The fastest emergency hose replacement service there is

In the pipelineQuarter 4 2012

Snow Business

In the pipeline 3

Contents

Published by Pirtek (UK) Limited35 Acton Park Estate, The Vale, Acton, London W3 7QETel 020 8749 8444 Fax 020 8749 8333 E-mail info@pirtek.co.uk

Be There or Be Square 2Hot Air 3Boots or Butterflies 4Branching Out 4In Praise of Cesar 5Walk in the Park 6Out with a Bang 6All at Sea...Not! 7Transformers II 8NBest of Both Worlds 9Coldest Journey 10Hidden Cem 12New Deal 13Cherry-picking Staff 13Dredging the Depths 14Flexible Friend 15Pond Life 15Trunk Call 16Out to Grass 16Unsung Heroes 17Helping Hand 18BTCC 20

I am writing this latest columnin the immediate aftermath ofwhat can only be described asthe greatest sporting summerin living memory. The Olympians of Team GB,rallied by an unprecedentedsurge in public support, soaredto new heights of excellencegathering gold as they wentand creating new icons andheroes on an almost daily basis.Perhaps even more remarkably,the subsequent Paralympicsachieved something that noprevious Games had achievedwith disability all-but forgottenand sporting feats and heroismto the fore.What has all of this got to dowith Pirtek, I hear you ask?

Well, aside from the fact thatmany of our Centres wereinvolved in the pre-Gamesbuilding explosion acrossLondon for almost seven years,I see Pirtek as the industrialequivalent to theGamesmakers that madeLondon 2012 so memorable.Like the Gamesmakers, webeaver away quietly in thebackground, supporting andassisting the feats of others.Like the Gamesmakers, ourpriority is making sure thateveryone is happy and welllooked after. And like theGamesmakers, we wear somepretty smart uniforms too.Sure, we may never climb atopa podium. We’ll probably never

have our own victory dance.And most of us will never gracea poster on the bedroom wall ofan aspiring child with dreamsof gold.But, as athlete after athletewas keen to point out, theirastonishing feats of strength,speed and endurance wouldhave been for nothing withoutthe support of theGamesmakers.

Best regards

Kelvin RobertsChairman, Pirtek Europe

The Olympic Spirit Hot AirCavity wall insulation is not an area you normally associate withPirtek. But as well as being hydraulic specialists, Pirtek is also aleader in pneumatic components, which has proved a valuablefactor for one of the UK's insulation specialists, Domestic andGeneral Insulation Ltd.Formed in 1986, Worcester-based Domestic and General installscavity wall insulation in over 25,000 homes a year; that's around 40homes per day around the country. The sheer logistics of thisoperation become apparent when you examine the productmanufacturing, as Andrew Sterling, technical inspector for DGIpointed out. “As well as our own installation work, we supply to 10established installers and act as monitors to a further 16. Thatcovers approximately two thirds of the UK,” Sterling says. “Weproduce between 50 and 60 tonnes of insulation every week. Thatdoesn't sound a lot but it’s nine artic trailers worth or 120 m3, andmakes DGI one of the largest insulation product manufacturers inthe country."The company use Neopar, a BASF graphic-based plastic in a two-part process to produce the insulation. The tiny granules are heatedtwice by hot air in two different operations to producea silver oval pellet. The shape is important, as when it is blown intothe cavity, the granules lock better than round granules, and will notsettle after insertion. This gives one of the best performinginsulations possible. The granules are also coated in a water basedPVA adhesive during insulation to ensure they remain in place afterinsertion. The company also has unique telescopic installationlances to get at places that other companies cannot reach, makinginsulation very efficient. The company are so proud of the qualitylevels they operate to, that they even have their BBA accreditationon all the company uniforms.“Pirtek's input in our process has proved invaluable,” Sterlingcontinues. “They have designed and manufactured the control boardthat operates the airflow on the installation vehicle, from thecompressor to the granules and the PVA adhesive. We are coatingthe granules at 5-5.5 bar and installing at 7-7.5 bar. That gives DGIone of the fastest installation processes in the country. The controlboards have been installed in 50 of our vehicles and we have afurther 80 boards on order. We also convert other company'svehicles to our system, all using the Pirtek boards. Pirtek has beenbrilliant. They have put a lot of thought into the research and designof the boards, sourcing parts we couldn't, and making insulation assimple as possible. They do a lot of extra work on our behalf and

purely for our benefit. They arecompetitive on price andextremely helpful, a really goodbunch of guys.”Top down The control board designed and built byPirtek Worcester. Neopar granules after their first stageheating.Domestic and General technical inspectorAndrew Sterling with one of thecompany’s installation vehicles,showing the Pirtek controlboard top right.

Be There, or Be Square

Setsquare Staging in Mitcham isused to building the unusual, be itgiant phones or exhibition stands.They also seem to have areputation for building the setsfor spectacular car launches.However the latest launch of a newtop secret 4x4 in Richmond Parkplanned for later this yearrequired some extra help fromPirtek Mitcham.For the launch, the new vehicle willdrive along a ramp into a waterfilled tank and then be raised onhydraulic rams above a replica ofthe Giant’s Causeway. Piece of cakeyou might think for a stagingcompany with 25 years ofexperience. Althoughmanufacturing the elements waschild's play for the company, theystill called in Pirtek to design,manufacture and install the

hydraulic lifting system. In factPirtek Mitcham redesigned part ofthe system to give a better andmore reliable lift. They also broughtin specialist hydraulic rammanufacturer HRRUK to custombuild eight rams for the stage.Because they have to fit into aspace of just 550 mm when thestage is closed, the rams are fedfrom the top of the cylinder throughan external pipe as there simplyisn't the space for a conventionalfeed. Despite this, each has a pushpower of 5.8 tonnes and a pullpower of 3.2 tonnes. "I'm alwayspleased to work with Pirtek. Wepurchase a lot of fixtures andfittings from them and we supplyram expertise to Pirtek in return,”says managing director RichardHudd. “It's a system that worksreally well and we have workedalongside them for years.”Once the rams were installed,Pirtek Mitcham fitted the powerpacks, four diverter valves andspeed controls to each of the rams.The rams are also fitted withinternal burst (control) valves tohold the pressure in the system toprevent the 5 tonne stage droppingduring the performance. Pirtek also

manufactured two manifold blocksthat control the four inlet and eightoutlet feeds. The entire systemwas designed and built in just oneweek instead of the scheduled twoweeks and has required 48 metresof 3/8" hose, and four metres of3/4" for the 16 internal hoses andeight external hoses. The entireassembly will eventually be liftedinto the tank, and the externalcontrols fitted for theperformance. The MSSTs atMitcham are looking forward to thelaunch knowing that they had ahand in what could be a majorexport for the UK.

