The Vipex event is held every few years by our Swedish distributor Malux, and is intended as a forum for new Hazardous Area technology and ideas.  The two-day seminar is filled with technical information, presentations, as well as some fun amongst all the hard work! It is also a great opportunity to meet some of Malux’s top customers and suppliers as well as catch up with old friends at Malux! We were invited to present at the 2012 event, and we were represented by Lily Tsang and Graham Tyers.

This year, Vipex was held on the tall ship T/S Westkust and we assembled on board before setting sail to Käringön Island, off the west coast of Sweden.  Presentations were held onboard the ship and included informative information on Controlling Electrostatic Hazards as well as LED Lighting, Hazardous Area Communications & Signalling, ATEX Certification and Zoning.  Of course it wasn’t all just work as we got to sample local delicacies such as caviar pate, pickled herring and fresh seafood.

The experience and comments from the customers who attended were very positive.  Here’s to another successful Vipex from Malux!  We look forward to the next one…

Newson Gale exhibited at Interspill London 2012 Spill Conference and Exhibition – March 13th – 15th.

Interspill 2012 was attended by worldwide customers and distributors as the exhibition showcased the very latest products and services for the oil spill prevention and response and the growing land based spill industry.

Newson Gale demonstrated the ‘Product Innovation of the Year’ award winning Earth-Rite MGV system together with a range of static earthing and bonding equipment.

Newson Gale Ltd
Omega House
Private Road 8
Colwick
Nottingham
NG4 2JX
Tel:           0115 940 7500
Fax:          0115 940 7501
Email:      groundit@newson-gale.co.uk
Web:        www.newson-gale.com

On March 1st 2012, Ian Edge, Technical Manager at Newson Gale Ltd achieved the milestone of 30 years continuous service with the company.  Ian is actually the longest serving member of staff at Newson Gale, having joined when the company was formed in its original guise in 1982.

He has unique experience in the specialised field of static earthing, bonding and applications engineering in relation to controlling static electricity in hazardous areas and continues to be a great asset to the company, hopefully for many more years to come.

To mark the event, Newson Gale made a small presentation to Ian in front of assembled members of staff and visitors from Malux, distributors from Sweden attending for product training.

Accepting a special glass plaque to mark the event, Ian said “I have seen the company change in very many ways, and I’d just like to say that we now have a lovely bunch of people working here and I’m looking forward to the next 30 years”.

To view Ian’s presentation, please visit our Tube Channel.

Newson Gale was awarded the ‘Technical Innovation of the Year’ accolade for the new Earth-Rite® MGV system at the HazardEx 2012 conference in Harrogate, UK.

 “This award is another great achievement for Newson Gale and our development team as we continue to develop innovative static control products to enhance hazardous area safety within the petrochemical and processing industries. The Earth-Rite® MGV was developed after lengthy research and field trials and now provides a user-friendly and cost-effective way to control uncontrolled static discharges during vacuum tanker operations in potentially flammable or combustible atmospheres.” Graham Tyers, Managing Director.

View an online animation of the award winning Earth-Rite® MGV road tanker & vacuum tanker static grounding verification system or contact Newson Gale to help understand the dangers of static electricity in hazardous areas.

Newson Gale Ltd
Omega House
Private Road 8
Colwick
Nottingham
NG4 2JX
Tel:           0115 940 7500
Fax:          0115 940 7501
Email:      groundit@newson-gale.co.uk
Web:        www.newson-gale.com

An innovative new truck mounted Static Ground Verification System – the Earth-Rite^® MGV from Newson Gale – enhances safety during transfer of flammable or combustible materials. In cleaning, maintenance or spill control operations in the petrochemical industry, vacuum trucks are often used to collect waste or contaminated products for disposal. With the operation taking place in a hazardous area, the need to control all types of ignition sources is absolutely paramount however the vacuum transfer process of potentially low conductivity liquids or highly resistive loose solids can generate large amounts of static electricity, meaning that all equipment, including the truck should be properly bonded to a verified earth point (ground).

API and NFPA guidelines recommend that such bonding connections are tested to verify an adequately low resistance to earth/ground prior to starting up the recover/transfer process, however until now the equipment required to do this required specialist training and may not always have been suitable for safe use within the hazardous atmosphere. Furthermore, long delays and downtime can sometimes be experienced while waiting for a qualified electrician to sign off that the truck is properly bonded and grounded before the operation commences.

The new truck mounted Earth-Rite^® MGV (patent pending) derives its power source from the vehicle battery, and uses certified Intrinsically Safe monitoring techniques to verify not only a good bond to a valid ground point, but more importantly confirmation that the ground point to which it is attached represents a satisfactorily low resistance to true earth.  The unit is simple to install and operate and provides confirmation of positive bonding and grounding to the operator by way of a bright flashing green LED cluster. It also provides a pair of change over contacts (DPDT) for connection to additional safety devices (strobe lights, audible alarms) or for interlocking with the vacuum pump or control valve. The “business end” of the system employs a heavy duty stainless steel clamp with universal clamping jaw which can be connected to flat or rounded surfaces, including directly to ground rods.

Units have obtained Intrinsically Safe certification for use in the Global Petrochemical Industries, according to the requirements of IECEX, ATEX, CSA/US and NEPSI (China), and may be used in all common gas, vapour or dust explosive environments.

Several sites in Europe, North America and Australasia are already using the system for their hazardous area vacuum truck operations with reports of enhanced safety, improved productivity and robust product reliability. The system is also useful for flammable liquid or combustible bulk material delivery tankers involved in chemical distribution and similar operations.

To learn more about the Earth-Rite^® MGV Static Grounding Verification System or the dangers of static electricity in hazardous areas please contact Newson Gale Ltd.

Newson Gale Ltd
Omega House, Private Road 8, Colwick, Nottingham, NG4 2JX
Tel: 0115 940 7500, Fax: 0115 940 7501
Email: groundit@newson-gale.co.uk
Web: www.newson-gale.co.uk