PBP Services (Scotland) Ltd
Prepared for the future
Proud to remain a family business since its foundation by the late Peter Bruce in 1968, PBP Services (Scotland) Ltd today is managed by Peter Bruce Jnr., who began working in the business as an apprentice sign writer in 1985. Continuing the family’s legacy are Peter’s two sons, who, alongside their father, are registered NACE and Institute of Corrosion Coatings and Fire Proofing Inspectors; skills that will ultimately enhance the quality of service on offer to both local customers and those further afield. Focused on the painting and maintenance of vessels since its inception, the company has also maintained its founder’s commitment to innovation; this strategic decision has proven fruitful for PBP Services (Scotland) Ltd, which today remains a leader in the marine protective coatings industry.
Alongside its focus on innovation and delivering high quality solutions, the company is also keen to deliver its superior services to customers in target markets such as the oil and gas industry, industrial and commercial sector. It has also been awarded contracts throughout Scotland and England by supermarket chains, hospitals and factories within the commercial coatings industry. Elaborating on the company’s development is Peter Bruce, Managing Director at PBP Services (Scotland) Ltd: “In the early days it was generally a matter of scrubbing, chipping and painting off fishing trawlers in North East Scotland; however, with the downturn of the fishing industry 20 years ago we began to diversify our services and expanded into oil and gas and industrial related work. This led to us buying land where our main office is and developing a blast/cleaning and painting facility that is large enough to handle anything transportable by road. From here we provide a full range of service preparations, such as blast/cleaning, surface preparation and UHP waterblasting working to approved customer specifications.
“We also have a wide range of coatings for specialist application, these can be TSA,thermal sprayed aluminum, or TSZ, thermal sprayed zinc; both of which is popular and often used in the oil and gas and maritime industries. On top of this, depending on the coating specifications, we will work with a full range of anti corrosive primers, epoxy and glass fleck base coats and top coats for both onshore and offshore industries.”
One of the company’s main customers at its yard is GE Oil and Gas, a supplier of valves, winches and other equipment. PBP Services (Scotland) Ltd carries out all works to specification including surface preparation and protective coatings before installed onto onshore and offshore installations across the globe. From its base in Fraserburgh, the company over the years has invested in upgrading its in-house blast cleaning and painting facility, which has enhanced its ability in offering high quality in-house blast cleaning, through the use of abrasive grits, and painting services in a controlled environment.
These enhancements to facilities have resulted in increased demand for the company’s services. Notable projects include the blast cleaning and protective coating application of 42” pipework and spools, both at its premises prior to installation and at the St Fergus Gas Site during construction where work was carried out by experienced and trained personnel who worked closely with qualified coating inspectors in line with National Grid specification.
Alongside the aforementioned key investments, PBP Services (Scotland) Ltd has invested £1.5 million in an 850 kW wind turbine system which now ensures that PBP Services (Scotland) Ltd’s carbon footprint is carbon negative, as Peter highlights: “The wind turbine is now fully operational and all the power generated is to be fed back into the National Grid, however, it is only recently that we got it up and going in our own substation, which in turn will provide us with more than enough power to run our facilities. This is a great investment for our future as we can now move away from diesel burning generators and compressors and progress into electric, which will reduce our carbon footprint drastically.”
Not a company to rest on its laurels, PBP Services (Scotland) Ltd has recently taken the strategic decision to branch out and has set up preparation and coating services in Bahrain, Denmark and Ireland, as Peter notes: “These services enable us to cater for some of our long-term customers who may not be able to come to us. This way we can provide surface preparation, cleaning and painting services when they are in Denmark or Ireland for engine overhauls, refits etc.; it is a development in our services that so far has been working quite well. Bahrain is a market we entered with a JV partner a number of years ago at ASRY (Arab Ship Repair Yard) which we continue to develop and provide blast cleaning and coating services with our JV partner.”
Looking ahead, PBP Services (Scotland) Ltd is focused on further developing its international markets. Over the last few years the company has grown its resin seamless flooring and safety deck resin system, following its appointment as an official installation partner for Degafloor Ltd. All resins are supplied by Evonik Industries AG, one of the largest chemical companies in Germany and offer huge commercial benefits as they are fully cured in under two hours ready to use again. “Our men have undergone extensive training on the technical side of using these systems; it is something we have been working on for two to three years and it is growing in demand all of the time. It really is a special product which can cure in under two hours at -25°C and offers Lloyd’s German shipping classification for anti slip resistance and is proving very popular on marine installations as well as onshore projects. Resins come with Health and Safety Certification as well as Food and Drinks Industry Certification.”
PBP Services (Scotland) Ltd
Services: Surface preparation and coating application specialists