UK-based rope manufacturer Bridon has launched a facility to develop advanced ropes required in offshore operations.
The Bridon Technology Centre (BTC) will feature purpose-built equipment to test rope properties and performance.
The BTC will enable Bridon to refine complex rope constructions and optimize their design.
Bridon has developed the center keeping in mind the demand for stronger and more sophisticated ropes that can perform at the highest levels in the world’s most tough environments.
Built at an investment of £5m, the facility’s custom-made testing and analysis equipment has been designed to evaluate advanced rope constructions for the most challenging conditions.
The facility will have the capacity to test samples from ropes that will weigh hundreds of tonnes, to measure their strength under extreme loads, endurance against bend fatigue, rotational characteristics, and response to repeated layering on smaller, more economical spools.
In addition, the facility will include the latest 3D Microscope technology to examine ropes in minute detail.
Bridon has earlier launched Bridon Neptune Quay, a manufacturing facility to produce the largest and most complex ropes in the world.
Bridon chief executive Jon Templeman said, "BTC will be a high-tech hub for next generation rope development, where the finest minds in rope technology use sophisticated testing equipment to validate the designs of the largest and most complex ropes ever made."