lse weir industry engineering founded 1871 headquarters glasgow scotland united kingdom key people charles berry chairman keith cochrane ceo william weir former chairman revenue 1 917.7 million 2015 1 operating income 258.9 million 2015 1 net income 179.0 million 2015 1 number of employees 14 838 2015 1 website www.global.weir the weir group plc is an engineering company headquartered in glasgow scotland . it is listed on the london stock exchange and is a constituent of the ftse 250 index . the company operates in over 70 countries employing approximately 14 000 people focused on mining oil and gas and power markets . contents 1 history 1.1 21st century 2 operations 3 people 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit weir boiler feedwater pump the company was established in 1871 as an engineering firm by two brothers george and james weir founding g. & j. weir ltd. 2 the weir brothers produced numerous groundbreaking inventions in pumping equipment primarily for the clyde shipyards and the steam ships built there . these pumps became extremely well known for their use as boiler feedwater pumps and for ship s auxiliary equipment such as evaporators . 3 under w d weir the company turned to producing munitions and war materiel in the first world war . as well as shells they manufactured aircraft including the royal aircraft factory f.e. 2 fighter and bomber . 4 james george weir aviator son of james galloway weir a director of the company formed the cierva autogiro company . g & j weir would be a financial supporter of the company during its existence . 5 in 1943 they provided the finances for the construction of the w. 9 an experimental helicopter to air ministry requirements . 6 it was first listed on the london stock exchange in 1946 . 2 double acting weir steam pumps were virtually standard fitment on british built steamships being used for pumping water fuel air and much else well into the 1950s as well as being used on other ships worldwide . 7 in december 1968 the weir group made an offer to buy the rival british pump manufacturer worthington simpson following an offer by studebaker worthington . 8 in 1969 studebaker worthington acquired worthington simpson . 9 after some negotiation weir s acquired 50 % of worthington simpson . 10 a new joint venture company named worthington weir was set up to handle international sales of the two parent companies . 11 the debt taken on by weir to acquire their share of worthington simpson was denominated in deutsche marks and as that currency strengthened against sterling and the dollar it became increasingly expensive to service . 12 worthington simpson was profitable but did not cover the cost of debt . 13 during the next decade weir was forced to sell off many assets and undertook financial recorganization in 1981 . 14 after the financial reorganization derald ruttenberg and jacob rothschild gained effective control of 40 % of the company . ruttenberg became a board member . 15 hopkinsons was founded in 1843 in huddersfield . 16 hopkinsons limited was incorporated in 1966 and changed its name to weir valves & controls uk ltd. in september 2002 . the elland based company 17 is a weir group subsidiary . 18 21st century edit in recent years the company has undergone significant reorganisation both operationally and in terms of its geographic footprint . in july 2005 weir sold its desalination and water treatment businesses weir westgarth weir entropie and weir envig to veolia water systems part of the water division of veolia environnement weir westgarth had been a pioneer of the multi stage flash distillation process used predominately to produce desalinated water from seawater . 19 in may 2007 the company sold its glasgow based business weir pumps to jim mccoll s clyde blowers plc with the pump company subsequently being renamed to clyde pumps ltd. 20 recent acquisitions transaction date purchased pompe gabbioneta an italian pump manufacturer for 69m in 2005 . 21 2005 in 2007 weir acquired spm flow control inc for us 653 million 328 million . spm manufactures high pressure well service pumps and related flow control equipment 22 2007 acquired african pumps business ch warman pump group for 231m 113m 23 2007 acquired mesa manufacturing inc the texan based pump manufacturer for 40m 24 2008 bought malaysia based linatex for 138m 25 2010 agreed to acquire indian valves manufacturing business bdk engineering industries hubli 26 2010 in november 2010 company announced acquisition of american hydro corporation which makes turbines for hydro electric power stations . 27 2010 in november 2010 weir and shengli oilfield highland petroleum equipment co. announced the formation of a joint venture to provide high pressure well service pumps and related flow control equipment to the developing shale gas industry in china . 