Cool-headed Finns turn up the heat with ICE acquisition
A Burton-upon-Trent electrical installations and contracting business has been acquired by a Finnish technology firm.
VEO Group, headquartered in Vaasa, on the west coast of Finland, has invested in I.C. Electrical (ICE) to strengthen its position in the UK marketplace and support its ambitious international growth strategy.
The group said it intended to use ICE as the base for its UK operations.
The terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
During the last 10 years both companies have worked closely together, and VEO said the acquisition showed its commitment to stay, grow and develop its services in the UK despite the uncertainties posed by Brexit.
It said the range of products and engineering capacity offered by the combined group would benefit ICE’s customers and partners by offering them access to a broader scope of supply, turnkey EAI engineering and high-end technology products, made either locally or in Finland.
As well as the UK, VEO Group also operates from seven other locations across Finland, Sweden and Norway.
Marko Ekman, CEO of VEO Group, said: “ICE’s extensive experience in the UK market combined with VEO’s products and expertise creates a strong foundation to build on. Growth and internationalisation will continue to play an important role in VEO’s plans for the future.”
Tim McNeilly, managing director of I.C. Electrical, said: “The acquisition not only represents a positive step forward for VEO and ICE in the UK but acknowledges the buoyancy and stability of the Midlands marketplace. To have such backing from a large overseas player, despite the uncertainty created by Brexit, is testament to this.
“The synergies between our businesses are enormous. This, matched with an unrivalled level of trust, cooperation and engineering knowhow, gives us a winning formula. Together we can provide our customers with the most suitable and comprehensive deliveries on a project-specific basis. We offer engineering, design, control panels and installations that complement VEO’s existing products and services and we look forward to sharing these benefits with both new and existing customers.”
Jarkko Aro, sales and operative director at ICE said the increased capacity to design products and produce them at its own factories was evidence of the greater flexibility and efficiency offered by the larger operation.
“Moving forward, our combined expertise can be utilised particularly well for waste to energy operations by generating electricity to the network, as well as heat to local houses or businesses by incinerating waste which normally would go to landfill,” he said.
Pictured from left: Jarkko Aro (sales and operative director, ICE), Tim McNeilly (managing director, ICE), Chris Emmerson (director, ICE), Marko Ekman (CEO, VEO), Timo Ala-Heikkila (Vice President Industry, VEO).
