Last updated at 16:11, Tuesday, 31 July 2012

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OIL States MCS may be tucked away on a modest-looking business park off the A590 in Barrow, but the company has grand global ambitions.

It employs 48 permanent staff in the town, but is hoping a move into new markets will boost employment at the site.

The company, which provides subsea connectors and cutting systems to the oil, gas and renewables sectors, is hoping to expand under the guidance of recently appointed general manager Nick Jones.

He said: “We carry out operations in South East Asia, West Africa, Canada, Norway, Denmark and the UK, and we’re now starting to do work in Russia.

“We’ve got a contract this year to do three new structures in the Caspian Sea, we’ve also been awarded a very big contract for the Filanovsky oil field in the Northern Caspian by Lukoil, so we’ll be pretty busy out in Russia.”

Mr Jones graduated in mechanical engineering in his home city, at Liverpool Polytechnic, in 1984.

He started his working life at Barrow shipyard when he went into the armaments division. The engineering graduate then went on to work at Sellafield, designing robotic machinery for decommissioning nuclear equipment.

The adopted Cumbrian joined Oil States in November 1990 as a project engineer and was promoted to engineering manager in June 2000.

He took over from Owen Osmotherley in March, when he retired.

The late John Lowes set up BUE Hydra-Lok Ltd, as it was known then, after he and fellow former shipyard worker Mr Osmotherley developed the patented Hydra-Lok swage connection system in 1979.

The company, now based at Sowerby Woods Business Park off the A590 in Barrow, was originally based on a smaller site in Walney Road.

It has expanded over the years to enter the maintenance, repair and decommissioning sectors of the industry.

It was bought by Texan multinational Oil States in 1996, and this development saw the company expand into operating the Houston-developed abrasive cutting system for platform removal.

The firm also adapted the Hydra-Lok swaging system to repair corroded and damaged caissons on offshore installations.

Mr Jones believes this decommissioning and repair work could prove to be key to the company’s expansion.

He explained: “One of the spin-offs from the swaging system is we also get involved in maintenance operations on platforms.

“We use the swaging system to replace damaged caissons and insert a liner inside.

“We get a lot of work with that system mainly in the North Sea and as part of the expansion vision, I want to try and move that equipment and that service into South East Asia.

“With the cutting equipment, we’re currently working in South East Asia and the UK, and we are looking to expanding into the Gulf of Mexico.

“Typically with the hurricanes coming through they do get quite a bit of damage that needs repairing.

“There’s probably more work in that region than there is here in the UK.

“The North Sea in terms of decommissioning is very much in its infancy, whereas in the Gulf of Mexico they’ve been producing oil and gas there for quite some time so there’s more work in that region.

“We are looking to move equipment and support it with personnel from here, so we’ll still be operating from Cumbria in all these geographical regions.”

Mr Jones hopes any expansion will boost employment in Barrow.

He said: “We’ve just taken on two new engineers, so we’re trying to deal with the increased demand.

“As part of our plan to expand we’ll be putting a business case forward that will include more personnel, and equipment.”

The wealth of engineering talent in Barrow means Oil States MCS is well placed to expand.

Mr Jones said: “There is a good engineering resource in the area, with the shipyard and other engineering companies.

“And in terms of salaries, it’s easier to keep people in Barrow than Aberdeen, for example, where the cost of living is higher.

“And there’s other rewards for living in this area – it’s a great place to be.”

As a small/medium-sized enterprise, Oil States MCS staff see a whole project through to completion, which means they have a personal investment in their work.

Mr Jones said: “All the guys – the senior technicians and the designers – go offshore.

“The job that they do is very rewarding. It’s stressful at times – very intense – but there’s a great satisfaction at the end when the job is completed and everything has gone well.

“The guys design the kit and we can do full-scale testing in the factory here before any of the equipment is shipped offshore.

“They test it, go offshore with it, operate the kit and come back, close out reports, and move on to the next project. So they’ll see a project through from start to finish.”

As well as recruiting time-served engineers, the company is also keen to develop new talent.

Over the past six years Oil States MCS has taken on five apprentices, two of whom have now completed their training and are in full time employment with the company.

The other three are at various stages of their apprenticeships.

One technician was sponsored through a three-year engineering degree, which he successfully passed this year.

He now works as a project engineer in the design office. And the whole cycle has begun again, with one of the recently qualified apprentices embarking on his engineering degree.

Oil States MCS’s apprenticeship training is carried out through Ulverston-based company GEN II, and the engineering degrees are provided by Lancaster University via its partnership with Furness College.

And the company also carries out its own in-house training programme in using its specialised, patented equipment. Despite Oil States MCS’s plans for expansion, Mr Jones is keen to emphasise the company will retain the personal touch.

He said: “We’re a good size at the moment, and are just about ready for the next stage to move on and recruit a few more people.

“But I can’t see us changing the way we operate too much.”

First published at 16:09, Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Published by http://www.in-cumbria.com