Ashtead Technology boosts IMR with Welaptega buy

Subsea equipment specialist Ashtead Technology has expanded its inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) services with the acquisition of Canadian-based underwater inspection company Welaptega.

Ashtead said on Thursday that the acquisition came just ten months after the company completed a joint venture with Forum Energy Technologies, creating a provider of subsea survey and ROV equipment services with a fleet of 19,000 assets worth more than £100 million.

The company added that the Welaptega buy marked Ashtead’s third deal since it was acquired by Buckthorn Partners and APICORP in 2016.

“By bringing together two world-class portfolios, the deal significantly strengthens the group’s subsea inspection capabilities, creating a wider, more competitive offering […],” the company said.

Allan Pirie, CEO of Ashtead Technology, said: “This is a significant step in the development of our IMR strategy, increasing our asset integrity service offering by adding innovative products, technology, and capabilities which are aligned with our current business.”

According to Ashtead, Welaptega CEO, Tony Hall, will continue to lead the business based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Hall added: “Being part of the Ashtead Technology group will allow us to expand our existing capabilities and international footprint, giving us greater ability to address our customers’ growing asset integrity requirements. It also enables us to continue our successful history of R&D and invest in adjacent underwater inspection (UWI) applications.”

Founded in 1990, Welaptega is a company working in the field of mooring system inspection and integrity engineering. Over the past 28 years, it has developed technologies and services to mitigate failure, prevent damage, and manage the ongoing integrity of offshore operations.