Business and jobs for rebranded Sparrows
12 April 2010Scottish offshore lifting specialist Sparrows has announced £36m of new contracts in January that will secure or create more than 100 jobs on and offshore through its Aberdeen base.
Sparrows, which formerly traded as four separate brands, Sparrows Offshore, Energy Cranes, Aberdeen Hydraulics and Baricon Systems, has been restructured as a single business with six areas of interest. These include Sparrows Engineering & Operation, providing a range of crane services to the market; Sparrows Rental, offering fully integrated offshore crane rental services; Sparrows Manufacturing, producing offshore pedestal cranes to API specification 2C; Sparrows Training, providing crane and fluid power training; Sparrows Fluid Power, formerly Aberdeen Hydraulics and providing the full range of hydraulic services; and Sparrows Baricon, formerly Baricon Systems and supplying pipe and cable laying equipment and services.
“Our pace of growth had left some clients unclear as to the true scope of our product and service offerings,” said Sparrows chief executive officer Doug Sedge. “Uniting under the Sparrows brand reinforces the depth and breadth of our expertise and resources.”
The £36m of new contracts signed in January range from three-month projects to be completed by the summer to four-year contracts with options for further extensions. Contracts have been signed with clients including Shell, Nexen, Total, Technip, Transocean and Helix Well Ops. They range from overhaul and installation of replacement cranes, to long-term operation, maintenance and engineering services supporting entire fleets of cranes on clients’ offshore installations.
“This is an excellent start to the new year, reflecting returning confidence in the offshore sector now that oil and gas prices have stabilised at more sustainable levels,” said Sedge.
“We continued to invest in our people and facilities through the leaner times in 2009 and we are now well placed to respond to upturning client demand. These new contracts directly secure 85 existing jobs in the city, and have allowed us to create a further 35 jobs in the UK North Sea. They also sustain other jobs in support functions like our workshops, HSEQ and finance teams.”
