Unique Group boosts its Make in India drive with the expansion of diving manufacturing capabilities

Thursday, 16th December 2021

Leading integrated subsea and offshore solutions provider, Unique Group, has expanded its diving manufacturing capabilities in Vadodara as part of the company’s “Make in India” growth strategy. This is in addition to the multi-million-rupee investment made in 2020, which together will provide the infrastructure to support contractors and the Indian Navy and defense sector’s diving requirements in the region.

The state-of-the-art facility, which spans over 20,000 sq ft of manufacturing and assembly, is currently seeing the manufacturing of classed Saturation Diving Systems and Submersible vehicles for key customers in the region, including owners of commercial diving vessels.

To boost its “Make in India” initiative, the company has also started locally manufacturing Launch and Recovery systems including hydraulic controls as well as electrical switchboards and panels. For future expansion, indigenised Unmanned Surface Vessels (USV) and other key integrated projects are also being planned from the new facilities.

The company has set up class-approved partner facilities in the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, providing clients with increased accessibility throughout India. Plans are also underway to establish a presence in the Eastern part of India over the coming months. Signaling accelerated growth through 2021 with rising demand for diving products, the company aims to expand the team to over 200 employees, as the projects progress through different phases.

Speaking about the strategy, Sahil Gandhi, Unique Group’s COO, commented: “Unique Group is proud to be contributing to the “Make in India” campaign by supporting strong business growth locally over the last 18 months. We will continue our long-term commitment in designing, engineering and manufacturing world class diving related systems while also supporting a thriving local workforce.”

Dr. A. Sharad Kumar, Director of Projects-India at Unique Group, added: “The diving industry is significantly gaining momentum in India, and with major players opening up long term charters for at least five commercial diving vessels, it is very welcoming to see a plethora of offshore and deep-sea opportunities along the East and West coast of India, in a post COVID era.

We continue to contribute to the economy with over INR 300 crores worth of business being generated via the ongoing orders and look forward to winning more orders in the coming months”

BSPA helps Hydroscand deliver excellent customer service.

Monday, 13th December 2021

By continuing to train our teams, we can offer excellent customer service and confidence to our customers

Our teams receive regular training in several aspects of their roles. The British Fluid Power Association (BFPA) offer a suite of industry specific training courses. In November we held not one but two, two-day BFPA Hose Assembly Skills Training Courses, at our head office in Nottingham.

We had a good cross section of team members taking the course, from Sales Managers to Mobile Hose Technicians to Branch Technicians.

Here are just some of the comments from those who attended:

Rob Roseveare, Mobile Hose Technician at our Bodmin branch said: “The BFPA Course was excellently delivered by Stephen Dilks as always. He is happy to answer any questions and gives good suggestions to alternative methods to achieve better results.

“After 10 years of working within the hydraulic hose industry, this course keeps everyone up to date with all the latest industry standards, and new practices to keep us as engineers informed and safe and keeping customer downtime to minimum.

“The course content is very in-depth when looking at the Thread Form chapter. You come away with a better understanding, of how to identify the different types of hose inserts and adaptors Hydroscand keeps as standard in stock.”

John Vincent, who recently joined Hydroscand as Mobile Technician at our Birmingham branch added: “I attended the BFPA course and found it very interesting. It was a real eye opener to the dangers when dealing with hydraulics and making it a safer environment.

“I also learned about the hoses, fittings, measurements and thread types…very useful course and I enjoyed it.”

Kelvin Curnow, Sales Manager said: “As usual, a well delivered and presented informative course, with plenty of opportunities to ask questions and discuss topics within the syllabus. I was pleased with the pace and coursework material provided, which proves a valuable ongoing reference.

“No matter what level of hydraulics experience you possess, you can be sure you’ll either take away something new or will at least get refreshed.

“Always a pleasure to attend these BFPA courses professionally run by Stephen Dilks.”

Mobile Hose Technician, Jed Saxby at our Nottingham branch said: “The course was very interesting and gave a good in-depth, insight into making hydraulic hoses.”

Conor Borrett, Branch Technician at our Nottingham added: “The course was very informative and helpful in giving the basics on hydraulic hoses. It was nice to meet colleagues from different branches.”

By continuing to train our teams to industry standards and maintaining our commitment to both our quality management system and the BFPA Approved Assemblies Scheme, we can offer excellent customer service and confidence to our customers.

JWA Announce the Worlds Largest Capacity Water Weight Load Test Bag

Thursday, 9th December 2021

JW Automarine, the original and best water-weight load test bag manufacturer, has added 125-tonne capacity to its range of world-renowned yellow water-weight load test bags.

With a requirement to test lifting equipment to 125% of safe working load, the ability to quickly, safely and efficiently accomplish tests with the minimum of rigging and time is a major step forward for the load test industry.

