New premises for leading trade brands

Two of the South West's leading trade brands, MST and Parkins, have moved into new larger premises near Ivybridge following a £250,000 investment by parent company Longhouse Group.

The move to Mill Close on the Lee Mill Industrial Estate sees Parkins, a supplier of tools and equipment to general light industrial businesses, and sister company, agricultural and ground care vehicle specialist MST, occupy a facility twice the size of their previous location.

In addition to increased headcount and a wider than ever range of top brand tools and equipment on display, the new premises boasts a showroom for MST's specialist vehicles backed with full after sales support and machinery servicing facilities.

"Following a period of exceptionally strong growth we felt the time was right to expand our Parkins and MST operations in Lee Mill in order to offer customers greater than ever choice to support their business requirements," said Nigel Godefroy, director at Longhouse.

"In addition to funding this move into exceptional new premises at Mill Close, our investment has also allowed us to recruit, including our new after sales director, boosting headcount to a 20-strong team ready to deliver better than ever service to our fast-growing customer base."

For half a century Parkins has been Devon's go to supplier for businesses in the engineering, welding and construction trades looking for leading brand-name products including Bosch, Makita, DeWalt, Hitachi and Stanley.
MST, whose roots in the South West can be traced back to the 19th Century, supplies a vast range of specialist land machinery, including its agriculture, construction and horticulture vehicles from brands such as Honda, Massey Ferguson, Kubota, Stihl and Husqvarna.

Gavin Andrews, general manager at the new site, said: "We believe this combination of top quality brands and new, modern facilities, coupled with our hand-picked team of experienced, knowledgeable experts, offers the area's most comprehensive and professional service."

Nigel Godefroy added: "Longhouse has always pledged to develop the businesses in which it invests with the long-term aim of creating employment and helping the South West's economy to grow.

"Our investment at Lee Mill underlines this commitment as well as delivering a better than ever resource for those working in Devon's engineering, construction and agricultural industries."