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<item>
<link>https://www.wescottcoatings.com/news/north-east-firm-safely-delivers-jacket-finishing-touches_117s55</link>
<title><![CDATA[North-east firm safely delivers jacket finishing touches]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Wescott was contracted by Inch Cape contractor Smulders to provide a safe, efficient and cost-effective solution for access, encapsulation, and coating removal and re-application on the project&rsquo;s middle jacket foundation structure at the Wallsend facility
]]></description>
<content><![CDATA[North-east based Wescott Industrial Services Limited is part of Wescott Group &ndash; a globally recognised asset life integrity and integrated services provider. The firm recently expanded its in-house capabilities with the acquisition of Hull-based specialist scaffolding services provider SGS Ltd., enabling a more integrated service offering to clients.

Wescott was contracted by Inch Cape contractor Smulders to provide a safe, efficient and cost-effective solution for access, encapsulation, and coating removal and re-application on the project&rsquo;s middle jacket foundation structure at the Wallsend facility. Several surface preparation solutions were considered, but eventually a traditional solution was selected that included the following stages:


	Scaffold access &ndash; system scaffolding (Layher) was used for time efficiency
	Full containment &ndash; shrinkwrap sheeting
	Surface preparation &ndash; fresh water wash and full blast to SA2.5 all steel surfaces
	Application of coating system &ndash; Interzone 954 and Interzone 1000
	Controlled climatic conditions and ventilation


The work was carried out during the winter of 2024/25.

Outcome

This project presented several challenges not least being the winter conditions, limited timeframe and high quality standards with stringent inspections. The internal environment required more than 85 percent relative humidity, a minimum temperature of 20 Celsius and a steel temperature of 3C above dew point, all when there was rain and high wind outside.

Wescott had to use ingenuity and specifically tailored methodologies to deliver the project safely, on time and within budget. The solutions included:


	Fully designed system scaffold to reduce overall erection and dismantle times.
	Use of heaters, dehumidifiers and dust box filter units as well as a digital monitoring system for real time readings of the internal conditions.
	Heat shrunk sheeting to provide a robust containment and to maintain the internal environmental control measures.
	Internal zoning of the jacket to enable simultaneous operations in four different quadrants, reducing the overall duration. Use of a blast primer also ensured the project did not overrun.
	Use of several quality inspectors to ensure any issues associated with quality where minimised.


Through its work on the Inch Cape jacket, Wescott has gained valuable experience of working in challenging conditions to tight timeframes that will be leveraged for future projects.

Mark Duffy, Managing Director of Wescott Group said:

&ldquo;We were extremely pleased to be awarded this scope to assist in the removal and reapplication of the coating system of the Inch Cape middle jacket alongside providing access and containment. We have been involved in a significant amount of wind farm projects over the past 15 years throughout the UK and Europe, ranging from fabrication stage, hook up and commissioning, ongoing maintenance, and full preservation and remediation schemes. It was an absolute pleasure to receive this opportunity to add our specialist services to another UK windfarm asset which was fabricated on our doorstep on the River Tyne at Smulders Wallsend.&rdquo;
]]></content>
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<pubDate>18 Jul 2025 07:04:00 GMT</pubDate>
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<item>
<link>https://www.wescottcoatings.com/news/wescott-acquires-specialist-scaffolding-company_117s36</link>
<title><![CDATA[Wescott Acquires Specialist Scaffolding Company]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Wescott Industrial expands its service offering and geographical presence with the strategic acquisition of SGS Ltd
]]></description>
<content><![CDATA[Wescott Industrial Services Limited is increasing its in-house capabilities and geographical presence with the strategic acquisition of specialist scaffolding services provider SGS Ltd.

The North East-based company delivers a range of surface preparation and industrial blasting and painting services to sectors such as Renewables, Marine, Oil &amp; Gas and infrastructure, which often requires the use of large scaffold structures sourced from sub-contractors.

As a result of the acquisition of Hull-based SGS Ltd, Wescott Industrial Services will be able to offer its existing and new clients fully integrated scaffolding services, which it previously sub-contracted, therefore enabling the company to better control this element of the supply chain, along with the overall delivery of projects.  In addition, the acquisition offers cross-selling opportunities between the two companies&rsquo; diverse client bases.

Founded in 2010, Wescott Industrial Services Ltd is owned by three shareholders, Mark Duffy, Matthew Doyle and Kevin Carruthers, who joined the business in 2016.  Two years later the business established an Australian division through a Joint Venture with Australian company Clean &amp; Gone PTY Ltd.

Employing around 80 people, Wescott Industrial Services Ltd has established itself in the energy sector supply chain with its provision of on and offshore fabric maintenance and rope access supervision capabilities.

The acquisition of SGS Ltd has been led by Wescott Industrial Services Ltd&rsquo;s managing director Mark Duffy and commercial director Matthew Doyle.

Established in 1994, SGS Ltd is a main supplier of scaffold access and support systems for the Large Industrial, Petrochemical, Waste to Energy and Pharmaceutical and Food industries, as well as providing services to domestic and commercial projects.

SGS Ltd has a workforce of around 70 directly employed personnel and operates nationwide.

