Belzona News

Mercury Marine develops and manufactures technology designed to enhance the boating experience. The marine engines manufacturer recently teamed up with Belzona boats to “Go Boldly” on the water with former University of Wyoming basketball star and lifelong boating enthusiast Nichole Rider. “My dad bought a power boat when I was five years old; it just changed my life,” Rider said. But while in college, Rider was involved in a near-fatal car accident. Doctors told her family that she had little chance to survive the first night, and if she did, she would be paralyzed.

With 50 years dedicated to polymer coating and composite manufacturer Belzona, Geoff Binks looks back on his experience in the industry and maintenance sector. Geoff Binks was born and raised in Harrogate and joined Belzona in 1965 direct from Technical College with a chemistry background. He first worked in R&D on a broad range of products, particularly the Belzona Metals which saw radical development in 1968 with the introduction of the first Belzona Super Metal formulation.

In the Marine industry, cavitation commonly occurs on hydrofoils, rudders, stabilizers, as well as on propulsion systems. Cavitation damage can lead to severe erosion problems and render equipment useless if left untreated. Millions are spent every year on replacing equipment damaged by cavitation. This is not only expensive and time consuming, but the like for like replacement solution will not solve the problem. Repair methods involving welding will not stop the problem from reoccurring either, and the heat introduced can cause HAZ (Heat Affected Zones) and stress corrosion cracking.

Hot work required for welding, grinding and cutting operations presents certain potential hazards when conducted in potentially explosive and flammable environments. According to the Health and Safety Executive guidance 2013, “flammable liquids and vapors such as petrol, diesel, fuel oil, paints, solvents, glue, lacquer and cleaning agents are found in many places of work. In order to minimize the risk, cold bonding solutions involving materials that are applied and cured at ambient temperatures can offer an alternative solution for repair and newbuild applications on metallic surfaces.

Located in the Southwest corner of Iceland beside the Atlantic Ocean is one of Stofnfiskur’s salmon broodstockfarms. This farm located in a place called Vogar was originally established in 1986 produces Salmon Ova which are sold to domestic and International hatcheries for fish farming. The facility houses 25,000m3 tanks in 10 massive sheds used for the breeding of salmon and production of salmon ova. Each tank holds tens of thousands of liters of water delivered constantly by an army of centrifugal pumps.