In a deal announced recently, Samsung C&T, the global engineering and construction company, has acquired the entire shareholding in the liquid natural gas (LNG) specialist Whessoe from its Saudi Arabian owners. 

Darlington-based Whessoe will continue to be run by its existing management but will now have its ambitious growth strategy supported by Samsung C&T’s global network.

Wilf McNaughton, Whessoe’s general manager, said    “This deal is a vote of confidence in the skills, knowledge and innovation that this historic company has delivered and continues to offer the world. For 200 years our engineers have been driving advancement for the benefit of Britain. With the support of Samsung C&T, we have advanced plans to grow this business, tripling the workforce in under five years.”

Jung Yeon-Joo, CEO of Samsung C&T, was in Darlington in Britain for the signing of the deal. 

He said that his company had become aware of Whessoe’s expertise through its work on major projects in Korea and Singapore.

“As the birthplace of the industrial revolution and home to the best academic institutions in the world, there is no doubt about the strength of British engineering skills and innovation. We at Samsung C&T are delighted, through our partnership with Whessoe, to access the impressive UK talent pool. Together we are stronger, and will become the most innovative and successful company in the gas sector by hiring even more of the best British engineering talent in the next few years.”

Samsung C&T Corporation was founded in 1938 and is the origin of the entire Samsung Group. It now has more than 10,400 employees in 133 offices, based in 50 countries.

With its engineering pedigree dating back to 1790, Whessoe has developed its technical excellence by working for the oil and gas, refining, petrochemical, nuclear, water, power and offshore industries, with specialist expertise in the storage and handling of liquid gases in both refrigerated and pressurized form. Its projects include designing and building the world’s first commercial LNG terminal at Canvey Island in 1962 and the UK’s latest terminal at the Isle of Grain.

With 15 active projects in Singapore valued at $4 billion in total  overseeing 15% all underground civil engineering projects taking place there, Samsung C&T is now the greatest constructor in Singapore. And as the uncontested leader in Singapore’s construction market,  Samsung C&T was commissioned by the city-state’s power authority, SP PowerAssets, to construct a section of an underground tunnel that will house high-voltage cables and other types of power transmission lines and equipment designed to meet Singapore’s increasing electricity demand and ensure a stable power supply throughout the city. The project consists of six separate sections stretching east, west, and north from the town’s center. Of these, Samsung C&T was entrusted to construct the NS1 section, which starts from Gandas Ave and ends at Mandai. Samsung C&T will be in charge of drilling the 5.86km-long section of the tunnel and installing communications and ventilation system components. This project will commence next month and finish in February 2018.

In Mongolia, Samsung C&T has signed on to the Shangri-La Hotel Development Phase II project in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator. This project was issued by the Kerry Group, the parent company of the Hong Kong-based Shangri-La hotel chain, and Mongolia’s leading redeveloper MCS Holdings, and is valued at approximately $274 million. Samsung C&T will be participating as a joint venture partner with MCS Property, an MCS Holdings subsidiary. The new complex will have a total floor area of 127,475 and include a 34-story hotel/serviced residence building, a 24-story office building, and a 5-story retail and entertainment building. For Samsung C&T, this project will serve as a pilot project ahead of a full-scaled entry into the Mongolian construction market.