A key figure in the country's subsea sector has hailed the North East's strengths in design and manufacturing of world-leading equipment, ahead of a new facility being opened in Newcastle.
Neil Gordon, who leads the Global Underwater Hub (GUH), said the city had been chosen by the trade body for one of its two forthcoming bases because of its cluster of firms including subsea cabling, robotics and shipbuilding specialists. Work is underway to ready the Walker Offshore Technology Park base for opening this summer.
The building, leased from Shepherd Offshore, is due to host a 50-seat auditorium and TV studio space which will be used by Mr Gordon and his team to host visiting international delegations, help North East firms to feature in national and overseas events and convene industry players to determine skills requirements. The Newcastle location will be the focal point for the Hub's work across the 11 northern local enterprise partnership areas that make up the NP11 - stretching from the Liverpool City Region to Hull and East Yorkshire.
