Costain, one of the UK’s leading engineering and construction companies, has revealed plans to create a lasting legacy on Teesside.

The company - which is playing a key role in the Net Zero Teesside Power and Northern Endurance Partnership projects, led by bp - has occupied 5,000 sq ft of office space and meeting rooms at the Wilton Centre and created an initial team of 30, including Costain and their delivery partners as well as bp team members.

But Costain’s Energy Director Matt Browell-Hook, said that could just be the start: “The sky’s the limit dependent on the projects we win.”

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He expects the number of employees to double during the coming year through local recruitment and said Costain’s commitment to the area is long-term: “Our ambition is to continue to grow a local-resourced engineering capability to address the whole of the Teesside and Humberside region and the industrial cluster.  

“It’s not only the projects we’re working on today, we want to deliver projects of the future from our office at the Wilton Centre.”

Mr Browell-Hook said the centre was aligned to Costain’s core business: “We went round a number of locations and choose the Wilton Centre because of its pedigree in engineering, science and technology.”

Claire Morton - the Accommodation Manager at the Wilton Centre, which is owned by Pioneer Group - said there has never been such a high level of interest in space at the centre. 

“Businesses have always been attracted by both the quality of the accommodation and facilities and the opportunity to work alongside like-minded companies.  But over the last 12 months we have invested nearly £2m in key areas at the centre and become a partner of the Teesside Freeport, which is our close neighbour.

“For companies like Costain, who could be working within the freeport for many years, we are the obvious location to establish a local headquarters and we are delighted to welcome such a high-profile and successful business.”

The Northern Echo: David Armstrong, NEP Procurement DirectorDavid Armstrong, NEP Procurement Director (Image: Press release)

Earlier this year Costain – which was founded more than 150 years ago – was awarded the onshore front-end engineering and design contract by bp on behalf of their partners in the Northern Endurance Partnership. The scheme will provide the CO2 transportation and storage infrastructure to enable the East Coast Cluster carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) project taking place on the Teesworks site, a short distance from the Wilton Centre.

It will design the pipeline to gather the carbon dioxide – produced by local industries on Teesside and also the Humber– which will then be stored safely in a reservoir under the North Sea.

Costain will also be responsible for providing the CO2 pipeline connection for H2Teesside, bp’s world-scale hydrogen project.

At first, the staff based at the Wilton Centre will be supplemented by specialists from the company’s other hubs in Aberdeen, Maidenhead and Manchester. But eventually the company’s ambition is to create a sustainable engineering delivery team – made up of support staff as well as engineers – capable of delivering complex projects.

“Some of the skills required are new to the energy industry and Costain is keen on prioritising and growing our engineering capability right through from graduates, apprentices and early careers as well as through people with experience,” said Mr Browell-Hook.

“We want to leave a legacy of investment in the area and we see apprentices as a particularly key part of that legacy.”

David Armstrong, NEP Procurement Director, said: “Costain are a key partner of the Northern Endurance Partnership, which enables the East Coast Cluster by providing the CO2 capture and storage infrastructure which will serve businesses across Teesside. We are delighted to see Costain basing their Teesside operations at the Wilton Centre, providing opportunities for people on Teesside for many years to come."

 

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