Fifty years after it was founded by Stephen Pitt’s father and grandfather, Buchanan & Pitts is celebrating a milestone built on family, loyal staff, generations of customers and a longstanding commitment to the island community.
It was the summer of 1976 which saw the legacy of the painting and decorating company begin.
Two men, Stephen Pitts Sr and William Buchanan, landed the contract of painting Cronkbourne Village.
Amid the hot summer months, it was this contract that would lead them to where they are today.
Starting as the two of them, the team has now grown to 20, servicing iconic landmarks around the island, as well as being the friendly, familiar faces that the Manx community choose to welcome into their homes again and again.
William Buchanan has since passed, while Stephen Sr has entered semi-retirement, with his son, Stephen Jr, taking the company’s reins.
Buchanan & Pitts have been lucky to have loyal staff over the years, with Andrew Somerville being with the company for 15 years, as well as Mark Bannan and Stephen Quaggin for 35 years.
Due to the nature of the family business, Stephen Jr has fond memories growing up, which also sheds a light on just how far the business has come.
He said: ‘The guys would all come round to the back door of my house when I was a kid, and my mum would make them a cup of tea, and then they would go off to work. Now we all meet at our workshop, and then we go off to our different jobs.’
Stephen’s wife Vikki has also now joined the company, helping with the administration of the business, making it a true family affair.
The business is so deeply rooted in the community that Stephen Jr is now serving the children of customers Stephen Sr first did work for.
Taking a look back on the past 50 years, Stephen noted some of the jobs that have stayed with him throughout his career.
‘Probably the Ramsey Swingbridge. It was the biggest project that I'd ever worked on at the time because it was a full refurbishment. The scaffold alone was just a mammoth task. It was just a great job. It was the summertime. It was warm. It was sunny.
‘And obviously it's got to be the Laxey Wheel because it's so iconic to do that. We've done that twice now.’
Other notable projects include work at Ronaldsway Airport, the gold phone box and post box in Onchan, created in 2012 to celebrate Peter Kennaugh’s Olympic gold medal, and the scoreboards used during TT and MGP week for many years before they were dismantled.
The team have also worked on most of the trams that service the island, including the horse-drawn ones that ride seasonally along Douglas Promenade.
To celebrate their 50th anniversary of servicing the island in a variety of forms, Stephen knew he wanted to give back to the community.
This has been brought to life through the sponsorship of three squash teams, a junior football team, UCM’s Pan-Island Apprenticeship Competition and money for the Isle of Man Arts Council, which has culminated with Buchanan & Pitts’ logo being displayed on the Gaiety Theatre safety curtain.
It was a goal that Stephen felt marked the full accomplishment of, after working on the curtain himself and seeing the names of other companies displayed there.
Looking ahead to the next 50 years, Stephen said: ‘I'd like the name to carry on. At the moment, I'm just happy where we are.
‘We've got a good team. We've got lovely customers, great suppliers. If we can just keep going like this, I'm more than happy.’