Information from Bilfinger Berger Industrial Services AG for clients, partners and the group Issue 01/ 2009

Solutions for Industrial Serviceswww.BIS.bilfinger.com

Thomas Töpferjoins Management Board

of Bilfinger Berger AGand hands over chairmanship

to his successor,Dr. Hendrik Brenig

as Rheinhold & Mahla AG. The economics graduateworked as a management consultant before joiningRheinhold & Mahla in 1995, initially as managingdirector of a subsidiary, and since 1999 as fullyauthorised officer of the company.

Performance almost trebledUnder his direction, the Group of companies has posi-tioned itself as a solutions provider and achievedextraordinary growth by expanding the range of ser-vices systematically and accelerating the process ofinternationalisation. In the wake of this internationali-sation, the expansion within Europe was followed by astep-up in operations in North America last year.Aggre-gate output of BIS AG almost trebled since 2004, witha constant rise in earnings to more than 2 billion eurosin 2008; the size of the workforce had risen to justunder 22,000 employees by the end of 2008.

A particular strength of BIS AG is its decentralisedorganisational structure, with individual operatingunits assuming a high level of entrepreneurial respon-sibility. An important factor in this context is thereliance on, and appreciation of, our workforce: indus-trial services are a personnel-intensive business, mak-ing high demands in terms of commitment and ded-ication to service, quality, accident prevention andintegrity. These requirements are taken seriously bythe many employees based at our operating units in

working for our customers.It is a consequence of ourawareness of our socialresponsibility at BIS AG thatin recent years we haveintensified our efforts in thefield of basic and advancedvocational training, accidentprevention as well as health-care and long-term care pro-vision for the elderly.

Thomas Töpfer makes itclear that he considers awell-developed corporateculture to be one of the

most important prerequisites for achieving stronggrowth, and for successfully implementing the inte-gration processes that are part and parcel of suchgrowth: “Our business principles underscore a valuesystem that provides us with a focus, an identity anda distinct profile that are recognised beyond ournational borders. The result is a pronounced sense of belonging. Our employees enjoy the certainty ofknowing that we are committed to this value systemeven in times of economic difficulties.” The depart-ing Chairman of the Management Board also seesreasons for optimism despite the slump in the glob-al economy: “We support our customers in theirefforts to optimise costs by providing them witheverything from needs-oriented service conceptsright through to complete outsourcing solutions.Thelevel of experience and competence we bring to bearcan only appreciate in value in difficult economictimes, and we can therefore expect to see addition-al opportunities opening up for us in future.”

A compelling business modelThe new Chairman of the Management Board,Dr. Hendrik Brenig (47), emphasises that theGroup of companies is well positioned in themarket and will be able to exploit opportunities for further development in future. “The decen-tralised structures are an essential element in theimpressive performance of our business. They provide the foundations for a tried-and-provenbusiness model that will allow the company tocontinue to grow, and to master the challenges weare all facing at present.” Dr. Hendrik Brenig wasborn in Bonn. After studying business adminis-tration in Cologne, he completed his doctorate atthe University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Overthe course of his career he has held executivepositions with the Volkswagen Group, with VAWAluminium and Hydro Aluminium.

“The decentralised structures are anessential element in the impressive

performance of our business.”Dr. Hendrik Brenig

846

2004

1,029

2005

1,360

2006

1,733

2007

2,353

2008

Consolidated total revenuesin EUR mill.

Passing the executive baton

Dr. Brenig, what importance do you assign tocontinuity in the corporate orientation of theBIS Group of companies?

Dr. Hendrik Brenig: Continuity in thecorporate orientation of our Group meanspredictability, reliability and, of course, stabilityin the development of our business. We see ourencouraging start into the new financial yearoverall as confirmation that our strategy andorganisation are proving sound even duringthese turbulent times. It shows that our Groupof companies is built on solid foundations, andthat further profitable growth lies ahead.

What are your first impressions?

Dr. Hendrik Brenig: During my many visits tooperating companies in Germany and abroad,I met many dedicated and highly motivatedmembers of staff, and this has left me with very positive impressions. The down-to-earthattitude that I encountered struck me as one ofthe cornerstones of success of the business. Itshapes the manner in which people relate toeach other, and especially during the currenteconomic situation, it fosters a healthy dose ofconfidence in our own strength.

What kind of statement would you like tobe able to make at the end of the year?

Dr. Hendrik Brenig: The most importantaspect is concerted action to overcome any obs-tacles that may lie ahead. If, at the end of theyear, I can state on behalf of all of us that weremained focused on our task, that we did agood job on behalf of our customers, that welooked for opportunities and made the most ofthem – then this will have been yet anothersuccessful financial year for our company.

Three questions for the new Chairman ofthe Management Board

Tailored personnel development 2

Risk management as an early-warning systemNew trade association established 3

ACHEMA 2009 4/5

Current orders 6

New desulphurisation plant for LeunaMajor contract from ROMGAZ 7

Successful collaborationSolar energy from the south of Spain 8

Demanding shutdown projectsQuality and security: decisive factors 9

Ultra-low temperature insulation for LNG terminal 10

Outstanding performances 11

Exclusive scaffolding servicesNo compromises when it comes to quality 12

C O N T E N T S

Following the appointment of ThomasTöpfer (left in the photo above) to theManagement Board of Bilfinger Berger AG,Dr. Hendrik Brenig (right in the photo above)was appointed by the Supervisory Board tothe position of Chairman of the Manage-ment Board of Bilfinger Berger IndustrialServices AG (BIS AG), effective 1 April 2009.A leader in the process industry in Germanyand in Europe, the industrial servicescompany has been part of Bilfinger BergerAG, of Mannheim, since 2002. The newChairman of the Management Board is com-mitted to providing continuity and tocontinuing the success of the company’sproven business model.

Thomas Töpfer (47) has had a significant part in thesuccess of BIS AG since 1995. He has been a memberof the Management Board since July 2001, and sinceJuly 2004 he has held the position of Chairman ofManagement Board of BIS AG, previously trading

“Our employees enjoy the certainty ofknowing that we are committed to thisvalue system even in times of economic

difficulties.”Thomas Töpfer

2

Students from the Limburg Technical College of Further Educationreceive information first hand, here in conversation with ManagingDirector Günter Illig from BIS Industrieservice Mitte and HumanResources Consultant Nicole Kühnert.

Looking for bright sparksTogether with about 80 other exhibitors, BIS AG and its parent group Bilfinger Bergerattended a fair held at the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt on Main under the motto“Arena frei für kluge Köpfe” [“Arena open to bright sparks”] and provided around 3,000visitors with information about careers and courses of study in the natural sciences and inengineering. Numerous conversations held at the exhibition booth developed into closercontacts with teachers who were looking to support their students in their career choice,for example by conducting career information talks at schools, by organising engineeringproject weeks and excursions, and by providing assistance with job applications.These con-tacts quickly led to advanced activities in the schools. “Personal contact with multipliersor opinion leaders is an irreplaceable asset in the recruitment of young talent,” said NicoleKühnert, Personnel Development Consultant for BIS AG. Günter Illig, Managing Director of BIS Industrieservice Mitte, Frankfurt am Main, supports this view: “The promotion of junior talent and successful networking in our region are of central importance for us.Everything revolves around people. It is only by fostering the development of qualified andcommitted junior talent that we can maintain our position as one of the leading providersof innovative, future-proof industrial services in the long term.

pendent associations. The Polish BIS company’sunerring and unwavering commitment paid off. Asa result, the professions of industrial insulator andindustrial plumber are now well-established ele-ments of the Polish vocational training system.

Training in these two new professions is provided atvocational education colleges as well as at one ofthe facilities operated by BIS Multiserwis, whichserves as a skills centre. “The course for the firstyear of trainees will be commencing this year,”reports Marian Siwon. At the moment, the trainingcurriculum and materials are being prepared.At thesame time, work is being completed on introducingskills and quality tests. BIS Multiserwis has alreadytrained its own staff in these two professions.Beyond that, all BIS Multiserwis employees arereceiving German and English lessons. Reflectingthe particular responsibility which the Polish com-pany considers itself to have as a good corporatecitizen, 24 people recommended by the labourexchange also received training at BIS Multiserwis,after they were employed by the company.

Group-wide learningThe local training and skills-development activitiesdescribed here are being used as a platform forsharing knowledge within the BIS Group. The activ-ities in Norway, the United Kingdom and Polandconstitute examples of best practice for personneldevelopment within BIS AG. “The BIS Academyoffers an ideal platform for this and is thus encour-aging networking throughout the Group and thejoint sharing and development of innovative ideas,”stresses Timur Tavas, chief representative and headof Central Human Resources & Services.

Tailored employee training makes a crucial contribution to the BIS Group’s competitive-ness. All central and local training activities are pooled under the BIS Academy’s roof. Oneimportant target group for training is technical staff too.

