Petrochemical

The investment in a 48,000 sq. ft. purpose-built centre on the Team Valley 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 throughout 2021, 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.

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.”

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.