The Hamworthy business was founded in 1911 on Poole Quay in Dorset and quickly established a reputation in the marine engineering business.
It was acquired by Powell Duffryn plc, a UK listed engineering and ports business in 1962. Subsequently, a series of acquisitions were completed, most notably Svanehøj International A/S in 1993 and the ships’ equipment division of the Norwegian Kværner Group in 1998.
In 2000, Nikko Principal Investments Limited advised and financed the purchase of Powell Duffryn plc and during which time Hamworthy sold certain lower growth and margin activities and developed new products and technologies for the fluid handling systems for the marine and offshore sectors.
In July 2004 Hamworthy announced the commencement of dealings of its Ordinary Shares on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. From July of 2004 Hamworthy continued to grow profitably by recognising a number of previous product development initiatives.
In August 2006 Hamworthy acquired Serck Como GmbH, the market leader in desalination plants for cruise ships and condensors for industry.
In order to increase the cost competitiveness of our gas systems business and augment the Group's wider design capabilities Hamworthy acquired Baltic Design Centre Ltd in November 2008.
Greenship B.V. was acquired in March of 2009 to enter the ships’ ballast water treatment market, an emerging market driven by international environmental regulations.
In September 2009 Hamworthy acquired Krystallon Ltd, a leading player in marine exhaust sulphur emissions reduction technology and completed a transaction to acquire the Technology and Products division of Aibel AS giving Hamworthy broader access to the oil and gas production market.
The Group continues to target similar bolt-on businesses to extend its technology base and market position, in particular those involved in the exploration and transportation of oil and gas or those driven by environmental legislation.
