Appointment of H&W Management Team

RNS Number : 7447X

Infrastrata PLC

23 December 2019

 

23 December 2019

InfraStrata plc

("InfraStrata" or the "Company")

Appointment of H&W Management Team

InfraStrata plc (AIM: INFA), the UK quoted company focused on strategic infrastructure projects and physical asset life-cycle management, is pleased to announce that it has appointed a new management team for its wholly-owned subsidiary, Harland & Wolff (Belfast) Limited ("Harland & Wolff").

In addition, a new wholly owned subsidiary of Harland & Wolff (Belfast) Limited has been incorporated, Harland & Wolff Technical Services Limited. This business will incorporate all the Company's engineering functions internally, as well as serving external clients globally. 

Highlights

·    The new team has significant technical and commercial experience of operating facilities similar to Harland & Wolff and of securing and delivering contracts in the energy infrastructure, ship repair & conversion, offshore, fabrication, defence and recycling sectors

·    The team is now installed and has commenced the business' first contract, as announced on 6 December 2019 with the docking of Sea Trucks Performance vessel on 21 December 2019

·    Harland and Wolff (Belfast) Ltd & InfraStrata are now formally revenue generating

·    New appointments to Harland & Wolff (Belfast) Limited include:

o  John Petticrew as Managing Director - decades of management experience and most recently Vice President Operations at Seaspan Shipyard in Vancouver which has 2,000 employees

o  Paul Blake as Operations Director - previously Head of Projects at ASRY (Arab Shipbuilding & Repair YardCo) in Bahrain

o  Stephen Mills and Mark Giles as Sales Directors, with substantial experience of securing contracts across a range of targeted sectors from around the world

·    The Company is currently finalising the appointment of a new Commercial and Business Development Director

John Wood, Interim Chairman and CEO of InfraStrata, said: 

"The establishment of a dedicated management team headed up by John Petticrew, at Harland & Wolff is a significant milestone for InfraStrata. Their combined experience of delivering and securing projects at large-scale fabrication facilities around the world means that our new business division is poised for an exciting period of growth. It also means that the Board is well positioned to maintain its focus on our flagship Islandmagee Gas Storage project. It was a pleasure to have been in the yard this weekend to witness the first docking since we acquired the facility on 04 December 2019. Additionally, discussions with the Spanish shipbuilder, Navantia continue to progress at pace after the execution of the Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with them. I am excited about the future of this iconic business and am confident that we can return the Harland & Wolff brand to its former glory."

Managing Director - John Petticrew

John Petticrew has decades of experience running fabrication and ship-building facilities around the world. Until recently, he was Vice President Operations at Seaspan Shipyard in Vancouver, Canada.  Mr. Petticrew had 2,000 employees reporting into him with five divisional directors.  In this role, John implemented the national shipbuilding strategy for Canada, building six vessels for the Navy and Coast Guard.  Prior to this, John was the Vice President of Engineering for Seaspan, Technical Director for Gulf Marine Services and the Senior Project Director for Lamprell Energy Limited and held the position of New Building Manager for Dubai Dry Docks.  Commencing his career in 1987, John spent a decade at Saint John Ship Building, serving as Superintendent and Production Manager.  He has a wealth of experience across fabrication, oil & gas, defence, ship repair and vessel construction.

Operations Director - Paul Blake

Until recently Mr. Blake was the Head of Projects at ASRY (Arab Shipbuilding & Repair YardCo) in Bahrain. Prior to this, he held the position of Project Manager at Grand Bahamas Shipyard, specialising in cruise vessel upgrades.  Paul also held posts as Director and General Manager at Atlantic & Peninsula Pty Ltd in Australia and the General Manager/Ship Repair Director at Topaz Energy & Marine in Dubai.

Sales Directors - Stephen Mills and Mark Giles

Stephen Mills and Mark Giles are proven sales executives with decades of experience across all these sectors. They have dealt with some of the largest blue-chip clients globally and bring with them a deep understanding of the business as well as key contacts that will lead to additional revenue generation and enhanced monetization of Harland & Wolff.

**ENDS**

For further information, please visit www.infrastrataplc.com or contact:

InfraStrata plc John Wood, Chief Executive & Interim Chairman	c/o Newgate Communications [phone]
Allenby Capital Limited (AIM Nominated Adviser & Broker) Jeremy Porter / Liz Kirchner	[phone]
Arden Partners plc (Joint Broker) Paul Shackleton / Dan Gee-Summons (Corporate Finance) Simon Johnson (Corporate Broking)	[phone]
Newgate Communications (PR) Elisabeth Cowell/ Ian Silvera/Jamie Williams	[phone]

Notes to editors:

InfraStrata is a London Stock Exchange-listed group focused on global energy infrastructure projects.

The rapid development of the 100% owned Islandmagee Gas Storage Project is a core workstream for InfraStrata. It is expected to provide 25% of the UK's natural gas storage capacity and to benefit the Northern Ireland economy as a whole when complete. Given that the Committee on Climate Change has advised that the UK will still need a significant quantity of natural gas by 2050 - about 70% of today's consumption - the market opportunity for this project is compelling.

In November 2019, the Company signed a conditional contract to acquire the principal assets of Harland & Wolff in Belfast to undertake the fabrication work for the project, as well as to create secondary revenue streams through the provision of services to the energy, maritime and defence sectors should such opportunities arise in future.

Mindful of the fact that safe, secure and flexible sources of energy are needed for a sustainable future, InfraStrata is focused on providing investors with exposure to a growing portfolio of UK, European and international energy infrastructure projects. With this in mind, the Company's highly experienced team is focused on acquiring, developing and commercialising innovative infrastructure projects around the world.

Further information is available on the Company's website: www.infrastrataplc.com.

 

END

 

 

MSCEAFAAAANNFAF