Rotec the only Parker Hydraulic Technology Centre in the South of the UK

Parker Hannifin, a Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies have recently awarded Rotec the title of ‘Hydraulic Technology Centre’. Rotec’s technical abilities as “System Integrators” have earned them the HTC title, in addition to being a Parker Store – a certified Parker distributor, home of genuine Parker parts, source of technical advice and innovative solutions.

Rotec specialise in the design, build and installation of hydraulic, pneumatic and electronic systems based on customer specification. The company provides bespoke solutions to a variety of industries such as aerospace, marine, defence, industrial, agriculture and more.

What can you expect from Rotec, your local Hydraulic Technology Centre?

  • Peace of mind

We only ever use genuine Parker products and technologies where possible, because of their reputation for quality, durability and reliability.

  • Free up your time

We are able to manage the project from start to finish: from Consultation & Quotation, through the Design & Build, all the way to Installation & Maintenance.

  • Stress free

All of our engineers are highly trained, with deep understanding of Parker products, as well as all things hydraulic, pneumatic and electronic. They have the knowledge, the experience and the resources to offer the best available solutions to your problems.

  • Knowing you can’t get any better

Working alongside the best in the industry allows us to have the ‘finger on the pulse’ of the industry. We are always looking out for improved products & technologies, so you don’t have to.
Contact us today to discuss how you could benefit from our Parker technology know-how.

By Sarka Humpolcova

07/03/2019

Rotec at Seawork marine exhibition 2018

Rotec was excited to be part of this year’s marine exhibition in Southampton, an event we have been returning to for over 10 years.

We shared our stand with our sister company – Ram Reman, the specialist in hydraulic cylinders who compliments Rotec’s core capabilities in the design, build, installation and maintenance of hydraulic, pneumatic and electronic systems.

This year Rotec decided to champion Parker Racor filtration products, offering 30% discount in honour of the event. Rotec and Parker have a long history of close partnership, with Rotec recently becoming the only Parker HTC (Hydraulic Technical Centre) in the South of UK. Stand Visitors could look forward to a game of ‘Can you guess where these Racor filtration elements are on our ship?’ with the chance to win small prizes, using a Parker IQAN unit incorporated into a lit up boat unit.

As always, we had a great time and we look forward to the next year!

Author: Sarka Humpolcova

Date: 15/07/2018

 

Networking at Leonardo factory: in the shade of the AW159 Wildcat

Richard Lang, our Sales Director was recently invited to attend an event organised by WEAF (West Of England Aerospace Forum). It was a great networking opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new people from the industry, as well as see part of the Leonardo factory, there even was the spectacular AW159 Wildcat on show!

AW159 is the latest generation 6 tonne multi-role maritime helicopter, designed to operate from the smallest helicopter-capable ships, in the world’s harshest maritime environments of high sea state and associated deck motion conditions. The rotorcraft is an improved version of the Westland Super Lynx designed to serve in the battlefield utility, search and rescue and anti-surface warfare roles. In British service, common variants are being operated by both the Royal Navy and British Army to replace their aging Lynx Mk.7/8/9 rotorcraft. The AW159 has also been offered to several export customers.

Read more about the AW159 Wildcat here 

AW159 Wildcat

Date: 13/04/2017

Author: Sarka Humpolcova

Paul Prouse foreword for BFPDA

Rotec’s own Managing Director, Paul Prouse, was selected to hold a chairman position for the BFPDA (British Fluid Power Distributors Association) throughout 2016. In his 2017 foreword for the association’s publication ‘Yearbook & Members Directory’, Paul talks about two of the topics dominating the headlines of newspapers across the world; Brexit and Women in power…

“It is hard to put pen to paper and not talk about Brexit, the topic has dominated the headlines throughout 2016 cultivated continuously by everyone from small SMEs through to large corporate businesses trying to second guess what ‘best strategy’ for their business should take whilst the politicians arguably find themselves with a task to extract the UK from Europe that in reality, the net effect is unknown along with strategy or policy that was never scripted.

