As we enter 2026 and look back on the last year, it’s tempting to measure a year in numbers: days saved, tonnes moved, flanges separated. But in 2025, more than most, ThinJack’s story is best told through people, persistence, and moments that mattered.
Chapter 1: Field, Force, and Forward Momentum
The ThinJack team, spearheaded by Rob and Jeffery, separated seized well flanges in the North Sea and Middle East.
Rob, our longest-serving Field Service Engineer, entered his 14th year with ThinJack and continued to thrive, drawing on an unmatched depth of experience. Jeffery, meanwhile, applied his petrochemical engineering background to new and demanding challenges across the North Sea and the Middle East.
They've coped magnificently with the heat and humidity, and Scotland's Winter, including some flanges welded together with 550 tonnes of binding force. (That's 20 times more forceful, and using a service which is an order of magnitude thinner than the most advanced conventional flange spreader).
Customers, both new and longstanding, described ThinJack’s on-site services as “magic.” Whether on surface well platforms or drilling rigs, the results spoke for themselves. The ThinJack team, and our customers, want to thank Rob and Jeffery for their incredible work.
Last year also marked a change in efficiency with our third-generation “ThinJackGAP” system. Jobs are faster and smoother, now saving several days of drilling rig time per tree or spool separation. Interest has grown in using ThinJack services for separating blowout preventer flanges on semi-submersibles and drilling rigs, with one company already making a notable investment in our services.
Thank you to all our customers, whether from today, or through the last two decades where we’ve worked in: Australia, Angola, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Malaysia, The Netherlands, the UAE, the UK and USA.
Flange separation in the Middle East, saving days of drilling rig time. It includes the first deployment of the third-generation “ThinJackGAP”.
Behind the scenes, ThinJack continued to grow.
Last June, Maria joined us following her offshore work with Wellsafe. She quickly distinguished herself, excelling in evening welding classes, and in October became the first new Director appointed to ThinJack Ltd in 18 years. Her presentation at the ICOTA/SPE conference in November was particularly well-received.
A growing, international, customer-facing technology services company depends on many hands. We are deeply grateful to those who jumped into countless tasks last year - especially Lesley, Grace, Mike, Mika, Alex, Kevin, Joseph, Willie, Finlay, Ian, Irene, and Elisabet. And the continued support of our ThinJack alumni.
We truly couldn’t do this without you all.
Our team now spans ages from 19 to 76, and we collectively speak: German; several languages from Ghana, Norwegian, Russian and Romanian.
Special congratulations to Grace, who achieved a first-class Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Over five years, Grace brought exceptional technical, interpersonal, and business talent. Not least, she invented and engineered new services that are shaping ThinJack’s future.
We also extend sincere thanks to the many companies that support us with business travel, stationery, IT support, steel, packing cases, elastomer, welding, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, sensors and intrinsically safe equipment. We cannot do this alone.
Likewise, our outsourced specialists: Kelly, Michael, Heather, Richard, Leanne, Nigel, Jonathan, Helen, Maya, Genevieve, John, and Malena, (covering insurance, accountancy, compelling videos, contracts, legal, copywriting, marketing, business support and consultancy). Along with the Federation of Small Businesses and Aberdeenshire Council’s economic development team, who continue to support us with remarkable depth, professionalism, and generosity.
Chapter 2: A Personal Journey - Guy on Mountaineering
On 3rd February, Guy completed a 48-year journey by qualifying as a Winter Mountain Leader.
Like ThinJack’s own two-decade journey, it’s been “quite a ride.”
The Winter Mountain Leader qualification has existed for 61 years, with only around 50 people passing each year. Imagine a degree-level qualification where assessments are scheduled - and cancelled three times - at the last minute during Covid. Followed by two failed attempts, then two more, before achieving a coveted pass. Along the way came plenty of well-meaning advice to “give up,” usually from those worried about the cost and pain of relentless failure.
In total: 12 assessors, 21 days and nights, and some of the filthiest winter mountain weather imaginable. The qualification is brutally demanding, focusing on teaching skills, leading, and movement on steep, icy ground.
One defining moment came during a late-February ascent of Creag Meagaidh. Ninety minutes of hard climbing, with teammates half Guy’s age setting the pace. No margin for map-reading error. Encouraging others through broken glasses, collapsing blood sugar levels, and outwardly smiling.
In truth: Guy has never dug so deep in his life.
The assessors noted the resilience. They always do. (And the mess-ups).
A two-minute summit break, fortified by chocolate-coated marzipan, led into an hour of pure magic: darkness, white-out conditions, micro-navigation parallel to an invisible cliff edge, with unexpected destination changes announced mid-leg.
No electronics. Just stopwatch, pacing, magnetic compass and contour interpretation. An
inertial navigation system (Guy’s brain) melding measurements to give "the" position. This “computer” repeatedly placing the group within ±50 metres on the ground and +/- 1 mm on a paper map. When it’s too cold for electronics, accuracy isn’t optional. Walking over an unseen and invisible cliff is “game over".
We, (TEAM EFFORT) nailed this.
Immense thanks go to friends Grant, Steve, Debbie, Ken, Vay, Mike, and Heather: all from the Cairngorm Club; fellow winter mountaineers Katie (now in Antarctica) and Jan (Iceland); assessors Steve, Richard, Giles, Stuart, Alex, and Ross; and professional coaches Alastair, Adele, Max, and Sam.
And above all, to Lesley, for thousands of flapjacks and blind faith that, one day, we would pass.
The celebration? Joy. Buckets of tea. And tears.
Lesley above Glencoe. “Bidean”, the highest mountain in Argyllshire, is the second from right, “snowtipped” peak in the background.
Chapter 3: Remembering Those We Lost
2025 closed with bereavements, two of which deserve special mention.
Steven, a Chartered Electrical Engineer, was kind, thoughtful, endlessly interesting, and always keen for winter mountaineering. Tragically, he died climbing near Steall in Glen Nevis on the evening of 9th April.
His life was celebrated by 180 family members, colleagues, and friends. Eight months later, it was wonderful to revisit Sarah, Millie, and Hamish, to see them looking so well and optimistic, and thanking all those who continue to care about them.
Last July, it was an honour to celebrate Hans’s life in Western Norway alongside hundreds of others. The service and burial were powerful and deeply moving, followed by a family gathering filled with warmth, generosity, and shared memories of a wonderful life. Thank you for including us.
Looking Forward
2025 was a year of innovation, endurance, loss, and growth - in the offshore energy sector, in the mountains, and in our lives. We carry all of it forward with us.
We’re optimistic for the rest of the decade and beyond.
One life! Live it!
