It's not often that we blow our own trumpet here at Dobson and Surrey Ltd but on this occasion, we feel it's well earned!

Back in January 1976, Fleetway Electrical Contractors began trading in an unmanned office of about 10 square feet next to the space where the clothes were ironed at Fleetwing Dry Cleaners in North Shields.

George Dobson and Stan Surrey were the two founding partners and within a month, the name of the company had changed to Dobson and Surrey Ltd.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Sadly, George is no longer with us but i'm pretty sure that wherever he is, he is looking on with pride at what he and Stan, started all those years ago and how far the company has progressed.

Fred Fox was one of the first employees of the newly christened company. We are proud to say that he still works for us now.

John Torday was one of our first customers and supported us tremendously in the early years. We are proud to say that we are still working for him all these years later.

Phil Ogle started in the trade as a sales representative in the early 1980's and his first visit to a contractor was to our offices. We are proud to say he still comes in and sees us over 30 years later!

There have been a couple of moves but we've always remained within North Shields.

The point of the above? It goes to show that our company has and will always be committed to building long lasting relationships with our staff, customers, suppliers and with the local region - it's the cornerstone of who we are and what we do.

We live and operate in a fast moving world which is very much removed from that of the 1970's. Technological innovations and engineering methods have changed the face of our industry - and Dobson and Surrey Ltd will continue to be at the forefront of presenting and implementing these developments to our customers.

When we look back to those days in the Dry Cleaners, it's incredible to think of the progress we've made and the changes we've experienced.

Roll on the next 40 years!