Iqarus Acquires C-CHEC at Subsea Expo

Offshore and onshore health and medical solutions company Iqarus is set to acquire occupational hygiene consultancy C-CHEC to deliver a new integrated offering to global industries.

Dougie Collin, currently Director of Occupational Hygiene for C-CHEC, will head up Iqarus’ Environmental Sciences Division and will bring his team and over 30 years of experience to expand Iqarus’ capability as an international player in providing healthcare solutions in remote and difficult environments. Tim Mitchell, CEO of Iqarus, said the strategic acquisition, expected to close this month, will be the first in a series that will transform the provision of healthcare solutions for challenging environments.
 
He added: “Dougie and his team are market leaders and highly respected within the global oil and gas industry and other sectors; we are very proud to now be offering this expertise. We see significant benefits to clients in delivering environmental sciences consultancy in tandem with medical and health provision as part of our holistic approach to managing the health and wellbeing of our clients’ workforces. It places Iqarus at the heart of detection and prevention of workforce health issues and complements the investment we are making in technology and training multi-skilled medics to offer a higher quality, more efficient service to customers.”
 
C-CHEC was launched in 1995, with turnover growing year-on-year, servicing global clients in oil and gas as well as shipping, engineering, whisky, and manufacturing industries. Services include health risk assessments, detailed exposure surveys for hazardous substances, training, testing and risk assessing for noise and vibration, legionella water management and effective exposure control in areas such as local exhaust ventilation and respirator face fit testing. The aim is to detect and control occupational hygiene hazards to protect the workforce and therefore improve the overall efficiency of any operation through a healthier workforce.
 
Mr Collin said: “There is a perfect synergy between my ambitions to expand our occupational hygiene offering and the robust growth strategy that Iqarus has; so it has been a meeting of minds. The oil and gas industry is under pressure in the current climate to be more efficient and comply with regulations. A vital part of that should be reducing time off through sickness and ill health. We are advising clients on the most up to date monitoring techniques and prevention methods to improve the health and wellbeing of their workforces.”
 
Mr Collin is a member of the Faculty of Occupational Hygiene, Royal Society of Chemistry, an EU Chartered Scientist with a PG Diploma in Occupational Hygiene and current Oil & Gas Topic Group Chairman for the British Occupational Health Society. He provides professional expert witness services and also sits on the Energy Institute Committee on Occupational Hygiene. Mr Collin’s industry leading expertise is strongly aligned to Iqarus’ position as thought leaders in the remote medical services field.
 
Iqarus was formed following the acquisition of Capita PLC’s Aberdeen-based Energy Medical Services business by a management team led by CEO Tim Mitchell and MML Capital Partners last year.
 
The new business aims to become the leading international player in healthcare solutions for remote and difficult environments through a combination of acquisition and organic growth, which includes building on its existing blue-chip energy customer base and investing in technology-enabled services.
 
More than £1 million has already been invested in new technology and a restructure of the business to deliver cutting edge, technology enabled support to both customers and remote healthcare professionals.