Hydrasun announces major investment in its specialist manufacturing capabilities

22nd April 2014

Hydrasun, a leading specialist provider of integrated fluid transfer, power and control solutions to the global energy market, is looking to expand its operations with a £3M investment in its specialist manufacturing facility in Aviemore. This is also being supported by a £500,000 development grant from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

The expansion of Hydrasun’s Manufacturing Division, which is due for overall completion by September 2014, is in response to increased demand for high quality precision parts for specialist applications from key oil & gas customers worldwide and the requirement to increase Hydrasun’s own capabilities, capacity, flexibility and overall speed of response in line with this.

The investment will fund upgrades to its existing 1400m2 facility and also allow for the purchase of new specialist manufacturing equipment, creating 20 skilled new jobs. In addition to the investment from HIE, Hydrasun has also received training support from Skills Development Scotland (SDS).

Bob McAlpine, Hydrasun Chief Operating Officer, commented: “The investment in Hydrasun’s Aviemore facility positions us well to meet the demands of the subsea market and realise major growth opportunities. The expansion will increase our manufacturing capacity and technical capability to offer bespoke innovative solutions to our customers.

“Furthermore the investment enhances our ability to offer an integrated and shortened supply chain, which will help reduce risk to our customers by standardising manufactured parts, enhancing product traceability and allowing full integration with their supply chain processes.”

Susan Addison, account manager at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, said: “We are delighted to be supporting Hydrasun to undertake such a significant expansion project in Aviemore. The company have long term plans and this investment shows that Aviemore remains fundamental to its global strategy.

“Hydrasun have already shown an impressive economic performance, with the company expanding significantly in the past few years. Investment in its employees and their training and development has proved integral to the success of the company and this will continue with this new expansion project.”

Hydrasun is a leading specialist provider of integrated fluid transfer, power and control solutions (manufacturer, supplier, integrator, bespoke solutions provider) to the oil & gas, petrochemical and marine industries worldwide.

Established in 1976, Hydrasun is an internationally recognised company within the global energy industry with nearly 700 staff, around half of which are based at their headquarters in Aberdeen.

In February 2013, the Investcorp Gulf Opportunity Fund, along with other affiliates of Investcorp, a leading provider and manager of alternative investment products, announced that they had agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Hydrasun. Investcorp has offices in Kingdom of Bahrain, New York and London and is publicly traded on the Bahrain Bourse (INVCORP).

In 2013, Hydrasun exported to 58 countries and has operational bases and customer support facilities in UK, Holland, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Brazil, UAE, Angola, Houston and Trinidad.

In a multi-million pound investment, Hydrasun moved to new purpose built Headquarters Facilities at Gateway Business Park on the outskirts of Aberdeen in January 2011. Located on a 6 acre site, this provides around 30,000 square feet of office space and 70,000 square feet of workshops and ample storage facilities. Plans are currently being developed for the next phase of expansion of the Headquarters facilities.