Whessoe, a specialist in liquid natural gas (LNG) projects, was previously owned by Al-Rushaid Group of Saudi Arabia. The new owners plant to retain the company's brand and management.
Whessoe general manager Wilf McNaughton said: “This deal is a vote of confidence in the skills, knowledge and innovation that this historic company has delivered and continues to offer the world. For 200 years our engineers have been driving advancement for the benefit of Britain. With the support of Samsung C&T, we have advanced plans to grow this business, tripling the workforce in less than five years.”
Current workforce in Darlingotn numbers 60.
Samsung C&T chief executive Yeon-Joo Jung said that his company had become aware of Whessoe’s expertise through its work on major projects in Korea and Singapore. He said: “As the birthplace of the industrial revolution and home to the best academic institutions in the world, there is no doubt about the strength of British engineering skills and innovation. We at Samsung C&T are delighted, through our partnership with Whessoe, to access the impressive UK talent pool. Together we are stronger, and will become the most innovative and successful company in the gas sector by hiring even more of the best British engineering talent in the next few years.”
Samsung C&T Corporation was founded in 1938 and is the origin of the entire Samsung Group. It has more than 10,400 employees across 50 countries. Current projects include a US$1bn EPC contract of an LNG terminal project in Singapore.
Whessoe dates back to 1790 and serves the oil and gas industries, designing and building storage tanks for liquid gases in both refrigerated and pressurized form. Its projects include the world’s first commercial LNG terminal at Canvey Island in 1962 and the UK’s latest terminal at the Isle of Grain.
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