Our Story

In the Beginning - August 2014

In August 2014, following 8 years of service
in the battery industry, one of our company directors, Jonathan,
decided to set up his own business, Westcountry Batteries, supplying and installing all types of batteries.

Unbeknownst to him, at the same time,
following 12 years of service in the battery industry, our other company
director, Darren, also decided to set up his own business, Off Grid Technologies (specialising in all types of off-grid living, DC power, energy storage and solar panels).

Joining Forces - June 2015

Within 6 months we had started supplying each other and even working
together on installations – both at the design and fitting stages. We
obviously hit it off and therefore decided to share a business premises.
We covered each other’s holidays and treated each other’s business like
our own, whilst watching them both grow stronger.

The Merge - October 2016

2016 was the year we decided to marry our
two highly specialised companies to enable us to expand our range of
products, providing a one-stop-shop for all DC powered products.

This merger saw the birth of Batteries and
Solar, which is now a leading supplier of DC power products with a
comprehensive supplier network, providing a lot more than just batteries
and solar. Our range of products has expanded to include refrigeration
and heating, bespoke cable making, LED lighting, inverters, chargers, a
huge range of accessories and much more. This means we can cater for all
types of leisure vehicle conversions, off-grid systems, lighting
applications, marine, and system design.

The Big Move - June 2017

No sooner had we started, we found we were running out of space. Our
continuous expansion and growth meant a bigger workshop and showroom was
needed – and fast! Luckily, we were in the right place at the right
time as our next-door neighbours were moving.

Customer Focussed - October 2017

2017 saw us going from strength to strength, with a steady stream of
customers walking through our doors. We needed a head of customer
relations; which Arthur took to very quickly and politely.

A Dedicated Team - April 2018

In 2018 it became apparent that we could no longer match the high volume
of demands for our products and services. Therefore, embracing
expansion and diversification again, we began employing highly qualified
and experienced workshop technician and delivery driver. This has
strengthened even further our services platform and product knowledge,
making us the one-stop shop for all your battery and solar powered
needs.

New Website - June 2019

In June 2019, following an explosion of
demand for our products, we decided to target the online market to
enable us to offer new customers far and wide access to our extensively
stocked shop.

Consequently, we opened our arms to welcome a
new website manager, who is helping us to make in-roads into online
sales. This means we are now also an online one-stop-shop for all you
self-builders out there.

As we were growing we needed a second technician, therefore Adam was invited to join us in August 2019.

Covid-19 –March 2020

When the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced a nationwide lockdown to curb the widening outbreak of Covid-19, the future of Batteries and Solar was suddenly uncertain. In the face of this adversity, we implemented a strategy to reduce stock levels, whilst also bracing ourselves for the expected loss of trade.

Like so many other businesses, we were forced to close our retail store.
However, due to the importance of a large range of our products, we were able to continue operating, albeit within the parameters of the restrictions.

Setting up a makeshift retail counter at the main warehouse door meant we could safely serve any customers who wished to collect- and the customers just kept on coming! By mid-May, to our surprise, instead of maintaining our customer base and sales, we had rapidly expanded!

Growth –  June 2020

On the 1st June 2020, Kurt, one of our IT specialists, joined us. Just over a month later, further demands placed on the warehouse meant we constantly needed all hands to the pump! This led to Rob joining our expanding team in late 2020 as Warehouse Operative and Delivery Driver.

As Covid-19 restrictions ebbed and flowed, things were far from back to normal, but we became accustomed to rising and adapting to each challenge.

Developing and Evolving – June- October 2021

In June 2021 further expansion within the warehouse enabled Dominic, our Deputy Warehouse Manager, to join us.

By October our steady growth meant that we were quickly running out of space, which led to us taking on an additional warehouse in the yard just above our main unit. This was full to the brim with stock in under
three weeks!

A week later, Andy joined our ever-stretched sales team and got to
work on developing our trade customer base.

Change is Inevitable - 2022

In early 2022 our ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and Accounting System was no longer keeping up with us and our rate of growth, so the hunt for a new system began.

Little did we know that this would be a long and arduous process that would unfortunately lead to a very tricky year.

In February, Jack, our IT Manager, joined us and immediately began the process of mapping and implementing the new ERP.

July 2022 saw Huey, one of our Workshop Technicians, join us. This enabled us to expand the Workshop and was the first foothold towards one of our future plans. We also added Max to our Warehouse Team, easing the pressure momentarily...

In September 2022 we made the very difficult and financially unsettling decision to change our ERP again! This set us back some way, creating a negative impact on our productivity, and often felt like a huge step backwards!

However, we continued to meet our customers’ needs, which in turn led to the arrival of Matt, who joined as a Workshop Technician in October. Not only that, but a month later, the Warehouse Team required further assistance, and Aimee joined our Goods In and Despatch Department.

Focus Creates Expansion – 2023

Our steady growth over the years meant that our Accounts Department was beginning to feel the pressure, so in January, Claire joined us an Accounts Administrator.

For a long time our Workshop and Warehouse Teams have worked within the same building, but our expansion in both sections meant that space was becoming tight. We made the decision to separate the workshop, moving them to another unit nearby, thus creating not only more space for our Warehouse Team, but also the opportunity
to work on 4-5 vehicles simultaneously.