BiFab collapsed in December when a plan to manufacture eight wind turbine jackets as part of the Neart Na Gaoithe windfarm off the coast of Fife fell through, with both the UK and Scottish Governments saying their hands were tied by legal issues..
InfraStrata announced on Friday that is has bought two of the three BiFab yards out of administration – the Methil site in Fife and the Arnish site in Lewis.
The Burntisland site in Fife is not part of the deal.
A total of 29 employees are being transferred, with those on furlough brought back to re-establish operations at the sites.
Both sites will trade under Infrastrata’s Harland & Wolff brand which also has facilities in Belfast and Appledore.
Methil, the larger of the two sites, will focus on fabrication for the oil and gas, commercial and renewables markets, according to the new owners, while Arnish will look at all Harland & Wolff’s five markets: defence, oil and gas, renewables, commercial and cruise and ferry.
John Wood, chief executive of InfraStrata, said: “With this acquisition, we now have a footprint in Scotland, which is the hotbed for major wind farm projects as well as for shipbuilding programmes. We have now positioned ourselves strategically across the UK with four sites capable of servicing our five core markets.
“This acquisition gives us the flexibility to optimise our operations across the Group and offer our clients the ability to fabricate faster and de-risk their exposure by offering multiple sites. As we move into larger contracts, it is crucial that we demonstrate the capacity to bid for and deliver on these projects. The acquisition of Bifab’s assets delivers that capability to us and will open up a larger demographic of tender opportunities.
“Finally, I wish to warmly welcome the personnel whom we have taken on at Methil and Arnish and I am confident that we will turn these facilities into highly successful businesses that generate jobs and investment into their local economies in due course.”
Harland & Wolff is a wholly-owned subsidiary of InfraStrata plc, a London Stock Exchange-listed firm focused on strategic infrastructure projects and physical asset life-cycle management. https://www.scotsman.com/business/bifab-two-out-three-yards-bought-infrastrata-ps850000-following-company-collapse-3132500?fbclid=IwAR2-nKw32tgWY-x8A_0KHImoi8JrsXx9e7nfOnRZ3BOK17tyhUk9bQ8Gt4c
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