Quarter 4 2012

In the pipeline 5

Quarter 4 2012www.pirtek-europe.com

Forestry has always been important in Scotland and over thepast 50 years great swathes of land have been converted to treehusbandry. Today around 15 percent of Scotland is now woodedand this trend is likely to continue with changes to governmentand local level environmental directives.One company that realised the potential of this market wasDalbeattie-based JP Wilson which diversified its contractingbusiness into a national supplier of forestry equipment.Formed in 1963 by the late, eponymous James Pearson Wilson,the company has grown into the country's premier forestryequipment supplier with 3,000 m2 of workshop premises and astaggering further 20,000 m2 of yard space and test trackfacilities.The company trades under several guises: Wilson Machinerydealing with sales and repairs of existing machines; and E.F.M. Ltd(European Forest Machinery) producing specialist cranes, loaders,grabs and Euro forestry trailers marketed under the Botex banner.Wilson Machinery has a thriving business in used equipment, fromtractors to winches. The company also imports specialist forestryequipment such as Rottne Swedish tree cutters, SP harvesters,

Branching Out

The Police Service of Northern Ireland, in partnership with PirtekBelfast, is helping farmers prevent the theft of vital farmvehicles, tractors, plant and even quad bikes, by holding unique‘CESAR It’ days throughout the province. The fitting of theCESAR vehicle marking system will be offered at a hugelyreduced price at events throughout Northern Ireland.Very successful ‘CESAR It’ days have already taken place inBallymoney, Ballymena and Limavady with further events planned- including Portadown and Draperstown. CESAR is a visualdeterrent to thieves that shows the vehicle is protected by stateof the art technology identification transponders and unique IDmicrodots, which make it easier to return a vehicle if stolen andrecovered. CESAR not only gives peace of mind but has the addedbenefit of no annual fees and reduced insurance costs. The first30 farmers who register for each 'CESAR It' day can have a CESARkit fitted to one of their vehicles at a reduced price thanks to thesubsidy from the PSNI together with the reduction in fitting costsfrom Pirtek Belfast. Cathy Doyle of Pirtek Belfast, suppliers ofthe CESAR system in Northern Ireland says: "As an additionalincentive to farmers on ‘CESAR It’ day, Pirtek Belfast will refundone lucky farmer the cost of their CESAR Kit. This, coupled withthe discounts on insurance available for having CESAR fitted,makes this offer too good to miss."The system is approved and recommended by the Police Serviceof Northern Ireland and the Association of Chief Police Officers.Inspector David Anderson (H District) said: “This scheme is justone of a range of events and projects such as our successfultrailer marking days and information stands for farmers beingheld by H District to help prevent agricultural crime and raiseawareness of crime prevention measures."Agricultural thefts are extremely common in Northern Ireland asstolen vehicles can easily be taken into Eire from where they canbe easily exported to Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

In Praise of CESAR

Ask someone what the word caterpillar means to them and youmight get answers ranging from bulldozers to boots or butterflylarva. Very few, however, would conjure up an image of theproduct that is part of Rosyth-based Oceaneering's deep-watercable laying operations.The US company has provided global Oceaneering UmbilicalSolutions (OUS) -subsea power cables and production controlumbilical systems for over 30 years. Acknowledged as a globalleader in designing and manufacturing subsea cable systems, OUSis the only major provider manufacturing the full range of subseaumbilical systems. One of the many services Oceaneering provideis a reel-lay system for pipelines that uses the caterpillar as an

Boots orButterflies?

Below Ballymoney: Inspector DavidAnderson, PSNI - Cathy Doyle, Pirtek Belfast- John McElderry, McElderry Ltd, Ballymoney.

integral part of the 10,000 pound tension 600 tonne ship mountedcarousel. So when a caterpillar appeared at Rosyth one afternoonwith an urgent call for a hydraulic refit, Pirtek Kinross sprang intoaction and had MSST David Collins on site within the allotted 1hour. What he was not expecting, however, was the size of the job."I assumed it was a straightforward hose supply. Usually we go in,measure up and make the hoses for Oceaneering's engineers tofit. On this occasion it was a complete refit of the caterpillar -that's 20 hoses to make, but for a change could I refit them aswell, as Oceaneering's engineers were fully occupied with otherprojects,” Collins recalls. “Thankfully, I came out well equipped andhad enough hose and fittings to manufacture all 20 new hoses.This was obviously too big a project to complete that afternoon,so I was back on site at the crack of dawn the following day tocomplete the job.”Oceaneering has been a valued customer for over 10 years and theKinross Centre are well versed in their needs. Collins just took thejob in his stride and was pleased that the caterpillar was back inaction the next day. However, he must have been on good formbecause Scott Phillips, Maintenance Supervisor for OceaneeringUmbilical Solutions took the time to email Pirtek head office inAction with the following message: “We use the Kinross branch ofPirtek here at Oceaneering International's Rosyth manufacturingplant and just wanted to pass on a few comments from ourselves.David Collins attended site this week to carry out an extensivereplacement of hydraulic hoses and fittings on a very expensive &important piece of kit. He worked both safely and swiftly to getthe job done - leaving a very tidy work area despite having tochange out 20 hoses and 40 seized couplings all full of oil. Alsoworth mentioning is the superb response we receive from thebranch every time we call them - they turn up very quickly at allhours of the day or night, know exactly what we need and deliveron time, every time. The guys are a credit to the Pirtek brand andbecause of them we will continue to use Pirtek as a valuedsupplier for many years to come. I hope you can pass on our thanks& appreciation for their efforts.” And David Collins’ response? "It'salways nice to be appreciated,” he said with a smile.”

Igland winches and Junkkari chippers.Sales manager Iain Wilson explains why they usedPirtek. “We had problems with a previous supplierand decided to try out other companies to see if theycould provide a better or more competitive service.Once we had tried Pirtek, there was no looking back.We knew the quality of the products was excellentand their call out times were very good. And theysuggested ways of saving money by our companyholding certain hoses and were prepared to supplythe components to allow us to do our own swaging,”he explains. “This is a very specalised market. We willbreak 50 used machines for spares during the year,as new parts are extremely expensive and hard tosource. We know our customers and provide what they require,such as wheels, which we will sell for £600 instead of £2,000. Weexport a lot of the equipment, Ireland is a particularly importantmarket with the Baltic States coming a close second, and we haveeven sent parts to Argentina. However, we will refurbish anycomponent before it is dispatched, so the customer getsextremely good value to repair an unusual machine. Pirtek hasproved invaluable in providing all sorts of components and hoseson our refurbishment work.”

Right Limavady Fitment Day: PIC 314, ConDavy Shiels, Con Brian Logue and Inspector

Andy Archibald. Also in picture, CathyDoyle, Pirtek Belfast & Honor Forgie of DA

Forgie Ltd.

There were 3705 visitors to the UFU/NFU Mutual stand atBalmoral Show, 370 entries for the prize draw. Winner Jonathan Kerr, Daniel Gilmore, David Cairns from NFUMutual, Cathy Doyle from Pirtek Belfast.

Quarter 4 2012www.pirtek-europe.com

When Steve Walker introducedwalking floor trailers to the UK,little did he realise that thisinnovation would turn his soletrader business into the transport(S Walker Transport) and recycling(RS Recycling) group of today.The three hectare acre site on the outskirts of Redditch is home to a fleetof 45 specialised vehicles that gather recyclable materials from all overthe UK. Plastic, paper, card, glass and wood are processed and recycled bya variety of vehicles including some unusual Claas Scorpion wheel loadersas well as the normal waste transfer vehicles such as forklifts. A pickingstation and giant 88 tonne baling facility help process the material on site.All of which give Redditch MSST Mark Sayers plenty of work to do, asworkshop manager Andy Hewitt explains. “I've got four fitters servicingthe entire fleet so it makes sense to employ Pirtek to do the specialisedhydraulic work. It's cost effective and quicker, besides which we'd still goto Pirtek as a counter service for the parts if we don't use the call outservice,” he says. “We originally tried them out in 2009 to see if they wereas good as they claimed to be, and we were so impressed with their servicethat they have worked for us ever since. On average we get a half hour callout service, which is brilliant. All the equipment has been purchasedto do precise jobs, they are not really interchangeable. I can't have key bitsof key equipment out of action, as it soon brings the plant to a halt. I knowwith Pirtek providing the maintenance back up - I've removed the stresselement from the maintenance work. It's a great help that they are local,but they are always quick to respond, and Mark Sayers is really helpful ontop of that."Hewitt asserts that Pirtek’s involvement now goes way beyond thehydraulic hose replacement service for which the company is renowned.“The walking trailers that do away with the need of unloading equipment ortippers, have been a real boon to the company and really put us on the map.To keep us ahead of the pack, we need to be efficient and work well. Pirtekhas come up with all sorts of innovations such as stockpiling common usehoses so we don't get call out charges, but Mark knows how the companyworks and sorts out everything from ram repairs to supplying the oil, oftenwithout the need for input from me,” Andy Hewitt concludes. “But wherewe tested Pirtek's skills was on a truck conversion. We took a refuse truckand turned it into a tipper. Pirtek designed and built all the block andpipework needed for the new hydraulics. It really was an impressive job.We trust Pirtek to get things right. And they do!”

