The latest phase of investment will focus on significantly expanding the company’s rental fleet of offshore safety equipment, which includes its industry-leading fire and rescue apparatus.
The company’s safety products are employed by many operators in the North Sea, and its Aberdeen base is home to the UK’s largest direct to customer rental fleet of Dräger equipment with over 1600 items.
The company has also announced the appointment of David Donaldson to head up its Marine and Offshore UK office, based in Aberdeen.
Twenty five staff are based at the Aberdeen office, which in addition to its rental fleet, is also home to an international offshore safety training academy and state of the art service workshop.
Dräger is the only safety manufacturer with a base in Aberdeen, and the firm also has premises at Grangemouth.
Donaldson, who brings to the company over 30 years’ experience working in the offshore, oil and gas industries, said: “Dräger has had a presence in Aberdeen for almost ten years, and the company has weathered many challenges through this time.
The ongoing investment in Aberdeen reaffirms our commitment to the local business community, as well as our staff, who have been working hard to maintain our customers’ critical safety operations throughout lockdown.”
As well as continuing to service offshore equipment such as rigs throughout lockdown, Dräger staff have also adapted safety training courses to be delivered online to enable its customers to continue operationally-critical work during the pandemic.
The adoption of new technology has resulted in Dräger Marine and Offshore winning a new contract to install the largest wireless gas detection system ever employed by a North Sea operator.
Work will commence on the project, which includes the installation of over 120 wireless gas detectors, in September, and will be fully operational by November.
Donaldson concludes: “Despite the great challenges that face the oil and gas industry as a result of COVID19, there is growing optimism for the future, particularly amongst medium-sized organisations that are large and robust enough to weather the storm, but small and nimble enough to respond to new and emerging opportunities that the current crisis is presenting.
We see real opportunity in this area of the market, and look forward to playing our part in supporting future growth here as business starts to resume.”
