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100 Years and Counting
Wednesday 7th October 2015
This year marks a milestone in the history of the company. It was 100 years ago in 1915 that the business first became a franchised motor dealer with Ford Motor Company.
The story began at the turn of the last century when Frank Guest started a business repairing bicycles in West Bromwich, progressing quickly into manufacturing motorcycles, which he and his wife sold, along with sports goods and fireworks from a shop on West Bromwich High Street. It was in 1915 that a Ford Motor Company franchise for motor cars and tractors became available, Frank seized the opportunity. It was during the First World War so they also became involved with the manufacture of gun and tank parts.
After the war in 1920 Ford encouraged their dealers to really concentrate on the growing opportunities the market presented (nothing ever changes) and this is exactly what the business did, focusing all its energies on this, with business prospering on the back of the 'Model T'.
Frank and his wife Mary Jane had two sons, Richard who joined the business in the early 1920s in Sales Administration and Frank Junior who joined later that decade on the Service side. During World War Two the business once again supported our country by servicing wartime products and stripping down aircraft. Sadly Frank died in 1942, leaving his sons to run the company, initially struggling in the post-war era but on the back of new Ford cars things had started to improve by the 1950s.
The third generation of the family, Peter Guest, joined the company in 1957, working under the watchful eye of his father Richard. The following year Peter took over the running of the business, embarking on expansion into commercial vehicles, along with tyres, and changing the name of the business from Frank Guest Limited to the Guest Motors Limited that we know today. Following many changes in the business including the merger of Iveco and Ford, to form Iveco Ford Truck the company became the responsibility of Ian Guest, the fourth generation continuing at the helm today.
Under Ian's leadership, in 1992 the opportunity to expand into the truck business came with the opening of a purpose-built truck facility in West Bromwich and a new tyre fitting facility in Great Bridge. Then the opening of sites in Wolverhampton in 1994 and subsequently Birmingham in 1998.
Ford cars had been in the veins of the business for nearly 85 years when the time came to part company, with the business on West Bromwich High Street being sold.
The new century saw a change of direction for the company with us really establishing our relationship with the Fiat Group, growing from our Iveco business.
In 2002 we took the opportunity to move down the M6 to also open a site in Coventry and also to open as a Fiat Commercial Vehicle dealer, one of the first in Europe to do this alongside Iveco, something that is now commonplace.
We also took over the Alfa Romeo dealership in Knowle, further developing this new business by opening in Willenhall in 2008, initially as Alfa Romeo only, expanding into Fiat then Jeep and Abarth over recent years.
Embracing the truck business the company saw the accessory business as a growth area, purchasing Vehicle Lining Services, to become an integral a part of what we do.
In 2009 Iveco decided to streamline their network and decisions had to be made, we always wanted to be part of the Iveco plans, initially opening in Leicester in 2010, then Peterborough, Boston and Cambridge the same year. In 2011 we reached an agreement with Iveco and Sherwood, for it to become part of the business being owned by Ian Guest Holdings Limited alongside Guest Motors Limited.
Further changes took place that year, opening in Norwich, with a brief adventure into Ipswich and the sale of the car business in Knowle in 2012.
Leaving the company where it is today, I'm very proud of where we are, our staff, our communities and our partners. With a firm place in our hearts for our heritage.
Robert Spittle
Managing Director