Gloucestershire-based Advanced Insulation, a leading manufacturer of specialist passive fire protection and thermal insulation for the upstream oil and gas industry, has appointed Richard Lane as Sales Manager for its Covertherm business unit.

Richard’s UK-based role makes him responsible for the sales and development of Advanced Insulation’s ContraFlex® range of bespoke insulation and passive fire protection jackets, which are used to provide high-performance thermal insulation and protection from jet and/or hydrocarbon fire to equipment requiring frequent maintenance access.

Commenting on his appointment, Richard says: “I have a proven track record of working for HVAC and Industrial Insulation based manufacturers, during which time I have developed new markets and established key working relationships. I am therefore looking forward to using my skills, experience and enthusiasm to champion the ContraFlex range in the UK.”

Covertherm Managing Director Paul Kendrick says: “Richard is a welcome addition to the team and his experience will be fundamental in helping to bring ContraFlex to new UK and export markets. His appointment comes at a time when the company has been steadily reversing a trend that saw manufacturers looking abroad for low-cost production solutions for passive fire protection jackets.”

Established in 2009 and acquired by Advanced Insulation in 2015, Covertherm’s range of bespoke thermal insulation jacket and cover solutions provide exceptional heat savings and are well aligned to complement the ContraFlex range of flexible fire protection jackets. These include high-temperature, acoustic, leak detection and thermal insulation solutions for numerous applications, with optional integral heat tracing insulation jackets also available.

To find out more about Advanced Insulation’s products and services, visit http://www.aisplc.com or email info@aisplc.com.

UK-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 moved its Korea-based manufacturing operation to a larger facility in Sinpyeong-dong.  

Commenting for Advanced Insulation Korea, General Manager Andrew Court says: “Following significant growth and expected demand from both Korean Shipyards and local EPC contracts for our ContraFlex® range of flexible passive fire insulation jackets, it was apparent that the existing facility in Hwajeon-dong was no longer suitable for the increased manufacturing requirements in Korea.”

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

Andrew goes on to say that Advanced Insulation Korea’s expansion to a 2,000 square meter facility highlights the growth the company is currently experiencing. “The increased space improves production efficiencies and warehousing to ensure that we continue to exceed our customers’ expectations. Recent growth and the expansion have allowed us to double the employment of local staff and build better business in Korea.”

The news follows similar recent announcements from Advanced Insulation regarding the expansion of its facilities in Gloucester, Plymouth and Houston.

To find out more about Advanced Insulation’s products and services, visit the website: http://www.aisplc.com or email info@aisplc.com.

ADIPEC 2015

Stand 3220, Hall 3, 09-12 November 2015, Abu Dhabi

UK-based Advanced Insulation and its United Arab Emirates-based business partner, TRIZAC Abu Dhabi, will be using its stand at this year’s ADIPEC event to exhibit its portfolio of offshore passive fire protection and insulation systems.

During the exhibition, Advanced Insulation – a leading manufacturer of passive fire protection and insulation systems for the upstream oil and gas industry – will be showcasing samples from its ContraFlex® range of bespoke flexible protection jackets, which provide high-performance thermal insulation to ensure that surface temperature is maintained to as low as 11°C during a fire event with rating for jet fire JF (ISO 22899) of 30 - 180 minutes or hydrocarbon fire HF (UL1709)  30 - 180 minutes fire event. ContraFlex jackets can be installed without the use of specialist equipment and in areas that require regular maintenance access. Typical applications include the protection of valves, actuators, cable trays and junction boxes.

Also on show will be samples from Advanced Insulation’s award-winning ContraFlame® MS400 system, a multifunctional composite system using unique syntactic phenolic foam and phenolic glass reinforced laminate. These materials combine to provide an integrated passive fire protection and thermal insulation system for lightweight under deck protection. It’s durable construction makes it suitable for a number of applications, including cellar decks, cantilever decks and associated structural components.

Commenting for Advanced Insulation, Muhammad Sohail Ashraf, Head of Sales for the Middle East says: “A highly-knowledgeable team from both companies will be available throughout the four-day event. It’s a great opportunity for us to answer any questions visitors to the stand have regarding Advanced Insulation’s passive fire protection and insulation products.”

ADIPEC attracts a wealth of investors, key decision makers and industry experts from the oil and gas sector, with the 2015 event boasting over 2,000 exhibitors and expected to attract over 85,000 visitors.

To further information, visit www.aisplc.com,  email sales@aisplc.com or call Advanced Insulation FZE on +971 4 8819821. 

Gloucestershire-based Advanced Insulation – a leading manufacturer of specialist passive fire protection and thermal insulation materials for the upstream oil and gas industry; and manufacturer and supplier of fendering and buoyancy products for the global marine and offshore energy markets – has won a number of awards in the recently announced Gloucestershire Business Awards, which have established themselves as one of the most prestigious events in the local calendar since they were first held 18 years ago.

The Business Innovation Award recognises organisations that have introduced a new product, process, invention, idea, or design that has made a significant contribution to the business. The award – sponsored by the University of Gloucestershire and contested by three other local companies – was Advanced Insulation’s first of the evening and represents another success for the company’s innovative ContraFlame® MS400 system, its lightweight cellar-deck insulation and protection material for the offshore oil and gas industry.

The second award, Growth Business of the Year, was sponsored by Gloucestershire College and recognises Advanced Insulation’s outstanding increases in sales, profit, market share and business expansion over the last 3 years.

Commenting for Local World Gloucestershire, managing director Sarah Pullen says: "Yet again we have had a record entry for this year’s Business Awards, the judges have had a very difficult task and the standards have been very high.”

To find out more about Advanced Insulation’s products and services, visit http://www.aisplc.com, email info@aisplc.com or call +44 (0)1453 880880. 

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.

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.

Gloucestershire-based Advanced Insulation – a leading manufacturer of technical and insulation materials for the upstream oil and gas industry – has announced the appointment of David Raynor as business development manager. 

David will be responsible for building key business relationships for the UK, US and South America; with a particular remit to focus on the company’s topside passive fire protection systems. His aim is to establish Advanced Insulation and its ContraFlame^® and ContraFlex^® products in the western hemisphere, especially Brazil, and confirm the company’s reputation as a  leading supplier of thermal and fire protection systems for deck protection, enclosures, vessels, etc. 

Commenting on his role, David says: “With the region becoming a major power in world oil production it is important for us to reinforce our position in Brazil, so this is a particularly challenging role for Advanced Insulation, and for me.”

David has over 25 years of sales and business development experience in the engineering sector. Recent, relevant experience includes a business development role at Pipex PX, a company providing design and manufacturing expertise for the supply and installation of composite structures and thermoplastic products to the oil and gas and infrastructure markets.

Welcoming David to the Advanced Insulation team, managing director Andrew Bennion says David’s previous business development experience and his in-depth knowledge of oil and gas markets will make him a valuable asset to the company.

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