A Scottish engineering firm has enlisted a Glasgow consultancy to help it deliver big renewable energy projects in a move the company said reflected its desire to use local talent.
Steel Engineering has appointed Tymor Marine to advise on work it is doing on major wind turbine projects being developed in the UK by some of the industry's biggest names.
Steel will provide leg-like jackets for the £100 million wind turbine generator system being developed in Fife by Samsung.
It is also supplying steel for use in a giant wind farm that ScottishPower and Vattenfall are developing off East Anglia.
The Renfrew-based company has appointed Tymor to advise on how to attach the goods it supplies to the barges that will ferry them to sea.
Tymor will complete stability analyses to ensure that, once loaded, the barges are stable enough to proceed to sea and the cargo will not be damaged in transit.
Steel said Tymor Marine has developed a strong reputation within the offshore oil and gas and renewables sectors.
Managing director Peter Breslin added: "Where possible, it is always our strategy to award contracts to indigenous Scottish businesses, in order to actively support opportunities and employment in Scotland."
Steel Engineering has already shown its willingness to play an active part in the development of a sector that looks set for rapid growth.
The company recently established a Renewable Energy Skills Training Academy.
The collaboration with Tymor was welcomed by the Scottish Government, which wants Scotland to become a global leader in the renewables industry.
Fergus Ewing, Minister of Energy and Tourism, said: "This partnership between two ambitious Scottish companies is further demonstration of the breadth and depth of Scottish expertise within the burgeoning renewables sector.
"It is extremely positive to see Steel Engineering award this contract to Tymor Marine."
Growth in renewables is creating significant opportunities for engineering firms across Scotland.
In December, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (Scotland) said in the last year they saw more than £300m worth of activity in renewables north of the Border.
Niall Stuart, chief executive of industry body Scottish Renewables, said: "Scotland's renewable energy industry is working hard to ensure the supply chain is not only forming around emerging sectors such as the marine and offshore wind, but that they are also collaborating to deliver projects.
"For a number of developers, particularly those larger ones, securing tenders from homegrown companies is nothing new.
"SSE is working with Wind Towers at Machrihanish while Glasgow-based consultants Sgurr Energy continue to work for ScottishPower Renewables.
"The Envirocentre in Glasgow is a great example of a business in one sector that is diversifying into the renewables sector with clients such as SSE.
"The announcement from Steel Engineering and Tymor Marine just shows the level of opportunity out there for companies and we firmly believe this is the start of many more announcements like it."
Tymor Marine is led by founder Kevin Moran and technical director Emeritus Professor Colin MacFarlane, a marine and subsea engineering specialist at Strathclyde University.
It has offices in Glasgow and Aberdeen.
The value of the contract with Steel Engineering was not disclosed.
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