Ashtead expands its influence across three continents

Leading rental supplier of survey, positioning and inspection equipment, Ashtead Technology, is continuing its expansion in South East Asia and the US where the company is increasing its customer bases and investing in new equipment.

The company, part of Ashtead Group plc, is headquartered in Aberdeen and is recognised as the market leader in both the North Sea and the Far East, where it opened for business in 1994.

Ashtead's latest move was into the US where it opened its Houston base earlier this year which represented an investment of over £1 million. They have been supplying the market in the Gulf of Mexico for more than three years and are using the new base to expand business there and elsewhere in North and South America.

New investment to Ashtead's rental inventory The RDI Doppler Velocity Log.

The Houston inventory includes ultra deep-water equipment which demonstrates Ashtead's response to its customers' needs in the Gulf where recent developments in exploration demand specialised and sophisticated survey, diving and inspection equipment.

Managing the growing operations in Houston is Andy Holroyd and Chris Echols with Electronics Engineer, John Wetmur.

Managing Director, Rob Phillips, said:  "We are delighted with the progress of the US base since it opened in March.   It is a market which continues to grow and develop and which is reacting extremely positively to Ashtead's range of quality specialised equipment, the company's in-house technical expertise and experience.

" At same time, and on the other side of the globe, the company has trebled the size of its Singapore facility and increased its staff to cope with increasing business being generated by the rapid growth in both offshore industry activity and the telecommunications business in Asia Pacific generally.

New investment to Ashtead's rental inventory The Digilog Gyrocompass

In Aberdeen itself, the number of qualified engineers has now grown to 12 with the addition of John Macleod as Sales Manager, Neil Christie has joined as Internal Sales Engineer and Stuart Fraser as Junior Engineer. Lorraine Mitchell has filled the newly created position of Marketing Co-ordinator.

Ashtead has continued to reap the benefits of holding the BVQI ISO 9002 quality standard accreditation which they have held for three years.   The award shows the company's commitment to maintaining exceptional levels of service reinforcing their capability in supplying and maintaining quality rental equipment.

Moreover, their engineers continue to apply their experience and expertise in the fields of Survey, NDT Inspection, Instrumentation and Video Equipment, as well as reliable and accurate after sales capabilities.

Rob Phillips said:  "The development of our international resources co-incides with high levels of activity in the North Sea and the Atlantic frontier.

"We are ideally placed to service the growing trend for service companies to buy less and rent more and we will continue to inject increasing levels of investment into new equipment, as well as enhancing the engineering and sale capabilities," he said.