Out with a Bang

The quiet backwaters of Crawshawbooth, near Rossendale inLancashire seems an unlikely setting for BPM SFX andProduction, one of Europe's leading special effects companies.At first glance the providers of world famous special effects,pyrotechnics and lasers would seem to have little in commonwith Pirtek.“BPM is certainly one of my more unusual customers,” admitsPirtek Manchester's Sales Manager Mark Tomlinson. “I'm neversure what I'm going to face on their site. Explosions, flamethrowers; could be anything. But we have helped them build allsorts of interesting equipment.”BPM's owners Adam Murray and Jamie Holmes started thecompany just five years ago with four CO2 jets used for stageshows. Today the company has a client list that runs for pagesand includes Radio 1, the Chemical Brothers, Lady Gaga, DizzeeRascal, Rihanna, Bruce Springsteen & the Swedish House Mafia.Murray first made contact with Pirtek three years ago becausehe had used them with a previous company and was impressedwith the service. Today the day to day running of the productionside is the responsibility of SFX Technician Liam Haswell.“You can imagine how much health and safety inspection we haveto go through on site, so everything has to be perfect. Pirtekensures that we have all the right fixtures and hoses in place sothat we can be 100 percent sure it's safe. However, it's thethought they put in on the build that is an eye-opener,” Liam says.“The set up time was always long at an event, so Pirtekstandardised all the hoses and put quick release coupling in thesystem so that instead of spending hours with sets ofspanners, and hoping that there were no leaks, we have an instantand safe joint to all the hoses that takes a fraction of the originaltime to set up. We've got lots of unique equipment on site butone of our main problems is buying in specialist equipment fromabroad and then making sure it is fit for purpose when used inthe UK and on our world tours.”“Pirtek are regular suppliers and I've got to admit their responsetimes are excellent, even though a lot of what we do is lastminute,” concludes Adam Murray. “We have never had a problemwith Pirtek, everything they have done is good and they havenever let us down. They always have a solution to our many andvaried needs.”

Strategically placed on the Suffolk coastline, Pirtek Ipswichdeals with its fair share of marine hydraulic work. However arecent emergency call out to a £2million Fairline yacht saw aPirtek engineer heading inland rather than out to sea.The 55 tonne, 78' yacht in question had been travelling acrossEast Anglia, escorted by the Cambridgeshire and Suffolk Police,for two days on the back of a specialist low loader supplied byNorwich-based Abbey Transport Ltd. Because of the size of theload, it has become police policy to take abnormal loads viasmaller roads to avoid slowing traffic on the major trunk roads, inthis case the A14, and then over-nighting the vehicle to avoid rushhour traffic. This policy of using smaller roads, makes lifeawkward for the driver though, because every time a traffic islandwas approached, the bollards had to be removed by the police andthe trailer hydraulically raised to clear the concrete island.Unfortunately the trailer burst a hydraulic suspension hose duringone such operation, bringing it to a halt on the B1113, at the busyThe Wild Man pub junction at Sproughton, just a few miles fromthe Ipswich town centre. The trailer neatly settled on the roadcausing it to be closed and, in turn, causing local traffic chaos. Theburst hose also presented an environmental hazard as hydraulicoil was leaking onto the highway and MSST Ian Bevan from PirtekIpswich was immediately dispatched to deal with both problems.Although he was on site within half an hour of the call, to completethe repair was easier said than done, as the trailer has a 'V' shapedbase to fit the hull of the boat. Needless to say the blown hosewas under the hull. The police seriously considered bringing in amobile crane to lift the yacht, allowing access to the blown hose.Ian however realised a temporary repair would get the vehiclemobile and down to Ipswich docks before the evening rush hour.This was vital as the vehicle would otherwise have been leftparked up until repaired; an expensive option.After an hour and a half, and much to the delight of the driver, Ianmanaged to free one end of the damaged hose, which he then cutoff and then temporarily re-ended. He then made a new hose toreplace the damaged section, stressing this was not the correctrepair but that it would enable the vehicle to be raised,

locked off and moved to where the boat could be unloaded and acorrect repair undertaken.Ian Bevan's workmanship held up but he joined the convoy toensure the trailer reached the port, which it did just before therush hour began. The Fairline was lifted off and the repair wascompleted. "The driver shook my hand and took the time andeffort to phone the Centre to say thanks for our quick response,he couldn't thank us enough,” Ian Bevan concludes. "I got a bigthank you from the police as well as I'd solved their trafficproblems. I must admit I went home that night thinking Ihad made a real difference by thinking on my feetand coming up with a solution. But that'sall part of the Pirtek service!

"

All at sea...not!

In thepipeline 7

Walk in the Park

In the pipeline 9

Quarter 4 2012

The engineers at Pirtek Kilmarnock wondered if they were havingtheir legs pulled when they were asked to work on Megatron andOptimus Prime being built by Brodie Engineering at theirBonnyton Rail Depot.In fact they are the nicknames given to two Flass (Fine Lining &Sleeper Spacing) prototypes used to replace railway lines. Theywere the brainchild of McCulloch Rail who passed the concept onto Brodie Engineering to build. The Flass Machine has beendesigned to make the laying and fine lining of sleepers a faster,but more importantly, a safer method than current methods.The FLASS lays the sleepers in a fine lined and correctly spacedfashion without the need for any manhandling. This saves inmanpower and greatly reduces the risk of injury from pulling andmoving sleepers manually.Manufactured to assist the delivery, positioning, spacing and finelining of sleepers on prepared ballast, the FLASS is capable offine lining and correctly spacing loose laid sleepers at 15 - 20lengths per hour. It can work under OLE without isolation, and withadjacent lines open, by working on a single line. “McCulloch Railhad an idea for a line lifting machine but we were given theinteresting part of the work - designing and manufacturing themachines. In fact there are two parts to the machine, at firstglance they look alike but one is fitted with a lifting grab and the

Transformers IIrear unit with rollers. The 6 tonne units work in tandem and areremotely controlled on site,” explains Brodie’s design engineerBrian Weatherspoon. “What is really clever is that the machinescan be transported to site on a conventional low loader and thenhydraulically telescoped to fit over the tracks. They have takenfour months to get to this stage and have already been fieldtested.We were told that Network Rail were ‘ecstatic’ with the results,especially when it was demonstrated that the machines could liftand replace in the same operation. We have calculated that it willreduce rail replacement costs to a quarter of their current costs."Weatherspoon says that the new machines were a collaborationbetween Brodie’s Joe Hackett and Pirtek. “These are really thebabies of Joe Hackett our senior fitter, he built everything exceptfor the tracks. However he did call in Pirtek to help design and fitthe complicated hydraulic systems. They supplied all the hoses,blocks and fixtures and gave Joe advice on the design within themachines, including how to hide the hoses in the bodywork toensure they are protected when in operation,” he says. “We usePirtek because they are helpful and will assist you out with anyproblem, be it design or supplying odd fittings. They have a verygood call out response time and the quality of the parts isexcellent. What we really like about them is they will spend a lot oftime solving a problem for you and we certainly appreciate theirinput on the Flass machines.We are now looking to adapt them for installation on a Unimogcarrier and will certainly ask for Pirtek's input and parts supply.”

The two giant 80 metre tall concrete silos in Kidderminster, thesole mortal remains of a giant British Sugar Corporation factorythat closed in 2002, are being demolished by the Birminghambased DSM Demolition group. As a customer of PirtekBirmingham, DSM is also enjoying the attention paid to them byPirtek Kidderminster.The silos were recently in the news when Secretary of State forCommunities and Local Government Eric Pickles arrived on thesite by steam train (borrowed from the adjoining Severn ValleyRailway) to announce the demise of the silos.He took a symbolic 'swipe' at the silos for the press, but left theactual demolition to the experts who started work in earnest onthe last day in June. The three week project is the culmination ofyears of demolition work on the 30 hectare site by DSM since2002, when the works were closed down.After systematically clearing the site and demolishing theintegrated power station, production buildings, storage facilitiesand molasses tanks and filling in the ponds, the silos had been lefton site until the last of the far fetched plans to develop them hadbeen discarded. These unlovely towers had been earmarked fordevelopment as prestige penthouses and even as water-filleddiving tanks for a diving school. However the need for housing anda recent grant to build the new Hoobrook link road sealed theirfate, and DSM returned to the site to finally complete the project.The five man team from DSM is using a Hitachi 1200 high reachexcavator (one of only 3 in the country) equipped with a 55 metreboom and Vercthert muncher to reduce the silos to a moremanageable height when a Hitachi 670 long arm fitted with a VTNmuncher will finish the demolition.“This is the final stage of a demolition project that has gone on for

Left Brodie Engineer’s Senior Fitter Joe Hackett and McCulloch Rail’s MegatronBelow Megatron and Optimus Prime in action on field testing duty

www.pirtek-europe.com

Best of Both Worlds

Left Joe Hackett demonstrating the different configurations in height and widthAbove Megatron and Optimus Prime working in tamdem to lift and replace a section of railRight Brodie’s design engineer Brian Weatherspoon with one of the 334 class rail units usedbetween Glasgow and Edinburgh which the company is currently refurbishing

close on 6 years. By using the two high reach machines in tandem,the silos can be reduced to ground very quickly without the needfor explosives,” says DSM site manager Christopher Bibb. “Onprojects like this, everything depends on just a few key machines.If they fail, then the project just stops. When we need a hydraulicrepair then Pirtek are the people to call. We use PirtekBirmingham for the majority of our work but the KidderminsterCentre is obviously more convenient for the British Sugar site,being less than a mile away. They always come equipped with theright stuff and it doesn't matter who we call out, we always getgood service. DSM has used Pirtek for years - I think our accountwas opened in 1991 - and they have got to be good to retain anaccount for that long. We get exceptional service and attention todetail. I really can't fault either Centre."

In the pipeline 11

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Veteran polar explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes is to take on one of the lastremaining polar challenges by attempting to cross Antarctica in winter –the coldest journey on Earth – with five colleagues and with the support ofthe Commonwealth and a number of sponsors including Pirtek UK. On 6 December 2012, on board the expedition’s South African ice-strengthened research ship, ‘SA Agulhas’, the expedition team – led by SirRanulph – will leave London , bound for Antarctica. Their aim is tocomplete ‘The Coldest Journey’ – the first-ever trans-Antarctic winterexpedition. The Coldest Journey will also attempt to raise $10 million forSeeing is Believing, a global charitable initiative to fight avoidableblindness. During their sea voyage, the team will undertake a number ofscientific tasks to provide unique data on marine life, oceanography andmeteorology. Using the very latest technological innovations, this epoch-

making journey will pave the way fora new dawn in Antarctic, year-roundexploration.

Equinox ExpeditionOn 21 March 2013, the equinox, thesix expedition members will begin asix month journey to reach the RossSea. Their route from the Russianbase of Novolazareskaya (‘Novo’) toCaptain Scott’s base at McMurdoSound – via the South Pole – will testthe limits of human endurance.During this six month period the expedition team will travel nearly 4,000kilometres, mostly in complete darkness in temperatures as low as -90°C.The expedition team will have to be entirely self-sufficient and there willbe no search and rescue facility available, as aircraft cannot penetrateinland during winter, due to darkness and risk of fuel freezing. Previously, the furthest any expedition has ever ventured into Antarcticaduring the winter is 60 miles. On this forthcoming journey, Sir Ranulph andhis team will aim to cover 2,000 miles in six months, crossing the polarplateau at an average height of 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) above sealevel. With a winter crossing of the Arctic having recently been completedby a Norwegian expedition, this is the first ever attempt at an Antarcticwinter crossing and one of the last remaining polar challenges.“This will be my greatest challenge to date. We will stretch the limits ofhuman endurance. Britain and the Commonwealth has a strong heritage ofexploration, from Captain Cook 300 years ago to the present day. As such,it is fitting that a Commonwealth team should be the first to fulfil this last

great polar expedition,” says SirRanulph. “It is a unique opportunityto carry out a number of scientifictasks in the extreme polarenvironment, which will make asignificant contribution to ourunderstanding of the true effects ofglobal warming on the Antarcticcontinent.”

Catching the LandtrainThroughout the crossing a two-manski unit will lead the party, dragging a pulk with ground-penetrating radar.This will transmit real-time information about the terrain - and anycrevasses - to a Mobile Vehicle Landtrain (MVL) following close behind.This is made up of two modified 21 tonne Caterpillar D6N vehicles(running on Jet A1 FSII containing an ice inhibitor enabling it to remainliquid to -75°C) each towing a 71 tonne load consisting of one of thespecially developed 28'cabooses on sledges plus a 20'stores sledges andseven 8,000-litre bladders of fuel on skids. Each 1,060 kW Cat D6N will use 200 kg of fuel a day, and will travel at just3 km/hour on average. Each seven tonne caboose, which are effectivelymodified shipping containers, will sit on five tonne, German-made sledges. For all the strategic planning and financial investment, the £6 millionexpedition would not be possible without the backing of a myriad ofbackers and sponsors, amongst them Pirtek UK, with PirtekWolverhampton providing the point of contact.The two cabooses are currently, if inelegantly, located in the car park ofCaterpillar agent Finning UK, in Cannock, while they are modified andfitted out. Here Mark Fletcher from Pirtek Wolverhampton met up withMartin Bell the expedition's polar advisor and Ian Prichett, traversetechnician and Brian Newham the traverse manager to discuss the uniquepractical problems that the equipment (and people) would face.

Belt and BracesThe units have a massive amount of hydraulic and fuel hoses. Pirtek has,therefore, taken the approach that every element needs to be flexible andinterchangeable through the use of common fixtures and fittings, so thatin the event of damage, failure or loss through accident, the othercomponents could be used. With temperatures as low as -90C,

The Coldest Journey

conventional hoses could not be used. The obvious choice was aconvoluted type 1" ID stainless steel PTFE hose with mild steel, metalfacing cone seals. All the hoses will be fitted with shut off values to avoidspillage when transferring fuel.“The choice of Pirtek was easy. For anything hydraulic - thinkPirtek,” Martin Bell asserts. “The caboose units will also needhydraulic fittings and fixtures, which are again to be manufacturedby Pirtek. The MVT is hydraulically linked and the D6 will powerthe caboose during the day before we change to internal power atnight. Everything is a one-off, so we are preparing themeasurements for Pirtek prior to manufacture. Pirtek is acompany I have used in the past in everything from quarryingapplications to general repairs. And they have always risen to thechallenge. As a belt and braces exercise, they are even going tocold weather test all the equipment prior to fitting, with hosesalready on route to the testing lab.”

Seeing is BelievingWhile the ultimate objective is to complete The Coldest Journey, theexploration team intend to raise USD10 million for Seeing is Believing(SiB) – a global initiative led by Standard Chartered and the InternationalAgency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) to tackle avoidableblindness in developing countries. Since its launch in 2003, theprogramme has reached over 28 million people. Eighty per cent of the world’s blindness is avoidable – meaning it can beprevented or treated. For as little as USD30 a person’s sight can berestored, allowing them to get back to work or school. Yet 39 millionpeople are currently blind and without effective intervention, which isexpected to rise to 76 million by 2020. A further 246 million people are either moderately or severely visuallyimpaired, simply for the lack of a basic pair of eyeglasses. Every dollarraised for SiB is matched by Standard Chartered, doubling the impactthe organisation can make on the ground. Sir Ranulph’s charitable endeavours on past expeditions have raised atotal of £15m to date.“I have been on some amazing expeditions and seen many of thebeautiful and unique sights the world has to offer. When I discoveredSeeing is Believing, what it stood for, and understood how easilyavoidable blindness could be prevented, it inspired me and my colleaguesto undertake this challenge,” Sir Ranulph says. “It is a fantastic cause andI would urge everyone who follows our progress to donate to it viawww.thecoldestjourney.org.”

About Sir Ranulph FiennesSir Ranulph Fiennes OBE is, according to the Guinness Book ofRecords, ‘the world’s greatest living explorer’. Sir Ranulph was thefirst to cross the Antarctic Continent unsupported (with Dr MikeStroud); the first person to cross both polar ice caps and the oldestto climb Everest; and he remains the only living man tocircumnavigate the world along the polar axis(accomplished with the late CharlesBurton).

Quarter 4 2012

In the pipeline 13

Quarter 4 2012

“Field engineers are always in short supply,” says Pirtek ErithCentre Manager Gary Woodhouse. “Let’s face it, it's not aglamorous profession. It involves working outdoors in the cold and wet and often inextremely dirty and sometimes hostile environments. It takessomeone with special qualities to work in these conditions, beable to think on his feet when confronted with a challenge andremain calm and in control when the customer often isn't. Sofinding a field engineer with the qualities to become an MSST islike looking for hen's teeth.”However, as he is quick to point out, he recently found a gem, orrather a Cem. “Despite numerous adverts and candidates fromthe Job Centre we couldn't find anyone suitable to fill ourvacancy, which prevented Centre expansion last summer. Sowhen Cem - pronounced Jem - Zekioglu walked through thedoor at Erith with a background in car maintenance, I began tosee a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. He had beentold by his brother in law who works for United Forktrucks (acustomer) that we had an MSST vacancy.”But like all Pirtek MSSTs, this was a Cem that still requiredsome polishing. “Although Cem's background wasn’t directlyrelated to hydraulics, it was still necessary to establishwhether he would be suitable for the position,” Woodhouseasserts. The fact that Cem took a week’s holiday from his oldfirm to work with Pirtek Erith, so that both sides could get aproper evaluation of each other, impressed Woodhouse. Andthankfully, both sides liked what they saw.“No matter how good we thought Cem was, he still had to gothrough the vigorous Pirtek training system. For the next fiveweeks he became our depot assistant, learning the parts andour methodology,” Woodhouse continues. “We liked his attitudeand enthusiasm and discovered he understood and couldidentify the parts and their uses. Realising his potential, wepacked him off to Pirtek's 'Training centre at Digbeth inBirmingham."This well-equipped Pirtek training facility was home for Cemfor the next two weeks while he underwent intensive training ineverything from health and safety and working environmentson one hand, to parts identification and hydraulic hosemanufacture and replacement on the other. At the end of thecourse Woodhouse was delighted that Cem had passed withflying colours and set about the next stage of his training.“Cem was then sent out on the service vans as an assistantMSST. He attended call outs with all our current MSSTs so thathe could gauge what was expected of him and what problems hewould face. Eventually when we thought he had done enough asan assistant we gave him his own Mobile Service Vehicle, butcarefully picked his customer call outs to ease him into the joband to see how he reacted to working on his own. All Ican say is he goes out to impress and we now have a MSST to beproud of.”The last word belongs to Cem. “After all the training I feltconfident to tackle just about any hydraulic job,” he concludes.“Each job is different and I've enjoyed meeting the customerswho are every bit as different as the products and problems.”

www.pirtek-europe.com

A Hidden Cem New Deal

Pirtek's success is centred around customer service. With a promise of an ETA - 1 hour, a quick response is vital to businesses. But how can companies be sure they have the right man forthe job when the engineer arrives on site? In the Pipeline looks at how engineers become Pirtek MSST (Mobile Sales and Service Technician) and the training process they go through

before being allowed anywherenear a customer.

Top - Cem in action, just waiting for the customer to sign off the repaired green cutter andreplacing a quick release hose on a peckerMiddle - Harry Newman at Mitcham and helping out on the Set Square job, see page 2Bottom - Tom Matthewson brings Medway back up to strength, here on a barge refit, see page 12

Pirtek is always keen to encourage 'new blood' into theorganisation; not an easy task when engineering is perceived as a‘dirty trade’. Finding someone who prefers working with machinesrather than computers is an uphill struggle with most teenagers.However, Pirtek have embarked on a national apprentice schemethat has recently born fruit, with 17 year old Harry Newman basedat Pirtek Mitcham, a shining example.“I'm not an academic, and school simply couldn't provide a meansof furthering my education in the end,” says Newman honestly. "Ienjoy doing practical work. I tried electrical fitting, and moulding.The latter was so mind numbing I couldn't imagine doing that forthe rest of my life. I may not be academic but I wanted a careerthat at least tests the brain and gives me a challenge. When Ilooked at Pirtek and the opportunities they offered, it seemedperfect.”'In fact, Newman proved to be perfect for Pirtek Mitcham, wherehe was taken under the wing of Senior MSST Kenny Gwyther. “Toovercome his initial shyness, we had him answering the phonesand interacting with customers as part of his training. He provedremarkably good at this, which meant he not only stopped theinterruptions to the on-site technicians, but he got a feel for thetypes of problems customers presented us with. Of course wedidn't want to use him as a glorified telephonist and began hisPirtek training from day one. His first task was to become familiarwith the fittings and hoses at the Centre. We have then integratedhim with the other MSSTs when they are out on service calls. Herehe is allowed to assist but mostly to observe safe Pirtek workingpractices,” Gwyther explains. “This is very much practical trainingon the job, especially as he will learn different approaches fromeach of the MSSTs here. He completed one week of training at thePirtek National Training Centre at Digbeth, where he underwentintensive Health and Safety training. This has certainly been anyeye opener for Harry. He then returned to the Centre for threemonths as assistant MSST before completing the second week ofpractical training.” In fact Harry has already obtained a City and Guilds certificationthrough Pirtek and is appreciating the training he is receiving, “Iam not expecting to become an MSST with my own van until I'm21. There is a lot to learn before then, however what I've alreadyexperienced has made me appreciate the skills I need toaccumulate before being allowed to tackle repairs on my own. Theother MSSTs have been really great and I've already been involvedwith a lot of repairs. The simple ones such as jet wash hosesthrough to the complex jobs such as ram repairs on heavy plant.The next stage of my training will involve practical skills such aswelding.,” he concludes. “The sheer variety of the work isbrilliant, it helps my confidence by being able to tackle anysituation, and I can see a good career with the company. It hastaught me a lot more respect for the engineering profession but Ican already tell I have made the best decision of my life in joiningup with Pirtek. They are already looking at using me as a 'floating'service technician that could be used by Mitcham, Erith, Medwayand Sittingbourne. That will give me the largest range of any of theSouth East MSSTs and certainly ensure I have a wide spectrum ofcustomers and experience.”

Cherry-PickingStaffIt is not unusual for Pirtek to hire MSSTs from other engineeringcompanies. With the diverse range of customers spread a broadrange of industry sectors, engineers among Pirtek customersappreciate the work they do, and often envy the variety of workundertaken.Pirtek Medway was on the lookout for a skilled engineer to bringtheir team up to strength when they were put in touch with plantfitter Tom Matthewson. Matthewson had previously beenworking as an assistant MSST at Pirtek Erith but readilytransferred to Medway as he lived at nearby Maidstone, andMedway were short staffed.Matthewson had an interesting background having alreadystudied Mechanical Engineering at the London South BankUniversity and Aeronautical Engineering in Wales, gaining his Cityand Guilds along the way. However he enjoyed the outdoor life andstarted to look at engineering companies with site needs. One of his jobs was as a cherry picker operator where he found hisplant skills put to good use. It was at this company he cameacross Pirtek and realised he had better prospects if he changedallegiances."I did an introductory spell at Erith to see if I was compatible andsoon realised this was the job I'd been looking for. However itwasn't as easy as that and I was promptly packed off the Pirtektraining centre at Digbeth to learn how to do things properly,”Matthewson says. “I've been through the Health and Safety sideof things and the manufacturing element of the training. I'mcurrently assisting the existing Medway MSSTs on site calls toensure I can cope with having my own service van. So far so goodand once I have completed my in house training I shall be joiningthe ranks of the Pirtek MSSTs. A good decision as far as I'mconcerned.”Pirtek Medway recently announced that Tom Matthewson hascompleted all of the in-house training at Digbeth and has shownoutstanding competence when assisting the regular MSSTs. He iscurrently fitting out his own service van and will be introduced tocustomers over the next few months.

In the pipeline 15

Quarter 4 2012www.pirtek-europe.com

Rigorous in-house training and years of learning the Pirtek wayresults in the high standards expected of Pirtek MMSTs. It alsoensures that customers know they will get a highly trained fieldengineer, no matter which Pirtek Centre they use.It also has the advantage that MSSTs are able to interchange andsupport their colleagues at other Pirtek Centres should the needarise. In fact it is not unusual to find that many of the MSSTs haveworked at more than one Pirtek Centre.Tracey Newman, licencee at Medway recently used this to heradvantage when the Centre found itself with a staff shortage. “Iknew that unless something was done in a hurry, I would either putour existing MSSTs under a lot of pressure by asking them toprovide extra cover or we would start to let customers down bynot being able to keep to our 1hour ETA promise,” she recalls.Sounding out the adjoining Centres at Erith and Mitcham, Newmanmanaged to 'borrow' several members of staff to keep Medwayrunning at full speed. "In fact it was a blessing in disguise, as itprovided an opportunity for Darren Edenborough - the seniorMSST at Erith - to take over as Centre Manager at Medway. This isa role he had already proved he could do when providingmanagement cover. Darren had accumulated seven years of fieldexperience, but was finding promotion opportunities within Pirtekrare in the current economic climate,” she says. “Darren providedthe perfect solution to running the Centre at Medway, achallenging and diverse job at the best of times. He has beenreorganising the Centre but he will shortly be out visitingcustomers to make sure their hydraulic needs are being met.Already customers have commented on his enthusiasm. Not only have our neighbouring Pirtek Centres provided somemuch needed help, but they have provided the perfect candidateto promote. Pirtek always like to promote from within thecompany, simply because it rewards all the hard work the MSSTshave done over the years.” Despite her enthusiasm for this cross-Centre staff sharing capability, Tracey Newman is equally pleasedto have Pirtek Medway back at full strength. “It says a lot aboutPirtek engineers in that they are willing and flexible enough tohelp out at another Centre to make sure we don't let ourcustomers down. However I am pleased to say we currently havesome new blood at Medway in the form of Tom Matthewson ournew assistant MSST, who will soon be out on the road, bringingMedway back to full strength,” she concludes. “As part of Pirtek'straining scheme, that will ultimately benefit all three Centres,Pirtek Erith senior MSST Tim Canning has already gained hisStage 1 accreditation on an Advanced Hydraulic Course held atNational Fluid Power Centre in Nottingham. He will shortly beundertaking Stage 2 of the course. With 16 years of service andknowledge with Pirtek behind him, we are hoping his newengineering skills will benefit Erith, Mitcham and Medway."

Established in 1868, Van Oord is a leading internationalcontractor specialising in dredging, marine engineering andoffshore projects, and is proud to say its methods are rooted inthe centuries-old maritime traditions of the Dutch to provideinnovative solutions for better port facilities and threatenedcoastal areas.The company has grown through acquisitions of leading dredgersand marine engineering firms such as Volker Stevin Dredging,Hollandsche Aanneming Maatschappij and Ballast NedamDredging, and now boasts one of the biggest dredging fleets inthe world.However amongst the giants of the fleet there are a plethora ofsmaller specialist craft that play an equally important roleclearing the ports around the UK's coast. And like all marinevessels, these are regularly maintained with a major plannedoverhaul occurring once a year. At Gillingham Marina in Kent the27 tonne, 15 metre Roerdomp built in 1980, and her 23 metredredging barge have been lifted from the water for a majoroverhaul and refit.The barge is fitted with a water injection dredger, which is anunderwater 'T' bar unit to clear small basins in close proximitysituations. The onboard Deutz pump feeds water at a rate of 900litres/hour through a submerged pipe into the 'T' unit under thebarge. This is sprayed at pressure into the accumulated silt, re-suspending the silt in the water. The silt remains suspended forweeks and is simply floated off in the next tide to be deposited

further out to sea. “It is acompletely environmentallyfriendly solution to silting. Weuse the seawater to move thesilt without dredging, whichdoes not harm marine life. Toshow you how effective thissystem is, we cleared theGillingham basin to a depth of1.5 metres of silt in four dayswhen a rival company took fiveweeks to clear half a metre ofsilt,” explains Skipper Sean Brown. “The Roerdomp is linkedto the barge by umbilical cablesand pushes the dredger intoplace. The Roerdomp is fittedwith state of the art soundingequipment which accuratelyshows the sea floor during work

and remakes the charts after we have cleared the silt.”Brown explains that the intensity and regularity of the workmeans that major maintenance duties are often condensed into asingle period of downtime. “As with all marine vessels, they work hard through the year andusually need a major overhaul at the end of the year, mostly toensure they earn their keep during the next one without the needfor running repairs. When the barge was brought ashore wereplaced the feeder pipe supplying the 'T' bar spray, and I'm surewe will replace that as well, now it's been inspected. However,what really needed attention were all the hydraulic hoses. Manyof these were corroded due to exposure or submersion in saltwater, so we called in Pirtek to replace everything,” he says. Pirtek Medway was called in to do the work and realised thatSean Brown wasn't joking when he said replace 'everything'.The barge's intricate and complicated hose system for the pumpand winch was meticulously replaced a hose at a time, this timeusing stainless steel fittings, instead of relying on paint toprotect the system. In all, over 30 hoses were replaced during thetwo day refit.“Once work on the Roerdomp is complete, the unit will be putback to work. It is a familiar vessel in Kent waters, having alreadyworked at Sheerness Docks, the Medway Tunnel project atRochester and of coursehere at Gillingham,” Sean Brownconcludes. “Judging by the standard of work completed by Pirtek,I think she will be seen offshore for many years to come.”