Matthew Doyle, commercial director of Wescott Industrial Services Ltd, said: &ldquo;The acquisition of SGS Ltd is an essential component of our strategic growth as we increase our capabilities and market presence in new and existing sectors.  Bringing such a well-established and experienced scaffolding contractor into our business will offer considerable benefits to both businesses and support the continued scale up of our operations.&rdquo;

Advising the directors of Wescott Industrial Services Ltd on the acquisition of SGS Ltd was Newcastle-based RG Corporate Finance led by partner and head of corporate finance Carl Swansbury and senior manager Alex Simpson.  Legal advice to Wescott was provided by Oliver Gray, head of corporate and commercial services at St James&rsquo; Square Law Firm.
]]></content>
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<pubDate>18 Feb 2021 06:36:00 GMT</pubDate>
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</item>

<item>
<link>https://www.wescottcoatings.com/news/green-hydrogen-whats-all-the-fuss-about_117s32</link>
<title><![CDATA[Green Hydrogen &#150; What&#39;s All The Fuss About?]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Currently, hydrogen is mainly used as a raw material in industry but is increasingly in focus as a medium for storing energy and as a fuel in the transport sector. 
]]></description>
<content><![CDATA[Currently, hydrogen is mainly used as a raw material in industry but is increasingly in focus as a medium for storing energy and as a fuel in the transport sector. Matt Doyle, Commercial Director of Jarrow-based Wescott Industrial Services, Offshore Wind Farm coating specialists, explains exactly what Green Hydrogen is and how we&rsquo;ll probably be hearing lot more about it in the future.

Hydrogen, without going too much into the Chemistry lesson, is used extensively in the petro-chemical industry, particularly in the production of ammonia for fertilisers and methanol for the plastics and pharmaceutical industries. It&rsquo;s also used to remove sulphur from fuels, as a welding gas and as rocket fuel to name just a few uses, but the exciting new technology is using Hydrogen as a clean fuel for transport, emitting only water as a by-product. If this technology develops as many seem to feel it will, demand will increase vastly, especially for hydrogen produced by green technology.

In essence, there are three ways to produce hydrogen. The vast majority of bulk commercial hydrogen is currently &lsquo;Blue&rsquo; Hydrogen, produced by mixing steam (water vapour) with natural gas which reacts with the methane and breaks down the gas into carbon monoxide and hydrogen. An alternative means is &lsquo;Brown&rsquo; Hydrogen produced by the gasification of coal &ndash; coal is mixed with oxygen under high pressures and temperatures to again produce Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen.

The third means is &lsquo;Green&rsquo; Hydrogen, whereby hydrogen is produced by running an electric current through water using an electrolyser powered by renewable energy. Whilst the technology has long been around, the viability of the process depends on the demand for hydrogen as a fuel and the price of electricity for production.

Enter the growth in offshore wind farms, in particular, and the resultant fall in price of the electricity they produce. When the increasing requirement for energy storage technology to take advantage of electricity produced at times of low demand is also factored in, the production of &lsquo;Green Hydrogen&rsquo; becomes viable and increasingly popular as environmental pressures for low carbon and energy efficiency increases on power companies.

It&rsquo;s early days for sure with very few large scale PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolysers actually in production as yet, but the signs are all positive for the new technology whether the resultant hydrogen is used in the chemical sector or as fuel.

Japan, for example, plans to have 5.3m household using hydrogen-based fuel cell micro CHP (Combined Heat &amp; Power) systems by 2030.

Australia, which has become a world leader in the production of &lsquo;Brown Hydrogen&rsquo; through its vast reserves of &lsquo;brown&rsquo; coal, particularly in the Latrobe Valley to the east of Melbourne in Victoria, is also investing in Green Hydrogen production with the first export of green hydrogen, albeit a small trial amount, going to Japanese energy giant, JXTG, in March this year to prove the technology was possible.

The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) used solar energy to convert Toluene into a substance called methyl cyclohexane (MCH) using JXTG&rsquo;s process powered by QUT&rsquo;s solar arrays &ndash; Toluene is used due to being a liquid hydrogen energy carrier with the advantage of high hydrogen capacity at ambient temperature.  MCH looks like and feels like oil, which means it can be shipped using conventional road tankers, pipelines and super tankers.

Once shipped to Japan, the MCH was converted back to toluene and the hydrogen extracted for use in a suitable fuel cell or vehicle. The toluene is then available for re-use in the transportation cycle.

In 2017, the EU awarded the H2FUTURE consortium the contract for the construction of one of the world&rsquo;s largest PEM electrolysis plants at Linz in Austria powered by hydro-electric green power. Construction is now complete and the facility is now under test, producing hydrogen primarily for use in the steel industry.

In May this year, Spain&rsquo;s Balearic Islands unveiled the Power to Green Hydrogen Mallorca project, promoted by the regional government and four private companies. The project involves what has been described as the largest renewable hydrogen plant in Europe intended for transportation fuel as one of eight regeneration projects in the Lloseta area of the island of Majorca.

