TPT November 2011

I ndustry N ews

New managing director for Flextraction

FLEXTRACTION Ltd, a supplier and manufacturer of local exhaust ventilation (LEV) products, has announced that Lee Darton has been appointed managing director. Mr Darton has many years’ experience in the fume and dust extraction equipment industry. He has been with Flextraction for over 12 years, as sales manager and most recently as general manager (products). Wally Gilder, chairman of Flextraction, commented: “Lee has played a significant role in the development of this company and has created a fully focussed and committed sales and after sales team. Under his guidance we have seen our market share continue to increase and this appointment comes at a time when the company is experiencing improved trading conditions and the introduction of a wider product portfolio. It is just reward for all his commitment and endeavours.”

Mr Darton said, “Flextraction has a comprehensive range of dust and fume extraction products that cover a multitude of industries, which we continually strive to improve and develop. This marketing strategy has led to increased order books both from the UK and from new markets in Europe. Working with the UKTI (UK Trade and Investment) in order to find defined partners in Europe has led to the recent appointment of

Lee Darton, Flextraction’s new managing director

a distributor in France for our HPD products (hood positioning devices). This in turn has resulted in increased production of HPDs. “We are continuing to drive our export business forward and are currently looking at defined partners in both Germany and Spain. My appointment as managing director will help us take the company

forward as part of our ongoing marketing and investment strategies, both in the long and short term.”

Flextraction Ltd – UK Fax: +44 1664 480244

Email: sales@flextraction.co.uk Website: www.flextraction.co.uk

Investigating corrosion fatigue on subsea flexible pipes

CORROSION testing firm Exova has won a contract to work for Technip to investigate the effect of high-pressure corrosion fatigue on the life of the tensile armour wire component of flexible pipes. Flexible oil and gas pipelines and risers are used to connect subsea installations to floating production facilities. The flexible nature of dynamic riser systems has been a key driver in allowing the industry to

move away from traditional fixed platform systems, to develop fields in deeper waters with floating technology. One of the main challenges of operating in deep and ultra-deep water is the challenging environmental conditions for flexible pipe systems. Exova has responded to this challenge by developing bespoke facilities capable of corrosion fatigue testing at elevated temperature and pressure. In increasingly chal-

up to 50 bar and 150°C in simulated sour environments. These new test facilities allow investigation of properties over a wide range of service environments, which includes continuous gas bubbling at pressure to stimulate the annulus environment. The data generated from the tests will contribute towards the technological advancement of flexible pipelines and risers, which are deployed in hostile locations. Lee Best, general manager at Exova Daventry and Exova’s Corrosion Centre, said, “Corrosion has often been identified as the most common in-service cause of failure in pipelines, causing loss of containment failures of hazardous materials. We have worked closely with Technip to respond to the demanding test requirement and developed a state-of-the-art testing facility that further enhances our corrosion testing

lenging environments, one of the significant concerns regarding flexible pipe integrity is the condition of the annulus. If the annulus becomes flooded by ingress of seawater through the external sheath, this could lead to corrosion and a possible impact on service life. Exova has designed equipment that is able to conduct testing at

capabilities.” Exova – UK

The subsea pipes that Exova will be testing for corrosion fatigue

Email: europe@exova.com Website: www.exova.com

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N ovember 2011

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