Metec UK pledges to support the growth of the North East's green energy sector

South Shields-based Metec UK has pledged its support to help grow the engineering base required to power the region’s green energy boom.

And the business which was set up in 2016 to support the offshore wind industry - is calling on more local businesses to do the same.

The sacrificial anodes Metec UK manufactures, are fixed to steel structures destined for subsea installation to prevent corrosion. The business currently employs around 40 staff and has become a key supplier to many of the large offshore wind farms off the coast of the UK, Germany, Holland, Baltics, France, Spain and globally.

This month, the company added its name to the South Tyneside Pledge. To date, the pledge has been signed by over 140 businesses, with each one promising to recruit, subcontract and invest locally wherever possible.

In 2021, the company secured a major contract from Dogger Bank Wind Farm, and for commercial manager Graeme Crow, what happened next was a perfect example of the South Tyneside Pledge in action.

He commented: “By spending locally we’re keeping engineering companies busy and that filters onto other smaller businesses which allows them to take on more workers. It’s in everybody’s interests to grow those local skills and increase their availability. It helps them take on more engineers and more apprentices.

“We must get more people involved in engineering as it’s in the region’s DNA and - although it’s coming back with green energy we have been very close in the past to losing what our parents and grandparents built the North East on.

“Ten years ago, if you talked to young people leaving schools and asked them what they wanted to be they wanted to work in IT or social media. Now they’re talking about engineering again. We need to hold onto these skills. My father was an engineer and that’s the case for so many engineers you talk to.”

For Invest South Tyneside, Metec UK’s loyalty to the area represents the epitome of the pledge. Not just its dedication to recruiting and spending locally but also Metec UK’s expertise in the offshore wind industry makes it a significant part of the region’s growing green energy expertise.

Cllr Tracey Dixon, Leader of South Tyneside Council and Chair of South Tyneside Partnership, said: “For a company that works across Europe, it is inspirational to see Metec UK’s commitment to South Tyneside. Their passion for the work they do for the offshore industry shines through, as does their pride in the heritage of the North East and the skills and expertise we have here.

“Businesses like Metec are vital. The employment is vital, the investment is vital, bringing sizeable contracts to the North East is irreplaceable but also so is their energy and ambition and desire to grow supply chains and subcontractors with them. They are a wonderful example of the South Tyneside Pledge in action.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily