Weir Group
Encyclopedia
The Weir Group plc is an engineering company headquartered in East Kilbride
, Scotland
. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
.
The Company was established in 1871 as a pump manufacturing business, G. & J. Weir Ltd.. These pumps became extremely well known for their use as boiler feedwater pump
s, and for ship's auxiliary equipment such as evaporator
s.
Under W G 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.
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 for several years. In 1943, they provided the finances for the construction of the W.9
, an experimental helicopter, to Air Ministry requirements.
It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange
in 1947. 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.
and water treatment businesses, (Weir Westgarth, Weir Entropie and Weir Envig) to Veolia Water Systems, part of Veolia Water, 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
.
The Company bought Pompe Gabbioneta, an Italian
pump manufacturer for £69m in 2005.
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.
In November, 2010, Company announced acquisition of American Hydro Corporation, which makes turbines for hydro-electric power stations.
In December 2010, Weir was fined three million pounds over Saddam sanctions breaches. Judge Lord Carloway from The High Court in Edinburgh confiscated £13.9m of illegal profits from Weir in this venture.
East Kilbride
East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
.
History
The Company was established in 1871 as a pump manufacturing business, G. & J. Weir Ltd.. These pumps became extremely well known for their use as boiler feedwater pump
Boiler feedwater pump
A boiler feedwater pump is a specific type of pump used to pump feedwater into a steam boiler. The water may be freshly supplied or returning condensate produced as a result of the condensation of the steam produced by the boiler...
s, and for ship's auxiliary equipment such as evaporator
Evaporator (marine)
An evaporator, distiller or distilling apparatus is a piece of ship's equipment used to produce fresh drinking water from sea water by distillation...
s.
Under W G Weir, the company turned to producing munitions and war materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
in the First World War. As well as shells, they manufactured aircraft including the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2
The Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 was a two-seat pusher biplane that was operated as a day and night bomber and as a fighter aircraft by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War...
fighter and bomber.
James George Weir (aviator, son of James Galloway Weir
James Galloway Weir
James Galloway Weir was Liberal MP for Ross and Cromarty from 1892 to his death. In December 1910 he was returned unopposed....
) a director of the company formed the Cierva Autogiro Company
Cierva Autogiro Company
The Cierva Autogiro Company was a British developer of autogyros established in 1926.It was set up to further the designs of Juan de la Cierva with the financial backing of James George Weir, a Scottish industrialist and aviator.-History:...
. G & J Weir would be a financial supporter of the company for several years. In 1943, they provided the finances for the construction of the W.9
Cierva W.9
-References:-External links:*...
, an experimental helicopter, to Air Ministry requirements.
It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in 1947. 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.
21st century
In July 2005, the Company sold its desalinationDesalination
Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove some amount of salt and other minerals from saline water...
and water treatment businesses, (Weir Westgarth, Weir Entropie and Weir Envig) to Veolia Water Systems, part of Veolia Water, 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
Seawater
Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...
.
The Company bought Pompe Gabbioneta, an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
pump manufacturer for £69m in 2005.
In May 2007, the Company sold its Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
-based business Weir Pumps to Jim McColl
Jim McColl
James Allan "Jim" McColl OBE is a Scottish businessman and entrepreneur. He is responsible for the development of Clyde Blowers plc. In 2007, he was placed tenth on the Sunday Times Rich List in Scotland...
's Clyde Blowers plc, with the pump company subsequently being renamed to Clyde Pumps Ltd.
In November, 2010, Company announced acquisition of American Hydro Corporation, which makes turbines for hydro-electric power stations.
In December 2010, Weir was fined three million pounds over Saddam sanctions breaches. Judge Lord Carloway from The High Court in Edinburgh confiscated £13.9m of illegal profits from Weir in this venture.
Operations
The company is structured into three divisions:- Weir Minerals - manufactures slurry pumps, valves, hydrocyclones and mill lining systems for the mining and mineral processing industries
- Power & Industrial - manufactures pumps and fluid handling systems and provides critical control and isolation solutions for the power generation industry
- Oil & Gas - maufactures pumps, valves and engineering support for the oil and gas industries
People
- William Weir, 1st Viscount Weir
- Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Kelvin
- Thomas LeithThomas LeithThomas Orr Leith OBE, FRAE was a leading Scottish mechanical engineer and industrialist.-Biography:Thomas Leith was born on 23 March 1926 in Cathcart, Glasgow, Scotland, youngest son in a family with seven brothers and sisters.He attended Holmlea Primary School in Cathcart before being evacuated...