Set to be operational in 2021, the green hydrogen production plant &ndash; powered by solar &ndash; will supply 10 MW worth of non-polluting energy to sustainable mobility vehicles, hotels in the bays of Alc&uacute;dia and Pollen&ccedil;a, and to the industrial estate of Inca. The new facility will provide sustainable fuel for public and private transport, in the form of public transport buses and privately owned fleets such as rental and courtesy cars.

Closer to home, the &lsquo;Building Innovative Green Hydrogen systems in an Isolated Territory&rdquo; (BIG HIT) has carried out the first refueling of five hydrogen-powered Renault Kangoo vans in the Orkney Islands with hydrogen produced via a 1MW PEM electrolyser with electricity from the wind turbines on the nearby islands of Shapinsay and Erday. Scotland, particularly, is looking very closely at the new technology as part of their Electricity and Gas Network Vision for 2039.

In London, 20 of the world&rsquo;s first hydrogen-powered double-decker buses are due to be on the streets early next year in a &pound;12m project, &pound;5m of which is funded, ironically given the current chaos of Brexit, by European funding.



European power companies such as the German power giant, TenneT are now seriously researching the viability and practical engineering required to create artificial islands off the North Sea coast to house PEM&rsquo;s, using offshore wind farm-generated electricity. This not only gets around the cable power losses or drop, especially high in the armoured cables required due to the extra heat coming from the residual current flow, and expense of transmitting large amounts of energy to the coast, but also uses up electricity produced at times of low demand. The hydrogen and synthetic methane can be transported through the existing mainland pipeline system.

One of the latest developments in the field is Norway&rsquo;s &lsquo;Deep Purple&rsquo; project which takes the electricity-to-gas concept a stage further by investigating the viability of solutions which allow the energy from OWF&rsquo;s to be converted to hydrogen but stored on the seabed. This would enable a stable supply of renewable electricity to offshore oil and gas platforms (which currently generate their own electricity through carbon-emitting gas turbines) and hydrogen for other uses. PEM&rsquo;s and hydrogen storage tanks would actually be integrated within the turbine installations in one scenario.

Where the new technology will go to is anyone&rsquo;s guess and depends on a mix of economics and politics &ndash; what will Green Hydrogen and the resultant uses cost and how committed will local and national governments become to a green economy but there&rsquo;s little doubt we&rsquo;re going to hear a lot more about Green Hydrogen in the very near future.

Established in 2010, Wescott Industrial Services employ some 50 full time managerial, supervisory and multi discipline operatives with the ability to employ temporary onsite crews employed for specific projects to suit requirements. As of 31 March 2019 the company has enjoyed working over 1,000,000 hours LTI free. The company has their own training subsidiary at Jarrow providing rope access and safety training. 
]]></content>
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<pubDate>24 Jun 2019 06:07:00 GMT</pubDate>
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</item>

<item>
<link>https://www.wescottcoatings.com/news/offshore-sector-boost-for-wescott_117s43</link>
<title><![CDATA[Offshore Sector Boost For Wescott]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[With Europe alone investing some &euro;27Bn in new windfarms in 2018, the boom in coatings for offshore structures has come as a welcome boost to Wescott Industrial Services.
]]></description>
<content><![CDATA[With Europe alone investing some &euro;27Bn in new windfarms in 2018 (Wind Europe Report April 2019), the boom in coatings for offshore structures has come as a very welcome boost to Jarrow-based Wescott Industrial Services who have enjoyed significant growth during 2018 and this year.



The company currently provide access and coatings services to four principal markets, Offshore &amp; Marine, particularly to the rapidly expanding Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) market, Transport Infrastructure, which is mainly concerned with the protection of road and rail bridges, New Build, which involves the application of diverse coatings of structural steelwork but increasingly for the application of intumescent or fire-proofing coatings, and finally, access and coatings for Facilities Management.

Matthew Doyle, Wescott Group&rsquo;s Commercial Director, commented, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re confidently expecting an annual turnover of around &pound;4.4m up to April 2019, but based on orders already placed, are projecting an increase to &pound;6m for the next financial year, rising to &pound;7.3m up to April 2021. Just as importantly, the increased revenue is broadly split across the four sectors within which we work and includes an increasing contribution from our overseas operations in Australia.&rdquo;



&ldquo;The coatings industry has changed as the value of asset integrity management is realised and what was once seen as an additional option, is now considered as a vital requirement. In the Offshore market, for example, we not only have new wind turbines to protect but also aged oil and gas facilities, some of which are well past their original life span as more efficient oil and gas recovery methods have been developed.&rdquo;

&ldquo;Onshore, our skills in coatings and expertise in alternative access methods are in demand in every sector from retail and leisure structures to industrial facilities. But we have only reached this level of activity by continually offering our clients new and often state-of-the-art technologies which bring greater efficiencies, cost savings, environmental benefits or increased productivity and this gives us our edge over our competitors.&rdquo;

For preparing steel structures for coatings, Wescott now offer their customers the EcoQuip Vapor Abrasive Blast Equipment system which carries the abrasive media suspended in a fine mist rather than dry, slurry and traditional water-based blast methods. Similarly, their expertise in rope access is now enhanced by investment in the innovative V-Deck suspended platforms, designed specifically for access under offshore platforms, bridges, piers and other industrial structures which replaces the more traditional tensioned netting.



