Author: Rob Ferris

Feritech Global is proud to be hosting a workshop on anchoring and mooring of floating offshore wind (FLOW) at their new Innovation Centre near Falmouth on 22nd September 2022.

Organised by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult on behalf of the Cornwall FLOW Accelerator project, the workshop will have particular reference to the Celtic Sea and the challenges and opportunities that exist for Cornwall and the wider Celtic Sea region.

The event will share leading edge research and aims to promote industry collaboration.

Rob Ferris, MD of Feritech Global, says: “Anchoring and mooring is a major challenge to address for floating wind in the Celtic Sea. At Feritech Global, we are excited by the emerging innovation opportunities and we are determined our company will be a leader in the FLOW industry, coming up with engineering and technology solutions that break new ground.”

At the workshop, Feritech Global will be joined by other Cornish marine tech businesses, including Reflex Marine, Morek Engineering, Tugdock Limited, Solis Marine and Inyanga Marine Projects.

The event will feature presenters from ORE Catapult, University of Exeter, Celtic Sea Power, Copenhagen Offshore Partners, Reflex Marine, Intelligent Mooring Solutions, Morek Engineering and Inyanga, as well as Feritech Global.

Rob adds: “This will be an important and high profile event that will help lay the groundwork for further development work. Floating Offshore Wind is a fast growing industry worldwide and Feritech Global is rising to the innovation challenges.”

The team at Feritech is celebrating after the company won the prestigious ‘Exporter of the Year’ title at the 2022 Cornwall Business Awards.

The awards ceremony took place on 30th June at St Mellion Estate, with representatives of many leading Cornish businesses in attendance.

The awards are open to businesses of all sizes from right across the county. The award for export was sponsored by Business Cornwall magazine. This is the first time that Feritech has entered the awards, so scooping this accolade at the first attempt was especially exciting.

Rob Ferris, Managing Director of Feritech, (pictured above with co-founder Gemma Ferris) said:

“This award is great recognition for our dedicated team and all of their hard work.

“As an advanced engineering company, we have always had a global outlook. All our equipment is made at our own facility in Cornwall, then taken wherever our clients need it! We operate in some of the most challenging environments around the world, and we now have customers in more than 40 countries. Exports account for 95% of our turnover.

“The opening of our new state of the art Innovation Centre has provided a fabulous platform for future growth, and we will be expanding into further new territories in the course of this year.”

To view a brief video by the Judging Panel explaining the reasons why Feritech was chosen as the winner of this award, click here.

Over the last two months, Feritech Global has been hitting the headlines in a wide range of international business media, reflecting the huge industry interest in our pioneering, innovative approach.

April 2022 saw the official opening of our new £3 million state of the art Innovation Centre near Falmouth UK, with our guest of honour for the day being HRH The Duke of Kent. Years in the planning, this new facility will offer a full range of services including product design, machining, fabrication, electrical, electronics, embedded software, hydraulics and 3D printing services – all under one roof. This will be one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in the UK. This new innovation centre will give us space to grow as a business, by expanding our range of services, helping us win important new contracts, and providing new job opportunities in our local area.

In May 2022 we announced the launch of Sealance. This new product is expected to create a step change in subsea geotechnical surveying. The Sealance brings the various functions required for geotechnical surveying together in one streamlined product, enabling significantly reduced timescales for projects. The Sealance will be a real gamechanger in specific areas of geotechnical surveying, such as for cable routes and pipelines. This is truly disruptive technology and paves the way for our next exciting development, a range of autonomous products within our portfolio.

In May 2022, Feritech was also named a finalist in the ‘Exporter of the Year’ category in the Cornwall Business Awards 2022.

You can see examples of the excellent media coverage we have received by clicking on the links below.

Rob Ferris, MD of Feritech Global, says: “Ever since our company was founded, we have been determined to be a leader, not a follower. These two projects are excellent demonstrations of that philosophy in action.”

 

Coverage of New Innovation Centre:

Ocean Buzz

Manufacturing and Production Engineering

Machinery Market

Production Engineering Solutions

Ocean News and Technology

South West Tech Daily

Business Cornwall

Cornwall and IOS Growth Hub

 

Coverage of Sealance launch:

Ocean Buzz

ECO Magazine

South West Tech Daily

Offshore Source

Ocean News & Technology

WorkBoat365

Business Cornwall

WindTech International

Feritech Global is delighted to be featured in a new website that has been launched to showcase the leading companies within the fast-growing space sector. The space sector in Cornwall has grown 164% since 2010 and is expected to deliver £1 billion of additional economic value by 2030.

