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ARB Expansion Delivers Local Manufacturing Jobs

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Victoria’s automotive sector has been given a boost, with ARB’s new $25 million global headquarters creating more local jobs, investment, and innovation. The 5,100 square metre HQ and Research and Development Engineering Centre in Kilsyth was built with the support of the Allan Labor Government. ARB CEO Lachlan McCann believes this investment will allow for future growth. “We are very pleased to have engaged with the Victorian Government whose support and facilitation has assisted our expansion here in Melbourne,” he said. “ARB’s new Global Head Office and Research and Development Centre ensures ARB is set up to continue innovating, designing, engineering, and manufacturing premium 4×4 products here in Australia.”

Victorian Minister for Jobs and Industry Natalie Hutchins visited the new facility, which is adjacent to ARB’s new state-of-the-art showroom where the company continues to manufacture premium 4WD equipment including bull bars, air compressors, side rails, air lockers, water tanks, battery trays and canopies. “Victoria leads the nation in advanced manufacturing because our government backs our local Australian steel companies to develop world-class products that are sold around the world,” she said. Bringing ARB’s HQ, R&D centre, showroom, and manufacturing facility together at Kilsyth is creating up to 70 new local jobs for Melbourne’s east. Member for Eastern Metropolitan Region Shaun Leane believes the expansion is a boon for the region. “We’re investing in Victoria’s manufacturing industry to help local businesses like ARB innovate and expand as they are key to growing our economy and supporting local jobs,” he said. ARB recently unveiled a major new product developed in Victoria. Part of its 4WD range, the Earth Camper is an all-terrain durable, off-road camper trailer that will be sold nationally and across the US, Europe, United Kingdom, UAE, Thailand, and New Zealand.

Established in Melbourne in 1975, ARB has grown into a leading global company with an export network that extends across more than 100 countries. The Kilsyth hub is now home to 600 staff, including 85 engineers, with the company’s employee numbers growing to over 2,000 across Australia and internationally. Victoria’s $33.5 billion steel fabrication Australia industry is a driving force of Victoria’s economy, made up of over 23,000 businesses, supporting more than 260,000 jobs, and exporting goods worth $23.9 billion. The Victorian Government is investing in advanced manufacturing across Victoria so they can continue to grow, innovate, and support local jobs — made possible by the Government’s programs including the Manufacturing and Industry Sovereignty Fund, the Industry and R&D Infrastructure Fund and the Made in Victoria – Manufacturing Growth Program and the Future Made in Australia Act.

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Jebsen and Jessen Buy Major Shareholding in Safetech

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Industrial conglomerate Jebsen and Jessen Group is acquiring a majority share in Australian dock and lifting products company Safetech as part of a strategic partnership which the two family businesses say will benefit the Australian materials handling industry. Jebsen and Jessen is an ASEAN-focused conglomerate with businesses spanning manufacturing, engineering, and heat induction bending services and 11 manufacturing facilities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Vietnam. Its core businesses are cable and other technology, ingredients, life sciences, and packaging. Safetech invented the successful Palift pallet leveller in 1984 and the company has since developed a range of world-class materials handling equipment which includes dock products, freight hoists, scissor lifts, pallet loading and mining plant and equipment, and vehicle lifts. Today, more than 80% of Australia’s supermarkets use Safetech equipment as do manufacturers, warehouses, miners, and commercial builders.

Safetech and Jebsen and Jessen will combine their expertise to provide a broader product range and exceptional customer service in materials handling. The deal is expected to be completed on 28 March 2024. The partnership builds on Jebsen and Jessen’s growth strategy which saw the acquisition of MHE-Demag’s Industrial Products (IPD) business in February 2023 (MHE), as well as Electro-Mechanical Services (EMS) in Australia — the two together form Jebsen and Jessen’s material handling division. ​The partnership creates further synergies for Jebsen and Jessen’s materials handling division in Australia. It will bring together product portfolios from MHE, EMS, and Safetech’s established sales, engineering, and structural metal product manufacturing operations in Australia, as well as access to Safetech’s Australian-designed and manufactured products for Jebsen and Jessen’s key markets, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Jebsen and Jessen’s Group CEO Per Magnusson said the partnership aligns with the company’s ‘advance and build’ strategy, to drive accelerated growth and its presence in Australia. “Building upon the foundation laid by the acquisition of EMS last year, our strategic partnership with Safetech will significantly enhance our footprint in Australia’s dynamic and thriving market and deliver enhanced value for customers.” Karl Tilkorn, Regional Director of Jebsen and Jessen’s materials handling business said Safetech is a major force in Australia’s material handling industry. “And our ambition is twofold – to empower its growth by utilising Jebsen and Jessen Group’s resources and to uncover synergies across the material handling business in Australia and beyond.”

