Celebrating 30 years for any business is no mean feat, and for north Glasgow-based Allied Vehicles it’s been quite the journey.

Founded by brothers Gerry and Michael Facenna in 1993, Allied has grown from a team of eight, to a multi-million-pound company with just under 700 employees.

A huge part of Allied’s success has been due to the engineering, adapting and selling of wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs).

The business model of creating WAVs at a larger scale to anything previously seen on the market helped to increase the number of vehicles that were accessible to people with disabilities.

Allied is a family business with Gerry owning the business with his three sons.

Glasgow Times: Peter, David and Gerry

Born in Possilpark, Gerry who is still Chairman of Allied, wants to keep the company close to his roots. The company’s headquarters remains to this day in Possilpark and creates jobs for local people and supports the local economy.

Gerry jnr is a KC, a public and administrative law specialist and a respected leader in high profile and complex public law litigation. He is the only one of Gerry snr’s sons who is not involved in the day-to-day running of the business.

Gerry’s youngest son, Peter is the Managing Director and middle son David is the company’s Corporate Culture Director, meaning the future of the company is in safe hands.

Glasgow Times:

Allied Vehicles is the umbrella group for the brands that sell the various products Allied is famous for. Allied Mobility is the largest and sells wheelchair accessible vehicles to individuals and families of wheelchair users. In fact, the number of vehicles for which Allied is the second-stage manufacturer, makes it the biggest British owned car manufacturer.

There is huge historical importance to the site on which Allied Vehicles sits today.

The Saracen Foundry, the most important manufacturer of ornamental ironwork in Scotland, founded and owned by Walter MacFarlane, was the former resident prior to its demise and closure in 1967. Maintaining manufacturing in the Possilpark area is very important to the Facenna family.

Glasgow Times: The Allied vehicles site in 1993

 

When asked what the secret is to a successful business, Gerry says: “It’s all about having good people who all want to grow the company. Look after the staff and they’ll look after you.”

Gerry is a self-confessed dreamer: “I’ve always been a dreamer from the day I was born. Whatever you think you can do, you can. Whatever you dream will come true if you actually believe in it.”

Allied’s success has also been down to taking care of its customers. From the historic breakdown recovery services to the current mobile service options mean a customer with a disability can have their WAV serviced at their own home. Looking after customers is of paramount importance.

Allied’s wheelchair accessible vehicles really do change our customers lives, you can find out more about how the Frimpong family fell in love with their Ford Independence.

Thirty years of Allied was celebrated with a summer extravaganza for staff and their families. The Facennas consider the workforce part of their extended family.

The company is also known in the local community for its charitable endeavours. The Allied Vehicles Charitable Trust was established in 2022 to bring together the company’s philanthropic efforts and has donated over £300,000 to charities and community organisations to date.

Allied Vehicles also owns the Glasgow Tigers Speedway and has invested in and overseen the development of the facilities at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium. Success has followed with Glasgow Tigers becoming the proud winners of the SGB Championship grand final in 2023.

As for the future of Allied, it looks really bright. The on-site manufacturing facility can now adapt over 150 vehicles a week, and the bodyshop and service departments have experienced huge growth. The Mobility Solutions shop selling mobility aids and disability equipment goes from strength-to-strength as it looks to increase its locations. In fact, all of Allied’s trading brands are experiencing success and growth.

As for Gerry – he jokes he won’t be around for the 60th anniversary but is so glad the business is in good hands, with his sons at the wheel.

If you’d like to join a company whose core purpose is ‘we move people and make a difference to their lives’, you can find out more about our current opportunities in manufacturing at our open day on Friday 15 December. Email recruitment@alliedvehicles.co.uk or call 0141 336 2226 to register your interest and find out more!