CWL Capital’s portfolio is a testament to our global outlook and commitment to diversification. We reached out to several companies within the group to understand how joining CWL Capital has not only aided in their growth but also created a cohesive approach to projects. Leveraging the strengths of their sister companies, Vertech Group has successfully undertaken numerous projects, delivering comprehensive end-to-end services.
Tom Brennan, former Managing Director of Vertech Group, has discussed how CWL Capital has been beneficial for Vertech Group. Please read below:
What were the key drivers and anticipated benefits you saw in joining the group and share some examples of those benefits being realised?
Vertech had grown rapidly from its inception, but as the market had changed, the business needed to reinvent itself to continue that momentum. CWL had a long history of involvement with inspection and integrity businesses so we anticipated that with that knowledge base they would back the management team on their development and investment strategies, import new NDT technologies to the Asia Pacific and allow us to take the business to the next level. CWL quickly realised the potential of bringing together Vertech and their advanced inspection business Sonomatic to deliver a greatly enhanced service to our customers. The CWL board understood the market sector and our position and backed the business heavily. This resulted in multimillion dollar investments for R&D, several acquisitions and asset purchases expanding our reach nationally and to Brazil and Southeast Asia while also adding niche and specialist services like RDVI, Pipeline inspection, MEC inspection and integrity capabilities such as NII & RBI.
Can you share your experience regarding the initial integration into the Group and what impacts has this had to your business and team since joining?
CWL very much allowed Vertech and its management team to take the lead in the APAC region with their advanced inspection business Sonomatic and later inspection and integrity acquisitions tucking in as specialist providers as part of our group. What was impressive was CWL allowed our team to pick and choose what we saw value in from the wider group therefore creating a pull instead of pushing us towards anything. I really feel that approach is one that has worked very effectively for their companies.
If the founder of a new company were to ask you personally for details on you being given the freedom to run your business and the support or freedom to accelerate growth, how would you respond?
CWL’s approach and support to founders and key business leaders is exceptional. They encourage rapid growth, entrepreneurialism, and heavily back the people they have chosen to partner with. From my own perspective they gave me unprecedented backing, allowing us to diversify the business into Civil, Renewable and the Infrastructure sectors across Australia as well as allowing me to add several exceptional and specialist buisness’s to support our core inspection services which has provided significant benefits to our customers.
How has Joining the group contributed to your company’s growth, innovation, and ability to tackle challenges? Could you provide a specific example where this support significantly influenced a project or investment decision?
Vertech has quadrupled in size since CWL invested in the business 4 years ago. This wouldn’t have been possible without them heavily investing in us, providing guidance, and finding that balance between giving freedom for the business to realise its strategic goals, and asking the right questions at the right time. Having a parent company that understands the global integrity market facilitates quick decisions on investments in Digital technologies and Robotics technologies to remove manned entries. Examples of this can be seen in the Sonomatic NII, SIMS digital platform, the jointly developed Geo Oceans and Sonomatic i-COT tool for unmanned class inspections, Vertech’s multimillion dollar suite of Remote Digital Visual Inspection technology and the new Vertech Tablet based inspection reporting system. Without a forward thinking board who understand our market segment i don’t believe we would have any of these in place.
Can you discuss a particular instance where collaboration within the Group led to enhanced outcomes for your company, whether it be through shared knowledge, technologies, or market opportunities?
I can give two quite different but recent examples. The first been a major jetty in the mining sector that brought together the rope access, NDT and alterative access skills of Vertech, the Advanced NDT inspection tool and specialists of Sonomatic and the Marine drone, terrestrial scanning, Aerial drones and digital twin platform INSIGHT of AUAV to complete a thorough inspection outcome for our client. The digital platform was used by the integrity team who attached work packs and specific fabric maintenance and engineering notes and reports to use for their maintenance tenders and repair campaigns. The second example was a recent groundbreaking, fully unmanned class inspection of an FPSO. Bringing together the Specialist ROV skills of Geo Oceans, the R&D and advanced NDT technologies of Sonomatic, the Marine class knowledge and experience of Vertech and the drone and aerial skills of AUAV we were able to deliver a world first, more details of which will be released soon.
CWL Capital’s strategic focus on diversification and global outreach has significantly benefited its portfolio companies, fostering growth and innovation. As demonstrated by Vertech Group’s experience, joining CWL Capital has enabled them to leverage extensive industry knowledge, secure substantial investments, and integrate advanced technologies. The freedom given to Vertech’s management to lead and make strategic decisions has resulted in rapid expansion and the addition of niche services. The collaboration within the CWL Capital group has enhanced Vertech’s service offerings, enabling groundbreaking projects and establishing them as leaders in their sector. This cohesive and supportive approach underscores CWL Capital’s commitment to empowering its companies to achieve their full potential and drive industry innovation.
