Forensic consultancy Halliwell, part of loss adjustor McLarens, has acquired ExcelPlas, a Melbourne-based polymer testing laboratory founded in 1994, adding specialist materials science capability to an Asia-Pacific claims platform that has now grown through five acquisitions since 2023.
The move reflects a broader shift among major loss adjustors. Sedgwick's forensic engineering subsidiary EFI Global acquired Synergy Forensic Engineering in early 2024 to expand its metallurgical laboratory resources, and, in November 2024, announced a further expansion of its forensic capability across the European market. Crawford & Company maintains its own dedicated forensic engineering division within its Global Technical Services operation. The forensic engineering services market was valued at $5.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $8.4 billion by 2033, according to Verified Market Reports, driven in part by rising insurance claim complexity and growing litigation around construction defects and materials failures.
The ExcelPlas acquisition fills a specific gap in Halliwell's existing capability. Polymer failures - burst plastic pipes, facade coating delamination, waterproofing membrane failures, composite structural defects - are among the loss categories in property and construction insurance where causation, timing and subrogation potential require specialist materials analysis rather than general engineering assessment. ExcelPlas brings an ISO/NATA-certified laboratory, a team of 14 specialists and a 30-year track record of more than 14,500 completed jobs for clients including Airbus and Inpex, with expert testimony provided in hundreds of cases alongside major law firms, insurance companies and loss assessors.
Leading the laboratory is founder Dr. John Scheirs, a polymer scientist who authored Characterization and Failure Analysis of Polymers - widely regarded as a key reference text in forensic materials science - and holds over 20 patents covering novel polymers, recycling processes and environmentally friendly plastics. His work has been recognised by the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Australian Academy of Science and the American Chemical Society. ExcelPlas will continue to operate under its existing brand, led by Scheirs, with a transition to the Halliwell brand planned in due course.
Halliwell - part of McLarens and founded in 1954 - entered the Australia and New Zealand market in 2023 through the acquisitions of Fire Research Group and GKA Investigations Group. Quintons, a RICS-regulated commercial property surveying firm with offices in Auckland, Wellington and Melbourne, followed in September 2024. IMPARTA Engineers and du Chateau Chun, covering structural diagnostics and building compliance advisory respectively, were both acquired in May 2025. The ExcelPlas deal is the fifth move in three years, each adding a distinct technical discipline to what is becoming one of the more comprehensive forensic claims platforms operating across the Asia-Pacific region.
The aim of the platform is to address a recurring practical problem: causation disputes that cross multiple technical disciplines - a structural defect that involves both engineering failure and materials degradation, or a waterproofing failure that implicates both building code compliance and polymer performance - have historically required multiple expert appointments. The Halliwell build-out, and the parallel expansion of EFI Global, suggest the major adjusting platforms have concluded that owning that expertise internally is now a competitive requirement rather than a niche differentiator.
