Subocean Group is a subsea installation company with extensive knowledge of the North Sea oil and gas industry.
It has applied this North Sea knowledge to the renewable-energy marketplace, ending 2008 with a record order backlog of £100million worth of contracts in the sector.
Operations director Mike Daniel has been at the forefront of Subocean’s success, with managing director John Sinclair and finance director Bill Docherty.
Mr Daniel said: “When we set up the business in 2005, I had a steadfast vision that the renewable-energy market was the way forward for companies with specialist subsea skills such as ours.
“We had the knowledge, ability, equipment, training and people in place for the renewables sector and we set about transferring our workforce and focus to that market. We have consistently remodelled ourselves in terms of taking a proactive, forward-thinking approach to the renewable-energy markets in the belief that renewables are the future of the UK’s energy supply.”
Subocean predicts its turnover for 2009 will be about £75million with the company, which began life with 14 staff including the directors, now employing more than 150 people in the UK and abroad.
There are around 60 people at the Westhill headquarters, three on Teesside, where it has a storage operation, and the rest are offshore.
Mr Daniel said the offshore workforce could double to about 180 and onshore staff could rise to 90 by the end of this year.
About 75% of the company’s business comes from the renewable-energy sector and the remainder from the oil and gas industry.
The company is only entering its fourth year in business but is already a major player in subsea power cable installation and burial activities in the offshore windfarm market.
In the past 12 months, Subocean has won a £10million contract to instal power cables under the seabed on Scotland’s first offshore windfarm project – Robin Rigg, in the Solway Firth.
This was followed by a deal with Thanet Offshore Wind Development – the first 100-turbine offshore windfarm project in the world – off the Kent coast.
Mr Daniel said: “Delivering projects on time, within budget, using professional teams of personnel has been one of our biggest assets and has allowed us to broaden our client base to include international as well as UK-based businesses.”
With the emergence of the renewables sector as a credible and ever-evolving energy provider, Subocean’s work in this arena is only just beginning.
The company has already secured £75million worth of renewable-energy work this year and has contracts totalling £50million confirmed for 2010.
Mr Daniel said: “I am of the opinion that harnessing all forms of renewable energy offshore is the way forward for Scotland and the UK.
“Wind, wave and tidal energy are the natural resources that we have in abundance around our coastline and this could be Scotland’s opportunity to become a world leader in harvesting natural energy resources while reducing carbon emissions.
“Often Subocean has found itself to be the only UK company on a project, which indicates that (other) European counterparts such as Denmark, Holland and Germany are leading the field where renewable energy is concerned. My ideal would be that Scotland could be a global leader in promoting the benefits of renewable energy to the rest of the world.”
Continuous investment has also played a major part in Subocean’s business-development plan.
A cable-laying barge was converted by Subocean at a cost of more than £9million.
Mr Daniel said: “At Subocean, we want to convert and customise vessels to meet the criteria of the work we do.
“Ultimately, it is a win-win situation: a valuable investment in the future for the business, and a fully commissioned vessel which allows us more autonomy in the subsea marketplace.”
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