Typical OWF projects have included the BorWin Alpha and Dolwin Alpha platforms in the German North Sea &ndash; projects which required the rapid deployment of fully trained and highly skilled personnel able to comply with the operators&rsquo; stringent H&amp;S and Environmental standards.

Wescott are also involved in the initial coatings for OWF structures and were heavily involved in the coatings for offshore structures for the massive Beatrice Wind Farm on both Tyneside and Methil in a contract that saw a crew of some 44 blasters and painters working around the clock to prepare and coat the steel surfaces.

Established in 2010, Wescott Industrial Services employ some 50 full time managerial, supervisory and multi discipline operatives with the ability to employ temporary onsite crews employed for specific projects to suit requirements. As of 31 March 2019 the company has enjoyed working over 1,000,000 hours LTI free. The company has their own training subsidiary at Jarrow providing rope access and safety training. 
]]></content>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.wescottcoatings.com/news/offshore-sector-boost-for-wescott_117s43</guid>
<pubDate>31 May 2019 00:05:00 GMT</pubDate>
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<item>
<link>https://www.wescottcoatings.com/news/2019-already-looking-good-for-wescott_117s31</link>
<title><![CDATA[2019 Already Looking Good For Wescott]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[With an expanding order book of not only repeat business from existing customers, but also new business from first-time clients across a wide range of sectors, Jarrow-based Wescott Industrial Services are looking forward to continuing growth during the year.
]]></description>
<content><![CDATA[With an expanding order book of not only repeat business from existing customers, but also new business from first-time clients across a wide range of sectors, Jarrow-based Wescott Industrial Services are looking forward to continuing growth during the year.

The company currently provide access and coatings services to four principal markets, Offshore &amp; Marine, particularly to the rapidly expanding Offshore Wind Farm market, Transport Infrastructure, which is mainly concerned with the protection of road and rail bridges, New Build, which involves the application of diverse coatings of structural steelwork but increasingly for the application of intumescent or fire-proofing coatings, and finally, access and coatings for Facilities Management.

Matthew Doyle, Wescott Group&rsquo;s Commercial Director, commented, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re confidently expecting an annual turnover of around &pound;4.4m up to April 2019, but based on orders already placed, are projecting an increase to &pound;6m for the next financial year, rising to &pound;7.3m up to April 2021. Just as importantly, the increased revenue is broadly split across the four sectors within which we work and includes an increasing contribution from our overseas operations in Australia.&rdquo;

Following on from their successful projects on Offshore Wind Farms, more offshore work is scheduled for this and future summers whilst their Marine order book has also received a substantial boost. Recent projects for the infrastructure market has included work on the A1(M) road bridges with both access and coatings projects scheduled for rail projects this year.

Wescott have been involved in some high profile new build projects in London. A recent example was the provision of access and the application of intumescent coatings for structural steelwork at a new build, 24 storey office block in the City of London. The company is also currently negotiating several Facilities Management contracts in a diverse range of industrial sectors ranging from paper mills to power stations.

Their investment in equipment and training for personnel at the Melbourne base in Australia, which only launched at the end of last year, is expected to make a significant contribution with several offshore and facilities management projects already starting.

Matt Doyle continued, &ldquo;Disregarding the uncertainty of Brexit, which is beyond our control whatever happens, we see this year and the next being very busy with our main challenge being the availability of experienced office-based and site-based management and supervisory staff. We now have a really good pool of experienced and highly trained coating operatives but the success of our contracts depends on skilled management so we&rsquo;re always on the look-out for experienced staff.&rdquo;

Established in 2010, Wescott Industrial Services employ some 50 full time managerial, supervisory and multi discipline operatives with the ability to employ temporary onsite crews employed for specific projects to suit requirements. As of 31 December 2018 the company has enjoyed working over 995,000 hours LTI free. The company has their own training subsidiary at Jarrow providing rope access and safety training.
]]></content>
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<pubDate>15 Feb 2019 06:07:00 GMT</pubDate>
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<link>https://www.wescottcoatings.com/news/wescott-expand-down-under_117s38</link>
<title><![CDATA[Wescott Expand Down Under]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Jarrow-based Wescott Industrial Services have set up an Australian subsidiary company in a bold expansion designed to take advantage of the huge potential of the Australian coatings sector.
]]></description>
<content><![CDATA[Jarrow-based Wescott Industrial Services have set up an Australian subsidiary company in a bold expansion designed to take advantage of the huge potential of the Australian coatings sector.

Mark Duffy, Wescott&rsquo;s Group Managing Director, explained the move, &ldquo;As part of our strategic growth and development plan, we identified numerous markets around the world and, due to the skills shortage and high amount of project work to complete over the next 20 years, made the decision to invest in Australia. We are now offering our specialist services in coatings and access in Australia with our local partners, Clean and Gone, who specialise in asbestos removal, insulation and fabrication.

