Quarter 3 2012
In the pipeline
See us at
Riding High
The fastest emergency hose replacement service there is
Closing in on our quarry... If the construction industry is the barometer of the UK economy, then the UK quarry and extractive sector is a microcosm of construction sentiment. When construction and civil engineering workload is up, quarries are a hive of planning applications, extensions and large-scale capital equipment purchases; if construction is down, materials stockpiling and extended replacement times of equipment are the order of the day. Sadly, the past few years have seen a great deal of rationalisation in the UK quarry sector, and those companies that continue to ply their trade in this highly competitive sector do so against a much-
reduced cost base that places increased emphasis on extending the working life of equipment whilst minimising unforeseen downtime. Thankfully for Pirtek, this trend plays to our strengths. Across the parts of the Pirtek network that operate within the traditional centres of UK quarrying activity, we have invested heavily in the additional training required to earn a Quarry Passport.
they are equipped with the industry-specific personal protective equipment (PPE) necessary. So when we arrive at the Hillhead exhibition in Buxton (19 – 21 June 21 2012, Stand U3), our exhibition unit may be out of its usual comfort zone at the foot of a working quarry. But for the men and women of the Pirtek network, it will be like a home away from home. Best regards
Indeed, our National Training Centre is accredited to deliver the training required to achieve this exacting standard, ensuring that our quarryfocussed MSSTs are suitably knowledgeable to work within a quarry environment and that
On the Udder Hand National Need Meat of the Matter Showing their Metal Keep on Trucking Breaking the Mould Cutting Edge Under Pressure Credit where it’s due Top of the Pile New Broom
Kelvin Roberts Chairman, Pirtek Europe
On the Udder Hand Never one to refuse a challenge, Jason Woods from Pirtek Worcester/Kidderminster along with Pirtek Oldbury’s Rob Greasley have taken on the Scally Rally 2012 in aid of Help for Heroes. Milking the publicity for all it's worth, their car, a very tired and battered metallic green Daewoo Lanos, has been reliveried as a cow, complete with eyelashes! The Daemooo is born. In true Top Gear style, the Scally Rally is an untimed Banger Rally and driving challenge (not a race) driven on open public roads without using the motorways. The criteria for entry is any car costing £250 and under, any car pre 1989 and any 2 litre 2 door car for under £500 is eligible. Jason and Rob have entered the £250 and under category. The car had to go as it was sold ‘no rally boy mods!’ Each day, the driving is accompanied by a challenge. Each team is awarded points that are totalled up on the final day to give the overall winner. The four day event starts on 29th
Contents
So you think you know Pirtek Racing Away
8 9
Growth at a Rate of Knots
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All Shipshape at Heysham By Hook or by Crook Driving Force Land Locked Safety First 1 Safety First 2 Cast Iron Case Uplifting Experience
June in Caernarfon, North Wales and finishes on day one - hopefully - in Lytham St Anne's in Lancashire. Supposedly the 180 mile course via Snowdonia should take just over six hours but the organisers have suggested a few diversions along the route such as a trip to the summit of Snowdon by train!
Day two is a bit longer at 250 miles and includes the best the Lake District can offer before going on to Dumfries. Day three and the journey is back to 180 miles on route to Inverary via the Clyde ferry at Gourock. Finally on day four the contestants face a gruelling but picturesque 270 mile journey to Fort William in a projected and very optimistic six hours 20 minutes. If you would like to support Jason and Rob, visit www.justgiving.com/scally2012.
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Charity Bike ride In the Navy Tanked up for Charity Rocket Science BTCC
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Published by Pirtek (UK) Limited 35 Acton Park Estate, The Vale, Acton, London W3 7QE Tel 020 8749 8444 Fax 020 8749 8333 E-mail info@pirtek.co.uk
In the pipeline 3 Pirtek Oldbury MSST Richard Ranger (left) and A Plant works foreman Richard Halls
The Meat of the Matter
National Need, Local Solution A-Plant is one of the biggest and best-known plant hire companies in the UK. Although a Pirtek national account, it is up to the national network of dedicated Pirtek Centres to ensure that all the company's hydraulic equipment needs are met at a local level. For instance, Pirtek Oldbury services the A-Plant Birmingham Powered Access centre. "We've used Pirtek for as long as I've been with A-Plant, and that's 13 years. We have some pretty impressive workshops here, with more than a dozen engineers servicing over 400 pieces of kit. This used to be solely a powered access depot but recently, client demand has brought all sorts of new equipment on site. We can now supply diggers, dumpers, rollers and telehandlers as well as the retaining our massive fleet of MWEPs, booms and platforms," says workshop foreman Richard Halls. "We use Pirtek for all sorts of things now. They do our routine maintenance and repair supplies but in recent years they have supplied spill kits, quick release couplings, provided fuel lines, power washers and even sorted our ram repairs. Although we have three mobile fitters on the road, it is often more economical and faster to ask Pirtek to service a damaged machine on a customer's site, than to divert one of our fitters to a remote location. It's a better use of our resources and it takes the pressure off our staff." Richard says that, as a supplier of equipment that is driven by third-party operators, the condition in which the machines are returned is not always ideal. And once again, Pirtek provides the solution. "It’s fair to say that our equipment can be affected by extreme conditions on some customer sites. This is where Pirtek are so useful,” Richard Halls concludes. “They arrive on time and equipped with all the right parts to get the job done first time. Their quick response means a machine can be returned to service in a very short time.”
The name Dunbia is unlikely to be well known to most members of the public, but its products most certainly will be. The Northern Ireland-based company is a major food processing company supplying the majority of the major meat retailers in the country, and counting Sainsbury, Asda and Boots among its customers. The company’s modern Preston processing facility one of seven in the UK and Ireland comprises of a beef/lamb abattoir and de-boning facility, plus a separate retail packing operation, that processes up to 1,500 cattle, 10,000 lambs and 600 tonnes of retail packed product per week with products even finding their way to Scandinavia. To keep Preston MMST John Osborne left, with Dunbia maintenance the facility working manager Mick Robb requires some powerful hydraulic equipment and some equally efficient maintenance support, which is where Pirtek Preston fits into the story. Called on to the site some 18 months ago because of failings of an incumbent supplier, Pirtek Preston found there were definitely areas for improvement. One of the first projects was to supply a mini swaging machine to cope with in-house hose repairs up to 1/2". The power packs that run the equipment on the abattoir lines are put under enormous pressure each day. Maintenance manager Mick Robb asked if Pirtek could come up with a service schedule to maintain the power packs every 6 months. This includes changing the hydraulic oil and filters as well as any other repairs that need doing. ‘They have attended our breakdowns on time and have supplied a variety of fixtures, ferrules, fittings and hoses on site,’ said Mick Robb. ‘Since Preston MSST John Osborne has been doing our servicing, the power packs have run far more efficiently. Mick concluded, ‘They will work round our schedules and never complain about the working surroundings. Equipment that was being neglected has been restored and working much more efficiently without breakdowns."
