Member Article

Middlesbrough subsea engineering firm set for Brazilian expansion

A thriving subsea engineering firm is to open a new overseas operation in the Spring after doubling its turnover and investing £1.5 million in new machinery and additional manufacturing space.

QA Weld Tech, based at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Park, industrial estate, is opening a new factory in Sao Paulo as it taps into the buoyant Brazilian oil and gas market.

Its first overseas expansion comes on the back of a record year for the welding and fabrication firm which saw its turnover double to £16m; the opening of a new office block and the hiring of 40 new staff. They include new operations director, David Pickles, who will strengthen the senior management team.

Charlie Tighe, QA Weld Tech’s managing director, said the company had invested £1.5m over the last four years following a strategic review of the business.

They now plan further investment of £800,000: £300,000 in its CNC machining capacity; £100,000 for further improvements to its pressure test capability and £400,000 to equip the Brazilian factory, which is due to open in May.

Mr Tighe said: “We saw an opportunity in Brazil a few years ago and the oil and gas industry there is huge.

“Our strengths lie in our expertise and more than half of our production goes for export, so opening a factory overseas is a significant step in growing our presence globally.”

QA Weld Tech, which employs 110 people, specialises in the welding and fabrication of complex pipework and is a world leader in the turnkey supply of high-pressure flow bends for the sub-sea oil and gas industries.

The firm was established in 1980 and began with one 6,000 sg ft unit at Riverside Park, Middlesbrough.

Today, it operates out of 12 units and counts One Subsea, AF Global and GE Oil and Gas among its customers.

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