The Dutch group Peja Production has bought the British engineering group, Taylor & Goodman, which provides mechanical and electrical services to customers in many sectors and has a particular expertise in supplying and servicing motors, pumps and gearboxes, especially for the water industry. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Taylor & Goodman, founded in 1948, has its headquarters in Reading, and branches in Brierly Hill, Bishop’s Stortford, Eastbourne, and Middlesborough.

Peja’s interests include industrial components, automation, venture capital, property, finance and investments, and it is active in Europe and other parts of the world. In the early 1990s, it founded Dutchi Motors with a Chinese manufacturer, and built up markets for the motors in more than 60 countries. In 2008, Peja sold Dutchi to US-based Regal Beloit.

“It is unusual to be able to acquire a national electrical/mechanical service organisation with so many blue chip customers,” says Peja’s president and CEO, Dr Toni Bienemann (above). “We were impressed particularly with the strength of the management team and the company’s penetration of the water industry, where long-term framework agreements have been established with organisations such as Thames Water, Wessex Water, Southern Water, and Anglian Water.

“This infrastructure provides a solid platform for growth and the synergies between the two companies make the acquisition a perfect fit with Peja’s international development strategy,” Bienemann adds.

Taylor & Goodman’s MD Peter Ryder (above) is staying on in the role. “We are pleased to welcome our new investors who clearly appreciate the value of delivering good engineering services to industry and who have the appetite to invest further in developing the untapped potential available,” he says. “I am very encouraged about the future of Taylor & Goodman as a result of this sale.”