&rdquo; &ldquo;Wescott Industrial Services Australia will add significant benefit to the Wescott Group and ensure we meet our growth targets over the next three years. We have had numerous meetings with large blue chip organisations in the oil and gas, marine, power and engineering industries, and become approved vendors for them. With over $2,000,000 AUD of orders on the books for Q1 2019, we can hit the ground running and make an impact in Australia straight away.&rdquo;

&ldquo;There&rsquo;s enormous potential over there and whilst we&rsquo;ll initially be taking over our own supervisory staff, we intend to start a major training programme to get the Australian operatives up to the quality level our customers over here expect. In essence, we hope to have a mirror of our operations over here so we can offer a universally high quality service of innovative solutions on a global scale, allowing us to access the overseas offices of our existing clients.&rdquo;

&ldquo;Following the tragedy of the Morandi Bridge collapse in Genoa, there&rsquo;s also enormous concern throughout the country, and indeed all over the world, about the inherent problems of corrosion of reinforcement steel bars within concrete.

One of our areas of expertise is knowledge and treatment of CUI (Corrosion Under Insulation) so we are also looking at projects where this may become a crucial factor. We&rsquo;re also in the running for a very high profile contract for the refurbishment of the famous and heritage-listed Burnett Bridge in Bundaberg, Queensland, in addition to a large jetty refurbishment contract.&rdquo;

The company have opened their first Australian office in Melbourne and have already equipped the company with over $150,000 AUD of new blasting and painting equipment which has been purchased and shipped over from the UK.

Established in 2010, Wescott Industrial Services work primarily in the Offshore, Transport Infrastructure and Industrial Facilities sectors, enjoying an annual turnover of over &pound;5m and employing some 50 full time managerial, supervisory and multi discipline operatives with the ability to employ temporary onsite crews employed for specific projects to suit requirements. As of 30 November 2018 the company has enjoyed working over 990,000 hours LTI free. The company has their own training subsidiary at Jarrow providing rope access and safety training.
]]></content>
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<pubDate>31 Dec 2018 06:47:00 GMT</pubDate>
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<link>https://www.wescottcoatings.com/news/wescott-invest-in-innovation_117s30</link>
<title><![CDATA[Wescott Invest in Innovation]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[A continuous focus on sourcing and applying innovations is reaping benefits for Jarrow-based Wescott Industrial Services who are enjoying one of their busiest periods of on-going projects and enquiries since their formation in 2010.
]]></description>
<content><![CDATA[Mark Duffy, Managing Director of Wescott Industrial Services, explained the company&rsquo;s philosophy, &ldquo;The coatings industry has changed as the value of asset integrity management is realised and what was once seen as an additional option, is now considered as a vital requirement. In the Offshore market, for example, we not only have new wind turbines to protect but also aged oil and gas facilities, some of which are well past their original life span as more efficient oil and gas recovery methods have been developed.&rdquo;

&ldquo;Onshore, our skills in rope access and expertise in coatings are in demand in every sector from retail and leisure structures to industrial facilities. But we have only reached this level of activity by continually offering our clients new and often state-of-the-art technologies which bring greater efficiencies, cost savings, environmental benefits or increased productivity and this gives us our edge over our competitors.&rdquo;

For preparing steel structures for coatings, Wescott now offer their customers the EcoQuip Vapor Abrasive Blast Equipment system which carries the abrasive media suspended in a fine mist rather than dry, slurry and traditional water-based blast methods. The blast, produced by flow dynamic technology which optimises the air, water and media ratio, is as powerful as dry methods but with around 90% less dust whilst the mist quickly evaporates, leaving no pools or toxic run-off. Not only is there far less impact on the environment, but, with less blast media required, the technology quickly brings savings.

Mark continued, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a fantastic system which is not only far more environmentally friendly than traditional blasting, but also increases our operatives&rsquo; productivity. We used two of these units on a transformer platform in the German sector of the North Sea with fantastic results and immediately ordered four more!&rdquo;


EcoQuip blasting in operation

When it comes to access, Wescott&lsquo;s expertise in rope access is now enhanced by their investment in the innovative V-Deck suspended platforms, designed specifically for access under offshore platforms, bridges, piers and other industrial structures which replaces the more traditional tensioned netting.

Mark explained, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s very quick to install, very safe and whilst we&rsquo;ve tried alternative suspended access systems, the V-Deck is the best we&rsquo;ve come across and is now our standard method of access where large areas require treatment.&rdquo;

Innovation in actual coatings is ongoing with the days of &lsquo;red lead&rsquo; primer and multiple coats manually applied long gone. The coatings Wescott now use as standard include Mascoat, specifically developed to prevent corrosion under insulation (CUI). This engineered insulating coating not only reduces conductive heat transfer, thereby saving energy costs, but reduces the need for additional insulation, under which corrosion can rapidly occur. The long life coating lasts longer than traditional insulation and reduces future maintenance costs.

Belzona is another innovative coating now used extensively by Wescott, particularly to repair and prevent future leading edge erosion of wind turbine blades where the abrasive effect of rain, dust, icing, hail, insects, birds and lightning striking tips which can be travelling at over 150mph can be devastating. The same corrosion resistant system can also be used to form peelable protection for pipeline flanges, a traditional weak point in all pipeline protection.

