This month, our founder, Brian Smith, delivered a fascinating presentation on the history of SLPE, from its inception to present day. It was an eye-opening and enriching experience, seeing how the business has grown and evolved over time, not to mention a compelling reminder of just how much experience SLPE has built up over the years.

Did you know that our name originated from Sea and Land Pipelines, a private engineering company established in 1967 in Lowestoft, Suffolk?

It was in 1986 that SLP rose to prominence in the design and construction of offshore accommodation modules under the ownership of George Wimpey. Between 1991 to 2000, SLP continued to excel in the design and fabrication of offshore platforms as part of Odebrecht, delivering a range of topsides and jackets for oil and gas facilities – at one point operating fabrication yards in Lowestoft and Teesside with engineering offices in Uxbridge and Woking.

As a result of a management buyout, an independent SLP group emerged in the 2000s with a renewed focus on wind energy, oil and gas, and precast concrete products for subsea pipelines. Amongst other projects, SLP delivered several met masts for the North Sea and Irish Sea, followed by our first major offshore wind project in 2008-2010, the design of the Thanet offshore wind turbine foundations and offshore substation.

In 2010, the engineering design team, based in New Malden, became independent with Brian Smith as its Managing Director and traded as Sea and Land Project Consultants (SLPC). Under Brian’s leadership, the company went from strength to strength, delivering numerous concept and detailed designs for offshore wind farms in Germany, the UK and Belgium.

Following Smulders’ purchase of SLPC’s assets in 2018, we became Sea and Land Project Engineering (SLPE), the company we are today. Whilst benefiting from our shareholders’ support and fabrication expertise, we are given the accountability to operate independently as a UK-based engineering consultancy. Thank you to Brian for sharing his profound, heartfelt and inspirational story.

To celebrate the occasion, we have shared a few images of some of the projects Brian has been involved with over the years:

EON Babbage

P11E MFP for Oranje-Nassau Energie (ONE)

SeaMade

Thanet