Member Article

Darchem to supply Worlds Navies with advanced solution

Darchem Engineering, a major UK subsidiary of the Esterline Corporation, has won a major contract to supply the Indian Navy with a technically advanced fire containment solution.

The £1.2 million contract will see the Stockton-on-Tees based company deploying skills and expertise used in the development of Folding Fire Barriers for the UK Navy including HMS Ocean, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

The company has also completed contracts to design and manufacture fire barriers for the Spanish and Australian Navies, and has even had interest from a major Brazilian retail chain for an adaption of the fire barrier technology.

The Indian fire barrier, which is designed to withstand temperatures of up to 1,000 celsius, is now in the initial stages of construction at Darchem’s Stillington factory.

It is designed to contain fire, including that started by jet fuel vapour, and thus save a vessel.

Stuart Howson, Sales Manager at Darchem Engineering, said: “This project with the Indian Navy is significant as it demonstrates the exportability of our home-grown skills and of our knowledge base. As part of our strategy, we are currently looking at further exporting this technology to other economies including Brazil, Indian and Korea.

“We are now also exploring other potential markets where this type of system can be deployed, including the nuclear, oil & gas, automotive sectors. We could adapt the existing technology for use in nuclear waste containment facilities. We have had enquiries for the technology to be adapted for use as fire protection in shopping malls in Brazil. The fire barrier is highly versatile and can be used in a variety of different markets.”

The contract, which is being worked on by a team of 12 from design to delivery, is due for completion in late 2014 and is scheduled for installation in the autumn of 2015. Around 60 per cent of Darchem’s products are exported to Europe, USA and the Far East.

Apprentices are an integral part of Darchem’s success story and it currently has almost 50 of them working in Stillington, with the next intake due to be between 15 – 20 employees. It is also due to complete an £8m new factory development at its Stillington site in 2014.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Recognition PR Business Team .