HiQ expands in three Swedish cities following the acquisition of Headlight
Earlier this year, HiQ acquired Headlight Group, consisting of Headlight and Relight. This acquisition is an important part of HiQ’s expansion journey and will bring new job opportunities to the cities of Västerås, Örebro and Borlänge due to the great recruitment need. The news comes just weeks after the acquisition was announced and is an important part of HiQ’s effort to become Northern Europe’s leading tech consulting firm.
– We’re so excited to be expanding to Borlänge and in the cities of Örebro and Västerås! This merger enables us to expand further in the Swedish market and bring new jobs to all three cities while also affording us the opportunity to work together with companies in these areas. This is a good step for us on our expansion journey. Let’s go big!, says Sven Ivar Mørch, CEO of HiQ.
In mid-April this year, HiQ announced the acquisition of IT specialists the Headlight Group, consisting of Headlight and Relight, as part of HiQ’s mission to position itself as the leading tech consulting firm in Northern Europe. Headlight AB was founded in 2001 and is a consulting firm that has established itself through strong growth as an IT partner for successful companies and authorities. Through their areas of expertise, leadership, business and system development, they offer a holistic concept for digitalisation by helping their customers every step of the way, from strategy and management to development and administration. HiQ is now saying hello to 100 new employees from Headlight, based in the cities of Örebro, Västerås and Borlänge. In Örebro and Västerås, they are joining existing HiQ offices, while Borlänge is the first office in that city. Headlight will be part of HiQ’s expansion journey, enabling the company to take on even more customers and increase expertise in leadership as well as business and system development.
– Through the merger with Headlight we’re gaining fantastic new staff with invaluable expertise, as well as a customer base and merits that make HiQ stronger. Having an even greater presence in the Swedish market is fundamental to our expansion and an important building block, not only for growth in Sweden but also in Northern Europe. I’m sure we’ll work wonders together, says Sven Ivar Mørch, CEO of HiQ.
The acquisition and merger also means a change of name, as Headlight AB will now be known as HiQ. The name change also benefits existing customers, who now have even more expertise to call on in most cities. It also enables the possibility to welcome more customers. Headlight will play an important role in expanding HiQ further into the Swedish market and making it the leading tech consulting firm in Northern Europe. Västerås, Örebro and Borlänge play a significant role providing job opportunities in the cities as Headlight joins HiQ on its expansion journey. These areas are also important university cities and business hubs. This means that in addition to job opportunities, students have a potential path into working life via HiQ Leap, the company’s trainee programme, which will be launched in spring 2022.
Locally in the region, HiQ will be an even stronger player after the acquisition of Headlight, with a broad offering in IT, business development, system development, project management and web development for both private businesses and the public sector. HiQ’s clear position in industrial technology development is also boosted by strong investment in the business area of Research & Technology, an area based on Research & Development, but which for HiQ has resulted in a greater focus on technology. The business line director at HiQ is Hanna Pehrson.
– HiQ is well established in Mälardalen industry and is now a strong partner for many leading players in the manufacturing industry in the area. The merger with Headlight means that we will be able to offer even more in areas such as sustainability, Industry 4.0, autonomous, product development and 5G application development. We can welcome more customers and create even more jobs. This makes us an even more important player for industry and business in Mälardalen, says Hanna Pehrson, Business Line Director for Research & Technology at HiQ.
– This will really benefit Mälardalen. Together we have a very exciting position and are building a fantastic workplace for everyone who wants to be at the forefront of digitalisation. We have a great recruitment need, which will lead to many new jobs in all three cities. We need more skilled people to join us, concludes Per-Olof Rosén, former CEO of Headlight, now site manager for HiQ in Västerås, Örebro and Borlänge.
