Peterhead-based energy service firm JBS Group is building on its recent purple patch with two senior appointments.
JBS Group, founded as a boat-builder in Peterhead about 45 years ago, managed to double its turnover to just under £6 million for the year to April 30, 2018.
Director Mike McCafferty said the firm had completely restructured its management team, had become more efficient, and operated in almost 30 countries in the last year.
The company has now hired its first operations director, and a regional manager in Houston, Texas.
Keith Skinner, whose previous employers include Enterprise Engineering Services and Transocean, is the new operations director.
John Northcott has taken the job in Texas. He used to work for rope lifting business Hawser Sling Co.
Mr McCafferty said: “We really want to consolidate the business in north-east Scotland – and fabrication is picking up again – but we also want to roll out the overseas expansion of the business.
“These appointments will help us ramp up the business. For the hiring of John Northcott, we had a lot of support from Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International.”
The company’s main offerings include fabrication and engineering services, its Sea Axe multi-purpose control flow excavation tool, screw conveyors and blast containment curtains.
Recent successes include a £300,000-plus contract award from US aerospace company SpaceX for the latest version of its blast containment curtain.
SpaceX will use the curtains, which can absorb and withstand blasts of extreme force and have been installed on a number of North Sea platforms, to help it test components at its facility in California.
Last year, JBS clinched a deal to become the sole global distributor of Xtegra, the fabric used to make the product.
The firm subsequently won a contract to install the curtains around transformers at a hydroelectric plant near Niagara Falls.
JBS completed the first phase of the project with the recent installation of a second curtain at the plant in upstate New York.
JBS director John Dudgeon added: “Our blast curtain business used to be all offshore, but we’re making huge advances now to help secure a lot of onshore test facilities.”
The company has also received a £230,000 order from the Middle East for 20 new safety devices for screw conveyors, which move waste materials away from drilling sites.
It also bought Aberdeen firm Screw Conveyor from administrators last year and retained 10 employees from the defunct business.
JBS now has about 50 staff members.
The business was named J Buchan & Sons when it was established by father and son team John and Allan Buchan in 1974.
Allan’s son, Scott, joined the company in 2002 and is the current managing director.