Italian construction and civil engineering group
Webuild SpA (formerly Salini Impregilo SpA;[3] Italian: [saˈliːni impreˈdʒiːlo]) is an Italian industrial group specialising in construction and civil engineering. The company was formally founded in 2014 as the result of the merger by incorporation of Salini into Impregilo. Webuild is the largest Italian engineering and general contractor group and a global player in the construction sector.
The company is active in over 50 countries of 5 continents (Africa, America, Asia, Europe, Oceania) with more than 85,000 employees.[4] Its experience ranges from the construction of dams, hydroelectric plants and hydraulic structures, water infrastructures and ports, to roads, motorways, railways, metro systems and underground works, to airports, hospitals and public and industrial buildings, to civil engineering for waste-to-energy plants and environmental protection initiatives. It takes first place in the water sector of the Engineering News-Record rankings, the benchmark for the entire construction industry.[5]
The company is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. It is directed by Pietro Salini.
History
The company was founded as Impregilo in 1959 and expanded following a merger with Cogefar-Impresit S.p.A., Girola S.p.A. and Lodigiani S.p.A. in 1990.[6]
In 2011 Salini, privately held, began its acquisition of Impregilo with an initial purchase of shares, reaching 25% the following year. The acquisition set a precedent in Italy because it was the first proxy fight for control of a company to occur in the country. Despite the opposition it faced from a group of investors, Salini managed to convince enough shareholders at an assembly in July 2012 to approve its proposal to replace Impregilo’s board of directors with its own list of candidates. Once in place, these new members of the board approved Salini’s offer to buy the rest of Impregilo. Pietro Salini became chief executive. A few months later, the board approved Salini’s plan.[7]
In 2013, Salini launched a tender offer to buy the remaining ordinary shares in Impregilo. In January 2014 the transaction was completed forming Salini Impregilo.[8]
In 2016, it acquires Lane Industries, based in Connecticut.[9]
On 18 December 2018, Marco Bucci, the mayor of Genoa and commissioner overseeing the reconstruction of the bridge over the Polcevera River announced the selection of Salini Impregilo and Fincantieri Infrastructure, via a new company called PERGENOVA, for the reconstruction of the bridge according to a design by Renzo Piano.[10][11][12]
In May 2020, the company was rebranded as Webuild.[13] In November 2020, Webuild acquired a 65% shareholding in Astaldi.[14]
In November 2022, Webuild announced that, subject to due diligence, it would acquire the Australian based company Clough Group.[15]
Operations
The company undertakes the following types of works: dams, hydroelectric power plants, railways, tunnels, undergrounds, bridges, viaducts, highways, roads, ports, airports and prestigious residential and office complexes.[16] The group is organised into four business areas: Dams, hydroelectric plants and hydraulic works; Motorways and airports; Railways and undergrounds; Civil and industrial buildings.[17]
With more than a century of engineering experience among the two founding companies, Salini and Impregilo, The company's track record includes 257 dams and hydroelectric plants; 6,830 kilometres (4,240 miles) of railway lines; 1,450 kilometres (900 miles) of underground works, 400 of which subway lines; 51,660 kilometres (32,100 miles) of roads and highways; and 350 bridges and viaducts.[18]
Sustainability Rating
The sustainability rating assigned to the company by Standard Ethics Aei is E+ (Low).[19]
Major projects
Projects in which the company has been involved include buildings, public utilities, motorways, underground works, airports, water supply systems, waste disposals, hospitals and land development. Some major examples include:
- Kariba Dam, Zimbabwe/Zambia, 1959[20]
- Dez Dam, Iran, 1963[21]
- Akosombo Dam, Ghana, 1966[22]
- Salvage of the Abu Simbel temples, Egypt, 1968[23]
- Bay of Fontvieille, Monaco, 1973[24]
- Tarbela Dam, Pakistan, 1976[21]
- Fréjus Road Tunnel, France/Italy, 1980[25]
- Trans-Gabon Railway, Gabon, 1982 [26]
- San Roque González de Santa Cruz Bridge, Argentina/Paraguay, 1990 [27]
- New Hemicycle of European Parliament, France, 1997[28]
- Lesotho Highlands Water Project, 1998[29]
- Extensions to the Rodovia dos Imigrantes, Brazil, 2002[30]
- Ghazi Barotha Dam, Pakistan, 2002[31]
- Nathpa Jhakri Hydroelectric Power Project, India, 2003[32]
- Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, United Arab Emirates, 2003[33]
- Desalination plant Jebel Ali l1, United Arab Emirates, 2005[34]
- Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant, Iceland, 2008[35]
- Turin–Milan and Bologna–Florence high-speed railways, Italy, 2009[36]
- Expansion of the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, 2009[37]
- Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, 2011[38]
- Expansion of the Panama Canal – third set of locks, 2016[39]
- Faido sections of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, 2016[40]
- Cityringen, new subway circular urban line in Copenhagen, 2019[41]
- Red Line North, part of the Doha Metro project in Qatar, 2019.[42]
- Forrestfield–Airport Link, extension to the Transperth rail network, 2022[43]
- Texas Central Railway, due to complete in 2025[44]
- Rogun Dam, Tajikistan, due to complete in 2025[45]
- Portions of the Grand Paris Express, France, due to complete in 2025[46]
- Dam and artificial lake at Trojena, in Neom, Saudi Arabia, due to complete in 2026[47]
- Snowy 2.0 Pumped Storage Power Station, due to complete in 2028[48]
€8.2 billion (2022)[2]
