Forbes Commission Expansion of Automated Thermoplastic Tank Production Facility

Four years ago Forbes Technologies Ltd invested £1.5 million in a brand new facility for the manufacture of large helically wound thermoplastic tanks with capacities in excess of 100 cubic metres. With demand increasing for tanks in High Density Polyethylene PE 100, Forbes have commissioned a major expansion of their production facilities at their Kelso factory, located in the Scottish Borders.

The expansion represents 40% increase in production capacity, which Forbes has work in hand for the export markets which have been helped by the devaluation of the UK Pound against the US Dollar & Euro.

The automated extruding / winding process of thermoplastic material on to large mandrels ranging from 750mm diameter to 4000mm diameter produces a homogenous solid wall with thicknesses from a few millimetres to in excess of 120mm thickness in polyethylene or polypropylene. The bases & tops of the tanks are automatically welded to the cylinder giving exceptional weld strengths. The thermoplastic tanks are designed, built, tested & inspected to BS EN 12573.

Demand for the Forbes unique “Innatank” is increasing also. Innatanks consist of helically wound tank with a separate close fitting bund which is assembled with the tank as one piece at the manufacturer’s site to enable ease of installation. This configuration reduces the overall foot print. Fitted with automated bund alarm & “over the top” discharge system, the Innatank is one of the safest storage solutions for hazardous chemicals.

Forbes are proud to announce their recently awarded accreditation from Alcumus
SafeContractor for achieving excellence in health and safety in the workplace.

Alcumus SafeContractor is a leading third party accreditation scheme which recognises
extremely rigorous standards in health and safety management amongst contractors. It is
used by thousands of organisations in the UK including SMEs and FTSE 100 companies.

The company’s application for SafeContractor accreditation was driven by the need for a
uniform standard across the business. SafeContractor accreditation will enhance the
Forbes’ability to win new contracts, and its commitment to safety will be viewed positively
by its insurers when the company liability policy is up for renewal.

Gemma Archibald, Director of Alcumus SafeContractor said: “Major organisations simply
cannot afford to run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they
have sound health and safety policies in place.”
“More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in
the way that Forbes has done. The firm’s high standard has set an example which hopefully will
be followed by other companies within the sector. SafeContractor plays a vital role in
supporting our clients in meeting their compliance needs, whilst working with their
contractors as they progress through the accreditation process.”

Forbes have recently signed up to Operation Clean Sweep and have committed to ensuring that there are zero plastic pellets, flakes and powders lost from their facility to the environment.

“We have always taken our responsibility for the Environment very seriously. Operation Clean Sweep has helped to focus our attention on engaging all our staff in pellet containment and also in reviewing current practice. We are proud to show the industries commitment to this programme”.

Operation Clean Sweep is an international programme and is run in the UK by the British Plastics Federation (BPF). The programme is designed to provide best practice through its manual on how to contain plastic pellets, flakes and powders. The manual provides information on conducting site audits, setting up training programmes, worksite setup and procedures to contain and clean up pellets.

Helen Jordan, the Sustainability Issues Executive at the BPF says “The plastic industry is committed to reducing plastic pellet losses to the Environment and Operation Clean Sweep provides the practical tools companies need to do this. Many of the industry already have Environmental Management Systems in place but Operation Clean Sweep provides an additional emphasis for the company on plastic pellet containment”.

We encourage other companies to pledge their support for Operation Clean Sweep at www.operationcleansweep.co.uk

Being one of the largest producers of custom designed & built tanks in a variety of plastic & composite materials, Forbes have announced a further major investment in their tank production facilities to commence early in 2017.

Having made major investments over the past three years of over £1.5 million in the latest automated thermoplastic helix winding process, due to increased demand Forbes is extending the factory by 20% to enable an increased output. Tanks manufacture in this particular factory of Forbes, will range in diameters from 750mm up to 4000mm, and are manufactured in High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), highly chemical resistance grade PE-100.

With this latest investment, coupled with the state of the art automated equipment, high quality tanks at very competitive costs are achievable with capacities up to 100,000 litres designed to BS EN 12573. This expansion is at the company’s main manufacturing site is located in the Borders of Scotland at Kelso.

Following our major investments over the past three years in the latest automated thermoplastic helix winding process, further diameters have now been added to the range. Initially offering diameters of 3000mm, 3500mm and 4000mm, we can now offer much smaller diameters also, with tank diameters now ranging from 750mm to 4000mm in High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) highly chemical resistance grade PE-100.

Managing Director, Melvyn Jupp, states “With some of the water utilities now specifying helically wound thermoplastic tanks, for even the smallest of tanks, we have fast tracked this further increase in capacity & diameter range. With this latest investment coupled with the state of the art automated equipment, high quality tanks at very competitive costs are achievable with capacities from 1,000 up to 100,000 litres.”

These thermoplastic tanks are designed to BS EN 12573.

For more information please contact us on +44 (0)1366 389600.

