ACS
Actividades de Construcción y Servicios

Chronological tree

The ACS Group began operating in 1983 when a group of engineers acquired Construcciones Padrós, a mid-sized construction company with financial problems located in Badalona (Catalonia). After restructuring this company, the same strategy was employed with the acquisition of OCISA, a prestigious construction company which was larger and had already been in operation for over 40 years.

At the end of the eighties, a diversification process was initiated through the acquisition of SEMI, a company specialised in the maintenance and installation of electricity lines. This process was continued with the purchase of a majority shareholding in Cobra, one of the most renowned companies in the sector of support services to electricity and telecommunications companies, and a market leader with over 80 years’ experience.

The first of the large company mergers took place in 1992 with the creation of OCP, which would be the seed for the Group structured as it is today. OCP became one of the leading construction company groups in Spain. A second large merger took place in 1997, with the creation of ACS as a result of OCP's merger with Auxini and Gines Navarro.

At the end of the nineties, the Group incorporated most of the companies forming its current services area; Onyx, a provider of environmental services; Imes, a company dedicated to public lighting services, integral maintenance and control services; and Vertresa, the largest waste treatment plant in Madrid.

The turn of the century started with the integration of the Dragados Group, which positioned the ACS Group as the indisputable leader in the Spanish market and as one the most important companies in the industry on the European continent.

Parallel to this entire integration process, the ACS Group has established the basis for its future strategy, focusing its activity on relevant sectors of the Spanish and European economy. In 2003, Abertis, one of the top companies in infrastructure management, was created and the Group has progressively increased its stake in this company since then.

Later, in 2005, the Group established the base for its Energy area with its investment in Unión Fenosa and subsequently strengthened this area with the purchase of a holding in Iberdrola in the last quarter of 2006. These investments have enabled ACS to position itself as a benchmark industrial company with two of the main energy companies in the European market.

In 2007, the ACS Group acquired a share in Hochtief, a world leader in infrastructure development with a powerful presence in the USA, Central Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia. This operation is designed to provide a platform for the ACS Group to accelerate its international expansion.

In July 2008, the ACS Group sold its shareholding in Unión Fenosa with the objective of consolidating its position in the energy sector as the leading shareholder in Iberdrola, increasing its stake in the company to give it an outstanding role in the development of the premier Spanish electricity company.

In November 2008 ACS started to operate its first thermal solar plant with thermal storage devices in Spain, the plant Andasol I in Granada. Between 2009 and 2010 ACS has completed and started to operate four additional plants, achieving an installed capacity of 250 MW in operation. There are also two thermal solar plants under construction, which are expected, which will mean a total installed capacity of 350 MW. This commitment to technology leads to the ACS Group to be a worldwide leader in the development of thermal solar plants with thermal storage devices.

Simultaneously, the ACS Group continues its international expansion in all its areas of activity, focussing on large-scale projects. In the Construction area it has consolidated its position in the United States and Canada achieving important projects and through the acquisition of two local companies, strengthening the position of the Group in North America. Furthermore, it was acquired the Polish construction company Pol-Aqua, specialized in civil works and with a large experience and presence in the Polish market that is characterized by its high growth, in addition to being the seventh country in the E.U. by investment in infrastructures.

In the Environment area, it has been achieved important contracts abroad that lead to an international order book of €3,400 millions. The Industrial Services, the most internationalized area of the Group, continues its expansion abroad, with its international order book representing a 50% of total.

The international expansion, which is mainly focused on guaranteeing the ACS Group's competitiveness, investment capacity and growth in the future, follows with the launch of a public tender offer for Hochtief with the objective of reaching global leadership in the infrastructure sector, as well as increasing the competitive advantages and the profitability of both companies.