US expansion heralds growth opportunities for north-east company
A north-east provider of procurement solutions to the global energy industry has taken an important step in its development by opening the company’s first international office in America.
ESWL has made the move across the Atlantic to Houston, Texas to capitalise on growing demand for its services from an increasingly global customer base and allow the business to support the wider operations of existing North Sea clients.
The company, headquartered in Westhill, helps clients in the oil and gas, marine, nuclear and renewables sectors streamline their supply and procurement processes.
It currently works in more than 30 different countries, providing end-to-end procurement support to keep critical operations flowing worldwide.
Its new US entity, ESWL Americas Inc., is located in close proximity to George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
The business has benefited from new customer enquiries in its first months of trading, including repeat orders from clients in the energy, marine and renewables sectors for maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) consumables as well as requests to source hard-to-find spare parts.
ESWL has more than tripled headcount in the past two years – increasing the size of its team from 11 to 36.
It expects to make announcements on local job creation in Houston later this year.
Mark Selbie, vice-president at ESWL Americas, has more than 15 years’ energy sector experience and previously worked in the Houston area where he has a strong network of industry contacts.
He said: “We continue to experience strong demand from an ever-growing international client base thanks to our impressive track record in delivery throughout the UK and continental Europe.
“This made Houston a natural next step in our business’ evolution. We have been spending more and more time in the area, visiting clients and prospects to better understand their pain points and requirements as well as how we can help support their ambitions through our role as a niche provider specialising in the energy industry.
“Houston is a buoyant market but we’re very much here for the long-term and look forward to building strategic relationships with new and established businesses, where we can grow together.”
ESWL will work with another north-east company, Petrasco Energy Logistics, to provide US-based clients with combined international logistics and procurement solutions, while sharing intelligence and identifying new opportunities to collaborate in emerging markets throughout Latin America.
With nearly 50 years’ experience in the energy industry, Petrasco recently marked 30 years of operating in Houston.
It specialises in serving the industry through air, sea and road freight services from its operations in the three major energy hubs of Houston, Aberdeen and Dubai.
Chris Milne, regional director (Americas) at Petrasco Energy Logistics, said: “With our extensive knowledge of the Houston area and wider Americas region, we have enabled ESWL to enter the market in a staged manner with minimum fuss which allows its team to concentrate on what they’re best at: delivering for their customers.
“We share a similar ethos to ESWL when it comes to our approach to customer service. We’re pleased to be supporting another north-east company here in Houston and look forward to playing a role in its growth journey over the months and years ahead.”
Last year, ESWL completed a successful management buyout which saw managing director Iain Dougary assume sole ownership.
The company has since relocated to a new 12,000 sq ft home at Prospect Place, Westhill – around five times larger than its previous site in Inverurie.
Mr Dougary said: “We are grateful for the continued trust and support from a diverse customer base, many of whom we have worked with since the company was first established.
"This achievement is thanks in no small part to the hard work and dedication of our ever-expanding team of specialists.
“The US market entry ties in with our wider growth plans, which have seen the company work in more than 30 different countries over the past decade.
“We are pleased to have an established company in Petrasco as our logistics partner and look forward to strengthening this relationship both overseas and closer to home.
"This will allow us to access customers in both North and South America, while benefiting from the Petrasco team’s excellent reputation and market knowledge in Houston.”
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