Quarter 3 2012
With the intriguing name of Less Common Metals Ltd, LCM is a company that can boast of being only one of two companies in the world in the same line of business. The company was founded in 1992 to cast rare earth alloys and produce high purity indium. LCM was acquired by Meldform Metals in 1996 but then separated out as a wholly-owned autonomous business, which was bought by Canadian Great Western Mineral Group in 2008. LCM currently process yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium and erbium as Vacuum Remelted (VR) products with impurities of >0.05%. The company also produce scandium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium and lutetium as “sublimed products” with impurities of >0.1%. The technology involved in rare earth processing goes back to processes developed at Hartwell for the British nuclear industry. Today the process is used to separate 16 elements into raw components that can be alloyed with iron and used in high energy products, such as electric car batteries and engines, wind turbines and super magnets used in 'green' products. The latter has particular significance as they used to replace gearboxes in turbines making them far more efficient and cost effective. LCM is currently moving into new custom made 6,100 m2 facilities in Ellesmere Port that will provide employment for 150 people. The facility will be home to the existing furnaces and five new ULVAC furnaces that will produce 4,000 tonnes of specialist alloys every year. The company has already moved its 20 year old, 30 kg crucible 'Big Blue' furnace - used to pre-strip alloys prior to the casting and manufacture of specialist steels - to the new site. LCM spent five weeks refurbishing it during installation. This has meant installing 300 metres of hose; not to carry oil, but water at 2.5 bar pressure and with a flow of 250l/min, to cool the furnace. Pirtek Ellesmere Port not only undertook this work but also designed and manufactured a complex manifold main cooling block. This has two main inlet feeds at the bottom of the manifold and 34 cooling outlet hoses ranging in size from 1 1/4, 3/4", 1/2" and 3/8". Pirtek had just a week to complete the work, which was undertaken by Mark McTigue, the company’s hydraulic engineer, with the assistance of his apprentice Ryan Cruickshank. LCM has also purchased the first state-of-the-art ULVAC furnace from China but were dismayed to find the cooling system supplied bore a striking resemblance to a Heath Robinson invention. Again Pirtek and Mark McTigue were called in to see if they could rescue the situation. Mark is currently producing drawings prior to the manufacture of a new cooling system. These plans will be taken to China so that the existing system can be rebuilt to UK standards. LCM contracts manager Andy Gibb has been impressed with Pirtek's input on the project. "When we moved the old furnace, it was obvious we needed to install a new cooling system. We showed Pirtek what we needed and they designed and manufactured a completely new and bespoke manifold block, which is a work of art. It really is a beautiful piece of engineering. Mark and Ryan and the So when we purchased the new ULVAC furnace, ‘Heath Robinson’ cooling and found that the cooling system was so system they are redesigning poorly built, Pirtek was the obvious choice to provide the solution,” Gibb concludes. "We have used Pirtek for many years for all sorts of hydraulic work but recently we have been using their manufacturing and design skills and they have come up trumps again. This is where you realise what a huge range of skills the company has to offer."
Showing their Metal
Mark McTigue and Ryan Cruickshank and the refurbished ‘Big Blue’ furnace
Below, the Pirtek designed and manufactured cooling block Opposite, Ryan with the first of 5 new ULVAC furnaces he will be looking after
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In the pipeline 5
Keep on Trucking Breaking the Mould
Based in Oldham, the trucks of TTX are a common site on the surrounding roads. Resplendent in their bright blue and lime green livery they aren't exactly easy to miss, but recently one truck in particular has become somewhat more eye-catching that the rest of the fleet. The truck in question is an adapted Renault tractor unit, which has been raced by Luke Taylor of the TTX Motorsport Truck Racing Team. 2010 was Taylor's first season driving in Class B of the championship. It was a baptism of fire, the first race taking place at the fearsome Nurburgring in Germany. Purchased in 2010, the unit has had the engine moved back and lowered to improve stability and the chassis stiffened, but it is a basic 5.5 tonne Renault Premier truck with an 820 kW engine limited to 160 km/hour. That is still powerful enough to get round Brands just 9 seconds slower than a racing car, even though it has the added disadvantage of being left-hand drive just to make life more awkward. "Pirtek Oldham has been involved with us from the start of the development of the racing truck. They've been involved with the power steering pipes, all the hydraulic pipes and the fuel lines. It's an ongoing programme though,” Taylor says. “We use Pirtek for all the usual maintenance and breakdown work with the general fleet, so they were a natural choice for the racing truck. They have been a longstanding supplier and we use them simply because they are brilliant."
Left to right Alex Martinez, Pirtek Oldham Depot manger, Luke Taylor of TTX and Andy Brereton, Pirtek Oldham trade counter
George Ward and a Vauxhall Astra steering bush he was recently asked to produce, behind him are some of the myriad of moulding blocks the company have machined in house
Dudley-based plastic injection moulders SG Dieplas is one of those pioneering engineering companies who seem to be able to make just about anything (so long as it's made out of plastic). There can be few companies that boast such a diverse and disparate product range. The SG Dieplas portfolio includes keys for Ford cars, guitar plectrums, letterboxes, birdfeeders, control system boxes, steering bushes, radiator taps, locker locks, luminous laser gun clays, drain pipe clips and even golf bag bottoms. The company not only designs all the moulds to customer specification but is also able to manufacture all the dies in its own workshops. Owner George Ward obviously takes great pride in the products. "The company has survived in spite of ferocious Far East competition simply because we can respond to customer needs. We offer technical advice and can deal with all sorts of special requirements. We do everything from design to manufacture. We are fast and flexible, and we’re quite prepared to make small batches at short notice, but that means we need to be operational at all times," he says. However, this was not the case, when recently one of the injection moulding machines sprung a major hydraulic leak in the middle of an important run. With their local hydraulic supplier closed down and unable to help, Ward remembered a sales call from Pirtek Oldbury some weeks earlier, and a phone call brought MSST Richard Rainger to the company within a few minutes. Unfortunately the damaged hose had unusual fittings, which meant that on this rare occasion, the hose couldn't be manufactured on site. However, Richard quickly phoned through the requirements so that the Centre could make it for him. He then returned to the Centre, collected the hose and had it fitted within 43 minutes of the call out! George Ward admits that the Pirtek performance was impressive. "Pirtek pulled out all the stops and had us up and running well within the hour,” he concludes. “If we have a problem in the future, Pirtek Oldbury will be our first point of contact."
Quarter 3 2012
Cutting Edge As part of its austerity measures, the Government has demanded dramatic cuts, and local authority grants have been severely curtailed. But when you’re at the sharp end of this dilemma, it's reassuring to know there is a sympathetic supplier at hand. Andrew Doig is the workshop supervisor with Edinburgh City Council. He provides what can only be described as a superb service to the public. Andrew’s department services every asset the council owns - that's 800 vehicles - although he admits that has dropped from over 1,000 in recent years as the Council goes without certain vehicles or gains more productive use from the remaining fleet. In the course of the day, Andrew and his team will service everything from a Corsa car to a tractor, an excavator or gritting lorry. He treats every department within the Council as a customer and gives them optimum value for money, a fast turn around and excellent service. “If a gritter breaks down in the middle of the night, it has to be repaired there and then. But we might be in the middle of a dozen other maintenance jobs at the same time. And they will all be urgent. It's hard work keeping everyone happy,” Andrew explains. “As the budget cuts have come into play, we have lost some of the workforce and vehicles are not
Under Pressure Pirtek Ashford has just celebrated its 20th anniversary. Set up in April 1992 and located in the Garden of England, the Centre covers East Kent and East Sussex, from Ramsgate in the north to Hastings in the south. Originally part of the franchise covering Erith, Mitcham and Medway, it is now run by Licensee Daniel Peters, who took control nine years ago. Peters spent 15 years working for Cromwell before being tempted to work for Pirtek as sales manager. When David Cowpie - the original Licensee - decided to sell the Ashford franchise, Daniel jumped at the chance and has never looked back. "The Ashford Centre really has gone from strength to strength. I have a really great team working with me, which has been acknowledged
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Workshop manager Andrew Doig
being replaced. This means they require more maintenance work, but by a smaller maintenance crew. But we will continue to provide the best possible service because the people of Edinburgh deserve that. Where we can become more efficient, we do, and where we can economically outsource, we will. We have Econ gritters, but there is only one Econ engineer in Scotland - and boy is he in big demand.” Another key example of Andrew’s “outsource where appropriate” mantra is in his relationship with Pirtek. “If we get a hydraulic failure away from the depot, it makes economic sense to use an outside provider rather than take one of our engineers away from other urgent work. That is pure efficiency as well as a better use of resources. Keeping the gritters on the road is a feat in itself, and knowing Pirtek will rescue a problematic vehicle is a Godsend. We have tried the opposition and prices can become very competitive but Pirtek are reliable, they deliver the service, have a great rapport with our engineers and provide a real priority service,” Andrew Doig concludes. 'Their emergency service is brilliant. If we are out in the snow, then I know Pirtek is as well, providing that vital back up to provide the services the people of Edinburgh have come to expect.” recently with our Senior MSST, Steve Barrett, winning the Pirtek MSST of the Year runner-up prize,” Daniel says. "Everyone knows Pirtek in the plant sector, so to grow the Ashford Centre business, we have been looking at new business opportunities, particularly in the agricultural fields that surround Ashford. With well over half of our territory classified as rural, it made sense to introduce ourselves to the local farming community. That has really paid dividends and we have a lot of new accounts in this sector. Farmers and agricultural contractors have appreciated the fast turn around using the mobile workshops, especially when they have an expensive piece of hired equipment sitting idle in a field, in the middle of nowhere." But, having conquered his local agricultural sector, Daniel Peters is not yet ready to rest on his laurels and is already looking at additional services to offer customers. "As a new venture we now offer high and low hose pressure testing and certification, which has proved very popular with the fuel, nuclear power, marine and pharmaceutical sectors,” he concludes. “Just another instance of Pirtek innovation."
