Gloucestershire-based Advanced Insulation – a leading manufacturer of passive fire protection and insulation systems for the upstream oil and gas industry – is delighted to announce that it has won two South West region awards at the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) Management Team Awards.
With backing from investment company Growth Capital Partners, Advanced Insulation has been executing and integrating a number of acquisitions in the past twelve months, including Manuplas – the Plymouth-based manufacturer of polymer solutions for the marine and offshore sectors; and more recently Covertherm – the Nottinghamshire-based manufacturer of insulation jackets.
Kirsty Mcdonald from Growth Capital had the following to say. "Advanced Insulation is establishing its a place amongst the most exciting companies in the UK. To the investment industry, this BVCA award is a very important external recognition of AI's huge ongoing successes.”
"We’re delighted to be supporting AI’s continued growth - providing its customers with an expanding range of innovative, high performance products in more geographic locations and at the same time, offering its people ever-increasing career and personal development opportunities.”
The regional BVCA awards presented to Advanced Insulation – the Mid-Market Private Equity-backed Management Team of the Year Award and International Impact Award – were judged by a panel of leading industry figures, are a recognition and celebration of managerial excellence and underline the important role private equity and venture capital plays in the UK economy.
The BVCA awards add to the growing number of International, National and Regional awards presented to Advanced Insulation in the past twelve months.
To find out more about Advanced Insulation’s products and service, visit the website: www.aisplc.com or email info@aisplc.com.
Gloucestershire-based Advanced Insulation, a leading manufacturer of technical coatings, specialised passive fire protection systems and thermal insulation materials for the upstream oil and gas industry, has opened a major expansion to its Gloucester manufacturing facility on the Quedgeley West Business Park.
Following significant growth in recentyears, the recently refurbished 35,500square feet Unit L building will accommodate several new processes – including the company’s award-winning ContraFlame® MS400 deck protection system – that will contribute to the company’s future development.
A number of panel presses are being installed and commissioned at the new Gloucester facility and will help Advanced Insulation significantly increase the production of ContraFlame MS400 panels to meet the current and expected growth in international demand for this type of system.
Commenting, Advanced Insulation’s Production Manager Chris O’Leary says that the current building, occupied just four years ago, no longer has the capacity to cope with future demand for ContraFlame MS400 and other product lines coming through the order books.
“Additionally, production space within the new building includes an area to accommodate the application processes for Advanced Insulation’s ContraTherm® C25 silicon-based insulation, which has been ordered by a major new client for applications such as pipework, connectors and other oil & gas equipment.” says Chris.
Alterations to Unit L building started at the beginning of 2015, with the ContraFlame MS400 presses being commissioned in early June for panel production to commence in August.
Initially, Unit L will create approximately fifteen new jobs at the Quedgeley site and will also accommodate an office area for Advanced Insulation’s engineering and design department. The additional manufacturing space will also be used to produce other new products as they are introduced, as well as developing new ways to use existing core products.
Panel products such as MS400 are easier to install compared to alternative solutions. Additionally, with no restrictions on material shelf life, handling and storage issues are eliminated and using lightweight materials and products has the potential to save customers substantial amounts of money and weight.
As Chris explains, ContraFlame MS400 is currently one of the oil & gas industry’s optimum insulation materials and has already won a number of awards, including the National Smart Product Award at this year’s EEF/Aldermore Future Manufacturing Awards.
To find out more about Advanced Insulation’s products and services, visit the website: http://www.aisplc.com or email info@aisplc.com.
The Vavea Aeropulse is an autonomous industrial cleansing and deodorising system designed for the diffusion of disinfectants and fragrances and to meet potential growth in numerous markets. It has been developed to offer a combination of reliability, cost efficiency and low maintenance functionality and, for this reason, the company has partnered with the Gast Group for the supply of the essential pump needed to generate a constant flow of air to achieve the best possible atomisation of liquids.
As Vavea co-founders Dominique Balencie and Bruno Gual explain, the reason for entrusting the Gast Group with such an integral part of the product’s makeup is that Gast pumps are already used in similar applications: “Vavea was looking for a reliable pump unit that was light and rugged. We wanted to offer a combination of high quality equipment with minimum maintenance and, after tests of several models, the Gast DOA diaphragm pump gave us the best result.”
Vavea’s Aeropulse system works by diffusing liquid disinfectants, insecticides, odour neutralisers or fragrances into a dry fog, a process that allows the maximum surface area of a premises to be treated with a liquid product, without resulting in dampness or stains. The integrated Gast DOA diaphragm pump is vital in providing the Aeropulse system with maximum air pressure, whilst remaining a sustainable and cost-effective air pump.
