MEET US IN PERTH

Rampant Exhibitionism

It's true, we do like to show off ... especially if it means spending some time in West Australia's beautiful capital city. Perth may be a long way from practically anywhere but it is at the heart of Australia's resources sector, with more resource company HQs per cubic centimeter than almost anywhere on the planet.

So, if you want to talk to the Mining Industry, spend some time with Oil & Gas Industry executives or share a coffee with a major service provider, then Perth is the place to be. Particularly in February 2017, when the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre hosts Australia's largest industry exhibition - the Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference. For us, the highlight of the exhibition will be the A&E Systems stand in the subsea zone ... and we would love to see you there. So, if you're able to attend, why not pre-register and save yourself $20 - entry is free to all who register prior to the event - or let us know and we will arrange free entry for you.

SWIMMING AGAINST THE CURRENT

Going into Europe ...

Sitting in the UK listening to politicians and journalists arguing about leaving the EU is impossibly frustrating. For the record, I was and still am feeling a sense of bereavement ... how could we be so blind to all that is good about Europe and only see the downside? I certainly don't understand it but, no point in rehearsing all the old arguments, we just have to get on with the world in which we find ourselves.

Luckily, despite our political differences, we still find that Europe is a good place to do business. I mentioned last year that our good friend Rogier Verbeek of Energy Coating (www.energycoating.nl) in the Netherlands was making great progress and this has been even more evident this year. There is scarcely a company in the Dutch-speaking world (and a few other language groups) that has not had a visit or a demonstration from Rogier and many of them have responded very positively, with several projects undertaken and some very inviting prospects for 2017. Dank u wel, Rogier.

EDF Test Facility

And, for Enviropeel in Europe, we have had interesting developments with Siemens in France who are working with EDF on preserving their electricity generating infrastructure. You will know that we do a lot of work with Siemens in the UK for various electricity companies providing ingress protection on switchgear. Two of the nuclear sites we work on with Siemens are owned by EDF (the world's largest electricity generator), and between Siemens and EDF and their French counterparts the news obviously filtered through that Enviropeel had something to offer in France as well.

Following discussions and a meeting in Paris, which sorely tested my holiday French, we were invited to participate in a testing programme using Enviropeel for innovative resolutions to problems that EDF wish to solve. The first stage of this programme started last month and an Enviropeel team, headed by our Logistics Manager, James Beale, who is a fluent French speaker, headed for the EDF test centre, south of Paris.

Applying Enviropeel

James reports that the EDF facility was enormous, with a number of testing laboratories that could take full-size infrastructure components through all the potential climatic conditions (and more) that they might encounter in the real world - sun, wind, rain, temperatures down to -40°C and tropical humidity. The image on the right shows just one of these - and it was by no means the largest.

James also mentioned the excellent on-site dining facilities provided by EDF as part of their great hospitality during the visit. Food quality (and quantity) is a recurring theme for our travelling personnel!

The initial application was extremely successful but the testing programme will continue well into 2017, with additional trial applications planned early in the year. We will keep you updated and look forward to extending our entente cordiale, even if it does mean we are swimming against the political current.

Ageing Infrastructure Protection

Rather than open this can of worms, how much
better to just encapsulate everything in Enviropeel!

Now, that looks better ... how long do you
think this protection will last?

Visitors to our website, reading about Enviropeel, may have read one of our case histories from a few years back, describing an application on some very rusty well heads in the North Sea. The case history 'Aging Infrastructure' is an illustration of the dramatic effects that corrosion has had over the years on this platform and highlights the difficulties for operators of facilities that may spend many more years in production than originally planned. 

The first photo shows the condition of the substrates on the platform at the time of the application in - it is easy to see how difficult it would be to address these corrosion problems using conventional methods. Blasting and painting would not be enough and, at best, provide a temporary cosmetic solution. To do the job properly, a minimum requirement would be replacing all the nuts and bolts most of which would require cutting to remove them ... and who knows what else.

Inspiration versus degradation

So, some of the wellheads were selected for protection using Enviropeel, as shown in the second photograph. It seemed like a good idea at the time and now, six years later, it seems to have been inspired. A senior corrosion engineer from the operator (a household name in petroleum products) visited the unmanned platform to see how Enviropeel had performed. His internal report highlighted the degradation of unprotected areas compared with those protected with Enviropeel and concluded: 

... the 2010 application of Enviropeel has, in the writers opinion arrested the corrosion of the flanges examined during the visit. The encapsulation properties of the Enviropeel product has performed as expected in preventing moisture ingress and further corrosion.

At the time, we guaranteed that protection for the substrates would last a minimum of 10 years, a claim which met with some scepticism, given the challenges of the substrate and its environment. Now, it looks like we underestimated our own abilities. The Enviropeel applications, although weathered and dirty, were unaffected by the years of exposure and will certainly outlast the requirements of the platform. 

