Express Engineering, a manufacturer of assembly and testing products for the subsea energy industry has opened a new £3.5m facility in Gateshead.

The opening of the 48,000 sq ft, purpose-built ‘international assembly and test centre’ in Team Valley comes as revenues at the business topped £35m in 2020.

Chairman Chris Thompson said: “We have a healthy order book for 2021 and anticipate significant market sector growth in the next three years. The new centre positions us strongly for further expansion and success as we look forward to providing customers with the most competitive, high-quality subsea products.

“As an international subsea engineering sector specialist, the additional capacity will significantly enhance Express Engineering’s response times and operational performance and productivity whilst maintaining the highest standards of safety and reliability.”

The firm said it will be boosting its team of skilled project engineers and managers to work on new offshore technologies and upstream products under development, as it continues developing in global markets.

The opening of the new facility follows the recent sale of Express Engineering’s aerospace division, to focus on developing its subsea energy products business, which it says has led to sales in the oil and gas sector growing significantly, leading to a jump in revenues to more than £35m for 2020.