Lab focus DTS
The Littlejohns – from left, brothers Sandy, Laurie and Graham with their father Alex
A family affair W
hen Alex Littlejohn started working as a ı6-year-old appren- tice in the family dental laboratory in
Glasgow, the staff consisted of just him, his father and one other technician. From those humble beginnings, Dental
Technology Services (DTS) has grown into Scotland’s largest full-service dental laboratory with nearly ı00 members of staff in its sprawling Duke Street headquarters. Alex’s father, William R Littlejohn,
served his apprenticeship as a dental technician in the ı930s, but had to put his ambition to start his own business on hold when Britain declared war on Nazi Germany. When peace finally broke out, William set up shop in a former pawn shop on Elderslie Street in Glasgow’s west end. Initially, it looked as if Alex wouldn’t
follow in his father’s footsteps as he pursued a career in music. He explained: “I started working in the lab just helping out when I was ı2 or ı3. I just kind of fell into it and I quite enjoyed it. My father didn’t want me to become a technician to be honest, he wanted me to become a music teacher.
34 Scottish Dental magazine
How a dad and his lads made a small lab in to a world player
“Well, I qualified and all I had to do
was a year at Jordanhill and then I would be teaching kids music for the rest of my life. It was at that point that it didn’t seem like a great idea after all, so I joined the family business.” At the time the NHS was the main
provider of dentistry and the fledgling laboratory had its hands full providing health service dentures. However, when demand tailed off in the late ı950s, William bought a confectionery business to keep the staff working and to maintain the busi- ness for when times got better. From Elderslie Street, the lab moved to
Argyle Street close to where the Buttery restaurant now stands and then on to Annfield Place, off Duke Street, in the east end of the city in ı965. William retired in ı969 and, while the business had expanded, there were still only five members of staff. However, Alex had big plans and he
wasted no time putting them in motion. He said: “When my father retired, he wanted to go on a world cruise. So, off he went and when he came back he expected me to be bust and needing him back. But his desk was away, his office was gone and we were twice the size in the three or four months since he’d left.” Alex’s expansion started with the
shop downstairs and continued with the purchase of the neighbouring dental practice. In the following years, he bought over the two neighbouring buildings with the laboratory these days taking up a large section of the tenement row on Annfield Place and including the Halo dental prac- tice. By the time Alex’s sons started getting involved in the business, they had grown to include around 40 members of staff. Alex’s eldest son, Sandy, joined the busi-
ness after school as a ı6-year-old and he was followed by his brother Laurie, both qualifying as City & Guilds dental techni- cians. However, Alex was keen that the boys gain experience elsewhere before joining the family firm full-time. He said: “Sandy worked for three months in one of my friend’s laboratories in
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