NEWS
Combining strengths
Elekem acquired by Ensinger
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lekem Ltd, a specialist plastics engineering company, has been acquired by Ensinger Ltd, a market leading manufacturer of engineering plastics, in a transaction managed by international M&A advisor BCMS. Elekem Ltd is a specialist polymer processing and engineering company focused on the fabrication of PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) and PEEK (Polyetheretherketone) products for final machining. The UK-based company employs a range of specifically developed processing techniques to produce its products, which are sold worldwide into a diverse range of industries including energy services, food, fluid handling, paper manufacturing, and chemical plant servicing. The acquirer, Ensinger Ltd, is a UK market leader in the manufacture of high performance and engineering plastics, semi-finished stock shapes and profiles, and in the machining of plastic finished components. The company operates nine sites across England, Wales and Scotland and is part of the Ensinger worldwide group, which employs a workforce of 2100 across 27 production and sales locations. Visit: www.ensinger.co.uk
OTUG International BV has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Royal Boskalis Westminster NV (Boskalis) to merge their European harbour towage operations. The decision is fully in line with KOTUG’s strategy and ambition to develop and increase its harbour towage footprint in Europe. This partnership involves a 50/50 joint venture between KOTUG and SMIT, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boskalis. The geographic scope of the venture covers the European Harbour towage market which relates to KOTUG’s existing harbour towage activities in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK and SMIT’s harbour towage activities in the Netherlands and Belgium.
ABB and Hitachi to form strategic power grid partnership
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BB and Hitachi have announced an agreement to form a joint venture for high voltage direct current (HVDC) system solutions in Japan. The new entity, to be based in Tokyo, will be responsible for the design, engineering, supply and after-sales services related to the DC system of HVDC 18 Industry Europe
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The combination will create a leading provider of harbour towage services in north-west Europe active in 11 ports and 4 countries with a fleet of approximately 60 harbour tugs, generating a total turnover of about €150 million. Besides operational synergies the joint venture will strengthen the market position of both companies. KOTUG’s CEO Ard-Jan Kooren: “The combined operation will allow us to meet the increasing demands of our international joint clients in order to deliver more efficiency. In a market that is consolidating we can offer competitive services against the highest operational and safety standards within the industry.” Visit: www.kotug.com
he Devon based design engineering firm, Supacat Group, has acquired local heavy fabrication and machining specialist Blackhill Engineering Services Ltd, providing Supacat with the ability to manufacture large structures. Supacat is part of the South West Marine Energy Park and the new capability will strengthen the South West’s supply chain in the Nuclear, Renewable Energy and associated markets. The acquisition expands the in-house capability and capacity available within the Supacat Group and complements Supacat’s key activity of providing innovative engineering solutions to the challenges faced by specialist industries. Blackhill adds heavy engineering to Supacat’s existing light to medium engineering. It brings a 60-tonne lifting capability, a rare resource in the region, and an additional 28,000 sq ft of workshop space divided between fabrication, assembly and a large and small machine shop. “The acquisition of Blackhill positions Supacat to collaborate on significantly larger renewable energy, nuclear and marine projects in the South West. It underlines our commitment to continuing the expansion of our renewables and marine business through appropriate teaming agreements, joint ventures or acquisitions,” said Nick Ames, managing director of Supacat Group. Visit: www.supacat.com
projects bringing in ABB’s latest technologies to the Japanese market where Hitachi will be the prime contractor. This is the first step of a strategic partnership between the two companies to contribute to the evolution of Japan’s power network. Hitachi and ABB will explore further strengthening of the relationship and address opportunities to
widen the scope for future collaboration. “ABB pioneered HVDC 60 years ago and has continually pushed the boundaries of this technology,” said Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO of ABB. “We are proud to enter into this partnership with Hitachi, with a solid reputation and extensive, 100-year experience in the Japanese market.” Visit: www.abb.com
KOTUG and Boskalis to merge European harbour towage operations
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Supacat acquires Blackhill Engineering
