Aggreko expands with acquisition and partnership

Temporary power provider Aggreko has expanded with an acquisition and a separate new partnership.

The company has acquired Dryco, a ten-location business which supplies moisture control, drying, heating, and cooling applications within the shipping, manufacturing, food processing, construction, and industrial painting industries.

Aggreko said the deal strengthened its capabilities with a wide breadth of technical skills and specialty HVAC equipment. It adds 60 staff and over 6000 fleet assets to Aggreko’s rental solutions business.

The company said it planned to fully integrate Dryco into its North America business while developing expansion plans to enter additional sectors and global markets. Dryco’s 2015 revenues were US$19 million (€17.1 million).

Aggreko Chief executive Chris Weston said, "This acquisition combines the deep technical strength of two highly respected market leaders and provides our customers with an unparalleled range of solutions that can address their HVAC and moisture control needs. It also gives Aggreko an opportunity to further support our rapidly expanding customer base within the shipping, food & beverage, and painting & coatings industries."

Power partnership

Separately, Aggreko announced a strategic partnership with UK-based Bowman Power Group, a provider of energy efficiency technology for the power generation industry.

Bowman Power Group’s Electric Turbo Compounding (ETC) system delivers a step change in the efficiency of reciprocating engines, by recovering waste heat energy from the engine exhaust, and converting it to useful power.

In 2014 Aggreko began a technology evaluation project with Bowman, to assess the effectiveness of ETC combined with the Cummins KTA50-G3, the core engine in the Aggreko rental fleet. Initial trials demonstrated a 4% additional power output and 5% improved fuel consumption.

This led to the agreement of a formal programme to further explore Bowman’s ETC system. The partnership also directly supports Aggreko’s business priorities of technology leadership, product innovation, and increased benefit to customers.

Dr Toby King, CEO of Bowman Power Group, said, “We are delighted to announce this partnership, which is a major milestone for Bowman, and further validation of our technology. Our companies are working together to develop the highest-efficiency power generation package in the industry, which could offer a significant benefit to Aggreko customers.”

And Aggreko’s Mr Weston said, “This partnership demonstrates Aggreko’s pursuit of innovation in our product strategy, and ongoing commitment to provide world-leading power solutions to our customers. We are looking forward to partnering with Bowman to further evaluate and develop a high-efficiency rental solution. Our work together so far has shown great promise.”