Celtico Collaboration Unites 12 Welsh Engineering Firms for Major Renewable Energy Projects
A groundbreaking new collaboration has been established to give leading engineering and manufacturing firms in Wales a powerful collective voice. Named Celtico, this initiative aims to provide a robust platform for securing new workloads related to major renewable energy projects across the United Kingdom.
Bringing Together Industry Leaders
Celtico brings together 12 prominent firms based across South Wales. The founding partners collectively employ more than 1,400 highly skilled people and generate an impressive annual turnover exceeding £250 million. Their diverse capabilities span fabrication, machining, marine engineering, coating, assembly, and advanced manufacturing.
Rather than operating as a single consolidated company, Celtico has been strategically created as a collaborative entity. This innovative approach offers developers, contractors, and major procuring bodies a single point of engagement, backed by the combined scale, extensive capability, and deep experience of all its member companies.
Positioning Wales as a Centre of Excellence
As major renewable and national infrastructure projects transition from the planning phase into active delivery, Celtico has a clear strategic mission. The collaboration aims to ensure that Wales is not only fully prepared to participate but is strategically positioned as a recognised centre of excellence for high-value engineering, manufacturing, and marine capability.
The founding partners of Celtico include a prestigious roster of firms: 3Ks Engineering Company, Afon Engineering, J.E.S. Group, King Site Services (South West), Ledwood Mechanical Engineering, Mainstay Marine Solutions, Mii Engineering, Pro-Steel Engineering, Rhyal Engineering, Site Heat Treatment Services, Techno Engineering (Jenkins & Davies), and Weldlec. Discussions are already actively underway with additional companies expressing strong interest in joining this growing and influential collaboration.
Strategic Support and Market Opportunities
Celtico receives crucial support from the Swansea Bay City Deal skills and talent Programme, which is funded by both the UK and Welsh Governments. The collaboration works in close partnership with the Regional Learning and Skills Partnership to effectively align industry demand with targeted skills development and sustainable workforce growth.
The timing of this initiative is particularly significant. With offshore wind capacity set for substantial expansion in the Celtic Sea—where developers have options to deliver three major floating offshore wind farms capable of powering millions of homes—alongside growing opportunities in tidal range energy, grid infrastructure, hydrogen production, and carbon capture technologies, developers are increasingly seeking robust, integrated supply chains. These chains must be capable of delivering at scale while maximising local content and generating tangible regional economic benefits.
Simplifying Procurement and Building Resilience
Celtico has stated it will offer developers a significantly simplified procurement process, helping to reduce project risk and increase certainty of timely delivery. Furthermore, the collaboration is committed to supporting local hiring initiatives, continuous skills development, and strengthening UK-based manufacturing capacity.
Andrew Beer, chairman of Celtico and chair of the regional learning and skills partnership manufacturing cluster, emphasised the collaboration's purpose: "Celtico was created to address a long-standing challenge. Wales has world-class engineering companies, but too often they've been perceived as too small individually to access major contract packages. By coming together strategically, we can offer the scale, capability, and credibility required to compete for and successfully deliver the UK's most ambitious energy projects."
Beer added, "This collaboration is about much more than simply winning work. It's fundamentally about building a strong, resilient regional supply chain, keeping vital economic value within Wales, and ensuring that local companies and their skilled workforce play a central and defining role in the national energy transition."
Nick Revell, managing director of Ledwood Mechanical Engineering and a key member of Celtico, provided further insight: "Developers are actively looking for certainty, speed, and proven capability, and that's precisely what the Celtico model provides. Our collaborative framework gives clients a single, trusted route into a highly skilled regional supply chain, eliminating the traditional complexity of managing multiple individual contractors."
Revell continued, "Simultaneously, we are creating genuine, sustainable opportunities for Welsh businesses and workers by meticulously aligning project delivery with strategic skills development, targeted training, and long-term industrial capacity building. This initiative is about setting Wales up to succeed not just in offshore wind and tidal range sectors, but across the entire spectrum of the emerging low-carbon economy."
Ioan Jenkins, executive adviser at Celtico, expressed his enthusiasm: "This is such an exciting and transformative project to be a part of, with immense potential to make a profound and lasting difference to this region. The global energy landscape is changing rapidly, and this strategic venture offers local companies a unique and timely opportunity to play their crucial part in delivering the UK's next generation of renewable energy and low-carbon infrastructure projects."
