The Farmers Mart Oct/Nov 2016 - Issue 48 | Page 72

Machinery Thornton Breakers success is a family thing »»THORNTON BREAKERS WAS established by Peter Jones way back in 1987, initially in a yard in Thornton, Bradford where he bought in all types of vehicle for breaking. In 1998 they started specialising in 4 x 4s. 2010 saw them open a branch in Halifax, then two years later, the Halifax site had really taken off and was also a much bigger site, so the original yard in Thornton was closed and everything was moved to Halifax . Now they are one of the main 4 x 4 operations in the UK. Such has been the growth of the business that in 2015 an extra yard at Halifax was purchased, largely fuelled by the huge demand by the export side of the business which has expanded thanks to Peter’s skilful use of social media and internet trading. 2017 see’s Thornton Breakers 30th anniversary and Farmers Mart will be including a full feature on Peter and his team then. Peter has always run Thornton Breakers very much as a family business - his children have always been around and - like Peter - the grass never grows! Not only are they involved in the business they also have extra demanding strings to their bows. Son Cameron, in what spare time he has, is becoming an extremely accomplished off -road racer. He joined the Northern Off Road Club in 2011 racing a Mitsubishi Evolution. In 2013 he changed to a Simmbughini winning the class 9 championship. In 2015 he changed again to a Milner 5 which sports a 5.0 Litre Ford V8 Coyote engine. As the photos show, Cameron is regularly tearing up the terrain and leaving the competition behind which has also attracted strong sponsorship alongside that of Peter. Peter’s elder daughter Hollie, works at Thornton Breakers part-time and among many things is a pivotal member of the team where marketing is concerned. As if she wasn’t busy enough, from Tuesday to Thursday 3pm till 7pm she runs her own dance school “Diamond Freestyle” back in 72 Oct/Nov 2016 www.farmers-mart.co.uk Thornton. She opened this in 2012 having danced herself for 15 years. Hollie runs the school for boys and girls age three years upwards, and the youngsters can come for pure enjoyment or for exam attainment. Many of the pupils from 4 to 17 take part in both weekend and full day open events and competitions. This high octane family is completed by Peter’s younger daughter, Courtney who started horseback riding at the age of 11. She has steadily progressed both showing and doing in-hand classes picking up many rosettes and prizes along the way. In 2014 she went to Equifest for her first time achieving no less than seven rosettes and a third place – a big first time achievement. She has since qualified for internationals at Richmond and showed at the prestigious Great Yorkshire Show. Visitors to the main office are confronted by the family’s success story – rosettes, cups, certificates and superb action photos celebrating Cameron, Hollie and Courtney’s continuing success – leaving barely room to show photos of Peter’s fully liveried up to date fleet of company vehicles! Being big supporters of the agricultural community, there are even photos of when Thornton Breakers donated wagonloads of hay to farmers across the country stricken by floods – as reported in FM. The dedication, commitment and excellence that Cameron, Hollie and Courtney display mirrors Peter’s demands of - and commitment to - Thornton breakers. His attention to detail to all his customers ranges from a single headlight to an engine replacement to a 40 foot container en route to Dubai. Clearly, this is an energetic, successful family business that is really thriving – what can we say but watch this space!