“Reflecting our decentralised structure, which delegates a high degree of responsibility to theoperating companies, our personnel developmentactivities are firmly entrenched in the individualcompanies,” says Michael Schmitz, Head of Personnel Development. Accordingly, local train-ing programmes are increasingly growing inimportance, as examples from the United King-dom, Norway and Poland demonstrate. “Theregional programmes are specifically targeted at our technical staff,” adds Michael Schmitz.“These employees make a particular contributionto BIS AG’s success. Consequently, training playsa key role within the BIS Academy. Local offeringsare able to cover skills-development needs in aparticularly efficient way.”

Innovative offshore trainingIn the United Kingdom, BIS Salamis operates twoSkills Centres to substantially strengthen its train-ing commitment to technical employees. The firstcentre was established in Aberdeen, followed inFebruary 2008 by a second one in Norwich. BISSalamis’ core business, namely the provision ofmaintenance services in the oil and gas industry,entails particular demands and requirements. Atthe two BIS Skills Centres, insulators, painters andscaffolders are trained so that they are able to meet these requirements. Off-shore activities in particular call for fargreater technical expertise due to theunique environment they are under-taken in. Frequently, the operativesmust work at great heights, suspended byropes; and they must access difficult positionsand carry out their work in extremely tight spaces.Rope access and working-at-height training as wellas courses on the correct use of breathing appara-tus and fall prevention for work on scaffolding formkey elements of the extensive training programme.Certified by the Scottish Qualifications Authority,the skills-development system established by BISSalamis defines in great detail the expertise andcapabilities required for offshore activities. Thisresults in clear criteria for individual training.

Flexibility crucialIn addition, the two BIS Skills Centres developbespoke training packages for specific customersto ensure flexible responses to special projectrequirements. One project, for example, whichfocused on pipeline repairs and replacementstogether with the construction of steel scaffoldingin the concrete base of a North Sea oil rig neces-sitated a tailored upfront training package for thepipe layers, painters and assemblers assigned tothe job. The crew had to perform numerous simu-lations and dry runs to ensure that they were ableto complete all work safely and were prepared forall critical situations.

However, the BIS Skills Centres are open not onlyto the company’s own employees. “We also offertraining to customers,” explains Paul Matthews,Director of Human Resources at BIS Salamis. “Lastyear, we conducted working-at-height trainingcourses for Shell employees, for example.” Cus-tomers are also able to hire BIS classrooms andtraining facilities.

Internal and external utilisationBIS Industrier in Norway has been operating aschool and training centre since 1993, now with a main office and four local departments. Known

as the “BIS Kompetansesenter“, it is Norway’slargest provider of Public Trade Certificates withininsulation, scaffolding and painting, currentlyexpanding by cooperating with BIS plettac and BISMultiserwis on training and certification of opera-tors for the Norwegian oil and gas market. “Wealso provide courses for clients and suppliers”,says Rune Erland, head of BIS Kompetansesenter.Further, the competence centre provides an exten-sive management training programme, courses onproject planning and management, employeemanagement and health, environment and safety(HES) matters, as well as the recruiting of opera-tors and managing of trainees. “In line with our

‘competence cares’ vision as the key to ourbusiness strategy, systematic and ongoing

employee skills development enjoys highpriority. This strengthens our competi-tiveness and bonds trained employees

to our company,” explains Kurt HaraldAase, director of human resources at BIS

Industrier.

The participant numbers testify to the strong inter-est being shown in these courses: between 2002and 2008, the BIS Industrier-Kompetansesenterregistered a total of 3,828 participants in over 60courses. During the past ten years, more than1,200 specialists from within the company under-went training, together with some 130 traineesjoining the company for the first time. In recogni-tion of these results BIS Kompetansesenterreceived the “Competence Award 2007” from thelocal government. Looking forward to the future,Kurt Harald Aase has this to say: “This year, wewant to extend our training programme for skilledemployees, among other things. To this end, wewill be using our special offshore training facilityin Sandnes.” This facility is primarily used to train,scaffolding assemblers and painters, under realis-tic conditions, to prepare them for deployment onoil and gas rigs.

Initiative-driven success Since 2005, the Polish company BIS Multiserwishas been doing much to promote the officialrecognition of the professions of industrial insula-tor and industrial plumber. Explains ManagingDirector Marian Siwon, “In Poland, the professionsof industrial insulator and industrial plumber aredefined by law. However, the statutory job descrip-tions are no longer adequate given the massiveincrease in customer requirements with respect tomaintenance work.” To establish these two pro-fessions in Poland, BIS Multiserwis opened a train-ing centre in 2005. This was followed by intensiveefforts to secure accreditation by the Ministry ofEconomics and Education, involving the submis-sion of detailed descriptions of the job require-ments including the necessary skills, an analysis of market requirements and statements by inde-

Paul Matthews accepting the award in recog-nition of his achievements from MartinaCooper, Hudson HR and the sponsor of theaward, as well as Stephen Jardine, ScottishTelevision, at a gala dinner in Glasgow.

Tailored personnel development

Local training specifically targeted at technical employees

In November 2008, Paul Matthews, Director ofHuman Resources of Aberdeen-based BISSalamis, received an award in recognition of hisparticular achievements in Human Resources. Ata gala dinner attended by 600 guests,he receivedthe “HR Director of the Year Award” from “HRNetwork”, the leading Scottish publication onhuman resources and training. The awardacknowledges the outstanding strategic contri-bution which he made to the company’s suc-cess. As Director of Human Resources, PaulMatthews is responsible for over 2,000 BISSalamis employees and in this role exerts adecisive influence on the entire company’s per-formance. This also applies to his commitmentto the BIS Skills Centres in Aberdeen and Norwich (see report on this page).

What is particularly praiseworthy is PaulMatthews’ excellent relations with BIS AG.Thus, he actively participates in HR activitiesat the Group level, helping to shape it as aparticipant in the international HR networkand in addition supporting the Junior Man-agement Team, BIS AG’s training programmefor young potentials. The recognition of BISSalamis’ successful HR activities is seen asmarking a favourable signal affecting theentire BIS Group. As part of the WesternEurope division, BIS Salamis plays a key rolein securing and extending BIS AG’s leadingposition across Europe. “It is only through the outstanding achievements of our employ-ees that we are able to reach our ambitioustargets,” says Dr. Rudolf K. Jürcke, a memberof BIS AG’s Executive Board. “We are there-fore extremely pleased that Paul Matthewshas received this award, and we congratulatehim as well as the entire management at BISSalamis on his success.”

Prestigious awardIntensive training in rope access supported workis provided by the Skills Centres of BIS Salamis.

3

New trade association for industrial services

Sector gaining in statureLeading businesses providing modern industrial services have founded their own tradeassociation. The Wirtschaftsverband für Industrieservice e.V. (WVIS), headquartered in Düssel-dorf, was established with the aim of representing the interests of this high-growth industrysector, to engage in the formulation and further development of standards, for example inthe area of occupational safety, and to promote a positive image of the industry sector to thewider public, said Thomas Töpfer, speaking in his capacity as Chairman of the ManagementBoard of the WVIS.

As a result of the dynam-ic growth in this indus-try sector, the asso-ciation is facing a range

of tasks, according to Thomas Töpfer. Prime amongthese were active communication about thebreadth and scope of the industrial services sector.He added that modern industrial services coveredthe entire life cycle of a production plant, theassured quality and reliability of the services, aswell as the efficiency and availability of a plant. Theassociation would be making a contributiontowards positioning the industrial services sector asa reliable and indispensable partner for industry. Itsaim was to offer all businesses specialising in theprovision of industrial services “an umbrellaorganisation and a forum for their concerns”.

The association’s statement points out that thecurrent low level of production capacity utilisationdue to the economic situation represents a specialopportunity to implement plant maintenance andoptimisation measures. In recent years, capacities

had been utilised to the limit in many sectors of the manufacturing industry as a result of theeconomic boom. Periods of lower capacity utili-sation provide an opportunity for businesses tomaintain and upgrade their plant and manu-facturing equipment carefully. The capital invest-ment required for this purpose is not only mana-geable, it also helps preserve assets and keepthem in good working order. Moreover, innovativeservice concepts and even intelligent outsourcingmodels can also make a contribution towardslower costs in the long-term, and to minimisingrisks in the production process.

The foundation members of the WVIS e.V. are BISAG, Voith Industrial Services Holding GmbH (Stutt-gart) and MCE AG (Linz/Austria), with a combinedworkforce of around 55,000. The sector representsa market volume of about 20 billion euros inGermany and about 100 billion euros Europe-widefor outsourced industrial services for the processingand manufacturing industry. Their Internet addressis www.wvis.eu.

