In November 1963, the very same month as the assassination of JFK, the first episode of Doctor Who and the introduction of the first ever push button phone Jim McLoughlin started to mould, what has become, one of the longest established and most respected companies in it's field with the formation of Scotia UK plc.
Scotia Office Machines Limited, as it was known then, started selling electric adding machines and the very latest automated typewriter from Germany, the Ultronic 800. This investment in new technology has become one of the defining trademarks and one of the key components in the on going and continued success of Scotia.
In a world where the first fax machine and office email were still years away Scotia kept pace with technology by supplying paper rolls for telex machines and well as other state of the art computer consumables such as diskettes, tapes and cartridges.
With computers still taking their first tentative steps in the modern office such consumables were vital for their operation and proved to be a vital part of Scotia's business.
1970 saw the opening of the Castle Terrace office and stationery showroom situated in the capital beneath the dramatic backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. With many changes to both the industry and the company the Edinburgh office has remained Scotia's base of operation right up to the present day.
Always evolving, never standing still Scotia kept ahead of the curve and at the cutting edge of technology by supplying the very latest in dictation machines, computer supplies and visual products.
Scotia has always been about information and how that information is presented therefore the move towards more presentation orientated equipment in the 1970's was both a natural and logical progression.
Equipment such as overhead projectors and screens became along with the established stationery side of the business an important part of what propelled Scotia forward.
As Scotia grew, expanding beyond Castle Terrace, it opened warehouse and office facilities across the country in Sauchiebank, Gateshead and Suffolk giving Scotia the ability to reach across the UK and beyond.
In the Orwellian year of 1984 Scotia UK plc came of age celebrating an impressive uninterrupted 21 years in business.
By now a well established brand Scotia was still moving forward and expanding into new technologies whilst retaining a strong belief in its core values. With advances in presentation technology moving forward in the 90's and computers becoming more and more a part of working life Scotia moved forward with products that could present like never.
As technology moved forward in the 2000's so did Scotia UK plc developing and refining it's own product. Created using the vast reservoirs of accumulative knowledge within the company smots™ was born in 2005. The Scotia Medical Observation and Training System has become another prestigious feather in the company's hat exporting to hospitals and training facilities across the globe.
The mobile smots™ trolley, an integral part of the smots™ range has been designed and refined to work unobtrusively in any medical environment. smots™ has now become the default industry standard for medical observation technology, used and valued around the world smots™ has proven to be one of the modern clinicians most valuable tools.
Scotia UK plc have installed audio-visual presentation and communication technology into every imaginable sector, from corporate to retail, from education to the public sector and more.
Through five decades Jim McLoughlin has steered Scotia UK plc steadily and successfully through all manner of economic, technological and social changes, an enviable achievement for any company in any era. By adapting, evolving, learning and sticking steadfastly to the basic principals of customer care Scotia UK plc has done what so few have and has become an established classic.