Waterland has acquired a majority stake in Writech, an Irish fire safety engineering company. Together with management, Waterland intends to build a leading European fire safety group through an active buy & build strategy.

Writech is an active fire suppression engineering company, which performs the design, fabrication, installation, certification and ongoing service and maintenance of fire suppression systems (incl. water sprinklers, gaseous systems, hybrid systems). Since its foundation by the Wright family in the 1980s, the company has grown to become a market leader in the Irish fire safety market and a leading specialist in Data Centre and Life Sciences end markets on projects throughout Western Europe.

The company is headquartered in Mullingar, Ireland, where its modular systems are designed using 3D BIM technology and prefabricated to clients’ requirements in an off-site manufacturing facility. Writech also has a sales office in Manchester, UK, and delivers projects across Europe with a particular focus in the Nordics and DACH markets. The company employs c.100 FTEs.

Writech chief executive Ted Wright said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Waterland team who are experienced in working with family businesses and share our vision for creating a European leader in the fire safety market. Having such a strong and experienced partner enables us to accelerate our ambitious plans and unlocks exciting new opportunities for organic and acquisition-led growth in Ireland, the UK and Europe.”

Waterland investment director Donal Mac Nioclais described Writech as an “exceptional business”. “They have a great track record and reputation in the industry for unmatched product quality, customer service, technical innovation and safety,” he said. “We are very excited about the future prospects for the business and look forward to working with the team to build on their successes to date and realise our joint growth ambitions.”