27 February 2014

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal officially opened the new headquarters of James Fisher Defence (JFD) in Glasgow, and with it the global manufacturing hub for future James Fisher and Sons plc subsea engineering projects.

The 30,000 square feet facility provides the scale and infrastructure required to enable JFD and sister company Divex Ltd to work closely together in the delivery of large scale projects. It will also allow both companies to broaden their products and services in the saturation diving and submarine escape, rescue and abandonment markets.

“Working together with Divex in this new facility will enable both businesses to offer our customers a broader, more cohesive range of products and services,” said Ben Sharples, managing director at JFD. “Our customers will benefit from the numerous synergies between the two businesses including increased capacity, a greater breadth of capability and an even greater depth of shared experience.” Doug Godsman, Joint Managing Director for Divex, added: “The shared facility at Inchinnan will allow us to satisfy growing global demand for saturation diving systems whilst maintaining the high quality for which Divex is renowned.”

The move was supported by Scottish Development International, a joint venture providing funding and support, and includes partners such as the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise. Lena Wilson, Chief Executive at Scottish Enterprise, said: “We have worked closely with JFD over the last six years to provide an integrated package of support, including help with international expansion and the establishment of its new manufacturing facility.

“This new facility will allow the company to substantially increase levels of innovation. We know from our research that innovation and international growth are closely associated, so I’m pleased to see JFD further establish its international reach through this investment.”

The investment in the facility also demonstrated JFD’s commitment to Glasgow; a region that has provided the company with an abundance of skilled engineers and high-quality graduates for over two decades.

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