Addressing the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service annual conference in Cumbernauld, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a £4.9 million funding to Baker Hughes (BHGE), a General Electric company, for construction of a subsea manufacturing campus off the country’s north east, in support of the global oil and gas industry.
Backed by a £4.9 million grant from Scottish Enterprise, BHGE has committed a total of £31 million to a manufacturing centre of excellence, expected to create 100 new jobs. The 35-acre site will include test and assembly, research and development (R&D) and workforce training facilities. Nicola Sturgeon noted:
Manufacturing, which employs more than 180,000 people in Scotland, is crucial to the success of our economy. Therefore I welcome the ambitious plans by BHGE to create a world-leading subsea centre of excellence in Montrose, supported by Scottish Government funding.
The centre, based at the company’s existing location in Montrose, will be among the most advanced facilities of its kind using virtual reality tools, industrial 3D printing, automation and sensor-equipped machines.
This facility will bring new jobs and investment to Scotland. And as one of the most advanced centres of its type in the world, it will underline our international reputation for oil and gas innovation, developing the products and services the industry needs for the future.
Graham Gillies, Vice President-Subsea Production Systems & Services, BHGE, said:
This is very welcome news for the oil and gas industry, and for the UK manufacturing sector in particular…Subsea technology is undoubtedly one of the UK’s greatest export success stories, with industry-leading technology and solutions being designed and manufactured here, and installed across basins worldwide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mtiS39UB78
