Welsh engineering group Harris Pye is looking to set up an office in Aberdeen after admitting it saw the North Sea offshore industry as a “major growth area”
Harris Pye which turns over £80million annually and permanently employs more than 630 people around the world, has been growing its oil and gas-related work in recent years.
It carries out repairs, upgrades and conversions to rigs, semisubmersibles, tankers and floating production, storage, and offloading units globally, as well as providing inspection and consulting services for the liquefied natural gas industry.
The company has its headquarters at Barry, in south Wales, and a site in Southampton, plus mainland European offices in Denmark, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Romania.
Other locations include Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sharjah, Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Brazil and the US.
Finance director Chris Trigg said: “Harris Pye is looking to grow organically worldwide and sees the North Sea as a major growth area.
“The group already performs work in the North Sea but is currently looking at setting up an office in Aberdeen to facilitate further growth.”
The group’s possible expansion into the Granite City comes after it increased margins and bottom-line profits during 2012.
Harris Pye said profits after-tax came in at £3.9million, compared with £3.6million the year before.
Although turnover fell by £18million to £80million last year, the group said its gross profit margin rose to 37% after a major project in South America at a lower margin than usual had pegged the rate to 31% in 2011.
It expects to maintain the higher level going forward.
Earnings before depreciation, amortisation and interest last year totalled £9.7milllion, down slightly from 2011.
Mr Trigg said: “The group has strengthened its’ position, particularly in the offshore oil and gas market.
“The position has been further enhanced with the opening of new offices in both the Middle East and Malaysia.”
Harris Pye has also opened a new fabrication facility at Llandow in the Vale of Glamorgan, to improve its global capabilities for both offshore work and land-based power and utility projects.
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