Mr North has over four decades of experience in the engineering and oil and gas industries and has held senior management roles in Europe, North America and the Middle East.

The company has operations in Canada, Texas, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, and Malaysia. It specialises in pressurised pipeline isolation, hot tapping and plugging services to the global oil, gas and petrochemical industries.

Leigh Howarth, chief executive, said: “Garry’s strong leadership qualities and his demonstrated ability to lead diverse teams, in different geographies, will deliver tangible benefits to the group.

“His focus will be to maintain and build on our excellent safety culture and to define and deliver improved operating processes, procedures and standards, to ensure we continue to meet the expectations of our growing client base.”

In addition to energy sector experience, Mr North has held executive positions in the aerospace, defence, petrochemicals and manufacturing industries, where he achieved significant business improvement and increased profitability.

Mr North added: “STATS Group is well established, highly regarded in its specialist field but remains entrepreneurial and inventive in addressing the pressing issues faced by its client base. My aim is to identify where we can fine tune and improve established procedures and to look at fresh ways of getting the optimum performance from the resources at our disposal.

“Any changes will firmly place safety and providing a safe working environment for our staff and end clients as a priority, while enhancing the entrepreneurial foundations on which the business has been established.”