The three EDC companies: EDC Scotland, EDC North East and EDC Air Compressors united to become EDC Integrated Ltd which is now 100% owned by an Employee Ownership Trust on behalf of the 47 employees.
EDC Scotland and EDC North East supply, install and repair ABB variable speed drives and motors and conduct instrumentation calibration for a range of industries and blue-chip companies and is now in its 30th decade. The air compressor division was established in 2016 and, working in combination, the trio of companies provides an unparalleled and integrated service in variable speed drives, motors and air compressors.
"We decided to transition to an EOT to preserve the culture, drive and motivation which created the company and to work even more closely with our customers & suppliers", said Nick Brown, Managing Director.
Added Nick: "The EOT puts our people at the heart of the business. We see it as an opportunity to give our clients even better service. Who better to take the company into the future than the employees themselves and they should continue to share in its success".
Nick will remain as Managing Director, reporting to the Trust.
The employees of EDC voted three directors to the board of the Trust: David Kerr and Amy Reilly from EDC Scotland and Matthew Hutton from EDC North East. David Kerr is our Technical Director and has been with EDC for 22 years whilst Amy Reilly is the company’s Control & Protection Product Manager and has been an employee since 2017. Matthew Hutton is the EDC NE Office Manager and has been with the company 7 years.
Speaking about their election they said: “This is a fantastic move by the shareholders. They are demonstrating tremendous faith in the employees and it’s up to us to continue their success. We have the most brilliant team at EDC and we're sure we speak for everyone when we say we’re up for the challenge.”
The transaction completed on 26th March 2024. Financial Director, Simon Hood, led the transaction on behalf of the company. He says, “Once we had decided this was the route we wanted to pursue, we spent some time exploring who we would select as advisors to support the transaction. We spoke to other employee-owned firms and gained much from their experience. We then interviewed several advisory companies, some based on recommendation. One observation is that the costs quoted were widely variable. I believe we could not have done better than the advisers that we finally chose. We had confidence in the advice given and the transaction was not only smooth but actually quite enjoyable. I think we also received good value for money.
The staff were informed of the plans as soon as the shareholders decided this was the way forward. John Guthrie, General Manager of EDC North East said, “I’m so proud to be part of the EDC team. Our move to Employee Ownership Trust means ALL employees will benefit from our success. A big thank you to all our staff and our valued customers who have supported us along the way!”
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