Metallurgy, fuel testing & paint analysis lab

Technical and scientific consultancy Brookes Bell said its new 8,000 sq. ft facility is designed to deliver a more comprehensive service to its maritime clients and will support entry into new markets. The facility will be commissioned in north west England and will come on-line in October 2020. It will house an inspection and testing facility, a light industrial/engineering space and offices.

Ray Luukas, chief technical officer at Brookes Bell, said: “As our new laboratory comes on-line, we will create a high-end metallurgical consultancy and technical unit which will include non-destructive testing as well as paint analysis and fuel testing.”

Business diversification

Brookes Bell sees scope for using the new metallurgy testing facility to help develop business in several market segments including traditional maritime, superyachts, and the energy sector more generally.

The laboratory will also house a new fuel testing facility which will test fuel to ISO 8217 standards to highlight substandard samples and to help identify the causes and origins of fuel-related problems.

Paint analysis to investigate causes of tank and hull coating failures will also be conducted using digital microscopes and software. Coating flakes can be inspected and analysed to determine causes for a range of faults including blistering, detachment, cracking, rust formation and inadequate antifouling protection.

By Rebecca Jeffrey