Aberdeen Engineering Company Set To Expand Caithness Operation
26th June 2011
AMC Engineering Ltd, whose head office is at Findon just outside Aberdeen, is set to expand their Caithness division by building a new workshop at their site outside Lybster, with the assistance of a grant of £76,250 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
Managing Director Andrew Polson, who hails from Caithness and whose parents still live on the family croft at Smerlie next door to the company's workshops, explained that the skill and application of the local work-force was a key factor in deciding to site the new workshop in the north.
He said: "HIE's support was crucial in helping us go ahead with this development, which wouldn't have happened without their assistance. The work we do, manufacturing a range of high-precision torque equipment for the global oil & gas industry, is highly specialised and it is a tribute to the quality of the Caithness workforce that we have decided to locate this investment here. The project will help us supply our new sales and service base in Houston, Texas, and set us up for our further expansion into the Pacific rim and the Middle East."
Andrew, who moved to the Aberdeen area and started with AMC in 1994, took over the firm when the previous owner retired in 2004, and has since driven its rapid expansion to become a multi-million pound business with customers around the globe.
HIE area manager Roy Kirk said: "HIE is very pleased to be supporting this project, as AMC Engineering is exactly the type of company we want to see growing in our area, building on the County's reputation for excellence in engineering, and providing local people with real employment opportunities. As a native Caithnessian now living in Aberdeen, Andrew has been involved with our Caithness Ambassadors programme which aims to promote inward investment into the County, and with this development he is clearly putting his money where his mouth is by choosing Caithness as the site for this expansion."
Work is already under way, with John Gunn and Son of Lybster carrying out site works, and the whole project is due for completion by the end of September.
Photo by Angus Mackay Photography
The building of a new fabrication shed by AMC Engineering Ltd., Lybster, Caithness, Highland. Pictured here (L-R) David Gunn, David Sutherland (John Gunn & Sons Ltd), Andrew Polson (Managing Director of AMC Engineering Ltd) and Keith Muir (HIE)
Related Businesses
Related Articles
The much-anticipated return of the funicular railway at Cairngorm Mountain will not take place in December, as had been hoped. Contractor Balfour Beatty has substantially completed an extensive remediation programme to strengthen the 1.8km viaduct, however detailed inspections have shown that further work is required in some areas.
A sand mining company in Lochaber is set to double its production and increase annual turnover by more than £2.6m. Lochaline Quartz Sand Limited (LQS) has secured up to £230,000 investment from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) towards the £855,000 costs of upgrading equipment on site.
The newly appointed head of business growth for Highlands and Island Enterprise (HIE) in Argyll and the Islands is to focus on expanding the agency's portfolio of business clients. Liam Orr, originally from Benderloch near Oban, took up the post in early December and leads HIE’s business growth team across an area covering Argyll and Bute, Arran and the Cumbraes.
An Aviemore-based adventure tourism operator has made significant progress in sustainability over the past two years by investing in e-bikes, e-vehicles and a carbon labelling system. Wilderness Scotland has reduced its scope 1 & 2 carbon emissions by 16 percent through its commitment to business decarbonisation.
The funicular railway at Cairngorm Mountain looks set to be back in action towards the end of December or early in the new year. Contractor Balfour Beatty has confirmed that, weather permitting, its current programme of remediation works on the viaduct that supports the railway is due to finish in the next week to 10 days, after which teams working for the company plan to demobilise from the mountainside.
Fetcha Chocolates is investing in new equipment to quadruple its capacity, increase turnover and create employment. An Argyll based chocolate manufacturer is investing in new equipment to quadruple its capacity, increase turnover and create employment.
Is your young business ready for the next step?. The Young Business Capital Grant helps young businesses and social enterprises (under 5 years old) invest in projects that stimulate growth.
Shell-volution is an ambitious industry-wide initiative supported by the public sector and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) which has been awarded £4.4 million of investment from the UK Government as part of the Islands Growth Deal. This innovative, ground-breaking project is set to transform shellfish aquaculture, bringing sustainable growth and additional quality jobs in mussel farming, based on detailed investigations (mapping and monitoring) and creating a model for improving security and reliability of wild spat recruitment, through industry best practice.
A Nairn-based foundry, which has achieved international recognition for its larger-than-life bronze castings has invested in a £200,000 expansion to help it reach greater heights. An award of £60,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has helped Black Isle Bronze to improve infrastructure and purchase equipment to extend the range of projects the firm can undertake.
Young businesses and social enterprises in the Highlands and Islands looking to increase productivity, innovation and employment can apply for funding from HIE. The fourth round of the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) Young Business Capital Grant (YBCG) is now open to businesses that have been trading for less than five years with up to 250 full-time equivalent employees.
