Clarke Group History
- 1989 – Established in UK as engine service company
- 1991 – ISO quality accreditation, now ISO 9001:2000
- 1995 – Appointed Jenbacher distributor in UK
- 1997 – Appointed HAASE and HUG distributor in UK
- 1998 – Appointed Jenbacher distributor in Australia & New Zealand
- 1999 – Appointed Jenbacher distributor in Nigeria
- 2000 – Clarke Telecom established
- 2000 – Move to new head quarters in Knowsley, Merseyside
- 2003 – Acquired Cogen India and appointed Jenbacher distributor for India (now Clarke Energy India)
- 2003 – Awarded ISO 14001 Environmental accreditation
- 2004 – Acquired Jenbacher France (now Clarke Energy France)
- 2005 – Acquire NP contracts to expand Clarke Telecom services
- 2005 – Appointed Jenbacher distributor for Ireland
- 2007 – Acquire telecom competitor to double size of Clarke Telecom
Historical Background
The Clarke Group of today has transformed dramatically since Jim Clarke first took a controlling stake in the company (then known as Marine Manpower Services) in 1989. Initially as co-owner, Jim set about restructuring what was at that time a diesel engine spare parts and service business. The first few years saw many changes, which eventually led to Jim taking complete ownership. The business continued to grow and turnover quickly rose from £500,000 to £4million. Employee numbers also rose significantly, from 4 to 40.
A key milestone came in 1995 when the company was appointed as the exclusive UK distributor for Jenbacher - the worlds leading manufacturer of gas engines and co-generation units, ranging from 330kWe to 3,000kWe, suitable for operating with natural gas and a wide range of biogases. This was largely thanks to the company’s strong service based operation and enviable reputation for good quality customer service.
In 1997 the company changed its name to Clarke Energy Ltd and since then the company has developed to encompass many varied gas generation and co-generation applications ranging from landfill gas containerised module installations to turnkey 10MW power station projects for major UK utility companies. This led to the setting up of a dedicated Jenbacher product service support facility with remote monitoring, spare parts stock holding and full engine rebuild and refurbishment capability.
On the back of the successful partnership between Clarke Energy and Jenbacher, the company began to expand overseas. 1998 saw Clarke Energy being awarded with exclusive distributorship in Australia and New Zealand, soon followed by Nigeria in 1999. It was then only a few years until the acquisition of Cogen India (now Clarke Energy India) and Jenbacher France (now Clarke Energy France) in 2003 and 2004 to further expand Clarke Energy worldwide. Becoming the exclusive distributor in Ireland in 2005 completed the worldwide office locations in place at Clarke Energy to date.
Clarke Energy not only distributes Jenbacher engines, but also became the sole distributors of both HAASE Energietechnik and HUG Engineering products in 1997.
HAASE Energietechnik’s range of gas engineering systems includes flare stacks and gas booster units. Their purpose built high temperature flare stacks are fully enclosed and are virtually maintenance free. To compliment this, the Swiss based HUG Engineering is the world’s leading manufacture of exhaust gas emission control systems. Their exhaust gas purification systems are able to reduce harmful gases by 95%.
The year 2000 saw the establishment of the Clarke Group when the company branched out into telecommunications and formed Clarke Telecom. It was also in this year that the company moved into purpose built headquarters in Knowsley, Merseyside.
Clarke Telecom delivers quality products and services to the UK cellular network operators, carving its reputation within power management. The company grew substantially and, in 2005, led to the acquisition of NP Contracts, the leading telecom construction contractor who, for the previous four years, had been the best performing contractor for cellular operator ‘3’.
Clarke Rigging was also established in 2005. This department of Clarke Telecom was set up to compliment the construction division and quickly reached the top of industry performance tables. It offers a suite of services including surveys, rigging installation, commissioning/decommissioning, inspections and microwave link work.
In 2007, Clarke Telecom doubled in size when it acquired the highly successful Infrastructure Technologies Ltd (Infratec). This addition to the company further enhances the range of in-house services offered and its consistent topping of customer performance tables compliments the high standards set by Clarke Telecom. The acquisition also included the expansion of Clarke Rigging, incorporating Infratec’s sister company RT Masts, boosting the rigging and microwave capabilities across the market.
Since Jim Clarke’s arrival in 1989, the company has continued to grow year on year with employee numbers and turnover figures consistently rising. 2007 saw a record turnover for the Clarke Group of over £100m, with the number of employees passing 500 worldwide.