John MacLean and Sons Electrical (Dingwall), which has operations in the north and north-east, shut its Wick site – axeing eight jobs – within months of being taken over by a US firm.
The wholesale electrical supply company said it had closed its branch in Caithness and put the premises up for sale following a downturn in work at the former Dounreay nuclear power station.
Nine staff were employed at the Wick facility, which was shut after a consultation period with the workers during March and April this year.
The closure was noted in the firm’s accounts for the nine months to December 31, 2015, released by Companies House, showing the business made pre-tax profits of £8.5million. This compared with profits of almost £13.5million in the year to March 31, 2015, before a change in the accounting period. MacLean’s turnover in the nine months to the end of last year was £104.3million, against £147.2million in 2014-15.
The company, based in Dingwall with offices in Aberdeen, Cumbernauld, Newcastle and Great Yarmouth, was set up in 1974 to supply specialist electrical equipment to the emerging North Sea oil industry. In May last year, it was acquired by US company DistributionNOW – ending over 40 years of ownership by the MacLean family.
It now supplies electrical products, lighting systems and cables for harsh and hazardous environments onshore and offshore as well as for renewable energy, petrochemical, process, marine and infrastructure applications throughout the world.
Its latest accounts show that over that period the company was able to maintain the majority of its workforce, despite “difficult trading conditions”.
The average number of workers employed was 230, compared with 236 during the full year to April 2015.
Financial director Alan Freeland, pictured left, a former top football referee based in Aberdeen, said: “Wick was a small workshop and unfortunately we had to release people there. The decommissioning of Dounreay was a significant factor in that decision.
“Eight people were released, with one retained to maintain the link with Dingwall.
“Our level of retention has been higher than many others and we have done our best to retain people.”
He added there had also been a small number of job losses in the firm’s oil and gas division.
Mr Freeland also said MacLean’s directors were “pretty satisfied” with the company’s results in a “tough year”.
Looking ahead, the company said it anticipated meeting its targets despite the ongoing reduction in oil and gas spending due to the continued pressure on the price of oil. It also anticipated a reduction in income from street lighting revenue as home construction and local authorities “continue to be prudent with their expenditure”.
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