Heavy manufacturing firm BiFab has delivered a second major jobs boost for Fife in less than a week, after being awarded a £47m North Sea contract.
The agreement will see BiFab increase its workforce by 100 on top of the 350 new posts it announced last week, after sealing a £140m contract to build a new platform for Premier Oil.
The latest deal will see BiFab and Hartlepool-based Hereema manage the main fabrication elements of the new £1.4bn Cygnus field being developed by GDF SUEZ and its partners off the coast of Lincolnshire.
In the initial phase which is expected to last three years, BiFab will fabricate four huge jacket and pile structures at its Methil base on which the main Cygnus platform will stand and the company is also in line for further work in the fabrication of a 3,500 tonne topsides module.
Managing director John Robertson said sealing two such significant contracts in the space of a week demonstrated the high regard in which BiFab was held within the industry and was ”fantastic” news for Fife.
He said the majority of the work created by the Cygnus project would be carried out at the company’s yards in Fife and he pledged that recruits would come from the local community where posible.
The new jobs will see BiFab’s overall workforce grow to around 950, making it one of the most significant employers in the region.
Mr Robertson said he was delighted by the progress the company had made in just 12 years since it was formed following a management buy-out.
He said: ”It is good to be picking up such large contracts in the oil and gas sector. It strengthens our position in Scotland, where we are well recognised in the renewables sector.
”It was always our intention to retain our skills base ready for the renewables sector in 2015 /16 and this allows us to do that. It is fantastic news for Fife.”
Last week’s announcement of BiFab’s tie-up with Premier Oil was marked by a visit to Fife by Prime Minister David Cameron, who praised the firm as an example of ”high quality” British manufacturing.