Whittaker Engineering goes global in search of new opportunities

Whittaker Engineering’s Murray Whittaker on the Aberdeenshire’s firm pivot to global energy marketsExport growth is increasingly becoming a necessity rather than a choice for Scotland’s specialist engineering firms. As domestic demand softens in key sectors such as oil and gas, businesses built on decades of North Sea expertise are being forced to look outward, following customers into global markets where investment remains strong.For Whittaker Engineering, that shift is already well under way. The Aberdeenshire firm sits in 15th place on the Export 100 growth list, with export sales of £2 million against a turnover of £13.7m, according to accounts filed in December 2024.The company, which has 141 employees, is using its technical capability and long-standing industry relationships to win work overseas, positioning itself within international energy supply chains as growth opportunities move beyond the UK. Indeed, Murray Whittaker, its director of projects, says the company’s growth is increasingly being shaped by overseas projects, with work following long-standing customers into markets, including West Africa, Mexico, Norway, and the Gulf of Mexico.He says: “What drives our growth is the reduction of domestic requirements for our services in energy in oil and gas. The UK market is diminishing, but the rest of the world is absolutely not diminishing.“All new growth is basically outside the UK for bigger projects, so we will chase that market as it grows.”That shift sits at the heart of the firm’s export story. Rather than building growth through consumer sales or one-off transactions, Whittaker Engineering is following established industrial relationships into global energy-producing regions.The model is built on repeat business, technical credibility, and decades of delivery in one of the world’s most demanding offshore environments.Murray explains that much of the overseas work comes from the same customer base the business has supported in North Sea operations for more than 40 years. He says: “It’s pretty much the same customers that we’ve had in the North Sea for 43 years. When they go abroad, they call the same companies and give similar services. Technical competence, legacy, reputation and relationships matter.“These are professional relationships built over decades, and that’s how you win work.”That gives Whittaker Engineering a practical route into export markets. Instead of starting from scratch in unfamiliar territories, it is extending existing relationships into international projects where operators still see oil and gas as a strategic priority.The company’s overseas activities centre on engineering, construction, and maintenance services – particularly around pressure vessels and heat exchangers.Those are specialist areas where technical competence, compliance and reputation matter more than marketing.That point reflects a wider trend visible across Scotland’s exporter base. Many of the fastest-growing exporters are not consumer-facing brands but specialist mid-market firms with defined expertise, supplying components, systems and services into global supply chains.In Whittaker Engineering’s case, export growth has also been shaped by a changing domestic backdrop.Murray argues that demand from the UK oil-and-gas market has weakened, while other regions continue to invest. That has pushed companies like his to look outward for larger opportunities.He reports the strongest areas of demand are currently in West Africa, with countries such as Nigeria and Angola remaining active, while Mexico and Norway also continue to generate work. The firm has also seen opportunities linked to projects in the Gulf of Mexico.However, scaling internationally brings its own challenges. Local regulation, compliance, and local content rules can complicate projects, particularly in emerging markets.Murray says: “Local compliance is always a challenge. In places like West Africa there are strong local content rules and restrictions on what can be brought in from abroad.“You need to understand the market properly and sometimes have a local presence to work within those rules.”The business has addressed that in some regions by building a local footprint. In Mexico, where it has operated for more than 17 years, a fully local structure has helped it support international partners and navigate regulatory requirements.The North Sea legacy still counts in those markets. Aberdeen’s engineering base remains recognised internationally, giving Scottish firms a platform to compete in global projects.But maintaining that position requires ongoing investment. Murray insists technology and advanced machine tools will be critical to staying competitive, while access to skilled labour is becoming an increasing constraint.He says: “It’s going to be technology, advanced machine tools, and capability. But the pool of labour is going to be a real challenge. We have an ageing and shrinking population, and access to skilled people is getting harder. That makes it more difficult to grow a specialist engineering business.”For Murray, export is no longer simply an opportunity, it is central to the future of businesses operating in sectors where UK demand is no longer sufficient.He explains: “Export is going to be your future. In a shrinking [oil and gas] economy like the UK, you need to identify markets for your service and go to them.“You have to get on a plane and be in those markets. That’s the only way to build relationships and really understand where the opportunities are.”Whittaker Engineering is not chasing overseas work as a bolt-on to its UK operations. It is following demand into the markets where customers are still investing and where technical capability built in Scotland continues to carry weight.For the country’s export story, that is an important distinction.Exporting growth is increasingly being driven not just by branded goods, but by specialist Scottish businesses exporting their hard-won expertise into global industries.Whittaker Engineering shows how that works in practice – a mid-market firm using reputation, relationships, and engineering capability to win work in international energy markets.Exporting becoming essential as UK demand diminishesFor many of Scotland’s engineering firms, exporting is no longer a strategy for expansion, it is a response to contraction at home.Whittaker Engineering’s experience reflects a wider shift across the sector.As UK oil and gas activity declines, companies are not simply chasing higher growth markets overseas; they are following demand that has already moved.“The reality is the UK market is diminishing in oil and gas, but the rest of the world is absolutely not,” says managing director Murray Whittaker.Rather than building entirely new customer bases, firms are leveraging long-standing relationships, supporting the same clients as they deploy capital into regions such as West Africa, the Gulf of Mexico, and Latin America.This creates a different model of export growth. It is less about market entry and more about geographic redeployment, shifting capability to where investment still exists.However, this transition comes with trade-offs. Revenue becomes more volatile, regulatory complexity increases and the domestic supply chain begins to thin.In that sense, Scotland’s export growth story is also a story of rebalancing, one where global opportunity is expanding, but local demand is steadily eroding.Five key points for exporters1 Export is no longer optional For Scottish engineering firms, international markets are not growth opportunities, they are survival markets as UK demand declines.2 Customers don’t disappear, they relocate Whittaker Engineering is not actively finding new clients abroad, it is following long-standing North Sea customers into global projects.3 Capability travels Technical expertise built in the North Sea remains globally competitive, particularly in high-spec engineering and maintenance.4 Growth comes with frictionInternational expansion brings regulatory complexity, local content rules, and higher operating costs.5 The real constraint is peopleLabour shortages, an ageing workforce, and reduced access to European talent are emerging as bigger barriers than demand.