Cortland Fibron

Source: Energy Digital

Date :18/02/2008 17:26:04

When Fibron BX was founded in 1986, few could have predicted the changes in store for this manufacturer of commercial diving equipment. Exec finds out more

Written by Lucy Mowatt and produced by Alex Smith

Based in Hertfordshire, Fibron BX has been through many changes since it was founded. The acquisition by The Cortland Companies during 2000, was a catalyst for major change; introducing a new management team and serious investment capital has allowed the company to extend its range, manufacturing cables and umbilicals for the oil & gas, ROV, diving and seismic markets, while producing cables required for other harsh environments.

Neil McAdam, MD of Cortland Fibron explains how the company’s new product portfolio fits into The Cortland Companies’ dynamic and the capabilities of the group. The group has a very wide range of expertise and manufacturing capabilities, covering high performance synthetic fibres and many types of cable. Cortland Cable Company engineer and manufacture electro mechanical and fibre optic cables used in many demanding applications including aerospace, medical and subsea markets. Cortland Puget Sound Rope makes large synthetic ropes and has recently provided a special deep water lifting rope to Subsea 7 as part of the Independence Hub installation at a depth of 2700m. Sanlo focuses on wire rope assemblies and has recently opened a manufacturing facility in China. In addition, all of the companies export a proportion of their output and Cortland Fibron sells roughly 50 percent of its products abroad.

Significantly, as part of the Cortland Companies, Cortland Fibron has increased access to investment funds. Recently, the company has invested in a new facility, which will substantially increase Cortland Fibron’s manufacturing capacity. The new site has 71,000 square feet of manufacturing space, 7,000 square feet of office space, and in combination with its existing facility Cortland will have 100,000 square feet of production floor by July 2008.

“We have spent a substantial amount recently on equipment,” McAdam explains. “We’re in the specialist market, and therefore we either have to compromise our needs against available machinery, which in turn means we have to adapt the machinery to meet our exacting requirements, or build speciality equipment to order.

Complex cables

“We have established a name for ourselves in the marketplace by trying to offer engineered solutions rather than using a standard catalogue approach,” Neil McAdam says. “We try to optimise the product for our customers by offering innovation and new techniques.”

One such innovation is the development of “HAVLES” (High Alternating Voltage Low Electrical Stress) cables. There is increasing need to provide higher power in longer cables, and this required a new approach to avoid increasing cable diameter. This led to the development of high voltage dynamic cables specifically for the deep water subsea markets, which includes ploughs, crawlers and ROVs. “The process basically uses standard extrusion technology to produce a core that will operate at relatively high AC voltages (up to 15kVAC). Initial prototypes have been manufactured and tested and the first production cable is set to be completed during April 2008,” McAdam says.

He goes on to point out that minimising cable self weight and diameter are very important in this sector, especially when it is considered that this is the drive to developing deep water oil and gas assets, which is pushing the limits of current cable technology. Cortland Fibron believes they can offer innovative solutions which will positively impact in this area.

Meeting deadlines

Cortland Fibron offers customers a high level of service which is essential when delivering critical components for multi million dollar projects. “Part of the service we offer is full project management of our orders,” Neil McAdam says. Sometimes contracts in the subsea sector can take up to 26 weeks to complete, so it is essential that these projects hit deadline. Cortland Fibron is also capable of offering turnkey solutions by working in collaboration with winch manufacturers.

The company believes in forming strong partnerships with all of its suppliers, and especially those considered as specialist suppliers. There are a number of these suppliers, but Spir Star, Kutting UK, Bridon International, Fastec Engineering Services and Colex International have performed particularly well.

In short Cortland Fibron focus on using the highest quality materials within their product and this can only be achieved by forming strong relationships with the best sub suppliers available.

As a result of tight project management and good supplier realtionships, the company has seen rapid growth in the supply of electro/hydraulic umbilicals for a number of high profile oil & gas projects.

Where necessary, the Cortland Companies work together to cover all of the customer’s requirements. Deep water lifting ropes can be coupled with umbilicals from Cortland Fibron, ropes from Cortland Puget Sound Rope and some ancillary-type fibre optic cables from Cortland Cable. Sam Bull, the Vice President of the Cortland Companies says, “There are numerous projects out there where we’ve actually supplied products from the different Cortland Companies.”

Solving problems

The emphasis of the group is on providing engineered solutions; many companies seek help from The Cortland Companies because of their expertise in a specialist market. “We get a tremendous amount of engineering queries from people who are having challenges,” Neil McAdam says.

Although the company does advertise and attend trade shows Sam Bull explains that the company does not feel pressured to advertise because of its existing reputation. “The bottom line is that if we service our customers correctly and offer them a good technical solution that’s delivered at a reasonable price and on time then we find that they come back to us.”

Cortland Fibron is ISO 9001 certified, and combined with their skills, they can offer the customer the best solution to their problems. “We see ourselves as a solutions company and I think that’s important,” Sam Bull concludes.

Click here to read the corporate brochure on Cortland Fibron