National awards recognise subsea stars
The awards, which seek to celebrate the achievements of companies and individuals in the £9billion subsea industry across the country, were presented at a gala dinner during Europe’s largest subsea-focused exhibition and conference – Subsea Expo.
Hosted by Neil Gordon with award-winning writer and broadcaster John Sergeant as guest speaker, the winners picked up their awards in front of over 600 leaders from the subsea sector.
The top honour, Company of the Year, was presented to Aker Solutions. With over 3,500 employees based in the UK, Aker Solutions’ has positioned itself as a champion of responsible operations, creating innovative solutions which unlock energy safely and sustainably. Over the last two years, the company has made a number of significant investments in the UK, specifically in infrastructure, technology and skills.
Aker also won the award for Innovation & Technology for its Vectus Subsea Electronics Module, which is being rolled out across the offshore industry and has the potential to become a key building block for both new and brownfield developments.
David Clark, regional president of the UK and Africa for Aker Solutions, said: “We have invested significantly in our UK business in the last two years, specifically in infrastructure, technology and skills with a view to becoming a champion of responsible operations. To secure two such important awards is recognition of the hard work and commitment we have shown towards finding ways to unlock energy safely and sustainably for future generations, despite the challenges the industry is seeing, and I am very proud of everyone who has played a part in it.”
Neil Gordon, chief executive of Subsea UK commented: “The past 12 months have been extremely challenging for subsea companies, however in times like these it’s more important than ever to celebrate success. Some impressive achievements, technological breakthroughs and industry firsts have been recognised at the awards, which proves how resilient and pioneering our sector is. All entrants demonstrated the innovation, talent and leadership that’s needed to hold on to the UK’s world-leading position in subsea.”
David Bloom, global business development director for Subsea 7 received the Outstanding Achievement award in recognition of his contribution to the subsea sector. Mr Bloom’s career spans more than 40 years, joining the offshore industry in 1975 as financial controller with Oceaneering, where he worked for 20 years.
He left Oceaneering in 1995 to take up the role as business development manager for UK and Europe at Jay Ray McDermott, before joining Subsea 7 in 2005.
Commenting on Mr Bloom’s award, Neil Gordon chief executive of Subsea UK, said: “David is a well-recognised and well-respected figure within the subsea industry and his recognition tonight is thoroughly deserved. Not only has he contributed significantly to the industry over the course of his career, he has overseen Subsea 7’s ambitious expansion plans to great success and has worked hard to position the firm as a global leader in its field.”
Robert Weeks, lead engineer at JDR Cable Systems scooped the award for Young Emerging Talent. He was praised for his work on a variety of projects, including the design and development of the first JDR hybrid steel tube umbilical.
Fathom Systems was crowned the Small Company of the Year and also won the Innovation for Safety award. Since its formation in 2005, the company has developed a suite of products and systems with the aim to significantly improve the safety and wellbeing of commercial divers and subsea workers.
The Global Exports award went to JDR Cable Systems for its rapid expansion into key international markets with its innovative umbilical systems. The firm, which designs, engineers and manufactures subsea power cables, production umbilicals, intervention workover control systems and end terminations, has recently seen strong growth in the Gulf of Mexico, South America, Africa and the Middle East.