NO LEVY PAID FOR THIS CHEVY

Back in the 1930s, a still was a popular accessory for many farmers in the mid-west - and the whisky those stills produced was well received by those who liked to drink but didn’t like to pay tax! Prohibition may have finished by 1935, but moonshine remained in high demand and its production could be very rewarding.

According to Boehm family history a two-door Chevrolet ‘Standard’, similar to the four-door model illustrated in the advertisement above, was exchanged with them for a consignment of moonshine by the local Chevy dealer. What is even more remarkable, is that the same car has remained in the family ever since.

Now owned by Kenny (Two-Gun) Boehm, President of Enviropeel USA and the grandson of the original owner, the car has been lovingly restored by the family and, as you can see in the photograph below, is a beautiful example of living automotive history.

Despite being more than eighty years old, the car runs as sweetly as ever and, now that the horn has finally been repaired, is as good as new. I had the privilege of driving it during a recent visit to the EUSA office and really enjoyed the experience. Kenny, who is now a grandfather himself, relishes the possibility that the car will remain in the family for generations to come.

No GPS on this model ... copy from the advertisement illustrated above:

"In addition to the all-important chassis features which give to each Standard Six model its splendid durability, performance and economy, the Sedan exhibits such refinements as the following: Long wearing, thick ply upholstery in richly beautiful colors; recessed arm rests in the rear compartment; carpet-covered foot rest; pockets of the upholstery material on the back of the front seat and on the right front door; robe rail; push-button internal door latches in door mouldings and the various other equipment ordinarily looked for in cars of a much higher price."

The 1935 Standard Coach was great value at $485. Now, Kenny tells me, a replacement tyre for the same car costs nearly as much, at over $400!

WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT ...

21 Countries, 300 trainees


I was thinking about Sean Ong's globetrotting status, as mentioned in an earlier blog - so I asked him how many countries he had travelled to for training purposes. It turns out that Sean has trained in 21 countries: Brunei, Australia, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Congo, UK, Vietnam, New Zealand, Mexico, Namibia, Columbia, Japan, Korea, USA, Argentina, Iran, Trinidad, Belgium, Congo & South Africa - quite a list - and has probably eaten some pretty random meals while he was at it (Sean enjoys his food). In the process, nearly 300 Enviropeel trainees have passed under review ... but not all have made the grade. Sean is famously strict about the quality of his courses - he once failed a whole class of trainees in the Middle East whose work was not up to scratch!

Right: Sean embraces his inner tourist

NOW AVAILABLE IN GREEN AND GOLD

Actually, the history of green and gold is a little controversial ... was it South Africa or Australia that first took to the sporting arena in their signature colours? Since Enviropeel has been in Australia for so many years, it could be argued that we should be firmly in the Aussie camp but in this, as in all things, we have to keep an open mind - and it is clear that both countries have a lot more than just their sporting colours in common. 

So, we are very glad to report that something else they now share is Enviropeel. 

With a strong resources sector of its own, South Africa has long seemed a natural partner for our products and now the partnership has been sealed. To complete the process, Sean Ong from the Malaysian office and Josh Haycox from the UK recently flew out to Johannesburg to commission the equipment and train personnel at the premises of Robatech SA who are the Enviropeel licensees for South Africa. 

A local industrial coatings company, Velvolor, is working with Robatech SA to provide technical support and it was management and personnel from this company that received the training. The training was very successful and Velvolor, who are already involved in large-scale flange protection, are confident that Enviropeel is the perfect solution for ingress and corrosion protection in South Africa.

TRAINING IN VIETNAM

Our globe-trotting Training Manager, Sean Ong, has been in Vietnam recently on a mission to train employees of MinhAnh TechInfo Co Ltd (MTCL) in Vung Tau, Vietnam. MTCL have a very diverse portfolio of services, with offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as well as an office and tool rental business in Vung Tau. The Company prides itself on the high levels of training it provides for its staff and the service it is able to provide for its customers so, having acquired an Enviropeel unit, they were keen to train their engineers in its use.

The training was organised at the Company's RentATool centre with the objective of certifying four Enviropeel applicators. After a week of training and intensive practice, the four trainees were duly certified with very good feedback from MTCL management.

The picture shows Sean (in orange) with the four trainees and their manager during training.

The Company has set up its own specialised anti-corrosion division based on its ability to resolve a wide range of corrosion issues using both Enviropeel and Alocit Systems. MTCL has already used Alocit offshore for Vietsovpetro, a Vietnam/Russian joint venture company with its HQ in VungTau. 

With high levels of synergy between its engineering service divisions and its newly acquired anti-corrosion capabilities, MinhAnh TechInfo Co Ltd looks forward to a successful future with Enviropeel and Alocit.