Engineer favourites could be energized by creating 150 jobs

by Peter McCusker, - 26/02/2010

"NEW jobs could be created after the North East division of a Yorkshire-based engineering group em- erged as favourites to win an £18m contract at one of the Europe’s largest biofuels plant."

Newcastle-based Chieftain Group, which is now owned by Yorkshire-based Redhall, has been awarded preferred bidder status on the plant on the Humber Estuary, in Hull.

Redhall bosses say its staff are already working at the plant and believes the contract will create 150 new jobs, with many of these being based at Chieftain’s Teesside base.

Redhall bought Chieftain, which employs around 600 staff in the region, in late 2008 and says the latest contract is further evidence of the strength of its North East. Chief executive Simon Foster said: “This is a very important contract to us. Energy is the right space for the business to be in right now.

“Chieftain has the right skills for this type of work and is performing well.

“Despite the difficult economic environment, Chieftain is seeing great opportunities at the moment.”

In a announcement on the work to the stock market, Redhall chairman David Jackson said: “We have indicated in an earlier statement that the benefits of the Chieftain acquisition would become evident during the course of the year and this award further vindicates that strategic move. This major contract win further strengthens our order book for the current financial year.

“Out strategy of focus on key energy and defence markets is delivering benefits although conditions remain challenging in the short-term. Our order pipeline remains strong.”

Redhall bought Chieftain for £18.6m. The company was started on Tyneside more than 30 years ago and has annual sales of around £50m.

In December last year, Redhall revealed record revenues of £129m in the year to September 2009 – a 49% jump on the previous year.

At the time, Redhall said the Tyneside operation had seen its order book boosted by new opportunities in the defence and oil and gas sectors.

A consortium of companies, including BP Associated British Foods and DuPont, have begun work on a £200m biofuel plant in Hull. The plant will use feedstocks to produce ethanol and is sited at BP’s Saltend chemical site.

More Details: http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/business-news/latest-business-news/2010/02/18/engineer-favourites-could-be-energized-by-creating-150-jobs-51140-25858269/