In the pipeline 7
Credit Where It’s Due Winning the Pirtek Franchise of the Year award is generally something to shout about, particularly as it centres on sound management. However Pirtek Crawley Licensee Steve Constable remains modest despite accepting this year's award. “This is very much a team effort. It’s an award for the entire Centre,” Steve says. “We have an excellent team, from the girls in the office who keep the wheels turning smoothly in allocating the work through to invoicing; the Trade Counter who supply all the weird and wonderful parts needed, and most of all, the MSSTs who will cope with whatever the customers throw at them. We have superb customer retention which proves we are reacting to customer needs and this has led to sustained growth through the past year, not easy in these economic times.” Despite those tough economic times, Pirtek Crawley has continued to invest, recruiting and appointing sales manager Steve Byrne who is able to go out and have face-to-face meetings with customers. “Appointing a sales manager has brought its own rewards. It enables us to show the enormous range of Pirtek products and services directly to the customer and, as a result, we now get the opportunity to quote for work that might previously have passed us by, simply because customers were unaware of
Despite arriving at 7.30am for the photo, there are still two members of staff missing - they were already hard at work on customer sites. Within five minutes of this photo being taken all of the MSSTs were out on calls!
our capabilities in certain specialist areas,” Steve Constable concludes. ”The 1 hour ETA from the initial call to arrival on site is at the very heart of our service. We like to think we do such a good job that we become invaluable to our customers .”
Top of the Pile
Vibro’s Graeme McLoed left, with Preston MSST John Osborne
Vibro Menard, now part of the Soletanche Freyssinet geotechnical contracting group, employs a truly unique method of providing stable piles and foundations. The company’s specialist equipment is often remodelled from basic excavators, usually with a little help from Pirtek. "I don't refer to John Osborne - our Pirtek engineer from Preston - as an MSST. He's now our on-site hose manipulator," says Graeme McLoed, site engineer at Vibro Menard's site at Preston. "There is a good example sitting outside. This was a standard Komatsu 450LC, but we have altered it a trifle and John has done all the hose work.” To describe the Komatsu as slightly altered is something of an understatement as the entire front of the machine had been removed and replaced with a piling assembly. "The company has been going for 18 years under one guise or another and has come up with some very innovative engineering piling solutions. We have Vibro Stone Columns, which are designed to improve the load bearing capabilities of in situ soils and to reduce settlement. We use a vibrating probe to introduce a granular aggregate through either top or bottom feed. Then there is an auger system employed in Controlled Modus columns that are used on weak soils or near existing
structures. Vibro Concrete columns are a cheap alternative to piling in soft soils. We also manufacture Bi-modulus column equipment, which uses granular and solid material for footings where a stone column is inappropriate in very soft soils. Then we manufacture equipment for producing vertical or wick drains which are used to stabilise embankments,” Graeme explains. “But at the heart of the company is the Vibrocompaction system where we can introduce granular aggregate by vibrating probe. We even have a similar method utilising vacuum consolidation. All of this is very specialised, and we often call in Pirtek Preston at the design stage before we even get to manufacture. There are lots of competitors to Pirtek, but I'm not sure if there is anyone that can provide the same service. I am notorious for wanting things done right - that's my way, but John knows exactly what I want. We have an extremely good working relationship because John does such a good job."
Quarter 3 2012
New Broom Like many UK councils, Ashfield District Council has borne the brunt of government cutbacks . A little outside help in these circumstances goes a long way, as Pirtek Mansfield discovered. David White, Transport Services Manager for Ashfield District Council took on his role six years ago when the council was deemed to be failing, "We had many issues which needed correcting urgently" David said. "After just nine months we had put enough correctional procedures in place, and we earned an 'Excellent' rating from VOSA. " David has a very stoic approach to problems, so when he heard that his budget had been cut drastically, he simply looked at ways to run his department even more economically. "Ashfield District Council is part of a county-wide buying confederation which allows disparate groups to pool their buying power for capital equipment purchases. This standardises equipment, and spares, and we get a common vehicle to work with such as a Dennis refuse truck or a Ford Transit. This in turn cuts down on training," he explains. "We now have a vehicle replacement policy that means vehicles have to be at least six years old before they are even considered for replacement. However our maintenance team do their best to keep council vehicles
running as long as possible. With over 1,000 items of equipment ranging from Astra cars to 32 tonne tippers, that can amount to huge savings. But it also places an additional strain on the maintenance crews." David White stated, “The only time I will outsource a service is to a specialist contractor, hence our use of Pirtek. We do not have the capability to manufacture hydraulic hoses, nor do I wish to keep spares and stocks that simply become another costly overhead. If I employ Pirtek Mansfield to attend the vehicle where it has failed, it is repaired quickly, returned to service faster than we could effect a repair, and we have retained our precious maintenance crew servicing on our own work. That is efficient use of resources and is very cost effective,� he concludes. "We don't tender but we constantly review prices. We have used other hydraulic companies but we find that Pirtek provides a superior service and a faster response. If I want a vehicle repaired, I simply pick up the phone and make it Pirtek's problem. And with a contingency of just two refuse trucks to play with, I know they won't let me down."
Nottingham and Mansfield franchisee Steve Maguire left, with David White, transport manager at the Ashfield District Council depot in Mansfield
So you think you know Pirtek? Pirtek is so well known for hydraulic hoses and fittings that it’s easy to forget that the company is expert in other fields as well. Pirtek Cork has several specialist pieces of equipment that could save companies a fortune. Its top of the range Ercolina pipe bender is certainly the best machine on the market and was originally purchased for pipe manipulation with an OEM client that manufactures conveyors and crusher kits. But it has a myriad of other uses. This impressive piece of kit can bend stainless, mild, galvanised and passivated steel pipes with diameters of between six and 42 mm, manipulating them into intricate shapes ideal for replacement excavator pipes amongst other things. Although most of the pipes are manufactured at the Cork Centre, it is possible to lift the unit into a service
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van and take to a customer site for urgent repairs. This has been particularly useful for bus companies when remanufacturing power steering hoses, and on marine sites where all the ship pipe work seems to be unique. Pirtek Cork has even used it on military applications and it has more than proved its worth on industrial sites where hydraulic power packs have to be moved and the steel pipes extended. Pirtek Cork also has two mobile pot filters for hire. The larger six-pot unit was recently used aboard a navel vessel to separate seawater that had ingressed into the hydraulic system of the stabilisers. The unit was taken aboard and the system filtered and cleaned at sea. Pirtek then ran an oil analysis programme to verify the process had worked. The smaller two-pot filter is ideal for in-house factory filtration and for use with vehicle fleets where oil can be flushed and filtered in an economic fashion to save a fortune in replacement oil. Pirtek Cork will run a three and six monthly oil analysis to check on contamination, ensuring that the high quality required in hydraulic systems is not compromised.
