Foster Wheeler AG (formerly Foster Wheeler Inc.) was a Swiss global engineering conglomerate with its principal executive offices in
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
,
UK and its registered office in
Baar,
Canton of Zug
The canton of Zug or canton of Zoug (, Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; ; ; ) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. It is located in central Switzerland and its Capital (political), capital is Zug. At the canton is one of the smallest ...
, Switzerland. Foster Wheeler was added to the
NASDAQ-100
The Nasdaq-100 (NDX) is a stock market index made up of equity securities issued by 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. It is a modified capitalization-weighted index. The stocks' weights in the inde ...
on 12 July 2007. On 13 November 2014 Foster Wheeler merged with Amec plc to form
Amec Foster Wheeler
Amec Foster Wheeler plc was a British multinational consultancy, engineering and project management company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. In October 2017, it was acquired by Wood Group.
It was focused on the Oil, Gas & Chemicals, ...
. The resultant company was acquired by and merged into
Wood Group in October 2017.
History
Foster Wheeler was formed in 1927 from a merger of the Power Specialty Company (which replaced American Water Works Supply Company, created by Pell and Ernest Foster in 1884) and the Wheeler Condenser & Engineering Company, which was created by Frederick Merriam Wheeler in 1891. It was originally based in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
but later moved to
Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston is a township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 31,330, its highest United States census, decennial co ...
and stayed there for nearly a quarter century before relocating to
Clinton, New Jersey
Clinton is a town in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the South Branch of the Raritan River in the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 2,773, an increase ...
in 1987. In 2000, Foster Wheeler moved its incorporation to
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an ...
; in 2008, it moved its incorporation to
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.
The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1929.
On 26 February 2008 Foster Wheeler Announced it had acquired Biokinetics.
Foster Wheeler was acquired by AMEC plc in the second half of 2014 to form
Amec Foster Wheeler
Amec Foster Wheeler plc was a British multinational consultancy, engineering and project management company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. In October 2017, it was acquired by Wood Group.
It was focused on the Oil, Gas & Chemicals, ...
. The acquisition coincided with a downturn in the price of crude oil which depressed the market for services to the energy industry and left the merged company with substantial debt. Amec Foster Wheeler was bought by and merged into
Wood Group in October 2017.
Operations
The company was focused on
engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPC) contracting and
power
Power may refer to:
Common meanings
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power, a type of energy
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
Math ...
equipment supply. It comprised two business groups: a Global Engineering and Construction (E&C) Group and a Global Power Group.
Global E&C Group
The Global E&C Group designed, engineered and constructed leading-edge processing facilities and related infrastructure for the
upstream oil and gas,
LNG
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...
and gas-to-liquids, refining, chemicals & petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals,
biotechnology
Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...
& healthcare, environmental and power industries.
They owned technology in
delayed coking, solvent
de-asphalting, and
hydrogen production
Hydrogen gas is produced by several industrial methods. Nearly all of the world's current supply of hydrogen is created from fossil fuels. Article in press. Most hydrogen is ''gray hydrogen'' made through steam methane reforming. In this process, ...
processes. They also provided international
environmental remediation
Environmental remediation is the cleanup of hazardous substances dealing with the removal, treatment and containment of pollution or contaminants from Natural environment, environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment. Remediation may be ...
services with related technical, engineering, design and regulatory services.
Global Power Group
The Global Power Group built, owned and operated
cogeneration
Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time.
Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elec ...
, independent power production, and
waste-to-energy
Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) refers to a series of processes designed to convert waste materials into usable forms of energy, typically electricity or heat. As a form of energy recovery, WtE plays a crucial role in both wa ...
facilities as well as facilities for the process industries, providing electricity, steam, and feed stocks to industries and local grids.
See also
*
List of oilfield service companies
This is a list of oilfield service companies – which provide services to the petroleum exploration and production industry but do not typically produce petroleum. In the list, notable subsidiary companies and divisions are listed as sub-lists o ...
References
External links
Foster Wheeler Corporate Web SiteFoster Wheeler Fonds, 1944-1980, RG 75-66Brock University Library Digital Repository
{{Authority control
Energy engineering and contractor companies
Engineering companies of Switzerland
Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1927
2014 mergers and acquisitions
Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq
Swiss companies established in 1927
Swiss companies disestablished in 2014
Companies based in the canton of Zug