Because the Gast DOA diaphragm pump has a limited pulsing effect but still achieves 3 bar pressure, it is able to develop a constant flow of air to create the best atomisation of a liquid. Its continuous duty cycle capability also enables it to run the system for several hours when used in large premises.
The inclusion of the Gast DOA diaphragm pump within the Aeropulse atomiser also ensures that the Vavea system has the same impressive reputation for reliability. The system is now effectively atomising liquids to deodorise and disinfect premises in a variety of sectors including medical, veterinary, nursing, education, gymnasiums, food & beverage, retail, industrial, leisure and commercial environments; and is available throughout Europe.
The Gast DOA oil-less diaphragm compressors and vacuum pumps are an ideal source of quiet vacuum or pressure and are available in standard, twin, and miniature styles. Air flow capabilities for portfolio range from 0.65 lpm to 108 lpm, vacuum as low as 31 mbar abs and pressure to 4.2 bar. Electric motors are available in dual frequency, shaded pole, permanent split capacitor (psc) and AC multi voltages for worldwide applications. Additionally, 4 to 24 volt DC options are also available for the miniature styles, with horsepower outputs ranging from 1/16 to 1/2 HP (0.05 to 0.37 kW) on the standard size models.
Gast Group products are well known for their reliability and are used for a variety of industrial, laboratory and manufacturing applications where the dependency and accuracy of these components are of primary concern. Examples include, industrial mixing equipment and pump drive; in-vitro diagnostic and laboratory automation equipment; gas generators and cable pressurisation.
Further information on the Gast DOA oil-less diaphragm compressors and vacuum pumps is available from www.gastmfg.com, by emailing gastgroup.uk@idexcorp.com or calling +44 (0) 1527 504040.
Building on its recent awards successes, Gloucestershire-based Advanced Insulation – a leading manufacturer of passive fire protection and insulation systems for the upstream oil and gas industry – is delighted to announce that it has won the International Company of the Year award in £16m - £50m turnover category at the Insider South West International Trade Awards.
Award judges commended Advanced Insulation on its approach to trading in Brazil and Angola and were impressed by the company’s plans to further develop its business in Nigeria and the USA.
Commenting on the night, South West Business Insider Editor Miri Thomas said all the winners and shortlisted companies should be proud of their achievements. "It may sound like a cliché, but the world is getting smaller. Exports are therefore fundamental to continued sustainable growth. That's why all of you here tonight were chosen for your commitment to promoting British design and innovation to a global audience."
Advanced Insulation’s Group Marketing Manager Matt Collins says: “This International Company of the Year award from Insider South West adds to a growing number of International, National and Regional awards presented to the company in the past twelve months. We are delighted and would like to thank everyone at Advanced Insulation who, with their hard work and determination, have made these awards possible and achievable.”
Full coverage of the South West International Trade Awards will be available in the June issue of the Insider.
To find out more about Advanced Insulation’s products and services, visit www.aisplc.com, email info@aisplc.com or call +44 (0)1452 880880.
As leading manufacturers of technical and insulation materials for the upstream oil and gas industry – and specialists in the design, engineering and manufacture of polymer solutions for the marine and offshore sectors – Advanced Insulation and its Manuplas business unit have manufactured and supplied a five-piece modular bow fender set to Northern Offshore Services AB (NOS) for its M/V Developer, a next-generation crew vessel developed and based on the company’s extensive experience in the offshore wind market.
The Manuplas name has a long association with the design, manufacture and supply of marine products – such as modular bow fender systems for offshore wind farm service vessels – to ports, harbours, navies, boat builders and vessel operators around the world and, as Manuplas technical sales support manager Andrew Wickham explains, Manuplas developed this custom fender system following more than 10 years’ experience in designing and engineering bow fenders, utilising bespoke materials developed in house specifically for this highly demanding application.
“These fender designs are proving popular based on their ability to generate higher levels of grip while applying less force on the landing piles. The impact pads which take most of the abuse, are independent of the rest of the Bow fender system. This makes them easier and more cost effective to replace as and when required and ultimately minimises any disruption to the vessel’s operation schedule.” Says Andrew.
Other benefits of the fender set include high-impact absorbency with the ability to withstand harsh offshore environments, safe access to turbines, high abrasion resistance and a virtually non-marking external finish.
Commenting for NOS technical manager Markus Olofsson says: “The main reason for contacting Manuplas was to create a partnership that could successfully build custom boat landing fenders. The increased surface area where their solution attaches to the boat landings, coupled with the advanced materials used, increases the wave height that the vessel can accommodate at the boat landing.”
