Mabey Group
Encyclopedia
The Mabey Group is a British-based group of engineering companies, which specialises in bridging
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

, steel fabrication, plant hire
Plant Hire
Equipment rental, also called plant hire in some countries, is a service industry providing machinery, equipment and tools of all kinds and sizes for a limited period of time to final users, mainly to construction contractors but also to the industry and to individual consumers.The equipment rental...

 and construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

 products. Listed on Top Track 250
Top Track 250
The Top Track 250 is a list published by British newspaper The Sunday Times each year ranking Britain's top 250 Mid-market private companies by their turnover over the previous year, from published accounts.- Sunday Times 2010 Top Track 250 :...

, the group is one of the leading bridge suppliers in the world.

History

Founded by Bevil Mabey in 1923, he expanded the company quickly after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 by buying up spare Bailey bridges from the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

.

Expanded through acquisition, parts of the group were founded over 150years ago. The group is still wholly family owned. With an administrative head quarters in Twyford, Berkshire
Twyford, Berkshire
For other places of the same name, see Twyford.Twyford is a village and civil parish in the English Royal county of Berkshire. It is situated, at , in the heart of the Thames Valley on the A4 between Reading and Maidenhead, close to Henley-on-Thames and Wokingham.-History:The town's name is...

, the group employs over 1,000 people in 40 locations and has an annualised turnover of £100 million. In excess of 90% of the company's production is exported to over 115 countries for use either in permanent or temporary bridging solutions.

The Mabey Group has made regular donations to the local Conservative party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 in Wokingham
Wokingham
Wokingham is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire in South East England about west of central London. It is about east-southeast of Reading and west of Bracknell. It spans an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 30,403...

. John Redwood
John Redwood
John Alan Redwood is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament for Wokingham. He was formerly Secretary of State for Wales in Prime Minister John Major's Cabinet and was an unsuccessful challenger for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 1995...

, the Wokingham MP, was chairman of an associated investment company until March 2008.

Group companies

  • Mabey Bridge - based in Chepstow
    Chepstow
    Chepstow is a town in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the River Wye, close to its confluence with the River Severn, and close to the western end of the Severn Bridge on the M48 motorway...

    , Monmouthshire
    Monmouthshire
    Monmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a much larger area. The largest town is Abergavenny. There are many castles in Monmouthshire .-Historic county:...

    . Their most notable product is the Mabey Logistic Support Bridge
    Mabey Logistic Support Bridge
    The Mabey Logistic Support Bridge is a portable pre-fabricated truss bridge, designed for use by military engineering units to upgrade routes for heavier traffic, replace civilian bridges damaged by enemy action or floods etc, replace assault and general support bridges and to provide a long span...

    , originally developed for the British Army
    British Army
    The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

    , and now used widely around the world. In January 2010, they purchased an 18acre site with an existing 32140 square metre building which will be doubled in size in a £30m investment, to produce wind turbine
    Wind turbine
    A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...

     towers.
  • Mabey Hire Services - based in Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury
    Dewsbury
    Dewsbury is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds...

    . Formed on 1 October 2009 through the amalgamation of Mabey Hire, Murrayplant and Mabey Support Systems
  • Mabey Bridge and Shore Inc. - based in Elkridge, MD

Corruption

In its 2008 results, Mabey Group admitted publicly that it may have paid bribes to the regime of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

 in order to win business in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

, under the Oil-for-Food Programme
Oil-for-Food Programme
The Oil-for-Food Programme , established by the United Nations in 1995 was established with the stated intent to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs for ordinary Iraqi citizens without allowing Iraq to boost its military...

. In a retrospective United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 report, it was alleged that Mabey paid a $202,000 (£101,000) kickback
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...

 between 2001 and 2003, and was handed a $3.6m contract. The company is presently cooperating with the Serious Fraud Office, and an internal investigation being undertaken by solicitors Herbert Smith
Herbert Smith
Herbert Smith LLP is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The firm has offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm was founded in the City of London in 1882 by Norman Herbert Smith and today has 240 partners and 1,300 fee-earners.-History:The firm was...

.

In 2009, in a case brought by the SFO, the company plead guilty to the charge of “sought to influence decision makers in public contracts in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

 and Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

 between 1993 and 2001” at Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...

 magistrates court.

External links

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