970s.
“Stuart was younger and more enthusiastic. His ideas have really brought the business on.”
Over the years, various family members, from Alex’s father, children and daughter-in-law, have also been involved in some capacity or another.
How Dundee van hire firm dealt with Covid
And there have been challenges, none more than the Covid pandemic.
“It was a worry in the beginning, although we were allowed to still hire out vans,” Alex added.
“We had to cut our cloth because we weren’t sure how it was going to pan out.
“When things came back, van hire was really good. I wouldn’t want to see that again, but we came out of it OK.”
Investing in Economy Car & Van Hire Dundee
Alex said the business has invested more than £1m in its fleet since 2019.
It has brought in 12 new vehicles in the past 12 months, and the firm is committed to replacing each vehicle within a three-year period.
The business plans to invest again with a new minibus early in the new year.
Alex said the whole family takes “great pride” in the business and is committed to its success.
“We’re very proud of our customer service, and we go by our Google Reviews.
“We’re rated 4.9 out of 5 there from over 300 reviews, so that speaks volumes about the work that goes in from everyone.”
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