Our History
History
Marehay's history goes back to 1931 when a 21year-old young man borrowed £100 from his sister and left his job at Ripley's Malthouse Yard with the ambition of being his own boss. William set up shop in an old stable as a blacksmith shoeing horses and repairing carts. As time moved on and the motorcar began to replace the horse, William changed the direction of the business and started charging and distributing acid accumulators in the days before car batteries.
In 1932 the business started selling petrol and began to resemble a garage such as we know today. Business was interrupted by the Second World War with William serving with the RAF.
After the war the business changed direction again and started offering repair facilities to local people and businesses.
During the 1960's William's two sons, John and David, joined the business.
Marehay Garage became a Vauxhall franchise in 1965.
Back in 1991, before environment issues became topical, Marehay was awarded the Amber Valley Environment Award.
In 1993, the business gained its British Standards Institute Certificate of Quality, which it still holds today. During the 1990's, the business developed as Vauxhall's products developed.
1994 saw the establishment of our Vauxhall Approved Bodyshop.
The last year of the century ended on a high note with the team winning an ‘all expenses paid' trip to South Africa, courtesy of Vauxhall, for achieving outstanding customer satisfaction.
The first decade of this century has continued well with the team finishing in the top 10 for customer satisfaction in 2005.Vauxhall's products have continued to develop with the Corsa winning What Car of the Year in 2007 and the Insignia winning European Car of the Year 2009. Marehay has continued to develop and now offers all the facilities you would expect from a modern dealership.
The early part of this year saw myself join as General Manager taking over operational control. John and David are never far away and they are still actively involved in the business. Putting this history together was an eye-opener for me. As I leafed through all the old newspaper articles and old photographs I realised that what Marehay does is the basic things, like caring for its customers and giving value for money. The difference at Marehay is that we do the basic things very very well.
In 1932 the business started selling petrol and began to resemble a garage such as we know today. Business was interrupted by the Second World War with William serving with the RAF.
After the war the business changed direction again and started offering repair facilities to local people and businesses.
During the 1960's William's two sons, John and David, joined the business.
Marehay Garage became a Vauxhall franchise in 1965.
Back in 1991, before environment issues became topical, Marehay was awarded the Amber Valley Environment Award.
In 1993, the business gained its British Standards Institute Certificate of Quality, which it still holds today. During the 1990's, the business developed as Vauxhall's products developed.
1994 saw the establishment of our Vauxhall Approved Bodyshop.
The last year of the century ended on a high note with the team winning an ‘all expenses paid' trip to South Africa, courtesy of Vauxhall, for achieving outstanding customer satisfaction.
The first decade of this century has continued well with the team finishing in the top 10 for customer satisfaction in 2005.Vauxhall's products have continued to develop with the Corsa winning What Car of the Year in 2007 and the Insignia winning European Car of the Year 2009. Marehay has continued to develop and now offers all the facilities you would expect from a modern dealership.
The early part of this year saw myself join as General Manager taking over operational control. John and David are never far away and they are still actively involved in the business. Putting this history together was an eye-opener for me. As I leafed through all the old newspaper articles and old photographs I realised that what Marehay does is the basic things, like caring for its customers and giving value for money. The difference at Marehay is that we do the basic things very very well.
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