MANUFACTURER Soil Machine Dynamics aims to push its turnover from £60m to £100m this year, as demand for products including subsea robots increases in markets including South America.
The growing company also expects to increase its 250-strong North East workforce after taking a long lease on a 29,500 sq ft industrial unit at UK Land Estates’ Intersect 19 development, complementing its other sites in Wallsend’s Davy Bank and the Cobalt Business Park.
Joint managing director Mike Jones said: “We’re seeing growth across our markets, particularly in oil and gas. The period 2009/10 was a particularly tough time for the sector, but we managed to buck that trend.
“The fact the price of oil is going in the right direction again is good for us. There is a shortage of oil and other minerals and that requires subsea technology. The increase in renewable industry is also good for us.
“Our turnover grew from £42m to about £60m last year and this year we’re looking to increase that to more than £100m. That’s going to require a lot more staff.”
Jones said the company had re-organised to focus on five key areas in the future. He said it became the world’s number one supplier of the remote operated vehicles that replace divers in deep waters last year, and the facility at Intersect 19 will be used for work in this area.
Its traditional business of subsea trenching will operate from Wallsend, while it is also involved with renewable energy projects such as the creation of the world’s largest free stream tidal turbine last year.
It is also helping an Australian mining company to recover rich mineral deposits from the sea bed using a world-first system, and acquired Yorkshire’s Hallin Robotics early last year to break into the nuclear decommissioning market.
Jones said “it’s possible” the company would make further acquisitions in future if they were “a suitable fit”, but added it was focusing on organic growth. Last year, SMD recruited 130 staff, and opened an office in Houston to build contacts in the US market. It also has a support facility in Brazil, as well as an office in Singapore.
Andrew Hodgson, chief executive officer of SMD, said: “We are delighted with the new premises which have allowed us to expand our business operations on North Tyneside. SMD is at the forefront of new engineering technology in different fields which we hope will benefit the region economically for many years to come.”
Intersect 19 at Tyne Tunnel comprises four high-bay units ranging from 23,000 sq ft to 49,500 sq ft.
Tenants include Scottish linen hire services company Fisher Services, which expanded from a 29,500 sq ft unit to a 49,500 sq ft unit last July.
