The Weir Group plc (LSE: WEIR) is an engineering company headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The company operates in over 70 countries employing approximately 13,000 people focused on mining, oil and gas and power markets.

History[link]

Advertisement for G. & J. Weir Ltd. in the Brassey's Naval Annual of 1923.

Weir boiler feedwater pump

The Company was established in 1871 as an engineering firm by two brothers, George and James Weir, founding G. & J. Weir Ltd.^[4] The Weir brothers produced numerous groundbreaking inventions in pumping equipment, primarily for the Clyde shipyards and the steam ships built there. These pumps became extremely well known for their use as boiler feedwater pumps, and for ship's auxiliary equipment such as evaporators.

Under W G Weir, the company turned to producing munitions and war materiel in the First World War. As well as shells, they manufactured aircraft including the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 fighter and bomber.

James George Weir (aviator, son of James Galloway Weir) a director of the company formed the Cierva Autogiro Company. G & J Weir would be a financial supporter of the company for several years. In 1943, they provided the finances for the construction of the W.9, an experimental helicopter, to Air Ministry requirements.

It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1946.^[4] Double-acting Weir steam pumps were virtually standard fitment on British-built steamships, being used for pumping water, fuel, air and much else well into the 1950s, as well as being used on other ships worldwide.

21st century[link]

In recent years, the company has undergone significant reorganisation both operationally and in terms of its geographic footprint.

In July 2005, Weir sold its desalination and water treatment businesses, (Weir Westgarth, Weir Entropie and Weir Envig) to Veolia Water Systems, part of the water division of Veolia Environnement: Weir Westgarth had been a pioneer of the multi-stage flash distillation process used predominately to produce desalinated water from seawater.^[5]

In May 2007, the Company sold its Glasgow-based business Weir Pumps to Jim McColl's Clyde Blowers plc, with the pump company subsequently being renamed to Clyde Pumps Ltd.^[6]

Recent acquisitions

In December 2010, Weir pleaded guilty to breaching UN sanctions on Iraq between 2000 and 2002. Judge Lord Carloway of The High Court in Edinburgh fined the company £3m along with a confiscation order of £13.9m.^[17]

Operations[link]

With effect from 1 May 2008, the Weir Group reorganised its operating units into three sector- focused divisions in the higher growth markets of mining, oil & gas and power & industrials:^[18]

Weir Minerals - manufactures slurry handling equipment and associated spare parts for abrasive high wear applications used in mining as well as in the niche oil sands and flue gas desulphurisation markets. Products include pumps, hydro cyclones, valves, de-watering equipment and wear resistant linings. The division is present in key mining markets, including South and North America, Australia and Africa.

Weir Oil & Gas - designs and manufactures pumps and ancillary equipment for global upstream and downstream oil and gas markets.

Upstream operations specialise in high-pressure well service pumps and related flow control equipment along with repairs, parts and service of pressure control and rotating equipment. Downstream focuses on design and manufacture of centrifugal pumps, mainly for the refining industry. Principal operations are in North America, Europe and the Middle East.

Weir Power & Industrial designs, manufactures and supports specialist and critical-service rotating and flow control equipment, in the main, to the global power sector. The division includes valve operations, a specialist pump business and service and aftermarket operations and is one of only a few businesses globally capable of providing specialist valves into the nuclear islands of third generation nuclear power stations. Facilities are located in Europe, North America, China, Middle East, India and South Africa.

GEHO pump assembly

People[link]

• William Weir, 1st Viscount Weir
• Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Kelvin
• Thomas Leith

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site

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