In a joint management structure, Lindsay Wakefield, Founder and Managing Director of Safetech, will retain a stake in the business as a minority shareholder and continue to serve in the business. “From Safetech’s founding, we have continually invested in Australian engineering and manufacturing. Our journey — from a single outsourced product to 180 staff with four factories in regional Victoria — has been driven by the ingenuity and creativity of a talented team and a strong belief that Australia needs local steel manufacturing. Safetech’s partnership with Jebsen and Jessen will help us maintain that legacy as we continue to grow and strive to provide our customers with outstanding products backed by national service and support,” added Lindsay Wakefield. Safetech’s commercial operations, personnel, offices, and factories will remain after the deal is finalised. Honouring its long heritage of Australian-based engineering and manufacturing capacities, Safetech’s branding will continue to market its Australian-designed and manufactured products.

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IP Ratings – Barometer for Manufacturing Performance

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Any purchasers of the new iPhone 15 would have observed that the phone can work up to a maximum depth of six meters for up to 30 minutes since it is rated IP68. What does that even mean? Ingress Protection (IP) ratings, provide valuable information about the protection level of an electrical enclosure against the intrusion of solid objects and liquids. The IP rating system established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) provides a clear indication of industrial equipment’s ability to withstand environmental factors, particularly water and dust. This blog will look to cover more detail around IP ratings in the context of the manufacturing industry.

Overview of IP Ratings

IP ratings are composed of two digits, each establishing a specific level of protection. The first refers to the protection against solid objects, while the second indicates the protection against liquids. Devices with higher IP ratings, like IP65 or IP66, offer better protection against dust, rain, and even corrosive substances, safeguarding mining plant and equipment and ensuring uninterrupted functionality. However, higher IP ratings do not necessarily mean better protection. For example, an IP rating of 68 provides protection against dust and continuous immersion in water for equipment like throw-in transmitters, but it might not be suitable for areas with high humidity levels because it may not protect against condensation.

The degree of protection against solid contaminants is indicated with a number from 0 to 6. A higher number indicates a higher level of protection against finer contaminants. In the case of the liquids, the degree of protection against ingress is indicated with a number from zero to nine. However, for liquids, higher numbers do not necessarily indicate the component’s ability to withstand a larger amount of water.

Determining IP Ratings for Manufacturing

If a manufacturer is unsure about what IP rating his equipment requires, an expert system integrator provide assistance and recommend the most suitable solution tailored to the manufacturer’s business needs. Many industrial sectors require components with IP ratings, including marine, food processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and the agricultural sector. In fact, almost all industrial settings will experience some risk of ingress — particularly if the environment in which it operates is outdoors or in an environment subject to water, heat, or dust. In these cases, their electrical components must be able to withstand solid contaminants, water splashes and intensive cleaning. Motors and gears have specific IP ratings because these are also affected by solid and liquid contaminants depending on the environment conditions. For instance, a gear motor with an IP54 rating is dust proof and provides protection against water splashed from all directions. For lower IP ratings, protection provided will be less and clean lubricants provide an edge in increasing productivity.

In the case of the water treatment industry, operators should note that electrical systems will react differently to freshwater than to salt water, leading to more extensive corrosion. Consideration must also be given to how often exposure occurs and where the system may be submerged. Even in some situations, previous testing may be required to ensure that an IP rating is appropriate for a particular industrial application.

Conclusion

Just like an iPhone user will not take underwater photos with a brand-new iPhone without checking its IP rating; similarly, ensuring that plant equipment can function optimally in its environment is an essential task for manufacturers and structural steel fabricators. Water and dust resistant products are essential for ensuring the continued productivity of manufacturing equipment and processes. To prevent component failures and unplanned downtime, manufacturers need to understand IP ratings to ensure that the selected equipment is suitable for its purpose – thus, ensuring a best fit!

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Advancements in Drilling Technologies – Part II

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Continuing from the first part of the blog on drilling technological advancements, this blog will discuss a couple of newer drilling technologies. Industry adoption of these technologies is an indicator of success and, while these methodologies are doubtless expensive, they have shown to offer savings in resources and materials utilized to extract energy from oil wells and hence, they are being gradually adopted by the major oil and gas players. So, what are the other two drilling technologies to be discussed and what’s their point of difference compared to horizontal and multilateral drilling? Let’s find out in this blog.

Extended Reach Drilling

Extended Reach Drilling

An extended-reach well is one in which the ratio of the measured depth (MD) vs. the true vertical depth (TVD) is at least 2:1. Extended-reach wells are expensive and technically challenging as they require the involvement of heavy steel fabrication companies, however, they can add value to drilling operations by making it possible to reduce costly subsea equipment and pipelines, by using satellite field development, by developing near-shore fields from onshore, and by reducing the environmental impact by developing fields from pads.

