business & market news
24
Tube Products International October 2012
Valve specialist announces subsea
acquisition
Valve engineering specialist Severn
Glocon Group has acquired LB Bentley
Ltd for an undisclosed sum, as it seeks
to diversify its offering and make inroads
to the subsea market.
LB Bentley designs and manufactures
small bore subsea valves for the
global oil and gas industry, as well
as high-pressure filters and desiccant
dryers, also for a worldwide market.
The firm’s core business is in patented
valves, including rotary gate valves,
for ‘Christmas tree’ and wellhead
applications. It has expected sales of
£22mn in fiscal year 2012.
In the friendly deal, Severn Glocon
Group acquired all intellectual property
rights, the firm’s 154 employees,
and its 60,000ft
2
facility in Stroud,
Gloucestershire, UK. The company will
operate as a stand-alone division within
Severn Glocon Group, with director
Bernard Bentley continuing to lead his
management team.
Severn Glocon Group’s chief executive,
Maurice Critchley, believes there is a
synergy between the two businesses
and that the acquisition will bring mutual
benefits. “In 40 years of trading, LB
Bentley has built an enviable reputation
for the quality and integrity of its
products,” Mr Critchley explained. “The
business has a good fit with Severn
Glocon Group and our intelligence-led
engineering ethos. We expect to grow
and develop LB Bentley’s business with
the help of our well-established global
infrastructure and routes to market.”
Severn Glocon Group is a major
manufacturer of specialised control and
choke valves and a provider of valve
aftermarket services for the oil and
gas, LNG and processing industries.
This strategic acquisition enhances the
group’s core capabilities and will further
strengthen its global positioning.
The group operates from manufacturing
sites in Gloucester and Huddersfield,
UK, as well as Chennai, India, with
seven service centres in the Middle
East and Far East, together with 14
international sales offices. Recent major
contract wins in the Middle East, China
and Brazil will see group sales in excess
of £100mn for fiscal year 2012.
In a separate recent transaction, Severn
Glocon Group acquired specialist
butterfly valve manufacturer Leeds Valve
from Flow Group, a division of Wärtsilä.
Severn Glocon Group
– UK
