New Horizons
We can confirm the imminent appointment of two Business Development Managers to drive forward our exciting plans. One will have responsibility for attracting marine design companies from the region to take up membership, while the second will have an international role liasing with global partners and end-customers.

Director, David Hewitt said: “Everything is now set for us to move forward. We have a fantastic facility which we are convinced will, in a very short period of time, become a world-class centre of excellence for the marine design sector. We have interviewed some first-class people and are putting plans in place to help the successful candidates quickly engage with the market.”

If you would like us to arrange a meeting with one of the business development managers, please contact davidhewitt@marinedesigncentre.com

US wind energy investment blows into North East
Californian energy giant Clipper Windpower is to develop a new generation of offshore wind turbines in the North East of England. The decision was hailed by UK Business and Enterprise Secretary John Hutton, visiting the company's headquarters in California, as further evidence that "the UK is fast becoming a magnet for renewable energy investment".

James G.P. Dehlsen, Chairman and CEO of Clipper Windpower, said: "We are extremely pleased to have One NorthEast working alongside us in support of the 'Britannia Project'.

"We are honoured to be working directly with One NorthEast and the New and Renewable Energy Centre toward the launch of an offshore wind turbine which will offset the need to import and burn one million barrels of oil. Clipper Windpower looks forward to a strong relationship with One NorthEast and NaREC whose excellent engineering, testing and development capabilities will play a major role in the project's delivery.

"We are also very pleased with the capability of the local area which provides excellent regional university capability for support of offshore wind technology development, particularly through the Marine Design Centre's expertise in marine technology and science."

More good news for the region
Further great news for the marine sector in the region comes with the decision by Noble Denton, which has operations spanning the globe, to open a consultancy office in Seaton Burn, North Tyneside, where it expects to see revenue double in the next year.

We understand the branch will initially employ eight people, with this figure expected to rise to around 24 within two years. The new operation will be headed by general manager David Byrne, former director of Newcastle-based marine consultancy firm Burness Corlett - Three Quays. Press reports confirm the business regards the region as having an excellent resource base of available labour and that Newcastle has become an essential hub in the maritime industry.

Meanwhile, The Engineering Business has won a contract to supply a pipelay system for the Saipem FDS heavy construction vessel. The J-lay system was designed for deep-water work and is capable of supporting a maximum dynamic line tension of 1500 tonnes.

The company said the system would be built at its facilities on Tyneside before being shipped to Rotterdam for commissioning.

Making An Exhibition Of One’s Self
The Marine Design Centre made its first public appearance when it attended the DSEI exhibition at the Excel, London, earlier this month.  Sharing a stand with member companies of the Northern Defence Industries (NDI) we were delighted by the high level of interest shown by key industry figures who visited the stand. Further discussions with a number of people have been planned.

Dan Moves Upstairs
We are pleased to welcome Dan Tweedy to the team. As IT Manager he will be responsible for managing IT services within NDI and the Marine Design Centre. Dan knows his way around Central Square South very well, having previously worked as part of the IT team at Eversheds.

Dan said: “I was attracted by the opportunity of working within an exciting new development, I relish the responsibility of managing an IT infrastructure and am very keen to implement my own ideas.”

Mind your language!
CD Group, one of our founding partners, has many interesting facets to the business.  But how many of you are aware that it also offers a specialist translation service via its subsidiary company Eldon Bureau which, along with CD Group, is based in St James Street, Newcastle?  The company currently offers language support, translation and interpreting services in 109 registered languages. Its client base comes from the legal profession, the health service, the engineering sector and also from insurance companies specialising in the marine sector, all of whom require solutions to often complex translation or interpreting needs.

Becky Johnson at Eldon Bureau said: “Our service is as comprehensive as clients require.  For example, one local engineering company has requested an interpreter to meet them at an airport and that person will stay with the client throughout the whole period of their stay in Spain”

For more information www.eldonbureau.com

It’s Your Marine Design Centre!
If you are in the marine design sector we want to hear from you!

The Centre is the access portal to world-class marine capability, with the ability to be the single point of contact with the client. It facilitates ‘best practice’ and encourages use of the latest design tools and technology by the region’s marine design businesses.  It promotes the growth of knowledge-based marine skills and develops collaborative links with Newcastle University and other educational establishments to ensure the skill base meets the needs of the marine design community.

The Marine Design Centre includes a world class Common User Facility
which is available for hire.

The Centre also provides a unique, IT-rich design facility that gives the sector unparalleled competitive advantage. It delivers a range of services including a state-of-the-art common-user facility that offers

• A secure design office available for ‘hire by the hour’
• 40 fully-networked high specification work stations
• State-of-the-art 3-D modelling software
• High speed data communications

To become a partner and to book the common user facility visit www.marinedesigncentre.com or contact davidhewitt@marinedesigncentre.com