Northern 4x4, opened 13th March 1993 in Ripon, North Yorkshire. Northern 4x4 was established by best friends Tim Snowden & Mark Cuthbert, after a gap in the market was noted when Tim tried to locate a nudgebar & side steps for a Suzuki SJ410 Jeep. From their small 1st floor office next door to the taxi drivers office and paying £27.00 per week rent the small fledgling business was run. After two difficult first years the business started growing in the third & returned a profit in year three, the 4x4 business relocated in June 1998 to Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, the site chosen due to its prominent location on the A1 at Leeming Bar, with easy road network links & passing trade. Formerley Northern 4x4, a name change in 1999 to 4x4 accessories & Tyres was adopted to reflect the more national presence & mail order business with 4x4 related parts been sent across the Uk via mail order for the rapidy growing niche accessory supplier.
Northern 4x4 (Tim & Mark) quickly saw opportunities for new products which were duly promoted in their mailed brochure, at the time the world wide web and email was all but unheard of, a fax machine was all that was needed. Under the same ownership the Northern 4x4 partnership incorporated & became 4x4 accessories & Tyres Ltd. Expansion took place at Leeming Bar with a further three warehouses been added over the next 5 years with trucktop building taking place at a rented premises in Mansfield, Notts, until 2001, the location dictated as the builder of the Brahma trucktops formerley employed by Transatlantic 4x4, would not relocate to Leeming Bar.
Then:
Northern 4x4, Mercury Park, Leeming Bar, clearly visible from the A1 motorway, the first Northern 4x4 warehouse with office & showroom were purpose built in 1998 with the business moving from Ripon in June 1998 of that year. There were only three staff, Tim, Mark and a fitter/ warehouseman & one Saturday boy were employed, gradually staff numbers were increased to ease running of the booming 4x4 centre business and improve the customer experience, Mercury Park remained the home of 4x4 accessories & Tyres Ltd until a move to new purpose built facilities with multiple fit bays & improved warehousing came about in summer 2007 moving 100 metres away to Meridian Park, Leeming Bar.
One of our most popular 4x4's at the time was the well respected Mitsubishi shogun Pajero.
Now:
Large glazed curtain walling entrance gives visitors a taste of what's instore at the new 4x4 centre.
3000sqft showroom enables visitors to view accessories fitted, ensures staff are familiar with all products & their fitment. Free coffee is provided for visitors.
70,000sqft of warehousing for all 4x4 parts, accessories & goodies
Opened in summer 2007 4x4 owners clubs including the L200 owners club, & the Pajero owners club were invited as guests & given a tour of the new facilities at Meridian Park.