INTERVIEW: Aleron Subsea Invests in Growth

Subsea robotic firm, Aleron Subsea, established in 2010 by Mike Bisset, is a specialist ROV refurbishment, upgrade, sales and rental company with currently 8 work class ROV systems.

Aleron started in Singapore when, according to Gary McConnell, Global Business Development Manager, its directors saw a gap in the market for a company that was to challenge conventional thinking by refurbishing and upgrading existing systems rather than buying systems new each time there was a project requirement.

McConnell believes there are a lot of great used systems on the market that have proven efficiency and they are put into a timeline where after a certian amount of years they are seen as ready for replacement.

“Our business model is to extend their field lifespan and often upgrade their power ratings to keep up with industry change and expectations,” McConnell said.

When asked about the company’s move to Scotland, McConnell explained that as the business plan developed Aleron’s directors soon realised that in order to give the company their full attention they needed to bring the business to the UK and develop the business model further.

Since relocating its headquarters form Singapore to the outskirts of Aberdeen, known locally as the Global Subsea Centre of Excellence, Aleron has expanded into two additional facilities.

“We moved into additional facilities due to the amount of equipment that we are processing. We plan to build a customised ROV test tank as the business progresses and we needed more space to develop these plans. Our additional facilities have allowed us to customise the space and improve the efficiency of our workshop operations,” McConnel said.

To further expand its product and service offering Aleron Subsea has recently acquired ROVQUIP, an Aberdeenshire-based ROV tooling manufacturer in a deal worth approximately £1.2 million.

Managing director of Aleron Subsea, Mike Bisset, commented on the acquisition: “It was the perfect fit for our business model and the additional product range allows the company to grow and expand our offering to clients. Aleron will now form as a group with ROV’s, ROV tooling and engineered solutions being a key part of our product range. We will continue to look for suitable acquisitions and partners for this group.”

Furthermore, Subsea World News has learned that Aleron is in the process of finalizing another contract award in Indonesia but McConnell was unable to disclose any further details.

Last but not least, we had to ask how is the company tackling currently unstable market and weather it’s been experiencing business slowdown in this insecure industry environment, and here’s what Aleron’s Global Business Development Manager had to say:

“We feel that now is the perfect time for our business model. We are offering clients flexible alternative solutions in a challenging market. We can rent our full ROV systems at a low day rate and allow for huge cost savings in subsea operations and we can sell full work class ROV systems at a quarter of the price of a new system. I would say that we are very busy with enquries but there is a noticeable slow down in how quickly people increase the probability on those enquiries and i am seeing project dates slipping and occasionally disappearing. I think everyone is seeing a difference in one way or another but for us now is the perfect time to send out our message and offer clients our alternative thinking.”