The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Group takes on extra staff
Oil and gas: Recruitment comes after securing new projects worth £4m
Nucore Group said yesterday its HVAC and Refrigera t i o n E n g i n e e r i n g (HVAC&RE) business had taken on extra workers on the back of new projects worth a total of £4million.
Aberdeen-based Nucore is the parent of companies providing engineering products and services, with applications ranging from fire and security to climate control.
Established late last year and headquartered in Bridge of Don, the group comprises two firms: HVAC&RE, a specialist in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration services for the offshore oil and gas, onshore petrochemical and marine industries, and fire and safety services firm Oteac.
The recently secured work at HVAC&RE, which employs more than 80 people, includes a contract with energy services firm Petrofac, involving assets in the North Sea, as well as key projects with other leading oilandgas industry companies in locations including Poland and Sakhalin in Russia.
HVAC&RE will be delivering engineering, servicing and the preventative maintenance of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment on a number of offshore installations.
Nucore said the subsidiary had already taken on 12 extra workers to support its growing operations, both in theNorth Sea as well as internationally, and further expansion was likely to come imminently.
Earlier this y e a r, HVAC&REstarted work on a three-year service contract involving preventative maintenance services on eight North Sea assets operated by Apache North Sea.
As part of that deal, eight employees transferred from the previous contractor under a Tupe – Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) agreement.
HVAC&RE services director Russell Bell said: “We are exceptionally pleased with the recent business success and growth.
“We continue to tender on projects at home and internationally which, if successful, will see us further expand our workforce.”
Nucore chief executive Graham Thomson said the wider group’s performance over the past six months had been “remarkable”.
MrThomsonadded:“We have a number of promising opportunities ahead of us and we are keen to continue to expand our operations internationally, recruiting like- minded individuals to help us continue to prosper.”
Nucore is backed by Lonsdale Capital Partners and controlled by investors in Tipabo. Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) is launching a project to help former oil and gas industry bosses back into work.
Up to 50 individuals will be given advice on new industry sectors for consideration, self-confidence building and help with recognising transferable skills.
The pilot, known as Executive Springboard, is supported by the Transition Training Fund.
AGCCdeputy chief executive Liam Smyth said: “While the true numberof job losses due to the oil price crash can only be guessed at, it is known that displaced people at managerial and executive level may be reluctant to access support or be unaware that support is available to them.”