Last week I was lucky enough to be part of the Certex team running a stand at the SPE Offshore Europe oil and gas conference and exhibition held in Aberdeen.
We exhibited as part of Certex International Offshore Services, which combines the expertise of the various Certex companies that have an interest in this highly niche market. This meant that I was rubbing shoulders with colleagues from Certex Norge, Erling Haug and Haug Offshore from Norway, Peter Harbo from Denmark, together with staff from Certex UK’s own Offshore Division.
It was great to catch up with my international colleagues but it was even better to meet all the people that visited our stand. The organisers of the exhibition said it was the largest in the event’s history, with nearly 50,000 delegates, and I can well believe it judging from the crowds flocking to the exhibition pavilions. We were run off our feet demonstrating products and explaining our services – but I’m not complaining, that’s exactly how it should be!
In fact, it really brought home to me just how far-reaching our offering is to clients in this sector. We supply a vast range of wire rope – from wire rope slings to anchor lines and winch wires – as well as all types of lifting products including shackles, eyebolts, chain blocks and specialist ROV fittings. This is all supported by our inspection, maintenance and testing services, which are amongst the best in the industry. For instance, our recently launched test bench in Esbjerg has the capacity to test lifting equipment up to 1200 tonnes and is one of the largest facilities of its kind in Northern Europe.
But, putting all that to one side, the thing that struck me most was the sheer depth of expertise and knowledge that was represented on our stand, running into literally hundreds of years’ of experience in wire rope and lifting equipment. It was this valuable ‘know-how’ that visitors to the stand were benefiting from and it is this resource that we are always so willing to share with our customers.
