STATS Group Targets Americas For Long Term Growth
Pipeline engineering specialists STATS Group has invested $2 million in new facilities in Houston to expand its services in the United States and South American oil and gas markets.
The UK-based group, which designs, manufactures and installs a range of high-tech pipeline isolation and intervention tools, has opened a 25,000-sq-ft office and workshop facility in Brittmoore and expects to add to its U.S. headcount over the next year.
Stephen Rawlinson, previously general manager in Canada, has been promoted to vice president for the Americas, while Scott McNae has been elevated from his previous role as global projects manager to general manager for U.S. operations.
STATS expects to take advantage of project opportunities in the U.S. onshore and offshore pipeline sector, with Houston also providing a springboard to mobilize for projects in South America. The company’s Process Plant Solutions division will also target the refineries, chemical plants and oil and gas platform sector, offering rentals, sales and servicing options.
Stephen Rawlinson, previously general manager in Canada, has been promoted to vice president for the Americas.
“We recently won contracts worth more than $15 million to provide intervention (hot tapping) and isolation services to one of North America’s largest energy infrastructure companies and we believe we can replicate that success in the U.S.,” Rawlinson said. “To be able to make the best out of emerging opportunities we need local facilities in the Gulf of Mexico and feet on the ground. This investment in Houston will provide us with a framework to get in to the tendering rounds, quickly start mobilization when projects are confirmed and build on our track record of successful project execution in North America.”
Rawlinson added that he believes that the market potential is “massive” and that the company’s suite of intervention and isolation tools are unlike other options available in the marketplace, giving STATS the confidence to make a long-term investment to growth in the United States.
Headquartered near Aberdeen, Scotland, STATS Group employs 280 staff in the UK, Canada, United States and the Middle East, specializing in the isolation, intervention, repair and testing of pipeline systems.
The Houston expansion follows a similar investment in Canada where the company doubled its workshop and testing facilities in Edmonton and added a project support office in Calgary.
Tags: Houston, pipeline repair, STATS Group
