South Tyneside industrial services firm Kaefer Limited has seen turnover soar to more than £230m on the back of a major restructure and new contracts wins.
The company has expanded significantly after German parent group Kaefer acquired major Gateshead employer Wood Group Industrial Service in 2020 in a deal worth around £80m. Kaefer – which carries out a range of industrial services including insulation, ventilation, fire proofing, asbestos removal, painting and scaffolding – already had 12 bases around the UK including operations in Jarrow, South Tyneside, and Billingham, Teesside, employing around 1,200.
Latest accounts show the enlarged group, which has its head ofice in Jarrow, has grown its workforce to more than 2,838 after merging with the former Wood Group business, which has also led to an 89% uplift in turnover to £234m in the year ended December 31 2021.
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The previous year’s operating loss of £3.74m was converted to profit of £184,000, while the overall comprehensive loss for the year was narrowed from £2.3m to £1.37m.
The company, which also has facilities in Aberdeen, Cardiff, Fife, West Cumbria, Rochester, Plymouth, Belfast and Cork, said it saw a significant improvement in profitability and significant growth in activity, following the integration of the two former businesses as they emerged from the worst impacts of the pandemic. Directors said turnover increased as a result of the merger and the firm’s ongoing recovery from the pandemic, which has seen it start new new work and win new contracts.
In the accounts, directors said: “The company will continue to seek both organic growth and to increase the volume and scope of its higher margin activities though both new and existing client relationships as well as to expand through acquisition where the opportunities are available.
“The directors are conscious that despite the current trajectory of recovery from the worst impacts of the pandemic and the easing of restrictions, due to the inherent uncertainty surrounding Covid-19, there remains the risk that there could be further disruption in future. Any such future issues will be dealt with in a similarly robust and diligent manner.”
The February 2020 deal to acquire Wood Group Industrial Services, originally founded as Pyeroy in 1973, came seven years after it was snapped up by Aberdeen’s Wood Group.
The trade and assets of the acquired Wood Group operation – which was renamed Kaefer Industrial services - including more than 1,700 staff, were moved across to Kaefer Limited in the previous year, after which it ceased trading and became dormant.