Mark Duffy concluded, &ldquo;Whilst the various technologies are not unique in themselves, we&rsquo;ve made a conscious decision to offer our customers the very best and state-of-the-art equipment, whether this be blasting, access or coatings. Our investment is now reaping rewards in the we&rsquo;re responding to enquiries and tendering for jobs which we simply couldn&rsquo;t have considered a few years ago. We&rsquo;re also expanding overseas and hope to announce the first contracts for our Middle Eastern operation very soon, all of which makes it an exciting time at Wescott!&rdquo;

Established in 2010, Wescott Industrial Services work primarily in the Offshore, Transport Infrastructure and Industrial Facilities sectors, enjoying an annual turnover of over &pound;5m and employing some 50 full time managerial, supervisory and multi discipline operatives with the ability to employ temporary onsite crews employed for specific projects to suit requirements. As of 31 December 2017 the company has enjoyed working over 850,000 hours LTI free. The company has their own training subsidiary at Jarrow providing rope access and safety training. 
]]></content>
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<pubDate>27 Apr 2018 04:31:00 GMT</pubDate>
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<link>https://www.wescottcoatings.com/news/brushing-up-the-claude-monique_117s44</link>
<title><![CDATA[Brushing Up The Claude Monique]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Jarrow-based Wescott Industrial Services has played its part in Sunderland&rsquo;s new Northern Spire bridge project by carrying out maintenance work on one of the key vessels used during construction.
]]></description>
<content><![CDATA[Jarrow-based Wescott Industrial Services has played its part in Sunderland&rsquo;s new Northern Spire bridge project by carrying out maintenance work on one of the key vessels used during construction.

The company prepared and re-painted the barge, Claude Monique, owned by contractor Farrans Construction &ndash; part of CHR plc &ndash; which was located in the River Wear for more than two years, providing a platform for the team to work from, and the piling rig to operate from.

Originally constructed in the 1960&rsquo;s, 45m-long Claude Monique weighs some 514 tonnes and is equipped with two 20m hydraulic spud legs and four remote-operated anchor positioning winches, which enables the vessel to keep perfectly on station during lifting and piling operations.

The barge is based on large ballast tanks, which were blasted clear and then re-coated by a team from Wescott Industrial Services during a five-week contract that has maintained the barge up to full specification.



Tom Whittleton, Wescott&rsquo;s Business Development Director, commented: &ldquo;Although the majority of our work is now on offshore wind farms, commercial buildings and transport infrastructure, we are very experienced in marine projects and have been working in a number of dockyards and fabrication yards around the country on military ships, commercial vessels, barges and submarines.

&ldquo;The Claude Monique project was, therefore, a fairly typical project for our marine division, except it was obviously far closer to home than most projects. All our personnel are fully trained and Train the Painter certified and very aware of environmental concerns when grit-blasting and spray-painting, so as to ensure that all work areas are fully encapsulated to contain any grit and keep surfaces clean prior to spraying.

&ldquo;We had to coordinate with the barge team to ensure safe and efficient working was achieved, but completed our work on schedule and look forward to completing the remaining tanks early next year in the second phase of the project.&rdquo;

Ryan Dillon, a Section Engineer for Farrans Construction, who managed the project for the on-site team, said: &ldquo;The Claude Monique is a key company vessel, and the work completed by the Wescott team is vital in prolonging its lifespan and maintaining such a valuable asset. Westcott Industrial Services provided an excellent service and we look forward to working with them again.&rdquo;

The Northern Spire is the first bridge to be built across the River Wear in Sunderland for 40 years. Work began in May 2015 and the bridge is on track to be complete during the spring of this year.

Wescott Industrial Services also supplied the rope access team that cleaned and painted the very top of the bridge&rsquo;s distinctive &lsquo;A&rsquo; frame for the main steel contractor, Victor Buyck, of Belgium.

Established in 2010, Wescott Industrial Services work primarily in the Offshore, Marine, Transport Infrastructure and Industrial Facilities sectors, enjoying an annual turnover of over &pound;5m and employing some 50 full-time managerial, supervisory and multi-discipline operatives with the ability to employ temporary onsite crews employed for specific projects to suit requirements. The company has its own training subsidiary at Jarrow, providing rope access and safety training and, as of 31 December 2017, the company has enjoyed working over 850,000 hours LTI free.
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<pubDate>23 Jan 2018 00:14:00 GMT</pubDate>
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<link>https://www.wescottcoatings.com/news/wescott-to-fly-the-coatings-flag-at-offshore-europe_117s46</link>
<title><![CDATA[Wescott to Fly the Coatings Flag at Offshore Europe]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Jarrow-based Wescott Industrial Services will be promoting their offshore coatings expertise at the huge Offshore Europe (OE) exhibition in Aberdeen between September 5th and 8th.
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<content><![CDATA[Jarrow-based Wescott Industrial Services will be promoting their offshore coatings expertise at the huge Offshore Europe (OE) exhibition in Aberdeen between September 5th and 8th.

