Ian Brydson appointed Managing Director of James Gordon Limited - Castle Douglas 7 October 2026

Owned by the Montgomerie family since 1922, Gordons enters its next chapter with a focus on growth, service and its people.

Gordons is a leading distributor of agricultural machinery in south west Scotland and the central belt. Additionally, they cover all of Scotland plus Cumbria for construction equipment.

James Gordon Limited has appointed Ian Brydson as Managing Director. Ian will lead both of the company's brands; Gordons Agricultural Equipment and Gordons Construction Equipment and has been General Manager at the company since 2023 having previously worked for their main agricultural franchise, CLAAS.

He succeeds William Mongtgomery, who becomes Chairman of the family's holding company, Montgomerie Holdings. Founded in 1865 by James Gordon, the business was bought by the Montgomerie family in 1922 and remains in their ownership today. William’s cousin Neil Montgomerie is After Sales Director and Neil’s son Graham is Service Manager at their Castle Douglas Depot. Kevin Fraser, who has been with the company for over 20 years, is Sales Director.

Ian's appointment comes shortly after the opening of their new £1 million depot at Blairgowrie. The site gives Gordons Construction a permanent base in the north of its territory. Gordons took on the Develon (formerly Doosan) franchise in 2017. Since then they have expanded to cover all of Scotland and Cumbria.

A commitment to agriculture

Ian stressed that growth in construction does not come at the expense of the company's agricultural roots. Gordons Agricultural equipment has long established partnerships with key manufacturers. They have supplied and supported CLAAS equipment since the 1960’s, and its core customers are dairy, beef, mixed livestock farms and agricultural contractors.

"We're no less enthusiastic about agriculture than we ever were," he said. "Land is consolidating and customers are buying fewer, higher-output machines. If a customer used to run three machines and now runs one high capacity unit, a breakdown costs them all of their output, not a third of it. That puts real demand on service, and we have to be ready to react whenever customers need us."

From the tractor seat to the boardroom

The son of a farmer and agricultural contractor, Ian was driving tractors from a young age. His career includes  product and sales management roles with CLAAS and Krone UK and two years in the whisky industry with William Grant & Sons.  Ian also completed an MBA at the University of Strathclyde in 2013.

"The MBA gave me a broad view of business as a whole, rather than just the lens I'd looked at it through before," said Ian. "Working in a very corporate environment in the whisky industry taught me a lot about change management and people. You learn as much from the things that didn't work as the things that did!"

Investing in people

Gordons employs around 100 people and has a loyal workforce.  

"Nothing works without good people and we are lucky we have a lot of them," said Ian. "It's getting harder to recruit good people, and we have to take that seriously. We're looking at structure, succession and career development. I want us to stand out as the most attractive place to work in the industry."

Gordons has apprentices at their agricultural and construction depots. It is now expanding the scheme to include parts apprenticeships and has taken on its first IT apprentice.  

Technology without losing the human touch

On the future, Ian sees new technology as an opportunity for customers and for Gordons. "People want greater efficiency, and there isn't the same availability of labour," he said. "What CLAAS and Develon can offer customers in automation, digital information and operator assistance is staggering, and our team is well trained in it. But I never want to lose the people element of this business. It's the people and the characters you meet that make it such a joy to work in."

That long view runs deep. Gordons still holds a bill of sale from the 1892 to one of their farming customers and Gordons are still serving that same farm today.

William Montgomerie , Chairman of Montgomerie Holdings, said: "Ian has strongly contributed to the growth of Gordons since he joined us as General Manager in 2023. He is passionate about our business having been brought up in agriculture locally and holds a strong interest in construction equipment. With the expansion of construction, exciting plans for agriculture and a strong team in place, this is the right time for Ian to lead the business into its next chapter.

William Montgomerie began working in James Gordon Ltd in 1975 after having started his career with Albion Motors in Glasgow. He began in the workshop as an engineer focused on balers and other implements as well as milking parlour repairs and installation. William moved into office to assist with running the business along with his uncle, James Montgomerie (Neil’s father) when his father John passed away in 1980. He became Managing Director of James Gordon Ltd in the late 80’s.