28 2010 agreed to acquire a 60 % interest in the south korean valves business formerly operated by him tech co ltd. 29 2011 purchased seaboard holdings inc a houston based wellhead solutions provider for us 675m 431m 30 2011 in december 2010 weir pleaded guilty to breaching un sanctions on iraq between 2000 and 2002 . judge lord carloway of the high court in edinburgh fined the company 3m along with a confiscation order of 13.9 m. 31 operations edit with effect from 1 may 2008 the weir group reorganised its operating units into three sector focused divisions in the higher growth markets of mining oil & gas and power & industrials 32 weir minerals manufactures slurry handling equipment and associated spare parts for abrasive high wear applications used in mining as well as in the niche oil sands and flue gas desulphurisation markets . products include pumps hydro cyclones valves de watering equipment and wear resistant linings . the division is present in key mining markets including south and north america australia and africa . weir oil & gas designs and manufactures pumps and ancillary equipment for global upstream and downstream oil and gas markets . upstream operations specialise in high pressure well service pumps and related flow control equipment along with repairs parts and service of pressure control and rotating equipment . downstream focuses on design and manufacture of centrifugal pumps mainly for the refining industry . principal operations are in north america europe and the middle east . weir power & industrial designs manufactures and supports specialist and critical service rotating and flow control equipment in the main to the global power sector . the division includes valve operations a specialist pump business and service and aftermarket operations and is one of only a few businesses globally capable of providing specialist valves into the nuclear islands of third generation nuclear power stations . facilities are located in europe north america china middle east india and south africa . geho pump assembly people edit william weir 1st viscount weir robert smith baron smith of kelvin thomas leith see also edit list of oilfield service companies references edit a b c d annual report 2015 pdf . weir group . retrieved 16 april 2016 . a b weir group fact sheet weir s boiler feeding specialties patent feed water heaters direct acting feed pumps evaporators etc catalogue 1904 miller james f 2014 . fe 2b d vs albatros scouts western front 1916 17 . osprey . p. 13 . isbn 978 178096325 9 . the auto gyro . english company formed . news . the times 44232 . london . 29 march 1926 . col c p. 21 . cierva flight 340 17 april 1947 sennett richard ; oram henry 1899 . marine steam engines . sagwan press . p. 389 . isbn 978 129792146 9 . weir 2008 p. 84 . a history of excellence flowserve . weir 2008 p. 86 . worthington simpson grace s guide . weir 2008 p. 110 . weir 2008 p. 111 . weir 2008 p. xvii . weir 2008 pp. 144 145 . hopkinsons . www.gracesguide.co.uk . retrieved 2016 07 17 . weir valves & controls uk ltd. private company information businessweek . www.bloomberg.com . retrieved 2016 07 17 . hopkinsons weir brands . www.global.weir . retrieved 2016 07 17 . weir group to sell water treatment businesses to veolia bbc news uk scotland glasgow and west former apprentice buys weir pumps . bbc.co.uk . retrieved 21 march 2015 . weir splashes out in oil takeover weir to buy spm flow control for 653 million market watch 21 june 2007 pump purchase the engineer 4 december 2007 weir group buys mesa manufacturing growth business 24 june 2008 weir to buy malaysian linatex group for 172.5 million ; sees higher h2 profit international business times 14 june 2010 uk based weir group buys bdk engineering s valve biz press trust of india 2 september 2010 weir group acquires american hydro firm . added latest acquisition . bbc . 18 november 2010 . retrieved 19 november 2010 . weir and shengli announces joint venture to provide services to gas industry china greentech initiative 25 november 2010 weir group acquires south korean valves business bbc 22 june 2011 weir buys us firm in 431m deal bbc 23 november 2011 weir group fined 3m over saddam sanctions breaches . bbc news . 15 december 2010 . weir group divisions sources a history of excellence pdf . flowserve . retrieved 2013 10 23 . weir william 2008 02 01 . history of the weir group . profile books . isbn 978 1 86197 886 8 . worthington simpson . grace s guide . retrieved 2013 10 23 . external links edit official site v t e ftse 100 ftse 250 companies of the united kingdom 3i infrastructure aa aberdeen asset management aberforth smaller companies trust acacia mining aggreko aldermore group alliance trust allied minds amec foster wheeler ao world ascential ashmore group assura atkins auto trader group aveva balfour beatty bankers investment trust barr a.g. bba aviation beazley group bellway berendsen berkeley group holdings bank of georgia bh macro big yellow group b & m european retail value bodycote booker group bovis homes group brewin dolphin holdings british empire trust britvic brown n. btg 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