NOT MANY PEOPLE can claim they design and manufacture subsea Christmas trees for a living, but employees at FMC Technologies do exactly that. In spite of the name, these are not pine trees decked with tinsel and baubles sprouting from the seabed, they are highly technical items used for underwater oilfield production used by clients such as BP, Shell and Total. The company is a global force in providing technology for the energy industry and has had its British headquarters in Dumfermline since 1975, within striking distance of the North Sea and its oil rigs. At 70% positive the company scores highly for its input into the local community, and ranks 14th for this measure. Staff do not think its work for worthy causes is done just to attract good publicity, giving a top 40 result of 60% positive. It recruits up to 10 apprentices each year and there are 45 people currently engaged on its apprenticeship programme. Staff give the firm its highest ranking score for believing FMC does as much as it can to protect the environment — 80% and seventh place. It has targets to achieve zero waste to landfill, 25% reduction in water use, 28% reduction in carbon emissions and to generate 12% of its electricity from renewable sources. A wind turbine should produce 40% of the company's electricity and reduce its carbon emissions by 30%. Employees say they are not under too much pressure to perform well (71%), have not suffered stress due to work in the past year (77%, 24th) and are not usually exhausted when they get home from work (54%, 17th) . fmctechnologies.com/subsea
