SPECIALIST engineering company Francis Brown Limited has underlined its growing expertise in the offshore sector by completing work for a BP oil and gas platform.
The Stockton-based company developed new welding procedures to make a pair of four-metre tall flare tips - the top section of the flaming chimneys that are used to eliminate waste gases and act as safety valves on rigs.
Using high-temperature resistant steel a team of engineers, welders and fabricators delivered the project to meet BP's strict technical and safety standards.
The flare tips were designed to withstand the harsh North Sea weather as well as the high temperatures generated by the rig's flare stacks. After being shipped to Aberdeen, they will be installed by helicopter to the rig, which lies about 143 miles off the mainland.
Employing more than 90 workers, the 107-year-old Tees Valley firm is an established member of the oil and gas, chemical process and offshore renewable energy supply chain and plans to deliver engineering and fabrication services to the nuclear industry.
Its high integrity, high performance fabrication services last year helped increase the company's sales by 30 per cent to £6m and it recruited an additional 14 staff to take the workforce to 89. The company has secured a number of upgrade and maintenance projects at North-East chemical plants and offshore rigs over the past year.
Managing director Jamie Brown, who is the great-grandson of the company's founder, said: "We have developed specialist skills that meet the demands of the oil & gas and offshore renewables sector. The flare tips are a perfect demonstration of how our engineers can apply their knowledge of the sectors in which we operate to deliver an effective solution.
"We are optimistic about the future of the offshore energy industry and the role we have to play in its supply chain. As such, the business is growing, which has the potential to include further additions to our workforce, including new apprentices, and expansion to the size of our fabrication and engineering facilities."
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