13
PRO INSTALLER DECEMBER 2016
PRO NEWS
@proinstaller1
AUTO-LOCKSMITH’S
90 YEARS IN BUSINESS
Hickleys Automotive Academy training school offers specialist courses
in key-programming for domestic and auto-locksmiths. Here, customers
can learn highly technical skills and open up new business opportunities.
Pro Installer explores the company’s remarkable 90-year history.
At the age of 93, starting work at 8.30am is
still the daily routine
for John Meikle at
Somerset-based family
firm, Hickleys Ltd. It is
77 years since he first
joined and this year the
company celebrates 90
years in business.
The company was founded by his father, Leonard
Meikle, in a lock-up garage
in Taunton where he made
a living selling car batteries
and recharging the two volt
accumulators that powered
domestic radios in those
days. The company then
established a specialist
auto-electrical repair service and moved into parts
wholesaling.
John said: “I was a salesman to start with, driving a two cylinder Jowett
van with gravity-fed fuel
delivery. Some of the local
hills were so steep I had to
reverse up them! Times have
changed enormously during
my time with the company
and we have survived and
prospered where others
have not – we are one of
only two family motor trade
operators in our area that
have survived since prewar. I am quite sure that
our survival is a result of
our ongoing willingness to
diversify.”
Through the 1950s and
1960s the company grew
strongly, adding several
new services to its portfolio
including car and commercial diesel system repairs
and the supply of garage
equipment. Subsequently,
a tentative move into the
refinish market was made
through one salesman and
a van stocked with a range
of refinish products such as
paint, fillers and abrasives.
The venture was an instant
success and rapid expansion
followed.
In the 1970s Duncan and
Andrew Meikle, the third
generation of the family,
joined the company. By the
end of the 1990s the business had grown further with
ten branches throughout the
south west and South Wales,
over 100 staff and an annual
turnover of £10 million.
In the 2000s came further
diversification with the
establishment of two new
business divisions - healthcare and diagnostics. At
about the same time a decision was taken to withdraw
from the refinish market
due to high levels of competition and ever-reducing
profit margins. The Refinish
Division was sold in 2008.
Current chairman Duncan Meikle said: “Selling
the Refinish Division was a
very difficult decision as it
represented more than 50%
of the company. However, success and longevity
in business is as much to
do with knowing when to
get out of a market as it is
choosing markets to expand
into.”
The Garage Equipment
Division is currently rapidly
increasing in size with a
team of 15 sales specialists
and accredited engineers.
Hickleys covers the vast
majority of the UK and can
offer anything from a lift
repair to a full garage installation. Its close association
with Bosch has developed
H N Hickleys Ltd in the mid 1940’s
John Meikle on the
delivery bicycle he used
to ride over 70 years ago
to a position where it is the
UK stockist for the range of
Bosch vehicle lifts and MOT
bays. The company also
has a network of engineers
that can offer a range of
emission tester calibration
services across the UK.
The Diagnostics Division,
which now accounts for
over half the company’s
turnover, offers a comprehensive range of automotive
diagnostic equipment and a
specialist range of keys and
ke