*Ei Electronics’ Shannon campus. Photograph: Joe Buckley
SHANNON COMPANY Ei Electronics has acquired its Sydney based Australian distributor, Brooks PTY.
On Friday, Ei announced that it had acquired the Australian company for an undisclosed sum.
Employing 35 people throughout Australia, Brooks is the leading supplier of fire detection products to the residential and commercial sectors in that territory. The company employs 26 at its Sydney Headquarters, with an additional 9 in sales and support roles in Qld, WA, Vic and SA.
Founded in 1977 the Brooks name is synonymous with quality and innovation and today the Company occupies a leading position in the market, in particular with key public and community housing associations across all states.
It also supplies its own range of residential panel systems and has a longstanding relationship with Panasonic, as its exclusive technology partner for the Panasonic suite of Commercial Panel solutions, a partnership which has been in place since 1985. Ei have said they look forward to growing this side of the Brooks business and working with Panasonic.
Brooks employs 26 people at its Sydney headquarters, with an additional 9 Interstate in sales and support roles. As part of the acquisition, Ei plans to maintain and grow the Brooks brand in Australia.
Ei’s relationship with Brooks began thirty years ago. CEO of Ei Electronics, Mick Guinee stated, “In the intervening time both businesses have grown significantly. Our cultures and values were a match from the start and over the last quarter of a century this has been the foundation of a mutually beneficial and highly successful business”.
He added, “Another key attraction for Ei is the Brooks Team. Whilst we are acquiring a business, a strong brand, and a loyal customer base, we are also acquiring many years of experience with the committed team that is in place. Our objective is to grow this team, and expand the business with our new generation of cloud-based ‘Connected Home’ and IOT solutions”.
Brooks Managing Director Cameron Brooks said, “This is a very positive development for Brooks and in many ways a natural evolution for us. Down through the years Ei has delivered best in class European-manufactured product. We in turn have built a first-class sales and distribution network in this region, backed up by an experienced team. I’m confident that this signals the beginning of a new phase of successful growth for Brooks”.
Up until this acquisition, Brooks had been a private, family owned and operated company in existence for over 45 years. Founder Peter Brooks grew the business from humble beginnings as an electrical contracting company working on the Sydney Opera House. It has grown to what is today, a market leader in dry fire safety systems and solutions.
With a turnover in 2022 in excess of €390 million, and 1,250 employees worldwide, Ei Electronics commands a leadership position globally as a manufacturer of residential fire and gas detection products. The company is 100% Irish owned and is in existence for over 55 years.
Over 30 years ago it became a fully-fledged Irish Company after a management buy-out from General Electric under the direction of Guinee in 1988. Mick still retains the role of CEO and Chairman of the Group. Today Ei Electronics is one of the most significant employers in the Mid-West. It occupies a 32,000m2 campus in Shannon where all business functions are headquartered; R&D, Sales and Marketing, Manufacturing, Customer Service and Finance & Admin.
With customers in over 30 countries worldwide, Ei also employs an additional 100 people in its five wholly owned overseas subsidiaries in the UK, Germany, France, the USA and Australia, bringing total headcount today to over 1,250. Over 90% of turnover is accounted for by exports, the primary overseas markets today being the UK, Germany, France USA, The Netherlands and Australia.
Earlier in 2022 the company completed the expansion of its Shannon Campus. The new development comprises a 3 storey, 10,000m2 building adjoining its existing headquarters. It includes additional manufacturing capacity, R&D, and office space, to significantly expand its current production capacity.
January 2020 saw the opening of its new UK Headquarters in Oswestry, Shropshire. This also coincided with the 30th anniversary of Ei’s UK subsidiary Aico. This came on the back of an expansion of Ei’s German facility in 2019. In July 2020, Ei acquired Bristol based Company HomeLINK to further expand Ei’s footprint in the Connected Home and IOT arena. A suite of Environmental Sensor solutions developed jointly by Ei and HomeLINK were brought to market in the middle of 2021.
