Making the most of it
Since 1992, Solent Composite Systems Ltd (SCS) has been a pioneer in the design and manufacture of innovative structural composite systems for the offshore oil and gas industry. The company’s leading product, ProTek™, is a composite passive fire and blast protection system, which has proven invaluable in providing maintenance-free fire and blast protection to numerous offshore installations in the North Sea and other global offshore and onshore sites.
As the wind industry has developed over the past 10 years, SCS recognised this as a new avenue for ProTek™. The company had learned to design for harsh offshore conditions, and protect critical equipment from inclement weather, wide temperature ranges, relentless sea spray and corrosion risk. These risks apply equally to wind farm substations.
“The fire and blast composites technology that we had developed through our long experience in oil and gas is a perfect technology cross-over to the emergent offshore wind substation market,” says Huw Radley, Managing Director of SCS. “No other UK company has this combination of expertise, indeed none that we know of worldwide either. We are competing with traditional steel structures which are heavy and require high maintenance in the harsh offshore North Sea environment. ProTek™, on the other hand, is lightweight, can be easily assembled onshore or offshore and provides optimum packaging with no compromise of health and safety.”
High standards
SCS has also used its experience in advanced composites technology, and awareness of managing large scale projects going into critical application, to design and manufacture turbine rotor blades, blade moulds, tools and related critical composite components.
“We pride ourselves on building on time and on budget,” says Huw. "To achieve this, we have developed an Integrated Management System, certified under ISO 9001 Quality, ISO 14001 Environmental and OHSAS 18001 Health and Safety. The achievement of these standards demonstrates the rigour of our composites engineering approach, which isn’t just about technology, but also covers project management and built-in disciplines that are applied in developing a total solution for our customers. There’s no doubt that being certified helps us to win business. Our clients are all world leaders in their field, and they place quality, health and safety and environmental compliance at the top of their agenda when selecting their strategic suppliers.”
Exhibiting for export
As well as Denmark, Germany and Spain, where the wind energy business was born, SCS identified two new growing markets: the US and China. Armed with two unique and impressive products, SCS set about getting itself known by wind energy companies overseas.
SCS’s main export strategy is to exhibit at international events and trade shows. In 2008, SCS joined 24 other UK companies on a Trade Mission to China and Taiwan, organised jointly between the Department of Energy and Climate Change and UK Trade & Investment. The Mission helped delegates to raise their profile and establish work contacts with a number of leading Chinese manufacturers and operators. It also coincided with the Global Wind Power exhibition in Beijing, where SCS joined the UK group stand.
“Wind energy is a global industry, and the first step in winning new business is to get ourselves known,” says Huw. “In 2008 alone, we exhibited at seven trade shows in Europe, the US and China. But it’s not enough just to attend these events - we need to make sure that we are seen. The prime spots in an exhibition hall come with a heavy price tag and tend to be reserved by the biggest players in the industry. By joining a UK group stand, we are afforded a much higher profile and networking opportunity than we could afford on our own. It takes time to develop an initial contact into a firm contract, but the process often begins at an exhibition. At the moment, we are in discussions for two big contracts, one in Germany and one in Spain, both of which began with contacts made at trade shows.”
The UK and China
China is one of the world’s most rapidly growing economies, with GDP growth figures of around nine per cent per annum since the mid-90s. Trade between the UK and China has grown by 600 per cent in the last ten years. In December 2007, China surpassed Japan to become the UK’s largest Asian export market.
The UK is one of the largest EU investors in China, with almost 6,000 British-invested projects as of spring 2008. Key sectors where Chinese demand for British expertise is likely to be particularly strong include financial services; energy; ICT; healthcare; water; aerospace; automotive; construction; retail; telecoms and chemicals.
Most of UK Trade & Investment's services and general enquiries for China are now dealt with by our UK Area Advisory Group for China, the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC).
For further information please contact:
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7802 2000
Email: enquiries@cbbc.org
Fast facts
Company: Solent Composite Systems Ltd
Country: UK
Industry: Renewable energy
Website: www.solentcomposites.com
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