Employer encourages workforce to provide for old age

Early retirement will be no more of a luxury infuture than it is now. However, extending theperiod of working life on the one hand andfacilitating early retirement on the other calls fortimely provisions to be made. For most BIScompanies in Germany, therefore, the new BISLifeTime programme was introduced at thebeginning of this year. Owing to the necessary taxand social insurance law related requirements, theprogramme cannot be easily migrated to othercountries, but it does provide general guidance onhow employers and employees can adapt todemographic trends.

On behalf of the companies taking part in the pro-gramme in Germany, the Central Works Counciland the Central HR Division of BIS AG joinedforces in launching the programme to provide forold age. Speaking on behalf of the Central WorksCouncil, its Chairman,Volker Böhme, emphasised:“We know from our many and various contactswith employees just how important it has becomefor each individual to provide for old age. We’reconvinced of the need to adopt new approachesin this particular field in future.”

With financial backing from the employer, theBIS LifeTime programme enables provisions tobe made for early retirement in spite of aworking life prolonged to the age of 67. Eachemployee in a permanent position, after passingtheir probationary period, can voluntarily arrangefor so-called value accounts to be kept, intowhich time and/or remuneration com-ponents can be contributed. The pro-gramme to provide for old age is spon-sored by the employer in an amount ofup to 300 euros per annum. The creditbalance established over the years isused to acquire a claim for exemption fromservice. If the value balance is not used for anexemption from service, then the funds will bedisbursed after mandatory tax and social insur-

ance deductions have been made when theemployment relationship comes to an end.

The value balance is protected from insolvencywithin the scope of a fiduciary construction.Moreover, the statutory regulations serve toensure that the amounts invested will be fullyavailable for the exemption from service. It isworth stressing that participation in the pro-gramme does not represent a decision to opt for

early retirement. Nobody needs to forfeit theirfreedom to make a decision until they areready to retire. “The programme is intendedto give assistance with sponsorship fromthe employer in building a bridge to

retirement,” says Timur Tavas, General Agentand Head of the Central Human Resources &Services division, “and the financial buffer set up provides the necessary leeway for decision-making purposes.”

To Chief Financial Officer Joachim Rödiger therisk management system, which was furtherenhanced in 2008, is an indispensable pre-requisite for sound, responsible corporate man-agement. The risk management system helpsdetect signals indicating risks to the companyand allows counter-measures to be introduced atan early stage. Joachim Rödiger: “We imple-mented our risk management in the form of astandardised process which helps us manage theBIS subgroup, identify and analyse risks andcounter them proactively.”

Risk assessment is carried out by means of a struc-tured questionnaire. The management of thoseBIS companies which together account for 70 per cent of Group performance were surveyeddirectly. Assessments specific to specialist areaswere also obtained by including the central headsof those divisions in the survey. The divisionheads made their assessment of the relevantmarkets on a cross-border basis. In all, the approxi-mately 1,100 survey questionnaires returned pro-duced a meaningful database for the risk reportoverall. In addition to, and independent of thissystematic survey, the advent of the financialcrisis and the economic slump have given rise toa supplementary assessment.

Web-based survey in futureIn its highly condensed form, the risk manage-ment system facilitates the production of assess-ments of relevant risk factors both for individualdivisions and for the Group as a whole. Thescope covers general economic conditions aswell as industry-sector and company-specificparticulars. Following the launch last year, futurerisk surveys will be carried out on the web on aregular basis and will include all the companieswithin the Group.

How quickly individual business risks can take ongreat significance is shown in a study by Ernst &Young focusing on central Europe. For example, theitem “Deepening of the recession” appears for the first time this year on the list of the ten mostserious commercial risks. It is also considered anexpression of the declining trust on the part of thegeneral public for the “reputation risk”, which canaffect entire sectors. To Joachim Rödiger, the studyconfirms the value of a risk management system:“Just as with an early-warning system, we make useof the special expertise within the Group to identifyand assess risks. Recognising these early indicatorsprovides us with vital scope for action, rather thanfinding ourselves surprised by developments as theyunfold.”

Standardised risk management process introduced

Early-warning system detects vital signals Using the scope for actionIn this view, the actual management of risksentails making use of the scope for action pro-vided by having the system in place. If an analysisshows that the company is exposed to structuralrisks, it follows that measures will be required tocounter the risk and at least minimise any dam-age that may occur. Moreover, the documentationof risks – however early in the process – shouldlead to an agenda on how to counter the risks in question.

In the event of acute dangers, such as during thefinancial and economic crisis, what counts for the CFO is speed above all. Keeping a close eyeon customers’ payment practices, and followingup on overdue receivables in particular, were notexpressions of inappropriate suspicion. He saidthat especially during difficult economic times,every business would accept the fact that thepayment risk had to be limited and appropriatesafeguards taken. Precautionary measures such

Meaningful data helps CFO Joachim Rödiger in thedecision-making process. Even more important tohim are the consequences drawn from it.

as prompt billing and appropriate terms ofengagement would also help prevent too muchcapital being tied up in orders placed.

The slump in the global economy in the wake of the dramatic financial crisis towards theend of last year represented highly pertinent confirmation for the management of BIS AGthat systematic risk management is a valuable tool in tackling potentially criticaldevelopments at an early stage. Accordingly, after the first risk assessment in September2008, the potential effects of the financial and economic crisis were immediately analysedin November, so that the results could be taken into account in the budget planning for 2009in the so-called risk report.

The new trade association WVIS was introduced to the press during the MAINTAIN trade fair.From left: Dr. Ing. Reinhard Maaß, Managing Director, with Management Board members Martin Hennerici,Thomas Töpfer (Chairman), and Ludger Kramer.

Single-source procurement

Through its strategy of offering customers “indus-trial services solutions”, Bilfinger Berger Indus-trial Services is making a sustained contributiontowards achieving a higher profile for mainten-ance services as an independent, solutions-basedindustry segment and has earned a prominentposition within the processing industry both inGermany and internationally. The chemicals andpharmaceuticals industry are part of the corebusiness for BIS. The ACHEMA therefore repre-sents an important platform for the BIS Group asan industry forum for leading companies in thechemicals, petrochemicals, biotechnology, phar-maceuticals and food industry sectors, as well asfor the power generation and refinery market. Thejoint presence of BIS AG and Group companiesBIS E.M.S., BIS Industrieservice Mitte, BIS Indus-trieservice West, BIS Prozesstechnik, BIS Rohr-leitungsbau and Peters Engineering centresaround a mixing plant – consisting of all therequired piping, pumps, valves, container vessels

and a steel supporting structure togeth-er with the relevant instrumentationand control equipment – designed togive an overview of the range of servi-ces and capabilities of the companiesrepresented here. The plant demon-strates a fluid circuit incorporating stor-age, transportation, dosing, blending,measuring and monitoring functions.Short slogans presented on “digitalpicture frames” also list the Group’srange of standard services as well asdrawing attention to the more special-ised services on offer.

Driver for innovationThe chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectoris one of Germany’s leading industries.The chemicals industry in particular isgenerally considered a driver for inno-vation. For a multitude of other industrysectors, it is by far the biggest supplier ofnew materials such as lightweight yetstable plastics for the automobile industry,for which it also acts as a source ofinnovative ideas. New materials, compo-nents and new chemicals allow othermanufacturers to develop innovative pro-ducts with enhanced properties, like new-generation thermal insulation panels forthe construction industry. Moreover, innovations inthe chemicals industry help streamline productionprocesses and make them more cost-efficient andenvironmentally sound.

Disruption-free operation of processing plant andequipment in the chemicals and pharmaceuticalsindustry requires the deployment of innovativeservices solutions as well as highly qualified per-sonnel. Representing the broad spectrum of expertiseavailable within the BIS Group are the Groupcompanies attending the ACHEMA industry fair.These companies are introduced individually below,along with selected highlights within their respectiveareas of expertise.

4

Processing industry meets at the ACHEMA

Broad range of services underlines BIS competence

asic and advanced vocational training is ofprime importance for the Munich-basedcompany BIS AG, and this topic is therefore

also featured in their presentation at the trade fair.Industrial maintenance is a field with greatpotential for the future, offering a wide range ofcareer prospects – for potential job applicantswith professional experience as well as forapprentices and university graduates. The companybundles its broad range of personnel developmentmeasures under the virtual umbrella of the BIS

Academy. The spectrum covers everything frominterdisciplinary centralised courses right throughto decentralised activities for employees in thetrades that are carried out on location. The Groupof companies is investing heavily in its workforce,because a high level of professional qualificationsis a vital prerequisite for achieving further growthon the basis of having efficient work teams. It is afundamental requirement especially in a young,high-growth and innovative sector such as indus-trial services.

