THE Glasgow arm of EEW Energy Services, the steel supplier to the energy sector, has landed a £1.6 million deal to supply an offshore project in Indonesia.

The company, led by ex-Murray International Metals' (MIM) and Edgen Murray executive Michael Craig, will supply PT PAL of Jakarta with high-grade steel for a new wellhead platform in the Madura Field, offshore Java.

PT PAL, a major military frigate manufacturer, is currently developing expertise in designing and building oil and gas platforms.

It is one of the main contractors to the Madura Field in the Madura Straight, where Husky Energy holds a 40% interest.

The PT PAL contract comes after Singapore headquartered EEW launched its £6m Glasgow base in November with a £1m deal to supply steel to Harland and Wolff for the Humber Gateway Substation Project, a wind farm off the Yorkshire coast.

EEW, which is backed by 75-year- old German steel supplier EWW Group, has also secured a £10m-a -year deal to supply an unnamed company focused on oil and gas exploration and production in the North Sea.

PT PAL will begin picking up steel from EEW, which accesses steel from EWW's network of mills in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, in the coming weeks.

Mr Craig said: "We are delighted to announce the contract win. In just a few months since opening our UK base in Glasgow, our strength and capability is being realised.

"We will complete and fast track the supply of all steel required by June, using our manufacturing mills in Korea and Germany. Our Glasgow and Singapore bases will back-up the supply of high quality steel materials for accelerated manufacture of the platforms."

Mr Craig revealed EEW, which he heads with private equity veteran Alan Hyslop, has just secured ISO (international organisation for standardisation) approval for its Glasgow arm.

Noting it means EEW is now "certified to do what we said we would do", he said: "We are currently forecasting we will roughly break even for our first financial year, which ends on June 30.

"I don't think we will move into profit - we have just not had sufficient time to get stuff out the door. It takes four or five months for us to get stuff together, manufactured and away."

Mr Craig, who established MIM's steel business in Singapore in 1992 said his confidence stems from the firm's experience in Singapore, where it started the business.

He said after an initial $1m investment in the first six months it is "now firmly in positive territory" halfway through its second year.

Mr Craig added: "Glasgow will be no different, it will get that momentum going.

"I would think by the time we get to September, October of this year, we should be where we think we should be."

EEW, which currently employs 10 staff in Port Dundas, Glasgow, currently outsources distribution to Braid's on the city's south side. Mr Craig revealed it is planning to invest in its own distribution facility, and hopes to have a custom-built site within three years.

The company hopes to recruit a graduate trainee in Glasgow and expand its team to 15.