Mechanical engineering group EnerMech said yesterday it had acquired Aberdeen Valve Supplies (AVS) in a deal believed to be worth around £1.5million.
AVS and subsidiaries LG Ball Valves and Valve Paint Shop are based at Altens, Aberdeen, and supply valves, valve controls and associated equipment and services to the oil, gas and petrochemical industries.
Recovery specialist Zolfo Cooper had been called in to AVS last Friday after the company was said to have experienced cash-flow difficulties, along with a testing market environment.
Aberdeen-based EnerMech announced recently it would invest £2million in setting up its own valve care division and said the acquisition would bolster this business line.
The deal includes the trade and assets of all three firms.
AVS equipment, including a sophisticated valve testing and valve painting and coating facility at Altens, will be moved to EnerMech’s headquarters in Howes Road, Bucksburn, by the middle of next year.
AVS owners Gordon Whyte and Sylvia Aitken and more than 20 staff will join EnerMech as part of the deal.
EnerMech managing director Doug Duguid said the buy was an excellent fit for EnerMech and was part of the company’s strategy to expand its service lines by acquisition and organic growth.
Mr Duguid said: “Aberdeen Valve Supplies has a first-class reputation for its service quality, has longstanding relationship with key clients and maintains a number of important contracts in valve supply and maintenance.
“Subsidiary LG Ball Valves manufactures its own line of ball valves, which fits very well with our existing services and we will continue to use that brand name.
“With our extensive international infrastructure we can push out AVS’s products and services to new markets and offer clients of both companies a much more focused, one-stop shop service.
“I am delighted to welcome Gordon Whyte and Sylvia Aitken and their staff in to the EnerMech group and look forward to working with them to establish one of the most specialised valve care companies operating in the oil and gas sector.”
EnerMech was formed in April 2008, It now employs around 570 staff in Aberdeen and other bases in Great Yarmouth, Stavanger, Dubai, Qatar, Ras al Khaimah, Singapore, Indonesia, China, Ghana, South Africa and Perth, Australia.