OTAQ Group Expands Customer Facing Team with Appointment of Beth Holmes As Internal Sales Coordinator.

OTAQ is proud to announce the hiring of Beth Holmes as their new Internal Sales Coordinator. With over five years of experience in Revenue Analysis & Demand Forecast, she will be a valuable asset to our company with her knowledge and understanding of data-aided decision-making processes and strategy development.

Beth has a proven record of being responsible for performance against budget, analysing data to understand future demand forecasts, historical trends, and competitive set activity, and translating this information into actionable recommendations and strategies to achieve budgeted revenue and company goals.

Richard Beesley, CCO at OTAQ Group, says: “It’s not just her background that makes Beth so perfect for the role of Internal Sales Coordinator.  She will bring a fresh perspective and enthusiasm to expand our Commercial department, which is oriented towards improving customer satisfaction through streamlining order process & tracking all sales within OTAQ group .”

Beth also commented: “I am thrilled to be a part of this team. I look forward to bringing fresh eyes and ideas to help pinpoint areas where we need improvement and creating clear tracking systems and reports for all sales and rentals.”

Beth will be based out of OTAQ’s Ulverston office, and she will lead the Internal Commercial Department’s harmonisation with the other departments for leaner and faster company coordination.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Gareth Hammond as Business Development Manager for OTAQ’s Aquaculture division as part of our continued commercial expansion strategy.

Gareth, who joins us from Vaki where he was managing their fish counter and net pen aeration UK and Ireland business for over five years, said “My focus is to promote and grow the Aquaculture business for OTAQ’s expanding product portfolio within the industry globally. OTAQ’s approach towards innovative technology and collaborative working with customers to find practical solutions that improve their operational efficiencies are key reasons for me wanting to join the OTAQ team. I look forward to getting involved.”

Our Chief Commercial Officer, Richard Beesley, who joined OTAQ in August 2021 said, “Gareth’s appointment is an important step in our overall growth strategy for the Aquaculture market. With his wealth of knowledge and experience in fish farming technologies and operations, as well as his enthusiasm to bring innovative solutions to market, Gareth is a great fit and we are very pleased to have him join the team.”

As well as expanding sales on OTAQ’s existing products such as our acoustic deterrent system Sealfence,  underwater IP cameras and laser measurement systems, Gareth will be focused on the  introduction of exciting new OTAQ marine technologies that will be coming to the market within the next 12 months.

For any queries relating to our product range and sales please contact [email protected]

26/01/2022

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Eagle IP Vision. A brand-new product set to fill a gap in OTAQ’s offering, Eagle IP Vision is an addition to the current Eagle IP range which will enable users to record video for underwater HD cameras.

Complimenting our existing Eagle IP system, the new piece of kit is a portable recording system compatible with our existing Eagle IP HD underwater cameras designed for use in harsh environments, complete with a robust, waterproof multi-point touch-pad. The Haptic feedback enables the system to be fully operational in all weather conditions.

Eagle IP vision has been engineered for operation in open boats and on back decks of larger vessels, and is designed around an industry-standard PELI case that is fully IP65 waterproof rated when open (IP67 when closed).

The Eagle IP Vision will give users the ability to deploy the market-leading system capturing footage from some of the world’s harshest, most remote environments, and is set to benefit a long list of industries including offshore energy, pipeline inspection, Aquaculture for seabed surveys and general underwater inspection i.e moorings and nets, and onshore operations such as public utilities and hydro dams.

Chris Hyde, Chief Technology Offer, OTAQ, said: “Our highly experienced engineering team has brought this technology to life over the past year, and we are please to be able to offer this new product to complete our Eagle IP system”.

“Innovation is at the forefront of everything we do, and this latest addition bolsters our position as global experts in underwater technology.”

For more information about OTAQ please visit www.offshore.otaq.com

OTAQ, the marine technology products and solutions group for the global aquaculture and offshore oil and gas industries, is pleased to announce the acquisition of the trade and assets of ROS Technology Limited (“ROS Technology”).

OTAQ has acquired the trade and assets of ROS Technology for a consideration of up to £300,000 to be satisfied from existing cash resources (the “Acquisition”). The Acquisition consideration comprises initial consideration of £225,000 and up to a further £75,000 of deferred consideration, payable in two instalments of £37,500 over the next two years, subject to certain criteria.

Founded and managed by Dr Peter Robinson, ROS Technology is an innovative technology business which specialises in electronics and mechanical design in multiple industries including aquaculture and offshore. The Acquisition will add existing revenue generating contracts and greatly enhance OTAQ’s aquaculture R&D capability as the Company looks to broaden its product offering.

As part of the Acquisition, Peter will join the Company and have responsibility for the continued development of the acquired ROS Technology products as well as joining the existing OTAQ R&D team. A technology innovator for over 40 years and formerly a founder of OTAQ and designer of the original SealFence product, Peter is well known to the Directors of OTAQ and has recently assisted the Company in its work with the US aquaculture company, Minnowtech LLP.

