Coltraco Ultrasonics
Protecting assets
Since its inception in 1987, Coltraco Ultrasonics has been an industry leader in the design and manufacture of ultrasonic measuring devices with applications within a broad base of primary markets comprised of fire safety, defence, shipping and vessel management, offshore oil and gas platforms and installations, power generation as well as energy distribution utility companies and distribution sub-stations.
Furthermore Coltraco is present within several industry sectors in rail, mining, steel and aluminium, banking, telecommunications, data centres, automobile manufacturing, pharmaceutical sectors, high rise buildings, server rooms and switching gear rooms, where most of these applications are now protected by expensive FM-200 or NOVEC 1230 fire systems. Many of these systems are ideally suited for Coltaco Ultrasonics’ Portalevel liquid level indicator, demonstrating the company’s lead in the niche field of non-invasive, portable and ultrasonic liquid level measurement and contents monitoring for clean agent fire suppression systems.
Today Coltraco Ultrasonics is the OEM of the Portalevel and Portascanner technologies, which it has manufactured for over 20 years. To date the company has supplied more than 15,000 units to clients in 104 countries, which has proven to be the driving force in propelling the business to becoming the leading manufacturer that it is today, with a specialised portfolio of 14 systems and products.
Within the oil and gas sector ColtracoUltrasonics has supplied many of the industry’s leading operators. Its Portalevel series of products and systems have been successfully deployed in both onshore and offshoreapplications including most of the North Sea’s 160 platforms in both the UK and Norwegian sectors. At sea Coltraco Ultrasonics units are present aboard most types of vessels including gas carriers, bulk carriers, oil tankers, chemical and product carriers. Furthermore Portalevel MAX Marine products are also applied within other maritime sectors including ferries, cruise ships and defence, where the company has delivered large amounts of equipment to the fleets of the US Navy, Royal Navy and various Commonwealth and European navies.
The manufactured products provided by Coltraco Ultrasonics include the UL-approved Portalevel MAX 8th generation portable ultrasonic liquid level indicator, which was developed over the course of two years to ensure that the unit provides the quickest andsimplest method for identifying the contentsof CO2, FM200, NOVEC 1230, FE-13, FE-25 & FE-36, Halon and a variety of similar liquid gaseous fire suppression agents, as well as most oil and water based substances. Additionally, the Portalevel Standard 7th generation portable ultrasonic level indicator provides the ideal ultrasonic solution for land-based applications in identifying cylinder content of CO2, FM200, NOVEC 1230 and a variety of similar clean agent suppressant systems.
These units are vital in monitoring and maintaining substance levels in a host of safetycritical fire protection systems that might otherwise suffer from diminished levels due to accidental discharge or slow seepage of contents. The Portalevel Standard and Portalevel MAX are supported by the Portalevel Datalogger, which represents the world’s first ultrasonic level indicator that is capable of recording, storing and downloading readings. This provides operatorswith a simple, efficient and cost-effective solutionfor collecting and storing up to 1000 cylinders worth of readings for evidential work. Again, this unit is capable of operating with a wide range ofhigh value fire extinguishing agents.
As Coltraco Ultrasonics approached its 25th anniversary it was proud to unveil its Permalevel Multiplex fixed fire suppression system monitoring system with remote monitoring capability and with integrated data recording. The system allows the continuous monitoring of fixedgaseous fire suppression systems 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year from any location on the planet. This offers clientspeace of mind that no accidental discharge or leakage goes unnoticed, and it is compatible with any existing alarm system and central control station in order to relay current status and alert any change in level, making the system ideal for high value assets and hazardous environments.
“Permalevel Multiplex is the world’s first ultrasonic fixed contents monitoring systemfor clean agent suppression systems used inoffshore oil and gas installations to safeguard this critical infrastructure from accidental discharge or slow leakage of these pressurised systems,” says Coltraco Ultrasonics CEO, Carl Hunter. “It contains a datalogger so that all measurements are recoded and three layers of remote monitoring; in the cylinder room, integrated into the alarm system and a remote monitoring capability so that the whole system’s contents can be monitored from a central monitoring point. Business continuity values of an offshore oil and gas installation, which itself can be up to $2 billion, often exceed $500,000 per day. It is to aid this essential business continuity that we designed this system.”
Coltraco Ultrasonics is also able to support the business continuity of high-value offshoreassets through the provision of its Portaguage III ultrasonic thickness gauge and its ultrasonic watertight integrity test indicator, Portascanner. Often oil and gas installations operate within harsh marine environments where corrosion and metal fatigue are constant threats, particularly tothe aging infrastructure found in the North Sea oil fields. The Portaguage III, launched in March 2013, provides an incredibly robust, reliable and accurate solution to the vast majority of thickness gauging requirements including thecorrosion testing of any metal.
Additionally the Portascanner II ultrasonic watertight integrity test indicator is capable of inspecting any watertight, airtight or weather tight seals for areas of leaking or reduced compression in the seal, particularly in watertight compartment doors and multiple cable transit areas. This is a vital consideration in offshore and subsea installations where leaks can lead to the damage or destruction of equipmenthoused within the legs of offshore platforms or even the capsizing of structures.
As such, the combined portfolio of Coltraco Untrasonics represents a comprehensive package of high-quality and safety critical systems for the offshore oil and gas sector.
As the market leader in ultrasonic measuring devices, exporting 95 per cent of its output to 104 countries, Coltraco Ultrasonics is present in markets all over the globe and has earned a trusted reputation for quality and integrity. Indeed, the company offers a uniform pricing policy for all of its clients regardless of their location, so that customers can order from Coltraco Ultrasonics in complete confidence that they will receive the highest level of quality at a fair price.
As the business grows, it will continue torely on the support of both its clients and its partners within the scientific community, as Carl concludes: “Coltraco Ultrasonics has a commitment to science and we are proud to support British graduate and postgraduate physicists and mathematicians. We have received an incredible level of support from the British research community, particularly from UK universities. We aim to design and manufacture the most mathematically accurate products and systems in our fields of ultrasonic measurement and monitoring. Science is our underlying basis to provide the offshore oil and gas industry with the best equipment in our fields of clean agent fire suppression system monitoring, watertight integrity testing of W/T compartment doors, and Cable Transit Areas.”
DuPont™, FM-200®, and FE-241™, FE-13™, FE-25™, FE-36™ are trademarks or registeredtrademarks of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company or its affiliates. Novec™ 1230 is a trademark owned by 3M™. Coltraco, Portalevel®, Permalevel®, Portascanner®, Permascanner® Portagauge® and Portasonic™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Coltraco Limited.
Coltraco Ultrasonics
Services: Ultrasonic design and manufacture