In the pipeline 9 Left - Pirtek even got a plug at the pit lane entrance as (1) Alistair Seeley, (6) William Dunlop, (86) Cameron Donald and (5) Bruce Anstey hurl past
Above - Start of Race five on Saturday afternoon
Racing Away The Relentless International North West 200 is Ireland’s largest outdoor sporting event, attracting crowds of 150,000 as well as the biggest names in motorbike racing. Taking place in May, the spectacular and beautiful circuit runs between the towns of Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine – home to the famous Giant’s Causeway. However, like the Isle of Man TT, it has had its fair share of spills. To help cut down on the accidents, Pirtek Belfast sponsored the new chicane at Mathers Cross, which is almost as famous as the North West 200 itself, and not one for the throttle-shy riders. It is the most spectacular corner on the course and historically it has proven one of the most dangerous and difficult to perfect. With the North West being the premier racing event in Ireland, it became the obvious choice for Pirtek involvement. And the Irish motor enthusiasts certainly get their money's worth at this event, as the race sets out in three groups of anything up to 15 riders, unlike the TT when riders are released individually on timed laps. As a result the North West is far more spectacular. Amazingly even with a crowded and narrow circuit, Martin Jessop hit an unbelievable 208mph on his Ducati 1198 in first practice. Mervyn Whyte MBE, Event Director said, “The 2012 Relentless International North West 200 has been hailed by fans as one of the best ever, with World class racing once again returning to Northern Ireland. This leading motor sport event is also becoming ever more attractive for companies wishing to become sponsors and give their brand the tremendous exposure that the North West 200 offers. Companies such as Pirtek, who for the first time this year sponsored the Mather’s Chicane on the famous nine mile triangle circuit and look set to be back for next year’s races. We very much appreciate Pirtek becoming involved with the 2012 Relentless International North West 200 as the sponsor of the Mather’s Chicane section of the circuit and we look forward to working with the company in the future”. The meeting took place in a rare oasis of sunshine, which meant that the racing took place at top speed and the hospitality offered to guests and customers alike took place in the dry! Pirtek Belfast enjoyed a big boost of publicity, plenty of trade enquiries and a chance to say thank you to loyal customers. It was such a success that Pirtek will almost certainly be back in 2013.
Howard Bull (Pirtek Belfast Sales Development Manager) with 90s motorcycle ace Carl Fogarty
The Belfast Pirtek team (L to R) Dave Cater, John McCourt, Alan Craig, Connor Doherty, Colin Deane, Howard Bull, Stephen Purssell, Cathy Doyle, Debbie Pritchard, David Adams
Brian Patterson, Service Manager for Heyn Forklifts was competing as a privateer, with his son (right) acting as mechanic.
Quarter 3 2012
Over the past 20 years, Pirtek have become renowned for th is just one of 10 industry sectors that the company work wit is so valued that they service two of the biggest rivals on th However, each of shipping companies has unique operating m
Growth at a Rate of Knots
Top - The Seatruck Panorama at Heysham about to take a fresh load to Belfast Centre - Zaczek Gregororz (Greg) - C/O, Pirtek Penrith’s MSST Peter Croff and Aworski Wkodzimierz (Wolf) - bosun Bottom - Peter pauses alongside part of the newly refurbished ramp hydraulic piping
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Formed in 1996 as part of the giant Clipper Group, Seatruck was the first company to offer a dedicated freight service across the Irish Sea. Such was the demand that the company now operates four new high-speed, purpose-built ferries between Warrenpoint, Larne and Heysham. The four new 5,300 tonne, 50M Euro German built ferries (two in operation, one about to be delivered and one being built) have increased Seatruck's capacity from 90,000 to 130,000 trailer units on each ferry, and provide a faster crossing from 9 hours down to 8 hours by increasing the speed from 15 to 21 knots. This has resulted in a 20 percent growth in freight traffic. Seatruck now claims a 20 share of the Irish Sea crossing traffic compared with just 3.7 percent in 2004. "The new 142 metre ferries mean that Seatruck can offer 150 trailers per crossing rather than the original 68 on the older ferries. Like our competitors, we have a four-hour turn round at the end of each journey with a longer Saturday to Sunday evening non sailing slot. These are our maintenance times where we rely on Pirtek Penrith," says Seatruck superintendent, Steve Lear. "There is very little point in trying to keep all the hydraulic spares we need for the ferries in stock; we would need a huge stock of materials and some of the hoses are date sensitive, which means they would almost certainly have to be disposed of if they weren't used within the allotted time. This is where we use Pirtek's expertise. We hold a small range of frequent-use hoses that Pirtek make and store for us on site. Alternatively, we warn them a ferry is coming into port needing a replacement part, and they are on the dockside when we arrive. The old hose is removed, a replacement made and fitted. They always arrive with the right hose and fittings and I know we will have an effective hose replacement done on the spot that is often better than the OEM part.” Lear says that Pirtek’s ability to supply such a wide variety of hoses, assemblies and other allied items is a key to their success with Seatruck. "We know that whatever we throw at Pirtek they will come up with a solution. This year we have had them work on winches and mooring rams, hydraulic hoses to sprinkler systems,” Steve Lear concludes. “Pirtek Penrith also carried out a detailed hose audit. All the hydraulic hoses on board were inspected and labelled, so that if a part fails, is damaged or needs replacing, our engineers can phone in the order and it will be waiting for our fitters. That has saved a lot of time and proved very convenient for the company. We didn't get to be the biggest freight carrier across the Irish Sea by accident but by careful planning, and I'd like to think we choose our suppliers in the same way. We've been a long time customer of Pirtek because they know how we work and what we need to make our operations successful."
In the pipeline 11
heir hydraulic work with plant, but it should not be forgotten that this thin. In this special feature we show that Pirtek Penrith’s marine work he Irish Sea freight route operating out of the same port of Heysham. methods and needs.
All Ship Shape at Heysham On the face of it, the closure of the Fleetwood-Belfast ferry route sounds like another tale of recessionary demise. It was, in fact, a rationalisation of Irish Sea ferry services that had been instigated months earlier after DFDS had boughtout Norfolk Lines and were in turn purchased by Stenna Lines. In June 2011, the UK Competition Commission followed the lead set by its Irish counterpart and formally approved Stenna Line’s takeover of the DFDS routes between Birkenhead and Belfast and Heysham and Belfast. The approval concluded sixth months’ of discussions, investigations and rulings. During this time, the two routes had been operated by a separate company, known as Stenna Line Irish Sea Ferries. The four ships across the two routes have already been renamed and are now known as the Stenna Mersey, Stenna Lagan, Stenna Scotia and Stenna Hibernia. The Scotia (English engineers and Polish crew) and Hibernia (Dutch engineers and Polish crew) were taken from the DFDS Rotterdam route and now run from Belfast to Heysham. At 142 metres in length and capable of carrying 120 trailers, the ferries were built in 1996 and are biggest that can get into Heysham. Each will have moved in excess of 100,000 trailer units each last year. The two 13,000 tonne ferries powered by 10,400 kW turbines, run at 18 knots for the 8 hour trip, and have a fairly exacting existence on the near 200 kilometre journey, with only a four hour turn around window at the end of each journey. "We have to be fairly self supporting" says the Hibernia’s chief engineer, Marcel Schoon. "We have a crew of 21 including the seven officers who maintain the ship at sea, and we carry a fair number of spares for any work there. The ships are very well looked after but we use Pirtek for all our hydraulic parts, hoses and fittings. We plan all our maintenance in advance and order any parts so they are waiting for us when we dock. We use our own fitters on board to do any work. We have been very pleased with Pirtek Penrith, especially with the short delivery times." This is a note picked up by Stenna Line's Steve Docherty, one of 25 Stenna staff at Heysham responsible for the running of the ships. "We simply can't afford to lose a sailing. The knock-on effect takes days to sort out, so the ships have to run to maximum efficiency,” Docherty asserts. "We have been a longstanding customer with Pirtek simply because they know we have a short turn around at the end of each trip with the only decent maintenance slot occurring after 5 pm on Saturday when the ship is docked until Sunday at 9 pm. All our repair work has to be sorted in that time. Any major work will be dealt with when the ship is dry docked at the end of every year. We regard Pirtek very much as part of our logistic train and they manage to supply all our hydraulic needs, sometimes at very short notice. We are impressed with their work and response."
As soon as the ferry docks, Pirtek Penrith are ready and waiting with any spares
Close co-operation between Stenna & Pirtek Penrith means that the ferries run at maximum efficiency
Bottom (l-r) - In the control room, Kesvan Esveld - 3rd engineer Jan Treulr - 2nd engineer Marcel Schoon - chief engineer
Quarter 3 2012
By Hook or by Crook
Driving Force When you drive onto the Ford distribution site at Speke on the outskirts of Liverpool, you could be forgiven for doing a double-take. For there, beneath the Ford flags flying proudly overhead are row upon row of Tata-built Land Rovers.
