Express Engineering, one of the UK’s fastest growing precision engineering companies, has announced a joint venture with Brastec, a Brazilian partner, to form Petrotec Components Ltda.
Express Engineering’s deal with Brastec will allow both companies to take advantage of the huge business opportunities in one of the world’s most active oil and gas extraction markets.
With two of the three largest subsea reservoirs discovered in recent years off the Brazilian coast, around half the global drilling and underwater equipment manufacturing capacity is expected to be focused in this region.
The 50/50 partnership, signed this week, creates Pertrotec Components Ltda., which will begin operations in the first quarter of 2010 in a 1,000 square metre extension to Brastec’s existing Sao Paulo plant. Over £1 million worth of machinery has been ordered.
The two companies have many similarities, both are recognised experts in different, though complementary areas of engineering, each is privately owned with around 140 employees, annual turnovers of approximately £15 million are comparable and they even operate from similarly modern, mirrored premises.
Brastec specializes in engineering solutions, developing and manufacturing high standard heavy equipment for oil and gas, wire and cables and pipe industries for use in surface and subsea systems The company is currently expanding, with up to 5,000 square meters of manufacturing space available for the production of precision components for the oil and gas sector.
“The slightly different operational profiles of our companies mean we can both add to the others’ offer while the size and similarity of the way the companies work suggests they will fit well together.” Said Express Engineering Managing Director, Nigel Davison.
This joint venture is considered by both companies as a great opportunity to strengthen both firms’ positions in the Brazilian oil and gas market, creating specialized jobs.”
Over the next few months, staff from Express Engineering and Brastec will work in each others businesses to begin the knowledge transfer and training process ready for manufacture.
This is the last deal in a growing list of new joint ventures, which span subsea and surface equipment. The new companies resulting from these joint ventures, are an important contribution to the technological developments of the subsea business in Brazil, uniting the experience and reliability of respected international O & G companies and the experience and local assets of national companies
Claudio Paschoa
Photo courtesy of Express Engineering UK