Gateshead engineering firm grows business fast in Brazil

Nov 10 2009 by Chris Knox, The Journal

FAST-growing company Express Engineering has strengthened its expansion into Brazil after a new joint venture and is now looking to grow its sales by 50% to over £22m.

The Gateshead firm has joined forces with Brazilian firm Brastec Ltd to help it take advantage of new oil and gas extraction markets in the region and is the latest development in its ambitious £3.2m expansion drive.

Express, which employs more than 140 staff and launched in 1973, recently put the finishing touches to a 18,000sq ft expansion at its production site in Team Valley, which brought its capacity up to 58,000 sq ft and saw it invest in a range of new technologies, including large vertical lathes and automated welding machines.

The firm, which manufactures high precision-machined components for the aerospace, defence and oil and gas sectors, is no stranger to the Brazilian market, and last month secured a £750,000 contract with a firm in the country’s marine sector to provide pressure tested subsea system equipment.

With two of the three largest subsea oil reserves discovered off the Brazilian coast on recent years, the firm has big hopes for the new joint venture , and now expects to grow its sales by 50% after creating 40 new posts.

The 50:50 partnership will see both firms sharing intellectual property and resources as part of newly formed company Pertrotec Components Ltd, will extend the Gateshead firm’s reach beyond Brazil to other South American markets, while Brastec will also focus on expanding within the UK.