A MAJOR expansion is taking place at one of Hull's leading oil and gas companies.
CDS Energy Services is building a new 10,000sq ft state-of-the-art fabrication facility at the company's site in Burma Drive, east Hull.
Construction work has already begun on the new site, which will see CDS's operational space increase by 30 per cent.
The news of the company's growth plans comes only four years after CDS opened its's original factory in Marfleet.
CDS has been in business since the mid-1990s.
The latest expansion is made possible as the firm continues to secure new contracts and develop partnerships.
Danny Laybourne, commercial director at CDS, says the company's rapid growth is fuelled by an increasing work load that has led to its existing workshop running at near capacity.
"We have reached a stage now where we have to be forward thinking with how we work because of the amount of orders that are coming in," he said.
"This expansion is vital in ensuring we can maintain our future workload and continue to deliver the high level of service we currently do to our customers.
"To be in a position to expand so dramatically just four years after we opened our original factory is fantastic.
"It shows the work we are doing here is valued by existing and new clients and the extra operational space will allow us to continue to grow."
The company's existing facilities of four fabrication workshops, five overhead cranes, a cut shed, hydro test shed, stores, 6,000sq ft of office space, mess facilities and two acres of hard standing will be expanded to cope with increased demand.
The new building will feature two 10-tonne overhead cranes, office space, toilets, a canteen and a new security office giving its 24-hour security team the facilities it requires.
The management team are working closely with the company's sub-contractors and construction is set to be completed by the end of September this year.
CDS are long established providers of specialist project management, design, fabrication, installation and decommissioning services to a clients in the oil and gas industries.
However, the company is increasingly working with clients in the renewables sector as it expands its offshore wind farm services.
News of this latest expansion comes just three months after CDS announced the creation of 130 new jobs at their Hull site.
In April, the company secured a major deal to replace two flare stacks and a bridge on the Tyra East and Tyra West platforms in the Danish sector of the North Sea.
CDS beat off stiff competition from rivals across Europe to secure the lucrative contract.
Mr Laybourne said the deal was great news for the labour market in Hull.
"Creating local jobs for young people looking to take their first steps into the industry is something we are very conscious of, he said," he said.
"We are using local labour to build the new facility and we will be creating further new jobs for people across the Humber region when it becomes operational."
'Hull ready to take on global energy role'SPEAKING at the announcement of the company's new contract in the Danish sector of the North Sea in April, CDS managing director Howard Laybourne said it was a sign that Hull is ready to take a leading role in the energy sector.
Mr Laybourne pointed to the recent announcement of Siemens' £160m investment in Green Port Hull as a sign that local companies can be competitive in the world energy sector.
CDS believe its vast experience in fossil fuel energy make it a good candidate to development partnerships in the offshore wind industry and the company intends to invest more resources into renewable energy in the next few years.
