About OMC Motor Group

The story of OMC Motor Group dates back to 1907. The man with the original idea was Ralph Rothwell Eglin who owned a bicycle shop in Yorkshire Street in Oldham.

The Oldham Motor Company came into being on 12th December 1907.The business took off almost straight away when the following January it signed agencies for Argyle and Rover cars as well as for Shell Spirit – the petrol being sold at that time not from petrol pumps but in two-gallon cans.

On 6^th October 1911 Oldham Motor Company signed up with Ford Motor Company as the lucky thirteenth Ford dealer in the United Kingdom.

Becoming associated with Ford had much to do with the fact that Ford was about to start assembling Model T cars at its new factory at Trafford Park, Manchester in 1911.

Oldham Motor Company moved to a new showroom and workshop in readiness for the Ford franchise. However, in the first year of business at the new premises the company only sold ten cars. Despite a tough start by the end of 1912 there were 25 staff employed and sales were on the up.

In the intervening years the business passed down through the Eglin family from father to son. Ralph and Ada’s son, Ralph junior, took over on his father’s death and then his two sons, Tony and Robin joined the business in the late sixties. It is still a family run business with the third and fourth generation of the Eglin family, Robin and Jonathan, running the business today.

Over the years OMC expanded and in the 1960’s moved across the road to a 4.2-acre site across from the old showroom on Manchester Road in Oldham. This enabled the business to grow and now OMC has dealerships in Oldham, Rochdale and Accrington, plus a separate site in Oldham for Commercial Vehicles

In 2008 OMC acquired the Kia franchise in Oldham and very quickly this new brand became very popular with both customers and staff.

From selling ten cars in 1911 OMC now sell over four and a half thousand new and used vehicles each year, with an annual turnover of over £70 million.

OMC currently employs over 160 people and the theme of family is reflected in our staff. We have different generations of the same family working across the business, and we like to see our staff as part of the OMC Family.

Reflecting on the company’s century with Ford Robin Eglin, OMC Director said, “OMC is built upon the history and tradition of over hundred years of being part of the community in Oldham. We always aim to provide the highest possible level of customer service based on our family values. We guarantee that our customers will always be our priority, and our business is focussed on delivering what our customers want from us.”

Taking over at the helm at OMC is Robin’s son Jonathan Eglin – the fourth generation of the Eglin family to run the business. Jonathan sees a bright future for OMC “being part of the Eglin family meant I grew up with Ford. I can clearly remember my first Ford car – it was a five-year-old Escort when I was seventeen and starting to drive.

I am passionate about taking the business forward and seeing new technology and the electrification of cars.

Many of our customers return to OMC because we have a strong family business ethos and are part of the local community. Even though my daughters are still at school, they may well be the fifth generation of the Eglin family to run OMC!”