Service Works Global (SWG), the facilities, workplace and space management software provider, is celebrating its 30th birthday this month. Established in April 1994, the business has gone from strength to strength under outgoing Group CEO Gary Watkins, and with parent company Addnode Group since 2017.
Watkins founded SWG to address inefficiencies within the facilities management industry. The company’s established computer-aided facilities management (CAFM) software, QFM, was built to go beyond the standard basic maintenance system, providing users with the ability to manage soft and hard FM services in one place.
SWG expanded into Australia’s growing FM market in 2004, backed by several big-name clients. The first office opened in Melbourne and then another in Sydney to meet growing demand across the region. Longstanding UK and Australian customers such as Multiplex Europe, Plenary Group and Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust remain SWG customers to this day.
Three years later, in 2007, SWG entered Canada, a market with a strong user base of FM service providers responsible for delivering services predominantly in public-private partnerships. QFM P3rform’s ground-breaking, fully integrated payment mechanism was the first of its kind to bring complete transparency and auditability between stakeholders and remains so to this day.
In 2017, SWG was acquired by Nasdaq Sweden-listed Addnode Group. Joining this like-minded, entrepreneurial-led organisation provided SWG the opportunity to deliver a broader technology and services platform to a wider audience. Since then, SWG has firmly established itself in the Nordics market through the merger with the FM division of its Scandinavian sister company, Symetri. Additional acquisitions, including Excitech’s CAFM business unit in the UK and FAST2 Affärssystem, used by nine out of 13 of the largest public housing companies in Sweden, bolstered SWG further.
In April, SWG announced that Watkins will step down on 1st May, and Mats Broman, currently head of SWG Nordic, will assume the role of CEO. Watkins is to continue leading Service Works International’s operations in the Middle East in the immediate future.
Commenting on the 30th anniversary, Watkins said: “The company has evolved beyond expectations over the last three decades. It’s testament to the hard work and dedication of our global teams, as well as our loyal clients and strong partnerships. SWG is at the forefront of a hugely exciting industry with so much opportunity for growth and innovation. I am extremely proud of the work we have done and leave the organisation in very capable hands. Mats has vast knowledge of the FM technology space, especially when it comes to BIM and digital twins, and I am confident he will lead SWG to future success. We’re all celebrating this milestone and looking forward to the next 30 years.”
Mats Broman added: “Gary and his team have built an outstanding organisation laser-focused on developing innovative technology solutions that help businesses overcome their infrastructure and operational challenges aligned with businesses’ needs, even as they change with increasing pace. Empowering facilities and workplace managers through innovation is key to our mission. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to lead SWG in its next chapter.”
SWG offers complete building lifecycle software, from CAFM to BIM tools for operational FM, with a range of digitisation services. With strong backing from Addnode Group, three decades of international experience and an ethos of entrepreneurial teamwork, SWG is ready to embrace the next chapter.
