A north-east energy service firm revealed yesterday it was to recruit a further 60 people as it continued its rapid growth.
Subsea specialist ROVOP said it was creating the posts to accompany the purchase of five remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).
The firm will invest around £15million over 18 months in the workclass hydraulic machines, supplied by FMC Schilling Robotics, with the first ready in January.
ROVOP said continual high demand for its fleet had led to this latest expansion. The company said the new heavy-duty ROVs would complement the mid-size machines it already operated.
Managing director Steven Gray said: “This represents a significant milestone in the development of ROVOP.
“We will now be operating the most modern, capable and reliable fleet of ROVs in our market.
“Our new vehicles will enable us to carry out heavy work as well as more complex automated tasks.
“The demand for our expertise and service continues to grow strongly and we expect that to continue as our fleet increases in size, power and capability.”
In addition, ROVOP is investing about £250,000 in an ROV simulator.
This equipment, also provided by FMC Schilling Robotics, will allow workers to undergo training, as well as rehearsing tasks and scenarios before heading offshore.
In just over a year of trading, ROVOP has already grown to employ more than 30 staff and was named promising new business at the 2012 Grampian Awards for Business.
The Westhill-based firm announced in August it had received more than £3million of funding to move into international markets. It 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 came just 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.
Last month, ROVOP said it had won a string of contracts worth a combined £7million.
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