While LEEA guidelines call for a 6:1 drop test safety factor, there is no facility that can measure this above 35 Tonne capacity.

To prove the design, JWA have undertaken extensive FEA computer modelling and testing to design and develop a bag that they are proud to put their famous Diver logo on.

125 Tonne Capacity Water Weight Load Test Bag Overview

Manufactured in accordance with lifting equipment LEEA 051 Guidelines (Lifting Equipment Engineers Association)

FEA (Finite Element Analysis) Proven 5:1 Safety Factor (details available)

Harness and Slings UK Manufactured to BS EN 1492-1:2000 & A1:2008

PVC Fabric Tensile Strength 17,000 N/5cm to DIN EN ISO 1421

UK Manufactured EN ISO 9001:2015

Renowned the world over, JW Automarine has led the way in subsea, surface and land PVC/PU products since 1972. Manufactured in the UK, our experienced technicians use the highest quality fabrics and materials to produce products that can be relied upon in the harshest of environments and most demanding of applications. JW Automarine supplies only the highest levels of service and support, as you would expect from a specialist British manufacturing company.

Inland and Coastal Marina Systems installs CTV pontoon for Scotlands largest windfarm

Thursday, 9th December 2021

Inland and Coastal Marina Systems (ICMS) has installed a new 30m pontoon for the Montrose Port Authority to service the Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm, Scotland’s largest windfarm.

The new 30m x 4.4m heavy-duty pontoon will allow safe berthing and access for crew transfer vessels (CTVs) to the new operations and maintenance (O&M) base for the wind farm which is currently under construction 27km off the coast of Angus.

Located on Montrose Port’s South Quay, the new pontoon is topped with GRP decking suitable for commercial application offering excellent anti-slip properties. This, coupled with the high-level task lighting, ensures safe working conditions for workers and CTV crews all year round, day and night, during the commissioning and ongoing maintenance phases of the offshore wind farm.

Shoreside access to the new berth, and the vessels moored alongside, is via a bespoke 20m access gangway with a cantilevered shore frame platform.

“It’s been fantastic to be involved in a project which is so key to the provision of renewable energy in Scotland and the rest of the UK,” says Calum MacDougall, engineering sales manager (Scotland) at ICMS. “We worked closely with Seagreen, the Montrose Port Authority and Arch Henderson to create a bespoke, cost-effective solution, taking into account the existing infrastructure of the port.

“Our highly experienced in-house design team produced a design that moored the new pontoon to the quayside using vertical H-beams, as opposed to using driven piles, ensuring the ongoing integrity of the existing quay walls.”

Lynn Sayer, business and commercial manager at Montrose Port Authority, comments: “We’re delighted with the new 30m pontoon which will soon see operations staff and maintenance teams safely boarding crew vessels for transfer to the Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm, supporting the production of enough electricity to power 1.6 million homes in Scotland.

“The decision to award the contract for this project to Inland and Coastal Marina Systems has proved a very wise investment, with the resulting facility not only being extremely well designed and engineered, but delivered on time and on budget.”

Dales Marine Services Ltd in Leith has won the contract, worth around £1 million, following a competitive tender process

Thursday, 9th December 2021

Dales Marine Services Ltd in Leith has won the contract, worth around £1 million, following a competitive tender process.

The works are expected to be completed by early 2022, with the CalMac crew then undergoing onboard training and familiarisation.

The MV Utne has been earmarked for the Oban-Craignure route, and communities in Skye and the Western Isles will also benefit as a result of the cascade of vessels elsewhere on the network. Engagement work will take place with key stakeholders to develop detailed deployment, cascade and related timetables for the 2022 summer season.

Minister for Transport Graeme Dey said:

“This contract award is another welcome step towards the MV Utne entering into service on the Clyde and Hebrides network, which will bring much needed resilience to the service.

“It’s also pleasing to see a local company win the contract to carry out the vessel modifications.

“The purchase of the MV Utne is part of our £580 million commitment to fund new ferries and port investments over the next five years. We continue to work with CMAL and CalMac to develop potential programmes that will deliver additional improvements to the network.”

Kevin Hobbs, chief executive of CMAL said:

“Taking delivery of MV Utne is a positive step towards bringing extra resilience to the fleet. The vessel requires some modifications to ensure she gains Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) approval to operate in Scottish waters, which differs from Norwegian regulations.
“Once Dales Marine has completed the work and the CalMac team have had familiarisation training, she will be a valuable addition to our fleet.

“We’re currently running a competition to decide her new name, and encourage anyone who would like to get involved to visit our website to cast their vote.”

Michael Milne, CEO for Dales Marine Services Ltd, said:

“We are delighted to have been awarded this comprehensive scope of works enabling the vessel to be aligned with UK regulations for passenger ferries and enabling the vessel to join the CalMac fleet next year”.

Month: December 2021

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