FMC TECHNOLOGIES in Dunfermline is proof Scotland can still compete with the rest of the world in manufacturing, First Minister Alex Salmond said on a visit to the plant yesterday.

He was given a tour of the company’s facilities at Pitreavie and met staff from management level to newly graduated engineers.

The firm, which operates globally and has its headquarters in the US, recently invested millions in expanding its Dunfermline premises, with the workforce swelling to more than 600.

It is now working on subsea structures called “trees” for oil giant Total, to be used to extract oil and gas off the coast of Angola in Africa.

Mr Salmond said Scotland had a future in high-quality engineering.

He said, “Scottish electronic engineering has had a severe downturn over the last 10 years, but if you look across Scottish engineering you’ll see lots of examples of companies like this with a thriving export book.

“This factory is a testament to the fact Scotland can still produce things to the highest quality and sell them to world markets.

“We’re not going to compete any more in assembly and fabrication plants—other places are doing that for the fraction of the cost we can.

“But with industries like this, requiring skilled people, Scotland can still be up there with the best, just as the new Forth bridge will show Scottish bridge building and engineering skills are still at a high level.”

Transport links were vital, he said. Dunfermline was in an ideal position.

“The new bridge is on its way after long delays, because the previous administration were not able to make their minds up.

“We’ve not just made our minds up, but we know what type of bridge the design’s going to be.

“We’re going to have a great new bridge that will be a testimony to Scottish engineering. It’ll be a great asset to Fife and Scotland.

“There’s been such a growth in Dunfermline, being a magnet for housing, and now the town centre is being brought up to match the growth in the periphery.

“Of course the new transport links are vital for people being able to commute and also to get goods from Fife out to the rest of the country. All the ingredients are here for success.”

Mr Salmond talked about his recent discussions with Forth Ports, but would not comment on land use at Rosyth waterfront, where opinion is split between industrial and mixed use.

“I wouldn’t want to intervene. Some of the planning issues I think we’d better leave to those who are elected to consider them.

“Increasingly we have to see the Forth as a gateway. I was looking around Forth Ports last week.

“They’re seeking to migrate some of their industry to Rosyth to free up some of the waterfront at Leith for housing development.

“We’re going to see more industry migrating to this side of the Forth as they unleash the waterfront development. The Forth estuary is a huge economic gateway, it’s not just a river.”

David Currie, managing director of FMC Technologies UK, said, “We are proud of what we have here in Dunfermline.

“In 2007, we celebrated a number of successes from the opening of our multi-million pound expansion programme, the shipment performance for subsea trees to securing the world’s largest subsea contract for Total—one of our major customers.

“People have the wrong impression of manufacturing in Scotland. There are some good stories to tell and there are good companies of every size.”