Director Stephen Davidson left at the Preston workshops with Preston MSST John Osborne
Founded in 1956, Chorley-based C.P. Davidson & Sons Ltd has built an enviable reputation in the maintenance, refurbishment and supply of municipal equipment; most notably refuse collection vehicles in the seven to 32 tonnes class. With an extensive fleet of vehicles on hire, the company also handles over 600 pieces of equipment nationwide on contract maintenance from 11 nationwide sites. CPD acquired the Telstar Winter Road Maintenance Equipment brand in 2009 and now produces a range of gritting bodies and equipment. The company diversified further and now holds stock for Telstar, Semat, Translift and Rotopacker, is a distributor of Seddon and Iveco parts, and are Cummins engine diagnostic and Wabco braking systems engineers. John Osborne from Pirtek Preston is in regular contact with CPD, especially the Preston depot, which services the 80 Suez Environmental/Sitar refuse trucks based across Lancashire. "Pirtek service our breakdowns, and help me keep everything on the road. We have to deal with a broad spectrum of work on just about every aspect of the body and chassis. Refuse trucks are notorious for getting damaged, although our designs seem to be cutting down on the vulnerable areas. However the hydraulic systems go through a lot of movement and the hoses have a lot of wear and tear as a consequence. To put it bluntly they get a real hammering in service," explains CPD Preston contracts manager Stephen Davidson. "Pirtek won our work from another company because their service was so much better. Their preventative work and superior products have cut down on the number of call outs, but we also have the luxury of knowing we can call them out night and day and send them off to a remote location to effect a repair. I can also use Pirtek Preston as a one stop call out centre for breakdowns out of area. We get coverage at night and I know they carry all the right equipment on board including PETUA hose. If Pirtek prices are anything to go by, we were definitely overcharged by our previous supplier. Now, not only do I get lower costs, but I get better service as well.” CPD’s Andrew Strange left at Chorley with Preston MSST John Osborne
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The site is controlled by JLR Transport, a Ford subcontractor that is also responsible for the distribution of the 300 Fords bought on to the site by train every day, as well as the stored Land Rovers. JLR has a fleet of 62 trailers operating out of Speke, each with an average load of eight vehicles on a 2-3 multi drop programme to be completed during a single day. The bulk of the fleet are two-year old Volvos, the remainder being Scanias with an average age of six years. However, the company’s fleet of LOHR trailers are around 12 years old and are, therefore, more susceptible to hose failures through sheer wear and tear. Mike Schmidt, transport engineering manager for JLR, oversees a crew of eight at the 10-bay full length fitting facility. He admits that car transporters are not the easiest vehicles to maintain. "Because the decks are so exposed, the fixtures and fittings are very prone to corrosion. There are plenty of hoses on the vehicles and trailers and they are often extremely long, so when one does go, it often means removing metres of decking to get to it. The hose lengths on the Volvos aren't quite so long but they have more rams. Needless to say there is a constant supply of vehicles undergoing maintenance in the workshops. As a result we often have Pirtek Liverpool in here two or three times a week on everything from ram replacements to hose repairs," Schmidt says. "We run a very tight preventive maintenance programme. There is a daily inspection, a sixweek inspection and all the normal service programmes in place, but you can guarantee we will still get an on the road failure at some point. I use Pirtek Liverpool because they are on site within half an hour and they can be used as a national contact point for a breakdown anywhere in the country. We have been a long-standing customer of Pirtek and I'm pleased to say it's because of the service we receive. You only have to look at the storage facility outside with 4,000+ cars on the site and you will soon appreciate the logistics concerned. You have to make sure everything runs smoothly and Pirtek help us do just that."
In the pipeline 13
Land-Locked Pirtek Redditch, deep in the Heart of England and about as far from the sea as it is physically possible to be, is the last Pirtek Centre you would expect to have a marine customer. However, ABC Leisure Group Limited which has been building and operating a hire fleet for over 35 years, called in Pirtek Redditch to supply the hydraulic systems for their new-build narrow boats. Situated on the Birmingham - Worcester canal at Alvechurch in Worcestershire, ABC builds steel-hulled narrowboats, complete with all the modern conveniences such as bow thrusters, which make manoeuvring the 20 metre, six berth vessels so much easier. As a new concept, these vessels are shared-ownership, enabling customers to part own a narrowboat for as little as £12,000. "This concept has proved extremely popular," says production manager Paul Bridgewood. "We are already building our fourth boat and use Pirtek for all the hydraulic work. The 32 kW Kubota/Beta marine engine powers the hydraulic system. Pirtek has installed a block in the engine compartment that operates all the components including the bow thrusters at the other end of the boat. This entails three hoses running the entire length of the boat, to the suction delivery hose to the pump, the return value to the 'Bowman', which uses canal water to cool the engine, and the suction delivery hoses for the propulsion units." Remarkably the installation is done in two halves on different days, usually taking just five hours to completely install all the hydraulic work. David
Safety First 1 After a gruelling 18-month process, Pirtek Southampton has become the first Pirtek Centre to achieve Safe Contractor accreditation. The certification recognises very high standards of health and safety practise amongst UK contractors and involves a huge procedural programme that ranges from achieving exceptional health and safety standards that involved in-depth questionnaires, certification proofs, policy statements, company structure and organisation through to details such as communication with staff.
David Morris (left) and production manager Paul Bridgewood of ABC Leisure Top left, David Morris of ABC Leisure (left) Pirtek Redditch MSST Mark Sayer and Sales Manager Morton Connell admiring the latest addition to the ABC fleet Above right Mark is squeezed into the tiny engine compartment Below left, the bow thruster unit, below right the Kobuta engine with numerous Pirtek hoses attached and the Pirtek block that keeps the hydraulic hoses in order
Morris, team leader in charge of the installations, has nothing but praise for Pirtek. "Every time Pirtek does an installation, they bring in new ideas that make life easier for ABC during the construction,” he concludes. “They are very proactive with plenty of engineering suggestions, precisely he qualities we look for in an engineering partner." There are training programmes to be observed and even the cost structure of the company is investigated. “As Pirtek already holds ISO 9001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001, the company are MoD approved, registered with the Environment Agency, accredited with City & Guilds 2340-53, are part of the Investor in People programme and all the all the staff are qualified in H&S,” says Southampton Sales Manager Nick Edwards. “This seemed like the only accreditation we didn't already hold. We realised just how long the process would take, but it does give the company added credibility on government and local tenders and certainly helps when bidding for national accounts as it shows a high level of competence that is nationally recognised.” This is a view echoed by Southampton Licensee Kieron Sullivan. “Here in Southampton we have a lot of local competition. I thought the Safe Contractor Accreditation would make us stand out from the crowd and give our present and future customers the knowledge that they are dealing with the Premier hose replacement service on the south coast. Safe Contractor accreditation will enhance the company’s ability to attract new contracts and its commitment to safety will be viewed positively by its insurers when the company liability policy is up for renewal.”
Quarter 3 2012
Cast Iron Case
Morton Demolition could have been forgiven for thinking that a brand new truck might be unlikely to break down. But the company received a double-dose of 'Murphy's law' on a recent contract. The Falkirk based company has a regular collection contract with Caterpillar-owned Progress Rail Services at Queensferry. The state-of-the-art foundry makes a range of castings for the construction equipment giant’s huge range of excavators. The process requires huge amounts of casting sand that is collected and recycled by Morton Demolition. The company also has a contract to process the waste casting steel, which is often too large to be reused in the furnaces. This is removed using conventional chain lift skips and taken back to a processing yard where it is cut up using excavator-mounted demolition shears. Recently the company was using a new MAN skip lorry to collect a
Safety First 2 SHEFFIELD Tigers recently announced a three-way safety partnership with South Yorkshire Police, Fire and Rescue and Pirtek. In a programme to try and make the City's roads safer for motorcyclists, fans had the chance at a recent race meeting to try out a range of driving and motorcycling simulator equipment as well as having the opportunity to seek advice to get around Sheffield safely. Chris Lewis, Motorcycle Casualty Reduction Officer for the Safer Roads Partnership said “Motorcycles make up 1% of traffic on the roads but account for almost 20% of all road related casualties. We’re attending the Speedway track to promote the importance of road safety.” Keith Watts from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue said “Working in partnership with Sheffield Speedway and Pirtek is a great way to promote the importance of road safety. During 2011 there were 30 people killed on the roads of South Yorkshire, the Safer Roads Partnership is determined to reduce these figures further and attending events such as this is just one of the approaches that we take. Watching the speedway races is exhilarating but members of the public should remember that when they head home the speed limits on public roads are there for a reason.” Machin added: "We will work together to try and make the City's roads safer and that will begin with the South Yorkshire Police and Fire and Rescue team at Owlerton on Thursday. We are delighted to be a part of such a strong campaign and we look forward to working with both Pirtek and the guys from the Fire and Rescue team."
