Glasgow Business . 45
www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com PROFILE Glasgow Business Awards 2013 Winner Focus
Barr + Wray makes an international splash
» Swimming pool and spa supplier is a success beyond Britain’s shores B
arr + Wray is a business that makes people’s desire for leisure really work for them. Its growing success in providing aqua leisure products both
home and abroad saw it win the International Trade Award (jointly) and Most Outstanding Business Award at the Glasgow Business Awards in October. Te Hillington-based business was
established in 1959 as a traditional water pump distributor but has continued to grow and evolve as it seizes new opportunities. Te company is best known for swimming
pools and spas but also provides other water-based services, equipment and maintenance. Alister MacDonald, Barr + Wray’s Managing
Director, firmly believes in competing on quality rather than price and this has driven the growth of the business both at home and abroad. While the UK and Ireland are the key
markets for Barr + Wray’s pools, process equipment and water solutions services, the company is increasingly focusing on designing and providing spas internationally. Barr + Wray’s spas are sold in more than
25 countries worldwide and its wave machines are in more than 40. Clients include prestigious hotel groups such as Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons and Jumeirah. A major step in the company’s international
expansion came in 2008 when it set up a base in Dubai to exploit opportunities in the Middle East, particularly in states such as Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Tis overseas expansion continued in 2011
with the creation of a Hong Kong division, providing a platform for the company to enter the booming Chinese and Asian markets. Tis effort was boosted with the
appointment of a Business Development Manager operating from the company’s new office in the Chaoyang district of Beijing. Te launch and then growth of the Hong
Kong-based operation has seen Barr + Wray win a number of contracts in Bali, including a contract for a resort spa at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve at Ubud. Te company is boosting its presence in
eastern markets with its support of the Marussia
Formula 1 team. Tis saw the Barr + Wray logo prominently displayed on the race cars of drivers Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi at the New Delhi races in November. In addition to the overseas development,
which now sees 40 per cent of the company’s trading being international, Barr + Wray is continuing to develop in the UK market. Its contracts in the home market include
local authorities and principal building contractors across the UK. Its water solutions
Alister MacDonald, Managing Director
of Barr + Wray, with Craig Kennedy, Bank of Scotland, the main sponsor of the Glasgow Business Awards
and process equipment divisions operate across the whisky and brewing, soſt drinks, electronics, healthcare and food and dairy sectors and clients include AG Barr, Highland Spring, Diageo and the Ministry of Defence. Aſter being presented with the International
Trade Award (distiller William Grant shared the award) and the Most Outstanding Business Award, Alister MacDonald said: “We are proud to be recognised as a standard bearer for success in Glasgow.”
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