TOTAL Power Solutions (TPS), the successful overhead line railway engineering company based in York, has been bought out by the massive GrantRail Group of Doncaster.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will not affect any of TPS's 50 jobs - consisting of 15 support staff at its head office in Micklegate, York, and 35 at its electrification depot in Doncaster, where there is a recently revamped training facility.
Brian Clemons, the firm's operations manager, said: "More than that, the acquisition is the way forward to expand our workforce."
Andrew Mackenzie, managing director of GrantRail subsidiary businesses, confirmed: "The acquisition will facilitate the continued rapid growth of TPS and offer even greater security to its employees.
"It will enable TPS to embark on the recruitment and investment programme it needs in order to maximise its long term potential."
The GrantRail Group Ltd, owned by Dutch company Volker Wessels Group and Corus, employs 1,100 people in offices and depots across the UK to provide a wide range of railway infrastructure services.
It was awarded, along with Trackwork, the £250 million contract to replace or refurbish 150 kilometres of track on London Underground's Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines. It also has a five-year, multi-million pound track renewal contract with Network Rail.
TPS adds to a stable of subsidiary and associated companies such as GrantRail Signalling Ltd, GrantPlant Ltd and ALH Coatings Ltd.
It comes in the wake of a successful TPS project to establish an electrification depot in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, a strategic operational base for servicing works on the southern end of the East Coast Mainline, Midland Mainline and Anglia region.
TPS was first started in 1997 by Gary Crutchley, its managing director, Paul Smith and Simon Mellor, to provide a "one stop shop" service to the railway industry for overhead line electrification.
Mr Crutchley will remain engineering manager for TPS, and at the same time will be GrantRail Group's electrification professional head.
Updated: 11:37 Friday, February 11, 2005
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