Aberdeen company Scotoil Services is ending a troubled year under new ownership after being snapped up by Spanish waste management group Tradebe.
Scotoil, which specialises in environmental services for the oil and gas industry is one of two businesses acquired by Tradebe’s Buckinghamshire- headquartered UK arm for an undisclosed sum.
The other is Doncaster-based Solvents With Safety, which Tradebe describes as one of the leading distributors of packaged solvents in the UK.
Founded in 1982, Scotoil has expanded from a small staff of 15 to an £8million-a-year business with 54 people working onshore and offshore.
It has provided services to oil and gas companies operating in the UK, Norway, north Africa, Brazil and the Middle East, plus to onshore refineries, the chemical industry, universities and the Ministry of Defence.
The firm made headlines in May, when it emerged it had unintentionally discharged radioactive waste into the water.
Details about the discharge of chemicals into Aberdeen harbour came to light through a freedom of information request.
Both Scotoil and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) insisted there was no environmental risk.
Scotoil said it had had worked closely with Sepa to stop the leak and had since changed the way it disposed of radioactive waste.
The firm hit the news again in July when it was fined £5,000 for safety failings after a worker was injured by a forklift truck running over his leg and foot.
Derek Bonnar was working for Scotoil at its premises in Miller Street when the incident occurred on August 17, 2012.
“Scotoil increases our offerings to the oil and gas industry,” Tradebe said yesterday.
Globally, Tradebe employs more than 2,000 people across operations in Spain, the UK, the US, France and Brazil.
Annual group revenue is £311million, with 27 UK sites – employing 825 people – contributing more than £100million.
Scotoil’s 2013 accounts show the firm was owned by Scotoil Realisations, controlled by the Ian D.F. Davidson’s Children’s Trust, Graham Davidson’s Bare Trust and Ross Davidson’s Bare Trust.
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