ACE Winches: Focused On Global Growth
28 April 2009
Management staff at ACE Winches, the deck machinery specialist based in Montbletton, Banff, are preparing to exhibit for the first time at the upcoming OTC in Houston.
The company, which will exhibit in the Scottish Pavilion, is looking to further expand into global offshore markets and plans to use the conference to showcase its ability to work with major oil and gas companies around the world.
Of particular interest is the global floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) market, an area ACE recently tapped into when it successfully completed a £500k contract for Shell UK, which involved the bespoke design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of a 200t SWL replacement anchor mooring winch to lift and tension the FPSO Anasuria mooring lines.
Due to technical and logistical constraints a fully integrated approach from design to installation had to be undertaken, which involved the winch being designed, manufactured and fully function tested, then stripped down into eight boxes for shipping to the vessel. Once on-board, the winch components were moved from deck to location through narrow corridors using chain blocks and then reassembled and tested by ACE hire personnel. The project used all the flexibility of ACE's independent departments in design, manufacturing, equipment and personnel hire.
Alfie Cheyne, CEO of ACE Winches, said: "We have previously delivered contracts in Central and South America, the Indian sub-continent, Asia Pacific, west Africa and the Middle East and plan to use our attendance at OTC as a means of further raising our profile globally.
"The FPSO market is of particular interest as our ability to offer a fully integrated solution from design to installation makes us well-placed to meet the challenging customer requirements that are a feature of this market."
Established in 1993, the company has grown from a sole trader to employing 120 staff, which includes the introduction of seven new management team members over the past year to help the company achieve its growth objectives. It is projected that a further 80 new jobs will be created over the next 24 months as the company prepares to expand its operations with its new £4 million, 24-acre Towie Barclay Works headquarters near Turriff, scheduled to open in 2010.
With an annual growth of 30% per year for the past five years, more than £10 million annual turnover for 2008 and a busy order book for the upcoming year, ACE Winches is well placed to meet the current economic challenges and look to the future.
