25th Anniversary celebration for UMC International Plc

Pamper underwater cleaning machine in operation

Underwater Maintenance Company was originally a division with a marine paint company, and was taken by David Jones MBE and formed into a limited company in October 1972 (25 years ago). The Underwater Maintenance Co Ltd effectively became part of Development Securities Ltd (DSL) which was a holding company for the Sir Robert McAlpine Group, who provided the financial support for the first of a number of R&D projects to enhance the Company's services to the shipping industry.

In 1977 David Jones bought the Company from DSL and after some initial frugal years began to expand during the 1980s. In 1986 a change of name to UMC International Plc was made to reflect the truly international nature of the Company.

In November 1973 Steven Moore joined the Company: as might be expected in an embryo diving organisation the requirement was for a diver or a marine engineer and, being neither, he got the job. Much of the initial years were in developing and pioneering an ROV for underwater hull surveys on large tankers for the major Classification Societies, and this involved a lot of travel to the Canary Islands and the Middle East where the work was carried out. Steven was appointed a Director in 1976 and has worked with David Jones since to develop and expand the business.

In the 1980s UMC opened a branch office in Rotterdam and started a joint venture company in Singapore. Later, an office was opened in Lisbon and then in Malta. In the 1990s, just as the Gulf War started, the team continued with the intention of opening an office in Dubai, and this subsequently spread across the UAE to a separate operation based in Fujairah.

Not all has been plain sailing with a short-lived sortie into operations in Bahrain and a subsequent withdrawal from three operations, although UMC continue with associate agreements in Singapore, Malta and Lisbon.

Expansion within the UK took place in the 1990s with expansion from the Southampton office in both Plymouth and Glasgow.

1996 saw the most recent change in UMC with David Jones moving roles from Managing Director to Chairman, and Steven taking on the function of Managing Director.

UMC currently employ 55 people on permanent staff. UMC have always employed diving staff on a permanent basis, only using contract divers to meet the needs of increased workloads.

Apart from David Jones and Steven Moore, UMC have two other Directors - Mrs Janet Simmonds (Company Secretary and Personnel) and newly appointed Peter Stevenson (Commercial Marketing Director). Peter has managed the Rotterdam, Lisbon and UAE branches and has been out of the country for some 13 years, returning this August to take up the demanding role of increasing our work with commercial customers world-wide.

Inevitably our branch managers are the key contacts at each location and they are:
Southampton: Peter Jupp-, Operations Manager
Plymouth: Paul Summers
Glasgow: Dick Balsdon
Rotterdam: Jean-Paul Engels
Dubai/Fujairah: Mike Hill

All these personnel have a diving background and all have been with UMC for many years. Notably, Peter Jupp was diving with UMC before October 1972.

UMC has survived on an innovative R&D policy and finding ways of improving services to customers. Head of Technical Services is Joe Jackson who has a wide knowledge and is ably supported by a team of seven.

Specialists
The Company specialises in the underwater maintenance of ships and operates from the locations already mentioned. Work can be divided between Commercial and Military customers. UMC was the first contractor in this sector to achieve accreditation to ISO 9002 and continue to maintain high standards. Main services offered are hull cleaning, propeller polishing, classification surveys and repairs. Within repairs there are then a host of activities that are required underwater, from the simple, to the more difficult tasks of permanent insert plate repairs to hull plating afloat.

The essence of the work is on service. All the branches are well equipped with specialist gear to handle any task quickly and efficiently. Unlike other diving sectors we get very little notice of work and have to provide a "fire engine" service as required. This could be near to the UMC various operations or anywhere in the world.

In the recent past UMC have carried out inspection and repair work in locations such as Boston (USA), Halifax (Nova Scotia), Nice, Salerno (Italy), Cape Verde Islands, Cape Canaveral, Falkland Islands, Off Trinidad, Azores, West Africa, Madeira, Guam, Curacâo, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Equipment
In normal circumstances UMC do not sell equipment. They are contractors and develop thier own equipment for use in the industry. Hull cleaning gear in the form of the PAMPER cleaning system is one such item, but development is being finalised on the next generation of this gear aimed to improve efficiency and finish.

UMCs highly acclaimed underwater propeller superpolish gear is continually under improvement, since pioneering the technique in the mid 1980s.The future sees the use of water hydraulics becoming increasingly important, together with an environmentally sound approach within the marine environment. One area of expansion in 1996/7 has been the in-house production of neutrally buoyant hull aperture blanks.

In November of this year UMC will be moving their HQ offices to a new building on the same Chandlers Ford Industrial Estate. The new premises are under construction now and will provide a redesigned office, warehouse and works unit to take the Company into the next century.

UMC Offices can be contacted at:
Southampton, Tel: +44 (0) 1703 269866 Fax: +44 (0) 1703 253198 Plymouth, Tel: +44 (0) 1752 698578 Fax: +44 (0) 1752 698594 Glasgow, Tel: +44 (0) 1389 711445 Fax: +44 (0) 1389 711665	Rotterdam, Tel: +3110 438 6644 Fax: +3110 438 1664 Dubai, Tel: +9714 458823 Fax: +9714 455819 Fujairah, Tel: +9719 228550 Fax: +9719 228551