Robson explore new markets to beat the recession

Bulk materials handling company provide manufacturing, assembly and site testing facilities for the offshore and oil exploration industry

Geo Robson & Co. Ltd, like many others in the manufacturing industry, experienced a downturn in sales within their core business of bulk material conveying and airport baggage handling equipment, with major projects being shelved as the recession struck.

Robson sought to diversify their business by providing a manufacturing, assembly and site testing facility of equipment for the offshore and oil exploration industry. Following a successful major build in 2008 of a riser gantry crane, which is now installed offshore in Brazil, Robson gained a £2 million order for the fabrication, manufacture and assembly of a pipe handler conveyor and crane which included the electrical installation, control systems and hydraulic drive and operation systems. A fully integrated build of the pipe handler was required as part of the pre-site trial to test all the systems before shipping to the Norwegian oil rig.

The pipe handler plays a critical role within a deep sea oil rig drilling system, ensuring that the drill pipes, which are up to 12m in length and weighing up to 4 tonnes, are transferred safely to and from the drilling platform to the storage area. The pipe handler is a fully automated structure, which comprises an integral conveyor to transport the drill pipes and a drill pipe handler crane. The crane cab is mounted on an elevating structure that allows the crane operator to view the whole working area and also to descend allowing the crane to travel under the conveyor to the opposite side of the storage platform.  

To allow the 12m drill pipe to be elevated to the vertical position the conveyor has a pipe upender, which is a hydraulic arm that extends in unison with the conveyor’s feed to raise the pipe up to an angle of 45 degrees, ready to present and receive pipes to the drilling head.

The design included the access walkways; stairways and handrails, ensuring operators are safe within the working area and the adverse weather conditions offshore.

The system is designed by Shipley-based TSC Offshore Engineering (formerly Patriot Mechanical Handling), and is destined for the Norwegian oil fields and as such had to undergo stringent testing to meet complex standards for the Norwegian oil industry. With the oil rig being a dangerous environment the pipe handler had to also meet the European ATEX standards for potentially explosive atmospheres.

Robson have a number of years experience of ATEX, with many conveying systems designed and built for the explosive gas and dust environments found in the power generation and sugar industries.

Robson approached the pipe handler build quite differently from the normal design and build that they have perfected over their 100-year history. The system was engineered by TSC using state-of-the-art 3D design software and the complex design drawings and specifications were shared over secure Internet links between the two companies.

Kevin Mannion, Robson’s production director, said: ‘At Robson’s we have always seen the value in retaining in-house capability for manufacturing and assembly of projects, as it enables us to provide equipment to very high standards, manage quality, develop new products, and pre-site assemble and test, which for offshore work and particularly on bespoke equipment in line with this project is paramount.’

The fabrication of the pipe handler was undertaken by Robson’s sister company, Rotherham-based RJD Engineering, who ensured the structure met the critical weight limits that the customer required.

With the welding and fabrication of offshore equipment being critical, RJD undertook the task of gaining accreditation of the British and European Standard BS EN ISO 3834. Required mainly for the offshore and nuclear industries, the standard ensures the company meets the highest quality of welding, traceability and documentation.

There are only a few companies in the UK that currently hold the standard awarded by TWI (The Welding Institute). Ensuring the Robson Group are one of the market leaders in this field.

The customer design and Robson build approach has proven to be a great success with TSC rewarding Robson with a repeat order for another £2 million pipe handler.

This comes at a pivotal time, as Robson is currently completing the £12 million installation of biomass handling systems at Selby’s Drax power station. The two-year design and build programme, included gantry conveyors spanning over 100m, each having to meet the stringent ATEX standards. Robson’s biomass handling and screening systems ensures that the carbon neutral burning of biomass is safe and free from dangerous contaminants such as tramp steel or foreign objects.