HYDRASUN, a leading specialist provider of integrated fluid transfer, power and control solutions to the global energy industry, has announced the launch of a new company and associated office and workshop facilities in the Middle East.

Hydrasun FZE, based in Dubai, has been formed to support the company’s growing number of customers in the Middle East. The new 1,000 sq m facility will establish a permanent presence in the region supplying Hydrasun’s complete range of products and added value services as well as facilitating the pursuit of new business opportunities.

Bob Drummond, chief executive of Hydrasun, said: “Launching Hydrasun FZE is a further significant milestone in our overall global expansion plan. We have seen strong growth in the Middle East and by having a permanent presence there, it positions the company well for future business development opportunities whilst fulfilling the needs of our customers in the region.”

Recent significant contract awards in the region include a £1.5million ($2.3 million) contract for instrument tubing and hose assemblies for the Barzan Project in Qatar and a long-term supply agreement worth approximately £500,000 per annum with a leading oil services contractor in Dubai.

The company offers customers fluid transfer solutions ranging from standard hose assemblies through to more specialised products

The new operation comes as part of the company’s growth strategy and will be headed up by regional manager Garry Kidd, who has previously worked as international business development manager for Hydrasun in Aberdeen.

Kidd said: “I am very pleased to be a part of Hydrasun FZE, and the localised support our presence can provide to new and existing Middle East customers is a key part of our strategy. I look forward to further developing our offering and to working closely with our customers in continuing to build the business in region.”

Turnover for the year to the end of March 2013 was £106 million whilst the company has achieved average growth of 27 per cent per annum over the last two years.

In February 2013, the Investcorp Gulf Opportunity Fund, along with other affiliates of Investcorp, a leading provider and manager of alternative investment products, announced that they had agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Hydrasun. Investcorp has offices in Bahrain, New York and London and is publicly traded on the Bahrain bourse.

Hydrasun currently exports to over 58 countries worldwide and has operational bases and facilities in the UK, Holland, the Caspian region, Brazil and Angola. Sales offices and strategic partnerships have also been established in the Gulf of Mexico and Trinidad.

Hydrasun has seen employee numbers grow 11 per cent over the last 12 months to nearly 630 worldwide with approximately 350 of these being based in the main Aberdeen office.

In a multi-million-pound investment, Hydrasun moved to a new purpose-built headquarters providing 22,000 sq ft of office space and 70,000 sq ft of workshops at Gateway Business Park on the outskirts of Aberdeen in 2011.