As pointed out by Paul Thomson, managing director of SLP Engineering, the offshore engineering company is resuming business as usual, despite the fact that its parent company, the Smulders Group, is undergoing some tough financial times, EDP 24 informed.
Due to considerable financial setbacks resulting from two North Sea wind-energy projects, the Smulders Group is going into administration and has initiated talks so as to find new partners and avoid bankruptcy.
However, as highlighted by Thomson, his company will not suffer direct consequences since it has utter control of its banking facilities, which are outside the ones of the parent company. Furthermore, the company has already been contracted for operations until 2014, with a £50m worth order book.
“We have three contracts in the yard and we have support from all these clients. There is no direct effect from that process.
Our clients want to continue working with us. We’ve talked to them at a very senior level from a projects and corporate point of view,” he added.
Nevertheless, it appears that SLP will have to find another parent company to assume responsibility for provision of bonds and tender procedures. In that respect, the company has started talks with substantial players in the industry, including Smulders Group’s administrators. Still deadlines and time schedules on how much time this may take remain unclear.
“It is early days in that process. There are negotiations going on at the group level with substantial players within the industry,” Thomson pointed out.
SLP Engineering was faced with the same financial downfall in 2010, when the Smulders Group took it under its wing.
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Offshore WIND staff, April 30, 2012; Image: slp-eng