Subsea Technology & Rentals (STR) has appointed experienced sector leader James Christie to head up activities across Europe and Africa following significant growth and plans for further global expansion.
Christie, who has over 25 years’ industry experience most recently with Ashtead Technology, takes up the newly created role of regional director Europe, Scandinavia, Caspian, and Africa (ESCA), and will be based in Aberdeen.
STR operates globally with technology and service facilities in Aberdeen, Great Yarmouth, Houston, Perth, Singapore and invested £5m in a new Norway facility earlier this year which Christie will oversee. The company has doubled headcount in the last three years and now has 120 people with further growth to be delivered through strategic acquisitions, market expansion and a diversified technology and solutions offering, with plans to have a dedicated Middle East facility next year.
Christie brings a track record of developing strong client relationships, technical prowess and experience supporting solutions across operations, inspection, maintenance, and decommissioning. He previously spent more than 10 years of his career with Subsea 7 in operational roles including as a regional director for the Asia Pacific region.
Steve Steele, CEO of STR commented: “James joins us at a hugely exciting time for STR as we continue to grow at pace, diversify our product and service offering and enter new markets. Meeting evolving customer demand remains central to our strategy, with more clients choosing to collaborate with us on new product development programs, partnering with us beyond traditional rental models.
“James brings a highly strategic approach to growth and full field development experience spanning operations, inspection, and maintenance to decommissioning, which will support our ambition to diversify and strengthen our service offering to our customers.”
STR has invested over $10 million (£7.4 million) in innovation and technology in the last three years with a focus on offshore energy, infrastructure, and marine markets with two new products being commercialized each year.
James Christie added: “I am thrilled to be joining STR at such a pivotal time as the business has become firmly recognized as a subsea technology leader and continues to invest, creating value for customers and bringing new challenger products to market. I look forward to further strengthening customer partnerships, supporting the growth ambition, and enhancing our focus and footprint across key global regions.”