Rob Ferris, MD of Feritech Global, says: “Having built our reputation in subsea geotechnical surveying, we have outstanding credentials in providing advanced engineering which is reliable in harsh environments. Space is an exciting sector which is being given extra impetus by Spaceport Cornwall. We are proud to be able to bring our innovation skills and expertise to help meet the challenges of this ambitious industry.

“Our new Innovation Centre near Falmouth is the only manufacturing facility in the South West to offer such a comprehensive range of services on one site – product design, fabrication, electrical, electronics, embedded software, hydraulics and 3D printing. We are ideally placed to design and manufacture complex components for the space industry and we can take on the most demanding and challenging briefs.

“Our transition into space is a natural one, with the sub-ocean industry being similar to space in terms of environmental pressures, and the tools and technology required. Many of the skills we’ve developed in our work can be easily transferred to space.

“We are looking forward to being a pioneer of the space industry as it takes off in the UK.”

You can see the new website here.

Rob Ferris, MD, Feritech Global

As a leader in geotechnical surveying, Feritech works for clients around the globe, with sales and rental customers in over 40 countries. To keep the company at the forefront of our industry, the company focusses on the design and manufacture of innovative products.

Innovation is right at the heart of our company, as I believe it needs to be for any ambitious business.

In April, we were proud that our new £3 million Innovation Centre near Falmouth was officially opened by HRH The Duke of Kent. The opening of the new centre represents the next step change for Feritech, as it gives us the capacity to gear up for accelerated growth.

Our future growth plans are based on the design and manufacture of a stream of innovative products. This will keep us competitive in our core markets and enable us to meet the engineering challenges of emerging and fast-growing sectors such as floating offshore wind.

This month, we have announced the launch of a new product which we believe will completely redefine the way geotechnical surveys are approached in future.

The Sealance brings the various functions required for geotechnical surveying together in one streamlined product. The Sealance is an adaptable survey device offering simultaneous deployment of up to three geotechnical tools as well as the Feritech heat flow system. Simultaneous deployment enables significant time savings, reducing project times.

Of course, reduced project time also leads to very significant cost savings. With the cost of hiring a vessel running anywhere up from £20k a day, saving several days on a project immediately delivers real cost reductions.

The Sealance will be a real gamechanger in specific areas of geotechnical surveying, such as for cable routes and pipelines.

This is truly disruptive technology and paves the way for our next exciting development, a range of autonomous products within our portfolio.

Work is well advanced, supported by Marine-i, to create the world’s first autonomous subsea vehicle specially designed for geotechnical survey work.

Part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Marine-i aims to help the marine tech sector in Cornwall grow through harnessing the full potential of research and innovation and we have been pleased to be able to latch into this valuable specialist support.

Globally, offshore assets require an increasing number of detailed subsea surveys, which often have to be carried out in extremely challenging sea conditions. This is particularly true for the growing floating offshore wind sector, where installation has to take place in very deep waters.

Using autonomous vessels to carry out geophysical survey work is an area that is already gaining traction. Our innovation will be an autonomous solution for geotechnical surveys. Such an autonomous vessel needs to be large in size to accommodate equipment for taking core samples of the seabed and for carrying out activities such as cone penetration testing and heat flow testing. This new solution will have a global impact in reducing the risks and costs associated with seabed surveys and we look forward to launching it in 2023.

In addition to designing and manufacturing entirely new products, we bring constant innovation to our existing equipment. For example, it is now more than 10 years since we introduced our first Vibrocorer. The Feritech Vibrocorer is the most robust, powerful and versatile vibrocore system on the market and is used by the largest global survey companies.
However, there is no room for complacency. Recently, we launched our next generation Vibrocorer.

The new model has several outstanding features, including increased vibratory power output, increased vibratory amplitude due to improved power to weight ratio and reduction in mobilisation time due to simplified frame structure.

Through our continued innovation, we are confident that the next generation Vibrocorer will continue to outperform any other system in its design and functionality.

Cornwall has a long history of innovation and we are proud to be based in the Duchy, helping to continue this tradition and demonstrate innovation and excellence in advanced engineering.

Innovation is our lifeblood. It is what keeps us ahead and enables us to compete successfully in international markets. There is no place for standing still. Constant innovation is absolutely vital for business success.

