Engineering firm opens regional base

Rail subcontractor CEI Collins Engineers has recruited nine staff to its first office in England, based in Salford.

The office in Paragon House in Salford Quays, headed by Gary Hastie, provides engineering services across Network Rail's infrastructure, with Collins' engineers and technicians specialising in rope access inspections, confined space entry and underwater examinations of railway bridges, culverts, retaining walls, and CCTV and radio masts.

Gerry Hennity, Collins' technical manager for the UK, based in Belfast, said: "We've been looking to expand our UK operations for some time and discussions have been ongoing for more than 12 months with regards to Network Rail's Civil Examination Framework Agreement – CEFA.

"We've recruited nine new staff for our Greater Manchester office and it is intended that the skillset of the team is not only sustainable for Network Rail but also transferable to other infrastructure sectors. In these difficult economic times, we're hoping to further expand the business and thank MIDAS for their assistance in helping us to achieve this."

Tim Newns, chief executive of Midas, said: "Greater Manchester continues to be a key European centre for engineering and with hundreds of millions of pounds allocated to be spent on transport and infrastructure across Greater Manchester and the wider North of England over the coming decades, it makes absolute sense to leverage Manchester for both the market opportunities and talent availability that the city provides."

Collins was founded in Chicago in 1979 and has been operating in Ireland since 2001 and the UK since 2006.