OREANDA-NEWS. Wood Group has appointed three senior engineering specialists who will lead a new team of up to 20 people in the UK to further build Wood Group's capability in vibration, dynamics and noise. This follows the acquisition of BETA Machinery Analysis, a Calgary-based engineering consultancy specializing in advanced vibration analysis, and will include the opening of a Southampton office in January 2016.

Mark Hutchinson will become operations manager of Wood Group's UK vibration team, Jonathon Baker joins as sales and business development manager and Rob Swindell will take on the role of R&D and technical authority.

These appointments bolster Wood Group's integrity management capability by adding subsea vibration and fatigue experience to its onshore expertise. This is the first step towards building a comprehensive vibration service in the UK, with plans to recruit up to 20 people over the next 12 months.

Respected leaders in the UK industry, Mark, Jonathon and Rob have extensive expertise in vibration, fatigue and structural integrity assessment associated with piping, static equipment and structures on topsides, subsea and onshore facilities, across both oil and gas and renewable energy sectors. They have each led and contributed to various JIP studies and have held specialist roles at companies including Xodus Group, AECOM, Petrofac, Ramboll and Bureau Veritas.

The UK-based team will be an extension of the BETA organization, which operates under Wood Group Kenny and is geographically focused on the US, Canada, China and South East Asia. Wood Group aims to grow its vibration, dynamics and noise specialist service line in other key global locations.

Bob MacDonald, CEO of Wood Group Kenny, said: "The acquisition of BETA in June this year complemented Wood Group's existing all-of-facility integrity management capability. Developing a dedicated team in the UK strengthens the investment we have made in our recent acquisition as part of a long term strategy to expand this technical service line globally.

"Fatigue failure due to vibration and other dynamic effects is an important element of a holistic integrity management capability, both at the design stage and on operational facilities. There are a number of synergies with other parts of the business including piping and renewables. We are enhancing key capabilities to sustainably grow our business."