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{{Short description|
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{about|a former company|the successor|AtkinsRéalis}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Atkins
| logo = Atkins logo.svg
| logo_size =
| type = [[Privately held company|Private]] (1938–2017)<br/>[[Subsidiary]] (2017–2023)
| foundation = 1938
| defunct = 2017
| fate = Bought by SNC-Lavalin
| successor = [[AtkinsRéalis]]
| founder = [[William Sydney Atkins|Sir William Atkins]]
| location = Nova North, [[London]], England
Line 19 ⟶ 23:
| num_employees = 18,300 (March 2017)<ref name=results/>
| subsid = [[Faithful+Gould]]
}}
'''Atkins''' was a British [[Multinational corporation|multinational]] construction, [[design]], [[engineering]] and business services company. It was formerly listed on the London Stock exchange and had a [[London]] headquarters. During July 2017 the company was bought by SNC-Lavalin in a £2.1 billion deal <ref>{{Cite web|last=Lampert|first=Allison|date=20 April 2017|title=Canada's SNC-Lavalin to buy WS Atkins in C$3.6 billion deal|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ws-atkins-m-a-snc-lavalin-idUSKBN17M2OU|access-date=15 January 2021|website=reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=5 July 2017|title=SNC-Lavalin closes WS Atkins acquisition|url=https://www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/companies-people/snc-lavalin-closes-ws-atkins-acquisition/1003405657/|access-date=15 January 2021|website=Canadian Consulting Engineer}}</ref> which subsequently renamed to [[AtkinsRéalis]] in 2023.
The company was founded as W. S. Atkins & Partners by [[William Sydney Atkins|Sir William Atkins]] in 1938. It experienced rapid growth following the [[World War II|Second World War]], performing specialist services in [[urban planning|town planning]], engineering sciences, [[architecture]] and [[project management]]. The firm was admitted to the [[London Stock Exchange]] in 1996, trading under the name WS Atkins plc for a time before rebranding as Atkins during 2002. While Atkins largely focused on the UK market during its formative years, it has grown into an international firm with a global presence, as well as expanded into a wide range of sectors, including [[aerospace]] and [[high speed railway]]s.
By 2016, Atkins had become the UK's largest engineering consultancy, as well as the world's 11th largest global design firm.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atkinsglobal.com/en-GB/about-the-group/atkins-at-a-glance |title=Atkins at a glance |work=atkinsglobal.com |access-date=24 August 2016}}</ref> It employed approximately 18,000 staff based in 300 offices across 29 countries and had undertaken projects in over 150 countries. The firm's motto
==History==
The original company, W. S. Atkins & Partners, was established by [[William Sydney Atkins|William Atkins]] in 1938.<ref name = "founder75"/><ref name = "official history"/> The venture was not Atkin's only business endeavour, having acquired London Ferro-Concrete from his prior employers; he continued to actively manage both firms up until 1950.<ref name = "oxford bio"/> In its formative years, the firm established its first offices in [[Westminster]], London and specialised in civil and structural engineering design and consultancy work.<ref name = "founder75">{{cite web |url = https://www.atkinsglobal.com/en-GB/media-centre/features/our-founder-sir-william-atkins |title = Celebrating 75 years: Our founder, Sir William Atkins |publisher = Aktins |access-date = 30 April 2020 |archive-date = 11 July 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180711091449/http://www.atkinsglobal.com/en-GB/media-centre/features/our-founder-sir-william-atkins |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name = "official history"/> Throughout the [[World War II|Second World War]], the company developed a reputation for competently performing complex engineering works assigned to it despite the unavoidable wartime pressures and limitations that were imposed. Amongst other works,
In the aftermath of the conflict, the firm expanded rapidly to support the [[postwar]] reconstruction effort, supplying specialist services in [[urban planning|town planning]], engineering sciences, [[architecture]] and [[project management]].<ref name = "oxford bio">{{cite ODNB |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/40104?docPos=2 |title=Sir William Atkins |year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/40104 |access-date=15 April 2017}}</ref><ref name = "official history"/> During 1945, Atkins was invited to consult on the planned expansion of the [[Port Talbot Steelworks]] and subsequently acted as the civil and structural design engineer for the project. In 1950, Atkins opted to discontinue contracting work to concentrate on design engineering and project management work.<ref name = "founder75"/> During the 1950s, the firm became involved in the engineering of the [[Berkeley Nuclear Power Station]], which became the first exclusively civilian nuclear power station in the UK upon its completion; the company continued to be active in the nuclear sector both domestically and abroad.<ref name = "founder75"/> In the 1960s, Atkins provided tunneling designed for the fledgling [[Toronto subway]] network. During the 1970s, the company supported the construction of [[Drax Power Station]], the largest power generation facility in the UK.<ref name = "founder75"/>
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