FP Faraday unveils merger plan
FP Faraday director Ian Blakemore told FoodProductionDaily.com the merger would present both UK companies with more opportunities across their respective sectors as they shared knowledge and expertise. It would also give them greater financial muscle.
“We specialise in technical R&D and applying innovation in food processing, while Quotec does the same with medical devices and materials," he said. “There are several areas where there are crossovers and we are already exploring these. Companies that know us in food processing should get more.”
The details of the business union are still being hammered out – with the task about 80 per cent done - and Blakemore forecast the deal should be completed by the end of June 2011.
FP Faraday, which was started in 2001, will be retaining its offices and incorporating workers from its new partner there. The parties have yet to decide on a new name for the joint venture although that is scheduled to be finalised in May.
Explaining how the synergies could materialise, the Faraday chief said: “The merger should help us broaden our outlook. For example, rather than just working with stainless steel, Quotec has expertise in composite materials. Also imagine looking at an operating theatre and examining what you take from it to a high-tech food processing site in terms of hygiene and material design and elements of process control.”
But in the meantime, Blakemore stressed that it was very much “business as usual with great potential for the future”.
Quotec managing director Alan Hickman said: “This merger makes the most of the skills and expertise of both companies, and gives us a stable platform to build for the future.”
