Strengthening welding excellence through investment, accessibility and skills development.

The expansion of our Welding Centre of Excellence marks a significant step forward in enhancing welding capability, technical standards, and workforce development across our operations. Building on the strong foundations already established, the opening of a new purpose-built facility in Renfrew extends the Centre’s reach and reinforces its role as a strategic hub for welding excellence.

Designed to support the evolving needs of both clients and the wider industry, the expanded Centre of Excellence brings together technical expertise, governance, training, and quality assurance within a single, coordinated framework. This integrated approach helps drive consistency, innovation, and best practice while ensuring welding activities are delivered to the highest standards of safety, quality, and efficiency.

Central to the Centre’s success are its dedicated welding schools in Tipton and Renfrew. Together, these facilities create a geographically broader network that improves accessibility to high-quality training and development opportunities across the UK. By providing enhanced access for apprentices, welders, supervisors, and engineers, the expanded footprint supports both regional talent development and the sharing of specialist knowledge across multiple locations.

The dual-site model creates a powerful platform for developing future skills, transferring expertise, and responding to emerging industry requirements. Increased training capacity and improved accessibility will enable more individuals to benefit from industry-leading programmes, helping to build a stronger, more capable workforce for the future.

Beyond skills development, the revitalised Centre of Excellence will play a key role in driving continuous improvement through technical leadership, standardisation, and collaboration. By connecting specialists from across the business and creating greater opportunities for knowledge-sharing, it will strengthen capability, accelerate the adoption of best practice, and support the delivery of complex projects across a wider geographical area.

Padraig Somers, CEO – UK, Ireland, Nordics & Poland said;

“The addition of the Renfrew facility demonstrates a long-term commitment to investing in our people, expanding access to specialist training, and advancing welding excellence. As the Centre of Excellence continues to grow, it will help ensure that clients benefit from consistent technical expertise, highly skilled personnel, and innovative solutions delivered wherever they are needed.”