Our past
Since the late 1990s, we have been creating an international project management and engineering services business and moving away from construction.
Some of our major accomplishments include:
- Working on the world’s first oil sands mine in the 1960s
- Working on the restart of reactors one and two at Bruce A Power Station in Ontario, the largest nuclear project in North America
- Thirty five years of successful working in the North Sea, providing asset support and maintenance on more than half of the UK North Sea’s producing fields
- Engineering, procurement and construction management of Canada’s first diamond mine, Ekati
- Numerous retrofits and expansions of the world’s largest lead-zinc mine, 120 km north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska, US
- Installing the first automated phone system in South America
- Construction of the Beauharnois Hydroelectric Station, with the largest number of generators of any hydro station in the world.
Learn more about some of our key dates which define who we are now below.
2008
June: Acquisition of Geomatrix Consultants, Inc. headquartered in Oakland, California, offering specialist environmental, geotechnical and water resources services.
May: Acquisition of Bower Damberger Rolseth Engineering Limited (BDR), a specialist in-situ oil sands business in Canada.
April: Acquisition of Smith Williams Consultants, Inc. (SWC), a mining consultancy in Plymouth Meeting, USA and Rider Hunt International Limited (RHI) a leading project services company to the oil, gas, chemical, energy and process industries.
January: Two acquisitions bolster AMEC’s environmental expertise in U.S. Pacific Northwest, Steward and Associates and Marine & Environmental Testing, Inc.
2007
December: Reclassified into Oil and Equipment Services; including in FTSE 100 for the first time.
November: New CEO appointed for Power and Process division. Sale of Project Investments completed. Reclassification into Oil and Equipment Services; included in FTSE 100 for first time.
September: Acquisition of CADE-IDEPE, the largest independent Chilean engineering services company. Sale of AMEC’s Building and Facilities Services business to SPIE completed.
July: Acquisition of 60 per cent interest in Batys Kazakhstan Kuat Service Limited (‘BKKS’), a Kazakh oilfield services company. Sale of Design & Project Services and Developments to Morgan Sindall and sale of Midwest Pipelines to Willbros Group Ltd.
May: Sale of AMEC SPIE Capag to Entrepose Contracting SA.
April: AMEC celebrates 100 years in Canada. Sale of Dynamic Structures to Empire Industries and Buchan Concrete Solutions to the Roger Bullivant Group of Companies.
February: Sale of AMEC SPIE Rail to The Colas Group.
2006
October: Sir Peter Mason retires and Samir Brikho becomes new Chief Executive.
July: Sale of AMEC SPIE Regional Services.
2005
Acquisition of NNC Holdings Limited, the UK’s leading private sector nuclear service business.
Acquisition of Paragon Engineering Services, Inc. based in Houston, Texas.
2004
AMEC reclassified into Support Services sector on London Stock Exchange.
2003
Acquisition of remainder of shares in SPIE.
Lauren Kamtech’s US operations acquired.
2002
Publication of AMEC’s first sustainability report.
2000
Acquisition of AGRA, North American environmental, engineering and construction services company.
1997
Acquisition of 41.65 per cent holding in SPIE, French electrical contracting and construction business.
1988
Acquisition of Matthew Hall Group of Companies.
1982
William Press and Fairclough construction groups merge to form AMEC plc.
1950
Matthew Hall & Co begins work at BP Grangemouth refinery – contracts have continued to present day.
1913
William Press & Son founded in London.
1907
AGRA Monenco founded (more on 100 years in Canada).
1883
Leonard Fairclough starts stone business in UK.
1848
Matthew Hall opens for business – later becomes the Matthew Hall Group of Companies.