Graddon’s is celebrating 75 years of trading this year.
Graddon Vending, specialists in providing vending machines to businesses throughout Plymouth, the South of England, Bristol and South Wales, was established by Victor Harold Graddon in 1940. The business was one of the first companies in the UK to vend milk, which was bottled at Graddon’s own dairy. The milk was sold in Plymouth City Centre and was part of a Milk Marketing Board initiative.
Since these humble beginnings 75 years’ ago, the business has grown and developed: Graddon Vending is now entitled to call itself ‘industry leader’, being at the forefront of vending innovation and supplying a wide range of sectors including hospitals, workplaces and schools.
To celebrate the anniversary, the company has unveiled a fresh new brand, designed to convey the company’s ethos whilst celebrating its considerable heritage.
MD David Graddon has been with the company for 30 years and is the third generation of Graddons to run the business.
“I’m enormously proud of what we’ve achieved over the last 75 years”, he said. ‘My Grandfather founded the business back in 1940 from a dairy in the suburbs of Plymouth. In those early days the Milk Marketing Board delivered churns of fresh milk, which he bottled and delivered to doorsteps around Plymouth. He then took the opportunity to place milk cartons in refrigerated vending machines, so he converted the bottling machine at the dairy to fill milk cartons and sold them from machines in public areas around Plymouth, pioneering vending in the South West. Hot drinks soon followed and his sons, Ken (my Father) and John took the company forward during the 1980s and 1990s, creating a specialist vending business respected throughout the South of England.’
The succession is already in place, with David’s son Chris having already clocked up 12 years of service and David’s daughter Brooke nearly one year. “We still pride ourselves on being a pioneering company and we are excited to see how new products, multimedia machines, cashless payment and mobile apps will transform the industry in the next few years”, David said.
It’s a wonderful milestone and all of us at Planet Vending salute you.
