Yarmouth Rewinds Limited

Generating success

Yarmouth Rewinds Limited celebrates its 11th year trading in October 2014 as one of the largest repair facilities in the eastern region of the UK, specialising in hazardous area motor and generator repairs.

The business was set up to service the offshore oil and gas industry, later extending its services to include the marine and industrial markets. As an IECEx certified facility and Baseefa Licensed Repairer the company is one of the few in the UK to be approved and registered to take on the repair of electrical equipment used in hazardous areas.

The certification that the business holds is vital to the maintenance of its position within the industry. Baseefa is the leading internationally recognised certification body for explosion-protected equipment, delivering IECEx, ATEX and DSEAR certification to customers around the globe. The auditing of systems and procedures ensures that a certified company has the skills, equipment and the documentation in place to undertake such work. Additionally as an IECEx certified repair facility the organisation is approved to offer repair and overhaul of equipment for use in explosive atmospheres. The scheme covers the repair and overhaul of equipment used in potentially explosive atmospheres, providing both original equipment manufacturers and end users with the confidence that the repair facility operates in accordance with strict technical and quality system requirements laid down within an international (IEC) framework. The IECEx service facilities programme independently ensures the repair facilities’ capability and imparts an international status that gives a competitive edge to its services. It offers a credible alternative to other, non–accredited schemes and addresses concerns within industry over poor standards of overhaul work. Many companies are now insisting that they work only with the repair and overhaul organisations that are certified by accredited bodies.

Working with the likes of Shell, Perenco, Hydramec, Petrofac, and Prior Diesel, the business benefits substantially from its location in Great Yarmouth, the main port for the southern North Sea. Being right on the doorstep of the hub of activity in the North Sea is important to bringing in the workload but it is significant that although the business is only 11 years old it has been built on a wealth of experience. Both directors, Paul Sheales and Melvyn Fowler, had been working in the industry in excess of 20 years prior to starting the business so have combined extensive knowledge of the motors, generators, and the platforms used across the sector.

The nature of the business means repair contracts are on an ad-hoc basis, however, this year the company was awarded a three year onshore repair contract with an additional two year extension with a major operator in the southern North Sea. In line with the ever-increasing amount of work the business looks to grow its workforce, taking on at least one apprentice each year. The biggest challenge is employing skilled labour, this is overcome by using the apprenticeship programmes at Lowestoft College run in conjunction with in-house training, and so its new employees are able to learn the trade “hands on” whilst studying at the college on day release.

Yarmouth Electrical Mechanical Services is Yarmouth Rewind’s sister division, which boasts a panel building division where it designs and manufactures bespoke control panels for both hazardous and safe areas. It also offers a full electrical engineering service supplemental to the panel manufacturing and repair service, and was a natural progressive step that the two business partners took with the growing skill set within the company.

Yarmouth Rewinds Limited was building control panels and repairing generator packages long before Yarmouth Electrical Mechanical Services was established. It was important to make clear that the company’s services go beyond power generation. The division today is now almost as large as the rewind interests, and with a vast amount of its business being generated by offshore trading companies its engineers are trained for repair, inspection and servicing operations both on and offshore. With a natural closeness to the marine industry, demand for its services additionally comes from the marine industry with supply boats frequently entering the port. The company has electrical engineers specialising in undertaking work on the vessels, fault finding, as well as generator and all other electrical work.

Targeting growth over the next 12 months, the partners are looking into the manufacture of bespoke generator packages for the offshore industry. With 13,000 sq ft of space at its facilities the company is well geared towards future expansion into this area. The company has built a new generator package for an offshore platform in the southern North Sea using a Cummins engine as the prime mover and a Marelli 132kw alternator. The package included the design and build of the control panels, installation of wiring and engine management systems, and upon completion the company undertook commissioning, carrying out full load tests having used its own load bank.

Looking to the future, the business is working towards the development of the generator package – setting aside significant investment to ensure the venture is successful. Its focus on manufacture is set to occupy much of its time, alongside the growth of the panel building aspect. The company is fortunate to have developed such a strong business that has a good reputation in the area, supported by the certification that it holds, vital to the industries that it services. That reputation provides the opportunity to develop within new areas without the pressure of promoting those services. Offering a full turnkey solution, from initial designs to full manufacture, to service and repair, the business is gearing up for the push into power generation with new builds, servicing of the old systems, and upgrades to existing systems.

Yarmouth Rewinds Limited
Services: Repair facility specialising in hazardous area motor and generator repairs