Neile Findlay, Managing Director of both Steeltest Australia and the new company RTD Steeltest, expressed that it was both a sad day and a happy day, to see the end of an era, in particular what had been achieved in five years of business with Steeltest which started with three men back in 1999 and now employs between 30 and 40 personnel. Yet on the other hand, the future to come with the new company RTD Steeltest, will be exciting and challenging with further expansion in Australia, Asia and the Middle-East regions.
Steeltest is based in Perth, Australia and achieves an annual turnover of approximately $A7 million. The company has a strong position on the regional pipeline market and has worked closely with RTD over the last five years to secure a major share of the offshore construction contracts for NDT, in particular automated ultrasonic inspection of pipeline girth welds as developed and introduced by RTD, which has revolutionised pipeline inspection.
Marcel Blinde, Managing Director – RTD Project Services and director of RTD Steeltest, commented that the acquisition is in line with RTD’s overall strategy of consolidating its leading position in world NDT, in particular weld inspection during pipeline construction both on and offshore. The group, formed in 1937, continue to be leaders in research and development for the oil and gas industry, developing new inspection methods.
RTD operates world-wide in the field of NDT and engineering inspection with offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Nigeria, USA and Canada. RTD has more than 1,000 employees and an annual turnover of approximately EUR 100 million and looks forward to the expansion in Australia, Asia and the Middle-East and will continuously evaluate growth opportunities in new and mature markets.