Joint meeting with Stonehouse Rotary Club : Speaker Andrew Downton of Downton Transport

IF ever a company exemplified why family businesses are the backbone of Gloucestershire's economy then it has to be Downton.

From humble beginnings the company has now grown to become a national logistics player in the transport and warehousing sector.

The company is led by the Downton brothers – Andrew, who is managing director and twins Johnnie, operations director, and Richard, financial director.

Their father Conrad Downton founded the business in the 1950s when he realised there was only a small living to be made from the family farm at Moreton Valence.

At first he diversified into hauling hay and straw.

He then invested £16 in a tipper lorry used for carrying gravel from the nearby pits.

Andrew Downton said: "His big break came with the construction of motorways in the 1960s. He offered his services and within a couple of years was operating 50 tipper trucks."

In the early 1970s, as the business continue to grow, he bought his first articulated lorry.