SPEX Doubles Turnover
SPEX Group, an Aberdeen-headquartered provider of innovative technology solutions and services to the global oil and gas industry, is investing in one of the U.K.’s smartest supercomputers capable of carrying out more than 100 trillion operations per second.
The supercomputer, dubbed the Claymore, is being developed in partnership with Dell and ANSYS and can solve problems at least 20 times faster than the industry norm. It will incorporate 75 times the RAM of a High-end workstation, allowing enhanced processing and graphics capability on complex simulation and modeling problems.
The Claymore has been designed for maximum flexibility using the latest computing technologies and leverages the recent technological advancements in GPU’s – both in the GPU hardware itself, and the ANSYS analytical software which can now utilize GPUs to accelerate the analysis. The Claymore computing cluster at SPEX comprises 14 interconnected machines (compute nodes) and one head node to control the system and distribute the work.
In addition, SPEX has continued to invest in the latest CNC machining equipment bringing total investment to more than £5.2million. This investment builds on the Group’s ability to deliver cutting-edge, innovative technologies such as the Emergency Severance Tool (EST), which SPEX is working on in partnership with Shell.
Additional capacity and facilities also have been taken on, including a fabrication and testing facility in West Tullos, adding a total covered area of 2,000sq m.
News of the investment came as SPEX, identified as Scotland’s fastest growing young company in 2011 by Business Insider, posted its annual results to December 31, 2012 revealing near 100% turnover growth, up to nearly £14million. Approximately 80% of work is for the international market. Double digit turnover growth is expected again in 2013 with technology development projects ongoing with a number of operators and service companies.
A start-up business only four years ago, staff numbers at SPEX have increased from around 70 to 100 in recent months. Approximately 30 new positions will be created over the next year.
The last 12 months has seen major changes at SPEX to position it for future growth. Experienced industry figures Jamie Oag and Nadir Mahjoub were appointed Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer respectively, whilst the Group has been structured into business areas to ensure the best service for clients.
SPEX has made two acquisitions to date, and Mr. Oag said he expected more to follow: “Potentially, small businesses with innovative products or IP but without the wherewithal to take it to the next level. Our focus is on applied engineering encompassing the science behind the innovations so we are always on the look-out for like-minded businesses and individuals.’’
The SPEX Group comprises three key business areas – Engineering & Technology Innovation (ETI), Production & Fabrication and Field Services – working with clients including both major oil & gas Operators and service companies.
ETI comprises multi-disciplinary in-house teams and industry-leading engineering, modeling, testing, machining and manufacturing capabilities delivering a sophisticated, full turnkey service from concept to completion.
Production & Fabrication provides state-of-the-art CNC machining capability both as part of turnkey client projects and also on a stand-alone basis, for customers with rapid turnaround needs.
Field Services provides a range of innovative products and bespoke solutions including in the areas of pipe cutting, recovery and well abandonment, offering cost-effective results.
SPEX has international reach, providing services across the globe. It has ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001 accreditation.
