The difference is Williams
1909 - The Williams Wheelwright Works founded by John Henry Williams
1926 - Mr Williams and his sons decided to transfer to motor maintenance
1940 - Starts to function as an army auxiliary workshop in conjunction with REME, who were stationed on the site
1947 - The MOD offers the firm a central workshop in Fazakerley, Liverpool and all government work was subsequently transferred from Manchester to Liverpool
1960 - the company opened their car showroom in Deansgate Manchester for the purpose of retailing new and used cars under the Rootes franchise
1970 - The current BMW franchise is acquired. By this time the bodyshop side of the business had moved from Trafford Street to new premises in Hadfield Street, from which it continues to operate today
1973 – Another branch to the company called PSV, which converts vans to mini-buses and coaches, is opened
1984 – The company build a prestigious purpose built factory on Upper Brook Street
2000 – Land Rover added to the Williams Group
2000/2001 – Two new dealerships to house BMW Motorcycles and MINI are opened
2002 – Williams acquires Ian Anthony in Bolton
2003 – Williams acquires Howarth BMW and Howarth MINI. The Rochdale operation moves into a purpose built, state of the art £4m showroom
Today, the company has expanded to ten dealerships across the North West employing over 500 people and selling thousands of vehicles each year
While the evolution has been dramatic, one thing that hasn’t changed over the years is that the Williams name is still synonymous with quality and value
Copyright © 2007, Williams Group. All rights reserved.
You can read our privacy policy, our FSA statement, and our terms and conditions, or you can find out more about the accessibility features of this web site. You may also find the site map helpful.