Brand new

With the announcement that the ERIKS Group had acquired Wyko in November 2006, there was little detail available about the joining of the two companies and what that would mean for both customers and staff. Now, One of the first of these is the launch in the UK of ERIKS Sealing Technology. The new division is the combination of Wyko’s established seals business in the UK with the existing global ERIKS seals presence and will provide a new option for both UK OEM and MRO companies looking to source innovative sealing products and services. Indeed, ERIKS is actively targeting a gain in market share in the OEM market. The new division includes the Wyko seals division based in Halesowen, and Pioneer Weston in Warrington. This business currently has a 4% UK market share but with the launch of ERIKS Sealing Technology it plans to have a 10% market share in 2010, which represents a turnover of around £25 million. The way in which the change has been managed in the bringing together of Wyko and ERIKS is a good example for UK business, particularly in the engineering industry. The details of this change have been encompassed within a marketing campaign titled ‘That’s a big plus’, which readers will see in 2008. A small but crucial change was implemented in April 2007 with all staff being asked to answer the phone with the standard phrase “Hello, Wyko, an ERIKS company”. This was the first step in the journey to move to being an integrated group. In order to develop the 2,500 staff’s understanding of the way in which the business is moving forward has meant that more than 50 presentations have been delivered. These have included a UK sales conference, the launch of ERIKS International at Alkmaar in Holland as well as conferences for ERIKS Electro Mechanical Services and the Technology Centres. Between September 2007 and March 2008 all of the service centres and workshops in the UK will be completely re-designed and re-branded. To keep the momentum going it is planned to conduct regional events in 2008 to further educate customers and staff. And the launch of ERIKS Sealing Technology offers the first definitive example of what the coming together of the two companies can offer UK industry.