The Herald reports  that McColl, who owns 60% of East Kilbride-based Clyde Blowers, is excited by the potential of the Moventas’s “fusion drive system” technology, that integrates gearbox and generator in a single unit,  and that he was speaking to Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government about his plans to invest in such manufacturing capability, to support the offshore wind power drive.

Potential regions for sites are Leith, Dundee and Methil, where a number of turbine manufacturers, among them Gamesa of Spain and Doosan of South Korea are interested in setting up, and with whom Clyde Blowers would like to work, as one of the biggest independent suppliers of turbine gears.

Interestingly, McColl said he had done the deal without any bank debt, putting up more than 50% of the equity, with funding from US-based Hillman and Morgan Stanley.

“What we thought was, if you were up against a deadline to make a purchase and in competition with other people, the banks are taking a long time now to make decisions. Also, if you are on a deadline, they are more likely to say, ‘We will do it,  but here is the price and it is high and you will have a big fee to pay’. I think it is better if we do it through equity and, at our leisure, we can look at the best deal for bank debt,” he is quoted saying.

In August, ClydeUnion Pumps business was sold to US SPX for £750m including the former Weir Pumps business at Cathcart, which McColl bought ln 2007 preserving large-scale manufacturing at Cathcart, where he worked as an apprentice.

The workforce has grown from 535 to 891. Under new owners, ClydeUnion Pumps continue to be run as a standalone business with a Glasgow head off and the same management team.

Clyde Blowers employs about 5,500 people worldwide which will rise towards 6000, with the number of employees coming on board from Moventas, more than offsetting the number of staff moving to SPX. Annual turnover of Clyde Blowers businesses is put at more than £1.3bn.