The custom fender developed with Manuplas is a high-performance solution that provides excellent performance at sea when arriving at boat landings in poor weather
Additionally, with the new five-piece modular fender set, NOS can operate in much higher wave heights. On a typical day in the North Sea, NOS’s newer vessels can operate for around 28 days per month.
Summing up Markus says: “We have been working with Manuplas for six years and were among the first to use the custom-built fenders. They are outstanding in service and its new five-piece modular fender set is very high on the list of performance features for NOS’s vessels. It is also much cheaper to replace a fender than to repair a vessel, so the Manuplas solution is also an important component in helping us to succeed in this market.”
Northern Offshore Services’ M/V Developer has now been deployed to UK offshore wind farms for operation.
Established in Hammersmith in 2009, Sipsmith Distillery is a small, independent business that, using the first copper still to launch in London for almost 200 years, crafts truly artisanal gins and vodkas of uncompromising quality.
The distillery gives female names to each of its stills and the first, Prudence (designed and built by Carl Distilleries near Stuttgart, Germany), originally used electricity to power elements in the steam jacket surrounding it. But, as Sipsmith’s export market grew and production increased, the founders realised additional stills were required to meet demand. The company’s second still, named Patience, is another 300 litre still that also used electric elements to heat the steam jacket. But it wasn’t until a third and larger still – the 1,500 litre Constance – was required that the company decided to switch from an electrically-heated process to one using a steam boiler.
Commenting for Fulton, sales and marketing manager Doug Howarth says: “We visited Sipsmith Distillery when they were using German electrically-powered stills but wanted to install a gas-fired steam boiler for their new, larger premises. Our area manager discussed the specifications and options with them and an order was subsequently placed for a Fulton 20J vertical boiler and associated ancillaries. We continued to provide assistance and technical support throughout the installation and during commissioning.”
As Doug goes on to explain, many craft breweries and distilleries start off using electric but, as they reach the right size and output, quickly move to steam-based systems such as those from Fulton. “While electric systems can be quite efficient, they only heat the water required for the steam jacket, so are not as manageable or controllable as steam boiler based systems.” says Doug.
Felix James, Head of Operations at Sipsmith Distillery says: “For us, the difference is the same as cooking using electric or gas. Prudence and Patience both used electric elements initially but, to control the water temperature, you could only switch on or off the four elements in the steam jacket. And then there would be a delayed response as it would take time to transfer the energy through to the stills. With steam, once it’s turned down or off, the stills are very quick to shut down or respond to the temperature change.”
He goes on to say that unlike ‘big plant’ distillation processes that can produce a spirit in less than two hours, each Sipsmith gin or vodka distilling process takes up to eight or nine hours to complete.
Steam from the Fulton 20J boiler is gradually introduced into the still’s steam jacket until the alcoholic wash inside the still reaches 78.3 degrees centigrade, the boiling point of alcohol. As the wash boils and turns to vapour, it rises through the still’s helmet and swan’s neck before returning to liquid form in the condenser. After the initial ‘heads’ cut (containing methanol) and the final ‘tails’ cut are disposed of, the 1,500-litre Constance produces approximately 950 litres at still strength (82% for the gin and 90% for the vodka). This distilled liquid is then cut with water to create a bottling strength product that produces up to 2,500 bottles. The smaller 300 litre stills Prudence and Patience can produce up to 500 bottles each per run, with Patience currently being used to produce predominantly new products or for product development.
Explaining the reasons for specifying Fulton, Felix mentioned the ties with nearby Fuller’s Brewery which uses Fulton’s boilers in the brewing process. “Fulton are very well respected and, being a UK manufacturer, are very easy to deal with. We undertake our own water analysis every month but do have a service contract with Fulton, which visits the site every three months to conduct its own analysis and check the condition of the boiler and the system. This proved invaluable on one occasion when, between Fulton visits, we had dosed too much chemical into the feed water tank. However, Fulton was on hand, its technician was very helpful and offered the correct procedure for a solution.”
An additional benefit for the distillery is that all condensate from the boiler’s steam raising process is returned to the feed tank to reduce energy and further improve the system’s efficiency.
Looking to the future, Felix says that with the Fulton boiler only being used to raise steam at 0.7 bar for the process, there is plenty of scope for expansion when the time comes to further increase production capacity.
The eight models in Fulton’s ‘J’ Series vertical boiler range can be supplied with gas, oil or dual-fuel burners, covers outputs from 96 to 960 kg/h and can raise its full steam output in just 20 minutes. Its simple design and robust construction makes them ideal for most brewing and distilling applications.
Gloucestershire-based Advanced Insulation, a leading manufacturer of technical coatings and specialised fire protection and thermal insulation materials for the upstream oil and gas industry, has appointed Ian Wilcock as Business Development Manager for its ContraBlast® range of fire and blast wall protection systems.
