BIB Cochran News

Expansion of The Glenlivet Distillery

When The Glenlivet Distillery recently announced a major expansion of production of their world famous Scotch Whisky they selected their new 13,610 kg/h boiler from the BIB Cochran Thermax range. The boiler will be providing steam to the new mash tun and 6 new stills at Scotland’s oldest legal distillery. Founded by George Smith in 1824 the newly expanded distillery will help meet the increased international demand for The Glenlivet malt whisky.

The Glenlivet distillery is well worth a visit. It is situated in a beautiful part of the Scottish Highlands, as can be seen from the picture of the boiler arriving on site, and is open for visitor tours. More information is available at www.theglenlivet.com

Cochran has a long history of supplying the Scotch whisky distillers and the vast majority of distilleries use our boilers for steam production. We take great pride in these long standing relationships between traditional Scottish companies and our contribution to the production of such world renowned brands.

Training for Bangladeshi Partners

In recent years Bangladesh has become a key market for Cochran.  We have supplied more than 100 new boilers to this market in the past 10 years.  One  reason for our success has been the strong relationship with our local partner Trade Venture Limited.  As well as the sales team, Trade Venture have a team of trained technicians who provide commissioning and service support to their local customers.  So customers buying Cochran boilers in Bangladesh know they receive immediate local support if it is required.

To ensure this support is to the best possible standard, Cochran regularly undertake support and training of TVL technicians, both in Bangladesh and at our training facility in Annan. The most recent visitors were Mohammad Ansarul and Mohammad Yousuf, seen here receiving their certificates from Allan Troup, BIB Cochran Combustion Engineer.

As well as their time at Annan, Ansarul and Yousuf also spent a week in training from Hamworthy on their range of combustion systems which are widely used in Bangladesh.

For further information on BIB Cochran activity in Bangladesh, please contact our Export Manager Mr. Tom Owens towens@bibcochran.com

Egyptian Success Story

Cochran first supplied boilers to Eastern Company of Egypt back in 1984 and when they embarked on a major expansion Cochran were their chosen suppliers for the new boiler plant. Eastern Company are Egypt’s major processor of tobacco products and the project required 4 new 16 t/h, 17 bar boilers incorporating the latest plc control technology. Along with our representatives, Egyptian Engineering Agencies, we worked closely with the project consultants to ensure that the exacting standards and programme timescales could be met and after tough competition were awarded the contract. The boilers are due to be delivered in June and commissioned by Cochran in July 2009. Cochran will also be providing extensive operator training.

The client and his consultant recently visited our factory to inspect the boilers and witness their successful pressure testing. Pictured with Allan Shaw, Cochran Operations Director is Dr Hany Khater, Consultant and Mr. Ahmed Talaat, Head of Energy Sector, Eastern Company.

Cochran has been working with EEA to supply well over 200 boilers into Egypt in the last 40 years. EEA has developed their capabilities over this time and offer full installation, service and maintenance support to our local customers.

 If you are interested in our capabilities in Egypt, contact our Export Manager Mr. Tom Owens towens@bibcochran.com

Jardine Return to their Scottish Roots 

Jardine Matheson was founded in China in 1832 by two Scots, William Jardine and James Matheson, and is now a diversified business group focussed on Asia. Their subsidiary company Jardine Engineering Corporation (JEC), has recently agreed to represent the BIB Cochran range in Hong Kong and Macau.

JEC have experienced boiler sales and installation staff and this will compliment Cochran’s existing subsidiary Cochran Boilers (HK). Cochran Boilers (HK) provides after market support to existing Chinese customers from their offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Cochran has just enjoyed a visit from Mr Raymond Lin (Operations Director) and Mr Frankie Lau (General Manager) of JEC to discuss future sales growth and strategies for the important Hong Kong and Macau markets. As well as dozens of boilers operating in Hong Kong Cochran has sold some 300 boilers into China through Hong Kong in the last 30 years.

Tom Ritchie, BIB Cochran MD, said “We look forward to working with JEC. Between us we have over 300 years of Scottish heritage and engineering knowledge and hope to use this and our established local networks to further develop these strategically important markets”

DRASTICALLY REDUCE YOUR FUEL BILLS BY USING THE COCHRAN CHEMICAL DE-SCALE SERVICE

As well as the risk of scale build up causing damage to a boiler, it can also drastically increase fuel costs.  Just 1.5 mm of scale could add more than 5% to the fuel bill - for a continuously operating 5 t/h boiler this is additional fuel bill of approximately £60,000 per annum!

Cochran service department strip down hundreds of boilers each year for their annual insurance survey and on many occasions find evidence of scale. If scale has built up, for whatever reason, it should be removed as a priority. 

The problem became being able to get people to site quickly to carry out a de-scale whilst the boiler was off line. The solution for Cochran is to do it ourselves. We have recruited a specialist water treatment engineer, Mr John Leach and his technicians, who can respond immediately to the call from site when scale is found.

Cochran will provide the labour and chemicals (and arrange their safe disposal) so that the boiler can be de-scaled whilst the boiler is off-line, minimising disruption and maximising the life and efficiency of the boiler.

