Bierrum is a British civil engineering and construction company, that has built all of Britain's concretecooling towers at thecountry's power stations since 1965.
Bierrum was founded by Hans Bierrum (orHans Bjerrum), a Danish civil engineer that was born inHellerup and had competed in the1920 Summer Olympics in Belgium. Upon its establishment on 26 September 1927, the company was based at Victoria Street in London. Its first contract was at the formerShoreham Power Station; the first cooling tower was built in 1931. Bierrum became alimited company in 1938, and relocated to Harrow, then Sudbury Hill.[1] Bierrum and Partners Ltd (00339806) was founded on 30 April 1938.[2]
Hans Bjerrum died in 1979. Five years earlier, Hans' son, Roger, had been appointed as chairman of Bierrum.[citation needed] During 1991, the company acquired rival firm Pendrich out ofreceivership, rescuing 30 jobs in the process.[3][4]
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Bierrum introduced numerous means of improving safety for working at heights, including the Spider platform for the demolition of tall chimneys.[5][6][7]
In September 2003, the company ran out of money, its fiscal circumstances having been troubled by a downturn in the power sector,legal action, and difficulties related to a project in Turkey.[8] One year later, it was reformed as Bierrum International, through employees Gary Eastman and Bob Sutton.[9] It became part of Beroa Technology Group GmbH (BTG) ofRatingen-Lintorf,North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.[10][11]
Presently, the company is namedDominion Bierrum and has been owned byGlobal Dominion Access ofBilbao since 2014, which was owned byCIE Automotive.[12]
From January 1957, the company was headquartered at 167 Imperial Drive inRayners Lane, an office building which it built for its own use. The company depot was atSmallford in Hertfordshire.[13][14]
In 1981, Bierrum was based at Barwythe Hall atStudham near Dunstable.[15]
It is headquartered inCentral Bedfordshire, around one mile east of the M1, close to theGreensand Ridge Walk.
Bierrum has designed and built cooling towers (køletårn in Danish) and chimneys nationally and internationally.[16] The firm demolisheschimneys incrementally using itsBierrum Rig.
Bierrum also built cement works, such asKetton Cement Works in 1961,[17] water towers, such as atNorth Walsham in 1954,[18] and oil refinery chimneys.
