The company was established in 1871 as an engineering firm by two brothers, George and James Weir, founding G. & J. Weir Ltd.[3] The Weir brothers produced numerous groundbreaking inventions in pumping equipment, primarily for the Clyde shipyards and the steam ships built there. These pumps became extremely well known for their use as boiler feedwater pumps, and for ship's auxiliary equipment such as evaporators.[4]
During 1886, the company established a new machine shop in Cathcart alongside a recently extended railway line.[5] Under the leadership of W D Weir, the company turned to producing munitions and war materiel during the First World War. In addition to shells, it manufactured aero-engines and whole aircraft, including the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 fighter and bomber.[6] By the end of the conflict, in excess of 1,100 aircraft had been completed by the firm.[5]
In 1930 the company acquired Contraflo Condenser & Kinetic Air Pump Co, Westminster, in 1933 A. G. Mumford, Colchester, in 1958 Catton & Co (merged into Weir-Catton) and in 1960 the pump section of Alley & MacLellan, Polmadie.[7]
The company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1946.[3] By this time, double-acting Weir steam pumps had become virtually standard fitment on British-built steamships, being used for pumping water, fuel, air and numerous other materials, as well as being widely used on numerous foreign-built ships, well into the 1950s.[10]
In December 1968, Weir Group issued an offer to purchase the rival British pump manufacturer Worthington-Simpson, following an offer by Studebaker-Worthington.[11] During 1969, Studebaker-Worthington acquired Worthington-Simpson.[12] After some negotiation, Weir's acquired 50% of Worthington Simpson.[13] A new joint-venture company named Worthington Weir was set up to handle international sales of the two parent companies.[14] The debt taken on by Weir to acquire their share of Worthington-Simpson was denominated in Deutsche Marks, and as that currency strengthened against both the Sterling and the Dollar, it became increasingly expensive to service.[15] While Worthington-Simpson was a profitable venture, it did not cover the cost of this debt.[16]
In response to the company's debt burden, Weir Group was compelled to sell off numerous assets and undertook financial reorganization in 1981.[17] Following this reorganization, Derald Ruttenberg and Jacob Rothschild gained effective control of 40% of the company; Ruttenberg became a board member.[18] Amid the reorganization, the 3rd Viscount Weir, who had been chairman since 1972, stepped down to vice chairman. However, Lord Weir regained the chairmanship in 1983 and served in this role until 1999.[19]
During 1989, the company acquired Hopkinsons, an Huddersfield-based company manufacturing valves and controls.[20][21]
21st century
First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond visiting a Weir facility in Dubai in 2011
During July 2005, Weir sold its desalination and water treatment businesses, (Weir Westgarth, Weir Entropie and Weir Envig) to Veolia Water Systems, part of the water division of Veolia Environnement: Weir Westgarth had been a pioneer of the multi-stage flash distillation process used predominantly to produce desalinated water from seawater.[23] During 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.[24][25]
In early 2006, it was reported that, amid allegations that the company had paid a multi-million pound bribe to Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Weir Group acknowledged that it had parted company with several employees over the claims.[26] In December 2010, Weir Group pleaded guilty to breaching UN sanctions imposed on Iraq between 2000 and 2002. Judge Lord Carloway of The High Court in Edinburgh fined the company £3m along with a confiscation order of £13.9m.[27][28] Following this judgement, the company continued to operate in Iraq.[29]
During August 2011, the company announced record profits of £178 million, having risen during the first six months of the year by 24%; orders were also up substantially.[31] One year later, the firm was involved in a bidding war for the Australian mining company Ludowici, but was ultimately outbid by the Danish engineering firm FLSmidth.[32][33]
In 2014, Weir Group sought to discuss an envisioned merger between itself and the Finnish engineering firm Metso Corporation; however, the board of the latter unanimously rejected the initiative.[34] A £3.7 billion bid to takeover Metso was similarly unsuccessful.[35][36]
During February 2015, the company issued a profit warning predicting significant losses after the US shale market went through a contraction. In response, Weir Group opted to reduce its workforce by approximately 650.[37][38] Due to the persistence of the oil market's downturn, further jobs cuts followed in late 2019.[39]
In February 2019, the company sold their flow control division to First Reserve.[40] That same year, Weir Group was awarded its largest ever order, valued at £100m, to supply mining equipment for a large iron ore scheme in Western Australia.[41][42]
During the late 2010s, Weir Group decided to, following losses in its US-centric oil and gas activities, it would reorientate towards the mining industry, for which it was developing new technologies to reduce environmental impact.[43] During October 2020, the company sold their oil and gas division to the American equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. in exchange for $405 million.[44][45]
In April 2022, the company announced that it was withdrawing from its business activities within Russia following the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.[46] That same year, Weir Group formed an alliance with Swiss Tower Mills Minerals AG to market the latter's vertical stirred grinding mills.[47]
Acquisitions
Transaction
Date
Purchased Pompe Gabbioneta, an Italian pump manufacturer for £69m in 2005.[48]
2005
Weir Group acquired SPM Flow Control, Inc for US$653 million (£328 million). SPM manufactures high-pressure well service pumps
Agreed to acquire Indian valves manufacturing business, BDK Engineering Industries, Hubli[53]
2010
Announced the acquisition of American Hydro Corporation, a manufacturer of turbines for hydro-electric power stations.[54]
2010
Weir Group and Shengli Oilfield Highland Petroleum Equipment Co. announced the formation of a joint venture to provide high-pressure well service pumps and related flow control equipment to the developing shale gas industry in China.[55]
2010
Agreed to acquire a 60% interest in the South Korean valves business formerly operated by HIM Tech Co Ltd.[56]
2011
Purchased Seaboard Holdings Inc a Houston-based wellhead solutions provider for US$675m (£431m)[57]
2011
Purchased KOP Surface Products, a Singapore provider of advanced pressure control wellhead technologies, systems and services for an enterprise value of US $114m[58]
2017
Purchased ESCO Corporation, a Portland-based global leader in ground engaging tools for mining and construction markets for an enterprise value of US $1.285 billion[59]
2018
Purchased Motion Metrics, a leading Canada-based global mining technology business, for an initial consideration of US $119m [60]
Dresser Industries was a multinational corporation headquartered in Dallas, Texas, United States, which provided a wide range of technology, products, and services used for developing energy and natural resources. In 1998, Dresser merged with its main rival Halliburton. Halliburton sold many of former Dresser non "oil patch" divisions, retaining the M W Kellogg Engineering and Construction Company and the Dresser oil-patch products and services that complemented Halliburton's energy and natural resource businesses. In 2001 Halliburton sold five separate, but somewhat related former Dresser non "oil patch" divisions, to an investment banking firm. Those five operations later took the name "Dresser Inc." In October 2010, Dresser Inc., was acquired by General Electric. It is headquartered in Addison, Texas.
