If you ever need someone who can run a workshop, calm a customer, diagnose a fault and still make it to the pub in time for a quiet pint, you’re looking for Paul Scott, Swansea’s newish Service Manager. Paul didn’t chase a management role, it crept up on him while he was busy doing his job really well. One minute he was elbowdeep in a gearbox, the next he was running the Swansea workshop, all while shrugging modestly and quietly getting on with whatever needed to be done.
Paul joined WG Davies nearly 15 years ago, after completing an apprenticeship straight from school. He spent time working across both light and heavy vehicles, including trucks and busses. He told us: “I liked pulling stuff apart to see how it works.”
Luckily for us, he has learned how to put things back together as well! Since his start with the business, Paul has spent two decades further developing his mechanical expertise and that is something he now brings to the front line. The experience is vital in helping to manage the workload through the workshop while dealing with the customer communication around all of this.
Paul is the first to acknowledge the legacy left by Rachel, who previously held the role. “Rachel did a fantastic job. She’s got Roger's work ethic and never gives up. What I want to do is continue to build on the great position we were in thanks to her.” When pushed on why he got the job he shares: “I’ve got 20‑plus years of mechanical knowledge. When a customer wants to understand what’s really going on with their vehicles, that helps a lot.”
In truth, Paul didn’t expect to move into management quite this early in his career but when the chance came up, he grabbed it. “It meant I was off the tools sooner than I thought. I believed the day would come when my back would make the decision for me and I’m grateful that moment didn’t arrive. Sometimes you’ve got to grab an opportunity when it appears and this one was too good to pass up.”
We asked him what matters most in his new role and he was clear that it is all about communication. In fact, keeping customers informed was a theme Paul returned to again and again. “Whether it’s good news or bad, customers need to know what’s going on. If a vehicle is off the road, they need to be able to plan for that and the sooner we tell them the better.”
It is clear that he is a great communicator and nothing short of a “Super Tech”, so we had to ask what he was finding the greatest challenge in his new role. “Written communication and drafting emails is a stretch for me. Sometimes I struggle to find the right words and think, does that sound right?” It’s a refreshing level of honesty and exactly the kind of self‑awareness that makes him great in his new job.
Swansea has been named as or shortlisted for Depot of the Year by MTBUK three times now and Paul is clear about why: “WG Davies truly value their people and the Swansea team genuinely have each other’s backs. If we’re swamped, the afternoon boys come in early, or the morning boys stay on late. It’s a proper team and everyone is totally committed to working together.” And that is reinforced through social activities with two organised get-togethers – one in the summer and one at the end of the year – as well as regular after‑work pints.
Looking ahead to the need to embrace electric vehicles in the future, Paul is honest enough to admit he was initially apprehensive about what that involved. “It was a fear of the unknown but now that I have had the training, I know what we need to do to ensure everyone is safe, as well as the knowledge to keep the vehicles running sweetly. I see that EV is not just inevitable, it is exciting. Ten years from now, we won’t even think about it; it’ll just be another truck.” We’ve made a diary note to check back in with him in 2036 to see if he’s right!
Paul is modest to the core. Ask him to describe himself and he squirms with discomfort. Ask him about the team on the other hand and he lights up. But we pushed and here’s what we learned: He’s supportive and always there when someone needs help. He’s a tidy‑desk person and the end‑of‑day reset is mandatory. He loves a quiet pint – that’s another recurring theme he’s comfortable admitting to. He’s a proud Swansea City supporter and an Ospreys rugby fan, and his perfect holiday would be: “Somewhere sunny, where I can sit by the pool, with a pint in my hand.” In fact, he is off to Kos shortly and we can only hope the brother‑in‑law he is travelling with is in training already!
Paul might not jump at the chance to talk about himself – we suspect he’d rather service a truck in the rain, roadside, after dark in mid-winter – but his values came through loud and clear. He’s an early riser and a hard worker, who believes passionately in the need to be fair. Alongside that he’s proud of the team spirit that makes Swansea a stand-out depot and, when it comes to customers, he doesn’t hide behind emails; he picks up the phone even when the news is uncomfortable. It’s the perfect mix of honesty, with a bit of Welsh backbone and some genuine teamwork.
Paul is a walking, talking example of everything that makes Swansea such an impressive depot and WG Davies such a brilliant place to build a career.