J A Harrison Buys Acumen Seals

J A Harrison has purchased Acumen Seals.  The company was founded by two brothers Lawrence and Andrew Sykes.  Established in 1999 it imports and supplies mechanical seals used in everything from dishwashers and showers to chemical processing plants and oil refineries.

The company, which now employs five people and turns over £200,000, has been acquired by one of its customers, gasket manufacturer J A Harrison, based in Cheetham Hill.

Harrison is also a family firm. It was founded in 1900 and is also run by brothers Keith and Martin. It turns over £5.5m and has 55 staff.

Production director Martin said: “The deal made sense for us because we share a lot of the same customers with Acumen and there are a lot of opportunities to sell them our products too.

“It also gives Acumen more resources with a bigger company behind it which can invest in plant and equipment.”

Now Harrison has a plan to grow turnover to £10m within five years by targeting new customers in the Middle East and Asia, and is looking for Acumen to hit £1m in the same period.

It is set to invest £100,000 in 2011 on equipment that will allow Acumen to increase its seal refurbishing capability, which is cheaper for customers than buying new ones, and more environmentally-friendly.

It also plans to invest up to £130,000 on improving its online presence with an e-commerce website and marketing.

Andrew Sykes has now joined Harrison, but Lawrence is to focus on another business, eMarketing Excellence that specialises in website design and SEO.

Harrison, whose customers include Rolls-Royce and AstraZeneca, has another factory in Cardiff and a sales office in Prague.

It has also recently formed a partnership in Dubai, where it has set up a small manufacturing and sales operation to service the oil industry.

Martin said: “Customers there like to buy from a British company, but they want someone on the ground there and a quick service, which is why we invested in an outpost there.”

Contact Acumen Seals today on (+44) 0161 832 2282 or visit www.acumenseals.co.uk