Career opportunities with a good future

he two Frankfurt-based BIS companies BISProzesstechnik and BIS IndustrieserviceMitte, both headquartered at the Höchst

industrial park, are the leading services providers forthe processing industry and the energy sector. Some800 employees look after customers operating bothnationally and internationally in the chemicals,pharmaceuticals and food sectors, in biotechnology,waste disposal and the energy sector.

BIS Prozesstechnik specialises in maintenance ser-vices for machinery and drive equipment, the ser-vicing of valve equipment as well as the planning,maintenance and calibration of E/I&C and analyticaldevices and equipment. “We take care of the effect-ive, long-term implementation of a well-designedmaintenance concept,” explains Dr. Stefan Stieler,managing director of BIS Prozesstechnik. “All thenecessary services can be provided from a singlesource.” E&IC and analysis engineering is based ina centre of competence for measurement tech-nology servi-ces which handles the planning anddesign, instal-lation, maintenance and inspection ofprocess anal-ysis equipment, clean-room qualifi-cation, the servicing of laboratory equipment forHPLC, GC, scales, pipettes and a laboratory for theworld’s largest Feldbus multivendor facility.

The machinery and drive technology divisionrenders services relating to the planning, mainte-nance and installation of all rotating equipment.

The manufacture of three high-quality, mobiletitanium vessels by BIS Industrieservice Mittewas a custom design in accordance with thecustomer’s specifications.

Magnet for visitorsThe ACHEMA presents an overview of compre-hensive solutions for entire process technologybranches which – according to the organisers ofthe trade fair, DECHEMA – is unparalleledanywhere in terms of its breadth, depth andtopicality. Some 4,000 exhibitors from 50 coun-tries have registered to date. The ACHEMA willoccupy 8 halls as well as an outdoor area, a netexhibition floor space of 140,000 m2 in total.Around 180,000 visitors from 100 countries areexpected to attend the fair. The second mainstayof the ACHEMA is a conference with a programcomprising 925 presentations, special and guestevents, podium discussions, expert forums andplenary presentations – a programme reflectingthe full diversity of processing technology today.This year’s theme for the ACHEMA special eventis: “Chemistry and biotechnology of regenerativeraw materials and sources of energy”.

Bilfinger Berger Industrial Services (BIS) targets the proc-essing industry both nationally and internationally, and offersa comprehensive range of services to the chemicals andpharmaceutical sectors in particular.The BIS Group comprisesmore than 80 companies, including some with very specificcompetences. At the ACHEMA trade fair, which opens itsdoors from 11 May to 15 May 2009 in Frankfurt/Main andwhich is seen as an important international meeting place forthe processing industry, BIS AG and six of the Group’scompanies will be representative of the broad spectrum ofexpertise available within the BIS Group.

T

Visit us between11 and 15 May 2009at our display inHall 9.2, booth J33-J35

Visit us between11 and 15 May 2009at our display inHall 9.2, booth J33-J35

B

5

The growing area of valve equipment servicing(workshop-based service as well as mobile on-siteservice) is also part of the division’s wide range ofproducts and services. One speciality of the divisionis a pool of equipment for lease that comprisessome 15,000 items of equipment. The pumps andmotors division has been using tried-and-provenfull-service models for years. These models helpcustomers achieve high levels of plant availabilitywhile optimising costs.

Maintenance and the assembly and installation ofequipment in the fields of mechanical engineeringand E/I&C as well as specialised workshop servicesare the areas of special expertise provided by BIS Industrieservice Mitte. The scope of services they offer covers everything from detail enginee-ring and prefabrication via assembly/disassemblyright through to equipment commissioning, includ-

ing all services associated with plant engineering.The company develops bespoke packages of solu-tions for customers incorporating its expertise ininsulation, scaffolding, noise control, apparatusengineering, corrosion protection as well as plas-tics, films and fabrics.

The expertise of the Apparatus Engineering divisionof BIS Industrieservice Mitte includes the pro-cessing of special materials such as titanium foruse in applications in the chemicals and pharma-ceuticals industry. This BIS company has manufac-tured and supplied three high-quality mobiletitanium vessels, including agitators and electricmotors, custom-built to suit an individual cus-tomer’s requirements. The titanium vessels weredesigned using CAD modelling technology. Elasticgrinding equipment was used to produce a surfacefinish of Rz ≤ 0,8 μm.

Cooperation wins outaintenance and the assembly and installa-tion of equipment in the fields of mechani-cal engineering and E/I&C as well as the

provision of specialised services are also core areasof expertise for the BIS Industrieservice West,company based in Düsseldorf. Other important areasare insulation, scaffolding and corrosion protection.This BIS company will be completing a merger withBIS HIMA in the course of this year, and this willresult in the perfect combination of traditional com-plementary packages in the areas of technical con-struction services (scaffolding, insulation, corrosionprotection), interior finishing and industrial facadeswith E/I&C and mechanical engineering services. Thecooperation between the two companies with a com-bined workforce of 600 is already well established asa result of their joint management.

BIS Industrieservice West and BIS HIMA have demon-strated their ability to work with other BIS companiesin the past. They are aiming to build on this ability infuture. “We see ourselves not so much as a providerof individual services in the future, but as a businessspecialising in the bundling of our comprehensiverange of competences within the Group of compa-nies,” says Joachim Weber, Head of Sales/ProjectManagement with BIS Industrieservice West. Thisapproach is evident in the Toho Tenax project: Thisleading European supplier of carbon fibres is cur-rently expanding the Heinsberg production facility yetagain. Having installed Unit 3 in the year 2006,

resulting in an increase in the annual carbon fibreproduction capacity by 1,500 tons, from the previous1,900 tons, Unit 4 is already under construction. Itwill boost the volume of production by a further1,700 tons of carbon fibre annually.

And, as they did three years ago, Toho Tenax isagain entrusting BIS companies with a wide rangeof specialist services. BIS HIMA was responsible forthe entire E/I&C installation, as well as equipmentengineering, the installation of heavy equipmentand the manufacture and installation of the rollerblocks. BIS Rohrleitungsbau handled the construc-tion of all piping, with prefabrication on CNC tubebending machines carried out by BIS Industrieser-vice Mitte. Insulation was the responsibility of BISIndustrieservice West; technical building equipmentand services were entrusted to J. Wolfferts GmbH,which is part of Bilfinger Berger Facility Services.The project entails the installation of about sevenkilometres of piping throughout the plant, andabout 230 kilometres of cabling. Harald Hofmann,who supervises the installation work at the con-struction site for BIS Industrieservice Mitte, is verypleased with progress to date. “In addition to theBIS companies, my job is to accommodate the activities of another five service providers on theconstruction site. This requires a substantial amountof organisation and coordination. However, collab-oration with all the site managers for the variousservice providers has been outstanding.”

Acknowledged competence in planning

Perfectly timed prefabricationhe name says it all at BISRohrleitungsbau: the man-ufacture of plant and pipe-

work is what this BIS companyheadquartered in Bitterfeld doesbest. The company provides arange of services associated withthe manufacture and installation ofindustrial pipework for the che-micals and petrochemicals indus-tries and for the energy sector. Theservices include project manage-ment/project control, supply ofcomponents, piping materials, pipebrackets and special supports,installation, engineering, final docu-mentation, commissioning supportand coordination of associated ser-vices such as insulation, corrosionprotection and scaffolding. Anoth-er key competence is the prefab-rication of piping spools in thecompany’s own workshops. Threemanufacturing halls with a totalfloor space of 2,800 m2, an indoorcrane and a 3,000 m2 storage areawith crane track are available forthis purpose. The rental equipmentservice and calibration workshopoffers customers and affiliated com-panies a complete range of toolsand equipment (4,500 items) forwork on industrial piping. All toolsand equipment are tested, main-tained and provided with testcertificates in accordance withapplicable operational safety rules.

The Bitterfeld company’s compe-tence in all matters relating toplant and piping manufacturehave stood it in good stead whenit comes to establishing a fruitfulbusiness relationship with Linde in Pullach near Munich. Linde is currently buildinga new air separator unit for the steel manufacturerat the ArcelorMittal site located north of Bremen.This type of plant is used to extract gases, such as nitrogen and oxygen from the air. As part of the contract, Linde commissioned BIS Rohrlei-tungsbau to carry out the mechanical equipmentinstallation for air coolers, process vessels andpumps, filter systems, tanks and pipework.Associated services included in the contract arepainting, insulation, scaffolding and non-destruc-

tive materials testing. The insulation work ishandled by BIS Industrieservice Nord, andscaffolding by BIS arnholdt. “Work at the con-struction site is proceeding on schedule and willbe completed on time by August 2009,” accordingto Klaus Ehrhardt from Engineering/Sales of BISRohrleitungsbau. Prefabrication has been underway at the Bitterfeld facility since December 2008.The scope of the contracts provides for themanufacture and installation of about 270 tons ofpiping and brackets.

