MANUFACTURING company Pipeline Engineering yesterday opened its new £3m headquarters and announced plans to increase turnover to more than £15m.

The company, based in Richmond, North Yorkshire, supplies equipment and services for the international oil and gas industry, has doubled its workforce to 120 in the past four years and increased sales from £3.5m to £11m.

To increase turnover to £15m by 2008, Pipeline has moved from three sites in Richmond to a £3m head office and manufacturing facility on the Gatherley Road Industrial Estate.

Former Conservative leader and MP for Richmond William Hague marked the official opening of the building.

He said: "We value a manufacturing business which employs so many people and contributes so much to the economy.

"This is an international business that could be located anywhere in the world. We are proud of the fact it has chosen to build the new facility here in North Yorkshire. Not to take it anywhere else is testimony to how a manufacturer can survive in the UK if it is high-value and high-skill."

Pipeline Engineering supplies equipment that moves through oil and gas pipelines to improve the flow of gas or fluid, to separate liquids or to test joins.

The company was formed in 1969 and underwent a management buyout in the late 1990s, led by managing director Willy Watson and non-executive director Kit Maunsell.

Marketing manager Andrew Cargill said Pipeline Engineering was now capitalising on growth in the oil and gas market.

He said: "We have built this new headquarters with the understanding that the market is growing. We are now in a position to capitalise on our strong market position and develop new business opportunities from around the world to further grow the company."

Exports account for more than 90 per cent of Pipeline Engineering's business, which led to the recent opening of an office in Singapore.

Over the past two years, Pipeline has also established a separate consultancy division, PE Solutions, whose clients include BP and Shell.