Partner Article

International giant invests in Teesside

A GLOBAL subsea construction firm has chosen the River Tees as a base to maintain its fleet of machines for the oil and gas industry.

Modular Underwater Systems (Modus) has signed a ten-year deal with Middlesbrough-based logistics company AV Dawson to lease some of the largest fabrication facilities on the river.

AV Dawson has invested £100,000 to renovate part of its North Sea Supply Base (NSSB) on Riverside Park to accommodate its new tenant. Modus will use the facilities for maintenance and storage of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and trenching systems between projects.

The North Sea Supply Base dominates the Tees skyline and is capable of housing some of the largest fabrication projects necessary for oil exploration and extraction.

The vast hanger-like manufacturing zones stand 160-feet tall (the height of 13 double decker buses) and 330-feet-wide – capable of housing two Boeing 767s side by side.

Modus will have its own stand alone unit. AV Dawson managing director, Gary Dawson, said “The North Sea Supply Base was created for companies just like Modus which deal in subsea manufacturing and need facilities close to water to make the process as efficient as possible. We were very keen to accommodate Modus which is why we invested £100,000 in renovating the site for them.”

David Brown, operations director at Modus, said “The decision to relocate Modus’ marine operations centre to the North Sea Supply Base is an integral part of the company’s growth strategy both in terms of asset investment and the recruitment of highly qualified technicians involved in the maintenance and operation of our fleet of specialist marine trenching and subsea construction support equipment.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .