Big ships deal will seal future of CSD
Jul 23 2008 by Chris Knox, The Journal
ASEALANT company believes its long-term future will be secured if it lands a contract to help in the construction of two giant Royal Navy aircraft carriers.
Blyth-based CSD Sealing Systems is in the running to land a multi-million pound work to apply its flexible watertight seal to the long awaited £4bn ships which are due to begin construction later this year.
CSD, which has managed to grow its turnover from £1m to £2.5m over the last three years, is confident of landing the job and said that it would secure its growth well into the future.
Aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales are due to enter service in 2014 and 2016 respectively and, if CSD is successful, will be fitted with the firm’s ‘Rise’ sealant, which protects from water, fire and gas.
The firm is set to double its floor space to prepare for the contract. It will move from its 2,500sqft home in Blyth to a 6,000sqft building in Cramlington, where it hopes to add a large number of jobs to its current 10-strong workforce.
The firm believes its long running involvement with defence manufacturers VT Group and BAE Systems gives it a headstart to land the contract, as both are constructing the ships through newly-formed consortium BVT Surface Fleet.
Operations manager Anthony Jordan said: “The Royal Navy contract would be a massive one for us and would certainly secure the future of the company going forward as well as help us go to grow at the rate that we have been.”
As well as working on a range of other military jobs, including six Type 45 Destroyers for the Royal Navy, the firm is continuing its expansion into the renewable energy market by servicing Europe’s largest windfarm in Scotland. Situated at Whitelee, south of Glasgow, the Scottish Power project will be capable of generating 322 megawatts of electricity when it is completed next year.
It is not the first time that CSD has been employed on such a project after working on a 60 turbine wind farm in Solway, Firth, which will eventually provide electricity to 120,000 homes.
The firm now wants to increase the work that it does with onshore utilities facilities to represent 50% of its turnover, up from 25%.
Mr Jordan said: “We are best known for our work with the military but we are now making a conservative effort to increase our work in the onshore utilities market as we see this as a prime area of growth for us over the coming years.”
