Jamie Wood’s work career began in working with his mum & dad in their "Coatsgate Cafe" - a lorry park & cafe situated just north of Beattock on the side of the old A74, prior to the expansion of the motorway to three lanes. With the upgrading of the A74 to the M74, Jamie’s parents sold the cafe and Jamie started work at Abington Service Station.
In 1998, Jamie purchased St Michael's Services in Dumfries - this was the start of his own little empire! In its time the business has changed fuel suppliers a few times & had several suppliers for the stores. Latterly, all Jamie’s sites have been partnered with BP & Londis.
Jamie then purchased Wigtown Road Services in Newton Stewart, and Benmar Services in Moffat in 2012, and most recently, Jamie purchased a run down site in St John’s Town, Dalry in 2017, a site that he has totally redeveloped to make it a valuable community hub, as well as a quality destination for the many tourists and visitors to the area.
At Jamie’s site in Moffat, which recently incorporated the local Post Office, which was due to close, they have very strong links with the local community, sponsoring the local rugby team, and in previous years providing sponsorship to the South of Scotland Tennis Championships. Jamie has also provided sponsorship for the International Sheep Dog Trials and the Moffat Classic Car Rally which helps draw thousands of visitors to the area each year.
The locally based Nith In-shore Life Boat is supported by Jamie with free fuel for their large rescue craft fleet, free of charge, from St Michael's Services. In 2017 the company donated a Motor Cycle worth over £4,500 to another vitally important locally based charity, the Dumfries & Galloway Blood Bikes, who are also provided with fuel on a monthly credit basis. The local charity, Westsound Cash for Kids, based in Dumfries, provides support for children living with poverty, neglect and life limiting illness, also receives ongoing support from Jamie’s business.
Jamie has invested heavily in providing all four sites with overnight payment terminals, which were very handy during the Covid pandemic last year when other businesses were closing early, so they could still support customers 24/7. During 2019 Jamie demolished his Car Wash facilities and rebuilt three new Jetwash bays providing 24/7 access to valeting services in Moffat. Jamie’s biggest project to date is the one that’s currently in planning – a full KDRB of his Dumfries site which will see a new state of the art Service Station opening that is planned to include a lot the latest on trend items including F’real, Tango Ice Blast, Fanta Frozen, Frozen Coke along with the installation of Stone Willy’s Express food to go concept. Externally, the forecourt will also feature new jet wash bays, vacuum, air machine and a launderette.
Jamie’s ethos is that it’s vitally important to "give back" to the community in as many ways as he can. The business regularly posts on their Facebook pages, and interact with the community to by providing free advertising space on their in-store media screens.