Atlas Copco is a Swedish multinational industrial company that was founded in 1873. It manufactures industrial tools and equipment.
URS Corporation was an engineering, design, and construction firm and a U.S. federal government contractor. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, URS was a full-service, global organization with offices located in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.
Aker Solutions ASA is a Norwegian engineering firm headquartered in Oslo. The firm's production is focused on energy infrastructure, including systems and services required to de-carbonize oil and gas production, build wind-to-grid infrastructure and engineer CO2 capture and sequestration.
Metso Corporation was a Finnish industrial machinery company focusing on providing technology and services for mining, aggregates, and oil and gas, recycling, pulp and paper and other process industries.
The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is a major national oil and gas corporation of China and one of the largest integrated energy groups in the world. Its headquarters are in Dongcheng District, Beijing. CNPC was ranked fourth in 2022 Fortune Global 500, a global ranking of the largest corporations by revenue.
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Fluor Corporation is an American engineering and construction firm, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a holding company that provides services through its subsidiaries in three main areas: oil and gas, industrial and infrastructure, government and power. It is the largest publicly traded engineering and construction company in the Fortune 500 rankings and is listed as 265th overall.
Babcock International Group plc is a British aerospace, defence and nuclear engineering services company based in London, England. It specialises in managing complex assets and infrastructure. Although the company has civil contracts, its main business is with public bodies, particularly the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and Network Rail. The company has four operating sectors, with overseas operations based in Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Australia.
The Flowserve Corporation is an American multinational corporation and one of the largest suppliers of industrial and environmental machinery such as pumps, valves, end face mechanical seals, automation, and services to the power, oil, gas, chemical and other industries. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, which is in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, Flowserve employs close to 16,000 employees in more than 50 countries. Flowserve sells products and offers aftermarket services to engineering and construction firms, original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and end users. The Flowserve brand name originated in 1997 with a merger of BW/IP and Durco International.
Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) is the national oil and gas company of South Korea and one of the most important industrial companies in the country. The company has operated and continues to operate oil and gas fields in Vietnam, Peru, Indonesia, Nigeria, Yemen, Kazakhstan, Russia, China, Canada Venezuela, the United Kingdom and South Korea.
ESCO Group LLC is a manufacturer of engineered metal wear parts and components for industrial applications—including mining and construction. Since 1913, the company, which is a division of Weir Group PLC, has been headquartered in Portland, Oregon, USA.
Spirax Group plc, formerly Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc, is a British manufacturer of steam management systems and peristaltic pumps and associated fluid path technologies. It is headquartered in Cheltenham, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Mather & Platt is the name of several large engineering firms in Europe, South Africa and Asia that are subsidiaries of Wilo SE, Germany or were founded by former employees. The original company was founded in the Newton Heath area of Manchester, England, where it was a major employer. That firm continues as a food processing and packaging business, trading as M & P Engineering in Trafford Park, Manchester.
James Allan McColl OBE is a Scottish businessman who is the chairman and chief executive officer of Clyde Blowers. He was a member of the Council of Economic Advisors.
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Studebaker-Worthington was a diversified American manufacturer created in 1967 through a merger of Studebaker Corporation, Wagner Electric and Worthington Corporation. The company was in turn acquired by McGraw-Edison in 1979.
The Worthington Corporation was a diversified American manufacturer that had its roots in Worthington and Baker, a steam pump manufacturer founded in 1845. In 1967 it merged with Studebaker and Wagner Electric to form Studebaker-Worthington. This company was in turn acquired by McGraw-Edison in 1979.
Worthington-Simpson was a British pump manufacturer. Many of their pumps were used in municipal waterworks in Great Britain.
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Companies with headquarters and/or registered office in the UK but no applicable energy operations within the country shown in italics1Ultimate parent company is not UK-based 2Integrated in the United States, no generation or supply activities in the UK
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£2,636.0 million (2023) [1] 
