Stroud based Autonumis acquired by South African manufacturing group Directech

By Nicky Godding

23 March 2022

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Autonumis, the Stroud-based manufacturer of refrigerated drinks dispensers, bottle coolers and vending machines, has been acquired by Peak Analysis & Automation (‘PAA’), part of Directech Global.

Established in 1962, Autonumis is a light engineering company employing 52 people and supplies its products to major brand owners, distributers and end users in the UK, Europe and acoss the world.

The business faced financial challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, notably during the lockdown of the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors and with the support of business advisory firm FRP, the directors at Autonumis began a sale process to find an investor to take the business forward.

Last Wednesday, advisory company FRP’s Jonathan Dunn and Gareth Morris were appointed as administrators and immediately completed a sale securing all jobs and the future of the manufacturing site, seeing Autonumis join laboratory robotics specialist PAA.

PAA is part of a South African manufacturing group, Directech, which is an engineering, procurement, construction and manufacturing business, with companies operating in a range of sectors, including robotics, machine building, tooling, guided vehicles, telemetry, packaging and spray painting. Directech through PAA also owns Peak Robotics a US based company specialising in collaborative laboratory robots and plate storage.

Graham Keen, General Manager, of Autonumis which is based at Aston Down near Minchinhampton, said: “We’re thrilled to be joining Directech. The group’s backing provides critical investment to support our operations and our growth ambitions. Our team has been incredible during some challenging times during the pandemic. The interest from Directech is testament to the skills, experience and drive of all our people and we’re hugely excited about working together to take the business forward.”

A spokesman for Directech said: “Autonumis brings an exciting range of new products to the Directech stable as well as an extended capability for vertical manufacturing and assembly and the development of new products into our current markets. We welcome Autonumis’ 52 employees to the Directech family.”

Jonathan Dunn, Director at FRP and Joint Administrator, said: “There are many fundamentally sound businesses that have struggled to recover from the pandemic, particularly those supporting the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. Autonumis took proactive steps to address its financial challenges and is now embarking on a new journey as part of a global manufacturing group. It is a pleasure to have supported the team and secure a positive outcome for the business and its employees.”

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.