Express Engineering, a global leader in innovative manufacturing, assembly and testing solutions for the subsea energy industry, has opened its new international assembly and test centre.
The investment in a 48,000 sq. ft. purposebuilt centre in Gateshead in the North of England will contribute to the company’s continued development in key global markets and improve the level of support provided to customers. Expansion of its capabilities is part of Express Engineering’s broader product strategy to supply assembled and tested actuators, connections and tooling for wellheads and subsea production systems for the oil and gas sector.
As the £3.5m centre, located on the Team Valley, gears up in the coming months, the company will be boosting its team of skilled project engineers and managers to work on new offshore technologies and associated upstream products now under development. The opening of the centre comes as Express Engineering continues to maintain strong growth since embarking on a refocused business plan at the end of 2018. This has seen sales in the oil and gas sector grow significantly, resulting in a jump in revenues to more than £35m for 2020. Earlier this year Express Engineering appeared 11th in the prestigious The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table which rank’s Britain’s mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales, measured over the latest two years of available accounts. Expansion has come with a dramatic growth in exports which in 2019 represented almost £10m while in 2018 were only at £6m.
The top countries for international sales include the USA, Norway, Brazil and Indonesia. Chairman Chris Thompson is optimistic about the offshore subsea market in 2021 and excited about the new projects and opportunities coming on stream. He said: “We have a healthy order book for 2021 and anticipate significant market sector growth in the next three years. The new centre positions us strongly for further expansion and success as we look forward to providing customers with the most competitive, high quality subsea products. “As an international subsea engineering sector specialist, the additional capacity will significantly enhance Express Engineering’s response times and operational performance and productivity whilst maintaining the highest standards of safety and reliability.”
Tim Witty, development director at UK Land Estates, said: “As 2021 picks up pace and the North East’s businesses look to the future, we’re glad to see Express Engineering go from strength to strength with the opening of its new centre. We’ve worked closely with Express Engineering on getting the site up and running, and are pleased to see our joint effort come to fruition.” Located close to the A1, the assembly and test centre will also have fantastic transport links, green spaces and a range of retail and leisure options right on the doorstep – making it ideally placed to do business.
Working with customers like TechnipFMC, Baker Hughes and Aker Solutions, Express Engineering is a significant exporter of products, operating within various geographical areas, including the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, east coast of Brazil, east and west coasts of Africa and Australasia.
