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JUNKR / COVAULT
Bringing customer-friendly professionalism to the ‘man with a van’ tradition, Greig Newman’s firm Junkr is perfectly suited to the flexibility offered by CoVault office space. By Nan Spowart
A GLASGOW-based business that was started just three years ago with a budget of only £600 is now on track to turn over £500,000 this year.
Using the remaining funds from his wage packet as a mechanic to set up Junkr, Greig Newman’s goal was create a new outlook in rubbish removal.
He has been so successful in his aim that the business is now the highest rated Scottish rubbish removal company on Trustpilot.
“The traditional ‘Man and a Van’ model has a bad reputation and is struggling to move with the times,” he said. “My outlook was to professionalise this industry and build a brand with purpose, with uniformed and friendly staff, branded vehicles and a user-friendly website.”
Money was so tight at the beginning, Greig could only afford temporary day insurance for the old, rusty van he bought for £450 but, despite the inauspicious start, he managed to turn over £35,000 in his first year.
He worked for the first six months on his own until he could afford to take on employees and now has a staff of eight, a modern fleet of five vans operating in most major cities in Scotland and has also successfully been trialling Junkr’s services in Oxford, Reading, Bristol and Gloucester.
“In the future we want to be a market leader, covering all major cities in the UK,” Greig said. “Once we reach ten vans our aim will be to begin franchising the company in all keys parts of the UK.”
An on-demand rubbish removal company, Junkr can clear all types and size of non-hazardous waste from a single mattress to a multi-level office clearance.
Booking has been made simple by a website that allows clients to simply choose a time slot after picking the collection size they need.
Same day or named day collections are available and recycling is taken very seriously, with waste taken to over 20 recycling facilities around the country. After each collection customers are provided with an electronic waste transfer note. Live cameras run in the vehicles and there is 24-hour monitoring of the live feeds so it can be proved there is no fly-tipping.
“That’s very important due to the rise of rogue traders and the large amount of flytipping we are seeing,” said Greig.
The business has so far served over 5,000 domestic customers and also works with companies of all sizes who have regular waste requirements such as landlords, estate/letting agents, insurance, home improvement, social housing, property maintenance, fit out, retail and many more.
In May, Junkr moved into a CoVault office in Coatbridge, meaning that a full time member of staff could be taken on to take calls and carry out other office work.
The new premises quickly proved to be a good move as it has freed Greig to concentrate on growing the business.
“It’s great to have CoVault office space – we couldn’t be happier with the premises and it means we are able to respond to clients more quickly,” he said.
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