Held bi-anually in Aberdeen since 1973, OE is the largest offshore exhibition and conference held outside North America, attracting over 50,000 attendees to the almost 1,000 industry stands and conference sessions delivered by global experts.

Matt Doyle, Commercial Director of Wescott Industrial Services, commented, &ldquo;Whilst the exhibition is primarily aimed at Oil Exploration and Production, it&rsquo;s a fantastic opportunity for ourselves to fly the flag for the offshore coatings industry, the often-forgotten vital factor in offshore asset maintenance.&rdquo;

&ldquo;The decommissioning of many of the North Sea platforms and older exploration rigs has frequently taken centre stage alongside the drop in oil price, but there is also a renewed optimism within the sector that new recovery technology is extending the life of many of the oil fields, which require platforms and other surface assets. The majority of the existing platforms, and the coatings that protect them from corrosion in such a hostile environment, were designed for a limited lifespan so life extension technology and programmes are of vital importance. The industry is now addressing the challenge of structures that are well past their projected life and how to repair and repaint these to extend their working life&rdquo;

&ldquo;We have a proven track record in this and the offshore wind farm sectors that comes from using our own highly trained personnel and the latest environmentally friendly blasting and cleaning technology to prepare surfaces for the very latest coatings. It&rsquo;s a potentially huge market and we&rsquo;re looking forward to meeting many of our existing and potential clients.&rdquo;

Wescott Industrial Services are on Stand Number 1G87. Established in 2010, Wescott work primarily in the Offshore, Transport Infrastructure and Industrial Facilities sectors, enjoying an annual turnover of over &pound;5m and employing some 50 full time managerial, supervisory and multi discipline operatives with the ability to employ temporary onsite crews employed for specific projects to suit requirements. As of 30 June 2017, the company has enjoyed working over 630,000 hours LTI free. The company has their own training subsidiary at Jarrow providing rope access and safety training.
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<pubDate>15 Aug 2017 00:17:00 GMT</pubDate>
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<link>https://www.wescottcoatings.com/news/offshore-wind-heralds-tyne-revival_117s47</link>
<title><![CDATA[Offshore Wind Heralds Tyne Revival]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Matthew Doyle, Managing Director of NE England-based Wescott Industrial Services explains how the latest developments in Tyneside&rsquo;s former shipyards herald a new era of offshore activity for the region
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<content><![CDATA[Matthew Doyle, Managing Director of NE England-based Wescott Industrial Services explains how the latest developments in Tyneside&rsquo;s former shipyards herald a new era of offshore activity for the region

There&rsquo;s some interesting views on the River Tyne these days. At the old Neptune Dry Dock in Wallsend, Royal BAM Group have been building five 60m high Gravity Based Foundations (GBF&rsquo;s) for the Blyth Offshore Demonstrator Wind Farm, whilst further down the River, at the old Hadrian Yard now operated by Smulders UK, the huge jackets for the Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm are being assembled, leading local commentators to compare the landscape to the alien invaders of War of the Worlds.

In truth, however, both projects are part of resurgence in offshore activity that, whilst differing from the massive Oil and Gas topside projects of previous years or even earlier shipbuilding for which the North East region was justly famous, offers a real boost in economic activity.

Offshore wind is now a huge industry, providing the UK and Europe with an increasing proportion of its electrical power needs from green, renewable resources. The UK generates more electricity from offshore wind than any other country &ndash; the sector currently meets 5% of annual demand and this is expected to grow to over 10% by 2020. We now have 30 Offshore Wind Farms (OWF&rsquo;s) generating over 5.1 GW of operational capacity with a further 4.5 GW under construction (source: Crown Estate).

Moreover, as the cost continues to reduce &ndash; the Offshore Wind Programme Board&rsquo;s report of 2016 estimates the cost has fallen 32% from &pound;142.00 per MWh in 2013 to &pound;97.00 per MWh now &ndash; the proportion is expected to further increase, despite the fall in rival carbon-based fuel prices.

For Tyneside, with its tradition of offshore and marine-based skills, this could prove a huge boom. Located equidistant from the main areas of OWF activity in both Scotland and East Anglia, the region&rsquo;s engineering skill base and physical assets are being revitalised by this new offshore industry.

And what imaginative projects they are! The five GBF&rsquo;s currently being floated out prior to their tow-out to Blyth are each made up of more than 1,800 cubic metres of concrete and will weigh over 15,000 tonnes when fully installed on the seabed for EDF&rsquo;s Blyth Offshore Wind Demonstration Project. The development has consent for up to 15 turbines which will demonstrate and test the very latest technology, not only in structures including self-floating and these first five submersible GBFs (which alone will generate 41.5MW), but also in turbine design. The project is already employing over 200 people at both the Neptune Yard and at the onshore substation under construction on the former Blyth Power Station site.

SSE&rsquo;s Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm is a huge undertaking of 84 individual turbines capable of generating 7MW of power each and having a 154m diameter rotor, which will cover an area of some 131 sq. kms in the Outer Moray Firth, ironically adjacent to the now redundant Beatrice oil platform, decommissioning plans for which are under consideration. Whilst the Beatrice project is underway, Smulders are already gearing up for the manufacture of pioneering suction bucket foundations for Vattenfall&rsquo;s European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) which will create another 105 jobs.