Further to Forbes £1.7 million investment in 2013 for the latest, state of the art machinery for producing helically wound tanks in HDPE PE-100, we are now expanding our production capacity & range of diameters, with the addition of a number of new mandrels.

This latest development will give us the capacity to produce thermoplastic helically wound tanks from 2 metres up to 4 metres diameter, allowing greater flexibility in meeting our customer’s needs.

These additions will enable us to utilise our highly efficient Krah production plant for a much increased range of these highly competitive thermoplastic tanks.

Along with our existing hoop wound GRP tanks, dual laminate thermoplastic/GRP tanks & our traditional thermoplastic fabricated tanks, we have full flexibility in offering the most suitable and cost effective materials for any application, up to capacities of 200’000 litres.

Forbes have recently completed a project a little out of the ordinary, in the form of a windmill roof.  The unusual request came from a customer on the off chance Forbes would be able to assist with their expertise in GRP structures, albeit usually in the form of storage tanks and vessels.

The conical roof was manufactured at 4111mm diameter, supplied in two parts for ease of transportation and assembled fully once on site. The roof was coloured to suit customer requirements, in order to replicate a traditional looking windmill roof and was supplied with a flanged lip to fix direct to the mills exposed brickwork.

A UK based food processing plant, which generates a waste water stream contaminated with ammonia can now recycle the process water, rather than dumping it to waste, thanks to an installation from Forbes.

Forbes solved their problem through the design, manufacture and installation of two large stripping units, dealing with a combined throughput of 25m3/hr of waste process water. The installation reduces the ammonia by up to 75%, now enabling the water to be recycled.   This low cost solution has proved to give a large financial return by saving high volumes of water & reducing the costs of waste water disposal.

The stripping units are 2400mm diameter x 8500mm high & incorporate a packed bed, along with all required internals,  produced by Forbes’ sister company The Pall Ring Company.  The packed bed gives a high surface area within the tower allowing the air stripping process to operate with a relatively low pressure drop, thus saving energy by reducing the power demand of the fans.

This is one of many such systems supplied by Forbes both in the UK & the Middle East. Often the stripped ammonia, can be scrubbed with a solution of sulphuric acid producing a concentrated solution of ammonium sulphate, which is used as a fertiliser.

Sales Contact: Mr Des Dibley  +44 (0)1366 389650 / Mr Melvyn Jupp +44 (0)1366 389640

Forbes’ range of helically wound high density polyethylene (HDPE – PE 100) tanks with capacities in excess of 100 cubic metres have now been added to the Thames Water purchasing framework. 

Following an investment of £1.7 million in 2013 in a completely new automated plant at their Kelso site, high quality wound tanks have been included in their already extensive range of tanks in a variety of plastic & composite materials which are part of the existing Thames Framework agreement.

Now able to produce seam free tank shells up to 4000mm diameter x 100mm thick, Forbes ‘Krahl tanks have the added advantage of the base plates & roofs being welded by CNC automated equipment ensuring perfect welds.

All tanks are designed & manufactured to BS EN 12573 – 2000. The material of construction HDPE – PE 100 offers exceptional chemical resistance with a design life of 25 years.

The safe storage of hazardous liquids is a perennial challenge facing the water treatment and chemical processing industries – but things could be about to change thanks to a ground-breaking innovation by leading British tank producer Forbes Technologies Ltd.

Following an investment of over £1.7 million at their main manufacturing plant located in the Borders of Scotland at Kelso, Forbes has developed Innatank®. This complete self bunded tank system cleverly combines a chemical storage tank and integral bund within the same structure.

Put more simply, it can be described as a ‘tank within a tank’.

Based on German experience, Innatank® neatly addresses that trio of industry headaches; safety, space and ongoing maintenance requirements.

The new product is produced on the latest automated equipment which gives a seam free cylinder. Specifically designed to protect the environment & personnel from leakage or overfilling of chemical tanks, Innatank®  includes an integral, continual leak monitoring system, thus improving safety further. At the same time inspection requirements are dramatically reduced saving on ongoing operational costs.

Being a self bunded tank, Innatank® does not require any other type of bunding, and can be bolted onto a flat plinth, a task which can be undertaken on delivery. This offers huge cost savings over civil or separate plastic bunding systems.

Meanwhile, the totally sealed bunding system has been designed to prevent ingress of rainwater or any risk of the floatation which is seen with separate bund & tanks systems.

With capacities up to 80 cubic metres, each tank system is manufactured in PE100 High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) or Copolymer Polypropylene using the latest helical winding process and conforms to DVS 2205 & BS EN 12573.

“This latest exciting development is another major step forward in meeting the demands of our already well-established markets. The company is in a fortunate position in being able to invest in R & D to bring this highly cost effective storage solution to market.” stated Managing Director, Melvyn Jupp. “With our latest automated equipment, high quality tanks at very competitive costs makes our unique Innatank® very attractive”. 

Sales contact:  Melvyn Jupp +44 (0) 1366 389640  mjupp@forbesgroup.co.uk

Press contact :  Lee Forbes  +44 (0)1366 386625  lforbes@forbesgroup.co.uk