Dredging the Depths

Flexible FriendBeing asked to provide piping for a waterfeature at one the country's foremostaeronautical precision forgers is just oneof the many services Pirtek Redditchprovide for ERICKS Services at MettisAerospace.“It is all part of the job here. Today I've been called in to supplyhoses for a water hydraulic press. These are part of the drawbacksafety cylinder system and will be constructed on site for speed,”says Pirtek Redditch MSST Mark Sayers. “Most of the repair andreplacement done on site is very specialised and probably onunique equipment. These are people that think nothing ofsupplying the most precise cutting edge parts to Rolls Royce,Boeing and the MoD, whilst making blades for a Spitfire. Theyhave dies for aircraft parts that go back years.”The company is a keen advocate of the just in time principle,according to Mettis maintenance manager Mark Mayo. “As in allsupply chains, the concept of stockpiling is frowned upon by theaccountants. That means that components are made on a 'just intime' basis. There is no problem with that, but it does meanthat everything has to work, firsttime and every time. Needless tosay no matter how muchpreventative maintenance you do,something will fail at some pointand the management will soon letyou know if an order is beingdelayed,” he says. “That’s why weuse Pirtek to make sure everythingperforms to plan. I simply can'tfault their performance. MarkSayers bends over backwards tomake sure everything keepsworking. We get close on instantresponse, which is impressive.'And the water feature? Markalso dropped off a length ofpiping to ERICKS for them toinstall in a fountain in one of theold foundry ponds, now unused.With the aid of a grant thesehave been preserved and turnedinto a wildlife sanctuary.

Pond Life

Darren Edenborough, Anita Evans, credit control Erith andMedway, and Tracey Newman

In the pipeline 17

Quarter 4 2012www.pirtek-europe.com

Keeping the public satisfied after being voted 'Best visitor attractionin the Midlands' is a full time job for the staff at the West MidlandsSafari Park, and a little assistance (in some unlikely situations) fromPirtek Kidderminster helps ensure that things run that much moresmoothly.

“There is one area in which Pirtek is really helpful and that's onthe power washers in the elephant house,” says ranger NoelCarey. “When we introduced the washers to our two femaleelephants, the hoses had to be constantly replaced because theywere chewed and stood on. However the elephants have beentrained not to damage the equipment now and really lookforward to being hosed down.” This is just one interesting asidefrom Pirtek's main role in the Park; that of hydraulic service andmaintenance, as engineering manager Pete Hatch pointed out.“We have used Pirtek for years because they give the Park goodservice and supply a quality product. We get 24/7 service if werun into a problem which is precisely what we need whenproviding entertainment for the paying public. We have a greatreputation to protect and having inoperable rides due to failedhydraulics is not an option.” Hatch reports that Pirtek’sresponsibilities also extend beyond the use hose replacements.

Out to GrassUnfortunately the brave efforts of Jason Woods (PirtekWorcester/Kidderminster) and Rob Greasley (Oldbury) tocomplete the Scally Rally 2012, came to grief after the first dayof racing. The Pirtek pair, in the wonderfully painted Daemooo,were raising funds for Help for Heroes. "We started off well butthe car broke down on the first day and we were ignobly towedback to Kidderminster,” Woods says, mournfully. “The Daemooo islanguishing behind the Centre here awaiting a new clutch.”Milking the sympathy vote for all its worth, if you would still liketo support Jason and Rob, visit www.justgiving.com/scally2012.Better luck next year guys!

“We don't just call Pirtek out forrepairs. We actively involve themin our design and installationprocess. At the moment we areconverting and rebuilding whatwill become the 'Hurling Hippos'ride. We have taken a mobileStaffa ride, andturned it into a static one for thePark. We have new passengercupolas being built for the rideat the moment while wecompletely rebuild thehydraulics system,” Pete Hatchconcludes. “Our own engineeringstaff have installed the rigidpiping and built the power packequipment, but we will look toPirtek to link the power house tothe ride and then to pipe up allthe hoses to the cars. That's sixper arm, a total of 64 at the

moment, plus the main rotationgear, rotary coupling, the pot valves,shuttle valves and the eccentriccontrols, and there are three hosesthat are over three metres. We havespent six months designing andinstalling this ride and with Pirtek'shelp we will be up and running in thenext two weeks.”

Trunk Call

Pirtek has one huge advantage over the competition - a nationaltraining scheme. Based at Digbeth in Birmingham, it is theresponsibility of Martyn Smart and Darren Whitehead to ensurethat every Pirtek MSST goes through the most comprehensivehydraulic training available in the UK.hydraulic training availablein the UK."The training takes the form of two, week long training courses atDigbeth and practical training at the MSST's Pirtek Centre,"Whitehead says. "Usually the MSSTs have been working withinthe Centres, either in parts or as an observer in the field with atrained MSST. However if the Centres think the prospectiveMSST is up to it, some Centres will induct the candidate directlyonto the Digbeth courses."Those courses are as intense as they are targeted, the first weekof induction concentrates on the theory side of the training "Onday one we start them off with an introduction to the course, anagenda, and the learning objectives of the course. This naturallyleads into a potted company history to start things off. We thengo into their roles within Pirtek, their responsibilities, the Healthand Safety legislation and obligations as employees, such asensuring their own safety and that of others, using equipment inthe appropriate manner, in addition we begin the process hazardidentification and risk, conducting risk assessments and safesystems of work" Whitehead continues. "This is concluded withthe terminology used in the industry. Only then do we go into thehoses, from construction to usage and components. We runthrough the Pirtek range of fittings , and begin the process ofidentification via measuring thread forms, cone variations andorientation, adaptors, compression fittings, quick releasecouplings and any other associated fittings. We then move on tohose assembly procedures, this is where they start putting whatthey have learned into practice.And just to make sure all the information has been absorbed, wesubmit the candidates to a daily exam." In addition, each

Unsung Heroes candidate is issued a specific set of revision guidance which formspart of their City & Guilds practical and theory exams which areconducted on the final day."Competence is the key," Martyn Smart says. " In theory we trainour individuals, but what we really want to do is realise and unlockthe potential within our people” And these training courses andtests are just the start of a journey to unlock their potential aswell as build the levels of competence.”."In the second week is when they start on the more practicalbased modules Whitehead says. “The main focus is workshopoperational procedures, using the lathe, how to do threading,tapping and prepare dies. We train on braising and silversoldering plus how to make weird and wonderful adaptors fromraw steel hex bar. We introduce the Caterpillar press for reusingCaterpillar hose ends and demonstrate how to remove and replacehoses and the different machines and equipment that we have atthe training centre such as access platform and fork lift truck, allof which have been graciously donated by Pirtek national accounts. All the time we are assessing their health and safety skills whilstthe candidates are working on the machines.”As with the beginning of the course we conclude the training withyet more Health & Safety training and specific hydraulic safetyprocedures, working at height training (which is open to allMSSTs), manual handling and good working practices.The reward of all this is a City and Guild Certificate - Part 1 inFluid Engineering, Hydraulic Hose Fitting 2340-53. This sets anationally recognised level of competence. All candidates havethree months in the field and are then assessed ‘on the job’ beforetheir award is issued. But the training doesn’t end there. "We constantly retrain ourMSSTs with refresher courses in health and safety, such as theBritish Fluid Power Association working safely with hydraulic hoseand connectors of which we are accredited course providers . Butit is not unusual to see an MSST come back in a few weeks to takea course for a quarry passport, or to seek advice on sales training,”Martyn Smart concludes. And, as a further encouragement,Pirtek awards 10 scholarships to take MSSTs nominated by theirrespective Centres to go through the stage 1 hydraulic course atthe National Fluid Power Centre in Worksop. Just anotherexample of Pirtek investing in people and investing in the future.

Darren Whitehead

Martyn Smart

In the pipeline 19

www.pirtek-europe.com

Shared Sales Resource (SSR) isn't a term that will be familiar tomany Pirtek customers at the moment. But there is an ever-growing group of Pirtek UK sales managers that assist PirtekCentres that do not currently have their own dedicated sales team,providing sales and technical support, expert product informationand - most importantly - to discuss customer requirements.Last year there were just three Pirtek SSRs; today there are 13,with a further four coming on line in October 2012. To date theyhave had resounding success across the Pirtek network, aiding 37Centres, providing national support for 41% of the Centres andhelping them generate a 10% growth over the year. They readilyshare best practice between the Centres, so that the customers

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Competition

Quarter 4 2012

Howard Bull who looks afterNorthern Ireland says: "I seemy role as an expert advisor.Where a customer needs help Ican give it, where he needs tocall on my product experienceand expertise I will be only toopleased to share myknowledge. I hope I can addvalue to the Pirtek brand whilstdemonstrating the huge rangeof products and services Pirtekcan offer. I find manycustomers get set in theirways, and when I get a chanceto talk to them, I often findthat I can present them with abetter solution, a betterproduct and a better price."

