Arcadis has launched a new business dedicated to its digital offering, including digital management of clients’ assets and developing new technology.
Arcadis Gen follows the Dutch-owned consultant’s acquisition of tech companies SEAMS and EAMS Group. It is a separate legal entity with 200 employees spread across the globe, but no head office.
Chief executive Rachel White (pictured) told Construction News it was “a scale-up rather than start-up”, adding: “We’ve heard from customers that most organisations have fairly significant ageing asset portfolios and they want to maximise the value of those portfolios and their efficiency and reliability, combined with the fact that the engineering and construction industry is really the last to be disrupted by digital technology.”
She added that the consultant’s “deep asset knowledge” would help set it aside from its competitors.
The new company is already working on contracts inherited from its parent for Transport for London (TfL), Severn Trent Water, US-rail firm Amtrak and others. Its TfL contract sees it provide a single platform to manage all of the operator’s infrastructure assets in a bid to improve reliability and performance on the London Underground and London Tram networks through data analytics and digital analysis.
Arcadis Gen is yet to announce its aims for margins and revenues, but White said these will be stated in the company’s financial results later this month. She added that Arcadis “recognises that investment is needed”.
Arcadis global chief executive Peter Oosterveer said: “Arcadis Gen is a vital step in Arcadis’s digital transformation. Together, we will positively disrupt the industry and help our clients harness the power of data to transform their businesses and improve quality of life for their customers.”