Depending on the condition of the boiler and the operating regime the payback on removing scale from the water-side of your boiler is a matter of weeks

If you are concerned about scale build up in your boiler contact John Leach at johnl@cochranwatertreatment.co.uk or call 0845 5211145

Major orders for Russia

Since obtaining our GOST certificate, in the mid 90s, Russia has become a significant market for BIB Cochran and we now have approximately 100 Cochran steam and hot-water boilers operating there.

Cochran’s market position was further cemented at the beginning of 2009 with an order for 14 hot-water boilers (ranging from 1750 kW to 5250 kW) to upgrade district heating plants in the St. Petersburg area. This follows on from an order for 19 boilers (pictured) received in 2008 for an earlier phase of the project.

Cochran initially entered the market partnering Western companies, such as Heinz, Coca Cola, BAT and SAB Miller, who were establishing manufacturing plants in Russia. This developed into relationships with Russian partners and contractors which are resulting in business on locally financed projects. 

The Russian market offers plenty of opportunity to companies who approach it with the right structure and who take a long term view. From day one Cochran has employed native Russian speakers, both in UK and Russia, to assist in communicating with the local market and ensuring the accuracy of all the essential documentation that is required. This has enabled us to understand and meet the demands of the authorities and to provide the necessary assistance to our customers investing in Russia.

Oldest operational boilers?

Dave Young, BIB Cochran Technical Director, recently took a call from a boiler insurance inspector based in South Africa. He was trying to trace design and manufacturing records for two vertical Cochran boilers still installed and operating in Calitzdorp, South Africa. Impressively we were able to supply the required records for the boilers built in 1939 and 1945 and more impressively the boilers passed their inspection and continue to deliver. If you know of an older operating boiler we would love to hear from you.

Cochran acquire Scottish Boiler Services

Cochran is pleased to announce the acquisition of Scottish Boiler Services, a service and maintenance company based in West of Scotland. Established in 1987 SBS provide boiler installation and pipework services, boiler surveys, cleaning and repairs including re-tubing. Des Weir, Customer Support Manager at Cochran, says “We are delighted to increase our support capabilities in the region with such an experienced team. They will continue to trade under the SBS name and offer their dedicated local service, but will benefit from the support of the Cochran engineering and works functions. It is our intention to invest in and grow the SBS customer base”

Distillery reopens with Cochran Power

The Glenglassaugh distillery at Portsoy has been in existence for over 133 years and has recently reopened after 22 years. The distillery was bought by the Scaent group in a £5m deal and a further £1m has been spent on refurbishment. The plant was officially opened by the local MSP and Scottish First Minister, Mr Alex Salmond.

As part of the refurbishment the distillery required a new boilerhouse and the customer selected another traditional Scottish product, the Cochran Wee Chieftain boiler. Tom Owens, Cochran’s Scotland Manager, observed “Whisky is a major contributor to the Scottish economy. As a Scottish based manufacturer Cochran is proud to supply the vast majority of the steam systems required in the production of the iconic whisky brands. As well as the reopening of Glenglassaugh we have recently supplied boilers to Chivas, Glenmorangie, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich and Laphroaig”

S.S. Sir Walter Scott has sailed the waters of Loch Katrine since 1900. She is 110 feet long, 19 feet wide and weighs 115 tons and she still has the original 3-cylinder triple expansion engine. The vessel has a crew of five, and is the only surviving screw steamer in regular passenger service in Scotland. Up to the end of 2007 the boilers were fired by coke and the ash emptied ashore daily to minimise any risk of pollution to the loch which is Glasgow's water supply and is owned by the West of Scotland Water Board. At the end of the 2007 season the ship was given a major overhaul and re-fit by Fergusons shipbuilders including replacing the boilers with new Cochran Boilers designed to run on bio-fuel.

The photograph shows the specially designed boilers being fitted into the existing engine room.

Maintaining our Heritage

With a little tender loving attention a well built boiler can last many, many years. We are still maintaining Cochran boilers built before the Second World War. Components will wear out and need replacing and this is where our service and repair squad come into their own. One of our recent projects involved repairing the Birkhall steam engine at the Grampian Transport Museum near Aberdeen. The engine’s boiler was retubed and repaired to allow it to become operational again.

If you would like our repair squad to keep your boiler on the road the please contact Chris Callaghan ccallaghan@bibcochran.com or Bob Slater bobslater@bibcochran.com at our Annan office.

The Old and the New

Cochran has been designing, building and maintaining boilers in the UK for over 130 years. We have been able to maintain this tradition by employing, training and retaining good people. The average length of service for the current workforce is 27 years. A number of employees pictured here have just been presented with their 20 and 40 year long service awards in recognition of their efforts in maintaining Cochran’s position as the leading UK boiler manufacturer.

We are also fortunate to have good young people following in their footsteps and our three most recently qualified apprentices have joined the ranks of skilled craftsmen at our Annan factory. They are pictured here at their award ceremony.

Current employment opportunities can be found be following the links to our vacancies page.

Photograph by Paul Taylor - Gretna Green Photographers

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