A FIRM of specialist oil and gas inspection engineers is targeting further expansion after hitting its growth targets in double quick time.

R&A Kay Inspection Services was bought out in 2007 by directors Duncan Jarrett and Ian Johnston, who moved the company headquarters from Doncaster to the Preston Farm Business Park, in Stockton, to be nearer key clients.

The pair hoped to achieve ten to 15 per cent annual growth in year five of a fiveyear business plan, but achieved that within 18 months of taking over.

As a result, 15 jobs have been created, taking the number of engineers the company employs to 65. The firm’s directors are also looking at creating a specialist civil and structural engineering inspection division to expand the markets in which the company can use its sought-after expertise.

R&A Kay provides inspection- related services to the oil and gas, industrial gases and utilities sectors and counts Shell, BP, Esso and Chevron among its clients.

Mr Jarrett, managing director, said: “When we took over the company we knew that by making a few refinements to the business model and service provision it could have a big impact on the company’s turnover and profitability.

These enhancements have helped us hit our original targets well ahead of schedule.

“Alongside continued growth in our primary markets – especially as the economic recovery kicks in – we can see significant commercial opportunities in the civil and structural engineering sectors and are now looking at the best way in which we can enter these markets.”

The management buy-out was helped by investment of £250,000 from Evolve Finance, the specialist mezzanine and debt division of regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers.

Joanne Pratt, investment executive at Evolve Finance, said: “The company’s new management team has made the best possible use of the opportunities available in a lucrative niche market.

“To have achieved its longterm targets in such a short period, especially when the wider economy has been experiencing such difficulties, is a real testament to their commercial expertise and fully backs up the investment decision we made.”