TPi January 2020

Business & market news

Unique Group signs agreement with iXblue to acquire five DriX units

Integrated subsea and offshore solu- tions provider Unique Group has signed an agreement to acquire five unmanned surface vessel (USV) DriX units from French high-technology company iXblue. The agreement marks a significant investment in the group’s global portfo- lio of survey products and increasing its autonomous offshore offerings. Harry Gandhi, CEO at Unique Group, commented: “We’re extremely delighted to add DriX to our ever- expanding inventory of USVs. DriX has proven to be a real game changer in the offshore market and been used across many successful subsea positioning and bathymetry missions. We look forward to the prospect of further developing our partnership with iXblue in the future.” With an aim to continually introduce latest cutting-edge technology for offshore survey operations, Unique Group’s latest additions are designed for a wide range of tasks such as geophysical and hydrographic surveys, touchdown monitoring of pipelines, subsea positioning, and ROV/AUV tracking. DriX has long endurance, increased hydrodynamics and a flexible sensor payload and can improve the efficiency of offshore operations as well as act as a true force multiplier in the marine renewables sector, subsea construction, IRM and decommissioning in the oil and gas market.

The unmanned surface vessel

Sébastien Grall, head of iXblue Shipyard Division added: “Since its launch in the offshore and hydrographic markets, DriX has been met with incredible success and positive feedback. With outstanding seakeeping capabilities, the USV has set a new standard in the industry of surface drones. “This agreement with Unique Group is another endorsement of the added value that DriX brings to subsea operations and we now look forward to seeing the units in use across various industries for survey, offshore, marine sciences as well as hydrographic operations.”

Unique Group www.uniquegroup.com iXblue www.ixblue.com

Design and selection of check solutions Val-Matic’s redesigned white paper, ‘Design and Selection of Check Valves’, aims to show which check valve is the best option. The white paper helps users understand basic valve principles and the functions of various types of check valves used in pumping systems. Engineering parameters associated with check valve selection, such as flow characteristics, are discussed, along with headloss, reliability and costs. The combined characteristics of the pumps, check valves, air valves, control valves and surge equipment should be considered for successful pumping

system design. With this knowledge, engineers can better select check valves and understand some of the pitfalls common to valve selection. Val-Matic Valve & Manufacturing Corp www.valmatic.com

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TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL January 2020

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