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Despite some of the worse weather to hit Scotland in recent years, Pirtek Edinburgh managed to dodge the traffic chaos outside caused by the closure of the Forth Road Bridge in gale force winds. It was just as well as the Morton skip truck couldn’t have picked a worse place to grind to a halt - bang smack in the middle of the main thoroughfare through the factory.
load of sand. “The vehicle was hooked up and starting to pull the bin onto the back of the lorry when a hydraulic hose burst. I couldn't believe it. This was a hose that had only just been replaced the week before under the manufacturer’s warranty, and now it had blown the end off the replacement hose,” recalls driver Nat Hill. “We didn’t have the time to get a replacement from MAN or to argue over what had happened. The truck was stuck in the main entranceway, with the load half on the back. There was no way to move the truck or drop the load off to move out of the way. There was only one solution - a Pirtek call out. They were extremely quick, especially as this was the day of the big storm and the closure of the Forth Bridge. They soon had the MAN repaired and the skip loaded and out of the way. The MSST refilled the hydraulic system, and even cleared up the spill. I was suitably impressed, and very relieved.” Making a change from driving the Pirtek sponsored BTCC car, Andrew Jordan took to two wheels and helped promote the safety campaign at the Sheffield Tigers ground at Owlerton
In the pipeline 15
An Uplifting Experience Modestly described in the advertising blurb as a rotating telescopic forklift, the Manitou MRT 2150 M Turbo is a clever and very useful piece of construction kit. But it’s even cleverer when it’s given the lifting capabilities of a crane, as Carney Construction will testify. Works manager Sean Carney is all too aware of the versatility of the new variation when it was on a recent hire. "One client who had it booked in for three weeks, saw it in action with the winch attachment and promptly hired it for 6 months! It has only just finished on a BAM rail project at Reading where it proved invaluable on bridge construction,” Carney says. “To say we have been very pleased with the versatility of the winch attachment is a huge understatement. We now also have a man cage attachment, which is equally clever and a real boon for the pillar erection. ” Taking just minutes to attach using a quick hitch, the three tonne Manitou Argento winch attachment has a lifting capability of three tonnes at an operating pressure of 220 bar. With a reach of 21.5 metres, the combination of a small forklift/’crane’ is proving a very economic alternative to a mobile crane. It was the very flexibility of this combination that has helped Carney secure work in a unique Clancy Docwra project for the Portsmouth Water Company at the Highwood Reservoir near the Itchen Valley Park at Southampton. The £3.9 million project is the first of its kind in the country, where a reservoir is to be roofed as a quality control project to reduce incidence of Trihalomethanes (THMs). If successful, this will be used as the model for all exposed reservoirs in the country. The 135,000,000 litre reservoir is a fresh water storage facility, storing water from the nearby River Itchen. Water goes through a six-part cleaning and treatment process before being pumped to the Portsmouth area for public use. As civil engineering formwork experts, Carney Construction has been tasked with building 115 2 x 2 metre pillar bases around the perimeter of the reservoir in the 10-week project. However where the 'crane' comes into its own is in the construction of the internal pillar base construction. The reservoir is divided into two parts, with one part dry at present. This is being used to store the steel prior to the construction of the formwork. The Manitou is being used as a forklift to transport the steel around the site and then fitted with the winch to lower the steel into the reservoir. The internal bases will be 7 x 7 metres and carry a 6 metre roof column. When the bases have been constructed in the dry sector, it will be filled with water from the other half, which will be drained. This process will take a week. 'There is one aspect you have to take into consideration when working over water and that is avoiding any potential contamination from engine or hydraulic oils. When we proposed using the winch attachment for the work we couldn't take any chances and had Pirtek Reading replace the hydraulic pipework. Prior to mobilisation on site, all plant machinery to be used at the Highwood reservoir was fully serviced, inspected and any necessary hoses or couplings that may have been worn or damaged, changed at our yard to minimise any risk of contamination. Pirtek Reading ensure that all the hydraulic equipment is fit for purpose and leak free. I wouldn't think of using anyone else for this sort of work. Portsmouth Water trust us to take care of their resources and we trust Pirtek to ensure we don't have any leaks,” Sean Carney concludes. “We've used them for years without a problem, they are just like us, real experts."
Is it a forklift, no it’s a crane - well technically it’s a winch. No matter what form Carney Construction have the MRT 2150, Pirtek Reading ensured that it was safe to work within the reservoir confines without the risk of pollution
Quarter 3 2012
Colchester
Giving Something Back part 2
Maldon
Utrecht
Harwich
Hook of Holland
Ealing
Basildon Docklands Park Royal
£23,274.17 Day1The Pirtek Charity Cycle Ride began at Pirtek UK stopping at Pirtek Park Royal to meet Andy Williams and his team. Continuing to Pirtek Docklands with the first stop for the Pirtek support van to pick up Barry Wicks who got a puncture about a mile from the centre. A quick repair, a bacon sandwich and a coffee and on to Pirtek Basildon and a second opportunity for the support van to come to the rescue of Phil Brown from Pirtek Sheffield who suffered a knee injury. A very successful day of 50+ miles ended with the team a little bit saddle sore but still smiling. Day 2 And the team set off from Pirtek Basildon and head for Maldon. Colin May from Basildon couldn't bear to miss out so he decided to join the team for another day, despite claiming to have lots of work to do. Arriving at Maldon and some team pics outside the local police station. The team then head for Colchester, picking up speed on the country lanes, there's even a bit of healthy competition for the lead with Andrew Jordan and Adam Ball (racing car drivers are so competitive). Lead by Kelvin Roberts the team head into Colchester for fish and chips before pressing on for Harwich. The first incident for the day comes when Andrew Jordan suffers a puncture (something he should be quite used to), but he quickly jumps onto the spare bike
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Houten Rotterdam Xanten
Grand total raised by Pirtek so far 2011 - £16,821.17 & 2012 - £6,343.00
Although Pirtek UK has built its reputation upon its ability to react instantly to those in need of emergency on-site hose replacements, behind the scenes the company supports a variety of charity fundraising activities, with a specific focus on The Prostate Cancer Charity.
