Skinners’ new premises in Rye Harbour Road comprise a state of the art garage workshop with plentiful customer-parking. Business owner Gary Barlow took me on a tour of his new empire last week. He was justly proud of the purpose-built facility which he had purchased from JR Motors Ltd. With this had come sophisticated workshop installations, designed for the testing, fine tuning and maintenance of racing cars, which look to be virtually brand new. There were the standard ramps and lifts to be expected, but in addition there were separate dedicated rooms and spaces for electronically controlled engine-testing equipment, specialist wheel-balancing, and high road-speed simulators.
As reported in Rye News recently, body repairs and spray-shop work had previously been contracted out as there had not enough space at the Fishmarket Road premises. Now there is proper scope, representing a major expansion of the business. It also provides the opportunity at the Skinners’ roundabout site for the proposed 25% enlargement of the retail sales area to 4000 sq. ft.
Barlow’s plans are ambitious but carefully weighed, reflecting his career to date. Born in Cheshire into a large family, he and his brother came south to Hastings in 1980, where he joined the St Leonards Motors Group, learning the trade and becoming a director there before deciding to set up on his own account. He seized the opportunity to purchase Skinners’ Rye business in 2006 and 10 years later was in a position to secure the necessary financial backing for the present growth. He took advantage of a £25,000 government grant available for additional workplace employment and has so far achieved half the required quota of creating 10 new jobs.
And what of future plans? Would he diversify further, perhaps into the car-hire business? “I’ll stick to what I know”, he said.
Photo: Kenneth Bird
Image Credits: Rye News library .