Somerset warehousing and distribution specialists, Willmotts Transport Ltd celebrated a hundred years of trading with a brand new Centenary truck on display at the Mid Somerset Show at Shepton Mallet last weekend.
In 1918, following the end of World War One, George Willmott used the experience of driving heavy vehicles for the Royal Army Service Corps to set up business in Wells with one single vehicle running mainly between Wells and Bristol. Over the years, (and despite a Second World War), the company gradually expanded and in 1981 moved to its current site at Waterlip, just to the east of Shepton Mallet. The Willmott family later sold the business, and it is now owned by Stotts Group Ltd and operated with very much the same ethos of quality service and family values.
Today the company has a large site at Waterlip with offices, a freight handling centre and 5 ambient warehouses providing 100,000 sq feet of food grade storage and, with over 80 staff members, is one of the largest employers in the local area.
Willmotts receive inbound goods, store, pick orders and distribute for a number of well-known manufacturers and fast-moving consumer goods’ brands and deliver into all the national retail outlets and distribution centres. Willmotts’ own brand is strong and clean with the vehicle livery clearly identifiable and a fleet of 60 vehicles that includes both rigid and articulated trucks with tail-lifts, sliding roofs, truck mounted forklift or other combinations to suit almost every transport requirement. All warehousing and distribution services are backed up by the latest technology, from electronic data transfer to vehicle telematics to give customers real-time reporting and ensure that vehicles are operated in a responsible and environmentally-aware manner.
The Group includes S&B Aggregates and Mendip Truck Wash, along with a brand new and improved, 5 bay Workshop facility. Following a £500k investment, the workshop supplies repairs, servicing and maintenance, including roller brake testing, for a wide range of vehicles from cars and motorhomes, to horseboxes and coaches plus, of course, trucks and trailers.
Managing Director, Andy Stott said “Willmotts is growing by focusing on service quality to ensure that our customers receive consistently excellent performance levels. We are proud to be a part of Somerset’s industrial history and look forward to many more years of successful trading”.
The company has achieved BS EN ISO 9001:2015, British Retail Consortium (BRC), Soil Association certification and FORS Bronze and Silver. Furthermore, the formation of strategic and long-term partnerships, including an expansion of area for the Palletforce network provide more opportunities to continue the success story as Willmotts drive onwards into a second Century!
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