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JDR Cable Systems - Steven Parfitt, General Manager
JDR Cable Systems is a global provider of subsea power cables, offshore umbilical systems and specialized marine cables.
The company has just been awarded the contract for the supply of subsea power cables for the first phase of what will be the world’s largest wind farm: the London Array offshore wind farm, which will deliver enough power for approximately 470,000 homes and will make a substantial contribution to the UK government’s target of providing 15% of all electricity supply from renewable sources by 2020.
JDR chose to locate its plant in Hartlepool, North East England, to be at the heart of the UK offshore community and to best serve that community’s ambitious projects while also optimally servicing all of Northern Europe and other markets around the world. Although it has global operations, three out of four of JDR Hartlepool’s key projects now involve renewables in UK waters, and it already supplies cables to the world’s largest existing wind farm, Greater Gabbard, off the Suffolk coast.
Originally from Lincoln, General Manager Steven’s career has taken him all over the world, including considerable spells in Norway and Morocco. Joining JDR as the site was being built, he now lives in an apartment in Hartlepool Marina during the week and joins his family near Doncaster at weekends, finding the commute no problem on the A19. He likes the North East’s 
beaches, walking and eating out, particularly the North African restaurant in Hartlepool, having developed a love of the cuisine in Morocco.
Steven is emphatic about the benefits of JDR’s location in the North East. The proximity to a deep water port is absolutely key to our success for transportation purposes,” he says, “plus we have the Narec testing facility, and the area’s heritage in heavy engineering, shipbuilding and mining skills has adapted well to the new technologies.” The plant handles research and development as well as manufacturing cables of up to 2,000 tonnes, and has good working partnerships with local universities as well as Narec, benefiting from their extensive and growing bank of knowledge and experience of the field. Currently employing just over 50 people, JDR has recruited the majority of its workforce from the skills base available locally, and hopes that the London Array project together with up and coming round 3 projects could create up to 150 more jobs within the company over the next five years.
"North East England has the potential to be THE centre for renewable energy."
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