HARTLEPOOL FACILITY
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JDR celebrated the opening of its new deepwater quayside facility at Hartlepool dock in North East England on Friday 10th July. Iain Wright, Member of Parliament for Hartlepool officially opened the factory stating, “JDR is a crucial supplier to the energy industry as well as a fantastic example of a well-managed, innovative company.” The event drew key political figures, representatives from leading energy companies and various regional development agencies.
The new purpose-built 100,000 sq ft facility is the only site in the UK designed specifically to manufacture subsea power cables for the growing offshore renewable energy market and the increasingly complex oil and gas sector.
Among the key-note speeches JDR received a special video message from Sir. Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, who was unable to attend the event in person. Branson stated, “It is commendable that the JDR team has made this investment, especially in troubled economic times, and I applaud their vision and their determination. I am a strong believer that we can all reduce the impact of climate change and the world needs companies like JDR to step up and provide the technology at a price we can afford.”
Patrick Phelan, managing director of JDR Cable Systems commented, “The development of the offshore renewables industry, combined with the need to recover more oil and gas reserves from existing fields has led to an increase in demand for highly specialised subsea power cables. The new site in Hartlepool has been designed specifically to manufacture these products, along with long-length step-out umbilicals for oil and gas projects. The response from the market has been very positive with booked orders and an advanced stage of tendering for many other projects.”