Aurora Energy Services (Aurora) has appointed Kane Winton to the newly created role of Managing Director of Integrated Services as the Inverness-headquartered company restructures its operations to meet growing demand across energy and infrastructure sectors.
The move brings a number of Aurora's core business lines and approximately 400 staff under one leadership structure and is a response to client demand for more streamlined integrated services.
Kane, who joined Aurora less than two years ago, was originally tasked with building an engineering and project management division targeting around £4 million in annual turnover.
That operation has now developed into a much larger Integrated Services division which is expected to account for around £50 million of Aurora's UK business this year and is targeting £100 million turnover by 2028.
The expanded division brings together fabrication, specialist welding, engineering, procurement, construction and EPC delivery capability, giving Aurora a more joined-up structure for the delivery of larger and more complex projects.
Aurora’s engineering and fabrication facility at Huntly will become a core part of Integrated Services division - supporting project delivery - and is expected to add to headcount in the next 12-18 months.
Kane Winton said: “The restructuring of our business model and the new role I have taken on is a direct consequence of the rapid growth Aurora has enjoyed in the last year and it will provide more cohesion in project delivery which, along with safety, is a main driver for our clients.”
Current market conditions - including the impact of the windfall tax and wider uncertainty in the oil and gas sector - are pushing operators toward suppliers that are cost-effective, responsive and leaner, and Aurora's spread across multiple energy sectors is appealing to clients, he added.
From a standing start in late 2024 and with only five staff, Aurora’s Integrated Services hub at Dyce, Aberdeen, now has more than 80 staff and in addition to recently opening a 5,000 sq ft warehouse facility nearby, more office space will become a priority in the year ahead.
The division is active across oil and gas, renewables, hydro, nuclear, infrastructure and wider energy projects, and ongoing investment by major operators in new assets, upgrades and maintenance projects will spur further growth, said Winton.
“With long-term contracts secured and a strong client appetite for what we are trying to achieve, it is not unrealistic to expect turnover to grow to around £100 million in the next two years - but growth will not be at the expense of project delivery, which will always be Aurora’s number one priority.”
Aurora Energy Services chief executive officer, Doug Duguid, said: “We have reshaped our Integrated Services division to reflect the wider role it will play in Aurora’s growth strategy, and as a result of clients telling us they want one supplier capable of delivering everything.
“Since joining the business in 2024, Kane Winton has played a leading role in extending our footprint in key sectors and this appointment gives us a platform to take Integrated Services to a new level.”
The company’s onshore wind and training and competency services, including its Renewable Energy Training Centre in Inverness, will continue to be led by David Duguid, Operations Director UK North.