BUILDING ON A LEGACY

Suir Engineering has acquired UK M&E firm, Taylor & Fraser

Suir Engineering Ltd has announced the acquisition of Taylor & Fraser, a leading mechanical & electrical engineering business operating in Scotland for more than 100 years. The news follows the recent launch of Suir Engineering’s first UK offices in London and Manchester as it expands its operations and customer base in the UK market.

Taylor & Fraser has been operating as a family-run business for 114 years, providing mechanical & electrical engineering and construction services across a wide range of between public and private businesses and organisations. “The acquisition of Taylor & Fraser is part of our ambitious growth strategy,” said John Kelly, CEO of Suir Engineering. “The team brings with it a wealth of mechanical and electrical engineering (M&E) expertise, and an outstanding legacy built over three generations of this highly regarded family business.

“The acquisition strengthens our presence in Scotland and across the UK, allowing us to build on established local market relationships while providing a platform for future growth. We now have a UK presence at three key locations and have further plans for expansion in line with the multi-billion pound market demand that we are seeing in our sector.” The acquisition makes Suir Engineering well placed as one of the few Irish engineering contractors with a Scottish entity. Taylor & Fraser will become a Suir Engineering company but will continue to operate under its existing name. There will be no impact on the 180 employees.
Scott Taylor, Director of Taylor & Fraser, said: ”We are delighted to become part of a thriving international engineering enterprise that will ensure Taylor & Fraser remains at the heart of providing mechanical and electrical engineering services in the UK for generations to come.

“We are extremely proud of our heritage which has stood us in very good stead for 114 years. Our clients have always rightly expected the highest standard of services and we know that operating within the Suir Engineering group will give clients great confidence that it will be business as usual and quality of service will be maintained.”

Top Ten
Suir Engineering reported turnover of €429 million in 2023. The business continued to grow throughout 2024 and is forecasting revenues of €550 million for 2025, driven by the Taylor & Fraser acquisition, a strong project pipeline and a strategic talent acquisition programme.

Approximately €180m/£150m of revenue is expected to come from data centre projects which, according to John Kelly, is one of the key areas of growth for the business. He said: “By the end of 2025, we anticipate that Suir Engineering will already be among the top ten mechanical & electrical (M&E) contractors in the UK by revenue. The UK presents huge opportunities in two of our four specialist sectors, data centres and energy, power and renewables, and it is one of the biggest data centre territories in Europe. The recent Critical National Infrastructure designation highlights the fundamental importance of data centres to the UK government, the local economy and society, generating billions of pounds in revenue each year.”

Opportunity
Suir Engineering employs over 1,600 people across Ireland, the UK, Germany, Denmark and Sweden and is exploring further markets in the region as part of its overall growth strategy. John Kelly added: “The UK’s ‘Great Grid Update’ represents a major shift in infrastructure development with significant buildouts planned for on and offshore projects. This presents a significant opportunity for companies like ours, which is why aligning Suir Engineering with a company of Taylor & Fraser’s calibre is crucial to our business, alongside establishing a physical presence to support our market penetration.”

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Michael McDonnell Managing Editor of Irish Construction Industry Magazine & Plan Magazine

Email: michael@irishconstruction.com      WWW.MCDMEDIA.IE