the 07/25/2008

Engineering firm building for the future

A north-east engineering firm’s 4million investment in newheadquarters five miles south of Turriff will create 80 jobs.

Alfred Cheyne, managing director of Alfred Cheyne Engineering(ACE), said yesterday the group was moving its two existingoperations – at Montbletton, near Banff, and Turriff –to the site of the former Howegarden factory at Pitdoulzie, justoff the A947 Aberdeen-Turriff road.

All 110 employees at ACE, which was established at Montbletton in1993, will move to the 24-acre site following a 2.2millionredevelopment.

The firm has already spent 1.8million on acquiring the land andbuildings, most recently used by vegetable processor anddistributor Truxplus and previously by carrot producer Howegarden,which crashed in 2000.

Mr Cheyne said the move would bring ACE – which trades as ACE Winches and specialises in the design, manufacture and hire ofhydraulic winches – much closer to its markets, as well asmost of its employees.

“Our staff are travelling in from all over Aberdeenshire andthis will reduce the commuting for many of them,” he said.The fast-expanding business, with a turnover that is increasing by30% a year, sees the new base – to be known as Towie BarclayWorks – as a platform for realising its growth plans.

Mr Cheyne said: “The move was a strategic decision taken onthe basis that the location is within a comfortable 22-milecommuting distance of Ellon, Inverurie, Oldmeldrum, Fraserburgh,Mintlaw, Turriff, Banff, Huntly and Keith.

“It will allow our business to be consolidated on a singleoperating site and for the company’s business activities– both domestic and internationally – to besignificantly increased.”

Mr Cheyne said the move would also support the growth anddevelopment of the company’s winch and power-pack hireoperations, while the offshore personnel division would benefitfrom the addition of a new training facility.

It is anticipated the new site will be fully operational within12-18 months and the 80 extra jobs to materialise over the nextthree years.

ACE once relied solely on the fishing industry but work for thissector now accounts for just a fraction of the total businessfollowing a shift towards the wider marine and energy markets inthe UK and overseas.

Last year, the company set its sights on new opportunities in westAfrica and the Asia-Pacific region.

Overseas expansion is developing fast and contracts were wonrecently in both Central and South America, as well as the Indiansubcontinent, Asia-Pacific, west Africa and the Middle East, MrCheyne said yesterday.