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.
History
Charlton House, Spirax-Sarco Engineering's head office in Cheltenham
The Company was founded by Herman Sanders in 1888 and after a Mr Rehders joined the business, established as Sanders, Rehders & Co. ('Sarco') in London importing thermostatic steam traps from Germany.[3] It started to manufacture steam traps in United Kingdom under the Spirax brand name in 1932 and was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1959.[4] In 1960 a range of self-acting pressure controls are introduced for the first time: then in 1963 it bought Drayton Controls, a control valve and instrumentation business.[5]
The company diversified into pump manufacturing in 1990 when it bought Watson-Marlow.[6] It acquired the Jucker Industrial Division, an Italian controls business, in 1993,[7]Bredel Hose Pumps, a business manufacturing high-pressure hose pumps, in 1996[8] and M&M International, an Italian piston actuated and solenoid valve business in 2001.[9] In September 2005 it acquired Mitech Actuators & Controls and Proportional Control Technology, a pair of South African businesses making process controls.[10] Then later that year it bought EMCO Flow Systems, a metering business.[11]
The company acquired Intervalf, a Turkish operation, for £2.8m in 2009.[12] It completed a new facility in Shanghai, China in June 2010: the plant, designed as Spirax's regional headquarters, combines a factory, warehouse, and offices.[13]
In 2011 the Minister for UK Trade & Investment, Lord Green, opened the new Spirax Sarco facility in Saint Petersburg, Russia[14] and in May 2012 the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg visited Spirax Sarco’s manufacturing facility in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.[15] In May 2012 there was a shareholder revolt after Spirax-Sarco paid a former Executive Director compensation of £783,660; the company compounded the problem by failing to inform the markets of the shareholder revolt as required by the Listing Rules.[16] Then in November 2012 the company bought Termodinámica, a distributor based in Santiago de Chile[17] and in February 2019 it bought Thermocoax, a US based business involved in the manufacture and supply of mineral insulated cable.[18]
Operations
The company has three main operations:
Steam Specialties: made up of Spirax-Sarco and Gestra, provides engineered solutions for the design, maintenance and provision of efficient industrial and commercial steam systems (from single products through to complete turnkey bespoke packages)[19]
Electric Thermal Solutions (ETS): made up of Chromalox and Thermocoax, is a provider of advanced thermal technologies.[18]
Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions: peristaltic pumps and associated fluid path technologies for the food, pharmaceutical, chemical and environmental industries[20]
Spirax-Sarco has operating units (operating companies, branches and associates) in 62 countries across the world.[21]
£1,610.6 million (2022)[1]
£225.0 million (2022)[1]
