Clarke Energy History

The Clarke Group of today has transformed dramatically since Jim Clarke first took a controlling stake in the company (then known as Marine Manpower Services) in 1989. Initially as co-owner, Jim set about restructuring what was at that time a diesel engine spare parts and service business. The first few years saw many changes, which eventually led to Jim taking complete ownership. The business continued to grow and turnover quickly rose from £500,000 to £4million. Employee numbers also rose significantly, from 4 to 40.

A key milestone came in 1995 when the company was appointed as the exclusive UK distributor for Jenbacher - the worlds leading manufacturer of gas engines and co-generation units, ranging from 330kWe to 3,000kWe, suitable for operating with natural gas and a wide range of biogases. This was largely thanks to the company’s strong service based operation and enviable reputation for good quality customer service.

In 1997 the company changed its name to Clarke Energy Ltd and since then the company has developed to encompass many varied gas generation and co-generation applications ranging from landfill gas containerised module installations to turnkey 10MW power station projects for major UK utility companies. This led to the setting up of a dedicated Jenbacher product service support facility with remote monitoring, spare parts stock holding and full engine rebuild and refurbishment capability.

On the back of the successful partnership between Clarke Energy and Jenbacher, the company began to expand overseas. 1998 saw Clarke Energy being awarded with exclusive distributorship in Australia and New Zealand, soon followed by Nigeria in 1999. It was then only a few years until the acquisition of Cogen India (now Clarke Energy India) and Jenbacher France (now Clarke Energy France) in 2003 and 2004 to further expand Clarke Energy worldwide. Completing the current Clarke Energy worldwide offices are Ireland (opened in 2005), China and Tunisia (both opened in 2008).

Since 1989, the company has continued to grow year on year with employee numbers and turnover figures consistently rising. 2008 saw a record turnover for the Clarke Group of over £150m, with the number of employees passing 500 worldwide.