The Somerset-based family firm was founded by John’s father, Leonard Meikle, in a lock-up garage in Taunton, selling car batteries and recharging the two volt accumulators that powered domestic radios back then.
After establishing a specialist auto-electrical repair service, the business then moved into parts wholesaling.
John said: “I was a salesman to start with, driving a two cylinder Jowett van with gravity-fed fuel delivery.
“Some of the local hills were so steep I had to reverse up them!
“Times have changed enormously since I started with the company and we have survived and prospered where others have not – we are one of only two family motor trade operators in our area that have survived since pre-war.
“I am quite sure that our survival is a result of our ongoing willingness to diversify.”
Through the fifties and sixties the company grew rapidly, adding several new services to its portfolio including car and commercial diesel system repairs and the supply of garage equipment, as well as a venture into the refinish market.
In the seventies Duncan and Andrew Meikle, the third generation of the family, joined the company.
By the end of the nineties the business had grown further, with ten branches throughout the South West and South Wales, over 100 staff and an annual turnover of £10 million.
Further diversification came during the 2000s with the establishment of two new business divisions; healthcare and diagnostics, along with the sale of the refinish division in 2008 due to high levels of competition and ever-reducing profit margins.
Today, the garage equipment division is currently rapidly increasing in size with a team of 15 sales specialists and accredited engineers.
Its diagnostics division, which now accounts for over half the company’s turnover, offers a comprehensive range of automotive diagnostic equipment and a specialist range of keys and key-programming equipment.
More recently, the Hickleys Automotive Academy training school has been set up offering highly specialist courses in the field of key-programming for domestic and auto-locksmiths where customers can learn highly technical skills and open up new business opportunities.
Robin Huish, managing director, said: “Hickleys has a real family feel to the company with many long-serving staff.
“The success of our business is built on our ability to offer “added benefit” to any product we sell, with quality installation, product support, technical support and long term maintenance, whether it’s a vehicle repair, a diagnostic product or a piece of garage equipment.
“The quality of our backup service sets us apart from our competitors and this is achieved by having a skilful, knowledgeable team of committed employees.
“I believe we have proved over 90 years that our company has the resilience, imagination and determination to adapt to changes and recognise the business opportunities they present.
“We look to the future with great confidence.”
For more information on the products and services Hickleys offers, please select the ‘more details’ link below.