Joe Hemani: There is more to come

Westcoast boss hints at more activity after M&A spurt at the start of the year

Ambitious Westcoast Holdings chief Joe Hemani has more growth plans for this year as he finalises the deals over Viglen and consumables firm QC Supplies.

The well-publicised merger between XMA and Viglen was completed last week as the two firms plan an assault on the public sector space, particularly around education.

But another deal was also struck in early January for Halifax-based print consumables firm QC Supplies, which specialises in ink cartridge and toner supplies and has offices across Europe including the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Germany.

Hemani said the firm is now “100 per cent owned by XMA/Viglen”, but will work as an independent company under the umbrella of XMA, adding yet another string to their services bow.

“We are going to expand on that theme,” he said.

Former QC Supplies owner John Crabtree will stay on as managing director of the business, he confirmed.

Hemani added that the driver for both acquisitions was the opportunity it provided his employees and a need to push boundaries.

“If we don’t constantly push for growth it is too easy to just become a lifestyle business,” he said. “I have big plans and I am not finished yet. There are people in the company that need to be challenged and grow their careers. We are a people company. These deals create opportunity for us, our customers, employees and our vendors.”