Energy services company Proserv has won its largest contract yet – a £24million subsea deal with an unnamed client in Brazil.
The announcement comes after Ken Clarke, a former chancellor and now a UK Government “minister without portfolio” told the Press and Journal that north-east firms were “exactly what the Brazilians were looking for” to share offshore engineering expertise.
Proserv, which has its headquarters in Westhill, near Aberdeen, will provide nine subsea control systems for several projects in water over 8,000ft throughout 2015.
Chief executive David Lamont said: “This significant contract award is testament to the hard work, expertise and experience of our entire team and further evidence of the great reputation we have built, and continue to build globally.
“At Proserv, we are able to offer clients the latest developments in technologies and can back it up with industry experts who have a real depth of knowledge in the area they work in. This, combined with our track record for delivering value-added products on time and in budget, was crucial in securing this contract.”
The firm will be sending “technically advanced subsea equipment” to the region from its hub in Great Yarmouth.
Proserv, which operates 31 bases in 11 countries, is backed by oil and gas private equity specialist Intervale Capital, which is based in Houston and Massachusetts in the US. Intervale initially acquired Proserv, which was founded in 1974, and then created a larger group of owned companies including Hydrafit Subsea and Houston-based Gilmore Valve and Argus Subsea in 2011.
In February, Proserv announced that it had acquired precision-engineering firm KRG Industries, a well-established provider of machining, welding, inspection and testing services based in Coatbridge and Stockton-on-Tees.
The deal was its third multimillion-pound acquisition in two years after Proserv acquired Australian-headquartered Velocious, a subsea intervention and tooling company.
It also snapped up US-based Total Instrumentation & Controls (TIC) towards the end of 2012. The company moved into its new purpose-built headquarters at Arnhall Business Park, Westhill, in December.