Babcock Wanson acquires steam plant engineering to strengthen the Group’s industrial boiler services

Babcock Wanson, a leading player in the design and maintenance of industrial boiler rooms, has completed its first acquisition and strengthened its position in the UK with the purchase of Steam Plant Engineering (SPE), a leader in the field of industrial boiler services. The acquisition has been made thanks to the support of Kartesia, which recently became its new majority shareholder. This acquisition fully reflects the ambition and objectives of the Babcock Wanson Group to become the pan-European leader in the industrial boiler services industry by consolidating the key players in the market.

Founded in 2001 by Dan Garbett, the current Managing Director, SPE is a company based near Birmingham (UK) with a strong service orientation in the field of steam boilers. The company’s product and service business is particularly complementary to Babcock Wanson’s UK business, as SPE’s expertise is mainly focused on Fire Tube Steam Boilers while Babcock Wanson UK is recognised as a leading player in the field of Thermal Fluid and Coil Type Steam Boilers. The combination of the two companies’ knowledge and expertise will enable them to offer industrial companies a global solution focused on energy and environmental performance.
Since its creation, SPE has established itself as a major player in the UK. The company had a turnover of around £4m in 2020 and employs around 30 people.
Babcock Wanson and SPE will combine their strengths to create a strong leader in the UK industrial boiler market.

Dan Garbett, Managing Director of Steam Plant Engineering, says: “Joining a group like Babcock Wanson is a great opportunity to continue to develop the company as we have done since its creation. The organisation of SPE will be preserved in its current structure but this partnership allows us to secure our future while marking an important step in our development.”

Cyril Fournier-Montgieux, Chairman of Babcock Wanson Group, adds: “The acquisition of Steam Plant Engineering and the quality of the exchanges with Dan reinforces my belief in the ability of our group to integrate leaders in local markets in order to, together, become a global leader”. 

Julien Rigon, Director of Kartesia, adds: “This first acquisition shows Babcock Wanson’s ability to identify high value-added targets across Europe, the joint expertise of Kartesia and the management team to carry out this type of project, and the potential for a sustained pace of external growth that we envisage. We believe that the European industrial boiler landscape offers great market depth, and therefore significant opportunities to add quality companies to Babcock Wanson over the next few years. We are pleased to support the company on this path and in their ambitious development project.”