18.11.20 We sat down with Hayley 247's Managing Director Mark Brady to find out more...
Hayley 247 was formed in April 2009. The founder, Mark Brady, had 23 years of experience in mechanical engineering, industrial gearbox refurbishment, machining, fabricating and general mechanical repairs, learned from an apprenticeship that began in 1986.
In late 2009, Leon Willits and Ben Noakes, who were the primary shareholders at the Hayley Group, became partners in 247 Engineering (as it was known at the time). Due to the connection to the Hayley Group and Liam Bernie, who had founded Hayley Bearings in 1976, 247 Engineering Services Ltd, was reincorporated in 2011 as Hayley 247 Engineering Services Limited. Ultimately, the business sold shares in 2017 and became fully owned by the European engineering giant, Descours & Cabaud- who remain the current owners. Hayley 247 are associated to their Dexis Europe network, the partner of industrial sectors.
Descours & Cabaud were founded in 1782 and are one of the top 40 oldest companies in the world. Over the years they have become a leader in distribution and professional supplies to industrial and construction sectors. Furthermore, they are a leading player in France and a major competitor in Europe and North America. The Descours & Cabaud ownership enabled Hayley 247 to design and undertake a strategy that fulfilled the needs of the market, allowing the acquisition of Drive Management Services Limited within the first year of group control, selected due to their expertise in condition monitoring services. Due to Descours & Cabaud being family-owned, it means they are not under the pressures from the markets and other people to produce short term results, so they are free to strategically plan for sustainable results for the longer-term. Also, they are recognised for building lasting partnerships with their customers by helping them to achieve their continual gains in productivity, performance and innovation.
The acquisitions continued, with the purchase of Lamond and Murray, one of the UK’s leading precision gear manufacturers, in 2019, and of WMH Transmissions and Apex Transmissions in early 2020. Mark Brady, Hayley 247’s Managing Director, explained the reasoning behind this, stating that they are “bringing the capability and expertise in-house to have more control over the whole process, improving the quality of manufacture and levels of service”. This enables them to reduce their delivery lead times and be transparent with any issues that may arise. They have seen great success providing their services throughout the Hayley Group branch network who predominantly deal with large blue-chip companies in a variety of sectors, including Severn Trent Water , Network Rail, JLR , Tata Steel, Kerry Group and Tarmac.