Individually tailored solutionsIS E.M.S., based in Cloppenburg, providesservices covering the entire life cycle of industrialplant. The range includes consultancy, devel-

opment, planning, manufacture, construction, instal-lation and commissioning, as well as maintenance.The company’s Buseck location specialises in theplanning, manufacture and supply of dosing pumps,loop mixers, odorisation systems as well as complexdosing systems.

Around 500 employees focus on individual customerrequirements at all times – both in the project and theservice business. Custom solutions involving every-thing from one-off services to complete, integratedservice packages are developed in close consultationwith principals in the natural gas and petroleumindustries and in the food and beverage sector. One

example is the project to optimise a newly developedcomponent unit for PVC production.A heated streamof gas containing the raw materials for the manufac-ture of PVC is fed into a quencher, a system designedto cool heated exhaust or flue gases, where it iscooled and partially condensed. The fluid streamcreated in this way contains both sludge and the inputproduct for the manufacture of PVC, which in the pastwas disposed of. To extract the product from the fluidstream, the existing quencher is replaced with aspecially developed column. A simulation model(ASPEN PLUS) is used to determine the optimal designand operating parameters for different grades ofsludge stream.Trend analyses are carried out, and theresults are evaluated and plotted in diagrams. Thisprocess allows the best design in terms of enginee-ring and commercial operation to be determined.

he Ludwigshafen-based BIS company PetersEngineering, with a workforce of about 360,is an important partner for the chemicals,

pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals industries. Thecompany provides highly specialised planningservices for plant and piping system construction. Ithas extensive know-how in IT as well as vastexperience in the deployment of innovative planningtools. Peters Engineering constantly endeavours tokeep abreast of the latest technological develop-ments. “The evaluation of new technologies,” says

Bernd Bodeit, with Eugen Heim joint managingdirector of Peters Engineering, “is a fundamentalrequirement for forward-looking, efficient planning.”

Which is precisely what BASF has been counting onfor years: Peters Engineering played a leading role inthe construction of a new citral plant at theirLudwigshafen location. Citral is the raw material forproducing vitamins A and E, carotinoids and a rangeof aroma chemicals. The new plant will produce40,000 tons of citral per year. Peters Engineering was

The planning of the pipework for a citral plant at BASF’s Ludwigshafen location represented achallenging task for Peters Engineering.

The mixing plant exhibit demonstrates the range of services offered by the BIS companies represented at the ACHEMA.

awarded the contract for the entire planning for thepipework – from the extended concept plan to thesubsequent detail engineering – and was respon-sible for the planning of most of the machinery andequipment in the detail phase. The PDMS planningsoftware was used in this project. The entireplanning effort covered about 2,300 pipes and220 items of machinery and equipment. The BIS company also handled the procurementengineering for the project. The large BASF projectpresented a number of challenges. One of themwas that the deadlines set by BASF were very

tight. The problem was overcome primarilythrough highly flexible personnel deploymentplanning. “The planning of the pipework was alsoextremely demanding,” reports Eugen Heim. “Theconfined spaces around the equipment and thelarge scale of the equipment and pipeworktogether with the high operating temperaturesmeant that we often had to come up with customsolutions. The use of state-of-the-art planningtechnology combined with the creativity andcompetence of the project team meant that weovercame these obstacles as well.”

M

T

T

B

6

C U R R E N T O R D E R S I N D U S T R I A L S E RV I C E S

CENTRAL EUROPEShell Hamburg BIS arnholdt GmbH, NL Nord Plant shutdown Block 1-3 Hamburg, Germany Erection of 230,000 m3 of Layher scaffolding system at three plants 02/2009 - 11/2009

at Shell Nord in Hamburg

Alstom BIS arnholdt GmbH, Karlsruhe Rheinhafen steam power plant Block 8 (RDK 8) Karlsruhe, Germany Erection of scaffolding 10/2008 - 12/2012

Technip Düsseldorf BIS Rohrleitungsbau GmbH, Bitterfeld; New Kero HDS Unit; Leuna, Germany Installation of 290 t of piping, incl. pipe supports; 09/2008 - 07/2009

BIS Industrieservice Ost, Leuna TOTAL Leuna insulation for a new desulphurisation plant

Linde Engineering, München BIS Rohrleitungsbau GmbH, Bitterfeld Air separator plant Bremen, Germany Installation of 280 t of piping, equipment installation 02/2009 - 09/2009

ROMGAZ BIS E.M.S. GmbH, Cloppenburg Construction of seven gas dehydration Romania Planning services, supply and installation of materials for the 10/2008 - 10/2010

plants in Romania construction of seven gas dehydration plants

Outec GmbH BIS OKI GmbH, Pforzheim Ma’aden – Saudi-Arabia Pforzheim, Germany Supply of more than 750 t of insulation for the world’s largest 09/2008 - 03/2009

sulphuric acid plant in Saudi-Arabia, engineering, supervision

Shell Deutschland GmbH BIS Heinrich Scheven GmbH, Erkrath Supply pipelines 2009 RRS Wesseling Wesseling, Germany Feasibility studies, planning and detail engineering, incl. all services; 2008 - 2011

800 m2 of reinforced concrete, 2,200 m3 of excavation; overhaul of

1,000 m of piping systems, some of it duplex steel 1.4462; pouring

of 900 m3 of concrete for four drainage basins

INEOS Vinyls GmbH, BIS E.M.S. GmbH, Cloppenburg Main contractor agreement for the handling Wilhelmshaven, Associated services: mechanical engineering, E/I&C, 01/2009 - 12/2011

Wilhelmshaven (Main Contractor); of maintenance work Germany insulation and scaffolding

BIS Industrieservice Nord GmbH,

Hamburg (Subcontractor )

WESTERN EUROPEExxonMobil BIS OHARE Ltd., Project and revision Fawley, UK 40,000 person hours for the construction of piping, steel work 01/2009 - 03/2010

Cheshire, United Kingdom and equipment; fabrication and installation

ConocoPhillips BIS Salamis Ltd., Loughborough, Maintenance agreement for the Immingham, UK Insulation, painting and asbestos removal for maintenance 2008 - 2011

United Kingdom Conoco-Humber refinery and shutdown service

INEOS Feluy BIS Industrial Services België N.V., Maintenance agreement for both Feluy, Belgium General scaffolding, insulation, supervision, asbestos removal, 01/2009 - 01/2010

Schoten, Belgium Horizon and Superflex projects noise control and fire protection services

Air Products BIS Industrial Services Nederland B.V., Europoort and Botlek industrial areas Rotterdam, Netherlands Contract for the provision of scaffolding, insulation and 01/2009 - 01/2012

Zwartewaal, Netherlands painting services in industrial areas

AkzoNobel BIS Industrial Services Nederland B.V., Maintenance agreement Delfzijl and Botlek, Scaffolding 01/2009 - 01/2012

Zwartewaal, Netherlands Netherlands

Isolux Corsán BIS Multiservicios Industriales S.A., Bio diesel plant Castellón, Spain Insulation for 38,500 m2 of piping; equipment and storage tanks 08/2008 - 02/2009

Madrid, Spain

Nervión Montajes BIS DIASA S.A., La Coruña, Spain Power station La Coruña, Spain 240,000 m3 of scaffolding for power station construction site 11/2007 - 06/2009

Navantia BIS DIASA S.A., La Coruña, Spain Ship newbuild Ferrol, Spain 150,000 m3 of scaffolding for ship newbuilding 11/2005 - 10/2009

Imasa, Sodes BIS DIASA S.A., La Coruña, Spain Cellulose plant Navia, Spain 140,000 m3 scaffolding for plant expansion 04/2008 - 03/2009

Metso BIS Prefal - Isolamentos Térmicos Lda., Boiler insulation Figueira da Foz, Portugal 28,000 m2 of boiler insulation 10/2008 - 05/2009

Lisbon, Portugal

NORTHERN & EASTERN EUROPEChemoprojekt BIS Czech s.r.o., Most, Butadiene, installation of columns Kralupy, Erection and insulation of 13 columns 11/2008 - 04/2009

Czech Republic and integrated equipment Czech Republic (700-Koch-Glitsch column tray)

BorsodChem Zrt. BIS Hungary Kft., Budapest, Hungary TDI-II project phosgene operation Kazincbarcika, Hungary 307 t of piping and 210 t of equipment components 09/2008 - 05/2009

Kronospan Romania BIS Hungary Kft., Budapest, Hungary OSB board plant Braşov, Romania Erection of 1,500 m3 of scaffolding, insulation and cladding 11/2008 - 03/2009

for 8,700 m2 sheet metal

Preem Petroleum AB BIS Isenta AB, Kungälv, Sweden PreemRaff 2008-2011 Göteborg and Lysekil, 50,000 person hours per year; maintenance agreement for 09/2008 - 09/2011

