Gazette Business

Basingstoke firm sells up to friendly US rival

By Richard Garfield

3:35pm Wednesday 25th January 2012

A WORLD leader in the design and manufacturer of electronic imaging products for the microfilm scanning and 3D scanning industries has been taken over by a one-time American rival.

Wicks and Wilson, based in Morse Road, at West Ham Industrial Estate, Basingstoke, has been bought by The Crowley Company, headquartered in Maryland.

Until the sale of the business for an undisclosed sum, Wicks and Wilson was owned by former managing director Bob Randall and sales and marketing director Ian McMinn.

The pair feel that The Crowley Company was the obvious choice to buy the business which makes equipment such as microfilm, microfiche and aperture card scanners at its Basingstoke factory.

Much of the components are sour-ced locally while 80 per cent of the company’s products go for export.

Bob said: “We’ve been competing against each other for years and Crowley has earned our respect.

“It was important for us to select a company which would continue to nurture the business which started in London during the early 1970s.”

For the time being, the business partners will stay on at the company as consultants, providing some continuity for the business.

Upbeat about the deal, and for the future of the business and its employees, Bob said: “The company will stay in Basingstoke – Crowley have bought it as their European headquarters, and as far as we can tell, the jobs are safe. We’ve been mutual competitors and it’s a small industry so everybody knows everybody else and we have got to know them well.”

Ian, 67, who is looking forward to his retirement, said: “Whilst it does provide a satisfactory exit, it’s an opportunity that does not come around too often.

“Sure, it enables me to retire, but it also gives the company added value for the future. We are pleased to be leaving the company in safe hands.”

Despite the recession, business has been steady for Wicks and Wilson, whose markets include Japan and Korea.

“The last three years have been tough, but business over the last three years has been stable,” said 54-year-old Bob, who, when the time is right, will look for other opportunities to focus on.

Set up in 1973 by Tony Wicks and Terry Wilson, the business moved to Basingstoke in 1978 and is currently based in a former Thornycroft building.

“Ian and I and a guy called Bob Brash, who retired in 2004, bought the company through a management buyout in 1999,” said Bob.

“At the time, it was a solution to allow Tony Wicks and Terry Wilson to retire – that’s why we did the buy-out. Things have moved on and we have run the business for 12 or 13 years.”

The Crowley Company’s president Christopher Crowley described it as “an honour to be given first look” at buying the company.

He said: “This purchase will allow us to broaden our microform offering, strengthen our international presence and ensure that we continue to be at the forefront of microform capture technology.

“Wicks and Wilson is a company with a strong industry reputation, excellent R&D which fits very well into our business model.”

He added that the Wicks and Wilson name will be retained, and that the business will be the platform for international growth.

“Having offices on two continents will allow us to take the next step in our expansion of services and technical support by allowing us to create production efficiencies and to solidify an international network of partners.”

• Email this page