I will come back to Brexit. In the meantime, what has also been interesting throughout the year and in part has caused me to reflect on the situation within the trade members of BFPDA and our industry as a whole is the renewed emphasis on women within the industry. The global stage has been dominated by Mrs Merkel, Mrs May and the near miss of Mrs Clinton joining the ranks as respective leaders of 3 of the world’s wealthiest nations providing a healthy balance in tipping the scales that in part have been dominated by men.”

read the FULL ARTICLE

Rotec repair CGG Veritas’ seismic system in Colombia

CGG Veritas and Rotec Hydraulics have a long history of working together.

CGG is a leader in cutting-edge geoscience. Their commitment to providing innovative and sustainable solutions has seen them crowned a leader in their field. The technology, services and equipment they provide is designed to collect data and images of the sub-surface with great precision. CGG help the oil and gas industry to develop a deeper understanding of the subsurface exploration via state-of-the-art software and data analysis services.

Rotec supplied the company with enormous power packs in past and, in 2010, was contracted again, this time to equip their seismic ship Oceanic Sirius with a bespoke air reduction panel. The large panel is designed to work with a system that maps the sea bed for oil industry. Using acoustic sources towed behind the ship to shoot out high frequency sound waves that bounce off of different layers of the seabed’s sub-surface and get picked up by hydrophones, working a bit like an ultrasound. This data is then recorded and interpreted, helping the experts to make informed decisions about new drilling locations.

Find out more about seismic mapping in THIS VIDEO

Power Pack for CGG Veritas

The Rotec reduction panel is designed to routinely regulate between air pressure of 140 bar and 30 bar when not in use and was

Reduction Panel on Oceanic Sirius

Reduction Panel on Oceanic Sirius

manufactured in 2010, installed and commissioned on the ship in 2011, running smoothly until a major overhaul in January 2016, when the system had to go through its pressure equipment certification. The system performed great during the testing, but started having problems following the overhaul.

At first the capable CGG engineers were attempting to tackle the issue with Rotec’s telephonic guidance, but due to the nature of their jobs (12 hour shifts and swapping of engineering crews every 5 weeks with practically zero downtime), it was near impossible. They decided to contract one of Rotec’s engineers to repair the system. Claire Brown was scheduled to meet the ship in Barranquilla (Colombia) in September and after a 25 hour journey and a day’s wait she finally boarded the ship together with a group of contractors that were servicing and working on other parts of the ship.

This is what Claire had to say about the experience

“The hotel I was staying in was lovely, but I was advised not to venture outside. The government is currently building new infrastructure, but the city’s poverty is tangible as things stand at the moment. The relative luxury of the hotel was a stark contrast to what unravelled in front of me on our way to the port. I would have liked to see more of the city or the country of course, to form a more complete picture. The mosquito repellent I brought definitely came in handy; they were everywhere (laughing),”

 

CGG Veritas Oceanic Sirius

After the initial compulsory ship orientation, Claire got shown to the Chief mechanic, and by 3pm she identified and repaired the problem. However they could not test the system while the ship was still docked, as the air powered guns used to blast out the acoustic waves go off rather loudly. Once out at sea the system performed well and Claire spent additional 5 days on board of Sirius going through their kit, and making sure they had everything they needed, ordering additional items.

Claire says “I quite like going off to places and seeing how other people live, but also I like working with different people. The crew was made up of many different nationalities (British, Canadian, Norwegian, Lithuanian, French, Spanish, Filipino and American). These guys are working such long hours, live in a restricted space but they get on so well, it was pretty inspirational. They make light of the stereotypes, for example they dubbed me as the ‘posh’ one, because of my british accent (laughs)”

Update: Claire has been back for a couple of months and there have been no problems with the system. We are looking forward to offering our marine expertise to the company in future.

 

 

Author: Sarka Humpolcova

Date: 03/01/2017

Rotec were happy to be associated with this years Brixham Trawler Race

Rotec were proud to be associated with this year’s Brixham Trawler race.  The race took place on 18th June 2016 in Brixham,the trawler race is the highlight in the ports year and celebrates its maritime excellence. Boats are dressed with bunting and battle it out with a race around the bay. The event is held annually to raise money for local charities, in 2015 over £21,000 was raised. Donations in the past have been made to various charities these include: Brixham’s Fisherman’s Mission, Shoalstone Pool, Brixham Gig Club, Brixham Rugby Club and the Museum.

For results of the race and photos go to Port of Brixham Trawler Race on Facebook. 

Next year’s Race is planned for 17th June 2017.