International Pipeline Products wins order for world’s largest pig

Specialist engineering company International Pipeline Products has won an order to supply the world’s largest pig.

The company, based near Richmond in North Yorkshire, is designing, manufacturing and testing a 90 in. dia. pig – a remotely-operated device used to clean and maintain pipelines – for use in a pipe carrying cooling water in an Algerian power plant.

The pig, ordered by giant South Korean conglomerate Daewoo, will not only be the largest ever made by International Pipeline Products but is also believed to be the largest in the world.

Managing director Simon Bell said: “This is a massive job. I can’t think of any other company worldwide that’s set up to manufacture the moulds to make this pig and its handling equipment.’’

It will be manufactured, along with its pig launcher and handling equipment, over about 16 weeks at the company’s Brompton-on-Swale site, just off the A1, before being shipped to Algeria.

The new order is the latest in a series for the business, which has taken on 15 more staff in the last 18 months to take its workforce to more than 80.

International Pipeline Products, which was founded more than 30 years ago, exports typically between 75% and 85% of its turnover to six continents.

It is a major supplier for the global offshore oil and gas industry but has remained largely unaffected by the recent fall in the oil price.

Simon Bell said: “Yes, the oil price is down and the cost of production in the North Sea is high compared to the rest of the world, but if you look at the Near East and the Far East and parts of Russia, they seem less concerned about the price of oil. In those areas there’s still demand and we are seeing business as usual.’’

The company is optimistic that the order will raise its profile and help it attract more work in other sectors.

Simon Bell added: “We won this order because of our excellence as a design, engineering and manufacturing company rather than just a commodity supplier.’’

International Pipeline Products is a member of business development organisation NOF Energy, which has almost 500 UK and international members. NOF Energy has a strong international network to support UK companies export ambitions to regions including the Far East.

In April NOF Energy is leading a group of oil & gas supply chain companies on a four-day market visit to South Korea to meet companies including Samsung Engineering, Hyundai Engineering and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Engineering.

Joanne Leng MBE, Deputy Chief Executive of NOF Energy, said: “International Pipeline Products demonstrates that UK companies can adapt to changing times and market conditions and deliver innovative solutions to different sectors in any part of the world.

“It also demonstrates the appetite of South Korean industry for UK engineering expertise. Our market visit in April is attracting a lot of interest from South Korean companies keen to engage with the UK supply chain.”

Adapted from press release by Hannah Priestley-Eaton

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/product-news/31032015/international-pipeline-products-wins-order-for-worlds-largest-pig/