Midwich and Sahara take on former Steljes staff

Diss-based distributor Midwich says it has taken on 30 new starters in hiring push

Distributors Midwich and Sahara Presentation Systems have each taken on six former staff from fallen rival Steljes, the former as part of a wider recruitment drive.

Norfolk-based Midwich has hired 30 new staff (some of whom are pictured) in roles ranging from brand campaign manager to logistics co-ordinator, solutions specialist and general sales manager.

Six of these are former employees of Steljes, which went into administration in May and whose principle vendor, SMART, Midwich now distributes.

Kevin Batley, managing director of Dartford-based Sahara, which distributes SMART competitor Clevertouch, confirmed that his company also took on six Steljes staff in the run-up to and aftermath of its collapse.

Batley said there is "everything to play for" as UK schools continue to replace older interactive whiteboard technology with next-generation interactive flat panels (IFPs).

"There were over 800,000 that needed replacing and we think about 150,000 have already been replaced," he said.

According to Batley, Clevertouch was the first to market with IFPs, leaving IWB market leaders SMART and Promethean playing catch-up. SMART, however, is intent on gaining ground in the UK IFP market, having ramped up UK headcount from two to nearly 40 in recent months.

"We were first to market in 2009 and for three years we had no competitors - SMART and Promethean were initially slower to market," Batley said. "Given all the changes that have happened, we're in very interesting times and there are only four or five serious players fighting it out for that market."

Meanwhile, about 15 former Steljes staff have been employed by Avocor, a new manufacturer and distributor set up by Steljes founder Nigel Steljes last month.

Iain Campbell, sales director at Midwich - which floated on AIM in May - said in a statement: "We are delighted to be able to announce so many talented individuals joining Midwich. Our employees are the expertise in this business and they are crucial to our success. We are always looking to invest in our existing workforce and to bring in new specialists to drive our already high levels of service."

Midwich stressed that the new hires are spread across the group, which operates not only in the UK but also mainland Europe and Australia.