Sener Acquires Special Structures Firm EIPSA
Sener has completed a 100 percent acquisition of the firm Estudio de Ingeniería y Proyectos, S.A. (EIPSA), which specializes in structural engineering. EIPSA has 30 years of experience and a notable portfolio of past works, projects and technical assistance services in the construction of special structures in industrial and urban buildings, storage silos, pedestrian bridges and vehicle bridges.
The agreement was signed in Sener’s offices in Tres Cantos (Madrid) by Sener Managing Director Jorge Unda, Sener General Manager of Infrastructures and Transport, José Gregorio Briz, and EIPSA General Manager and founder, José Antonio Llombart.
Once this was completed, José Gregorio Briz emphasized that, “EIPSA’s integration into Sener allows us to offer viaduct design services as yet another of the group’s specialties in large multi-disciplinary projects, where we have the capability to manage the entire project.” He added “this agreement seals the coming together of two companies with a shared spirit: both are innovators, with an appetite for unique projects that involve technical challenges, and both are very much geared towards resolving the customer’s needs with complete integrity.”
According to José Antonio Llombart’s evaluation, the integration with Sener, “responds to the current climate, in which competing on the international market is essential — a factor that meant EIPSA’s structure had to grow. In this regard, the integration in a bigger and multi-disciplinary team such as Sener enables us to take on large projects anywhere in the world.” He also paid tribute to the high level of understanding between the two teams. “We had known Sener as a client, but also in close quarters as site supervisors in projects that we were involved in together. Therefore, we knew how their people worked and could see a lot of common ground in the objectives of the two companies. As a result, we were on the same wavelength straight away, but it was no coincidence. We have had a mutual understanding for many years, based on a shared work philosophy and common interests.”
EIPSA and Sener go back a long way together, having coincided on projects throughout their histories. Sometimes this has been as partners, for example working on the Bilbao Exhibition Center (BEC), where Sener performed site supervision and EIPSA carried out the building’s structure, and on the Madrid – Valencia high-speed train connection, where Sener again carried out site supervision and EIPSA delivered two unique viaducts, Istmo and Arco, over the Contreras Reservoir. Other joint projects include the A4 highway in The Netherlands, the Vitoria – Eibar highway, Seville’s metro and the bridge project over the Deba River in Gipuzkoa, Spain. They currently have a number of projects under way, such as the Doha metro in Qatar, the Guadalajara metro and the Toluca – Mexico City intercity train in Mexico, the Jeddah metro in Saudi Arabia, and the Lima metro in Peru; all of these featuring special structures as an important component.
