A FAST-GROWING Aberdeen valve company has been awarded what it says is a highly significant “valve-healthcare” contract by Wood Group.
Bosses at Aberdeen Valve Supplies say the contract, potentially for three years, will ensure that planned expansion and recruitment, including a new apprenticeship scheme, can go ahead.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, is for the repair, test and service of valves used by the energy service giant in oil company TAQA’s North Sea operations, and will be carried out at AVS’s new HQ in Minto Place, Altens.
AVS managing director Gordon Whyte said: “The deal is one of our most important so far and is highly significant to the future development of our business.”
Chairwoman Sylvia Aitken, who hails from Fochabers and has spent most of her career in valve supply, said: “This is an exciting and rewarding time for us. Wood Group has played an important part in the growth and development of AVS.”
The company Mr Whyte and Ms Aitken run has metamorphosed from two staff and a part-timer six years ago to spacious premises in Aberdeen, an annual turnover of more than £12million and a workforce of 45.
Their management buyout of AVS four years ago from Australian owners was, they said, the real launch-pad for today’s operation.
The acquisition 18 months ago of Walsall-based valve-maker LGV means AVS also has the facility to manufacture in addition to supplying and servicing valves.
Huntly-born Mr Whyte said: “It was tough last year, but we didn’t lay off any staff. Now we are hiring again.”
The company is investing in a modern, bespoke paint shop solely for valves at Altens later this year alongside its advanced test facility. The investment in both is in excess of £500,000.
AVS also has orders from as far afield as Azerbaijan, Australia, Tunisia and the Gulf of Mexico.