Opus acquires Stewart Weir of Alberta

Opus International Consultants has completed the acquisition of Stewart Weir, an employee-owned company of 550 people that operates mostly in Alberta and has its head office in Sherwood Park, near Edmonton. The 100-year old company has recently expanded its services from surveying and engineering to include industrial engineering, geographical information systems, and environmental services.

Opus International is an international multidisciplinary engineering, architecture and infrastructure consulting company with offices in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. It now has 3,000 staff in 91 offices around the world.

Opus first became established in Canada in 2002, then in 2010 it acquired Dayton and Knight (now Opus DaytonKnight), a water, wastewater and environmental engineering firm in B.C. With the latest acquisition Opus has 700 staff in 16 offices in Canada.

The new company will operate as Opus Stewart Weir, and Stewart Weir’s current chief executive officer, Brian Pearse, will stay as its president. The president of Opus’ Canadian operations will continue to be Sean Brophy, who is based in Vancouver.

Opus International’s managing director and chief executive, Dr. David Prentice, suggested that the acquisition of Stewart Weir is to give Opus a bigger role in Canada’s growing pipeline and energy markets, as well as in infrastructure. “

“Our strategic plan calls for both diversification in existing markets and expansion into new markets. This acquisition fulfils both those objectives. Oil and as is a vital global industry, and Canada is well positioned for growth,” said Dr. Prentice.

Besides the Sherwood Park office, Stewart Weir has offices in Calgary, Grande Prairie, Bonnyville and Lethbridge, Alberta, and in Fort St. John, B.C.