THE Attachment Company founder William Forrest and marketing director Laura McKechnie have reflected on a whirlwind 12 months in which they have relocated the business to new premises, enjoyed a triumphant showing at ScotPlant, become an authorised dealer for Komatsu utility equipment, and even found the time to get married!
12 months ago, Project Plant reported that the company had ambitious growth plans after rebranding from Mouse Valley Equipment. The new name and logo were aligned with The Attachment Company in Colorado, USA, run by William’s brother Andrew.
We recently caught up with William and Laura at the company’s impressive new 8,400 sq. ft warehouse facility in Carluke, which has provided the firm with ample space to host customers and stock parts and equipment. There is also plenty scope for expansion as and when that becomes necessary.
The business supplies a range of attachments from brands including Auger Torque, Simex, Kinshofer, Trevi Benne, and GB Breaker. It also designs and manufactures its own brand of products including tiltrotator buckets, pallet forks and grading beams under the AttachWorx name.
At the time of interview, William and Laura were in the process of recruiting a third person to join the company – emphasising how busy things have been and the requirement for an extra pair of hands to help with everything from working in the warehouse to collaborating on social media content.
“Everything’s happened!” William joked, when asked about developments over the past year. “We’ve literally just piled all the big stuff in the one year. We were back at ScotPlant this year for the first time since 2018. We moved in here that same weekend, then we got married, and then Komatsu came online.”
The new facility is seven times larger and triple the height of The Attachment Company’s previous base. The firm is preparing to host an open event at the new site on December 6 and 7, where customers and potential customers can pop in for a pie and a pint, check out the new HQ, and see first-hand some of the latest product innovations.
Equipment on display will include Komatsu utility kit. The addition of the Komatsu mini and midi-excavators, wheeled diggers, skid-steer loaders, and compact wheel loaders to The Attachment Company portfolio has the potential to be a game-changer for the firm. The company has been appointed by Marubeni-Komatsu as a utility dealer for the Lothians and Borders regions, as well as several ML postcode areas.
“The Komatsu thing had been discussed for quite a while, but it only really made sense when we got to a place like this,” William said. “It gives us a bit more credibility. The impact will hopefully be huge if we can make it successful.”
As with all brands The Attachment Company works with, the two key criteria were a quality product, and a manufacturer committed to working with the business.
“Both of those things were there,” William added. “The product needs to be right, and the partnership ultimately needs to be right. If it’s not, all you end up doing is letting the customer down. The manufacturer either needs to have availability quickly or we need to take that on. At the end of the day, when our industry decides it wants something, generally it’s ‘how much is it and how quick can I get it?’”
The Komatsu machines will help in The Attachment Company’s quest to become a one-stop-shop for customers’ equipment needs. The company supplies everything from buckets, breakers, road planers and compactor plates through to trenchers, mulchers and tree shears.
With one of the key market trends at the moment being a desire the get the absolute maximum out of machines, the ability to provide multiple solutions under one roof has never been more important.
“It’s about trying to make your machine do a bit more than just dig a hole,” William said. “If you’re a one or two-person landscaper with a digger, it makes sense to do as much as possible. If you’re a big groundworks contractor, it makes sense for machinery on site to be as productive as possible, especially if you’re struggling to put men on the ground (due to sector-wide labour shortages).”
Skills shortages have long been a major issue in the plant sector. Laura, who used to be art teacher, is part of the SPOA’s Women in Plant working group, which was set up to better represent the interests of women in the industry and help to attract more women operatives. Her advice for both females and males is to speak to as many people from different sectors as possible to find out what sort of opportunities exist.
“Companies need to be a bit more open to speaking to folk,” she said. “I remember when I was younger, I wanted to be a landscape gardener and my careers advisor said, ‘If you want to go and parade in a pair of wellington boots you can do that, but I don’t think that’s what you should do’. We definitely need to get into schools (to speak to young people about construction careers).”
One of the highlights for The Attachment Company this year was ScotPlant, with the firm returning to the event for the first time since the rebrand with a prominent spot near the entrance to the outdoor showground.
“This was by far our best ever ScotPlant,” Laura said. “Our location meant we were getting people as they were coming in and out.”
“That combined with building up a bit of a social media following leading up to ScotPlant brought people who wanted to come and talk to us,” William added.
Regarding social media, The Attachment Company has made a huge splash over the past 18 months. William and Laura post a weekly YouTube video and create regular content for TikTok (where they have over 8,300 followers), Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X.
Making content consistently is a huge commitment but the use of such platforms to unveil new products, showcase equipment in action, make company announcements, and provide an insight into what happens behind the scenes with regards to things like the manufacturing process, helps to give the business an extra edge in a sector which is often considered old fashioned.
“Even if people don’t necessarily tell you social media is where they saw a product, you can sometimes tell,” William revealed. “I think people, regardless of their age, spend more time on TikTok than they would like to admit.”
“My dad is 62 and watches YouTube videos,” Laura added. “He’ll watch a bit of us and he’s into old tractors and watches that too. It’s definitely the way forward. We can attribute TikTok to certain sales because that’s the only place we’ve posted products.”
Next on the agenda for William and Laura is a work trip to East Asia later this month before they get to enjoy a well-deserved break over the festive season following a hectic year.
“We visited a potential new manufacturer in Italy shortly after the wedding in the summer,” William said. “And we’re going to Bauma China in Shanghai and visiting the Auger Torque factory in November, so I’ve been trying to claim that’s the honeymoon but not quite getting away with it!”
• The open day event will take place at The Attachment Company’s new HQ in Roadmeetings Industrial Estate, on Friday December 6 (2pm-6pm) and Saturday December 7 (10am-2pm). No pre-registration is required.
