WFEL, the Stockport-based defence engineering group which is backed by UK mid-market private equity house Dunedin, has secured a significant contract to supply GBP57 million of tactical military bridges to the Swiss armed forces.
This agreement follows a highly competitive two-year international procurement contest and as such strengthens WFEL’s position as the world leader in its market.
The deal also typifies Dunedin’s approach of investing in businesses with international growth opportunities. 

Dunedin director, Dougal Bennett (pictured), who sits on WFEL’s board, says: “Dunedin was attracted to WFEL on account of its strong position in a highly specialised market and its significant potential for growth – both through winning new defence-based customers and through expansion into complimentary markets. This landmark contract vindicates our confidence and is a great reward for much hard work over the last few years.

“This deal is also a win for UK engineering, demonstrating the unique capabilities that companies like WFEL can showcase on a global stage.”
Ian Wilson, Chief Executive of WFEL, says: “This is a landmark agreement for WFEL and one of the largest single orders in our near century of defence engineering success.
“The deal follows one of the biggest global bridging procurement contests in many years where the quality of our offering – from design and build through to training and ongoing support services – has helped to once again confirm us as the world leader in this field.
“We’re continuing to attract interest from armed forces around the globe to our bridging systems as a result of our long term strategic sales activity and collaborative engagement with potential users.”