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. Gordon McLoughlin our CEO, was 4 year old and 'in training' for the job ahead..

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.

Gordon joined the company in 1979 as a young salesman and over the years would work in the audio visual side of the company ultimately developing the specialist dental and medical systems which we continue to work with today.

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 before.

As technology moved forward in the 2000's so did Scotia UK plc developing and refining its own product. Created using the vast reservoirs of accumulative knowledge within the company, smots™ was born.

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 and has proven to be one of the modern clinician's most valuable tools. Many developments within the smots™ portfolio have included wireless bodyworn cameras, learning portal, and integrated IT solutions to enable the capture and sharing of video material for large numbers of students anywhere. COVID times brought a new developmental leap in enabling users to communicate with smots™ using MS Teams and Zoom thus maintaining teaching and communication pathways through even these most challenging times.

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. Our AV consultancy team are able to assist in all aspects of corporate head office facility development on a worldwide basis.

Through five decades Jim McLoughlin 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. When Jim died in 2014, Gordon McLoughlin took over operations and continues to run the company in its seventh decade!