Two Bristol-headquartered high-tech firms operating in the subsea and offshore wind sectors have merged to create the only company of its type in the world while also doubling its workforce over the next year.
Rovco and its spin-off Vaarst have been at the forefront of developing and deploying AI and autonomy enabled services in the offshore wind sector, including revolutionising the way costly underwater repair, maintenance and inspection work is performed.
They will now operate under the Beam brand with what their founder Brian Allen described as a shared mission of helping the sector become more reliable, efficient and cost-effective – so improving its commercial viability compared to oil and gas.
The merged business has a workforce of more than 200 employees working in research, development and deployment to give Beam what it calls an unrivalled offering in cutting-edge automation technologies.
The firm plans to create 200 new jobs over the coming year – 50 in Bristol, 100 in its Edinburgh and Aberdeen offices, and 50 in locations across the world, including 25 in the US and 10 in Asia. as it continues its global growth.
Brian Allen, pictured, who continue in the CEO role, formed Rovco in 2016, with technology spin-off Vaarst launched in 2021.
He said the decision to unite the companies under one name followed several years of rapid growth.
Beam would build on Rovco and Vaarst’s combined years of AI-driven operational expertise and focus on industry-defining research & development and transformative partnerships, he added, by developing industry-leading technological innovations that would increase efficiencies and reduce costs for survey and subsea work across all lifecycle stages.
“Piecemeal policymaking, supply chain issues and the rising workforce shortage have created hurdles in the green energy transition and fuelled a continued reliance on oil and gas,” he said.
“It’s never been more important to find ways to cut costs and project timelines. This merger under a united brand makes Beam the only company in the world with a unique combination of subsea AI, computer vision, sonar and autonomous advanced robotics.
“Our mission is to deliver real world impact in the offshore wind industry by making it cost competitive with oil and gas, which is a pivotal step in ending the world’s dependence on fossil fuels.”
