A newly-formed sales team at Barrier Group, the international coatings specialist based in Wallsend, is looking to attract more work to the North East from around the world and further its position as one of the region’s biggest employers of fireproofing technicians.
The team, made up of industry experts Robert Bowles, Craig Rose and Steve May, will promote the group’s capabilities to UK and international operators in a bid to secure new contracts for the six companies within the group.
Through a series of acquisitions and service development Barrier Group has significantly expanded its provision and is now in a position to offer passive fire protection, metal spraying, powder coating, architectural & insulation, scaffolding, technical training and rubber sealing products across the offshore oil and gas, nuclear, marine and offshore renewable energy sectors.
The sales team will continue to assess further expansion opportunities in order to increase the group’s capabilities and will also be responsible for, among other things, establishing and maintaining client relationships, creating tenders, pricing work and negotiating terms and conditions.
As a result of Steve May’s appointment, Barrier Fire Protection will now be led by painting and fireproofing expert Dave Shaw, who takes over as managing director after more than 20 years in various divisions of the company.
Barrier is one of the UK’s most established supply chain companies. It was formed in 1975 to carry out painting of structures to be installed as part of the growing North Sea oil industry.
It has gone on to complete more than 200 major contracts, totalling millions of square metres of surface protection and has worked for most of the world’s major oil companies.
Robert Bowles, chairman of Barrier Group, said: “There are obvious natural synergies in the group that make having a central sales team representing all six companies the ideal solution to improve the way in which we secure new work.
“This will support our export ambitions as we promote UK skills, products and services that are in demand from markets around the world. While the UK energy sector is experiencing undergoing a period of change, there is still a lot of work to go for internationally.
“When talking to contractors we will now be able to utilise the team’s broader knowledge of the group and deliver more comprehensive and cost-effective tenders and quotes, which is essential in the evolving energy sector market.”