DEALER PROFILE
FROM THE HUMBLE CORNER SHOP…. A Story of Customer Service and Family Values
Words: Phil Moon
O
ne hundred and fifty years ago, a general store was established in the town of Lydney in the Wye Valley by Elizabeth Watts. Today John Thurston, Chairman of Watts of Lydney and fifth generation descendent of Elizabeth and David Watts, recounts how his forbears forged a family business that would play a key role in the evolution of motor vehicle engineering, from its beginnings in the late nineteenth century,
Photographs: Watts Truck & Van
right through to today. Today the Watts Group of Lydney is a multifaceted business with divisions that include Watts Urethane and Plysolene - businesses which specialise in modern polymer technologies, an area of specialisation that the company can trace back to a half-century of industrial tyre production and tyre re-treading, and Althorpe Properties, which has a portfolio of industrial and retail premises that
reflects the influence the Watts family has had on the industrial landscape and economics in Lydney and further afield. At the heart of the Group is Watts Truck and Van which has three dealerships, located in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea, that are dedicated to taking care of DAF customers. Alongside awards and recognition inside the DAF Dealer Network, Watts Truck & Van won the coveted Franchised Dealer of the Year award at the Commercial Motor SUMMER 2021 DAF DRIVER
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