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.

Advanced Insulation, a leading manufacturer of technical coatings and specialised passive fire protection and thermal insulation materials, is delighted to announce the acquisition of Nottinghamshire-based Covertherm Limited, a manufacturer of insulation jackets.

Established in 2009 by Managing Director Paul Kendrick, Covertherm’s range of bespoke thermal insulation jacket and cover solutions provide exceptional heat savings and are well aligned to complement Advanced Insulation’s ContraFlex^® range of flexible fire protection jackets.

Commenting for Advanced Insulation, Managing Director Andrew Bennion says: “At a time when many manufacturers are looking abroad for low-cost production solutions, we’re looking to reverse that trend and this acquisition will provide a UK manufacturing base for our ContraFlex range of passive fire insulation jackets, which will now be produced by Covertherm for the UK and export markets.

“It is also an opportunity for Covertherm’s own portfolio to be introduced to Advanced Insulation’s other jacket manufacturing bases and we expect the company to grow significantly over the next 12 months.”

The new UK manufacturing facility adds to already established production facilities in Dubai, Kazakhstan and Korea and will provide increased production capacity that will help to cope with the increasing demand for ContraFlex products.

Commenting for Covertherm, Managing Director Paul Kendrick says: “To succeed, you need to find something to hold on to and something that motivates and inspires you. Advanced Insulation’s acquisition has provided this for me and all Covertherm staff; and we are looking forward to further rapid growth and the introduction of new products.”

Advanced Insulation’s ContraFlex is a range of custom flexible protection jackets designed to provide high-performance thermal insulation and protection from jet or hydrocarbon fire to equipment that requires frequent maintenance access such as valves and actuators, welding nodes, manways, junction boxes, process vessels, hot equipment exhausts and localised protection.

Further information on Covertherm and its products/services can be found at www.covertherm.co.uk. For details on Advanced Insulation and its ContraFlex range, call +44 (0)1452 880880, email sales@aisplc.com or visit www.aisplc.com.

In a move to strengthen relationships with customers and key suppliers in the North American oil and gas market, Gloucester-based Advanced Insulation – a leading manufacturer of technical and insulation materials for the upstream oil and gas industry; and specialist in the design, engineering and manufacture of polymer solutions for the marine and offshore sectors – has appointed Mike Sherman and Larry King as sales managers.

With responsibility for all North American subsea sales, Mike Sherman’s focus will be the development and implementation of strategic growth plans for this key Advanced Insulation market. Larry King will focus on the promotion of the company’s subsea insulation products and the development of its business throughout Texas and Louisiana.

Welcoming Mike and Larry to Advanced Insulation, director of subsea sales Kevin Firth says: “North America and specifically the Gulf of Mexico are key sectors for our subsea insulation products and these appointments will play a major role in the company’s growth plans for the US market.”

Having graduated from the University of Houston, Mike Sherman began his career in the oil & gas sector with BJ Services. He joins Advanced Insulation from ABCO Subsea where he was responsible for umbilical management and hydraulic controls products and services; and for forging relationships with drilling contractors and OEMs.

Larry King joins the company with over 26 years in the oil and gas industry, starting as a roustabout before progressing into insulation sales. Previous experience includes roles with Bayou Flow Technologies, where he worked with Cuming Corporation epoxy and Permapipe GSPU insulation systems. Larry also joins Advanced Insulation from ABCO Subsea where he managed customer relationships with operators and EPIC companies.

To find out more about Advanced Insulation’s products and services, visit the website: http://www.aisplc.com or email info@aisplc.com. The US office can be contacted on +1 (281) 600 0022.

Gloucester, UK – April 2015 – Gloucester-based Advanced Insulation – a leading manufacturer of technical and insulation materials for the upstream oil and gas industry; and specialist in the design, engineering and manufacture of polymer solutions for the marine and offshore sectors – is delighted to announce that its has been placed at number 89 in the Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100.

The list, which ranks Britain’s private companies with the fastest-growing profits over the last three years, is now in its 16th year and is published with the Business section and in the Sunday Times digital edition.

Commenting for Advanced Insulation, group marketing manager Matt Collins says: “This is our second appearance on the Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100 league table in as many years and, once again, we are delighted to be acknowledged by such a prestigious organisation. Our entry onto the list places us amongst some absolute greats from British manufacturing to be recognised in recent years, including JCB, the Unipart Group and Centek.”

Advanced Insulation made the list with an annual profit growth of 45% over three years and is one of six companies from the South West region to be ranked in this year’s Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100; with the combined profits of all six totalling £48m and collectively employing over 800 staff.

Andrea Bishop, partner and head of the South West at BDO, the title sponsor of the league table, commented on the region’s success stories by saying: “Medium-sized businesses in the South West and across the UK are thriving. Our newly-named ‘Brittelstand’ has outgrown the German ‘Mittelstand’ with mid-market businesses across all sectors seizing the opportunities a growing economy presents. The southwest’s most profitable companies have remained focused on sustainable growth by making intelligent investment decisions in innovation and overseas expansion.”

To find out more about Advanced Insulation’s products and service, visit www.aisplc.com, email info@aisplc.com or call +44 (0)1452 880880.

Gloucester, UK – 2014 – Plymouth-based Manuplas – an Advanced Insulation company specialising in the design, engineering and manufacture of polymer solutions for the marine and offshore sectors – has appointed Guy Downie as head of sales for its buoyancy products.

Welcoming Guy to the team, Advanced Insulation’s director of subsea sales Kevin Firth says: “Guy’s proven track record and experience as a manager and technical sales professional in the offshore oil and gas sector will prove invaluable to Manuplas as we seek growth in new and existing markets and sectors.”

Commenting on his appointment, Guy explains that the role as head of sales for buoyancy gives him responsibility for a market-leading portfolio that includes surface-rated marine and subsea buoyancy solutions and other moulded PU products at a time when, following substantial investment in a new, state-of-the-art syntactic foam process plant, the company has significantly improved lead times and project deliveries thanks to increased capacity.

“The investment at our Plymouth facility means we can offer faster lead times and are well placed in the market to supply both shallow and deepwater buoyancy products manufactured from a wide range of composite technologies including ultra-low density materials.” says Guy.

The Manuplas portfolio includes buoyancy products for offshore installations including MODSYN floats, modular subsea buoys and pipeline installation floats; piggy back blocks, guides and clamps; engineered clamps, distributed buoyancy modules for riser and umbilical systems; ROV vehicle buoyancy using ultra-low-density composite syntactic foams; and moulded PU protection products, including cable protection systems.

Guy joins the Advanced Insulation group of companies – a leading manufacturer of technical and insulation materials for the upstream oil and gas industry – having worked for multi-national organisations including Vikoma, Freudenberg and Trelleborg.

For further information on Advanced Insulation’s Manuplas buoyancy systems, call +44 (0)1452 880880, email sales@aisplc.com or visit www.aisplc.com.

Against stiff competition from businesses across the South West and South Wales, Plymouth-based Manuplas – an Advanced Insulation company specialising in the design, engineering and manufacture of polymer solutions for the marine and offshore sectors – has won the prestigious regional Environmental Efficiency Award at this year’s EEF/Aldermore Future Manufacturing Awards. 

The regional award win means Manuplas will now be nominated for a national award, which will be announced at a gala reception being held in London in April. 

Commenting for Manuplas, general manager Steve Ward says: “It is great to see that our in-house recycling project, which has seen the company reduce its impact on the environment by recycling an impressive 38-tonnes of lightweight Polyethylene Foam and Expanded Polystyrene Foam, has been recognised by such a prestigious regional award. We are delighted with the win and looking forward to the national awards in April.” 

The EEF/Aldermore Environmental Efficiency Award has been developed to recognise those companies that have done the most to improve environmental performance, for example through improvements in the areas of resources, waste, energy, carbon, water and other emissions and/or more generally improving operational efficiency.

As Manuplas research and development manager David Hamnett explains: “The grade of foam used is not recyclable by traditional methods so, with financial support from Business Link, we investigated available recycling options. We also began looking for organisations that could put the recycled material to good use and discovered opportunities at both Dartmoor and Paignton Zoos. 

He adds that the company purchased a compactor with the intention of significantly reducing the volume of foam waste going to landfill and has, since recycling operations began in 2011, completely eliminated this waste stream. It also reduced the associated high transportation and disposal fees that were costing Manuplas nearly £10,000 a year. 

Used in the manufacture of products for the marine, offshore oil & gas, renewables and leisure industries, Manuplas successfully recycled approximately 2,000 cubic metres (38 tonnes, or the equivalent of more than ten of ‘Duchess’ – the female African elephant at Paignton Zoo!) of lightweight foam between January 2012 and March 2014. The recycling process – which shreds the waste foam and compacts it to remove air content – produces 300 millimetre square logs that are cut into one-metre lengths. 

When Manuplas realised what the recycling process was capable of, they contacted local organisations to ask if the compacted foam logs (which do not rot and require no on-going treatment) would be useful. 

“Happily, having received a positive response from Paignton Zoo, Manuplas subsequently donated a significant number of the compacted logs for landscaping and animal enclosure projects!” Reports David.

The donation has saved Paignton Zoo a considerable sum of money and, instead of the mundane appearance of the previously used traditional timber structures, the Manuplas logs have created a visually striking look that is more in keeping with the Zoo’s natural environments.

Summarising for Westfield Health – the Award sponsor – chief executive Jill Davies says:  “Congratulations to Manuplas on their well-deserved success. Manufacturing is an important part of the UK economy and companies that are constantly looking to improve their performance and grow must be supported and recognised for their efforts.”

For further information on its foam products or foam recycling projects, call Manuplas on +44 (0)1752 771740, email sales@manuplas.co.uk or visit www.manuplas.co.uk.