Business has been on its best behaviour for firm

Growth: Contracts worth £3m won

An Aberdeen-based consultancy specialising in behavioural change has notched up contracts worth more than £3 million in its maiden year under a new identity.

Dekra Organisational Reliability (DOR), formerly Optimus Seventh Generation (OSG), said yesterday it had enjoyed “a strong year of growth”.

Workforce numbers in the Aberdeen office grew by 20% to 20, plus a pool of contractors, while the firm is expecting turnover in the region of £5m for its 2018 trading year.

DOR said part of its recent growth was down to diversification into markets such as steel, food processing, pharmaceutical, aviation and ground handling, and introducing healthcare and manufacturing to new regions including France, Australia, Germany and the Beneleux grouping.

Contract successes included a 12-month deal, worth more than £560,000, to provide training and coaching to ConocoPhilips’ Australia West operation.

DOR also formed a three-year partnership with Naftna industrija Srbije, one Serbia’s largest multinational energy companies, to implement a new health and safety strategy.

Other new work saw the firm deliver safety culture workshops to a geophysical services company during its North Sea startup season and organisational assessment contracts for a flooring firm in Belgium, a manufacturer of engineering plastics in the Netherlands and a technology company in France.

Managing director Derek Smith said: “The past year has been exceptional for our growth. Being part of the Dekra family has allowed us to enhance our processes and expand our service solutions, whilst retaining Optimus’ reputation for providing outstanding customer service.

“We have a very strong track record in the oil and gas sector and this experience has transitioned well into our new target markets and regions. We are highly positive about what 2018-19 will offer.”

The company’s name change came after OSG was taken over by Dekra, a German testing and advisory firm employing more than 39,000 people in 50 countries.

It marked an exit from the Aberdeen business by brothers Steve and David Marples, who founded OSG in 2003. It was then merged with Dekra’s Behavioural Science Technology International operation. McColl’s shares plunged after half-year profits halved, with the convenience store operator having suffered “one of the most challenging” trading periods to date following the Palmer & Harvey collapse.

The retailer’s pre-tax profits tumbled to £2.3 million over the 26 weeks to May 27, compared with £4.5m during the same period last year.

The company was hit by the collapse of wholesaler Palmer & Harvey, which fell into administration in November and caused “unprecedented supply chain disruptions”.

It also affected McColl’s like-for-like sales, which fell 2.7% in the first half of the year, with weather disruptions resulting in additional strain.

Chief executive Jonathan Miller said it was “one of the most challenging six months the business has ever faced”.

Derek Smith, managing director at Dekra Organisational Reliability