South Tyneside based subsea engineering firm ‘rides the wave’ of global success

A team of South Tyneside based engineering experts are carving out a global reputation for developing tailor-made solutions for the marine and subsea industry.

DME Systems is a team of seven specialists working across the globe to help deliver multi-million pound projects in the UK, USA, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany to name a few.

The business, created 17 months ago, offers a solutions based engineering service working closely with some of the largest, and smallest, companies in the world designing machinery to overcome specific challenges, often in extreme environments.

Created by experienced engineers, Darren Coombe and Michael van Zwanenberg, the business is expanding into new office space at Jarrow Business Centre, providing it with increased office and meeting space, as well as a larger workshop.

The move is the culmination of a profitable 18 months that’s seen DME exceed its growth target whilst attracting new recruits and engaging with local schools and colleges to develop roles for apprentices and graduates that will enable the firm to grow and nurture the next generation of technical engineers.

Darren commented: “We are experienced engineers with a combined 80-plus years’ experience; when we created the business we recognised the requirement for bespoke solutions in the marine sector, however we didn’t expect the level of interest and how quickly we’ve grown which has been fantastic.

“The world never sleeps, so we might be on a call to Greece until late at night or the phone will be buzzing in the early hours with messages from the Middle East. It’s not a 9-5 job, but the projects are fantastic and we’re really enjoying the experience.”

DME Systems also has other industries in its sights, with a pipeline of work onshore in steelworks and aspirations to move into the defence sector. Currently though, it is the ongoing growth in offshore renewables, mining and telecoms that are demanding the company’s attention.

Darren added: “We have created equipment with control systems and complex electronics operating at depths of 6 km below the surface; that’s 600x the pressure we feel on the surface.”

“We are designing engineering machines to bury offshore power cables which are vital for offshore wind, ROV skids to measure the seabed geology and the next generation all electric subsea winches.

“Subsea engineering is a specialised and vitally important field and an incredibly rewarding environment for engineers to work with a high level of innovation and fast paced projects.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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