£4m contract opens doors to more jobs

 

© Evening Times Originally published: 15/5/2009

A 106 year old family firm is bucking the recession after being awarded a £4million defence contract.

McGeoch Marine Ltd has taken on 20 extra staff to cope with the work on the new two Royal Navy aircraft carriers being built on the Clyde.

The company has won a contract to supply heavy duty doors for the vessels.

It has also worked on the five Type 45 destroyers being built on the Clyde.

Bosses said MML's links with the Ministry of Defence over the past seven years had enabled the company to consolidate and expand.

Yesterday, the firm's headquarters at Inchinnan, Renfrew, were visited by Minister For Defence Equipment And Support Quentin Davies.

Managing director Gordon Gray said the company employs 70 people at the Renfrewshire factory, plus 80 at a plant in China.

He told Mr Davies he hoped to increase the Scottish workforce to 90 with the help of the MoD work.

Mr Gray said: "A few years ago we employed 35 people. Winning a contract for supplying doors and manholes for the five Type 45s helped us a lot.

"We also manufacture offshore accommodation modules for the oil and gas industry and they are built in Inchinnan and China.

"And we have found ourselves supplying bullet-proof doors because of the pirate attacks off the coast of Africa."

Mr Gray and his brother Stuart - also a director of the firm - took Mr Davies and Glasgow North MP Ann McKechin on a tour of the 70,000 sq ft factory, which the firm took over in 2007.

He said: "The Clyde work means a lot to us. It means we can expand the business because we know we have that work.

"Delivery of this goes on until 2013 and it means we can secure jobs here until that time.

"If we did not have it we would not have expanded and we would not be looking to increase our workforce to 90 people.

"Because the contract was tied up early it meant there was no delay and we will start producing them in a few weeks."

McGeoch Marine Ltd started life supplying the Clyde shipyards of the early 20th century with marine hardware.

In 2000 the company supplied doors for four landing ships logistics vessels built at the BAE Systems yards on the Clyde and Swan Hunter on Tyneside.

Three years later it won a major contract to deliver watertight and gas-tight doors, hatches and manholes for the five Type 45 frigates being built on the Clyde.

Delivery was finished last July and MML was then awarded the work for doors to be fitted on the two highly sophisticated aircraft carriers.

Despite the boost the navy work has given to the company, Mr Gray insisted it was important to be as diverse as possible and not rely on one major customer.

He said: "We are aiming to get into the offshore windfarm business. We believe we will need offshore accommodation modules for that sector in the near future."

Mr Gray said there were 2143 offshore sites ready to be developed off the Scottish coast within the next 12 years.

"We see a very bright future even though things right now are not fantastic.

"Between myself and Stuart and my sister Susie - who is also a director - we have a real drive to take the company forward.

"But we are now going to turn out back on this area. It is our home and we have people working here from Glasgow, Paisley, Hamilton and all round."