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the sector. Keeping pace with the world. It can manufacture ropes up logistics. The water depth at the ambitions of the oil & gas industry to 250mm (9.8in) in diameter. In quay is 8.5m. has been a principal motivation the past, the largest closer machines Bridon’s £30 million investment for the construction of the new have typically had only eight has been supported by £2.2 million facility as deepwater deployment bobbins. from the UK’s Regional Growth moves from 300te (330 ton) in Sket also produced the new Fund, which estimates that the new 3000m (9843ft) water depth to up stranding machine, which winds factory will leverage additional

Subsea – Business to 600te at depths down to 4000m. the individual wires into strands supply chain investment into the

The company is already in talks before they are spun together by the northeast England economy.

with Petrobras, which is eyeing closer machine. Bridon was originally formed in subsalt development below 4000m. Newcastle-based engineering 1924, through an amalgamation of

Bridon has opened up a logistical ? rm Pipe Coil Technology was wire rope producers, one of which hub in Macae, Brazil, providing commissioned to deliver an dates back to the late 18th century. warehousing, distribution, and innovative take-up stand. The stand In 2008, Bridon was acquired by project supervision. West Africa takes up new ropes from the closer Melrose, a specialist manufacturing is another developing deepwater onto the ? nal reels, and can either investor listed on the London Stock market. be used to move the reels along Exchange. The Bridon Neptune Quay a track to the quayside or to load Bridon’s offshore product facility has the capacity to produce them onto trucks. The reels can portfolio is engineered to service highly engineered ropes in package then be taken by truck to the nearby operators and contractors in weights of 650te, with enhanced Walker Quay, and loaded onto a wide range of applications breaking loads, optimized bend vessels using the quay’s imposing, including exploration, drilling fatigue performance, effective historic and newly refurbished and completion, deepwater lifting lubrication, and minimal rotation 1930 Hammerhead crane. The and deployment, station keeping under load. It will boost Bridon’s load capacity of the crane has for mobile offshore drilling units, rope manufacturing capacity by at been increased to 325te with permanent production and export least 9000te a year. Newcastle City Council backing the mooring systems.

Designed and manufactured by refurbishment. The company has 30 years of

German engineering company Sket, The factory’s Tyneside location, expertise in developing ropes and the new 24-bobbin rope closer along with its state-of-the-art related systems for permanent machine with up to 600te rope take-up stand for lifting reels moorings, starting with the weight capacity is claimed to be the directly from dock to vessel, will Schielhallion system for BP back in largest rope-making machine in the help Bridon signi? cantly improve 1983. The 81st system was due for

Wire rope on the take-up stand.

OE | February 2013 OE | February 2013 oedigital.com 6262 oe_Bridon2.indd 62 31/01/2013 17:06