Dec 13 2012
Merseyside based composite hose manufacturer Dantec is reporting a trebling of sales in the marine sector over the last 12 months.
Dantec Jon Loach - John Laidlaw Wirra
Moreton based Dantec manufactures composite hoses for the petrochemical industry. Managing director John Laidlaw said marine sales are being driven by the ‘ship to ship’ and ‘ship to shore’ market which see Dantec’s hoses used for the transfer of oil, chemicals and LPG between ships or between ships and terminals. He said contracts with firms including Norwegian based Odfjell, one of the biggest chemical tanker operators in the world, and UK based Safe STS have helped Dantec secure a sizeable share of the global market for ship to ship composite hoses.
“Our big areas for focus in the marine sector going forward are firstly to make contact with more ship management companies in the ship to ship market showing why our products provide outstanding value,” he said. “In addition to that we are determined to win more of the ship to shore market from terminal operators. We presently have a small percentage of this market globally but see massive potential for growth.”
Mr Laidlaw said Dantec can help shipping companies and tank terminal operators by offering the highest standards of safety and durability.
“Dantec is committed to engineering excellence,” he said. “That is how we have built our reputation since founding in 1969. This means we can give customers much better value for money as well as the highest standards of safety in a hazardous environment. The global market is flooded with cheap, unsafe and weak composite hoses many produced at very low cost in Asia. These products as well as being dangerous regularly fail causing costly and time consuming disruption. Our challenge now is take our hoses further and wider in the marine market explaining the benefits of properly engineered composite hoses. We proved the calibre of our engineering, which all takes place here in Merseyside in the UK, when for 15 years we supplied the refuelling hoses for Formula One cars. This was at a time when F1 was doing all in its power to improve safety after a fire in the pits.”
Dantec has a £5.6m turnover and employs 48 people at its Moreton site. 70pc of its sales are overseas and the firm presently operates in 50 countries mainly through a network of 41 foreign based distributors.