Energy service business ROVOP said yesterday it had received more than £3million of funding to move into international markets.
The Westhill-based firm, which specialises in the supply of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for the energy industry, said the cash injection would help it to deliver the first stage of its growth plan.
In addition to £3million of funding, including support from the Royal Bank of Scotland, ROVOP said Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International had provided £60,000 to allow the firm to explore business opportunities overseas.
It comes a week after ROVOP received £1.6million from the Scottish Loan Fund (SLF) to meet growing interest in its equipment and pilot technicians.
ROVOP was one of two north-east companies which benefited from a share of SLF’s latest round of funding, amounting to £5million. Together with Red Spider and two other Scottish firms, the business also has the option to draw down a combined £9million from the scheme.
ROVOP managing director Steven Gray said the various funding was an endorsement of ROVOP’s growth plans, adding the focus on international markets was a vital step for the company.
He said: “The ability to operate the most modern and capable ROVs is vital to fulfil contracts available to us in the global subsea market.
“We are seeing significant growth in challenging subsea environments, such as deepwater and offshore windfarms, where strong currents and constant scouring provide a completely different set of challenges to our clients.”
Maureen McChlery, ROVOP’s account manager at Scottish Enterprise, said: “ROVOP is a great example how we can work with an ambitious Scottish company to accelerate its growth plans and help it secure access to growth finance.”
ROVOP, set up last year by Mr Gray, technical director Scott Freeland and chairman Mark Vorenkamp, employs about 30 people.
