Jim Traynor, managing director of W & J Knox, says the acquisition by The Aquafil Group of its fibre processing division is great news for the Scottish fish farming industry as it will enable Knox to further develop and expand its net manufacturing and marine services portfolio to the aquaculture sector.
“This is an exciting development as it means we can focus all our resources on the aquaculture side of the business,” he said.
“We have built our reputation as being a very service orientated business and this will be enhanced even further. It will also enable us to supply new types of netting and other equipment, as well as invest in our net maintenance and marine support services division.”
Following the agreement, Roger Dehany will retire from his role as general manager but will be retained by the company as a director. Marine director Dave Hutchens will move into the general manager role, with Finlay Oman remaining as technical sales director.
Jim Traynor said: “We have a great team in place and special praise should go to Roger Dehany who has been with the company for over 20 years but who has decided it is now time to partially retire. We are grateful Roger is staying on as a director, as his experience and knowledge will prove incredibly useful as the business moves forward.”
Recent new developments include the growing trend away from nylon to using tough HDPE netting on fish farm pens and the launch of Knox’s marine support division in 2008, which provides a wide range of workboat support services. The services portfolio includes a net maintenance unit.
Established in 1778, W & J Knox of Kilbirnie in North Ayrshire is one of Scotland’s oldest manufacturing companies. According to Jim Traynor, the key to the success of W & J Knox has been its ability to adapt and evolve in line with changing market conditions, combined with its focus on customer service.
“These attributes are at the very heart of our business philosophy and we look forward to continuing to work closely with our partners in the fish farming industry to ensure we have products and services that fully meet their changing requirements.”
