The first investment
A small family loan helped put the first van and chainsaw on the road.
Darvel Bulletin · Autumn 2026 · Part One
One van.
One chainsaw.
One big idea.
Alan McLeish began with a £300 loan and a determination to work. The company that followed would change railway maintenance—and remain rooted in Darvel.
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Where it began
Quality
Tree
Surgeons.
The name QTS began literally: Quality Tree Surgeons.
With a second-hand van, a chainsaw and £300 borrowed from his mother, Alan set out on his own. Early jobs were practical and physical. They also revealed a bigger opportunity: vegetation management beside Britain’s railways.
Rail work demanded more than cutting trees. It needed planning, safe systems, specialist machinery and a team capable of working in difficult places at difficult hours.
Offices
The business developed a presence across the country while keeping its Darvel identity.
People
By 2018 QTS had grown into a major employer and specialist railway contractor.
Engineering the next answer
Machines made
for the work
ahead.
QTS did not simply buy equipment. It adapted and invented it.
Road-rail vehicles allowed teams to reach work sites safely and efficiently. Investment in machinery, training and staff welfare helped build trust with Network Rail and other clients.
The company was sold to Renew Holdings in 2018 for £80 million. Alan remained in leadership, carrying forward the standards, charitable support and people-first culture that shaped the business.
About this story
A Darvel business story.
Adapted from Ken Mair’s interview with Alan McLeish, published as Part One in The Darvel Bulletin, Issue 31, Autumn 2026.
The story continues in a future issue.