The sands of time have been good to a family-run glazing firm that started up 30 years ago. Cornwall Glass and Glazing, which has its head office in St Austell and 12 South West-based branches, began life back in 1978, with an office based at Pearce's Potato Merchants in Truro. At first the company was known as Dave Mitchell Glass and Glazing after the man who set the family business in motion. Dave. now company chairman, said: "It was very hard work in the beginning. "My wife Heather helped out with the book-keeping and after hours we would work together to sort out all the extra things that needed doing to ensure quality of service for our customers." Eventually business began to take off and Dave was able to employ driver / glazier, Bob Salford. Then in 1981 as the company's reputation was growing. Dave moved the business to Tabernacle Street, Truro, at the former spray bay of Truro Garages. At this point he took on Mike Saunders, who stayed with the firm for 25 years until he retired as manager of the firm's Newquay branch, and changed the name of the business to Truro Glass. Dave said: "To make sure the business got going I was working as many hours as I could and we began offering a 24-hour emergency repair service too." It was at this time Garry, aged 13 and one of Dave's sons now involved in the business, first helped out with the out of hours service and the seeds for a family firm were set. Another family member, Dave's dad, Fred, also helped drum up trade and would often spot glazing opportunities around the town, letting his son know and encouraging the firm to advertise itself on any boarding they used. Fred passed away three years ago, aged 90, but has left a lasting impression on the family business. A blacksmith by trade, Fred had always encouraged Dave and his grandsons, Garry and Mark, to grab all opportunities and to this end he occasionally loaned the business money to grow and even dressed up as a clown at Truro carnivals to promote the company. Not long after the firm's move to Truro Dave was able to set up branches in Penryn and Newquay and in 1988 both 16-year-old Garry and his older brother Mark joined the firm.

Garry said: "I started on £35 per week and worked on the shop floor." Mark had been running a second-hand shop but decided at age 18 to join the company and earned £.40 per week on the trade counter. Both sons went on to learn all aspects of running the firm and both brought different talents to the job. Garry has always been practical and prefers to think things over while Mark has strong organisational skills along with a risk taking attitude. These different aspects allowed Dave to take a step back and to give his sons the opportunity to make decisions for the development of the firm while he oversaw the maintenance of the company's growing number of outlets. Although Dave, in theory was meant to be enjoying more time to play golf and motor cycle he spent four months on site in 2000 with his maintenance crew developing the Firm's Plymouth branch. The maintenance team are made up of Bob Hoskin, affectionately known as Slugger, and Dave's brother-in-law, Phillip Parris who has been with the firm for 36 years. Following the opening of a number of outlets across the region, including one in Penzance in 1989 that had to close due to the 1992 recession, in 1998 the company acquired Solaglas in St Austell. Mark said: "Solaglas had been one of our main suppliers so the purchase meant we were now in a stronger position as we had the opportunity to begin manufacturing our own product.

"We also became known as Cornwall Glass and Glazing at this time." In 2004 the family made the decision to invest £2 million in the St Austell premises and created a new toughening plant and semi-automatic sealed unit line. Mark said: "This was the start of major investment for us and we decided to invest £1.5 million in our Exeter branch in 2005. "These calculated risks are proving successful and we are now in the process of moving to purpose built factory premises in Penzance that has also required substantial investment." Both sons are now group directors and shareholders, along with three non-family directors; Martin Phillips in finance; Angus Herdman in sales and most recently Mark Norcliffe. Their sister Lisa spent a year at the firm but now works with her fisherman husband at their fishmongers, while mum Heather continues to work regularly in the mirror showroom in Truro. Dave started the firm as a sole trader and it now has 120 employees and a delivery and glazing fleet of 40 vehicles. Both Garry and Mark are fathers so there is always the possibility of the business passing on to the next generation. Mark said: "I can't imagine working in business without my brother at my side and we are driven to do our best for the firm. "Our business would be a great place for our children to work but there is no pressure on them to join so we will just have to watch this space." The business is also committed to staff training and its environmental responsibility.

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