ENGINEERING consultancy Montgomery Watson's expertise in the field of water and the environment has brought further success for the High Wycombe company.o

It was recently named as Consultant of the Year for 2001 by New Civil Engineering Magazine.

The award was given for overall growth it has seen its turnover more than double in the past year, from £40.5 million to £83.1 million and for its work with the water companies. This includes sole responsibility for project management of United Utilities five-year, £2 billion capital expenditure programme for its Asset Management Plan 3 (AMP3) in north west England.

All the water companies are required to undertake a five-year AMP for the period 2000-2005 to improve their capital investment to meet UK and EU regulations on water and the environment, such as those regarding the quality of bathing water around the coastline.

Ron Cole, managing director (Europe), said: "Over the last five years we have aimed at growth.

"Our ethos links engineering and technical excellence with how we can create business efficiently. If we come up with innovative solutions we can save money for our clients and they benefit."

Montgomery Watson, the old-established UK consultancy partnership, came to Amersham Road in 1972 from London.

By the 1990s the need to go global to compete with companies overseas became apparent and it merged with an American firm Hall James Montgomery in 1992 to form the present company. It now employs 4,500 staff worldwide and more than 1,000 in the UK, with the European head office in High Wycombe.

The UK covers an area stretching from Ireland to India, including Europe and the Middle East.

Montgomery Watson is now looking to expand into the power sector as well by merging with Chicago-based power and energy firm Herza. The merger was announced last year and the final announcement was expected this month.

Clients in the UK include Thames Water, Northumbria Water and the three Scottish water authorities. In April the company received a three-year research project in partnership with the Meteorological Office, among others, to investigate the potential impact of global warming on UK sewerage (pipe) systems.

In the Middle East, where the company has had interests for the past 30 years, it has two offices the United Arab Emirates where the main work is involved on the sewage side for new large industrial and housing estates, and in Amman, Jordan, covering Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, as well as Kuwait.

During the Iraq/Iran War, two employees were captured and held prisoner for four months.

The company also had to withdraw staff back to Amman when the hostilities heightened in Palestine.

Montgomery Watson has offices in Italy and in Brussels the latter bids for work in the EU and has won the PHARE investment monitoring project for the EU monies going into countries such as Hungary and the Czech Republic, not only for water but power, roads, etc, to bring the infrastructure up to EU standards.

"It is now in its fifth year and the money is being spent wisely," said Mr Cole.

Montgomery Watson has also opened an international design centre in Pune in India to do design, drawing work, data preparation and software development.

"There is a shortage of modellers in the UK so we are bringing Indian trainees to the UK to go back to India to do modelling work for the UK," said Mr Cole.