Engineering staffing providers Airswift and Competentia announced today they are merging. The combined company will operate under the Airswift name and be led by Airswfit CEO Janette Marx. In addition, the combined company will have operations in more than 70 countries, more than 6,000 contractors and approximately 700 employees.
“There has long been mutual admiration between Airswift and Competentia,” Marx said. “As two high-performing businesses, we share a focus on continual improvement and a mutual ambition to become the workforce solutions provider of choice for clients, candidates and contractors in the energy, process, infrastructure, mining and technology industries.”
Houston-based Airswift ranks among the largest global providers of engineering staffing, according to SIA. Competentia is based in Stavanger, Norway.
Competentia Group CEO Jayden Wallis will take on the role of chief marketing officer and senior VP of Asia Pacific for the combined company. Airswift CFO Kyle McClure will continue to serve as CFO.
Airswift and Competentia’s private equity backers, Wellspring Capital and Reiten and Co., respectively, are retaining their stakes in the combined company and will continue to be active in the business. Airswift has also issued a bond on the Norwegian bond market to ensure maximum flexibility and access to alternative funding in the future.
“These are two companies with such similar cultures and successful track records, which we believe will fit together seamlessly to offer the market the greatest possible breadth, depth and quality of services, wherever clients may operate,” said Bård Ingerø, managing partner at Reiten and Co.
In putting together the deal, Airswift Chairman Ian Langley initiated early discussions with Competentia Chairman Odd Arne Kleveland.
“It was obvious from our opening call that a potential merger had great merit,” Langley said. “Not only did our combination make perfect commercial sense, but we found that our organizations had similar cultures and aspirations, and we quickly discovered a unique alignment.”
Services provided by the combined firm will include talent acquisition, professional search, international contractor management, global employment outsourcing, consultancy and payroll management.