The Turbo Guy’s past, present and future

PMF sits down with The Turbo Guy’s founder and managing director, Allan Mitchell, to learn about its past, present and future.

Q. For readers who may not know The Turbo Guy, can you introduce the company and explain how it started?

A. The Turbo Guy was established to fill a gap in the market. Fifteen years ago, there was no company that was remanufacturing turbos in Scotland on any scale. While there were a couple of smaller scale repairers, nobody had invested in this concept.

With the foresight, backing and training from one of our parts distributors, we set up a workshop in Glasgow and started trading with three members of staff, basic machines and a firm belief that our vision was sound and there was strong demand for our products. In less than three years, we outgrew our first premises and moved into a larger factory unit in Glasgow in 2013.

Today, The Turbo Guy employs 45 staff and is one of the leading suppliers in the UK aftermarket, remanufacturing around 1,000 units per month. We supply turbos to motor factors and buying groups across the country and are continually focused on broadening our product range.

Q. What makes your approach to turbo remanufacturing different from others in the aftermarket?

A. With remanufacturing as the mainstay of our business, The Turbo Guy is a leader in its field. We operate a multi-stage, quality-focused process where each stage detects any imperfections for rectification, or else the unit is scrapped if it does not meet our exacting standards.

Our remanufacturing process involves a complete strip-down and thorough decontamination of the turbo, using stateof- the-art cleaning machinery. All external housings are meticulously examined and checked against OE specification and any non-conforming components are replaced. All internal components are automatically replaced. The turbo’s rotating assembly is then balanced on equipment to OE specification and oil flow rates are also checked.

Once fully assembled, turbos are subjected to a detailed final inspection and are flow tested to ensure optimum performance. To ensure peace of mind, all remanufactured units are supplied with a 12-month warranty.

Q. Why did you choose Turbocharger Service (TCS) as The Turbo Guy’s first acquisition and what does it bring to the wider business?

A. Our strategic acquisition of TCS in Huddersfield represents a major milestone for us. It will accelerate our growth ambitions and help take the business to the next level, in terms of product availability, technical expertise and customer service. The acquisition also enables us to offer faster response to motor factors and parts distributors across the North of England – same-day delivery of our premium quality remanufactured turbos for cars and LCVs.

All seven members of the experienced TCS team are being retained, including TCS founder Ian Goodall, who we’ve known for many years and is now working alongside me to develop The Turbo Guy’s customer base in the UK.

Q. What can factors and distributors in the North of England expect now that you’ve expanded south of the border?

A. Our expansion will enable the business to improve our delivery service to existing customers in the North of England, as well as the potential to open new customer accounts across the region, by offering same-day delivery on stocked turbos. Once our new facility in Elland is fully operational, the increased stockholding capacity will add value to the turbo aftermarket.

Q. Same-day delivery and upcoming technical support services – how will these improve the experience for motor factors and their customers?

A. Feedback from customers that we’ve spoken to suggests that these additional benefits will be greatly welcomed. Having a friendly turbo expert at the end of the phone will bring significant reassurance to factors and garages alike, knowing that The Turbo Guy team is there to support them. Same-day delivery is also a huge advantage to businesses, as they want to get their customers back on the road as soon as possible.

Q. The Turbo Guy reported it is often first to market with new products – how does the company achieve that?

A. We are always looking to broaden our product range, as that is one of the key advantages that sets us apart from our competitors and are usually first to market with new products. Overall, Turbo Guy covers over 90% of the UK’s petrol and diesel car and LCV parc. We also carefully monitor trends in the vehicle market to determine demand, such as the growth in compact turbocharged petrol car engines and the expanding need for LCV diesel turbos due to van lifecycles being extended.

Q. Finally, what’s your long-term vision for The Turbo Guy?

A. This year’s acquisition of TCS has enabled us to expand The Turbo Guy south of the border for the first time and has set the foundation for further growth over the next few years. We have also acquired a larger factory facility located in Elland, which will be fully operational in the next few months. This will provide us with significantly more capacity for production and stockholding. A brandnew telephone based technical support service for customers is also scheduled for launch before the end of this year.

The ambition for The Turbo Guy over the next two years is to become the primary distributor of premium quality remanufactured turbochargers in the UK. We are also actively exploring opportunities to enter international markets. It’s a very busy and exciting time for the business and the future looks very promising indeed – watch this space!