01732 759725
DEALER PROFILE
38
Now in its 25th year, The Midshire
Group has grown into a £25m
business, enjoying sustained success
and organic growth year-on-year
since 1990.
Managing Director Phil Powell
attributes the company’s success to its
commitment always to keep ahead of the
market. “With something like technology,
which is ever changing, it is imperative
to know what the next big technology
requirement will be for businesses. That
way we can be one of the first to bring
new and innovative products, solutions and
services to market,” he says.
Midshire was established in 1990 in
Birmingham, primarily to service the SME,
education, legal, political and not-for-
profit sectors. Seven years later it opened
a new branch, Midshire Business Systems
Northern, in Stockport, Manchester.
Until a few years ago, the two
companies operated as independent
business units. However, as Midshire
continued to expand, most recently with
the establishment of Midshire Business
Systems Cymru in Pontyclun, Wales in 2013
and Midshire Business Systems North East
in Sheffield last year, the directors decided
to make the most of being part of a group.
Three years ago they set common goals,
created a group marketing resource and
developed a new website, followed by a re-
branding last year. Each regional office is
led by a director and to some degree works
autonomously, but by pooling resources
and working to a shared agenda, the
group is reaping its reward.
Today, The Midshire Group is arguably
one of the largest independent office
technology resellers in the UK, with
215 staff and a MIF in excess of 10,000
nationwide. The company’s focus is firmly
on providing market-leading service and
forward thinking product offerings, while
placing customers’ current and future
needs at the forefront of any business
developments.
Its success in meeting these aims is
reflected in a string of achievements and
accreditations. The company is a Ricoh
Prestige Partner; was appointed a Sharp
Centre of Excellence in 2010; and achieved
Lexmark Accredited Partner status in 2012.
It has been a Samsung Platinum Service
Dealer since 2013, and last year also
became a Samsung Platinum Sales Dealer.
More recently it has achieved HP Gold
Partner status.
Changing with the times
Midshire has not lost sight of its core
business, namely the selling and servicing
of print and copy hardware, as well as
telecoms systems. But that has not stopped
it moving with the times. Its offering has
expanded and now includes sales, service
and support for the latest data security
solutions; desktop printers, multifunctional
products and digital production devices
from Ricoh, Sharp, Lexmark, Samsung,
RISO and HP; business telephone systems
and superfast business broadband; and a
full range of IT solutions.
“The industry is completely different
now to how it was in 1990,” explains
Powell. “We have had to move with the
The Midshire Group is marking its
25th anniversary with the opening of
a new Midlands base.
Changing with the times
times, time and time again. There will
always be a requirement in the office for
printers and copiers. However, we know
that the market is shifting toward printing
less and scanning more. As a supplier,
we now need to network machines for
internet capabilities, provide scan-to-email
functionality and support the wider use
of cloud services, such as DropBox and
Google Drive for example - a breadth of
functionality that wasn’t required 25 years
ago.
“In line with our mission to keep
ahead of the game, we have just launched
our own range of cloud-based products.
Desktop Monster is a hosted desktop
solution that we have built and developed
in-house. We know that this trend is only
going to increase, largely down to the
rise of mobile technology devices that are
being used for both work and pleasure.
People need and want access to their
documents wherever they are. We have
to respond as the market shifts, to ensure
we’re ready to deliver what our customers
want and need.
“We’ve worked hard and built a
reputation whereby our customers are
confident that the solutions we provide
will meet their goals in the short- and
long-term and deliver tangible benefits to
their business.”
Investing in the future
To help it do this, Midshire has invested
heavily, creating and building a dedicated
Midshire has
not lost sight
of its core
business,
namely the
selling and
servicing
of print
and copy
hardware,
as well as
telecoms
systems.
continued...
(l-r) Kevin Tunley, Sales Director; Darren Cooper, Sandwell Councillor; Phil Powell,
Managing Director