Arnhem
Dusseldorf Cologne
and presses on. A second incident follows when the support vehicle is stopped by the local police and taken off for a vehicle check all clear. We take time for a quick photo opportunity with the local police and ‘Team Gorgeous's Paul Johnston. With hours to kill before boarding the ferry, the team head into the local bike shop to buy some accessories to decorate Alistair Wiggins bike, who was joining the team on the ferry. Everyone says their goodbyes to Colin May and to ‘Team Gorgeous’ and head off. Andrew Jordan suffers yet another puncture but he manages to ride onto the ferry. Day 3 And everyone is awoken by "don't worry, be happy" being played throughout the cabins at 6am - a tune that we couldn't get out of our heads for the rest of the day - thanks Stenna!! A quick breakfast and then repair Andrew Jordan's puncture, before heading off into Holland Alistair Wiggins proudly riding his bike, which had been creatively decorated by his team mates. The first quick stop is to meet Michel Schutte and Peter De Ru from Pirtek Benelux who will be the guides for the next leg. They are armed with orange Holland novelty hats for each team member to wear. The team cause quite a stir outside the train station and become a tourist attraction for a coach party who all want their picture taken with the riders - Keith Hardy, Adrian Richards and Martin Lindsay even try to take over the coach, only to be removed by the disgruntled coach driver! At the hotel they are
In the pipeline 17 welcomed by Kok Langerak and Bianca Van Boven from Pirtek Benelux who have arranged high tea before a minibus collects everyone for a boat tour around Rotterdam harbour in the sunshine. As the day draws in everyone heads back to the hotel for a few well earned beers in the sunshine, except for Alistair who orders a tomato juice - his body is a temple after all. A few members of the team head for Amsterdam central by train. Upon arriving in Amsterdam the group head for a local Thai restaurant where ordering proves to be interesting and nobody is really sure what will arrive. After dinner they head off into a lively Amsterdam to take in some of the well known "sights" of the city which certainly proves to be interesting.... Day 4 Kok Langerak joins the team for a quick photo before they head off. As this route is mostly cycle paths, the support van leaves the team to go it alone but Kelvin loads up his bike with the emergency repair kit in case anyone gets a puncture (our money was on either Andrew or Barry!) The first stop takes us to Krimpen aan den IJssel which is along the canal path and very scenic, Adrian, Keith and Martin attempt to steal a pedalo and Alistair nearly falls of his bike - to the amusement of the rest of the team. More group pictures before pressing on for a well earned coffee this is where Alistair does actually fall off his bike and suffers a leg injury (it's not as bad a he says it is). The weather is starting to improve and with the sun beating down the team press on, everyone is still on top form and enjoying the day - next stop Pirtek Utrecht where we all receive a warm welcome, drinks, sandwiches and cakes, Adrian even treats us all to an ice cream. We arrive in Houten, quick shower and down for dinner. Day 5Lead by Jort Paauwe, the team head off for refreshments at Kok Langeraks house complete with a Pirtek flag in front garden. We are greeted by Bianca and Kok from Pirtek Benelux who are the perfect hosts with drinks, pastries and cakes at the ready. Fed and watered the team head off for Ede where they buy sandwiches and pastries for a picnic in the forest with the sheep. Barry Wicks picks up another puncture. After the picnic and cycling for some 90 minutes in 30+ degrees heat, the team finally arrive at the hotel in Arnhem tired and hungry. Quick shower and change and off into town to a Turkish restaurant, Kelvin even takes the time out to help the busy waiters by fetching his own bread basket for the table We cross the
border into Germany tomorrow and Martin Lindsay plans on changing into his kilt on the bridge, that's if he still fits into it after all the food he's eaten! Day 6 And the team, lead by Jo Gasper, press on to reach the bridge which will take us into Germany, with Andrew Jordan and Martin Lindsay taking the lead, they arrive first followed by the rest of the team with Alistair in the rear with Heidi. Martin quickly changes into his kilt for a photo opportunity before Muhlenhof and a spot of lunch. After stopping for lunch for 2 hours (service was a bit slow), the team press on to miss the rain and arrive back at the hotel in Xanten just as the thunder storm begins. All up to the rooms to change at back down for dinner at 7.30pm! Day 7The rain seems to have cleared so it’s off to Dusseldorf. It's Andrew Jordan’s birthday today so the team serenade him with Happy Birthday over breakfast before setting off lead by Jo Gasper. Keith Hardy has the first puncture of the day so the support vans are called in (we also have a German response van today). It takes 6 men to carry out the repair whilst Andrew Jordan adopts a lying down position to supervise. Next stop Dusseldorf where the team are greeted by the licensee who has prepared a barbecue and even supplies some cold beers for the thirsty cyclists. Andrew Jordan is presented with a birthday cake complete with the image of the Pirtek Racing car and is once again serenaded with Happy Birthday, before heading into the centre of Dusseldorf to sample the local beer and celebrate Andrews birthday properly – the camera stayed in the hotel this evening! Day 8 The last day of cycling with the final destination of Cologne. The first leg of today's ride is some 18km and includes a ferry trip across the River Rhein (hope nobody falls overboard).....Today is a relatively short ride but with the sun beating down it makes for a difficult ride. At the first stop Alistair decides to do a bit of off-roading on his bike and nearly falls off (again), before deciding on sunbathing. The team set off for Cologne Cathedral, the official finish, everyone excited, but also a little sad that it will soon all be over. The weather seems to be getting hotter with Martin Lindsay wearing his kilt with pride, a sight to behold! And finally the finish line, everyone finishes with a smile on their face and a well earned lunch. Keith Hardy practices his new found German, and orders a special dessert for Bernd Weber who accepts it graciously and with a big smile. Bernd hands out medals to the whole team. It's been a fantastic experience for everyone involved with some laughs along the way and some new found friends. More importantly, we have helped to raise money and awareness for The Prostate Cancer Charity!
Quarter 3 2012
In the Navy
Pirtek Portsmouth MSST Chris Manwaring on route to HMS Enterprise
Science fiction fans could A question of quality - rubber bellows replaced by Pirtek be forgiven for expecting a with stainless steel bellows ship christened Enterprise to be boldly going somewhere in outer space rather than floating about in Portsmouth Sound. However, HMS Enterprise is a 3,470 tonne, 90 metre Echo class multi-role hydrographic survey vessel. Enterprise and sister ship Echo were the first Royal Navy ships to be fitted with azimuth thrusters, a configuration of propellers placed in pods that can be rotated in any horizontal direction, making a rudder unnecessary. Both the azimuth thrusters and the bow thruster can be controlled through the integrated navigation system by a joystick providing very high manoeuvrability. Complete control and monitoring for power generation and propulsion, together with all auxiliary plant systems, tank gauging and damage control functions is provided through the integrated platform management system (IPMS), accessible through workstations around the ship.
The Enterprise is designed to be at sea for 330 days of the year, so any maintenance has to carefully planned and carried out expediently when the vessel is eventually in port, as she was in May. Having spent six months planning a parts replacement programme with the Naval Dockyard at Portsmouth, Pirtek Portsmouth were put on the spot recently when it was found that work on the Enterprise couldn't be completed at Portsmouth and she would have to be moved to another yard to complete the work. “The only problem with that is that we had a huge list of parts and hoses to replace over a scheduled two-week period, and that was now reduced to just one week so she could be moved on time," says Pirtek Portsmouth General Manager Mat Wye, “Virtually all the systems on the Enterprise had replacements parts to be fitted, including the bow thrusters, fuel hoses, hatch hydraulics, winches, generators, air hoses, breathing systems, stabilisers and even the sewerage plant had work scheduled. Pages of parts in fact.” However, Pirtek Portsmouth had the situation in hand as all the hydraulic hoses have a unique naval code that is translated onto the Pirtek system for easy identification. All Pirtek hoses also carry a special naval reference on a metal collar (designed and fitted by Pirtek Portsmouth) that is heat shrunk onto the hose. The PFM, flexi and metallic hoses were all made in advance and because the MSSTs carry 'T' cards are all fully passed for work in the Dockyard, work began in earnest as soon as Enterprise docked. And despite the abridged time slot, all work was completed in time. “The Navy has been regular customers for over 10 years, but we don't actually have a formal contract with them as in the past. They call us in when they have a specific requirement now. But we have been busier than ever this year, having recently completed work on one of the new Type 45 destroyers. In fact I think we must have worked on the majority of the surface fleet based at Portsmouth by now. It is not unusual to be called out at odd hours for a repair, and that's where Pirtek really score, as none of our competitors can offer this sort of comprehensive service,” Portsmouth MSST Chris Manwaring said. “It isn't a case of straight replacement work. We have replaced the rubber bellows on the vessel with vastly superior steel ones, which won't perish in future. That's preventative maintenance at it's best. Quality and traceability are also key factors in our work. All of the hoses have to be rig tested, certificated and then tagged. We are currently going for the new defence standard approval, the DEFSTAN 47/32 testing regime where 50 hose types are manufactured in batches of three identical hoses. These are tested by being filled with water in the Techmaflex test rig and brought up to normal operating pressure and held for a minute. The second hose is then tested at twice the normal pressure and the third hose tested to destruction, which is usually in excess of 1200bar, which is pretty scary when they finally go. A 4 to 1 safety factor is the norm, I'm pleased to say our hoses go way beyond that, which is good news for the sailors.”
