AMARINTH: Leading Independent Engineering Specialist Diversifying for Growth

Effective and reliable supply chains are one of the foundations of a successful energy transition. To gradually shift from systems based on fossil fuels, moving to less carbon intensive methods of substantial power generation, efficient engineering is required across the entire chain. Fortunately for the UK, engineering skills are in strong supply.

In Rendlesham, in rural Suffolk in the UK’s east, the last independent pump manufacturing business is nurturing its reputation for excellence as it continues on its own transition journey. 

Amarinth was founded in 2002 by Oliver with brother Alex Brigginshaw joining in 2010. The goal was to design and manufacture pumps and associated equipment for the energy sector and other heavy industry spheres. 

Early on, the pair knew that their bespoke nature was their strength. A deep understanding of the customers needs meant that Amarinth could design and supply bespoke equipment to meet the demands within the specialist industries.

The pumps are perfect for a range of uses across oil and gas, petrochemical, chemical, industrial, power, marine, LNG and desalination markets, all manufactured in the UK to the highest safety and industry quality standards. 

“Our range of centrifugal pumps are completely custom built,” Commercial Director Alex Brigginshaw tells Energy Focus. “We are proud of our privately-owned status and it is becoming more unique because many of the big pump manufacturers have acquired specialist manufacturers over the last 30 years.” 

This industry amalgamation has resulted in a problem. Growing demand from end users for robust documentation and reporting on certification and standard accreditation has become too much for some. The result is large volumes of standardised systems manufactured across the industry, and many being sent to work in the field. But when a compliance officer requests information about process or project management, it is either difficult to source or unavailable. 

“We have certainly realised the demand for quality project management as well as product,” admits Brigginshaw. “For example, if you’re designing a custom titanium product for a sour service, a single unit could be up to £250,000 but the demand for traceability and certification—and how that is project managed—is now running parallel with the quality of product at the end. Historically, pump manufacturers agreed to the job but were then late on delivery and there was no paper trail to discover why. End users said enough is enough, and there is massive demand for quality managed processes. That has allowed us, as a smaller business specialising in custom niche applications, to become preferred because we are extremely agile and we have the ability to manage effectively.” 

Amarinth boasts ISO 9001, 45001, 14001, and 14064 management systems, it is a member of the Energy Industries Council and the British Standards Institution, and offers various trade association memberships and product accreditations. The company makes all documentation extremely easy to find through its website and team, and is proactive in the delivery of efficient project management. Brigginshaw explains that established partnerships are a great benefit for traceability. 

“Many manufacturers now get torrid feedback from customers, and the industry has been uniquely poor in terms of documentation for customers but we have used the same partners in our manufacturing supply chain for the last two decades and that is where we manage the entirety of a project which has built our reputation for quality. A third-party inspector or end user can come and see that all documentation is completed when a product is completed and not a year down the line.” 

HISTORIC SUPPLY CHAINS  

Success in delivery has created a reputation that Amarinth guards closely. The company is now recognised as a UK industry leader in specialist engineering with expertise in materials and processes. Brigginshaw says that some end users are now insistent on Amarinth involvement in projects and that bodes well for the business. 

“Like anything else in business, you have to be clear on strategy and steer things down a route that make sense to you and align with where things are going. You stay close to purchasers and buyers, and that is what we do well – we stay niche,” he says. “We don’t want a business that churns out 100 pumps in every scale and size all the time. We have fantastic engineers and many of them have been here for more than a decade, but we have to keep them excited. We challenge our engineers and we give them difficult problems to solve, and a lot of the competition will never even consider taking on such projects.” 

To be able to operate with such agility while delivering consistent quality, Amarinth partners with local suppliers where possible, working as a unified team. Brigginshaw has personal oversight of collaboration and believes in traditional, long-term, mutually beneficial relationships where quality is a shared goal and customer satisfaction is non-negotiable. Having such strong allies helps the company to mitigate challenges in supply chains including delays or incomprehensible cost increases. 