For the unaudited year ended 30 June 2020, ROS Technology generated revenues of approximately £312,000 and made a profit before tax of approximately £152,000. As at 30 June 2020, its unaudited gross assets amounted to approximately £196,000.

Commenting on the Acquisition, Phil Newby, Chief Executive at OTAQ, said:

“We are very pleased to welcome Peter back to OTAQ through the acquisition of his business, ROS Technology. Peter is well known to the Directors of OTAQ and has a first-class track record for developing ground breaking technologies.  At a time where OTAQ is broadening its product and service portfolio to a global client base looking for competitive advantage in its markets, this is an exciting addition to our research and development capability.”

OTAQ Group, a UK based marine technology group operating around the world in the aquaculture and offshore energy sectors, announced today that it had completed the acquisition of Marinesense Ltd.

Marinesense are world leaders in underwater leak detection and precision laser measurement systems for the offshore energy industry.  They are considered specialists in underwater optics, lasers and video systems and have been operating since 2007 from their base in Aberdeen, UK.

Going forward Marinesense will become part of OTAQ Offshore with all their products becoming available directly from OTAQ in Aberdeen or through a network of partners around the world.

Marinesense’s core product is Oceansense which has over the last 12 years become the industry standard in underwater leak cement return detection.  The system is used around the world to detect leaks in hydraulic control lines on subsea production structures or to detect dye in cement during well completions.   The system is used by many of the world’s biggest offshore and subsea operators including Oceaneering, Subsea 7, Rever, Halliburton, Fugro and Technip FMC

Dr Harry Rotsch, founder and managing director of Marinesense said “We have been considering for some time what the best route for Marinesene to reach its full potential was.  It was very important to me that we ended up with new owners who shared both our values and our product vision and I am very happy that we have found that in OTAQ Group.”  Harry will continue as Technical Director for the OTAQ Offshore division.

Phil Newby, CEO of OTAQ Group said   “The acquisition of Marinesense is a very important milestone in the growth of OTAQ Group and will allow our Offshore division to provide a range of world class underwater technology products with an incredible track record. We are very excited about several new products that are in the pipeline and how the expanded team will enhance our engineering resource across the group.”

OTAQ Offshore will be based from its new facilities within Campus Two of Aberdeen Innovation Park.

OTAQ, a Scottish company designing and manufacturing technology for the global fish farming industry, has been announced as one of the biggest winners of the Scottish Edge awards, with a prize of £100,000.

The competition, aimed at identifying and supporting Scotland’s up-and-coming, innovative and entrepreneurial talent invited OTAQ to pitch at the finals of the event in Edinburgh this week where over £1.27million in grants and loans was awarded.

The Oban based firm scooped £100,000 after Commercial Director Chris Hyde led the firm’s pitch on their launch product, an innovative new deterrent system called SealFENCE which uses unique underwater acoustic technology to prevent seals from attacking marine sites.

With estimates that seal and sea lion losses can be as much as 10% of production in many areas, SealFENCE solves an industry wide problem all in a package designed to operate in the world’s harshest environments.

From 239 original applicants, just 22 of Scotland’s most promising entrepreneurs were invited to pitch their businesses to an expert panel of judges in order to win up to £100,000 each in grant funding and loans. Just 15 of the start-up and growth stage businesses were successful with only OTAQ and two others awarded the full amount applied for.

Chris Hyde, commercial director, OTAQ, said: “This award is going to make a major difference to our company and will mean that we can accelerate our export plans significantly, introduce our product to more markets and recruit more staff this year.

“Our company vision is to become world leaders in aquaculture technology and specifically in acoustic products such as predator control and monitoring systems.  Our key area of expertise lies within underwater acoustics and sonar and we intend to build a reputation as experts in this field within our industry.

Gordon Merrylees, Scottish EDGE board member and Head of Entrepreneurship at Royal Bank of Scotland and Natwest, commented: “the Scottish EDGE has had a huge impact on Scotland’s economy, with our alumni having generated an additional £31.80m in turnover, secured £28.36m in additional investment, and created 641 jobs since receiving their Scottish EDGE funding and support.”

Sir Tom Hunter, renowned Scottish entrepreneur and philanthropist, said: “100% of the net new jobs in the UK will come from businesses less than five years old – the winners at Scottish Edge are the job creators of today… We need to invest in them and nurture them in any way we can to build our economy and to provide the quality jobs our people deserve. We need to build a far greater pipeline of high growth businesses if Scotland is to succeed, Scottish Edge is one critical element of that pipeline and I commend all the entrants – not winners yet – and the winners for their commitment to building great entrepreneurial businesses.”

Chris Hyde of OTAQ, added: “The entire Scottish Edge experience has been invaluable.  The process and feedback from the judges has really makes us focus on our business and how best to communicate what it does; this has put us in very strong position for achieving our vision.”

For more information about Scottish Edge please visit http://www.scotedge.com/about/