A MANUFACTURING and training company based in the North-East has broken into the lucrative Middle Eastern energy market with a series of major new contracts.

Advanced Industrial Solutions (AIS) has secured three new deals in Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan for energy companies BP and AGIP.

The contracts are to provide insulation surveys for offshore platforms, as well as the design, manufacture and supply of bespoke insulation systems, which can provide significant energy and carbon savings.

AIS, based in Wallsend, North Tyneside, was set up in 2006 by Paul Stonebanks, who had worked offshore for many years but decided to return home and launch AIS after seeing a gap in the market for energy-saving solutions in the oil, gas and public sectors.

“We are delighted to win these overseas contracts, which are our first venture into the Middle East market,” he said.

“Like any business at the moment, the past few months have been relatively quiet, but we’ve put in an enormous amount of hard work and preparation over the years into new business development, and are now seeing the rewards of our hard work.”

AIS also has a training division, which delivers Irata rope access and working-at-height training, including the supply of working at height equipment – a service which is now also being targeted at Middle Eastern customers.