TPT July 2009

I ndustry N ews

Roll-Kraft receives sustainability award

MAPS Technology Ltd receives ASME Lubinski Award MAPS Technology Ltd received the prestigious Arthur Lubinski Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Petroleum Division at the 2009 Offshore Technology Conference. This year’s award recognises the step forward in flexible riser integrity management offered by the MAPS-FR™ technology and as described in the paper ‘ Non Invasive Magnetic Inspection of Flexible Risers’ , authored by two of its leading technologists, John McCarthy and David Buttle. Flexible risers are generally used to link subsea pipelines to floating offshore installations. They are complex, multi- layered structures comprising layers of flexible metal, polymer layers and spiral wound armour wires. The weight of the riser is supported by the armour wires, and failure of these wires represents a significant risk to the integrity of the riser, which can have financial and environmental consequences. The integrity of flexible risers therefore is a primary concern for operators of offshore risers. The structural complexity and the

Roll-Kraft, USA, a provider of tooling and equipment for the tube, pipe and roll forming industry, has been recognised by Smart Business as an emerging company among the 2009 Evolution of Manufacturing honourees. The award was presented to companies for their efforts in creating a sustainability initiative. Earlier this year, Roll-Kraft carried out an evaluation of facilities and processes to determine what steps to take to become a more environmentally friendly company. An action plan was created and changes were implemented. Lighting was changed in the factory, to more energy-efficient fixtures. Conservation was encouraged, including reducing waste involved with Styrofoam cups and paper products, along with plans to reduce fuel usage in the company vehicles. One of the greatest changes was the total implementation of having all sales brochures and flyers on the company website, and discontinuing the frequent publication, storage, and distribution of printed materials.

The company’s webmaster will update the website on a regular basis with materials which can be printed from virtually any computer at any time. This will not only be economical for Roll-Kraft, and sustainable for the future, but will be convenient for customers in countries around the world. Roll-Kraft will also use its database of email addresses to send out new product information and notices of upcoming events. Once this is in place, customers will be able to quickly register for seminars and learn about new issues. The company has also initiated a feature on its website that allows customers to send in their questions or concerns, simply by clicking on ‘Ask the Tech’. Those enquiries go directly to the headquarters office in Mentor, Ohio, and are handled immediately by engineers or sales personnel, as appropriate. Roll-Kraft – USA Fax : +1 440 205 3110 Website : www.roll-kraft.com

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J uly 2009

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