Car hobby puts wheels in motion for RTG Automotive in Leyland

Brian Waring has always held an interest in cars and has spent his working life in the motor trade.

So when he began selling car parts with his son Lee, eight years ago, he realised there was potential to build on this and he set up RTG Automotive six years ago.

The 58-year-old says: “Lee and I started off selling things that were not really car-related, such as keyrings with car names on. I was thinking about other items to sell and then we tried buying in other car-themed products and selling them on.

“It went really well and we ended up adding parts and more items to the range.

“I was working from home in Coppull and Lee was working from his flat in Buckshaw Village.

“It got bigger and bigger and we had to find somewhere to store our items.

“We found a storage unit in Yarrow Mill and it went from there.

“We left our jobs to make the business grow.

“After renting more units in the same mill, we outgrew the space available and in September 2016 we moved to our current premises which is much bigger and we also having some new units built with future expansion.”

Brian and Lee sell both budget and premium brands of car parts to the motor trade and general public through eBay and also over the counter from their 40,000 sq foot warehouse in the refurbished old Fishwicks bus depot off Golden Hill Lane, in Leyland.

The firm dispatches more than 1,000 parcels a day to its growing customer base.

Brian adds: “We use the Fishwicks name in our motor factor logo RTG Motor Factors at Fishwicks.

“It keeps the respected Fishwicks name alive and locals know where to find us as the Fishwicks bus depot was in operation for more than 100 years.”

This is not the first time the pair have worked together, as Lee, 30, joined Brian in his previous role.

Brian adds: “I have been in the motor trade for 40 years. I worked at another vehicle parts place and Lee also worked there part time whilst he was at university.

“Lee has a degree in accounting and with his business acumen and my motor trade experience we have a good basis for a winning team.

“It is great working with Lee. We never have any cross words. We run things by each other and no one tries to take control.

“In total we have almost 20 members of staff. Other key employees are our general manager Phil Haslam, warehouse manager Adrian Wilcock and parts counter manager Ian Steele.

“We have a great team here many have been with us long term.

“We would like to say a big thank you to all our staff for their hard work and commitment.

Brian adds he loves running his own business and being part of the team.

He says: “I enjoy work because it is different.

“We are meeting people all the time and it is so much better than a normal nine to five job where we are doing the same thing every day.”

Lee says: “I really enjoyed working with my dad, selling car parts at the weekend while I was at Runshaw Collage and then whilst doing my accountancy degree at University of Central Lancashire.

“It seemed a natural step to join him in setting up our own business.

“Working together is excellent.

“We tend to agree on everything and we have each specialise in our own departments, which complement each other.

“I work on the computer side of things, marketing our products online and I deal with the finances.

“My dad has more knowledge on the parts and finding the items to sell.

“I enjoy working for myself. I can implement how I want to run the company.

“It is satisfying to see how the well the business is doing and seeing how happy our workforce is.”