Scottish company ACE Winches, of Banff, is planning a £4million investment in new headquarters and expects to create up to 80 extra jobs to cope with anticipated growth in its offshore oil&gas and renewables business streams.
ACE, which specialises in the design, manufacture and hire of winching equipment, intends that its proposed new headquarters, named the Towie Barclay Works, will be located at the former Howegarden facility near Turriff.
One of the catalysts to the planned expansion is the successful completion of a £2million manufacturing order for Marlin Offshore International and drilling contractor KCA Deutag covering the design, manufacture and commissioning of four replacement 75-tonne double-drum anchor mooring winches and hydraulic power unit packages for Marlin’s self-erect tender rig, Searex X, currently operating in West Africa.
The contract, which ACE says was won against stiff international competition from both the US and Norway, represents the single largest manufacturing order the firm has completed to date.
Indeed, this order has enabled the Aberdeenshire company to boost its manufacturing sales to more than £4million for the current financial year, an increase of 50% on 2008.
International sales have increased 77% on 2008 and now account for 70% of the company’s total sales. This increase in growth has seen ACE employee numbers rise from 90 to 124 during the past year and the company is forecasting total manufacturing and hire sales of £12.5million for 2009.
Commenting on the order just completed, John Nichols, mobile rigs equipment and maintenance manager for KCA Deutag, said: “Our anchor mooring winches on the Searex X were scheduled for replacement and so we investigated the marketplace. We were very impressed with both the high quality standards and delivery dates offered by ACE Winches.
“We have some special requirements on Searex X which ACE has designed into the new winches and we are very pleased with their proposals.
“The winches have been delivered on time and on budget, as promised.”
Alfie Cheyne, CEO at ACE and whose roots lie in engineering and manufacturing winches for the fishing industry – including the famous Dauntless brand – said his workforce had everything to do with the success of the contract.
“Our dedicated employees have played a key role in ensuring ACE completed this bespoke manufacturing job on time and within budget. Staff and management are to be congratulated on their hard work.
“This approach is crucial in ensuring we continue to meet our clients’ needs by providing superior quality products and services, and places us in a strong position to continue the growth of ACE Winches.”