Scottish-based Score Energy recently opened its second U.S. location in Sanford, N.C., just southwest of Raleigh. Operated by Score Energy Inc., a division of the Score Group, the new facility specializes in reconditioning gas turbine engines, many used by electric companies to generate energy during peak periods. During those times when demand for electricity spikes, nuclear and coal-burning electrical plants rely on gas-powered turbines to generate the needed power.

With the new facility, turbines from across the U.S. will be shipped to Sanford for scheduled overhauling, repair and routine maintenance. According to Score Group Chairman Charles Ritchie, three turbines had already arrived in Sanford for service before Score Energy even opened for business.

Once engines have been reconditioned, they generate the same amount of energy using a fraction of the fuel required before. The benefits are not only financial, but environmental as well -- a point that's certainly not lost on the ecologically-oriented company.

Andy McClare, president of Score Energy, expects the Sanford facility to employ about 40 people when it's fully developed, probably within the next five or six years. Score Energy, the gas turbine division of Score Group, employs more than 170 employees in five countries. Its new Sanford facility is the Score Group's second venture in the United States. The parent company also operates Score Valve Services Inc. in Houston.

Score Group maintains its headquarters in Peterhead, Scotland, where gas turbine engines reconditioned in Sanford can be tested and certified. The parent company operates other facilities in Australia, Azerbaijan, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, England, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Timor, Trinidad, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

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