Kentz Corp. Ltd. was an engineering and construction business serving clients primarily in the oil and gas, petrochemical and mining and metals sectors.
History
The company was founded by Michael Francis Kent as an electrical contracting business in
Clonmel
Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...
in
County Tipperary
County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...
in 1919.
The business was taken over by his brother in 1948, and then by his son Frank in 1963.
[ The business, which had been renamed MF Kent, expanded rapidly during the 1970s and 1980s as it upgraded the Irish telecommunications network.][ In 1987, it was acquired by Gus Kearney, its general manager, who expanded operations into ]Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.[
In 1992, the company made heavy losses on the refurbishment of the ]Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (, English: "National Art Museum of Catalonia"), abbreviated as MNAC, is a museum of Catalan visual art located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on Montjuïc hill at the end of Avinguda de la Reina M ...
and struggled to survive.[
The company changed its name to Kentz following the purchase.][ Hugh O'Donnell was appointed ]chief executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
in 2000 and the company was subsequently listed on the Alternative Investment Market
AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in operation since 1980. It allows ...
in February 2008. Kentz was transferred to the main market of the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
in July 2011. Christian Brown became chief executive in February 2012.
On 23 June 2014, SNC-Lavalin
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal that provides engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services to various industries, including mining and metallurgy, oil and gas, environment and water, infrastructure, a ...
agreed to acquire Kentz for C$2.1 billion ($1.95 billion). The sale was completed on 22 August 2014 with Kentz delisted from the London Stock Exchange.
Operations
Kentz has operations in 30 countries around the world, including the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Australasia, the Far East, Russia and Europe.
The company's three main business units are:
See also
* Celtworld
References
External links
Official site
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016143140/http://www.kentz.com/ , date=2011-10-16
Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1919
Construction and civil engineering companies of Ireland
SNC-Lavalin
1919 establishments in Ireland