The Duke of Kent was welcomed by Rob Ferris and Gemma Ferris, Directors and co-owners of Feritech Global Ltd. He was accompanied on the visit by the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, Colonel Edward Bolitho OBE and Deputy Lieutenant James Staughton OBE.
The Duke of Kent was taken on a tour of the new Innovation Centre, which specializes in advanced engineering solutions for marine and other industries. The new facility will offer a full range of services including product design, machining, fabrication, electrical, electronics, embedded software, hydraulics and 3D printing services – all under one roof. This will be one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in the UK.
After the tour, Rob Ferris thanked The Duke of Kent, who unveiled a plaque to commemorate the occasion. The Duke was then invited to plant a tree close to the entrance of the centre, as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy tree-planting initiative to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee.
Commenting on the visit, Rob Ferris said: “We are very grateful to HRH The Duke of Kent for making the time to visit us today. It has taken a huge effort by our team to get this new facility planned and built, and it is really exciting to now see its official opening. This new innovation centre will give us space to grow as a business, by expanding our range of services, helping us win important new contracts, and providing new job opportunities in our local area.”
The new facility has been designed to work in harmony with its local environment. The site is designed to harvest its own water from boreholes. It has a state-of-the-art solar roof which provides all of its power, with air source heating for its offices. The surrounding area will have over 3,000 trees planted, to help it blend with its rural location and promote biodiversity.
About Feritech Global
Established in 2012, Feritech Global Ltd is a solution provider specializing in designing and building products that are used in extreme marine environments.
Feritech Global built its reputation by carrying out marine geotechnical surveys. This typically involves going out into deep oceans and sending down specialized equipment to take soil and rock samples from the seabed for analysis. This is vital information for clients who want to build installations out at sea, such as wind turbines, oil pipelines, or undersea cables.
Feritech equipment is designed and built in Cornwall. Feritech offer sales and rental of equipment for offshore engineering as well as providing engineering teams to deliver geotechnical surveying and engineering operations around the world. Having gained a reputation for tackling very challenging projects in harsh environments, this created demand for Feritech’s advanced engineering skills across a range of different areas, including aerospace and telecoms.
With customers in over forty countries around the globe, Feritech won the ‘International Success’ category in the Tech South West Awards in November 2021.
This year, Feritech enters a new phase with the opening of its own, purpose-built £3 million Innovation Centre. The new facility will offer a full range of services including product design, machining, fabrication, electrical, electronics, embedded software, hydraulics and 3D printing services. This will allow Feritech to create exciting new solutions for customers well into the future, and further expand export sales. It will also mean that the company is ideally placed to service the fast-growing Floating Offshore Wind industry.
Feritech also wants its Innovation Centre to become an innovation launchpad for local businesses. By offering these advanced facilities to local product designers, innovators and start-ups, Feritech will provide a local resource for advanced engineering that can help turn early innovation ideas into reality. By having an advanced manufacturing facility in Cornwall, more of this high-value work can stay within the county, and innovative local businesses can develop products and reach out to international markets.
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