Over the last three years, you may have seen their name on the back of Bradford City’s shirts during a successful spell in the club’s history - but there is more to Autoelectro than that. The Leeds Road, Bradford, firm is celebrating its 30th anniversary of re-manufacturing starter motors and alternators to firms across the UK and Ireland.

But its backing of the Bantams certainly helped Autoelectro’s brand awareness, as managing director Tony Bhogal admits, especially after Bradford City’s run to the FA Cup quarter-finals last year, including a giant-killing victory over Chelsea. Every celebration, as the run gained national and international exposure, was beneficial for Autoelectro, as its logo took pride of place.

Mr Bhogal, who is a City fan himself, said: “Our brand awareness is getting better and better. “The publicity we got on the back of that Bradford City association was absolutely amazing. “It was a bit of a one-off. We were lucky with the timing there. “When we started the relationship, it was more about supporting our local community. “It has been a privilege to be a supporter of Bradford City. “We are going to maintain our relationship with them.” But back to business. The main crux of Autoelectro’s output is the re-manufacturing of starter motors and alternators.

This process involves the complete dis-assembly, replacement of faulty and worn parts, re-assembly and final testing to their original standards using state-ofthe- art computerised test benches. In essence, the parts are stripped down, washed, cleaned and re-assembled. Every re-manufactured unit is sold with a two-year warranty and Autolectro is the largest UK-based re-manufacturer and supplier of automotive starter motors and alternators in the country.

Competitors including Lucas B90, Electrostart, Autostart and Valeo have all left the market, as the Bradford company continues to develop its service. Meanwhile, the family firm has come a long way over the last 30 years. It was started in 1986 by Mr Bhogal’s father, Santokh Singh Bhogal, from his home.

The business soon expanded and moved initially to a first-floor site on Manchester Road in Bradford, followed by two locations on Leeds Road before it moved, and later expanded its current base on the same road. When Mr Bhogal senior died aged 55 in 1996, his sons - Tony, Nicky, 47, and Paul, 43 - took the business on and continued its expansion. Nicky leads the technical side of the operation, while Paul heads up its sales and financial side. Autoelectro’s 40,000 square foot store space includes thousands of starter motors and alternators, with 300 parcels distributed by its fleet of vans over a 100- mile radius from Bradford each day.

The other orders, further afield including all parts of the UK and Ireland, are distributed by overnight carrier. Tony Bhogal, 51, said: “Our father built the foundations of the company. It’s a proper family business. “When we first set up, there were 30 to 40 main applications of starter motors which are popular with our customers. At the moment we have at least 30,000 applications. “It’s unbelievable how the market has changed now. “A lot of people have different types of cars now.

“You look on the roads in Bradford now and there are all different types of makes than there were 30 years ago when we started. “Companies like Kia and Hyundai are more popular now. “Most of our orders are completed online now, about 80 per cent of them. “Ours is a business that relies on technology.

We need to keep constantly updated. “The technology has changed over the last 30 years and we need to make sure we have the equipment to compete. “Some of our competitors have fallen by the wayside, as they have failed to adapt to changes in technology. “We are continually investing in our company. “We can supply alternators for cars dating back to the 1940s and 1950s. We keep a lot of these parts in stock. “Whenever we sell a starter motor, we get the old one in exchange. “We have had a lot of goodwill from Bradford Council, with its economic development unit. “They have always been very supportive to the business.” The awards and recognition has also followed for Autoelectro in recent years. Autoelectro won a prestigious environmental ward for its work in recycling electrical parts last year. It claimed a Green Apple Environment Award in an international campaign to find the greenest companies, councils and communities. The firm battled it out against more than 500 nominations in the Green Apple award for environmental best practice. It submitted a paper on its work practices, which they included in the Green Book, the leading international reference work on environmental best practice. The firm was presented with their prize at a presentation event held at the Houses of Parliament in November last year. Mr Bhogal said: “The Green Apple award put a stamp on our environmental credentials. “Such an award also tells people what we are doing.” It is ISO9001, ISO14001 and OHSAS18001 accredited certification system, gaining the distinctions in 1995 and 2014 respectively.

Mr Bhogal said: “We were one of the first to get the ISO9001 accreditation in Bradford. “It puts that quality stamp on what we are doing. It gives more prestige to the company too. “We are committed to providing goods of the highest quality and a service to match.

“We are proud of our achievements in establishing Autoelectro as the leading company in our sector, the after-market. “This is our 30th anniversary and we are well prepared to meet the challenges ahead with the growing threat of copy parts and complex electronics on vehicles.” What about the future? Next up, they aim to conquer Europe, despite last month’s decision on membership of the European Union. Mr Bhogal said: “We were hoping the UK would stay in the EU, but you have to get on with it now.

“We are looking to consolidate current operations and grow the business. “Europe-wide is the next phase of our development of the business. “We are well established in the UK, but now we are looking further afield.”

*Original article can be found in Telegraph & Argus July 6 2016 Edition.