Century long business partnership

Brown Brothers Distribution is celebrating a 100-year milestone with its longest trading customer A. Pile & Son Ltd.

The Dartford-based business was founded in 1918 by Arthur Albert Pile, originally as a bicycle dealer and repairer. To be able to open an account with Brown Brothers back in 1918, Arthur Pile had to build a wheel to prove his skill and ability, which he did successfully and the company has traded with Brown Brothers ever since.

Over the years A. Pile has expanded into various sectors such as motorcycles, cars, coach-building and haulage – with support from Brown Brothers. Various challenges such as the outbreak of war and economic recessions have featured for both, but the business partnership has remained strong.

A key value for Arthur Pile was to look after his staff and deliver the best customer service and experience; a value shared with PPG’s Brown Brothers. This mutual people-focused vision remains strong to this day and aligns both organizations all these years later.

Today A. Pile & Son concentrates on the repair, painting and spraying of cars and commercial vehicles – mainly to the fleet market and employs 14 staff. They remain a key customer of PPG’s Brown Brothers.

Andrew Terrace, managing director of A. Pile & Son commented, ‘We are immensely proud of our heritage, there aren’t many independent bodyshop businesses in the UK who can say they’ve been trading for 100 years and to have been working with the same supplier all this time is a truly special partnership. The Brown Brothers team have literally supported us from day one, here’s to the next 100 years!’