Tyneside subsea engineering firm SMD says current growth plans could see it at least double its 180-strong workforce in the next five years.
Mike Jones, the chairman of the Wallsend-based specialist in underwater robotics and cable protection products, said it is carrying out final testing of newly developed, all-electric remotely operated vehicles with potential for sales of the cutting edge systems later this year. The milestone will be the culmination of development work underway since about 2018 at the firm's base on the banks of the Tyne.
The vehicles - known as WROVs - are used in a variety of subsea scenarios including by oil and gas operators, windfarm developers, by scientific research teams and salvage teams. By replacing hydraulic systems more commonly used in the vehicles with electrical counterparts similar to those used in road-going electric cars, SMD says it has been able to create a more efficient and more reliable product because they use fewer parts.
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Talking to BusinessLive, Mr Jones, who is also a board member of the Global Underwater Hub, said this year would see a coming to fruition of the sizeable investment project which had earned support from national bodies such as Innovate 海角视频. Now final tests, delayed by the pandemic, mean the vehicles are poised to enter the market.
He explained: "That was our big market up until about 2015 when oil and gas crashed. So, there's been underinvestment in that area and we're seeing a lot of that investment coming back now. The other part of it is, there's a big drive offshore to 'de-man' operations.
"Similar to the way you can fly a drone over Syria from Wichita, our equipment is moving to that where you can control a WROV on an oil field or a wind farm, either from a boat - which might become autonomous - or from an oil platform. To do that, you need to be electrified and you also need some other technologies, which we've been developing and where we've been supported by some funding from something called the ORE Catapult TIGGOR fund."
The equipment allows customers to control the vehicles over the horizon from bases on land. And, supported by the demand for more cabling required by the offshore wind market, SMD has boosted its range of cable protection products that can help to guard against accidental damage from fishing vessels but increasingly sabotage as energy security and communications have become a focal point for espionage.
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Earlier this year, SMD said it hoped to grow turnover to £100m by 2025, a level it previously surpassed going back more than 10 years. As revealed at the time, it plans to open new innovation and customer services facilities and Mr Jones reaffirmed that North East was the best location thanks to close proximity to skills, research bases and other offshore operators.
He added: "In the past we've been an engineering company. But now I think we're more an engineering and technology company. We've had some tech and patents but we're now investing much more deeply in technology and that's a big differentiator to the past.
"And just being diversified across as many markets as we can is important. Renewables is undoubtedly a big market, with growth in the future, but there's still a big transition from oil and gas. We're trying to get remaining oil out of the ground more efficiently and to some extent our equipment will be involved in offshore carbon capture."
SMD was acquired by Chinese corporation CRRC in 2015 and has since diversified from its oil and gas roots. Most recent accounts for the 海角视频-based business showed turnover of £39.8m and a return to operating profit of £3.8m. The firm has said that coupled with its Shanghai operation, turnover is about £58m.