Hethel-based engineering business Proeon Systems has won a major contract to upgrade and install fire and gas safety monitoring systems on six North Sea platforms in what is a significant step for the growing company.

The deal with gas exploration giant Perenco UK, which has its UK headquarters in Great Yarmouth, will see the system, a Proeon SCAME Sistemi, installed over the coming months.

Proeon said that working with a project of this scale was a significant step for the business, which is aiming for a turnover of �2m this year.

The company, which started as a small team of design engineers, has been growing its workforce and is still recruiting.

Kevin Magee, Proeon managing director, said: 'Recently there have been several refinery and oils storage incidents both in the UK and abroad. Installations like the Proeon SCAME Sistemi system are providing a comprehensive warning and monitoring solution for hydrocarbon leak detection to help mitigate the potential for disaster, and flame and smoke detection to alert the appropriate services of the problem as early as possible. This helps reduce the risk to life.'