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Adaptable equipment
Over the years , Dave ’ s passion for pushing Motive forward has facilitated private equity investment , delivering significant growth . In August 2022 , he secured a significant investment from H2 Equity Partners with a view to supporting international growth plans . “ When we service a new region , we do so remotely to begin with . As revenue builds and reaches a certain threshold , we will set up an entity and move people to the region to establish a local business .
“ In terms of the other aspect of growth , our plan is to close on more mergers and acquisitions . We ’ re currently exploring various avenues and are engaged in the bidding process with the aim of continually diversifying . We ’ ve been getting increasingly involved in offshore wind to drive up the value of the business . Right now , we are at about 40 percent offshore wind and 60 percent oil and gas .
“ While investment in oil and gas has decreased , we need to remember that the infrastructure just isn ’ t in place to fully support renewable energy . Current political instability has reinforced the importance of energy security . We need to improve our ability to harness renewable energy but in a way that sets realistic and achievable targets . Claiming the ability to produce vast quantities of energy from offshore wind is all well and good but without the infrastructure to support the supply it ’ s unreliable .
“ We ’ re currently following market demand but not focusing on a particular supply . The equipment that we design , manufacture and sell can easily be adapted to work in all sectors . Much of the equipment that is deployed in the recovery of oil and gas can be used in offshore wind . The export cables that run from the wind farm to the shore are winched onto the beach , which is a similar set up when you consider an oil and gas field . We ’ ll deploy a cable in the seabed and then pull it onto the beach . The handling equipment that we make is adaptable . While there are tweaks to the processes , they ’ re not material tweaks . From telecoms to decommissioning , the space in which our equipment works is suited to multiple sources ,” he elaborates .
Global presence
As the business grows , Dave wants to be able to offer clients more comprehensive solutions . When it comes to sourcing potential options for acquisition to enable this provision , an important factor is whether the organization is a good fit for Motive . “ A preferred starting point is if we already have an established relationship with the company . Knowing each other ’ s equipment , people , and management teams goes a long way . This was the case with Flowline Specialists . There were synergies between the businesses and because we knew them , integration was much easier . That ’ s my preferred route and it has proved successful thus far .”
To facilitate international growth , the business is setting up in situ entities to ease operations and retain overseas customers . “ We have our first few employees in place in Brazil , which enables us to better support projects in South America . We also have a presence on the ground in Houston for oil work in the Gulf of Mexico . There are big plans for offshore wind on the East Coast of the US , and interestingly , organizations prefer to use European contractors because Europe boasts the most established offshore wind supply chain . We ’ ve already picked up approximately one million pounds worth of revenue from offshore wind this year alone . That ’ s a significant amount of revenue for us and they ’ ve only just started the installation there .
“ We also put our first employee into Australia , doing sales and business development work . We see that as a good market , both for oil and gas decommissioning , and renewables .
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