Oliver Valves to recruit after record order

OLIVER Valves, the independent Cheshire manufacturer, is set to recruit 50 more staff after winning another record overseas contract..

The family-owned Knutsford-based company, which announced a record £7.2m deal with an Brazilian customer in August, has smashed this figure with a £12.6m order to supply 105 large ‘Twinsafe’ valves for a major oil-extraction project off the coast of Qatar.

All of the units are 11”-bore double-block and bleed valves and will be deployed on the oil-extraction element of the project, which involves the construction of three new offshore platforms.

Under the contract, Oliver Valves will also supply three tailored hydraulic actuation systems which will allow the valves to be opened and closed. All units will be built and tested at the Oliver’s factories in Knutsford.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2013 with production expected to begin in 2014.

In light of the two record orders, Oliver Valves is planning to rapidly increase its production capacity by recruiting an additional 50 people.

David Cornwell, managing director of Oliver Valves said: “This is the second record-breaking contract we have won in the space of three months, and these two wins represent the culmination of a lot of hard work by both our sales and technical teams.

“We have secured this deal based on our strong history of delivering projects on time and within budget and also because of the advanced technical ability we have demonstrated during the system design stage”.

Chairman, Michael Oliver added: “Delivering these two projects, coupled with the increased order book we are experiencing from all areas of the world that we operate in, will mean significantly increasing our production capacity in Knutsford, which will be a boost to the local economy and employment.”