So, take a trip down the River or drive down either side to see the latest phase of industrial activity that ensures Tyneside remains synonymous with offshore innovation and expertise.
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<pubDate>18 Jul 2017 00:17:00 GMT</pubDate>
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<link>https://www.wescottcoatings.com/news/coatings-the-x-factor-of-offshore-maintenance_117s48</link>
<title><![CDATA[Coatings &#150; The X Factor of Offshore Maintenance?]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[With asset maintenance and cost reduction the current buzz words for offshore operators in the marine, oil &amp; gas and renewables sector, Matthew Doyle, Commercial Director of NE England-based Wescott Industrial Services explains how investment in coatings repair is a vital yet often overlooked element of preserving offshore and onshore structures.
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<content><![CDATA[With asset maintenance and cost reduction the current buzz words for offshore operators in the marine, oil &amp; gas and renewables sector, Matthew Doyle, Commercial Director of NE England-based Wescott Industrial Services explains how investment in coatings repair is a vital yet often overlooked element of preserving offshore and onshore structures.

&ldquo;Offshore structures are exposed to a variety of harsh environments that are seriously damaging to their protective coatings as well as general operational damage &ndash; constant humidity with high salinity, intensive UV light and wave action in splash areas are the perfect conditions for enhanced corrosion. Couple this to limited access and logistical challenges of repair offshore and the &lsquo;perfect storm&rsquo; can arise where operators may attempt to postpone coatings repair and renewal, yet they do so at their peril!

In addition, we are now in a situation where several offshore structures, originally designed for a limited lifespan, are now working beyond their planned duration creating severe operational and maintenance challenges, none more so than in their exterior coatings, the first line of defence against critical corrosion. Modern structures, particularly in the offshore wind sector, are now designed and manufactured with far more effective coatings systems, partially due to advanced coatings technology and partially due to an increased awareness from operators of the need for investment in effective coating protection.

Whilst corrosion is inevitable in an offshore environment, it can be controlled by professionally applied engineered coatings systems backed up by maintenance and whilst the cost is considerably greater than similar work carried out in a paint shop at initial manufacture, the cost of no repair or recoating is far greater including catastrophic failure of the structure. The lesson here is very clear &ndash; invest in the very best coatings at manufacturing stage and back this up by a regular maintenance schedule.

The story of the painters on the 1.5 mile long Firth of Forth Rail Bridge was factual &ndash; the coatings repair work had been on-going since its construction in 1890 leading to the expression &lsquo;like painting the Forth Bridge&rsquo;. In December 2011, however, the final touches were put to an innovative triple layer of glass flake epoxy paint, developed for the offshore oil industry, on the iconic structure which now won&rsquo;t need repainting again for 25 years.

The actual coating system or paint used on a typical offshore project is, of course, only a fraction of the total project cost which must include personnel and materials logistics, access systems and safety, lengthy preparation work and increasingly important, environmental considerations. Typical tenders for contracts are now very rarely based purely on cost but take a contractor&rsquo;s training and safety records and their environmental process for controlling all potential pollution into account.

The modern offshore coating personnel is highly paid and trained, not only in preparation and application techniques but also in securing safe access to their work, whether this be by scaffolding or rope access. Our own company runs regular in-house training courses with all personnel OPITO BOSIET (Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training), IRATA and ICATS (Industrial Coating Applicator Training Scheme) certified with supervisors also having the highest Level Three IRATA (International Rope Access Training Association) Rope Access training certification.

Safety is also obviously of crucial importance to operators who rightly judge potential contractors on their record &ndash; a recent maintenance campaign which we carried out offshore involved working over 37,000 man hours without a single LTI (Lost Time Incident) on time and within budget which was of crucial importance in winning another contract from our client. This same project demonstrated the importance of environmental factors in that we successfully achieved low emissions by collecting all chippings for disposal and recovering abrasive material when we mechanically prepared the surface for coatings. Another project we have just completed saw us work over 160,000 man hours LTI free over a period of 18 months rectifying damaged fire protection and coatings.

The challenge for the industry is now to address the challenge of structures that are well past their projected life and how to repair and repaint these to extend their working life. Whilst the decommissioning of platforms such as Brent Delta is rightly seen as a huge technical achievement, the challenges of ensuring the integrity of coatings systems on other, equally old, structures will be just as demanding.

Established in 2010, Wescott Industrial Services Ltd work primarily in the Offshore, Transport Infrastructure and Industrial Facilities sectors, enjoying an annual turnover of over &pound;5m and employing some 50 full time managerial, supervisory and multi discipline operatives with the ability to employ temporary onsite crews employed for specific projects to suit requirements. As of 30 June 2017 the company has enjoyed working over 630,000 hours LTI free. The company has their own training subsidiary at Jarrow providing rope access and safety training. 
]]></content>
<guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.wescottcoatings.com/news/coatings-the-x-factor-of-offshore-maintenance_117s48</guid>
<pubDate>17 Jul 2017 00:18:00 GMT</pubDate>
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