 

Feritech Global has announced the launch of a new product which is expected to create a step change in subsea geotechnical surveying. The Sealance brings the various functions required for geotechnical surveying together in one streamlined product, enabling significantly reduced timescales for projects.

The Sealance is an adaptable survey device offering simultaneous deployment of up to three geotechnical tools. It offers the most comprehensive range of equipment currently available on the market. Sampling can be achieved using the two powered feed systems, coupled with any two of the following tools: Vibrocorer, Cone Penetration Testing equipment, push corer or rotary coring drill. The Feritech heat flow system can also be deployed simultaneously.

Rob Ferris, MD of Feritech Global, says: “The new Sealance benefits from a bespoke twin tool deployment system with additional integrated heat flow, the first of its kind. Because two tools and heat flow can be deployed simultaneously, this greatly reduces the length of time needed to complete a site survey, especially in deep water.”

“Of course, reduced project time also leads to very significant cost savings. With the cost of hiring a vessel running anywhere up from £20,000 a day, saving several days on a project immediately delivers real cost reductions. We also expect that the Sealance will be smaller, lighter and less expensive than its competitors. The impact of this product on the geotechnical surveys market will be huge, delivering a step change in efficiency.”

Rob Ferris adds: “The Sealance will be a real gamechanger in specific areas of geotechnical surveying, such as for cable routes and pipelines.”

Feritech is a leader in geotechnical surveying and has worked for clients around the globe, including recent projects in Australia and West Africa. The company also designs and manufactures innovative products and opened a new £3 million Innovation Centre near Falmouth in Cornwall this year.

The Sealance will be available from Feritech Global from September 2022 and can be pre-booked for projects.

Rob Ferris says: “We believe the Sealance will completely redefine the way geotechnical surveys are approached in future. This is truly disruptive technology and paves the way for our next exciting development, a range of autonomous products within our portfolio.”

Feritech are delighted to have been named as a Finalist in the Cornwall Business Awards 2022, where they have been recognised as one of three finalists in the ‘Exporter of the Year’ category.

With customers in over 40 countries around the world, 95% of Feritech’s trade is international. With the opening of their new Innovation Centre near Falmouth in April 2022, Feritech is now poised for further export growth as it is set to launch a series of innovative new products into global offshore engineering markets.

Managing Director Rob Ferris says: “We are thrilled to have been named a Finalist in this prestigious awards scheme and it is great to have recognition for the team’s achievements.”

The winner will be announced at an event at St Mellion International Resort on Thursday 30th June.

The newly-constructed Feritech Innovation Centre, which is located near Falmouth, had its official opening on 11th April 2022. The guest of honour for the occasion was HRH The Duke of Kent.

The Duke of Kent was welcomed by Rob Ferris and Gemma Ferris, Directors and co-owners of Feritech Global Ltd. He was accompanied on the visit by the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, Colonel Edward Bolitho OBE and Deputy Lieutenant James Staughton OBE.

The Duke of Kent was taken on a tour of the new Innovation Centre, which specialises in advanced engineering solutions for marine and other industries. The new facility will offer a full range of services including product design, machining, fabrication, electrical, electronics, embedded software, hydraulics and 3D printing services – all under one roof. This will be one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in the UK.

The visiting group also included Andrew Williams, the High Sheriff of Cornwall, Cllr Pauline Giles BEM, Chairman of Cornwall Council, Assistant Chief Constable Julie Fielding and Cllr Phil Blease of Stithians Parish Council.

After the tour, Rob Ferris thanked The Duke of Kent, who unveiled a plaque to commemorate the occasion. The Duke was then invited to plant a tree close to the entrance of the centre, as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy tree-planting initiative to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee.

Commenting on the visit, Rob Ferris said: “We are very grateful to HRH The Duke of Kent for making the time to visit us today. It has taken a huge effort by our team to get this new facility planned and built, and it is really exciting to now see its official opening. This new innovation centre will give us space to grow as a business, by expanding our range of services, helping us win important new contracts, and providing new job opportunities in our local area.”

The new facility has been designed to work in harmony with its local environment. The site is designed to harvest its own water from boreholes. It has a state of the art solar roof which provides all of its power, with air source heating for its offices. The surrounding area will have over 3,000 trees planted, to help it blend with its rural location and promote bio-diversity.

(Photo shows, left to right: Gemma Ferris, Rob Ferris, and HRH The Duke of Kent.)

