Our History
1980s
GPH Builders Merchants was founded 1982 as Garioch Plant Hire. Founding members included John H Connon (of J.H. Connon, the well-respected concrete supplier), Eric Ingram and, current director, Michael Macaulay. As the name suggest the original product range included several hirable units from cement mixers to diggers. Access to J.H. Connon’s fleet allowed Garioch Plant Hire to facilitate site delivery for these hires which helped ‘cement’ our place in local trade.
1990s
When the Directors appointed Alfred (Fred) Taylor, a J. H. Connon driver since 1978 and future director of GPH, to manage the Inverurie business. It was the start of what would be a new focus for Garioch Plant Hire. With the regular trade customers returning again and again, Fred decided to start stocking some of their much-needed items. Concrete blocks and cement. And that was it. The product range continued to grow until our Harlaw road site was bustling, busy and brimming with building supplies. The plant hires were soon overtaken by the supply of trade materials and tools, and it was time for a change.
In 1998 the original name of Garioch Plant Hire was dissolved and was reborn and rebranded as GPH Builders Merchants Limited to better reflect our new focus.
2000s
In 2005 GPH bought a new depot in Westhill to better serve the wide area covered by our trade customers and provide a dedicated DIY location for a new and exciting customer base in a fast-growing town. The new location gave us fantastic access to Deeside not to mention that the Arnhall Business Park was stuffed full of new, exciting projects from the energy sector.
With the site at Harlaw road feeling a bit on the small side, we embarked on one of our most ambitious developments to date. The creation of a custom-built site at Highclere Business Park in Inverurie. The new site meant quicker access for our customers from the Inverurie bypass; more space for large deliveries from our suppliers; dedicated space for cement, aggregates, and timber; and more office space to accommodate the growing sales, financial and support staff.
2010s
By 2015 we were ready to expand further and found the perfect site in the acquisition of Macdougall and Masson in Stonehaven. A further £500,000 was invested in the site to renovate and expand the business. The Stonehaven depot gave us unprecedented access to the south of Aberdeen ensuring that we could be the first choice for early morning trade materials collections for customers who previously had to travel much further. This in turn allowed our customers to service an area further south than traditionally covered without direct to site delivery.
In 2018 we took a lease on a bagging plant and yard space in Laurencekirk to be able to package and supplier our own retail bags of EZ Street and decorative aggregates.
In 2017 GPH completed the acquisition of our 4th depot. JRD Equipment in Ellon has a long-established relationship with local clientele as a garden and DIY focused retail unit, with the added attraction of the wonderful Broomies café. With the AWPR opening soon after, it effectively connected all four of our depots together with no depot more than 30 minutes from the city center or from another branch.
While plant hire was never discarded from the business, in the last few years we’ve really brought that element of the business back into focus. Expanding the range available, simplifying our pricing options, and improving our servicing and repair abilities too. We now have a range of over 130 different hirable tools and machines, with more available every week.
2020s
In 2020 the world faced a new challenge. The arrival of national level lockdowns was accompanied by incredible demand from the DIY sector for materials to support a new working from home lifestyle. The COVID 19 pandemic put pressures on manufacturers and supply chains around the world but, like tens of thousands of businesses across Scotland and the UK, we’ve continued to adapt and invest in innovation. We continue to incorporate new technology, talent, and ideas into our business to keep growing and improving our ability to meet our customers changing needs.
As of 2021 we’ve launched our new Ecommerce website to support the growing needs of trade and retail customers alike for simple, on-demand purchases. We became an official distributor for Stihl to maximize choice for the construction and forestry sector. Our Broomies restaurant has been renovated and now has an online app and ordering system for simple, quick collection. We’ve integrated a brand-new stock software solution to improve access to materials across all our branches and help reduce lead times, low stock and protect prices. And finally, we have also acquired additional space to expand our Westhill yard further than before giving our customers even more options.
While the future remains uncertain, we certainly do know that we will continue to put the needs of our customers first and help people get the job done right, first time. Just like we have for the last 40 years.