Partner Article

Sailing towards expansion

A Northumberland boat-building firm is on course to expand its empire with the opening of a new coastal facility in the region.

Alnwick based Alnmaritec has tripled its workforce over the last four years and is set to grow even further after funding was secured for a second base in Blyth.

The company, which designs and fabricates aluminium boats for the oil and gas industry, now wants to tap into new markets and has identified the growing offshore wind sector as its next port of call.

Managing director, Chris Millman, said: “The growth of our workforce is an indication of the success we’ve enjoyed.

“And while we remain committed to Alnwick, its physical size has always constrained us to a degree in the size and specification of the boats that we could build there.”

Naval architect Chris Millman bought the company in 2006 with the help of an investment from Evolve Finance, the debt and mezzanine finance division of regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers.

The new facility could be twice as large as its current 3,000 square metre space in Alnwick, and will allow the company to design and build larger vessels for customers worldwide.

Chris Millman added: “The new Blyth facility removes constraint, it puts us in the perfect place both physically and commercially, to capitalise on the growing demands of customers in the region’s offshore wind farm sector.”

Alnmaritec currently has clients from the Antarctic, Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean and has increased employee numbers from 26 to 78 since the takeover.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .