Severn Glocon Buys Calidus Engineering (UK)

Control valve engineering specialist Severn Glocon Group has strengthened its presence in the subsea oil and gas market with the acquisition of High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) downhole tools company Calidus Engineering.

Now renamed Severn Subsea Technologies Ltd, the company will provide research, development and test facilities to enhance Severn Glocon’s subsea valves capability.

A former subsidiary of Badger Explorer (Norway), Calidus is a multi-discipline engineering firm developing innovative subsea and downhole technologies for harsh HPHT environments. Severn Glocon Group is taking this strategic move in a bid to align its operations to better meet future technical challenges in subsea oil and gas production. Calidus’ downhole products already developed will provide major sales opportunities with worldwide oil and gas corporations.

In addition to modelling and engineering design services, Severn Subsea Technologies’ Redruth (UK) facility has a machine shop equipped for manufacturing prototypes. The business is set to become the nucleus for Group subsea R&D and systems integration activity, in tandem with small-bore subsea valve firm LB Bentley’s R&D Team and the Severn Unival Brighouse Valve Innovation Centre.

The acquisition enhances core capabilities to strengthen the Group’s global positioning in the subsea market, and builds on the acquisition of LB Bentley in 2012. It also increases the scope for new subsea systems developments based on LB Bentley’s valve technology.

Severn Glocon Group Chief Executive Maurice Critchley says the acquisition underlines the firm’s ambitions to be at the forefront of technical developments for the oil and gas industry:

“Offshore operating conditions are becoming ever more extreme, so hardware engineers and manufacturers need to invest in developing breakthrough technologies. As an industry we have a duty to collaborate and innovate. At Severn, we’re using intelligence-led R&D to identify potential technology gaps and focus our engineering expertise in the right places. Calidus brings a valuable new set of skills to our portfolio as we upscale our R&D efforts.”

From its West Country technology facility, Calidus is receiving revenues from local and global clients in the oil and gas industry, as well as from the field of R&D.

Severn Glocon Group is headquartered in the UK and employs 800 people worldwide. The firm won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade in 2011 and the Group sales continue to grow at 50% in 2012 and 2013.

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Press Release, July 31, 2013