New independent monitoring business
Acteon has reported the formation of a new business unit, to be known as Pulse Structural Monitoring, specifically to provide structural monitoring equipment, systems and services to the offshore industry.
This is not new territory for Acteon. The business was previously embedded within the portfolio of group company 2H Offshore, which has maintained its position at the cutting edge of monitoring technology for around 15 years.
The aims of spinning out Pulse Structural Monitoring as a stand-alone enterprise are to create greater focus and intensity within the organisation, expand the customer base and grow the business.
“The technology in this area has developed considerably in recent years,” says Pei An, the head of Pulse Structural Monitoring. “What was once viewed as an R&D exercise has evolved into an established commercial business. We need to be attuned to customers’ requirements in a more mature and increasingly competitive market. These needs centre on sound, independent advice and guidance; highly reliable and cost-effective monitoring systems; and, not least, great standards of service.”
The new business will provide monitoring for a wide variety of offshore structures. As well as benefiting from the tremendous knowledge and experience transferred from 2H, it will also service the existing structural monitoring contracts held by the riser specialist. These include an agreement with Chevron in the Gulf of Mexico for monitoring its Tahiti field risers using a range of sensors, including the OTC-award-winning INTEGRIstick® strain monitors.
In a departure from traditional business, the new organisation is already looking closely at the issues relating to the monitoring of structures other than risers. Wind turbine monitoring is one area under investigation, being a business area that is sure to grow in importance over the next few years.
Pulse Structural Monitoring will operate initially from premises in the UK (Woking, near London) and the USA (Houston, Texas). UK operations will be managed by Sandip Ukani and those in the USA by Wolfgang Ruf.