Commenting for Advanced Insulation, Global Business Development Manager for topside insulation and fire protection business, Philip Watson says: “Ian joins the company with a proven track record in business development and sales roles and brings a wealth of experience in relevant sectors. He will be forging new relationships with targeted groups of companies that will provide Advanced Insulation with new business channels to support the future growth of the business, especially for its new ContraBlast range of protection systems.”
Ian joins Advanced Insulation from the Shepherd Group where his 16 years in business development and sales gave him responsibility for modular structures in the oil and gas, power distribution/generation and rail markets. Prior to that, Ian spent 20 years with Ingersoll Rand in international business development.
Ian’s responsibilities at Advanced Insulation will be the promotion of the company’s recently launched ContraBlast modular fire and blast wall protection systems which, compared to traditional steel blast wall structures, provide thermal insulation and passive fire protection to J120 and H120 IMO classifications, bio-directional blast protection and weight and space envelope savings in excess of 60%. Additionally, each 2.4m ContraBlast composite panel – which features Advanced Insulation’s ContraFlame MS400 phenolic syntactic foam as its core material – is easy to install, requires no welding and provides a blast rating of up to 2.8bar.
To find out more about Advanced Insulation’s blast and fire wall products and services, visit www.aisplc.com or email info@aisplc.com.
Q8Oils has appointed Andy Walker, who joins the automotive team as area sales manager for the South of England. Andy has a proven 30-year successful track record in the industry with experience in passenger cars, commercial vehicles, automotive refinishing systems, vehicle components and on board telemetry systems.
Andy has operated throughout the UK & Ireland, opening up new automotive sector opportunities for premium brands such as BMW, Volvo, Renault and ROSPA.
With a diverse lubricant portfolio featuring over 1,000 product/pack options available in the UK, Andy’s role is to focus primarily on the sale of passenger car and heavy-duty diesel engine oils and other related lubricant grades through franchised dealers and specialists in the South of England. He will be prospecting for new business whilst retaining existing customers to ensure that agreed financial and volume targets are achieved. Working closely with technical and sales colleagues in the UK, Andy will also be responsible for making relevant and optimal product recommendations to optimise our profitability in the automotive sector.
“My experience has prepared me for this position and I’m confident that capitalising on skills such as understanding customer needs and developing existing business through industry contacts and reputation, will help to make a positive contribution to Q8Oils.” says Andy.
Q8Oils direct sales manager Jeremy Dineen says: “With the plans we have in place for the immediate future, Andy’s broad and senior level experience in the automotive industry will provide him with real opportunities to use his skills.”
Curtiss-Wright Corporation’s (NYSE: CW) Industrial division today announced the launch of a new website containing the full portfolio of products, services and capabilities offered by its Industrial Group, which comprises its four leading product brands – Arens Controls, Penny & Giles, PG Drives Technology and Williams Controls.
The new website can be found at www.cw-industrialgroup.com.
Commenting for Curtiss-Wright, the Industrial division’s Senior Vice President & General Manager Kevin Rayment says: “Our completely redesigned internet presence highlights the Industrial division’s full breadth of products and capabilities and, for the first time, provides a single location and cohesive overview that we expect will deliver a positive and user-friendly experience for all visitors. The new website will enhance the image of the Curtiss-Wright Industrial division to existing customers and serve to attract many new ones to its businesses.”
For existing visitors and customers, we are providing a seamless transition to a familiar environment, as access to the previous four domains – arens.com, pennyandgiles.com, pgdt.com and wmco.com – will be automatically redirected to relevant pages on the new Industrial Group site.
To support the website, a brochure that serves as an overview of the Curtiss-Wright Industrial Group’s applications experience, products, markets and design options has also been published and is available to download from the new site.
For further information about other innovative solutions available from Curtiss-Wright’s Industrial division, please visit www.cw-industrial.com.
Following its participation in the initial pilot phase of the Skills for Stroud Work Experience Charter, Eastington based weld overlay cladding specialist Arc Energy Resources has achieved the Full Recognition of the standard of the Charter.
The Charter, which is developed as a set of standards aligned with national good practice guidelines, is used as a basis to review the support that companies provide to individuals undertaking work experience activities within their organisations.
Commenting for Arc Energy Resources, director Rosemary Robinson says: “This is an important external endorsement for our organisation and reflects the commitment to, and importance we place, on ensuring a meaningful work experience programme is in place to enable our staff to achieve their potential; and broaden their knowledge of the employment opportunities available to them.” For further information on the Skills for Stroud Work Experience Charter see the resource pack on their website at: www.stroud.gov.uk/workexp.
