When I think of the North East, I think of talent. Our employees have a very high level of knowledge and skills within the industry, and the specific knowledge our shop floor personnel have is a major asset to us.
As a company, we recognise the value of this asset, and it is reflected in the investment we have made in our Newcastle site. For example, in 2012 we opened our Research and Development Centre, which is responsible for the R&D for all three of our facilities covering global oil and gas developments. We also boast the world’s most capable vertical helix assembly machine (VHAM), new extrusion line and large capacity storage carousels. From here, we have delivered projects reaching water depths of 1,950m to the UK, Norway, Australia, Middle East and Africa.
We are perfectly positioned to supply these international markets with direct access to the UK and Norwegian North Sea developments, and our location is a gateway to global shipping to Africa and Asia. It is these links from Newcastle that are vital to our global operations
TechnipFMC
TechnipFMC is a world leader in subsea umbilical solutions and leading manufacturer of umbilical’s, both steel and thermoplastic, providing connections between subsea equipment and platforms or floating production systems, as well as enabling control from the surface.
Umbilicals provide the critical link between remote subsea wells and fixed or floating production systems, providing control, power, communications and chemical services. Applications include production control, chemical injection, power cables for subsea pumping and processing, gas lift, electric cables and high pressure arctic services. TechnipFMC operates three umbilical manufacturing sites in Newcastle upon Tyne, Houston (USA) and Lobito (Angola).
In 2014, TechnipFMC opened the world’s largest and most capable steel tube umbilical assembly plant in Newcastle upon Tyne, to complement the existing Thermoplastic Umbilical plant, which was established in 1977. The company is located on the River Tyne, at Walker Riverside, with deep water access to the global market.