Water and Effluent Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://read.utilityweek.co.uk/i/867569
"…it has become 'anti-social' for any of our managers not to have been trained to the high-level NEBOSH health and safety quali• cation" Karl Simons, Thames Water. P12-13 News+ Contractors stick to 'tried and tested method' to move a watercourse temporarily so Scottish Water's £120M pipeline scheme in Ayrshire can continue. P4 Onsite: Refurbishment Service reservoirs play a key, if sometimes unsung, role in the supply of clean water. One such service reservoir dating back more than a century has received a new lease of life – and despite its technical challenges P7, 9 Insight: Insight Pumps & mixing With the UK sewage sludge sector booming, it is vital that the pump is not treated as a standalone commodity. P21, 23 WET NEWS WATER AND EFFLUENT TREATMENT NEWS Engineering consultancies combine as Jacobs looks to take advantage of £80bn opportunity that the global water sector represents. CH2M Hill bolsters Jacobs' water portfolio SEPTEMBER 2017 Volume 23 • Issue 9 Capture young people's imagination – AECOM Stonbury expands into South-west with acquisition "I joined WSP as I can see it has an appetite for growth in the UK and across the globe..." Mike Woolgar. WSP. P2 U S-based engineering group Jacobs is buying CH2M Hill Companies in a cash and stock deal worth about US$3.27bn (£2.47bn), in- cluding $416M (£314M) of CH2M net debt. The combination unites two industry-leading, innovative companies with complementary capabilities, cultures and relationships, resulting in a di‡ erentiated, end-to-end value proposition for clients and an enhanced platform for sustainable, proˆ table growth. Jacobs has set up an Integration Management O‹ ce (IMO) to oversee the integration of the two organisations. The IMO will be jointly led by senior executives from both groups. With trailing 12-month revenues of'more than £3bn'and a team of 20,000 employees, CH2M is a world-renowned design, engineering and program management ˆ rm, and is a leader in key infrastructure and government service sectors that Jacobs has previously targeted for growth, including water, transportation, environ- mental and nuclear. Applying CH2M's advanced design, technical and program management expertise will enable the combined company to deliver more solutions to more clients in both the government and private sector. Steve Demetriou, Jacobs' chairman and chief executive o‹ cer, said: "By increasing our industry reach and adding to our already extensive skills, this transaction enhances our value to our clients and bolsters Jacobs' position as a premier consulting, design, engi- neering, construction, and operations and maintenance technical services ˆ rm. "CH2M brings to Jacobs a talented, engaged team with capabilities and values that are very complementary to our own. Together, we will bring Jacobs said water represents an approximate' £80bn opportunity, growing 4% to 5% on a compounded annual rate, and CH2M has been identiˆ ed as the top water design ˆ rm in the world. By leveraging CH2M's world-renowned technical expertise in water across Jacobs' global operating platform and strong project delivery skills, the combined company will have a premier global water business with the scale, critical mass and experience needed to more fully capitalise on industry growth trends. Jacobs is a global leader in the resource-constrained £230bn transportation sector, which includes highways, rail, aviation and ports, and is growing 4% to 5% on a compounded annual rate. This sector has large spend and signiˆ cant momentum given population growth and associated need for all trans- portation modes in multiple geographies, particularly in the US,' Australia, New Zealand, South-east Asia, the Middle East'and the UK. Jacobs' premier position in transportation with CH2M is expected to make the combined company an employer of choice, enabling it to better attract and retain talent and address the sector's resource constraints. A ttracting talent through a variety of di‡ erent routes will be key to building capacity in the infra- structure sector and industry must do more to capture the im- agination of young people, in- frastructure provider AECOM has warned. Encouraging more young people to apply for apprentice- ships a£ er completing their GCSEs will be crucial to this prolonged approach. Outreach programmes with schools can be an e‡ ective way to open young people's eyes to a career in the sector, said AECOM. It said that given the UK's ambitious pipeline of infra- structure projects, a key issue for industry over the coming months will be to continue to build capacity so there will be enough skilled professionals to deliver the multitude of schemes when they ramp up from 2018. Vital projects will apply pressure across the sector for years to come, so government and industry must work together to develop the necessary skills. In engineering alone, it is predicted the UK will need over 150,000 people qualiˆ ed at Level 3 or above per year until 2024 (Engineering UK, State of Engineering report 2017). Richard Robinson, chief executive - civil infrastructure, Europe, Middle East, India and Africa at AECOM, said: "Attracting high-quality candi- dates is therefore key. In return we will o‡ er them opportunities to work on some of the UK's most important infra- structure projects, from Crossrail, HS2, Hinckley and the Thames Tideway Tunnel to exciting schemes in the transport, water, built environ- ment, industrial, power and energy sectors." W ater industry specialist contractor Stonbury is expanding its services into the South- west following its acquisition of Kingcombe Aquacare. Kingcombe, which is based in Crewkerne, Somerset, has been in business for more than 30 years and specialises in all aspects of water maintenance, construction, restoration and management. The company operates throughout the South-west and also further aˆ eld throughout the UK. The acquisition ˆ ts with Stonbury's long-term business strategy, as the leading water industry specialist contractor across the UK and Ireland. The move also allows Stonbury's existing services to be expanded into the South-west, providing an excellent geographical base, experienced resource and new skill sets, complementing Stonbury's existing capabilities. S cottish Water must 'futureproof ' assets in the next regulatory price control, according to a document from the Scottish regulator which admits "insu‹ cient attention has been paid (by both regulator and regulated company)" to the maintenance of long-term assets. A document, one of a series from Scottish regulator WICS setting out its thinking for 2021- 27 price control, says: "The price setting process has sought to ensure that the regulated company faces a hard budget constraint over the regulatory control period. While this has been very successful in improving operational e‹ ci- ency, it appears that insu‹ cient attention has been paid (by both regulator and regulated company) to futureprooˆ ng levels of service." The document sets out three ways in which long term maintenance could be approached: continuing with the current approach of spending in line with current need; providing an annual allowance for replacing major assets; or following the example of Welsh Water by reducing outstanding borrowing to free up borrowing capacity for when assets need replacing. It says: "This is not necessarily about spending more now – it is about ensuring that su‹ cient resources are available when Scottish Water needs to replace its assets." In an earlier paper, WICS acknowledged that the need for Scottish Water to invest more in its assets would put "material upwards pressure on prices." In a separate document published this week, WICS set out a base assumption of 2% in® ation for the next price control. The price control will be ˆ nalised in March 2020. globe..." Mike Woolgar. WSP. P2 "Since late 2014, we've been transparent about our plans to pursue an ownership transition, providing sustained access to capital for growth" Jacqueline Hinman, CH2M Need to know Acquisition creates a $15bn global solutions provider Jacobs is a global leader in the resource-constrained £230bn£transportation sector CH2M is a design, engineering and program management • rm, and a leader in key infrastructure and government service sectors The global water sector is growing 4% to 5% on a compounded annual rate more solutions to our clients, give more opportunity to our employees and create increased value for Jacobs' shareholders. In addition, this transaction is consistent with our M&A criteria, accelerating our ability to achieve our ˆ nancial growth targets and propelling Jacobs toward our vision of providing innovative solutions for a more connected, sustainable world." CH2M chairman and CEO' Jacqueline Hinman said: "We are delighted about the prospects of combining CH2M with Jacobs. Since late 2014, we've been transparent about our plans to pursue an ownership transition, providing sustained access to capital for growth." Scottish Water must ' tureproof' asset investment