There can be no better indication of a company’s dedication to an industry than its willingness to invest.
In the past 18 months, Inspectorate (now the Commodities Division of Bureau Veritas) has been making significant investments, the most tangible way of showing its support for customers.
The developments have been global, to meet the needs of the customers in this most global industry.
The company has recently upgraded its laboratory in Tianjin, China and also opened a number of new laboratories in Indonesia the most recent being in Palembang, Sumatra. In Eastern Europe, new facilities have been opened in St. Petersburg, Murmansk and Kerch.
Upgrading and developing is a continuous process. In Western Europe there are three solid fuels facilities in Duisburg, Germany; Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Ghent in Belgium.
Early in 2012, Inspectorate America opened its new facility in La Place, Louisiana, to provide inspection, sampling and survey services for clients focused on coal shipments through the Gulf of Mexico. And to enhance this capability through improved analytical services, solid fuel testing will be set up in Inspectorate’s existing New Orleans Technical Center. This is planned to become operational in autumn this year.
Inspectorate is also at the forefront of new requirements from customers. The US East Coast and West Coast divisions are seeing steady growth in thermal and metallurgical shipments of coal, as well as the growing biomass market for wood pellet inspection services. This relatively new area of activity is growing in importance and effective inspection is vital.
Colombia has seen consistent growth in coal exploration and production in recent years, and the reserves and projections of Energy and Mines Ministry indicate that this will continue. To develop Inspectorate’s leading position here, the company has invested in a brand new laboratory in Cienaga. This facility is located within minutes of the export bases of some of the major shippers and buyers. The 1,200m2 laboratory will be fully operational in November 2012. It will feature state-of-the-art equipment and automated instrumentation to meet the demands for quality and turnaround times of its thermal, metallurgical and upstream coal clients.
In South Africa, Inspectorate measures the quality of all coal exported from Richards Bay and also is heavily involved in inspection and testing for major projects in Tete and the ports of Mozambique. The Tete laboratory will be upgraded in the next two years. Planning for this comprehensive upgrade is well underway and implementation will be as swift as possible, but making no compromises on quality.
Quality, service and safety are the hallmarks of Inspectorate operations. The company believes that it is an esential part of its contract with customers to maintain and exceed their expectations.
This has been an exciting year for Inspectorate, and it will develop its network and services in the years ahead so that it continues to deliver on its mission — to check the world’s commodities and add value to business through our accuracy and integrity.
Inspectorate will be exhibiting at the forthcoming 32nd Coaltrans World Coal Conference which is taking place in Istanbul,Turkey, from 14–16 October this year.