business & market news
22
Tube Products International January 2012
New managing director for Flextraction
Flextraction Ltd, a supplier and
manufacturer of local exhaust ventilation
(LEV) products, has announced that Lee
Darton has been appointed managing
director. Mr Darton has many years’
experience in the fume and dust
extraction equipment industry. He has
been with Flextraction for over 12 years,
as sales manager and most recently as
general manager (products).
Wally Gilder, chairman of Flextraction,
commented, “Lee has played a
significant role in the development of
this company and has created a fully
focussed and committed sales and after
sales team. Under his guidance we
have seen our market share continue to
increase and this appointment comes at
a time when the company is experiencing
improved trading conditions and the
introduction of a wider product portfolio.
It is just reward for all his commitment
and endeavours.”
Mr Darton said, “Flextraction has a
comprehensive range of dust and
fume extraction products that cover
a multitude of industries, which we
continually strive to improve and
develop. This marketing strategy has
led to increased order books both from
the UK and from new markets in Europe.
“Working with the UKTI (UK Trade and
Investment) in order to find defined
partners in Europe
has led to the
recent appointment
of a distributor in
France for our HPD
products
(hood
positioning devices).
This in turn has
resulted in increased
production of HPDs.
“We are continuing
to drive our export
business forward
and are currently
looking at defined
partners in both
Germany and Spain.
My appointment as managing director
will help us take the company forward
as part of our ongoing marketing and
investment strategies, both in the long
and short term.”
Flextraction Ltd
– UK
Lee Darton, Flextraction’s new managing director
BP Pipelines adopts software
management platform
Asset Guardian Solutions Ltd, a
specialist in software asset protection
for the process and manufacturing
industry, has signed up BP Pipelines
to its proprietary software management
platform.
The Asset Guardian tool set provides
process and manufacturing organisations
with a software management solution
enabling them to minimise the risks
associated with process-critical safety
software and related functions. The
solution also ensures that companies
are in compliance with complex ISO
and IEC standards, government
directives, and industry best practices
for the “configuration and change
management” of process critical
systems.
Given that up to 90% of UK companies
have no secure back-up of process-
critical application software, one of
Asset Guardian’s most common uses
is as a disaster recovery tool. By
managing software and business critical
information through a central platform,
users can help to minimise system
downtime incurred by software failure.
Asset Guardian has already been rolled
out to many parts of BP but this latest
contract will ensure that the integrity
of BP Pipeline’s process software will
be managed on one platform and
securely accessible anywhere via the
BP network. The company’s three US
control centres operate onshore and
offshore systems, handling the transport
of crude oil, refined products, natural
gas liquids and chemicals.
Commenting on the contract win,
Sam Mackay, chief executive of Asset
Guardian, said, “We are delighted to be
partnering with such a significant player
in the global energy industry. This marks
another significant milestone in the
short history of Asset Guardian and will
enable us to continue our impressive
growth record.
“We pride ourselves on being able to
deliver solutions to our clients that can
deliver real business benefits in driving
operational efficiencies and minimising
the risks involved in managing software
for companies with complex processes
operating in high risk production
industries.”
Established in 2004, Asset Guardian
provides solutions to more than 260
users across a range of process and
manufacturing industries including
oil and gas, power generation,
pharmaceutical, and food and beverage.
Asset Guardian Solutions Ltd
– UK
