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Acquisition shows B.C.’s lure as hub of expertise

Wood Group PLC deal for Amec Foster Wheeler seen as signal of international demand
duanegingrichcreditamecsubmitted
Duane Gingrich | Submitted

The recent acquisition of one of B.C.’s biggest and best-performing engineering companies is a sign of the continually rising profile of the province’s mining sector, say industry insiders.

Amec Foster Wheeler was acquired by Wood Group PLC in October with relatively little fanfare from the companies. Three years before, Amec bought Foster Wheeler. Wood Group provides project, engineering and technical services to energy and industrial markets, operating in 60 countries and employing over 55,000 people, 760 of those employees in B.C. Wood Group has revenues of over $11 billion.

“Vancouver is very much known for its mining, engineering and project management expertise,” said Duane Gingrich, senior vice-president of mining and minerals at Wood Group.

The acquisition also suggests the degree to which global engineering companies are scouting locally.

International companies “see B.C. mining companies as being excellent in their field, and they are,” said Scott Dunbar, mining engineering professor at the University of British Columbia.

“If you are talking about the mining and mineral processing field, the reputation of B.C. companies is very high and that is attractive to somebody like a Wood Group and attractive to somebody like Amec to buy Foster Wheeler.”

Dunbar added that local mining companies are likely to be on the radar of many international companies.

“Consulting is a difficult business to be in; the margins are thin and competition is quite fierce so scale is important – global scale – and it’s quite possible that a local company that is small here is easily picked up if it has the expertise.

“I don’t know why it is Vancouver … but there is a big body of expertise here and [companies] are just going after it.”

Gingrich said Amec “has historically been a combination group that is focused on mining and minerals.”

“Bringing together the three companies to establish a more diverse and broader set of skills was the intention,” he said.

The company’s focus is in various areas of engineering, from subsea to automation to clean energy.

 “I think it is fair to say most engineering firms would see Vancouver as a hub of mining, like how you would see Calgary in the oil and gas perspective,” said Bernie Teufele, president of Tetra Tech, another international engineering company that operates in B.C. and has roots in the province going back 40 years.

“I would say we are bullish, and confident of growth in the mining sector in B.C. and Canada on the whole.” •