A QUICK Q&A
Lee Fomes 20 years with P W Gates and what’s Lee’s first reaction when you ask him how it’s been, “It’s been interesting and a bit too quick, it has gone very quick” Tell me about your early days at PWG prior to setting up the workshop at swallow end?
I worked for Peter for probably 10 years as a self-employed subcontractor he then employed me to help him set up a new workshop for the PWG fleet, we owned seven vehicles of our own at that point and we had no external customers, in the early stages Peter and I did a lot of the work together.
How many vehicles does PWG have in the fleet now?
I think P W gates have roughly around 170 and we look after about an another 100 externally.
What’s your favourite thing in this office?
You mean beside the T board, it would have to be my toys, my big tools
Tell a me little bit about life outside of P W Gates what do you like to do?
I like to spend time with my family, we often travel to the Cotswolds and I love to going to France, because I like wine
What’s your favourite wine?
Anything ‘as long as its red’, but I do like Merlot.
What are your plans for the workshop going forward?
We plan to promote growth and to try and improve efficiencies. We have been looking at where we can make savings and have managed to negotiate better rates with DAF on our internal parts, they are our main supplier.
Is that because you did a cost analysis?
Yes, we did a cost analysis on our overall spend for the previous year and negotiated the discount accordingly. We are already looking at the forecast for next year to ensure that our discounted rate can improve and continue.
What makes you stay loyal to DAF as your main supplier?
We have had a long and very good relationship with DAF, historically they will go the extra mile for us and our increase in volume has been something they have been able to manage with no problems and that’s what we need a reliable service
And Finally – What’s the best thing about your job?
I have great job satisfaction; enjoy the people I work with, and really love the new workshop and we have some fantastic loyal customers.