He's helped build buses, limousines and luxury yachts in a career that’s taken him to Australia and back – twice.

Now Brett Wadsworth, who runs car interior trim specialist Alpha Auto Concepts from premises at Shelley, is in big demand by the owners of vintage and classic cars as well as modern day motors who want their vehicles to stand out from the crowd.

And while he may have swapped the sunny skies of Western Australia for Huddersfield’s changeable climate, Brett is enjoying life with wife Debbie and children Josie and Max.

Young Brett attended Holmfirth High School before embarking on a four-year apprenticeship as a coach builder with bus firm Yorkshire Rider and studies at Kitson College in Leeds.

He later moved into the bodyshop and in time learned a range of mechanical, electrical. painting and trimming skills.

Brett worked alongside men who had honed their skills with coach firm Rippon Brothers.

He says: “When I started, they were still making ash-framed buses and had panel beaters making the wheel arches out of aluminium.

“I learned the traditional way of doing things. I was lucky to work with those guys.”

It was the kind of craftsmanship that is all too rare in the motor manufacturing industry today, says Brett.

“The only people who employ those kinds of skills now are firms like Aston Martin or Morgan,” he adds.

In the late-1990s, Brett and Debbie went backpacking, firstly to South Africa and then to Australia.

Down Under, Brett landed a job in marine trimming, working on the interiors of luxury yachts moored in Sydney Harbour.

He says: “It was one of the best jobs I ever had – looking at Sydney Harbour Bridge and working at Double Bay Marina on boats belonging to celebrities like Kerry Packer. I also got to know actor Sam Neil. I thought how lucky I was to be working there.”

Returning to the UK. Brett worked for a Huddersfield company doing interior trim work before setting up for himself – working from a shed in his mothers’ back garden.

He ran the business for seven years, featuring in motor magazines and building up a reputation for the quality of his work on everything from car trims to full vehicle restorations.

Then it was Return to Oz! Says Brett: “The Australian immigration minister said the country needed 96,000 skilled workers. We fancied a change at the time and we went for it.”

Brett went to work for a limousine builder in Perth. “The firm invested and they got more and more orders,” he says. “They went from two or three guys in the trim shop to employing 10 and I became shopfloor manager.

“I also learned more skills. Anything to do with interiors, I made it my mission to master it.”

Five-and-a-half years after emigrating to Australia, Brett and Debbie returned to Huddersfield in May this year and set up Alpha Auto Concepts in August.

Brett Wadsworth of Alpha Auto Concepts in Shelley.
Brett Wadsworth of Alpha Auto Concepts in Shelley.

The business occupies premises at Barncliffe Mills at Shelley.

The unit provides a light and spacious workshop and a showroom, which the Wadsworths intend to develop as a reception and display area.

Brett’s clients are car owners who want to make a statement. “They want to imprint their personality on their car,” he says. “They want to make it their own. My job is to help them realise their vision.

“It’s like creating a tailor-made suit! But I can advise and make suggestions, too.

Brett draws inspiration from the top names in transport. “I look at the likes of Rolls-Royce, Bentley or Lear jets,” he says. “They are at the top of their game, they see what’s new and they know what their customers want.”

Brett doesn’t always agree with his customers’ preferences, however.

“One client wanted the car interior trim to be bright blue and yellow,” he recalls. “I didn’t like it, but the customer’s always right!”

Matters of questionable taste aside, Brett’s pleased to be back home.

“I visited people I knew in the industry and people I used to do work for,” he says.

“The general feeling was they were glad to see me back. There aren’t many guys with our set of skills left and we all tend to know each other. If there’s something one of us can’t do, they will refer the customer to someone who can.”

The Wadsworths now live in New Mill. Says Brett: “I didn’t want to be too far from my workplace.

“I didn’t want to be commuting and getting stuck in traffic. I like the area and I like our premises. I can work in good, natural light and in the summer it is really bright.”

Brett has plans to develop the business, including looking at so-called discreet transportation, such as mobile offices.

The idea is to convert a van or people carrier to provide an office for up to four people with all mod-cons and luxury fittings such as tinted windows and reclining seats to allow high-powered business people and their PAs to carry on working as their driver whisks them along the motorway.

However, restoration and interiors remain the mainstay of the business.

Says Brett: “I like to see the customer’s face after I’ve completed the job and they open the car door for the first time and go ‘wow’.”

Brett’s interests away from work include bike riding, aikido and golf – although the course at Bradley where he often plays isn’t likely to spring as many surprises as some of the “hazards” to be confronted on those in Australia.

“I played a lot of golf out there,” he says.

“There was a fantastic 18-hole course in the suburbs where we lived and I would play two or three times a week.

“On one occasion, I chipped up onto the green to be confronted by a six-foot, alpha-male kangaroo watching me. I was in too minds about playing my next shot!”

Role: Owner

Age: 40

Family: Married to Debbie with daughter Josie, nine’ and Max, four

Car: Astra 2-litre – and the works van!

Holidays: We love America, particularly Florida and New York

First job: Collecting glasses and bottles at the White Hart, New Mill

Best thing about job: Providing customer satisfaction and seeing their reaction when they open the car door and say ‘wow’

Worst thing about job: Feeling under pressure. People do their best work when they’re relaxed

Business tip: Maintain a good relationship with other peopl in your industry – you never know when you might need their help or advice

Work: Vehicle intrior specialist

Site: Barncliffe Mills, Shelley

Phone: 01484 603000

Email: sales@alphaauto concepts.co.uk

Website: www.alphaauto concepts.co.uk