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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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Omni Tanker Develops ‘World-Leading’ Liquid Hydrogen Storage in Space

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Australian composites manufacturer Omni Tanker, in collaboration with international aerospace giant Lockheed Martin and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has developed a world-leading solution for the transport of cryogenic and liquid cargoes of hydrogen and helium, including into space. With support from the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC), the collaborative partnership builds on Omni Tanker’s expansive composite capabilities developed for use across its industrial transport portfolio. The company currently leads global manufacturing in lightweight, composite road tankers for caustic materials that are used and sold locally and exported to Europe, and North America from its Sydney base. Pairing Omni Tanker’s capabilities with Lockheed Martin’s extensive aerospace experience led to the development and manufacture of two new storage tanks including:

-Type 4, fluoropolymer-lined, carbon fibre composite tank, and a

-Type 5, liner-less, carbon fibre composite tank.

The tanks can store and transport liquid hydrogen, as well as oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, and hydrazine at high pressures under extreme cryogenic temperatures as low as minus 269 degrees Celsius. As a result of the successful project, operational-scale demonstrator versions of the tanks for Lockheed Martin’s LM2100 satellite have now been manufactured at Omni Tanker’s advanced manufacturing facility located in Sydney’s west.

Omni Tanker CEO and Founder Dr Daniel Rodgers said the $1.59 million project has taken the company’s world-leading capabilities to new heights. “By leveraging Omni Tanker’s capabilities, we have been able to translate our composite road tanker technology to the global space sector – where performance, weight, and cost are of paramount importance,” said Rodgers. “Omni Tanker can develop and deliver composite pressure vessels to meet demanding technical requirements quicker and at a lower cost than exotic materials, such as titanium, which are widely used in the space sector.” Christopher Hess, Lockheed Martin Australia’s Head of Industrial Development said, “The global strategic environment is constantly evolving, and Lockheed Martin is committed to working with industry, through exemplary partners such as Omni Tanker, UNSW, and AMGC, to deliver a world-leading space capability.” Dr Jens Goennemann, Managing Director of AMGC, said the project demonstrates the importance for manufacturers to look beyond their current businesses. “With the assistance of AMGC, Omni Tanker has done what more manufacturers should do: seek ways to leverage their capabilities across adjacent opportunities, in this case moving from road tankers to spacecraft,” said Goennemann. “It’s generally not rocket science – except in this case it is.”

Together, the project participants identified a new application for Omni Tanker’s patented OmniBIND solution which links an interior thermoplastic tank to a lightweight composite exterior tank. The use of a nanoengineered additive product, developed by a UNSW, prevented matrix cracks usually present at extremely low temperatures in pressure vessels storing liquefied hydrogen. “The collaborative efforts with Omni Tanker and Lockheed Martin Space have been pivotal in transforming this cutting-edge technology into practical structural steel fabrication applications,” said Professor Chun Wang, UNSW’s Scientia Professor. “As a result of extensive nano-engineering efforts, we now have composite structures that can withstand the extreme cold of liquid hydrogen without experiencing microcracking or hydrogen gas leak,” said Professor Wang. Dr Luke Djukic, CTO at Omni Tanker, said the project represented a significant step forward for the company and a strategic leap in sovereign capability. “These new material technologies are well-matched to the high-end pre-impregnated composite materials typically used in aerospace metal fabrication yet offer a more economical production method from materials that are readily available,” said Djukic. “In developing these new products and processes onshore, we have established significant sovereign capability at Omni Tanker. We look forward to leveraging this capability as we move our tanks into operational use across the transport and aerospace sectors here and abroad,” said Djukic.

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Future-proofing Supply Chains

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As discussed in a previous blog on post-pandemic fabrication supply chain, the COVID years were harrowing for supply chains with the imminent threat of lockdowns creating volatility in demand and supply patterns. With the return to normalcy, the future of global logistics has become significantly brighter — however there are lessons to be learnt during the pandemic and which should be avoided in case of a similar situation in the future. There is a gradual realization that many forces need to be considered when creating truly resilient, dynamic supply chains. So, what are these forces and how should they be leveraged correctly? This writeup looks to decode this subject in greater detail.

 Supply-Demand Mismatch

In a perfect world, supply and demand sync evenly but in the real world, often one outpaces the other – such as the shortage of certain consumer goods of 2020. Oversupply can also cause issues which can pile up and quickly eat through a business’ bottom line. A common issue is where to store the overstock and how to continue to sell it and profit, and this can cause issues up and down the supply chain of heavy steel fabrication companies. These pockets of exponential demand will continue to exist as will moments of oversupply. Both need to be built into forecasts to help stakeholders better manage inventory and adapt as forces shift the balance.

Commodity Shortages

Commodities like lithium and cobalt are in high demand but not always easy to procure. Producers that need hard-to-replace materials must factor in forces such as potential tariffs, weather patterns, upcoming environmental regulations, and variable pricing of mining plant and equipment to ensure production does not suffer. The emergence of innovative design is a trend which can be used to resolve shortages. Engineers are using smaller geometries, so the required amount of the given commodity is reduced without sacrificing product capability. An example would be the small size of computers today compared with earlier days when they were the size of a room and exponentially less powerful.

Economy and Pricing

The state of the economy is a major factor which is a bell weather for consumption trends, such as using local steel companies in Australia. With rising inflation, consumers are looking to spend less but still get that bang for their buck — and that translates all the way up the chain. At the same time, between labour, the rising cost of materials, tariffs, and more, suppliers are getting squeezed on cost. While there will never be a perfect model for economic forecasting, knowledge of known forces and their impact on consumer behavior can be built into pricing projections.

Labour Shortages

Forces such as labour shortages always impact product availability. For instance, Japan needs more than 200,000 engineers in the next couple of years to maintain current production levels. In 2030 it is expected that Japan will not be able to fill 270,000 artificial intelligence and IoT jobs. One of the drivers of this trend is ageing populations. The engineers who have been designing and building components worldwide are now retiring and there are fewer people available to fill those gaps. Not only is there an inverted population pyramid at play here, but the increased need for these products is driving up the demand and exacerbating this skill gap. Consider how many things require technologies that did not exist even 10 years ago. The demand is going to skyrocket, which means even more engineers and IT professionals will be needed going forward.

Final Thoughts

In the context of future planning for supply chains, none of these forces are new but the need to accurately build them into supply chain forecasts is increasingly important. The pandemic helped highlight the need to take all these forces into account to ensure that disruptions are limited when a black swan event occurs. Hence, supply chains are ever-evolving and it is up to us to keep pace with its evolutionary development!

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Pipe Corrosion – Causes and Prevention Techniques

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Metal pipes are essential in our day-to-day lives and in industry for transporting and distributing liquids (e.g., oil, water etc.) from one point to the other. When corrosion takes place, the impacted pipe starts disintegrating and the distribution of liquids is impacted. For pipes transporting water, corrosion may also impact the color, taste, and odor of water. This may be harmful in cases where the water is meant for human consumption. Along with the pipe itself, pipe fabrication connections are seriously impacted by corrosion. So, what are the causes of corrosion and how can it be prevented? This blog will look to discuss this interesting topic going forward.

Causes of Pipe Corrosion

  • Acidity and Alkalinity – Acidity is one of the factors that cause corrosion in metal pipes. Water has a low PH if it is untreated because of the presence of carbonic acid or other acids. The presence of these acids in water causes corrosion as they will react with pipes. This reaction will go on for a while and eventually the pipes get corroded. Alkalinity refers to bases which are contained in water. These bases are not good for pipes since they are anti-corrosive.
  • Electric Current – It is well known that most of the water pipes are underground. Hence, the electric current will come from earthing. The excess electricity is damped to the ground to prevent accidents in electrical appliances. This electric current that goes to the ground will cause corrosion in these pipes.
  • Material and Organic Constituents – Water contains minerals and organic constituents. These dissolved minerals have a great chance of causing corrosion in pipes if they are not eliminated. For instance, dissolved oxygen in water facilitates corrosion in pipes. The only way to eliminate the minerals and organic constituents in water is by treating that water before entering the pipes.

Prevention of Pipe Corrosion

  • Cathodic Prevention – Cathodic protection is the use of electrical current to prevent corrosion. This is done by connecting the pipe to the negative pole of a DC generator or the anode metals like magnesium so the entire pipe acts as a cathode. The cathodic protection method is very effective for metal pipes that are buried. When the pipe is made to be a cathode, then this will greatly prevent corrosion simply because corrosion only occurs at the anode and not the cathode since corrosion is an electrochemical process.
  • Proper Pipe Material – The type of pipe material used for welding pipes also has a great influence on preventing corrosion. There are pipe materials that are resistant to corrosion, these kinds of pipe materials will do a great job of preventing corrosion. The best pipe materials that one should consider using are the alloys of iron or steel with chromium, copper, or nickel. They are quite expensive, but they are the best pipe materials for prevention of corrosion and also helps in reducing scrap during the pipe manufacturing process.
  • Water Treatment – Water treatment involves adjusting the pH value. The moment the PH value is low or high that will facilitate the corrosion of the pipes. So, the water must be treated and the PH should be between 6.5 to 8.5, this is the PH that will prevent the pipes from corroding. Also, treating water tends to take control of calcium carbonate which increases the alkalinity of water. Removal of oxygen from water also aids in the prevention of corrosion in metal pipes, since oxygen is one of the factors that increase corrosion in pipes. The addition of sodium silicate in water when treating it also prevents corrosion in pipes.

The Last Word

It is important to note that corrosion of pipes cannot be eliminated since oxygen will always be available unless the earth is filled with inert gases. However, corrosion needs to be managed to the maximum extent possible else it will impact pipes in the long run and replacement of pipes will be an additional expense. Thus, pipe corrosion is an ongoing phenomenon and the management of corrosion by heavy steel fabrication companies needs to be an ongoing practice as well!

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Clips & Clamps President Elected PMA Chairman of the Board

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The Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) has elected Jeff Aznavorian, president of Plymouth, MI-based Clips & Clamps Industries, as its 2023 chairman of the board. Gregg Boucher, group COO of North Haven, CT-based Ulbrich Stainless Steels and Special Metals, will serve as vice chairman and treasurer. Both will serve one-year terms. Aznavorian succeeds outgoing PMA Board Chair Doug Johnson, president of Cheshire, CT-based Marion Manufacturing Co. “I’m honoured to be elected chairman and thank Doug Johnson for his outstanding leadership this past year,” says Aznavorian. “I look forward to building upon his successful efforts to grow a stronger sheet metal fabrication products company.” Aznavorian, whose father Mike served as PMA chair in 1996 and preceded Jeff as Clips & Clamps president, offers “Optimizing Connections: PMA United” as his theme as chair.

“The strength of PMA always has resided in its member companies and their people,” Aznavorian says, explaining the significance of his theme. “A wise person once told me that an asset we all can utilize is the ‘power of people’ and the ‘synergy of sharing.’ The challenge, then, is finding out how we can harness that power and take full advantage of the synergies. One great way to overcome that challenge is to optimize the connections that we already have in place. I feel like I have a partner in PMA that is a webinar away, a phone call away, a click away. My goal is to convince others to feel the same way.” PMA, Aznavorian says, connects people through four key areas—education and training, networking, benchmarking, and advocacy. He points to several ways that these connections have helped move his business forward, including executive-level coaching for senior leadership, networking opportunities for his middle managers, education for his employees using PMA-generated content, and benchmarking data to help him compare his company to others in the industry using information from PMA’s Metalforming Insights business reports.

He also stresses the importance of PMA’s advocacy efforts to help the metal forming industry compete long into the future. PMA, through its One Voice government relations and public affairs partnership with the National Tooling and Machining Association, will focus on several key challenges facing the metal fabrication industry in 2023 deemed top of mind by association members, including workforce recruitment and training, taxes and raw material prices, among others. “Moving forward, the association must continue to stand strong for its members,” Aznavorian says, “while at the same time standing on the strength of its members. A lot of change is coming to our industry; rate of change will not slow down. Our trade association then needs to be the port in the storm, where members can turn for direction and guidance.

“By leaning on the collective experience and knowledge that resides in our member companies and people,” he continues, “our connections will be strengthened, and our knowledge and potential will grow. We will be a Precision Metalforming Association that is united in our goals to support the best companies in the world of metal forming.” PMA is the full-service trade association representing the $137 billion metal forming industry of North America—the industry that creates precision metal products such as mining plant and equipment using stamping, fabricating, spinning, slide forming, heat induction bending services and roll forming technologies, and other value-added processes. Its more than 900 member companies also include suppliers of equipment, materials, and services to the industry. PMA leads innovative member companies toward superior competitiveness and profitability through advocacy, networking, statistics, the PMA Educational Foundation, FABTECH tradeshows, and Metalforming magazine.

© K999 Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. 2023