Craig and Karen Granger's philosophy in business is "you've got to give back".
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The Dubbo husband and wife have a long-term involvement in sporting clubs and the community in addition to their busy roles as owners of Macquarie Automotive.
Commitment to the city and to their customers has factored into their milestone 20 years in business, reached this week.
The duo marked the occasion by getting on with the work of servicing vehicles and keeping them on the road.
Mr Granger started as a mechanic at the age of 16, and worked at a dealership until the late 1990s.
The couple found an opportunity with Ultra Tune, purchasing the Dubbo franchise in 1999.
Four years later they moved to a bigger premises, their current workshop in Wheelers Lane, and in 2011 they parted ways with Ultra Tune, and started trading as Macquarie Automotive.
Mr Granger recalled they had started in business shortly before the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax in 2000.
"So that was all learning there, and I've sort of become jack of all trades, an IT person, an accountant, HR manager, stuff like that," he said.
"So it is a steep learning curve and you never stop learning about business."
Working in the industry came with challenges, including keeping pace with technology, but was also rewarding, Mr Granger said.
"We'd just like to thank our customers, our repeat customers who have been coming for 20 or whatever years they've been with us," he said.
We've also been fortunate enough to be able to help in the town as well...
- Macquarie Automotive co-owner Karen Granger
"So just thank them, it keeps us in business and hopefully we're keeping them happy and their cars on the road."
Mrs Granger said the two decades had been about more than business.
"We've also been fortunate enough to be able to help in the town as well, through swimming clubs and netball and cycling, sponsorship and even being on committees in several sporting groups," she said.
"...you've got to give back, if the customer supports you, you've got to give that back to them...
"We've taught our girls not everything is for free and you have to work for it, and you give back in either donations or by volunteering."
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