“In manufacturing, the days of simply placing an order and waiting for a component are long gone,” he says. “Our operating model has always been that we would not do our own machining, welding, or painting. You simply cannot be an expert in every sub-element of engineering. To address this, we have focussed on establishing robust supply relationships with specialist qualified sub suppliers such as foundries, as close as 10 miles from our assembly facility. This allows us to focus on supporting demanding Industries such as the Nuclear and oil and gas where we have created collaborative working relationships based on trust and expertise.” 

DIVERSIFICATION  

Amarinth’s process pumps, skid packages, condensate recovery units, seal support systems and more have been traditionally deployed in the oil and gas industry, and today that market represents 50% of the company’s business. Currently and recently active on projects in Abu Dhabi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Lithuania, and more, the company is keen to continue supporting projects in oil and gas while also looking to further develop its business in related sectors including floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG), LNG, hydrogen, and nuclear. 

The company invests heavily in research and development to ensure its products and processes are the best. Again, this is not standard practice across internationally owned pump manufacturers, and it allows Amarinth to see trends ahead of the rest of the industry. 

“R&D has always been a part of our business since the beginning. During the last oil crash, we were 70% exposed to that industry so we knew we needed to diversify. We are now 50% in oil and gas but every year that goes by we are planning for how that can change,” details Brigginshaw. “When you have thousands of units globally, they can remain in the field for 25 or 30 years and so spares and service becomes crucial to on-going operations. We are also finding that upgrade and adaptation is important for clients. For example, where we have 10 pumps supplied to key clients in the Middle East, their processes are changing and they are coming to us to review existing assets to enhance them to make them safer and more efficient.” 

Rising demand for natural gas – a market expected to grow by 11% CAGR until 2029 – is also opening up opportunities for Amarinth. For the past few years, the company has been developing new cryogenic pumping capabilities and exploring uses in the movement and storage of gas. In October 2024, when the company announced its $1 million LNG contract in Mozambique, Oliver Brigginshaw underlined Amarinth’s focus on natural gas, saying: “The specific needs of this project once again demonstrate our capability to provide critical pumping solutions under tight deadlines and in challenging environments. With Coral North set to double LNG production from the Coral field, this project will play a pivotal role in Mozambique’s energy future. It also highlights Amarinth’s commitment to supporting Africa’s energy growth, where we continue to invest and expand our operations.” 

Alex says that there will not be a knee-jerk shift to natural gas to chase short-term success. The company has built its presence through long-term industry exposure, and will continue to research and evaluate all opportunities.

“Oil and gas will be here for 50 years at least,” he states. “How you deal with the transition while still supplying into that industry is what is important. Each year, people are more educated, and they realise there is a transition. For us, it’s an exciting period because we look at ourselves 10 years ago when we were focused on sour service and high particulate filter pumping for oil and gas, but we are now also developing pumps for carbon capture and hydrogen. We are looking at cryogenic and multistage pumps, and we are also engaged with Rolls-Royce for micro modular nuclear reactors as we look at where that market will move in the next decade.” 

The nuclear industry is particularly interesting for Amarinth, located close to the Sizewell B Nuclear Power Plant and the Sizewell C project from EDF and a member of the supply chain advisory consortium. The UK government recently announced that it would speed up development of nuclear projects to boost energy security and reduce usage of fossil fuels. Amarinth is a certified Fit for Nuclear (F4N) manufacturer and is excited about the long-term growth opportunities in the nuclear industry. 

“We are actively supplying to EDF for the Sizewell projects which are very close to us. We are supplying for non-reactor components at Sizewell B and we are also excited for the Sizewell C development. We remain interested in the entire EDF fleet and are always working on R&D around what could be required. Dungeness and Hinkley are having extension periods added and they need servicing. Some of the original OEM pump manufacturers who serviced those projects in the beginning are now obsolete. We have been able to take OEM pumps from those sites and design something that is dimensionally interchangeable but made by Amarinth. That allows them to fit new pumps with the confidence that they are of the standards they would require but with a support element behind it.”

This type of service in the nuclear space is not common, with only selected companies able to boast F4N status. The company has earned its position in supply chains through pioneering spirit and effectively managing change. Now, Amarinth has positioned itself perfectly to assist in both transitional and traditional energies, bringing quality engineering, thorough project management, robust documentation, and a problem-solving mentality. “You just don’t get that from a multinational pump conglomerate,” closes Brigginshaw.