The acquisition by the Japanese company was completed earlier this week and offers renewed certainty to project developers in the UK, including Cory Environmental for which Inova is the contractor for its Belvedere facility in London (see letsrecycle.com story).
With its new owner, the former Von Roll Inova will carry forward what has been a success story in winning energy-from-waste (EfW) technology contracts.
A statement from the company explained that the “sale of AE&E Inova AG, former Von Roll Inova, became necessary because A-TEC Industries – and subsequently the AE&E Group as the parent company – had to declare insolvency.”
Georg Silbermann, chief executive of AE&E Inova AG explained that Hitachi Zosen already had close contacts with Inova as the company has provided the technology for Hitachi Zosen's EfW contracts in Japan, China and South East Asia over the past 50 years,
The sale, for which no financial details have been released, means that Japan strengthens its connections with the UK and also means that Inova, already a strong player in the EfW sector, can maintain what is believed to be a leading supplier position.
And, the company said that its UK contractors, notably Costain, at Belvedere had been paid for their work in line with contract agreements. Costain had aired some concerns about payments in the wake of the collapse of Inova's parent company (see letsrecycle.com story).
Lena Tobler, a spokeswoman for AE&E Inova, said: “I would like to add that the financial situation of the parent company was not due in any way to the performance eof the EfW division.”
Future
It is thought that losses by the group parent through another company in Australia were a factor in the financial difficulties. Now, Inova is looking for more work in the UK and is tendering for several plants being proposed by energy from waste companies.
Hitachi Zosen Corporation, an industrial conglomerate, has built more than 180 thermal waste treatment plants using proven AE&E Inova technology in the region, especially in Japan.
Hitachi Zosen and AE&E Inova also collaborated intensively in the development of the growth market in China; last year alone, Hitachi Zosen was awarded four contracts in the People's Republic for energy-from-waste projects based on Swiss technology. This portfolio includes the plant in Laogang near Shanghai, one of the world's largest thermal waste treatment facilities.
“The strong long-term commitment of Hitachi Zosen to the business and the corporation's financial strength – combined with AE&E Inova's technology and project execution expertise – will insure continued leadership in energy-from-waste projects,” added Mr Silbermann.
He continued: “At the same time, we are of course delighted that we can continue to devote our undivided attention to the implementation of our sophisticated customer projects around the world.”
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