Middlesbrough-based Industrial and Marine Hydraulics (IMH) has opened a new facility at the Port of Blyth to provide full on-site service and inspection operations.

The company — founded on Teesside in 1983 by engineer Paul Griffiths — now operates in more than 50 countries and supports customers in a wide range of sectors, including oil and gas, sub-sea, offshore and onshore renewables, nuclear and automotive.

Companies at the Northumberland port will be able to tap into hydraulic solutions, inspection and service capabilities provided by IMH, including flushing rigs and testing equipment.

IMH engineers (www.imh-uk.com) will be joined at the new facility by Stockton-on-Tees-based MJR Controls Ltd — a provider of electrical and instrumentation control systems that complement IMH’s hydraulic solutions — and Ferschl, a specialist hose supplier that has worked closely with IMH for many years.

Customers can also benefit from IMH’s capabilities in design, manufacture, installation, component supplies, consultancy and training, which are delivered through its Middlesbrough head office.

The company has an internationally recognised track record in the marine sector; it has worked on projects including the design and manufacture of an innovative linkspan restraint system — a device that locks a ship’s stern onto the berth without the use of mooring ropes — and has undertaken work for Allseas on Pioneering Spirit, the world’s largest pipe-laying and construction vessel.

IMH also has extensive experience of jack-up vessels, steering gear, thrusters, watertight doors, ship and port cranes, and ballast systems.