Princess Anne officially opens JFD's Glasgow HQ
Above: Princess Anne, Trooping the Colour, June 2013.
The 30,000 square foot 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 & 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, James Fisher Defence.
“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 our 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, 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 demonstrates JFD’s commitment to Glasgow, a region which has provided the company with an abundance of skilled engineers and high-quality graduates for more than two decades.