Rob Ferris, MD, Feritech Global

Ever since Feritech was founded in 2012, we have been focused on international markets. Over 95% of the company’s products and services are exported, and we now have customers in more than 40 countries. We provide marine engineering services to a range of sectors, including oil and gas, renewables, geophysical surveying, cables, dredging operations, pipelines, ports and harbours.

Our track record demonstrates that Cornish engineering businesses can successfully compete with the very best in the world. All of our equipment is manufactured at our base in Cornwall; we hire Cornish staff (including young apprentices) and we work with Cornwall-based suppliers.

I have tried to identify the key factors that I believe have been vital to our success.

I am sharing these here in case they are any help and pointers to other businesses, as they consider their own export potential.

Here they are:

1. Innovation. This is the driving force of our company. We pride ourselves on being able to take on virtually any technical challenge and come up with a solution. Our motto is that we “make complex operations look simple.” International markets are competitive and you need to keep innovating to stay ahead.

2. Customer relationship building: We work hard to build enduring relationships with our customers and as a result, a high proportion of our business is either repeat business or based on word of mouth recommendation. Our customers know they can turn to us to bring innovation and engineering ingenuity to any problem.

3. Collaboration and partnership working: We build strong partnerships across the supply chain, often working in collaboration with others. Sometimes we work as lead partner, sometimes as sub-contractor, sometimes as part of a consortium. Our ability to work seamlessly with partners is a real competitive strength. We take a long term approach to our partnerships and always work towards the common good.

4. Investment in facilities: Our new £3 million Innovation Centre will be the one of the best equipped manufacturing facilities in the UK and the only facility in the South West offering a full range of advanced engineering services on one site. This will enable us to offer improved service to our international customers and enter new market sectors such as aerospace and telecoms. It is vital to have the facilities you need to sustain growth.

5. Excellent local representation. We have an increasing network of international sales distributors, with representatives in China, Singapore, Colombia, Germany and Spain. This year we are expanding this to include United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey.

6. Brand Communications: We invest in raising our profile in international trade media. Through our Cornwall-based marketing agency Brand Innovation, Feritech achieves coverage in prestigious titles such as Ocean News & Technology, Offshore Source and Hydro International, which all have worldwide readership. This builds our international trade by consolidating our reputation, as well helping us reach potential new customers.

7. A skilled team with an international outlook. Our offshore engineers spend long periods based around the world. As many of our team have years of international engineering experience, they are well versed in adapting to different cultures, languages and ways of working. I myself worked extensively in Africa during the early part of my career. If you are going to build an international business, it’s important that your team have an international outlook and are able to adapt to different cultures.

Through applying these principles, Feritech was able to grow its export business by over 50% during 2021, despite the disruption caused by the pandemic. We were delighted to be given the ‘International Success’ award at the 2021 Tech South West Awards.

Looking to the future, we see many more exciting opportunities.

The growth of the Floating Offshore Wind energy sector is a technology where the UK has a chance to lead the world – and the Celtic Sea will be a prime location for its development. Feritech has also won the contract for the geotechnical surveying for a 4,000km cable route between Singapore and Australia. This will be the longest subsea cable ever laid worldwide.

We work in an exciting and fast moving industry and we are thrilled to be able to make the most of international opportunities from our base in Cornwall.

Feritech will be at Oceanology International, which runs 15th to 17th March 2022 at London ExCel.

David Hampshire, Global Sales Executive for Feritech, will be in attendance to support partners. He is looking forward to meeting customers old and new and explaining how Feritech can help deliver the advanced engineering solutions they need.

Oceanology International is the only event that links the three key players in the industry: businesses, academics and government. 8,000 delegates are expected to attend in 2022.

Rob Ferris, MD of Feritech Global, says:

“We are delighted to be part of Oceanology International, one of the premier events for the marine industry. At Feritech Global, we design, manufacture, provide Marine Geotechnical Systems, winches, LARS and special tailored bespoke systems and services.

“Oceanology International coincides with the launch of our new Feritech Innovation Centre just outside Falmouth, Cornwall. The new 3.5 acre site will greatly increase Feritech‘s manufacturing capabilities and the services offered to both our local and established global client base.

“Our services include product design, machining, fabrication, electrical, electronics, embedded software, hydraulics and 3D printing.

“We can provide solutions for customers with fast turnaround while controlling the quality of the process from start to finish, all under one roof.”

 

To arrange to meet David Hampshire at Oceanology International (or any other time), call mobile no. +44(0) 7393 022668 or email: dha@feritech.com