About Us
The Wheel Specialist™ business started life under the company name of Lap-Tab Ltd UK which has been established since 1955. The company has a long standing reputation for its service, quality, and fast turnaround times. It’s a family business now wholly owned by husband and wife team Neill and Ginny Murphy.
Lap-Tab undertakes production spray painting of a wide range of components for various industries, and are approved suppliers to the M.O.D.
We are always looking for new ways to grow and improve the company and 25 years ago we expanded into the alloy wheel refurbishment business whilst still maintaining our traditional business based around plastics and metal coating. We are constantly researching new paints and products, and we develop our own brand products. Lap-Tab have a very impressive customer base which includes.
- JCB
- Land Rover
- Rolls Royce
- British Aerospace
- Electrolux
- Hoover
- Zanussi
Since expanding into the alloy wheel business our customer base has grown to the point where we now deal with 75% of the auto trade around the Birmingham area for this particular service (although the ‘trade’ only accounts for around 40% of our business – the other 60% is from the general public).
The alloy wheel refurbishment service became a fast growing part of our company. We receive hundreds of enquiries each week from across the UK which we could not service solely at the Birmingham Unit. Because of our own work load involved with running the Lap-Tab business, expansion through the traditional route (taking on more staff and premises across the UK) was not an option, so we decided to expand this side of the business by franchising.
Five years on and The Wheel Specialist™ is now the leading Alloy Wheel Refurbishment company in the UK.
The Wheel Specialist™ Team
Neill Murphy
Technical Operations Director
Expert in alloy wheel refurbishment for over 30 years
Responsible For:
- Development and Management of The Wheel Specialist™ technical operation and set ups
- Day to day technical control of the business
- Developing and expanding its technical relationships
- Sourcing and developing supplier relationships
- New product development
Background:
- Managing Director of Lap-Tab Ltd UK, with 34 years of experience in the coating / alloys market
- Designed bespoke paint systems for JCB, Jaguar, Rolls Royce, and Land Rover, and developed paint systems for Electrolux, Hoover, Cannon, and Hotpoint.
- Prototyped Black Chrome finishes for Rover and Jaguar
Ginny Murphy
Director of Operations
The Wheel Specialist policy and procedures expert
Responsible For:
- Development and management of The Wheel Specialist franchise network.
- Business / Financial Administration
- Development of commercial relationships
- Overall business stratergy of The Wheel Specialist
- Day to day operational control of the business
- Company policy – definition and implementation
- Marketing Design
Background:
- Qualified as a Registered General Nurse in 1989
- Manager of procedure / policy writing and implementation in Health Care / Industry
- Managed the set up of an NVQ training centre for a private health care company in 1993
- Responsible for Lap-Tab’s accounts and office administration since 1994
- Project manager / trustee for a charity organisation since 2001
- Diploma in Franchising
- Currently studying for Qualified Franchise Profressional qualification [ BFA ]
If you like what you’ve read, why don’t you contact us to arrange a FREE No Obligation Telephone Appointment. Phone us at 0845 017 6464 or complete the online form for your free copy of our Franchisee Prospectus by clicking below:
