Swire growing in tough conditions

Swire Oilfield Services, a supplier of specialist offshore cargo carrying units (CCU), is defying market conditions by establishing Aberdeen, UK, as a Centre of Excellence for its Cargo Carrying business and creating five jobs.

Work has already begun on the new paint curing facility at the company’s fleet refurbishment workshop in Aberdeen. The site is scheduled for completion on December 1, 2009, and once fully operational, personnel including shot blasters and painters will be hired to service the new hub.

The workshop will complement Swire’s existing US$2.2 million workshop, which was opened in August 2008. The site was constructed to accommodate increasing demands for CCU refurbishment of the company’s UK-based and supported rental units, allowing Swire’s experienced and skilled employees to repair, weld and paint its extensive UK fleet from a single location

This investment is part of the Swire’s constant push for development during the current economic downturn. The company recently acquired Australia based Weir OCI, which took investment in the region to more than US$23.9 million in the past year.

Rupert Bray, Swire Oilfield Services general manager, said: “We are entering a new phase of rapid expansion and this investment will support our overseas growth, as well as our ongoing operations in the North Sea sector. The funds outlaid in the past 13 months shows we are committed to the North East and see it as an integral part of our core business.”

Source: Baird Maritime