Darex UK recently appointed Tecserv UK to help improve its fire safety measures to meet the compliance requirements of the ATEX Directive, the name commonly given to the two European Directives for controlling explosive atmospheres.
Based in St Neots, Cambridge, Darex UK manufacturers sealants and adhesives and is a subsidiary of a global chemical manufacturing company GCP Applied Technologies, which was formed in February 2016 by the spin-off of W. R. Grace & Co.’s construction products segment and its packaging technologies business.
Glenn Draper, a senior site engineer had been tasked with finding a commercial fire alarm company with knowledge of both the ATEX Directive and installing systems within hazardous environments. Thankfully a Google search listed Tecserv UK and Glenn contacted our sales team.
Commenting, Glenn said, “Right from the first phone call, Tecserv UK demonstrated expert knowledge of the ATX Directive and since then, I have found that their technical ability has never faltered. The proposal was delivered quickly and subsequent questions dealt with professionally. The install team arrived on site and were obviously well briefed as they knew exactly what to do. It really came across that they were very competent engineers and this really inspired confidence. Everything went smoothly and their working practices demonstrated that they had a thorough understanding of all aspects of the health and safety practices that needed to be followed whilst on site.”
The work Tecserv UK carried included the supply, installation and commissioning of a fire detection and alarm system within the building where solvents and chemicals are used. The project involved replacement of an existing analogue addressable fire alarm system and conventional CEL rack panel with a new Kentec bespoke analogue panel running Apollo protocol.
This system now controls and monitors the foam deluge system protecting the solvent building and the automated foam monitors which cover the external loading area.
Tecserv also provided linear heat detection to the underneath of the three sets of solvent tanks with interfaces within the switch room to provide an earlier warning of a fire condition beneath the tanks. The linear heat detection used Rilsan coated heat sensing cable designed to signal fire above 45°C.
Chemical explosions can cause loss of life and serious injuries as well as significant damage. Preventing releases of dangerous substances, which can create explosive atmospheres, and preventing sources of ignition are two widely used ways of reducing this risk. By upgrading to the latest fire detection technology, Darex UK now has a modern fire alarm and suppression system that will provide early fire detection signalling which will help reduce the risk of a fire spreading.
Colin joined Tecserv UK Ltd in 2010. He has been in the fire and security industry for 30 years + and in that time has held a number of senior positions. His experience helps to bring focus and growth to our sales and marketing strategy by being objective driven and KPI measured.
