Hatch Africa acquires local engineering firm
South Africa has ambitious plans to increase energy supply to meet social and economic goals, and part of this entails being able to deliver electrical energy to industry and consumers with increased reliability and availability.
The Hatch acquisition of Eon Engineering, which was finalised at the beginning of July 2011, enables the immediate start up of a Hatch Transmission and distribution (T &D) business unit in South Africa.
Eon Engineering will augment Hatch’s local capabilities in order to help address South Africa’s major needs of power transmission, providing its extensive experience in power system engineering solutions for the entire life cycle of electricity plants and networks, explains Hatch’s global transmission and distribution MD Richard Carryer.
Eon Engineering was established in 1998 as a joint venture between leading black economic empowerment company KE Consulting, and Eskom Enterprises, a wholly owned subsidiary of South African power utility, Eskom. The company’s engineering solutions now available to Hatch clients range from feasibility and system planning studies, conceptual design, detailed engineering design for generation, transmission, distribution systems, project and construction management of new networks and the refurbishment of existing networks.
In addition, Hatch now offers a South African based team of power system protection specialists experienced in providing support for protection philosophies, protection settings, protection scheme design, commissioning, auditing and fault investigations.
The acquisition allows Hatch, through its new T&D unit, to now offer various specific power system infrastructure and refurbishment design consulting services to its clients, in areas that include power line designs, cable installations, substation designs up to 765 kV, project and programme management, commissioning of complete power systems and full engineering procurement construction management (EPCM) services. Carryer says that with the new T&D resources, Hatch will be able to offer its South African clients locally based T&D expertise to help undertake local based projects. The 25 qualified T&D staff collectively possess experience in excess of 500 man years in the electric utility industry, which include more than 340 man years within the South African national power utility Eskom.
“Major energy supply projects, such as new thermal energy generating capacity, major mining clients expansions and renewable generation projects all require interconnection to the grid, or expansion of the grid capabilities, and Hatch is now in a position to provide these engineering, procurement and construction management services,” he explains.
Hatch thermal energy business unit global director Jim Sarvinis says that because of the close working relationship with T&D, it too will benefit from the acquisition. The thermal energy division is involved in three principle areas; power and co-generation from fossil fuels; gasification of carbonaceous feedstock and gas quality control.
“Expertise in grid stability studies, network planning, design of sub stations and transmission lines strengthens our overall service offering for power generation facilities. A number of our new T&D personnel also have valuable experience in the electrical equipment within power generation plants, and therefore nicely complement our thermal energy team in South Africa,” explains Sarvinis.
Carryer says that Hatch is excited at the opportunities that this acquisition offers and the benefits it will bring to its clients.
“We will now also be able to offer neighboring countries African-based technical and project management resources for project design and execution. Within the Hatch’s T&D global business unit, it is foreseen that the new T&D resources, located in Johannesburg and Cape Town, will have responsibility for developing Hatch’s T&D business in Sub- Saharan Africa, while fully supporting other Hatch business units’ major projects in the same region,” he says.
Ends.
Notes to the Editor
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About Hatch
Hatch is an employee-owned, multidisciplinary professional services firm that delivers a comprehensive array of technical and strategic services, including Consulting, Information Technology, Engineering, Process Development, and Project and Construction Management to the Mining, Metallurgical, Energy, and Infrastructure sectors. Hatch has served clients for over 80 years and has project experience in more than 150 countries around the world. With 9,000 people in over 65 offices, the firm has more than $35 billion in projects currently under management.
Client Contact
Ron Coney
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Phone: 011 239-5332
Email: RConey [at] hatch [dot] co [dot] za
Web: www.hatch.co.za
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