The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Dundee’s Pryme Group opens £10 million Centre of Excellence
MANUFACTURING: Major investment in purpose-built facility
Dundee-headquartered Pryme Group has opened a purpose-built facility in North Shields after investment totalling £10 million.
Staff have relocated from nearby Ryton to an engineering services and manufacturing centre at the Tyne Tunnel Estate which was officially opened by North Tyneside mayor Norma Redfearn yesterday.
Pryme Group provides integrated manufacturing solutions for the oil and gas, aerospace and defence industries.
The new 58,000sq ft Centre of Excellence has been supported by both public and private sector organisations including UK Land Estates, North Tyneside Council and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
The business expects to more than double its current workforce in North Tyneside from 70 to 150 in the next five years and is actively recruiting for new personnel, including CNC operators.
Chief executive Angus Gray said: “I’m excited about what the future holds for the business and the local area.
“While work is still continuing to allow the site to operate at full capacity, we’ve taken the decision to move staff into the new building slightly earlier than planned to meet demand for our services.
“In the long-term, the Centre of Excellence will not only provide a boost to the group’s existing capabilities, but it will create enhanced opportunities for our clients operating across the UK and internationally.”
Pryme Group, which employs around 260 people, has invested £4.2m in equipment and CNC machinery for the building.
Additional grant funding of £1.35m was provided by the North East LEP, through the UK Government’s Local Growth Deal. UK Land Estates to build the unit in North Shields speculatively at a cost of £4.5m.
The Centre of Excellence has been formed following the amalgamation of three separate companies – MKW Total Engineering, Stargate Precision Engineering and TME Hydraulics – and will house best-in-class machinery alongside multiple complementary services to allow Pryme Group’s customer base to bring innovative products to market.
Pryme Group recently signed new contracts with energy sector clients, totalling more than £3.5m, for fabrication and machining services with all work to be carried out at the new facility. Master service agreements have been agreed with two oil and gas businesses and a defence contractor.
Ms Redfearn said: “This state-of-theart facility marks exciting times for the company and the prospect of new jobs being created is also great news.”