| Type | Public limited company |
|---|---|
| Traded as | LSE: ATK |
| Industry | Construction, design, engineering and business services |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Founder(s) | Sir William Atkins |
| Headquarters | Epsom, Surrey, United Kingdom |
| Number of locations | Offices in 28 countries |
| Key people | Allan Cook (Chairman) Uwe Krueger (Chief Executive) |
| Products | Consultancy services |
| Revenue | £1,564.3 million (2011)[1] |
| Operating income | £107.0 million (2011)[1] |
| Net income | £72.6 million (2011)[1] |
| Employees | 17,522 (March 2011)[2] |
| Subsidiaries | Faithful+Gould |
| Website | www.atkinsglobal.com |
WS Atkins plc (commonly known as Atkins) (LSE: ATK) is a multinational engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services company headquartered in Epsom, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1938 by Sir William Atkins.
Atkins is the largest engineering consultancy in the UK, the largest multi-disciplinary consultancy in Europe and the world's 13th largest design firm according to the Engineering News-Record.[3][4]
Atkins employs approximately 17,500 staff based in 180 offices in 28 countries and has undertaken projects in over 150 countries. For the year ended 31 March 2011, Atkins generated annual turnover in excess of £1.5 billion. Its motto is "Plan Design Enable".
Atkins is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
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The original company, WS Atkins & Partners, was established by the late Sir William Atkins in 1938 with offices in Westminster in London. In its early years the practice specialised in civil and structural engineering design work but expanded rapidly after World War II into specialist services in town planning, engineering sciences, architecture and project management.
In 1996, WS Atkins was admitted to the London Stock Exchange and began trading as WS Atkins plc. In 1996 it also acquired Faithful and Gould, a cost and project management consultancy firm.[5]
The project with which Atkins is most widely associated is the Burj al Arab, which was completed in 1999.[6]
The company has been trading under the Atkins name since 2002. In that year it also bought Hanscomb, construction consultants.[7]
The company experienced a number of financial difficulties in 2002 and the previous Chief Executive, Robin Southwell resigned, along with Finance Director Ric Piper, who was also told his new job at Trinity Mirror was no longer open to him.[8] Keith Clarke replaced him, joining from Skanska.[9]
Atkins was one of the five shareholders in Metronet, the tube maintenance company which failed in 2007 leading to Atkins having to write off its investment.[10]
In 2009 Atkins was appointed the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Games: services in which the company will provide for the event include building services design, civil engineering and structural engineering, acoustics, fire protection engineering and accessibility advice.[11]
Atkins staff levels declined as a result of the global recession, with losses of approximately 3000 staff between April 2009 and February 2011, although the overall headcount remained relatively stable with the acquisition of PBSJ in 2010.[12][13] Atkins bought PBSJ (an American provider of engineering, planning, architecture, construction, environmental and programme management services) in August 2010.[14]
In June 2011, Atkins announced it was buying the oil and gas business of Finnish global consulting firm, Pöyry for €17.25 million. As a result of the acquisition, around 130 staff from Pöyry's Perth, Stavanger and Aberdeen offices are expected to integrate into Atkins' Energy business unit.[15]
Atkins primarily divides its operations into the following business segments:
Atkins provides engineering, planning, urban design, architectural and rail design services.
In mainland China, the focus is on urban planning together with architectural and landscape architectural design, while in Hong Kong, Atkins delivers services in urban rail development and highways/bridges design.
Atkins has operations in Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Portugal and Ireland. Of these, Scandinavia is a key market for the provision of rail and urban planning services.
Atkins provides a full range of design, engineering and project management services for buildings, transportation and other infrastructure programmes. The organisation also delivers services to public sector bodies such as transport authorities, municipal bodies and planning councils as well as the private sector.
It continues to move from established sectors such as residential and commercial high rise buildings to developing new sectors such as transport (airports and rail), infrastructure (mixed use and water), health, defence and energy.
Atkins provides infrastructure planning, engineering, construction management, environmental consulting, urban planning, architecture and programme management services to state and local government clients, Federal agencies and private businesses.
In the transportation sector, the organisation provides engineering design and programme management services for ground, rail, aviation and marine transportation projects for both private and public sector clients.
In water and environment Atkins delivers environmental services, including feasibility evaluations, compliance, and resource and water management.
In the buildings sector Atkins provides engineering, planning, architecture, surveying and construction management services to public and private clients.
In the United Kingdom, Atkins delivers engineering and integrated technical design as well as project and cost management services to a wide range of clients in the public, regulated and private sectors. Its areas of operation include water, environment, education, aerospace, defence and infrastructure design as well as significant activity in the transportation sectors.
In highways, the organisation provides: transport planning, advising the UK Government and highway authorities on transport policy and investment appraisals; design of road improvements; the application of intelligent transport systems to enhance network performance; and integrated road network management and highway maintenance services.
In rail, Atkins supplies specialist design services across a range of engineering disciplines, including signalling, civil engineering, electrification and specialist services in strategic planning, safety and systems integration principally for heavy rail, rolling stock and metro markets.
Atkins is engaged in the developing energy market and also the allied issues of climate change, sustainability and energy security.
In electricity generation, it is helping both conventional and nuclear sectors maintain output and extend the life of assets. They are also engaged in planning and enabling the next generation of nuclear power stations as well as providing support in decommissioning.
In the oil and gas industry, the organisation provides design and integrity management services with activity at all stages of the value chain.
Atkins is also active in the energy efficiency and renewable markets, providing a range of services in all aspects of renewable energy technology, from initial feasibility studies to detailed engineering.
Atkins also holds equity investments in PPP/PFI joint ventures, including TranSys which provides the Oyster card contactless payment system to Transport for London.
Uwe Krueger was appointed as chief executive in August 2011 following Keith Clarke's retirement.[16]
As of September 2011, the current WS Atkins board members are:[17]
Some of the notable past and current Atkins projects are as follows:
and other solutions provided by Atkins are as follows:
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