US takeover to drive growth of engineering consultancy

A company founded 20 years ago by former Rolls-Royce staff has been acquired for an undisclosed sum in a deal described as a 'powerful combination'.

EKES was started by a team of former Rolls-Royce aero engineers

East Kilbride Engineering Services (EKES), a consultancy with more than 300 engineers across Europe, is being taken over by Belcan, a US-based global engineering consultant and recruiter in the technical sector.

The transaction, expected to close in the first quarter, is understood to involve no redundancies at the Scottish business and will see it expanding across Europe from its current base. As well as its headquarters in Scotland it has premises in Derby, Germany and Poland.

Lance Kwasniewski, chief executive of Belcan, said EKES is a “perfect fit” for the business. He added that the Ohio-based group believes it can extend EKES into new markets such as the United States, “and invest in its exceptional core consultancy services and recruitment networks”.

Wilbert Hall, EKES managing director, said the firm has demonstrated “steady” growth since being established in 1996.

He said: “By joining forces with Belcan, we are confident we will not only continue but accelerate our growth as we enter new markets and pursue exciting opportunities as part of Belcan.”

The US firm is owned by private-equity firm AE Industrial Partners (AEI), which invests in aerospace, power generation and speciality industrial companies.

David Rowe, managing partner of AEI, said: “This is a powerful combination, which will enhance our services for clients as well as competitive strength across the board.”

EKES was started by a team of Rolls-Royce aero engineers and has grown to provide specialist services to industries including aerospace, automotive, marine, renewables, and oil and gas, and offers recruitment services.