Rapid growth at a Teesside subsea engineering firm has triggered expansion overseas to tap into a growing oil and gas market in Brazil.
QA Weld Tech opening a new factory in Sao Paulo, has doubled its turnover, grown its headcount by more than half again - and will have invested £2.3m in its growth by the end of the year,
The company, which is based at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Park industrial estate, specialises in welding and fabricating complex pipework, supplying parts to a host of clients across the globe within the sub-sea oil and gas industries.
Its first overseas expansion comes on the back of a record year for the welding and fabrication firm which saw its turnover double to £16m; the opening of a new office block and the hiring of 40 new staff. New appointments include operations director, David Pickles, who will strengthen the senior management team.
The firm started life in 1980 with a single 6,000 sq ft unit but has now grown to employ 110 people and operates out of 12 units, counting One Subsea, AF Global and GE Oil and Gas among its customers.
Since then, the firm has developed a reputation as a world leader in the manufacture of flowbends for subsea equipment, securing orders from Australia and West of Shetland, China, the Nile Delta and the West Coast of Africa.
Charlie Tighe, QA Weld Tech’s managing director, said the company had invested £1.5m over the last four years following a strategic review of the business.
They now plan further investment of £800,000 – £300,000 in its CNC machining capacity; £100,000 for further improvements to its pressure test capability and £400,000 to equip the Brazilian factory, which is due to open in May.
Mr Tighe said: “We saw an opportunity in Brazil a few years ago and the oil and gas industry there is huge.
“Our strengths lie in our expertise and more than half of our production goes for export, so opening a factory overseas is a significant step in growing our presence globally.”
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