Aubin to expand subsea, integrity work on back of 35% growth

Aubin Group has announced that for the 12 months ending 30 June 2013 turnover was £6.5m, up more than 35% from £4.8m during the same period in the previous year.

Aubin chief executive Paddy Collins (right) with Simon Munro, BGF’s regional director for Scotland

A main focus now for the Scotland-based materials technology group will be on developing its subsea and integrity divisions, and expanding well services and pipelines work in the Middle East.

Aubin is feeling the benefits of UK government financial assistance. In February 2013 the group received a £2.25m investment from the UK’s Business Growth Fund (BGF), established to help the SME sector.

Since then, the company has recorded growth in its well services division and seen steady expansion through new divisions and adding to its team of chemical engineering and subsea experts.

“Aubin Group is exactly the sort of business that BGF look to back and its performance to date has been well ahead of budget,| said Simon Munro, BGF’s Regional Director for Scotland. “We look forward to charting the company's continued expansion as it embarks upon exciting and ambitious plans for the future.”

Aubin Group launched its integrity management division, Aubin Integrity, in July 2013 with a product line focussing on subsea repairs, corrosion mitigation and plugging. Aubin Integrity then teamed up with flexible pipe specialist Flexlife to offer subsea integrity operations.

Since this time last year, Aubin Group has hired 22 new employees – including managerial appointments, five new graduate chemists – and formed a subsea engineering department.

Aubin Group is now expanding in the Middle East. Director of well services and pipelines, Raymond Stirton, is relocating to the UAE, where the company is looking to establish a subsidiary to form strategic partnerships in Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Aubin Group has also partnered with UAE-based offshore engineering company Marsol International to provide a pigging solution for non-piggable pipelines.

Looking ahead, the company anticipates further growth in its Subsea division as it trials its controllable subsea lifting system.

Paddy Collins, chief executive of Aubin Group, said: “We look forward to continuing this progression in materials technology and engineering to deliver tailored solutions in the full life of field of subsea projects.”