Sweden three years, based on two components and small projects on

construction units

Forsmark Gruppen AB BIS Isenta AB, Kungälv, Sweden Nuclear power station Forsmarks Östhammar, Sweden Power station maintenance; insulation, cladding and fire protection, 06/2008 - 06/2010

40,000 person hours per year

Ringhals AB BIS Isenta AB, Kungälv, Sweden Nuclear power station Ringhals Väröbacka, Sweden Power station maintenance; insulation, cladding and fire protection, 06/2008 - 06/2010

70,000 person hours per year

Foster Wheeler Energia BIS IZOMAR Sp. z o.o., Warsaw, Solvay Sodi Devnya, Bulgaria Insulation for 20,000 m2 of piping and boilers, 08/2008 - 01/2009

Polska Sp. z o.o. Poland 450 t of fire-proof lining, lighting enclosure

Timber Plant Barlinek BIS IZOMAR Sp. z o.o., Warsaw, Noise control for a plant Barlinek, Poland 47 ventilator enclosures 09/2008 - 04/2009

Poland

Vattenfall Heat Poland S.A. BIS MainServ Sp. z o.o., Warsaw, 24-hour stand-by service for five Warsaw, Poland Repairs, maintenance and analysis in all industrial areas 01/2009 - 06/2010

Poland co-generation power plants in Warsaw

and surr. region

Kurotec-Polska Sp. z o.o.; BIS plettac Sp. z o.o., Electricity-generating power station Bełchatów, Poland Scaffolding for anti-corrosion and installation works on 08/2008 - 06/2009

Fabryka Kotłów RAFAKO S.A.; Ostrzeszów, Poland desulphurisation plant in Block 858 MW; erection of 15,000 m2

INSTAL Warszawa S.A. of scaffolding for pump aggregate and industrial sewage system

KB Pomorze Sp. z o.o.; BIS plettac Sp. z o.o., Lotos refinery Gdańsk, Poland Erection of scaffolding for overhaul of piping system 09/2008 - 06/2009

Mostostal Warszawa S.A. Ostrzeszów, Poland for an elevated road

Boccard and Prochem S.A. BIS Multiserwis Sp. z o.o., Biotanol Goświnowice, Poland Scaffolding; insulation of 14,000 m2 desiccators and piping 11/2008 - 03/2009

Krapkowice, Poland

Mostostal Warszawa BIS Multiserwis Sp. z o.o., Anwil Włocławek, Poland Scaffolding; insulation of 29,000 m2 of equipment and piping 06/2009 - 05/2010

Krapkowice, Poland

TECHNICAL NOISE CONTROLSonelgaz BIS Gerber GmbH, Dortmund Hamma 2 Algeria Supply and installation of exhaust silencers 2009

MAN Turbo BIS Gerber GmbH, Dortmund Villa de Arnedo Spain Supply of intake systems and exhaust stacks 2009

Customer BIS companies involved Project name Place/country Service provided by BIS Implementation schedule

7

(sulphur content ~0.005 per cent). The move wasprompted partly by an increase in aviation fuelrequired at the Leipzig/Halle airport, and partly bythe growing demand for low-sulphur heating oilEL, which has been subject to preferential taxtreatment since the beginning of 2009.

The newly built plant will consist of fourmain components: a reactor, a strippercolumn and two reformer furnaces.Additional equipment includes air cool-er units, heat exchangers, tanks andpumps. At the end of September 2008,Technip and TOTAL awarded the con-tract for installation of equipment andpiping to BIS Rohrleitungsbau GmbH.The Bitterfeld company carried out workfor both companies in the past. Forexample, last summer BIS Rohrleitungs-bau together with other companies inthe BIS Group played a lead role in the refinery’s successful turnaround. Thecompany also participated in the con-struction of the refinery in the periodfrom 1994 to 1997. In addition, the Bitterfeld company, working togetherwith Technip Benelux was responsiblefor the construction of a hydrogen plantat the Schwedt refinery in 2002.

High-level coordination effortBIS Rohrleitungsbau stood out as a resultof its competence and know-how in termsof piping system manufacture and installa-tion in all their past projects. No doubt thesame will be true with the desulphurisationplant project at Leuna. Some 300 tons ofpiping to link individual plant components

TOTAL invests in Leuna refinery

Rising demand for low-sulphur heating oil

The annual capacity of the new desulphurisationplant, scheduled for commissioning in the autumnof 2009, will be around one million tons. In build-ing this plant, TOTAL Raffinerie MitteldeutschlandGmbH is responding to the growing demand forkerosene, and especially low-sulphur heating oil

and ancillary equipment will be manufactured andinstalled as part of the project. Prefabrication hasbeen in full swing at the workshops in Bitterfeld sinceOctober 2008. An average of 20 staff are involvedduring this stage of the project.

As part of the assembly and installation at the con-struction site, scheduled to take place in the periodfrom January to the end of May, the professionalsfrom Bitterfeld also implement comprehensive qual-ity control measures. Radiographic testing is used toexamine all welded seams for flaws. Following thesuccessful installation, the systems are subjected topressure and leakage testing, before the documen-tation is handed over. “Only once quality assurancetesting has been carried out successfully and the pip-ing systems are properly installed will the green lightbe given for the work of the insulation crews,” saidSven Narkus, Technical Project Manager for BISRohrleitungsbau. “The effort that needs to go intocoordination is correspondingly high. For every pip-ing system, the insulators must not only be scheduledfor the right point in time, but their time frame needsto be calculated precisely as well. This is becauseimmediately afterwards, TOTAL will begin the prepa-rations for the commissioning,” adds Klaus Ehrhardt,commercial project manager. All insulation work iscarried out by BIS Industrieservice Ost. As well asscheduling the insulation work, BIS Rohrleitungsbau

The new “New Kero-HDS” desulphurisation plant is currently being built at TOTAL RaffinerieMitteldeutschland GmbH. The engineering firm Technip is in charge of the project. BISRohrleitungsbau and BIS Industrieservice Ost are providing proactive support.

Assembly and installation of piping on the pipebridge started as early as December 2008. Thepipe bridge holds all the different pipes neededto link up the individual equipment components.

The reactor, measuring almost 20 metres in length andweighing 115 tons, travelled about 5,000 kilometers fromFrance before arriving at Leuna.

Thanks to many years of successful cooper-ation with ROMGAZ, the Cloppenburg-basedcompany BIS E.M.S. GmbH was awarded yetanother contract for the planning, construc-tion, supply and commissioning of seven gasdehydration plants. Satisfaction with theperformance of BIS E.M.S., its compliancewith safety requirements, and completion ofwork on time in previous contracts werecrucial in determining the customer’s deci-sion.

With an output of some 6 billion m3 a year – arounda third of Romania’s requirements – ROMGAZ isone of the country’s largest suppliers of natural gas.ROMGAZ had advertised a tender for additional gasdehydration plants in order to boost its capacities.BIS E.M.S. succeeded in gaining the contract forbuilding another seven plants against fierce com-petition.The contracts were signed in October 2008in Mediaş, Romania. Completion of the plants is

scheduled for 2009/2010.The scope of the contractfor BIS E.M.S. covers all the activities in basic anddetail engineering, procurement, construction, coor-dination with local partner companies in Romania,transportation, construction supervision, commis-sioning and documentation.

Good partnership As far back as December 2004, BIS E.M.S. signed afirst contract with the Romanian ROMGAZ Groupfor the supply of twelve gas dehydration plants.All the plants were successfully supplied, installedand commissioned without incident by the end of2006. ROMGAZ expressed a high level of satisfac-tion with the quality of the work performed underthis contract. “This successful performance wasmade possible thanks to the good cooperation inthe mutually beneficial partnership with ROMGAZas the customer and the local assembly companyINSPET,” a spokesperson for BIS E.M.S. pointed out.In June 2008, INSPET awarded BIS E.M.S. a four-

year contract for maintenance support for the twelve plantsit had supplied earlier. Thus BIS E.M.S. GmbH, which hasabout 500 employees, succeeded in completing a referenceproject in its very first contract. The company’s activitiesinclude engineering, plant construction and maintenance. BISE.M.S. initially earned its good reputation in the petroleumand natural gas industry, still one of the main fields of thecompany’s activities today. Since then this engineering ser-vices provider has been operating in many sectors, rangingfrom manufacturing to food processing.

The TOTAL refinery at Leuna, commissioned in 1997, is one of the most modern plants of its kindin Europe. Its annual capacity is around 12 million tons of crude oil. The refinery, which is themain supplier of petroleum products for the German states of Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony andThuringia, covers an area of around 250 hectares, the equivalent of 400 football fields. The facil-ity includes a distillation plant capable of processing about 30,000 tons of crude oil per day,desulphurisation plants, a reformer and a cracker, sulphur recycling plants and a power station,as well as a tank farm for crude oil and petroleum products, loading facilities and a wastewatertreatment plant. The refinery’s main products are petrol, diesel, heating oil, liquid gas, naphtha,aviation fuel, bitumen and methanol.

