Ensuring sustainable endurance by research

ENDURES

Ensuring sustainable endurance by research

ENDURES, an OCAS sister company, has over 50 years of experience. ENDURES is active in a variety of industries, ranging from shipping and maritime infrastructure to renewable energy and fire extinguishing systems. ENDURES and OCAS joined forces in 2019.

The company’s 12 employees are divided into 4 groups of expertise: Corrosion, Coatings (Anti-fouling and protective coatings), MIC (microbiologically influenced corrosion), and Failure analysis. ENDURES helps customers select the right materials and then effectively protect those materials. This unique combination of disciplines – all under one roof – constitutes ENDURES’ unique selling point.

ENDURES’ ACTIVITIES

With the goal of extending the life of materials, ENDURES conducts research under both in-practice and laboratory conditions. The company also conducts damage studies on ships, installations and structures to determine the type of corrosion that is occurring, the particular circumstances that are playing a role, and how such damage can be prevented in the future. ENDURES combines microbiological expertise, electrochemistry and materials science to investigate whether the problem is a material failure or a design issue. The two main questions it seeks to answer are:

how can I overcome this corrosion, or how can I design something better? In brief, the services that ENDURES provides include the following: — Advice on corrosion and corrosion prevention — Root cause failure analysis & advice on material selection — Coating failure analysis and advice on protective coatings — Antifouling (various techniques to prevent or reduce fouling) — MIC (Microbiologically Influenced

Corrosion, corrosion caused by microorganisms) — Soil corrosion: advice on protecting underground metal components

TAILORED SOLUTIONS FOR THE CUSTOMERS

ENDURES has over 500 customers, who benefit from ENDURES’ cost-effective and authoritative assessments and advice in all of these areas. For example, a customer seeks a solution for corrosion of a ship hull’s coating. ENDURES performs an analysis to determine the nature and extent of the problem: should the entire structure be sand-blasted down to the metal, or is the problem limited to the top layer of coating? ENDURES’ laboratory determines the best approach for the customer. ENDURES also conducts R&D – in corrosion monitoring, for example: developing new electrochemical technologies in order to create a solution that has a corrosion rate of x mm per year. In every case, ENDURES tailors its approach, designing tests that focus on the customer’s unique problem situation. Which allows ENDURES to develop the optimal solution by the most efficient, straightforward route.

FUTURE OUTLOOK

During the past two years, while tackling the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic, ENDURES began to investigate what other companies it might purchase, or form strategic partnerships with, to become more resilient to fluctuating market demands in the future. Working with OCAS and FININDUS, ENDURES is determining what opportunities are out there: small companies with specific market niches or products that are complementary to ENDURES’ products and markets. ENDURES is also investing in new equipment in order to further penetrate its current markets or to expand into new markets. Expanding the equipment park will also avoid having to outsource certain procedures, as is the case today. The Covid lockdown period restricted ENDURES’ close participation in projects with all stakeholders – and so the company is looking forward to rekindling collaborations in the post-Covid era. Last but not least, the Netherlands’ maritime defence agency is a major client. For example, ENDURES is developing a sensor for the navy that improves the measurement of a coating’s durability. And there are more promising projects in the pipeline.

Sibo Buter, Managing Director, ENDURES