Skipton-based ACWA Services celebrated its 25th anniversary this week with a reception at which Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon, staff and guests from around the world paid tribute to an extraordinary local success story.

Managing Director Peter Ripley says:

“It is hard to believe that it is 25 years since we set this business up in a broom cupboard in a mill in Bradford belonging to a wool scouring firm and now we are an established leader in water, wastewater and air treatment around the globe.”

As the company grew it moved to its current headquarters on the Acorn Business Park in Skipton in 1992 and ‘ACWA House’ was officially opened in January 1993 by the then Minister of State for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, local MP David Curry.

ACWA have undertaken projects across the world allowing safe and secure water to flow to both domestic customers and industry alike. In addition to the major utility companies it serves, its prestigious industrial client list includes some of the world’s leading brands including the Ford Motor Company, Kelloggs, Nestlé, Rolls Royce, Coca Cola and Budweiser.

The company went from strength to strength in the 1990s and international orders began to roll in, including a first contract for a desalination plant in Yemen. Subsequently, one of the world’s largest construction companies, Consolidated Contractors Co, became the majority shareholder in 1992, heralding a period of expansion.

Water purification remains a mainstay of the business, but the company has successfully expanded across the entire water treatment spectrum as well as diversifying into air pollution control. The Middle East became and still is a significant market for the company, where its name is synonymous with a number of prestigious contracts such as the luxurious Palm Jumeirah resort in Dubai where ACWA provided advanced seawater desalination systems and a wastewater reuse plant.

The company also has a number of own-brand treatment systems that are famous around the world for their quality and reliability, including the Amtreat® ammonia removal process, the Nitreat® system which removes nitrates from drinking water and the Memtreat® Membrane BioReactor  system.

Julian Smith, Member of Parliament for Skipton and Ripon, said:

“I would like to congratulate ACWA on their 25th anniversary and on the work they are doing from Skipton across the world. These have been very difficult times for business so it is encouraging to hear about the growth the company has shown over the years and the continued growth it shows today. I am also delighted the firm is taking on apprentices and giving opportunities to young people who are vital to our economy and our future.”

And to underline the ongoing success of the Company ACWA has recently taken on seven extra staff at its Skipton headquarters, many of them from the local community. Jason Handley is returning to the Company and says he “jumped at the chance” to come back to ACWA.

Another, 20-year-old new apprentice Becky Greenwood from Skipton says: “Having come from an engineering background and studied engineering at school, I was delighted to be accepted by ACWA as a trainee CAD technician. As an apprentice, I am able to get hands-on experience with support from colleagues whilst furthering my qualifications to develop skills and knowledge, and ultimately my career.”

The company is proud of both its local heritage and its growing international reputation. Peter Ripley says: “ACWA is now firmly established as a major player in the UK and Middle East and has a fast-growing joint venture company in the USA as well as highly-successful contracts in the ‘Asian tiger’ markets of China and Vietnam. We are proud of our long list of ‘household name’ clients which says much about the quality of our systems, our service – and most of all our staff.”

“ We’re already looking forward to the next 25 years and aim to build on the experience and expertise built up over our first quarter century to provide solutions to both drive the economy and help resolve the world’s pressing environmental problems."

www.acwa.co.uk