Major global subsea group Harkand has become the latest big oil and gas name to set up in Montrose after signing a 10-year lease for a new storage facility in the Angus burgh.
The international company has taken on a new base on Rossie Island as it joins a string of major firms announcing new investment in the region.
The former Stagecoach Strathtay bus depot which includes a 12,000ft2 warehouse, 33,000ft2 of external storage and a number of internal offices has been extensively upgraded for use by the inspection, repair and maintenance and light manufacturing specialist.
Harkand Europe managing director David Kerr said the group had been seeking extra space as the volume of its work in the North Sea continues to grow.
While the new site will be staffed from Aberdeen and will not create new posts in the short term, Mr Kerr said it would add to Harkand’s existing base at Aberdeen’s Nord Centre and support even greater use of port facilities at Montrose.
“We will be using the facility for equipment storage as well as mobilisations and demobilisations in Montrose,” he said. “We are increasingly using Montrose harbour as a mobilisation port and for crew changes.
“As a result of the company’s growth we need more space, and this new facility allows us to organise our equipment in a more efficient manner. The yard itself is also ideal for our needs and also gives us a presence in Montrose.”
Harkand was formed in February last year following the merger of Iremis, Integrated Subsea Services and Andrews Survey and after investment by Oaktree Capital Management.
It employs more than 1,000 people across the globe, has offices in Aberdeen, London, Houston, Singapore and Perth in Australia, and expects turnover to top $1 billion inside the next four years.
Stagecoach sold the Rossie Island site to property firm Coventry Gauge Estates in July last year after being forced to shut the depot by changes to contract awards in the Mearns.
Harkand’s investment is just the latest fillip to efforts by Angus Council to regenerate the South Montrose area.
Its economic development department is masterminding the multi-million-pound scheme in an effort to attract new investment which it is hoped will create jobs and significantly benefit the region’s economy.
The council, with support from Scottish Enterprise, has already committed £3.4m to construct a new access road to improve transport links in the area.
Private-sector works also include a £6m redevelopment of the town’s north quay by Montrose Port Authority, while the pharmaceutical giant GSK is to invest £25m in its operations at Cobden Street.
Last month, The Courier revealed how lifting gear and steel rope supplier Certex will significantly increase its presence in the town with the opening of a new site on the south quayside.
In recent days we also reported on National Oilwell Varco’s plan to create a new, purpose-built office complex in “the Dundee or Angus area”, designed to house service, engineering and training departments for its rig systems division.