Left part of the naval hose certification process and one of the heat shrink metal ID labels designed by Pirtek Portsmouth H88 - HMS Enterprise
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In the pipeline 19 If a company has ever moved liquids or powders around the country, whether they’re food stuffs, chemicals or hazardous waste, the chances are they have used BP McKeefry (BPM), one of the UK's premier tanker transporter companies with over 200 specialist vehicles in operation. During its 35 year history, BPM has supported a variety of charitable causes, but this year it has pulled out all the stops and repainted two brand new articulated tanker trailers, one in Ireland for a hospice and the other in the UK in support of the Marie Curie Cancer Charity. Dedicated to providing end of life care and support for cancer sufferers, the charity has an intriguing history. In 1948, when the Hampstead-based Marie Curie Hospital was transferred to the NHS, a group of committee members from the hospital decided to preserve the name of Marie Curie in the charitable medical field. This was the beginning of the Marie Curie Memorial Foundation − a charity dedicated to alleviating suffering from cancer today − today known as Marie Curie Cancer Care. Director Andy Hare explains the thinking behind using the tankers as giant billboards. “Rather than paint the tankers in our usual corporate colours, we thought we could put them to better use by promoting the Marie Curie Charity. They are pretty eye catching at the best of times, but in the new livery they are almost unmissable and should help raise the profile of the
Tanked Up for Charity
Rocket Science With 90 dedicated Centres strategically located around the UK and Ireland, customers should find they are reasonably close to a Pirtek engineer, wherever they are. However, the relationship between H&M Compressors and Pumps and Pirtek Basildon seems somewhat closer than most, in every sense of the word, as they’re only 30 metres apart. H&M is a family run company started in 1980, and now run by the founder's son Paul Hennan. The company has become specialist suppliers of air compressors, pumps and motors, supplying Worthington, IngersollRand, Atlas Copco, HPC, Hydrovane, Broomwade, Grundfos, Mono, Wilo, Flygt, Ebara, Calpeda, DAB, Stuart Turner, ARO and Blagdon products. Even with a staff of just 10, who provide specialist servicing, repair and rebuilding services, the company has established an impressive client list that includes Express Newspapers, Ford, numerous City banks and a myriad of small local companies. But the jewel in their crown is Gardner Aerospace. Gardner Aerospace is the UK's largest independent aerospace metallic manufactured details supplier, with revenues of £100 m, eight manufacturing sites and over 700 employees, 250 of them
charity by giving some much needed publicity. As an added fundraiser we thought we would ask some of our suppliers if they would like to sponsor the tankers as well,” Andy says. “We looked through our blue chip suppliers and naturally Pirtek appeared. Although the company head office is based in Swatragh in Northern Ireland, there are four regional depots in England, and as I operate out of Basingstoke, Pirtek Reading was our first port of call. We only approached good quality companies and having worked with Pirtek for a great many years, we readily added Pirtek to that list. Pirtek Reading licensee Darren Squire readily agreed to support our cause and the Pirtek name will be proudly featured on the tanker in support of a great charity.' Further details on this fantastic charity can be found at www.mariecurie.org.uk. spread across three Basildon facilities. Gardner Aerospace machines, fabricates, treats, assembles, and repairs, small to large precision parts, kits, sub-assemblies in soft, hard, and exotic metals, and has all of the required engineering tools, ovens, processes, and quality approvals in support. Walking round the milling centre at Basildon, customers can't fail to be impressed by the 27 cutting edge milling machines busily working away on parts for Boeing, GKN and Airbus in one part of the factory whilst manufacturing military and satellite components in another. To gauge their success, the company has grown fourfold in the last 15 years and does work for practically every major aerospace company including BAe, Rolls Royce, Augusta Westland, Fokker, Bombardier and Lockheed Martin. To retain contracts for such a prestigious client list and ensure work is carried out on schedule, it is imperative that all the specialist machinery is working to optimum efficiency. So when H&M received a call to say that a key five-axis turning centre had a hydraulic problem, they turned to Pirtek Basildon to provide the solution as Paul Heman explained. “Gardner is our customer but we asked Pirtek to provide a specialist thirdparty hydraulic service. We have worked with Pirtek for years and trust them implicitly - even with our biggest client. Pirtek of course came up trumps and had MSST Dan May on site in minutes. The machine in question was a 45tonne £900,000 Mazak Integrex e1600v which was producing guidance systems for US F18 jets,” he concludes. “I'm pleased to say Dan repaired the Mazak straight away and we had a very happy customer as a result. We use Pirtek because we know their products and can rely on them to provide the service when we need it most. Definitely a question of trust all round.”
Quarter 3 2012
In the pipeline 20
And there’s even more to come There is much that was new for Andrew Jordan and Pirtek Racing over the opening races of the 2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. But what had not changed was the incredible race action, superb TV and media coverage and all-round excitement that is the trade mark of Britain’s biggest and best motorsport show. The start of the new season delivered a big challenge for Andrew and the team, with a brand new Honda Civic prepared to the latest NGTC (Next Generation Touring Cars) regulations and an enormous amount of work went in to get a pair of cars ready for Andrew and his team mate Jeff Smith. In front of a huge crowd and a live TV audience for the opening event at Brands Hatch, the Pirtek Honda Civic made a superb start and Andrew left the Kent track with two second places and a sixth place to give Pirtek Racing its strongest ever start to the season. A fine day’s work from driver and team put Andrew immediately into the title race and he slotted into third in the overall points, only headed by the big two names in the BTCC: Jason Plato and Matt Neal. After three of the season’s 30 races, Pirtek Racing topped both the HiQ Team Championship and the Independents’ Team Trophy and Andrew was top of the Independents’ Trophy with Jeff in fourth. It was a stunning opening weekend for the team and drivers. But nothing ever stands still in the BTCC and a fortnight later the action switched to Andrew’s home track of Donington Park. Though he consistently ran at the head of the action and retained third place in the overall standings with a fifth and two sixth places, Andrew declared it a frustrating weekend in the topsyturvy world of the BTCC. Low ambient temperature caused problems getting heat into the slick racing tyres and Andrew was caught out at the start of the opening race when the rear of the car broke away and he lost several places as a result. Later in the day, Andrew also lost time at the first corner. In the middle race of the afternoon, Andrew was hit by another car and speared across the gravel, so it was a day of fighting back up the order. The third race weekend of a very busy month took the BTCC package to the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire and Andrew turned in a stunning qualifying lap in tough conditions to claim pole position for round seven. However, race day proved to be a real challenge after an incident at the first corner of the opening race pitched the Pirtek car into the barriers. That left Andrew fighting back up the order once more and he finished the day on a strong note with fifth place in the final race, while his Pirtek Racing team mate Jeff Smith started the event at the tail of the grid but raced hard all day and finished ninth in the third and final race as appalling weather made the day really tough for all the drivers. Although only the Brands Hatch weekend really went to plan, Andrew and the Pirtek squad have demonstrated superb potential and now the team fully intends to capitalise on that speed as the BTCC season resumes in June after a spring break. There are seven race weekends and 21 races still to run before the season wraps up back at Brands Hatch in October and the Pirtek cars are going to be in the thick of the action.
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BTCC 2012 Programme Oulton Park 10/Jun/2012 Croft 24/Jun/2012 Snetterton 12/Aug/2012 Knockhill 26/Aug/2012 Rockingham 23/Sep/2012 Silverstone 07/Oct/2012 Brands Hatch GP 21/Oct/2012
Competition With the British Touring Car Championship well under way, ‘In the Pipeline’ is offering one lucky reader a chance to win 2 Pirtek Racing Experience tickets to a BTCC event at a circuit of their choice. To be in with a chance, just answer the following question: Which city did the 2012 Pirtek Charity Bike finish in? Please email your answer to info@pirtek.co.uk. The winner will be drawn from the correct entries on 30.06.2012. Good luck. And congratulations to Sophie Coulter-Maltby from York who won 2 BTCC tickets by correctly answering the competition in the previous edition of ‘In the Pipeline’.