11/11/11
Sixty Jobs Secured in Key Fabrication Facility Deal

Sixty north of Scotland jobs have been secured, with some 200 more in prospect, in a multi-million pound purchase of a key Highland fabrication facility.

In a move welcomed by Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond, the Aberdeen and Highland-based Port Services Group has acquired a six-acre industrial complex in the Cromarty Firth’s Invergordon Service Base.

The company will operate the facility under the new brand name IFAB, denoting Invergordon Fabrication, supplying the oil, gas and renewables markets.

The former RBG facility, whose current workforce stands at 60, takes up a large slice of the Invergordon base, which is at the centre of the new energy boom. IFAB boasts six fabrication sheds and extensive lay-down areas for space-hungry projects such as subsea structures, marine and wind energy devices.

Already seeking to add new fabrication contracts in subsea and other sectors, IFAB will also link with PSG to carry out ‘end-to-end’ planning, fabrication and deployment of structures, along with other activity in the energy industries.

The purchase takes overall north of Scotland employment from 60 to 140 at PSG, who described it as a natural addition to their wider activities, from port agency and marine services, through heavy lift solutions, to inspection, repair, maintenance and other specialist activities.

Company chairman Les Clark said: “Acquisition of this unique asset in Invergordon transforms our already diverse capabilities, creating a major, fully equipped force for development of the north of Scotland’s energy industries.”

PSG managing director Steve Clark said: “IFAB has a terrific platform for growth, through its team’s exemplary track record in complex subsea work and the advantages of its location.  We are already exploring new contracts and actively recruiting new engineers, and we see the market potential to eventually more than quadruple its workforce, attracting major new economic activity to the region.”

Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond said: “Scotland’s offshore energy industry is world-leading and highly-skilled, right across the oil and gas and renewables sectors. The Highland region continues to play a key role in that success, underpinned by ambitious and successful businesses such as PSG, who continue to expand, diversify and generate local employment.  I congratulate the company in making this significant investment and wish the management and workforce continued success in the future.”

Steve Clark added: “PSG itself has also already excelled in planning the deployment and recovery of marine renewable devices, including skilled engineering content, and this new fabrication capability provides a natural extension, creating a full-services project capability in this and other sectors.”

The deal comes almost exactly 25 years after PSG’s birth as a freight handler with five employees in Invergordon, since when it has grown to a multi-million pound shipping and offshore logistics business operating in strategic bases from Scrabster to Aberdeen.

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