Award-winning JBS Group, the innovative multi-disciplined engineering firm, is executing a series of contract wins worth £2.6m for its Sea Axe technology.

The company, based in Peterhead, is undertaking or has already completed several projects in the UK and internationally with the patented solution which enables fast, large-scale mass flow excavation (MFE).

The programmes of work include recent support for a global engineering contractor performing reburial work as part of a decommissioning project in the North Sea.

For another global firm – this time in Australia – Sea Axe is providing a means of access for cut and recovery to be made as part of a broader decommissioning project.

JBS is also using Sea Axe in the provision of excavation support for two significant European interconnector projects, where cables connect to the electricity grid between countries. For both projects, JBS is working a shift system to provide 24-hour support and delivery.

Another client, with whom JBS has worked previously, brought in the Sea Axe and the JBS team for an excavation project at a Scottish port. All contracts have been secured in the past three months.

Sea Axe is the most environmentally friendly system of its type on the market, and its comparatively small spread minimises deck space requirements. It can also be safely deployed from a vessel’s A-frame or crane. 

Jo McIntosh, Sales and Marketing Director at JBS, said: “There has been rapid market recognition of the Sea Axe – a cutting-edge solution that has many advantages in terms of efficiency, cost-effectiveness and environmental sustainability.

We are on track for substantial year-on-year growth as our relationships with clients develop and they gain a deeper understanding of how we can help to optimise their operations.”

Sea Axe can be used for a range of scopes, including pipe/cable projects, seabed preparation, salvage and recovery, inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR), decommissioning, power plant outlet pipes, unexploded ordnance clearing, harbour clearance, and subsea and wind farm structure projects.

Previously, JBS supplied a Sea Axe MFE system complete with operational team for a pipeline burial project offshore Bangladesh. This version of the system included an electric HPU (hydraulic power unit).

More than 60% of JBS Group’s sales come from international markets, with the firm trading in over 80 countries – a key factor in its success in the Going Global category at the 2023 Northern Star Business Awards in Aberdeen.

The JBS client portfolio includes well-known businesses in the space, energy, nuclear, power, defence and fishing sectors.

The firm has also seen growth in its fabrication and engineering services as well as increased demand for its screw conveyors, which include a dual drive version. In Q2 JBS provided screw conveyors to 31 companies in 17 countries.

JBS Group’s specialist ballistic, blast and fire containment protection expertise and capability led to work in the US from some of the most famous names in the space industry. The firm recently secured a 10-year extension to remain the only authorised global partner for the specialist material, which can be used across a multitude of different applications including its patented automated retractable roof systems. 

The firm has delivered fabrication projects for operators and energy services firms. Its work has included flying lead deployment frames and several other large-scale fabrication workscopes for long-standing clients.

JBS, which has a team of 62 in total, is based at South View, Dales Industrial Estate.