Altra aims for fivefold growth and 200 new jobs after contract wins

ENGINEERING group Altra Energy yesterday unveiled ambitious plans to create 200 jobs and increase its turnover fivefold by 2013 after signing contracts with big names including Talisman, Maersk and BG Group.

The company is already taking on 40 engineers at its head office in Aberdeen and aims to grow revenues to 10 million this year. It hopes to hit 25m in turnover from last year's 5m within the next three years.

The multi-disciplinary consultancy has shifted its focus to concentrate on project work and carrying out minor modifications.

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Altra has also formed strategic alliances with several firms – including Arbroath-based Mechserv – to provide "project management, construction and mechanical engineering capabilities", which the company believes will allow it to take on large-scale project work.

Daniel McGowan, Altra's managing director, said: "There is no denying that the past 12 months have been challenging for many in the oil and gas industry and we had a difficult year.

"However, we took the opportunity to restructure the business, building a robust new management team and refocusing on larger, longer-term contracts from front-end engineering through to start-up field developments."

He added: "We are now well positioned for growth with a robust and ambitious strategy centred on Europe, the Middle-east and Asia Pacific. Our new alliances are central to our growth strategy, providing Altra with a credible capability to bid for major oil and gas projects internationally."

McGowan joined the firm in 2005, two years before Altra was taken over by private equity firm HitecVision. Norway-based Hitec pumped 1m into the business, which now forms part of its Subsea Technology Group.

• Aitken Group is on course to break the 10m turnover barrier this year after the Aberdeen-based oil and gas services outfit moved to bigger facilities. Revenue stood at 6.6m in 2009, having grown from 2.7m in 2005. Managing director Danny Donald said: "Diversification and recent support from Scottish Enterprise have also played a key role in the company's development. Since moving to our new facility, we have made significant changes to our management structure and investment in people, both of which have been crucial factors in fuelling our growth."

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