Extended Reach Drilling allows producers to reach deposits that are great distances away from the drilling rig and this help producers tap oil and natural gas deposits under surface areas where a vertical well cannot be drilled, such as under developed or environmentally sensitive areas. Offshore, the use of extended reach drilling allows producers to reach accumulations far from offshore platforms, minimizing the number of platforms needed to produce all the oil and gas. Similar to horizontal drilling, Extended Reach Drilling uses the technology of the “RSS: Rotary Steerable System” that permit to steer a hole continuing the rotation of the drilling string with an improvement of the safety and the drilling efficiency.

Automated Drilling

Automated Drilling machine

Automated drilling is one of the oil industry’s most important innovation targets. The sources now being tapped, such as shale gas and coal-bed methane, require a very large number of wells and usage of pipe fabrication, and automating the drilling process would be an obvious way to keep the costs under control, and also gets around a problem which many sectors of engineering are experiencing. Automated drilling would be faster, more efficient, and safer, as it reduces the number of workers on site. In this R&D sector, Shell has developed an automated drilling system called SCADAdrill (SCADA being the acronym for supervisory control and data acquisition, a type of software used for automated factory and process control), and is a component of a new well manufacturing system that it is currently trialing in Europe and North America. The SCADAdrill system is used on the horizontal dewatering bores. Through sensors mounted on the drill bit, the system monitors the trajectory of the drill and its performance as it travels through the site geology and controls its path to ensure that it meets the top hole precisely. Automating drilling takes in three stages of autonomy: firstly, to mechanize the drilling equipment; secondly to monitor torque and weight on the drill bit and thirdly, to automate the entire process.

Conclusion

It can be seen that Extended Reach drilling and Automated drilling both bring in their unique flavors to the world of oil drilling technologies. A degree of technical expertise is required to ensure proper implementation of these methodologies and people and software have to be trained accordingly so as to maximize the benefits. It’s an exciting time to be in the midst of the oil and gas sector and these advancements are poised to take the industry forward!

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Role of Fabrication in Oil and Gas Industry

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Good quality infrastructure in the oil and gas industry is an absolute necessity for oil to be transported, transformed, processed etc. But how are all these complex machines developed and assembled for use by oil and gas professionals? The answer is “fabrication” where metal fabrication companies are involved in producing pipelines, hollow sections, platforms, beams, girders, custom-fitted metal elements, pressure vessels and heat exchangers. Metal and steel fabrication plays a crucial role in the oil and gas industry and this blog will look to outline its various applications and advantages in this regard.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure

The infrastructure of the oil and gas industry is complex. An oil rig or an oil platform is a large structure with facilities to drill wells, and extract and process oil and natural gas. There are different types of oil platforms such as fixed platforms, compliant towers, semi-submersible platform, jack-up drilling rigs, drill ships, floating production systems, tension-leg platforms, and gravity-based structures and spar platforms. All these structures are built on steel legs and steel jackets are commonly used structural steel sections while constructing oil platforms.

Equipment

Equipment

Almost all equipment used in the oil and gas industry are made of structural steel. All kinds of critical parts are manufactured by structural steel fabricators. Pipelines, pressure vessels, and oil and gas separators are some of the applications of structural steel in the oil and gas industry.

Pipelines: Structural steel fabricators produce pipelines based on the type of fluid they will carry.

Pressure Vessels: Pressure vessels are used to hold the fluid or natural gas collected at the oil rig. They are fabricated by steel fabricators for oil and gas companies.

Oil and Gas Separators: Oil and Gas separators are pressure vessels used for separating a well stream into gaseous and liquid components. A major part of it is fabricated by fabrication companies.

Advantages of Fabrication

Advantages of Fabrication

Fabrication, in particular modular fabrication and process skids, allows the oil and gas industry to meet its pipeline and equipment needs by quickly and efficiently delivering the products and services that the industry needs to continue functioning. Among other things modular fabrication techniques provide the following advantages:

Speed of Construction – Time spent waiting for new pipelines to be built and parts and equipment to be delivered is an extremely costly inconvenience to oil and gas companies. Fortunately, modular fabrication allows for a very rapid construction and fast delivery because the process has been finely tuned for maximum speed and efficiency.

Easy Delivery and Installation – Building the new equipment is only half the battle, the rest lies in actually delivering it and getting it setup. Modular fabrication allows pieces to be shipped and stored conveniently, and then installed with a minimum of inconvenience at its final worksite.

High Safety and Quality Standards – Modular fabrication can be done to the highest level of safety and quality standards because the equipment and parts can be tested prior to delivery. This allows any defects to be identified and corrected before the oil or gas company is ever faced with downtimes or safety hazards from faulty equipment.

Closing Thoughts

The myriad applications and benefits of fabrication have been instrumental in supporting the mammoth oil and gas industry. While there is also a cost associated with maintaining heavy machinery and instrumentation, the smooth operations of various aspects of oil mining and production is essential to generating revenues and meeting industry requirements. Fabrication also has uses in other industries like mining, logging etc. – in essence, fabrication is the definition of multi-faceted!

© K999 Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. 2023