The new boss of Aberdeen's biggest company is predicting a
bright future for the company and its home city.
Ken Gilmartin says that Wood, a leading engineering and
consultancy group, is designing the future for many important industries all
around the planet.
And all this is happening from the Granite City base, where
the local workforce deal with projects from clients in dozens of countries.
Ken, who became chief executive last summer, said: "We
are modelling tomorrow's world from right here in Aberdeen."
The CEO also predicted that the Granite City workforce
could conceivably grow from 4,500 to 6,500 in the years ahead if enough workers
with the right skill sets were available.
Multiple benefits
He said there are multiple benefits of Wood being based in
the Aberdeen.
The boss explained: "We have proximity to key clients,
access to a highly-skilled talent pool and our heritage as a long-standing
member of a vibrant business community."
The firm has come a long way since Sir Ian Wood saw the
huge opportunity presented by the birth of the UK offshore oil industry in the
1970s.
The inspirational entrepreneur transformed the family-owned
fishing business into a multinational oil services company listed on the London
Stock Exchange.
Wood now has an annual turnover of more than £4billion, and
the order book for this year currently stands at nearly £5billion.
The worldwide
workforce is now around 37,000, with more than 6,000 of them in the UK.
Diversification
Over the decades, the group has continued to grow - and it
may surprise many readers to discover that there is much more to Wood than just
energy services.
Materials now makes up a third of the business, while
energy services is responsible for the other two-thirds.
Materials is a wide-ranging sector which takes in
everything from designing facilities for pharmaceutical
companies to delivering projects in the transportation and water sectors.
But Ken was keen to highlight the continuing importance of
the company's North Sea operations, which have an offshore workforce of 1,100 -
making up almost a quarter of the Aberdeen team.
The CEO said: "Wood has a long heritage in Aberdeen.
It's where it all started, and it will continue to be a key hub moving
forward.
"In 2022, we booked around £500million in contract
awards in UK oil and gas upstream and midstream projects - the majority of
which are in the North Sea, managed from our Aberdeen HQ. T
"This part of our business was resilient through the
pandemic and, with a growing backlog of work and pipeline of opportunities, we
are focused on attracting and retaining skilled people."
Asked if the North Sea windfall taxes on oil and gas
producers had impacted Wood to date, Ken stated: "It has had little direct
impact, but we are keeping a close eye on how it influences the capital
investment decisions that our clients make on the UK Continental Shelf moving
forward.
"Our heritage and track record in the UK remains - we
had a 100% retention rate on all of our North Sea contracts in 2022, meaning
it's still a strong market for Wood."
Net zero opportunity
Cutting carbon emissions is a topic rarely out of the news
headlines, and it is a subject very much in Ken's mind.
He said: "Moving towards a lower-carbon and ultimately
net-zero future is an environmental imperative - and a tremendous business
opportunity for Wood.
"It's a growth driver in all our regions across the
globe, including here in the UK.
"We're working on multiple projects that support the
journey towards net zero - these can range from technical solutions to reduce
flaring on operational oil and gas assets, repurposing pipeline infrastructure
to transport hydrogen, and processing minerals like copper and lithium that
will be key to meeting rising demand for electric vehicles, battery storage and
solar panels.
"From an energy-transition perspective, we are
particularly focused on the opportunities in hydrogen, carbon capture and wider
decarbonisation solutions.
"The latter will include the use of renewables to help
power operational assets - a good example of this includes our work with
Equinor on Hywind Tampen where we are modifying offshore platforms so they can
be powered by an offshore windfarm."
The CEO said Wood's teams in Aberdeen are currently working
on world-class projects in more than 50 countries.
"That ability to make an impact globally and to export
our expertise is inspiring - and provides brilliant opportunities for our
people."
International
Ken said one impact of the pandemic was the upturn in
international work for Wood's Aberdeen teams.
He explained: "Before Covid, you had to be based
locally in many countries to land professional services work. But all that has
changed now.
"This is also helping us on the recruitment front -
the first question we are often asked at interviews is: 'What projects will I
be working on? The more complex the work, the more it seems to interest
potential new employees."
But Wood - like many other British businesses - is still
feeling the impact of skill shortages.
The boss said the group currently has around 1,000 vacancies
across its UK operations. It is actively recruiting for a range of professional
and technical roles, both onshore and offshore. Recruitment initiatives include
early-careers teams working with universities and colleges to attract graduates
to Wood.
So, what does Ken see as the biggest opportunities for Wood
in the UK and internationally going forward?
He said: "There are tremendous opportunities across
many parts of our business.
"At the end of last year, we set out a new strategy
and identified a potential addressable market opportunity of around $230billion
over the next three years across our core end markets.
"In energy, we are prioritising opportunities in oil
and gas, hydrogen and carbon capture.
"In materials, we will focus on the chemicals, minerals
and life-sciences sectors.
"Across both markets, we see significant growth
potential linked to the themes of decarbonisation and digitalisation.
"From a geographic perspective, we are optimistic
about the opportunities in many parts of the world, but see highest growth
potential in North America, the Middle East and the UK.
Organic growth
Wood's current expansion plans also have a focus on organic
growth, instead of acquisitions.
The CEO also shared some of his views on the economy in the
Aberdeen area.
On the unsuccessful north-east bid for a green freeport,
Ken said it was disappointing.
He added: "It was an attractive proposition and would
have been an important building block. But Aberdeen is resilient and has come
through much tougher moments.
"There are still plenty of other opportunities that
the city can and should be excited about."
The boss was keen to stress that Aberdeen continues to have
a global reputation as a centre of excellence for the energy sector.
He said: "It has a great track record of innovation
and entrepreneurship. That, more than government decisions (on taxation), is
what will continue to make Aberdeen a thriving city moving forward. The future
is in our own hands, and we should embrace it.
"We can and should be optimistic - the energy
transition represents a significant opportunity for the local economy.
"With the right support, it could be a bright new dawn
that delivers economic, social and environmental benefits to the region.
"The energy transition will create many other opportunities
for Aberdeen.
"Aberdeen's location, heritage and the expertise
within the local economy means it can play a leading role across the energy
value chain.
"Globally, the demand for energy is on an upward
trajectory - so there will be exciting opportunities for the city across oil
and gas, renewables and in fast-emerging areas like hydrogen, bio-based fuels
and carbon capture.
"Many Aberdeen-based companies like Wood export
talent, goods and services all over the world. We have an international economy
and need to continue to capitalise on those opportunities."