Member Article

CEI Collins Engineers open Salford office

Engineering firm CEI Collins has opened a new office in Salford, Manchester, with the support of development agency, MIDAS.

The firm will provide engineering services across Network Rail’s infrastructure from the new office, which will be headed up by Gary Hastie, an engineer with 35 years experience in rail and construction.

Specialist engineers will be deployed from the Salford office, with expertise in rope access inspections, confined space entry and underwater examinations of railway bridges, culverts, retaining walls, and CCTV/radio masts.

Gerry Hennity, Collins’ technical manager for the UK commented: “We’ve been looking to expand our UK operations for some time and discussions have been ongoing for more than 12 months with regards to Network Rail’s Civil Examination Framework Agreement – CEFA.

“We’ve recruited nine new staff for our Greater Manchester office and it is intended that the skillset of the team is not only sustainable for Network Rail but also transferable to other infrastructure sectors.

“In these difficult economic times, we’re hoping to further expand the business and thank MIDAS for their assistance in helping us to achieve this.”

CEI Collins’ Manchester base will continue to focus on their core areas of expertise, including civil and structural engineering services, design of transportation systems and related structures, and underwater engineering.

Gary Hastie, contractor’s responsible engineer of Collins, said: “Our move into Manchester offers a brand new venture for Collins as we develop our client base as a trusted supplier of structures inspections and design services for the North West and the rest of the UK. “

Chief executive of MIDAS, Tim Newns, added: “We’re delighted that Collins has decided to further its UK business expansion by opening a Manchester office.

“Greater Manchester continues to be a key European centre for engineering and with hundreds of millions of pounds allocated to be spent on transport and infrastructure across Greater Manchester and the wider North of England over the coming decades, it makes absolute sense to leverage Manchester for both the market opportunities and talent availability that the city provides.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .