A GREAT Yarmouth company which supplies engineering and services for shallow water, jackup depth markets is celebrating its 25th anniversary.The anniversary falls during a period when the business has maintained strong growth, expanded not only geographically and but also in terms of its product and service range, and undertaken a significant corporate rebranding exercise.

A GREAT Yarmouth company which supplies engineering and services for shallow water, jackup depth markets is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The anniversary falls during a period when the business has maintained strong growth, expanded not only geographically and but also in terms of its product and service range, and undertaken a significant corporate rebranding exercise.

Set up in 1985 by Bob Claxton, in Yarmouth, the company had a revenue of �33m in the last full financial year. While Claxton's main base remains in Yarmouth, bases have also been established in Aberdeen and, most recently, in Dubai.

Claxton became part of the leading oilfield service group Acteon in 1999. However, there is still a strong family involvement in the business: Laura Claxton has the role of managing director and Dannie Claxton, technical director.

Laura Claxton said: “We started the business with a handful of passionate people and premises that didn't have running water! Since then Claxton has become a flagship company within Acteon and a genuinely international organisation. We are proud of our staff retention record and can boast over 800 years of oilfield experience within the 100- strong workforce in Great Yarmouth.”

From being focused on the North Sea market, Claxton now competes on the global stage with the biggest names in the international oil and gas services industry. Clients number more than 250 and include many of the world's leading oil and gas exploration and production companies.

The company has forged its reputation in the well services area, with the emphasis on drilling riser technology, well conductor engineering, drilling template design and fabrication, well tieback operations and well decommissioning. Claxton also holds one of

the largest jackup drilling riser inventories in the UK. Riser rental constitutes a significant part of the business, with customers attracted by the speed with which Claxton is able to mobilise equipment.

Most recently, it supplied the first full-bore, ultra-high pressure drilling riser pipe specifically for use by a jackup rig. Recognition of the company's success has come in the form of a continual stream of industry awards. These range from the Queen's Award for Export Achievement, in 1998, to the Spirit of Enterprise “Great Engineering Company” Award in 2009.