Hatch Group acquires Brazilian engineering firm MEK Engenharia

The Hatch Group has acquired Brazilian engineering firm MEK Engenharia, which has designed nearly 70 hydroelectric power projects. Based in Rio de Janeiro, with offices in Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre, MEK Engenharia has also invested in the wind power market

With an eye on South America’s “dynamic” power sector, the Hatch Group has acquired Brazil’s MEK Engenharia, a 22-year-old engineering firm that has completed the design of nearly 70 hydropower projects, delivering more than 6,000 MW of installed capacity.

MEK, which is based in Rio de Janeiro, with offices in Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre, has also invested in the wind power market for more than five years, participating in approximately 25 projects.

John Pearson, Hatch’s global managing director, power and oil and gas, said the partnership with MEK is the latest step in Hatch’s strategy to participate in the ongoing development of Brazil’s vibrant economy.

Brazil is by far the largest electricity market in South America, consuming as much as all other South American countries combined, Hatch said.

In addition, approximately 70 per cent of the country’s electricity is generated through hydropower. Brazil has 58 per cent of the total South American hydropower installed capacity. In 2011, 50 per cent of all newly installed wind power in central and South America was in Brazil.

“As Brazil further develops its infrastructure and its rich natural resources, the need for reliable power in the country will only increase, Pearson said.

“The combination of Hatch’s 80-plus years of hydropower experience — the heart of our power business — with the experience and reputation of MEK in Brazil, will help us deliver a comprehensive technical consulting, engineering and design service to the country’s power market.”

Mississauga, Ont.-based Hatch is one of the world’s leading engineering, procurement and construction management firms. The company already has offices in Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte, focused on the metals and mining sectors.

In an interview, Luc Thibault, Hatch’s renewable power director for Brazil, said MEK brings to the table “a wealth of expertise” in the design of small to medium-sized hydropower projects. The firm has 120 professionals on staff.

Prior to MEK’s acquisition, Hatch was active in the Brazilian hydropower market “but mainly in due diligences and assessment of projects and assets.

“But we had already started to work on wind power projects, in association with MEK,” Thibault said.

He said the renewable power market, especially in Brazil, is “very robust, bringing many more greenfield project opportunities than in North America.

“For Hatch, South America means growth in all type of renewable power: hydro, wind and solar,” he said.

Employee-owned Hatch is a multidisciplinary professional services firm that delivers an array of technical and strategic services including consulting, information technology, engineering, process development and project and construction management in the mining, metallurgical, energy and infrastructure sectors.