Good performance acknowledged

BIS E.M.S. awarded major contract by ROMGAZ

Main supplier for central Germany

Gas dehydration plants eliminatethe bulk of the water that naturalgas contains in the form of forma-tion water and condensation.Dehydration prevents corrosion andblockages in long-distance pipline systems.

Tech

nip

Tech

nip

is also responsible for the coordination of additionalservices, such as scaffolding. Undivided attention isgiven to occupational safety in this project as well,since accident prevention is a guiding principle forthe entire Group of companies: “Zero is possible”.

Heavy equipment unavoidableSpecial highlights during this project are the heavy-lift installation operations for the reactor, the columnand the air-cooling units. BIS Rohrleitungsbau wasawarded the contract for these jobs as well. The Bit-terfeld company and its partner, which specialises inthe installation of such plant components, won thecontract during the final stages of the negotiations.The success has vindicated all those involved.“In midOctober 2008, the almost 20-metre long reactorweighing 115 tons was put in place without anyproblems,” said Sven Narkus. Two cranes with indi-vidual lifting capacities of 650 and 300 tons wereused in the operation.

Shortly before Christmas 2008, a 37-metre columnweighing about 58 tons was unloaded at the site.Since January this year, the process of fitting the column with pipes, platforms, stair-heads and rail-ings has been under way. The next steps will involveall the electrical work, followed by the insulation ofthe column. At the end of March 2009, the column– its weight by then having increased to 103 tons –is expected to be moved into the plant on specialtransport vehicles and erected using a lattice mastand hydraulic cranes.

In early 2009 the three air coolers were installedalso. They weigh between 15 and 51 tons, and werealso erected by means of hydraulic cranes. Immedi-ately prior to the scheduled completion of the pro-ject, a further challenge will come in the form of thetwo reformer furnaces that need to be installed.Klaus Ehrhardt: “The furnaces will arrive in separatesections. Including the steel chimneys, the furnacesreach a height of 50 metres. During the core instal-lation period, around 100 employees covering allthe services will be working at the construction site– 50 of them will be welders and pipe fitters.

8

The Achim natural gas compressor station owned by ExxonMobil Production Germany GmbH(EMPG) is undergoing a comprehensive overhaul and upgrade. The work includes thereplacement of the exhaust gas lines. Three BIS companies shared the responsibility for thework: BIS E.M.S. as main contractor, and BIS Gerber and BIS Industrieservice Nord as sub-contractors. All three companies work closely together.

The city of Achim, located about 20 kilometres fromBremen, is one of the economic powerhouses innorthern Germany.The city is also home to the Achimnatural gas compressor station of EMPG, a subsidia-ry of the world’s biggest U.S. oil corporation,ExxonMobil. The purpose of compressor stations is to compress the gas arriving at the station, i.e. toincrease the pressure lost during transportation toprevious levels, before the gas is transported onwards.

The plant in Achim consists of four compressoraggregates. It has been in operation for about 30years – which means the time has come for a com-plete overhaul. EMPG awarded the contract forthe overhaul of the compressors to MAN Turbo,based in Oberhausen. Man Turbo, for its part, isentrusting the work to replace and simplify/stand-ardise the exhaust stacks of compressor units 3 and 4 to the competence of BIS. BIS Gerber, ofDortmund, is responsible for the design, manu-facture and supply of the exhaust lines. The dis-mantling and removal of the old exhaust lines andthe installation of the new exhaust stacks iscarried out by BIS E.M.S., based in Cloppenburg.The insulation work is handled by BIS Industrie-service Nord, of Wilhelmshaven. BIS E.M.S. is themain contractor for this project, despite the factthat MAN Turbo Oberhausen is one of the keyaccounts of BIS Gerber. The reason: “BIS E.M.S. hasbeen working closely and successfully with EMPGfor over 30 years,” explains Jens Sülzle, Head ofSales of noise suppression jackets/exhaust systemsfor BIS Gerber: “As BIS E.M.S. is also in a directcontractual relationship for other conversionswhich the end customer, ExxonMobil, we decidedto let central communications run via BIS E.M.S.”

Complex preparationsEven though the two companies, BIS Gerber and BISE.M.S., had rarely been in contact in the past, the collaboration was very open and constructive rightfrom the start. This ability to work together soonbecame an absolute requirement, as the prepara-tions for the project, which is headed by JosefBrundiers from BIS E.M.S., turned out to be moreextensive than usual. “The lead-up work needed toprepare a binding quotation alone was difficult andtook about half a year,” said Roland Päplow, Headof Mechanical Engineering and fully authorised offi-cer [Prokurist] of BIS E.M.S.: “Because of the age ofthe plant, we only had a very limited amount of datato work with.” Jens Sülzle from BIS Gerber adds:“Prices and warranted specifications were based ondifferent types of turbine, and their accuracy couldtherefore not be verified. It was only by taking meas-urements at the construction site and performingreverse calculations that we could produce approx-imations of the real, original data.” These measure-ments and evaluations were also carried out by theTechnical Head of BIS Gerber, Thomas Meyer. Theoriginal data was verified by taking measurementson the new turbine in the testing bay, at a time whenUnit 4 was already being built.

The collation of the data, meetings held on site inAchim, and drawing up of the dimensions werehandled jointly by BIS Gerber and BIS E.M.S. Prepa-ration of the layout and the engineering drawingswere the responsibility of the design department ofE.M.S. In the next phase of the project, the exhauststacks for compressor units 3 and 4, each measur-ing about eleven metres in height, were manufac-tured by BIS Gerber.

Deployment of of heavy-duty equipmentFollowing the calculation and planning phase, theproject presented yet another challenge. The existingrecuperator on compressor unit 4 had to be replacedwith a “normal” exhaust stack. After a preparatoryphase of three weeks, the technical personnel fromBIS E.M.S. and BIS Industrieservice Nord hadsucceeded in dismantling the insulation andremoving threaded bolts and anchoring points. “Theoperation to lift the recuperator, which weighedabout 35 tons, out of position had be carried out withgreat precision, so as avoid the risk of damaging theroof of the structure,” explained Roland Päplow. Acrane with a lifting capacity of 400 tons was used toremove the recuperator, and then to put the newexhaust line in place, and the operation went withouta hitch. Thanks to the lower weight of the newexhaust duct it was possible to use the existing steelstructure within the building. Once the new exhauststack was anchored in place, it was time to assemblethe piping and fastenings. The last step saw thespecialists from BIS Industrieservice Nord install theouter insulation of the exhaust stack.

Follow-up order in the bagThe BIS threesome has completed the work on com-pressor unit 4. Despite the difficulty in obtaining therelevant data for the dimensioning, the new exhaustline manufactured by BIS Gerber was a perfect fit, andall the work within the project was completed onschedule and without accident. The replacement ofthe exhaust line for unit 3 commenced in February2009. The three BIS companies received a specialimpetus in terms of motivation in the form of a letterof appreciation from MAN Turbo, praising the pro-fessionalism of their work. Among other things,the letter stated that, “Our customer (EMPG) hasexpressed appreciation for the work we have done todate, and we would like to share this compliment withyou and take the opportunity to thank the entire teamfor the work done on this project to date, which hasexceeded our expectations. We will contact you in

coming months to discuss a possible follow-up orderfor the Achim compressor station.” This follow-upcontract has since been signed. It provides for thissuccessful BIS trio to be responsible for the replace-ment of the exhaust lines for compressor units 1 and2 as well.“The scope of delivery is identical,” said JensSülzle, from BIS Gerber. “What will be easier this timeis the planning phase, since the original data fromunits 3 and 4 can be adopted here. All that will be required before we have the go-ahead for the production is a final control measurement on site,to ensure that the new units 1 and 2 actually areidentical.” The projects carried out at the Achimnatural gas compressor station are likely to representthe starting point for a closer working relationshipbetween BIS Gerber and BIS E.M.S. Thanks to thesuccessful completion of their contracts, the twocompanies have already intensified their level ofcooperation. “This connection could well endure inthe long term,” said a visibly pleased Roland Päplowfrom BIS E.M.S.

The operation to lift the 35-ton recuperatorwent smoothly, as did the installation of thenew eleven-metre exhaust terminal.

