Muir of Ord-based firm engineers new acquisition; Ross-shire Engineer has sights set on massive expansion
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
AN engineering group with its headquarters in Muir of Ord has expended its field of operations with another acquisition.
RSE (Ross-Shire Engineering) says its second major acquisition in England will enhance its offering nationwide.
It has announced a majority ownership in Aciem Ltd, which provides engineering solutions to UK water authorities from its facilities near Bath, in Leeds and at Port Talbot in Wales.
The deal - which continues RSE’s drive to create sustainable local employment through its multi-market hedging approach - will see RSE take up a majority equity share in the business whilst retaining the key skills of the Aciem management team.
Managing director, Allan Dallas, said: “We are delighted to welcome Aciem into the RSE group of businesses. We have enjoyed great success in the past year exporting our award-winning water treatment systems into the English market, with demand growing faster than we first expected. We acquired Aciem - which has a track record with multiple water authorities across England - to bolster our management, our engineering resources and trade level skills in the regions that we are experiencing growth.
“We expect the acquisition of Aciem to further consolidate our position as leaders in our field. Against a backdrop of uncertainly in the oil and gas market, we continue to recruit skilled individuals from the sector locally in the Highlands, offering more predictable and longer-term employment prospects bolstered by our multi market approach and strategic acquisitions.”
Aciem is a £14 million revenue mechanical and electrical engineering business with experience of delivering clean and wastewater schemes in the UK. These range from small service jobs to complex design and build projects.
Forty of Aciem’ s 60 staff are based in Leeds, close to the base of Saftronics, another recent RSE acquisition last year. The company also announced the opening of a new 28,000sq ft manufacturing facility.
Aciem managing director Martin Whitfield welcomed the partnership as a timely support to Aciem’s growth ambitions, He said: “Since forming Aciem through an MBO in 2016, we have enjoyed considerable year-on-year growth. We are hoping to continue this journey with greater financial and technical support from our new colleagues at RSE.
“As our customers seek out cost effective and carbon-reducing solutions to their projects, we feel confident the products and innovations developed by RSE will only strengthen our offering to the market.”
RSE specialises in water treatment and clean energy solutions. Its 800-plus staff are skilled in the design, engineering and delivery of mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, controls and automation (MEICA) projects andservices.
RSE is owned by Envoy and Partners Ltd, a 2019 spin-off from oilfield service company Global Energy Group. Envoy’s CEO Iain MacGregor said Aciem is one of four acquisitions lined up for RSE in the coming year, which should take the company to over £100 million in revenue. The owners plan to build a specialist MEICA contractor to the UK water sector with revenues exceeding £250 million.
Related: Jobs in store as Ross-shire engineering firm plots expansion
Muir of Ord firm's 'cutting-edge' work developing nationwide business
Global in Ross-shire engineering takeover
