MECHATRONICS specialist Electro Flow Controls has completed a multi-million pound contract to design and build a conductor tensioning system for offshore drilling company Valaris.
EFC — headquartered in Forres, Moray — worked for the first time in partnership with fabricator Forsyths of Rothes to build the system which allows more efficient jack-up drilling in harsher environments and deeper waters.
The project took eight months to complete, with EFC designing the entire system as well as building the controls, procuring the components, and overseeing assembly and testing.
Forsyths assisted with the heavy steel fabrication, machining, and painting, at their Buckie facility, working in tandem with EFC’s engineering, assembly and testing teams.
Tom Dixon, EFC managing director, said: “We realised early on that the conductor tension platform — the system’s main structure — was going to be larger than any other CTP we have developed.
“In fact, due to the grand scale of the package, we knew it was not possible to transport it by road and so we needed to find a quayside facility where it could be assembled and tested before being loaded straight onto a seagoing vessel.
“Highlands and Islands Enterprise introduced us to Forsyths as they have an excellent facility at Buckie, close to our base in Forres, and we are delighted with how well the partnership has worked out.”