Covering the Swindon, Oxfordand Reading Centres is Ray

Sowden. "My job is to sell thePirtek product and service,

that's the easy part. However,what I do to great effect is give

the customer a focal point,someone higher up the Pirtekladder than their regular MSSTor Centre Manager,” Sowdensays. “We place a great dealof emphasis on customer

service. And customers knowthat if they want to talk

something through or if theyever have a problem I will deal

with it personally."

"I've started to help with theMilton Keynes, Cambridge andLuton Centres," says SimonLawrence. "All of the Centreshad great client bases andpotential but need help withclient liaison. I'm the extrapair of hands at a nationallevel that has the time to talkto potential customers. I havenetworked the three Centresso that they work more closelyand in a more co-ordinatedfashion with each other. Thishas helped a lot of the existingcustomers. I'm very keen tomake sure the Centres sustaintheir customer relationshipsand focus on improving theircustomer service to evengreater levels."

Jonathan Michael PendryMobile: 07435 783795 Email: jon.pendry@pirtek.co.ukPirtek Kings Cross, Pirtek Docklands, Pirtek Medway, Pirtek Leyton

Iain BrownMobile: 07435 786456 Email: iain.brown@pirtek.co.ukPirtek Derby, Pirtek Leicester, Pirtek Peterborough

Keith Twigg Mobile: 07436 806190 Email: keith.twigg@pirtek.co.ukPirtek Southampton, Pirtek Poole

Gary CoolingMobile : 07436 806191 Email: gary.cooling@pirtek.co.ukPirtek Bradford, Pirtek Leeds, Pirtek Oldham

Mark Wehrle Mobile : 07436 542686 Email: mark.wehrle@pirtek.co.ukPirtek Aberdeen, Pirtek Edinburgh, Pirtek Dundee, Pirtek Kinross

Nick EdwardsMobile : 07912 952311 Email: nick.edwards@pirtek.co.ukPirtek Southampton

Ray SowdenMobile : 07595 123335 Email: ray.sowden@pirtek.co.ukPirtek Oxford, Pirtek Reading, Pirtek Swindon

As the British Touring Car Championship comes to aconclusion, In the last Pipeline we offered one lucky reader achance to attend the final race at Brands Hatch in October. Tracy Mullery from New Addington in Croydon will be joiningthe team to cheer on Andrew Jordan and Jeff Smith.

For our last competitonof 2012 and a chance towin a Pirtek RacingBaseball cap and hoodie,just answer th followingquestion: At which race circuit did PirtekRacing driver Jeff Smith obtainhis first podium?

Please email your answer toinfo@pirtek.co.uk. The winner will be drawn fromthe correct entries on 31stDecember 2012. Good luck.

Rory PaskinMobile: 07834 127001 Email: rory.paskin@pirtek.co.ukPirtek Bristol, Pirtek Exeter, Pirtek Gloucester

Simon LawrenceMobile: 07725 307635 Email: simon.lawrence@pirtek.co.ukPirtek Cambridge, Pirtek Luton, Pirtek Milton Keynes

Mike MurphyMobile: 07595 122856 Email: mike.murphy@pirtek.co.ukPirtek Birmingham, Pirtek Ellesmere Port, Pirtek Shropshire

Howard BullMobile: 07917 886924 Email: howard.bull@pirtek.co.ukPirtek Belfast

Steve NewmanMobile: 07435 786457 Email: steve.newman@pirtek.co.ukPirtek Basildon, Pirtek Park Royal, Pirtek Thurrock, PirtekWatford

Arkin Unlu Mobile: 07436 542687 Email: arkin.unlu@pirtek.co.ukPirtek Erith, Pirtek Isleworth, Pirtek Greenwich, PirtekMitcham

Iain BrownMobile: 07435 786456 Email: iain.brown@pirtek.co.ukPirtek Derby, Pirtek Leicester, Pirtek Peterborough

benefit directly from any innovations. The SSRs can demonstratenew products and services directly to customers and deal with anynegative preconceived ideas about Pirtek. The most common yetunfounded complaint is that Pirtek is too expensive. The SSRsare able to do direct price and product comparisons to show thisis usually untrue. They are also in the position to negotiatepricing structures, which completely undermine thismisconception. It also gives them the opportunity to publicisePirtek's outstanding service, and the exceptionally good call outtimes. However, rather than seeing themselves as an additionalsales team, the SSRs perceive their role more as customersupport as the comments from some of the team demonstrate. .

In the pipeline

A SuperbCampaign!

20

www.pirtek-europe.com

Huge crowds, massive TV audiences and some of the mostexciting racing anywhere in the world is the heady recipe for the2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, and AndrewJordan and Pirtek Racing have been in the thick of the actionthroughout the spring and summer.Equipped with two new Honda Civics prepared to the latest NGTC(Next Generation Touring Cars) regulations, Andrew and his teammate Jeff Smith have been battling hard over the five raceweekends and 15 races since we last caught up with their season.In a superb campaign, Andrew has really confirmed his place asone of the top five drivers in the BTCC and has battled with long-established aces like Jason Plato, Matt Neal and Gordon Sheddenfor race wins and podium finishes. Meanwhile, Jeff has raced hardand topped his season to date with a stunning second placefinish at Knockhill. Sadly, the highs and lows experienced at thislevel of the sport were amply demonstrated when Jeff suffered amajor accident next time out at Rockingham.After a five-week break following the Thruxton races, the BTCCshow was back on the road at Oulton Park in June when twostorming second places followed by an accident caused byanother driver made it a day of highs and lows for Andrew. In thefinal race, Rob Collard forced Andrew wide and off the track intothe tyre wall at considerable speed. “It was a bad end to what hadbeen a really good day,” said Andrew. “It was frustrating, but westill led the Independents’ Trophy.” Right from the start of theseason, winning the Independents’ Trophy has been Andrew’sprime target for the season.The good form continued at Croft two weeks later with three topfour finishes, but better still was to come when the seasonresumed after a summer break for the fifth weekend atSnetterton in August. A win, a third and a fifth place made it thebest weekend of the season to date for Andrew Jordan and PirtekRacing at the Norfolk circuit. “It was a huge relief to win and thatlast lap felt like it went on for a long time,” said Andrew. “It was agreat result for the Pirtek team.”The annual trip to Knockhill in Scotland at the end of Augustdidn’t really bring the anticipated results, but three top 10finishes, capped with fourth place, was a fair weekend’s work. Astrong weekend for Collard allowed him to claw back some ofAndrew’s lead in the Independents’ Trophy.However, Andrew and Pirtek Racing came back strongly inSeptember with two top four finishes and an increased lead inthe Independents’ Trophy at the Rockingham Motor Speedway.“Overall Rockingham was a very good weekend and we’re in agood position for the Independents Trophy with two events torun at Silverstone and Brands Hatch in October,” said Andrew.With six races to go, Andrew is fourth overall in the BTCC pointsbut admits that the gap to leaders Gordon Shedden and MattNeal is now too great. He will concentrate on maintaining fourthin the overall standings and protecting his lead in theIndependents’ Trophy, where he currently heads Collard by 58points. Meanwhile, Pirtek Racing heads the Independents’ TeamTrophy by eight points. The season continues at Silverstone (6/7October) and concludes at Brands Hatch (20/21 October).