Water and Effluent Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/507429
12 Leaders 2015 The LeADeRS 2015 Process background puts Imtech in good stead Imtech has topped our Sales per employee Top 10 table. The company says it is in a good position to take advantage of opportunities that arise. A s with most of the contracting entity the past 18 months have been "fairly long" with the AMP6 bidding period, says Imtech Water, Waste & Energy managing director Duncan Atkins. "There's been some ups and downs but we've got a great platform for the future." Imtech, mainly in joint ventures, has so far secured AMP6 business with water companies including United Utilities, Southern Water and Severn Trent Water. "From a business perspective we're in a good position for water moving forward, and there's quite a lot of opportunities out there in terms of major projects or frameworks still to be let," says Atkins. Turnover £M Imtech 531.7 Carillion US 457 Interserve 385.7 Aecom Design Build 383.8 Vinci Construction 349.6 Mace 310.3 Skanska UK 257 Bam Nuttall 247.1 Costain 244.5 George Leslie 237.2 "...we feel very confident about the size and prospects for the business moving forward" "We're in a good position, and we've got a good order pipeline. We feel there will be an inevitable dip in the business just following the cycle of the water company expenditure but we feel very confident about the size and prospects for the business moving forward." With a lot of companies awarding contracts covering not only AMP6 but AMP7 and potentially AMP8, Atkins is confident more business opportunities will arise in five years time. "From my experience in the water sector over the years some of these frameworks don't end up being quite the duration that was originally envisaged for all sorts of reasons – change of regulation, change in company structure from the client side, different philosophies emerging, performance issues. "Some of these frameworks may well last the duration that is envisaged but equally five years is quite a long time and things change. Some of those opportunities may open back up." Atkins is also confident that Imtech's process engineering background gives it a "good basis to address particular challenges that may emerge" over the next ten to 20 years. One of these challenges is totex. He says: "From an Imtech perspective, because of our process understanding and knowledge of the way both new and existing assets work and the kind of operational costs associated with the treatment process, I think we feel we are well placed to offer and respond to totex challenges." However, what is still unclear, says Atkins, is exactly how totex is working from a water company perspective and I guess that will be a natural evolution and output of their investment plans. That will start to flesh out how each of the water companies is applying totex in terms of its investment programme and decision-making moving forward. The company expects to grow between 50 and 70% over the next five years from where it is. The growth is expected across its three sectors – water, waste and energy. While the waste sector is "quite a difficult one in that a lot of opportunities come and go", Imtech envisages opportunities that will provide a strong and robust waste to energy element to its portfolio of work. Atkins believes there are still big opportunities for standardised solutions, smarter solutions, and more off-site fabrication to drive effective and reduced cost in terms of the design and the development to water projects, and then minimising the installation. Imtech Imtech House, 33-35 Woodthorpe Road, Ashford, Middlesex TW15 2RP T: 01543 496600 www.imtech.com