UK Subsea Services Company Announces Plans to Double Workforce

UK-based Rovco, a subsea ROV and hydrographic company, announced Monday plans to double its workforce as it prepares for global expansion.

The company, which recently relocated to larger premises in Bristol, UK, said it is on course to increase its headcount to around 40 workers by the end of next year. Rovco is currently advertising several vacancies on its website, including positions such as ROV pilots and software engineers.

“This is an exciting time for the company and we have identified a number of opportunities to grow our business. We are seeing a more optimistic outlook across the industry and our plans for the next 12-months reflect this,” Brian Allen, CEO of Rovco, said in a company statement.

“We have a number of key regions where we see opportunity for expansion, with a focus on oil and gas in the UK, Europe, Asia Pacific, North and West Africa markets,” he added.

“A key part of our growth strategy is investing in R&D. We already offer innovative solutions for subsea survey, but over the next 12-months we plan to invest another GBP 2 million – GBP 3 million ($2.6 - $3.9 million) in our technology. We are looking at projects including applied artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicle path planning and live 3D underwater computer vision,” Allen continued.

Rovco was founded by Brian Allen, Iain Wallace and Joe Tidball over 2016 and 2017. Allen is an ex-offshore superintendent with 16 years of subsea experience; Wallace is a computer vision and artificial intelligence specialist; and Tidball is a category A Hydrographic Surveyor.

The company is majority owned by the existing management team, and grant funded by InnovateUK, the UK’s innovation agency.