International welding and subsea fabrication specialist, Serimax, have strengthened their presence in Norway with the appointment of Jan Langeland as Country Manager.

Langeland has over 35 years’ experience in the Norwegian oil and gas industry including lengthy spells with Statoil and latterly with Subsea 7 as Supply Chain Category Director.

Langeland will be based in Serimax’s new office at Forus in Stavanger and the company is planning a recruitment campaign in response to increased demand for their range of services from Norwegian operators and First Tier contractors.

Part of the Vallourec Group, Serimax, provides welding solutions for offshore deepwater pipelines, spoolbase design and management, landlines welding and subsea fabrication. The company has a long track record of successful projects in Norway, including the provision of the Ormen Lange North spool-pieces for Subsea 7 and the Asgard spool-pieces for Technip Norge which were both completed at Kristiansund.

Dave Mackay, vice president of Serimax North East Europe, said: “Jan brings a wealth of operational experience to our Norwegian business, adds value to our existing clients and he will be instrumental in spearheading expansion in this strategically important market.

“We are looking to establish strategic alliances with Norwegian companies which can benefit from our experience in working on complex and technically challenging projects across the world. We also believe in having a strong local content in our workforce wherever in the world we are operating and will be looking to increase our Norwegian head count in the year ahead.”

Jan Langeland added: “There are many opportunities in the Norwegian oil and gas industry for a company of Serimax’s international standing and I am looking forward to strengthening existing relationships with key clients and introducing Serimax’s range of specialist services to a new generation of clients.”