Amec opens its new design and engineering centre

Aug 23 2007 Evening Gazette

AMEC, the international project management and services company, with more than 18,000 personnel worldwide, has opened a new design and engineering centre at Lion Court, Wynyard Park which was officially opened earlier this month by the Minister for the North-east, Nick Brown.

150 highly-skilled designers have relocated from Amec’s office in Wallsend to the new state-of-the art facilities at Wynyard Park to enable the company to further create new jobs, including posts for trainees and graduates.

The number of personnel should rise to about 300 over the next year.

Amec has been established in the North-east for more than 35 years and its move to new premises in the region will enable it to meet the growing demand for its oil and gas services around the world.

The company has carried out major projects in the North Sea, West Africa, US, Canada, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Middle East and SE Asia for many of the world’s top energy companies, including BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell.

Work has included the design of offshore oil platforms, floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels and onshore petrochemical plants and refineries.

“We are proud to continue our investment in the North-east and to help with job creation,” said Neil Bruce, chief operating officer of Amec -Natural Resources.

“Wynyard Park will become a key engineering hub for Amec, generating prosperity for both the UK and the North-east.

Our team at Wynyard will work closely with our other global engineering centres to provide our clients with a consistently world-class service wherever it is needed.”

Amec also announced that it will be funding an engineering bursary scheme for a student from Northumberland, Durham, Tyne and Wear or Teesside to attend Newcastle University, through its long association with the Community Foundation serving Tyne and Wear and Northumberland.

Nick Brown, Minister for the North-east and MP for Newcastle East and Wallsend, said: “As a supporter of industry and education I am delighted that Amec is staying in the North-east with this world-class design and engineering centre, and is taking an active role in producing high quality and committed graduates who will be able to make a substantial contribution to our region and to the reputation of the UK.”