Offshore survey specialist Utec officially opened its new regional headquarters in Aberdeen yesterday after a near £1million investment.
Its leased site at The Spires business park in the Mugiemoss area of the city provides services in the North Sea and west Africa and supports operations in the Mediterranean and north Africa in conjunction with the company’s Naples office.
Kevin McBarron, managing director of the group’s Aberdeen-based survey construction service arm and its regional manager for Europe and west Africa, said the recent move from offices in Anne Street gave the business more room to grow. The firm has already added 13 people to its north-east workforce this year and expects to take on a further 10 by the year-end.
Accounts for Utec Survey Construction Services show the Aberdeen business employed 26 people on average in 2010.
The 2011 accounts have not yet been filed at Companies House and Utec, registered in Aberdeen but with its headquarters in Houston, was unable to give an update on current employment.
Utec provides specialist survey services from bases in Aberdeen, Houston, Dubai, Naples, Perth in Australia, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore and St John’s, Canada. Its new building in Aberdeen comprises more than 3,000 square feet of modular office space and 4,000sqft of workshops and warehousing.
Mr McBarron said: “This new building also provides our valuable staff with a safe, comfortable working environment, including a dedicated training facility providing more in-house training and specific lunch-and-learn events for clients.”
The north-east operation is expected to contribute more than £9.5million to overall revenue his year, while Utec said revenue from its European and African business was poised to more than double to £12.75million.