Black & Veatch welcomed the First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney MSP to Boston on Friday, June 12 as part of his investment tour of the United States.

Black & Veatch’s associate vice president, Strategic Client Programs and leader of its Boston office, Steve Sienkiewicz met with the First Minister to discuss collaboration opportunities to support Scotland’s energy transition and help drive economic growth.

The meeting formed part of ongoing engagement between Black & Veatch and the Scottish Government, reflecting the company’s strong presence in Scotland, where its EMEA headquarters is based in Glasgow. Black & Veatch has more than 50 skilled engineers and project managers based in Glasgow, providing their expertise to energy projects in Scotland and the broader EMEA region.

The discussions focused on opportunities to accelerate investment in power, grid infrastructure and battery energy storage systems (BESS), aligned with Scotland’s net zero ambitions and growing demand for reliable, resilient energy systems.

Black & Veatch highlighted its experience supporting renewable energy integration and emphasised that it is actively working on the alleviation of grid constraints through BESS projects in Scotland. The company is currently supporting over 3GWh of BESS projects across EMEA, including a role as Owner’s Engineer at a BESS project in Eccles, Scotland, owned by its client Matrix Renewables. The facility is projected to deliver a capacity of 500MW/1GWh, enough energy to power approximately 100,000 homes, reinforcing grid stability and enhancing energy security.

The meeting also addressed the importance of creating the right policy environment to enable infrastructure delivery at scale, including streamlined planning and consenting processes, recognition of energy storage as critical national infrastructure and greater collaboration between government and industry on skills training. Black & Veatch has plans to increase investment in hiring new skilled engineers and provide more skills training from its base in Glasgow.

First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney MSP commented: "Black & Veatch is already supporting high-quality jobs in Scotland's energy sector and I was pleased to discuss how we can support their continued growth.

"We will work with them to ensure our business environment and skilled workforce support their ambitions in Scotland.

"Scotland consistently ranks as the top destination for inward investment in the UK outside London and meetings like this are exactly how we build on that reputation."

“Scotland is at the forefront of the global energy transition and represents a key growth market for Black & Veatch,” said Steve Sienkiewicz, associate vice president at Black & Veatch.

“Our EMEA headquarters in Glasgow reflects our long-term commitment to the nation, and we look forward to working closely with the First Minister and his Cabinet to support investment, infrastructure delivery and skills development in Scotland.”

The meeting in Boston marks an initial step in building a closer working relationship with the Scottish Government. In November 2025, Black & Veatch appointed its new managing director for the EMEA region, Rafael Frias III, based in Glasgow. Rafael brings almost three decades of engineering experience to the role and will spear head the company’s growth plans in Scotland and broader EMEA region.

The First Minister was also in Boston to show support for Scotland’s opening World Cup match vs Haiti on 13 June in Massachusetts. As an Official Kansas City World Cup 2026 Host City Supporter, Black & Veatch wished the First Minister and the Scotland team the best success for the competition.

About Black & Veatch

Black & Veatch is a 100-percent employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in human critical infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure and energy assets. Follow us on www.bv.com/newsroom and on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

Media contacts:

Black & Veatch: Matt Palutikof | +44 7825601582 | Media@bv.com