Klarius Chairman Named Entrepreneur of the Year

Tony Wilson Chairman and COO of the Klarius Group has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by a panel of judges acting on behalf of EN magazine, which bills itself as ‘the magazine for Entrepreneurs.” Wilson is credited with purchasing and swiftly returning to profitability the emissions control division of Arvin Meritor in 2007. He then repeated the move with the larger £300 million turnover Quinton Hazell buyout in February of this year, and reportedly returned that part of the business to profitability within three months.

Klarius also announced this month that the Group is posting ‘solid and substantial profits’ just six months after the multi-million pound buyout of automotive aftermarket giant Quinton Hazell (QH). The company has exceeded internal targets for reorganising the business, finding substantial efficiencies, and reaching overall profitability ahead of schedule. This positive situation has allowed Tony Wilson to bring plans for further acquisitions forward, based on a solid fiscal base with predicted organic growth also exceeding expectations.

Tony Wilson, commenting from the new Group HQ offices located at the Voyager building at Manchester Airport added: “We went into the QH deal with a very pragmatic picture of what we could achieve in the short-term and a very positive plan for what we hoped to achieve in the future. Thanks to an excellent management team and some really hard work and outstanding commitment from all the employees within the Group we are already moving forward in a fast, profitable and sustainable manner. It is gratifying to be presented with the award as it reflects well on the entire organisation, not just the individuals at top management level.”

EN’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award is an accolade for owner-managed businesses. According to Klarius, The Entrepreneur of the Year Awards is regarded as an opportunity to recognise formally the outstanding contribution that those businesspeople make. The award was announced on 16 September 2010.

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