Movers & Shakers: Recruitment consultancy Cooper Lomaz aiming to go global

Cooper Lomaz is building on its established reputation for recruiting the very best engineers and managers for cutting-edge companies working in the multi-billion-pound oil, gas and renewables sectors.

“Cooper Lomaz is really excited to be here,” said operations manager Mark Fletcher. “All the big operators have offices in the Orbis Centre. It is the place to be for anything related to the energy industry.”

The number of consultants based in Lowestoft has been increased from one to four. Two of the new team have specialist experience in recruiting senior staff for firms engaged in Floating Platforms Storage Operations. FPSO is a type of oil and gas production common in deep-water locations off the coasts of South America, Africa and South East Asia. Oil is pumped directly from the source to floating storage platforms.

“In the past we have focused on servicing firms in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft and projects in the North Sea. Now we are able to place staff globally,” said Mr Fletcher. “This move is setting us up to deliver some great services to clients and candidates.”

Recruiting for FPSO adds to the track record Cooper Lomaz has earned in matching candidates to senior positions for the mushrooming windfarm sector. It is also supplying management personnel to specialist firms harnessing new technology to extract further oil and gas from already worked fields.

Recruiters dip into global energy market from new Lowestoft base.

“There is said to be as much oil and natural gas to be taken out of the North Sea in the next 20 years as has been taken out in last 20 years. Drilling and well technology has improved so much it means deposits which were not viable a few years ago are now viable,” said Mr Fletcher.

“There is a lot of decommissioning work to be done too. There are a whole lot of platforms now coming to the end of their lives which will have to be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. There are a significant number of wells that have to be plugged and abandoned. The whole process needs specialist engineers. There is an estimated £30-50bn worth of decommissioning work in the North Sea over the next 20 years.”

With thousands of candidates on its database – and access to thousands more – Cooper Lomaz knows it can match up the right people for the jobs on offer.

Dan Benson has been manning the until-now one-man office in the Orbis Energy Centre for the past 12 months.

A recruitment consultant with eight years’ experience, Mr Benson has made such progress that Cooper Lomaz has decided to invest heavily in the Lowestoft office.

“We have had a good year and made some real headway. The Cooper Lomaz directors have demonstrated their faith in what we have achieved – and that speaks volumes. Next year promises to be fantastic,” said Mr Benson. “I love what we are doing; absolutely love it.”

FPSO specialists Steve Cook and Ben Olive have joined Cooper Lomaz, having worked together for the past year.

Mr Cook has spent six years in the recruitment business, exclusively in the engineering, construction, oil and gas sector. Lancaster University graduate Mr Olive has worked with him since January.

“FPSO adds another element to what Cooper Lomaz does,” said Mr Cook. “It is all about deep sea production where the seabed is 1000m down, compared with the southern North Sea’s 40m.”

“Cooper Lomaz will always have a focus on the southern North Sea. But now we will be recruiting for West Africa, Brazil and South East Asia as well. Our team is actively recruiting for positions all round the world.

“I am very much looking forward to working at Cooper Lomaz. The firm has a huge reputation and is well respected in the industry, both regionally and nationally. Now we are adding an international flavour to the portfolio.”

Over the past 18 months, Cooper Lomaz has recruited dozens of specialists to fill senior posts for front-line energy industry companies such as Aqueterra Energy, East of England Energy Group (EEEGR), Fugro, Gardline Marine Sciences, SCIRA, Semb Marine SLP Ltd, and SubC.

Typically the posts include executives and managers in health, safety and quality assurance, project management, design and engineering, as well as procurement, finance, IT, sales and marketing.

: : EARLS Colne firm Milbank Concrete Products has appointed Andy Mayne as its new managing director. Current managing director Sean Milbank will take on the role of chairman.

Andy Mayne started his career with Milbank in 1991, working his way through key on-site positions before being promoted to the post of operations director where in 2008 he played a key role in the management team that restructured the business and saved numerous jobs.

He has been part of the same team that has led the way in establishing the company’s current corporate strategy and culture and today Milbank maintains a solid base, currently employing more than 150 people at its Earls Colne base.

Andy said: “I am extremely honoured to be chosen for this position. My 21 years with Milbank have not just given me a practical insight in to the business; they have shown me how deeply the Milbank family thinks about the welfare of its staff and the long-term future of the company. I would like to continue on the framework that the Milbank family started, and that Sean has carried on from his father; to deliver excellence and reinforce stability and security for the future.”

Sean said: “I am proud to say that Milbank has been successful in achieving its strategy over the past two years, maintaining staffing levels despite exceptionally difficult market conditions. Andy is a well-respected leader with a wealth of knowledge and we are confident that he will continue to lead the business from strength to strength.

“The time has come for me to move on to the next challenge and take a step back from my day-to-day role as managing director of Milbank; however, as chairman, I will continue to be actively involved in the business whilst pursuing new opportunities.”

: : IPSWICH-based based digital marketing agency Itineris has attracted top search engine optimisation (SEO) talent from a leading London agency to accommodate growing demand for its specialist search engine optimisation (SEO) service.

Itineris has appointed Kevin Nave as SEO specialist in direct response to increased demand for the service. Kevin will be responsible for creating strategies for customers to drive targeted traffic to their sites and increase return on investment (ROI) from search.

Kevin has a proven track record in the SEO industry and has previously worked on many high profile clients including BT and PlusNet and brings unsurpassed knowledge into the region.

Kevin said: “I was really attracted to Itineris as a leading digital marketing agency outside London who are really going places with a fantastic mix of clients.

“A recent study by Outbrain showed that search is still the number one driver of traffic to sites, beating social media by more than 300%. 75% of people searching never scroll past the first page of results, making sure your site can be seen on Google and other search engines is vital.

“We’ve been working with a company called NT CadCam, who manufacture 3D CAD design software, on their SEO efforts and, to date, we’ve taken them from page four of the Google search results to fourth place on page one, so it’s been incredibly successful.”

Managing director Tim Butcher said: “We’re really pleased to have Kevin on board. He has significant experience in the industry, and a proven track record in improving customers’ ROI using SEO.”

: : MARTLESHAM Heath-based Consense, which provides online community consultation for the energy and property industries, has promoted two established members of staff ahead of a busy start to in 2013.

Emma Kemp, 26 from Ipswich, has been promoted to account director, while Paul Bennett, 34, from Martlesham, has been promoted to head of web development.

Emma, who joined the company from university three years ago, already holds an integral role within the account management team, supporting key clients including National Grid and Scottish Power Renewables.

Her promotion will see her take a more strategic role within the team focusing on business development as well as managing the company’s host of high-profile clients.

Emma is also celebrating her achievement of an ILM Level 3 Award in first line management – an industry recognised qualification designed to give first line managers a solid foundation in their formal development.

Paul, who has 13 years’ industry experience and a Microsoft accreditation in ASP.NET web development, will be responsible for managing the company’s team of professional web developers and developing its digital tools in line with new innovations and technologies.

He will also be responsible for evolving Consense’s award winning Open Debate online consultation system.

Jessica Topham, sirector at Consense said: “Emma and Paul are both core members of our close-knit team and we are delighted to promote them in time for the New Year.

“We have a very busy calendar ahead of us and we’re certain that having individuals like Emma and Paul heading up our team will lead to a very successful and profitable 2013.”