Benefitting from being part of Indutrade

“My father started Adam Equipment from our garage”, Richard says. “I was five at the time and I remember I couldn’t get my bike out for all the scales. My father was determined to be successful and used to get up at three o’clock in the morning and go to London’s food markets to sell scales to the market traders.”

The company has long since outgrown the Storey family’s garage and is based in Milton Keynes since the early 1980s, from where it has started different branches. The first branch was established in South Africa, followed by the US, Australia, China and in 2015, the latest branch in Germany.

All companies need scales

“As we have locations in every continent, we can effectively supply each market. We have over 4,000 dealers globally and customers in more than 100 countries. We sell our products to essentially all types of companies. In fact, every manufacturing and trading company has items they need to weigh, even if it’s just the parcels they dispatch. We have, however, five main core areas: laboratory, industrial, retail, education and medical. Among our customers are several blue-chip companies and some of our customers need lots of different scales in their production processes,” Richard says.

Unanimous decision to sell

“I am the oldest of five sons and at one point all of us worked together with my father in the company so there was a succession plan. But as time went by, it became clear that there were several reasons for selling the business, some of our personnel were given shares, and after working hard for 47 years my parents had earned the right to a comfortable retirement. So, to be fair to everybody, we decided to sell and it was a unanimous decision.”

“We had many discussions with different parties, though Indutrade quickly became our benchmark for others. From the very first meeting it felt right. Their philosophy and what they said was in tune with what we wanted for the future; build on our success, maintain our values and family culture and create a stable, safe environment for our employees and customers. In 2019, Adam Equipment became part of the Indutrade Group. We wanted a safe place for the company to thrive and that is what we got”, Richard says.

We wanted a safe place for the company to thrive and that is what we got.

Increased knowledge of sustainability

“Having Indutrade as our owner has benefitted us in different ways. We established a formal Board of Directors with a clear meeting structure, and we formalised a number of internal processes leading to even more accurate control over the business. Before Indutrade, sustainability was not really on our radar, but Indutrade brought the knowledge and importance of sustainability to us and it has had a significant impact on how we do things. For instance, now in our design process we often use recycled materials for our product construction and our packaging materials are designed to use cardboard instead of polystyrene wherever possible. In addition, our products allow our customers to improve their efficiency in operations, ensure accuracy in production, help to reduce production waste and save money.”

Strong network

“The sale of the company also gave us access to an invaluable network within the Indutrade Group. Adam Equipment belongs to the Measurement & Sensor Technology (MST) business area and the mentorship it provides has added real value to our business. As a part of MST, we participate in quarterly meetings, before Covid-19 in person, but lately digitally. These meetings are an opportunity to come together as part of a greater team and learn from each other. All managing directors are exchanging experiences and knowledge and you can always call someone in the Group with your questions and share ideas.”

“Covid-19 has had a massive effect on our business from early on since our factory is based in Wuhan, China. The factory was shut down for 2.5 months and during that time Indutrade was very supportive and understanding, giving us advice and help without pressure, which was very important during this difficult time”, says Richard.

The future – continued profitable growth

“Going forward, we know that Indutrade continues to stand by us, in the background without interfering in the day-to-day business; just as it is now, but there if we need it. With its help, we have become much more structured, enabling us to focus on important issues and thereby grow and develop in a sustainable and profitable way. In the short term, we are focusing on a management re-organisation, hiring key management personnel while also launching new products. In the long-term, we aim to reach even more new markets and countries to continue our profitable growth.”

Going forward, we know that Indutrade continues to stand by us, in the background without interfering in the day-to-day business; just as it is now, but there if we need it.

“Although a lot has changed since we joined the Indutrade Group, Adam Equipment still is a family business, only now we’re also part of the Indutrade family,” concludes Richard.