About
Ray Hicks began his career as a teenager remanufacturing 3rd-party machinery for the photographic industry. Learning from the limitations of other companies’ products, in 1976 he assembled a core team of hardware and software engineers to form Hicks Equipment, Inc. The new company quickly became an international competitor to several older companies in the photo lab market. In addition to his role as President, Ray applied for and received 70 United States patents, many of which continue to pay royalties today.
Perceiving the transformation of photography from optical to digital technologies, in the early 1990's Ray utilized his experience in both marketing and manufacturing to develop a patented process that enabled customers to order prints electronically from digitized film negatives. The system became an industry standard, and was ultimately sold to Eastman Kodak in 2001.
While building his management team for Hicks, Inc., Ray was asked by several nationwide firms to provide IP evaluations on other projects. Through word-of-mouth Ray gained a reputation as someone with the right blend of engineering, manufacturing and marketing expertise to help them with sales and acquisitions.
In 2001 Ray formed SundaeCorp as a consulting group. Since then he has assisted, evaluated and invested in dozens of manufacturing concerns throughout the U.S., Europe, South America and Africa.
When not working, Ray is an avid pilot and golfer. He and his wife Irene divide their time between homes in Michigan, Florida, and South Africa.
If
you plan to purchase, sell or partner with a manufacturing company in
the future, we encourage you to continue reading. If you believe we can
be of service, call Ray Hicks directly at 810.610.3903.