News / More funding for boat builders
LOCAL boat building and engineering firm Malakoff is to receive £120,000 from Highlands and Island Enterprise (HIE) over the next three years to support the training and development of staff.
It comes as the Lerwick based company aims to start marketing its workboats internationally.
Malakoff opened a new boat building facility at Greenhead Base last year and six new jobs have already been created there.
Its first piece of work was to build a 14-metre workboat for Cooke Aquaculture, while in August it constructed a small ferry to serve the west coast island of Kerrera.
HIE previously pledged £214,486 to Malakoff to help pay for building modifications and equipment for the new facility, as well as for staff training.
Malakoff project manager Ryan Stevenson said the boatbuilding department had been planned for years.
“This is an exciting expansion for the Malakoff and is keeping with the company’s heritage and experience,” he said.
“The new department will hopefully prove a useful asset to local boat operators and we hope that it will also generate more orders from outside of Shetland. It has been essential to have the support of HIE in developing the new workshop and we are very grateful for their continued assistance.”
Katrina Wiseman, head of business growth at HIE in Shetland, added that “Malakoff has in-depth experience of the design and construction of larger steel workboats and the early days of salmon farming in Scotland”.
“Investing in training and development at Malakoff will ensure there is a highly skilled, engaged and productive workforce which is essential to the growth of the business,” she said.
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