Highly successful collaboration between three BIS companies

Overhaul of natural gas compressor station

Located in the province of Granada in southern Spain, the world’s largest solar power stationis currently undergoing trials. Collectors spread over an area of more than 510,000 m2 –equivalent to 70 football fields – use the sun’s radiation to generate enough emission-freeelectricity to supply up to 200,000 people. BIS Multiservicios Industriales S.A. from Spain andBIS Multiserwis Sp. z o.o. from Poland were also involved in the project. The two BIS companieswere responsible for installing thermal insulation on the large-diameter piping system.

The Spanish and Polish BIS affiliates were responsible for insulating the large-diameter pipes during the construction of Andasol 1.

World’s largest solar power station going into operation

Solar energy from the south of Spain

Conditions in the southern Spanish province ofGranada could hardly be more favourable: the sunshines on more than 320 days of the year, cloud-freeskies in the summer with temperatures often soaringto over 40°C, and plenty of space, as the elevatedplateau of Guadix is otherwise used only for a smallamount of agriculture. Moreover, like countries suchas Italy or Greece, Spain is located in the world’s sun belt, making it an ideal place to build a solarpower station.

able technology and has been in commercial use inCalifornia for over 20 years.

But the US is not the only place where parabolictrough technology is important. Further power stationsof this type are planned in Spain. Looking ahead overthe next two years, 15 more projects are set to startup. Already under construction are Andasol 2 andAndasol 3, each designed to deliver the same outputas Andasol 1. Whereas these two facilities are stillbeing built, construction of Andasol 1 was completedlast autumn. The contract awarded to the Spanishcompany BIS Multiservicios Industriales S.A. and thePolish company BIS Multiserwis Sp. z o.o. by the Span-ish construction group Cobra Plantas Industriales andthe SENER engineering company comprised theinsulation of the large-diameter pipelines. This coverspiping with diameters ranging from 15 to 61 cm. Thesteel pipes were insulated using two layers of mineralwool, enclosed in aluminium cladding.

Insulation protects heat transfer oilAll told, the two BIS companies provided 11,000 person/hours at the construction site, supplying40,000 m2 of mineral wool and 61,500 kg of alu-minium cladding. While the Spanish BIS employeeshandled the procurement and supply managementfor the materials as well as the prefabrication of thealuminium cladding, their Polish colleagues wereresponsible for installing the thermal insulation. Goodinsulation of the pipes is crucial for efficient operationof the solar power station. The heated thermal oil asclose to a constant temperature of 400°C as possible,because higher temperatures would cause the oil todecompose while a drop in temperature would makeheating of the water in the heat exchanger lessefficient.

Andasol 1, as it is known, wentinto trial operations at the end of2008. With an output of 50megawatts, the plant is able tosupply around 200,000 peoplewith electricity for a year. Theenergy is to be used primarilyduring peak periods in summer,when air-conditioning systems inSpain are turned up to full power.The set-up is perfect, in that theperiod in which electricity con-sumption is highest – the earlyafternoon – is also the time atwhich solar radiation is at itsstrongest, and the solar powerstation therefore achieves itsmaximum output.

Andasol 1 uses trough-shaped reflectors which focusthe sun’s rays onto a pipe running along the collec-tor’s focal point. The pipe contains a heat transferfluid which absorbs the sunlight and is then used toproduce steam by means of heat exchangers in apower station block. As with conventional power stations, the steam is used to drive a turbine whichgenerates the electricity. In this way, the sun’s ener-gy can be used efficiently and inexpensively. Para-bolic-trough power generation is a recognised, reli-

One particular challenge posed by this project was thesize of the construction site: the materials had to bedistributed across an area of 2.25 km2 with absoluteprecision in terms of timing and location. ExplainsAntonio Martín Arroyo of BIS Multiservicios Indus-triales: “We unloaded the insulation material as closeas possible to each pipe. and two employees wereresponsible for distributing the rest of the equipmentand the cladding material. In this way, we were ableto avoid any interruptions to the work flow as a resultof a shortage of materials.”

The sun – an infinite source of energy

The energy potential of the sun is practicallyinfinite. Each year, it sends around 1.08 billionterawatt/hours of energy to the Earth’s surface,which is the equivalent of 60,000 times theelectricity requirements of the entire globe. Thismeans that solar energy has the greatestpotential of any source of renewable energy.Thecritical advantage is that the sun’s power isavailable precisely where the power station islocated, so that it is only necessary to invest inthe construction of the power station and thetransportation of the electricity, but not in theinfrastructure or logistics of fuel supply. Coun-tries located in the earth’s sun belt are par-ticularly suitable as sites for solar thermal powerstations. Not only does the sun shine morefrequently in these latitudes, but the intensity ofits radiation is also greater.The sun belt stretchesalong the equator between the latitudes 40degrees North and 40 degrees South, i.e.between South Spain and South Africa. Withinthe sun belt, deserts such as those in North Africain particular provide almost limitless space.

9

The law requires that all large-scale processing plants halt production and are shut downat 5-yearly intervals for the purpose of carrying out inspections, cleaning and maintenance.This general inspection and overhaul became due both at the Lanxess Rubber plant in Belgium and at the YARA ammonia production plant. BIS ROB Montagebedrijf N.V. wasresponsible for the maintenance work on piping systems in both these plants. In a thirdmajor project, the Belgians were able to successfully replace a 330-ton styrene reactor ata BASF plant in Antwerp.

BIS ROB, headquartered in Beveren near Antwerp,specialises in prefabrication, assembly, installationand maintenance of industrial piping systems. Atthe end of 2008, the company with about 560employees had the opportunity to demonstrate itsexpertise in two major plant shutdown projects.

The shutdown phase at YARA in the Netherlandslasted 21 days. The equipment at the Sluiskil loca-tion includes three ammonia plants, two nitric acidplants, two urea granulation plants, a prilled-ureaplant and two nitrate granulation plants. Thismakes YARA Sluiskil the biggest ammonia and fertiliser plant in Europe. During the shutdown,maintenance had to be carried out on one of thethree ammonia plants. The work involved contribu-tions from 45 different companies, including BISROB. Some 180 employees of the Belgian BIS com-pany worked on the shutdown and completed atotal of 29,500 person hours without accident. Inaddition to mechanical work, such as the removalof cladding and the opening and re-sealing ofequipment, BIS ROB was also responsible for allwelding on piping systems. This required the weld-ing of pipes with external diameters of 30 inches(76 cm) and a wall thickness of up to 45 mm. Sub-contractors were engaged to ensure that this taskwas carried out meticulously.

Tight timeline The second shutdown was carried out at the Bel-gian rubber production plant owned by the spe-cialty chemicals group Lanxess Rubber. In additionto the usual turnaround services, BIS ROB was alsoresponsible for the connecting of a new thermalpower plant to the existing steam network. Theturnaround represented a special challenge overallbecause, instead of the usual four weeks, the cus-tomer specified that the shutdown had to be completed in only three weeks. The great advan-

tage was that, since BIS ROB had also carried outthe preceding inspections, the company‘s special-ists were already familiar with the processes andthe organisation.

In view of the tight schedule, the different parts ofthe job needed to be organised with great preci-sion, and certain structures had to be defined inways that differed from the way it had been donein the past. One measure taken to deal with thetight schedule was to increase the number ofemployees working on the shutdown to about120. They worked 10 hours a day, for six days aweek. The next step was to plan the activities asaccurately as possible. “We prepared a total ofeight job folders and distributed them among thesite managers,” said Frans Fret, a work preparationexpert working for BIS ROB. The job folders con-tained the necessary isometric drawings as well asall the relevant safety and quality information.“The advantage of this system was that each sitemanager knew exactly what had to be done, thematerials needed, and the number of employeesthat were required for each activity,” explainedFrans Fret.

Louis Speek was given a special responsibility:the construction specialist, who was in charge ofthe project, assigned the necessary workers to theteams and supplied them with required materials.Each day he organised a meeting between theprincipal and the site managers in order to meas-ure progress. This allowed measures such as thedeployment of additional staff to be implementedquickly and efficiently.

Extensive testing procedures In order to keep within the restrictions of bothschedule and budget, welding and testing activitieson site were kept to a minimum. The bulk of the

welding work was therefore carried out off site.The result were so-called golden welds – weldseams that are subjected not merely to the usualwater pressure testing, but to special, expensivenon-destructive testing, using magnets as well asvisual examination. There was also radiographictesting, where X-rays and gamma rays are used toproduce an X-ray image of the part being tested.

BIS ROB was also able to demonstrate its compe-tence in the construction of piping systems inanother project. At the BASF chemicals plant inAntwerp, a styrene reactor weighing 330 tonsneeded replacing. The job the BIS ROB specialistswere asked to carry out was to disconnect the oldreactor from the existing piping, split it into twosections, and then install the new reactor. The vessel then had to be connected to the existingpiping system.

Connecting segments made tomeasureThe crew involved in this projectreceived instructions on the strictsafety precautions before the workstarted. This included the special pro-tective measures used for plasma arccutting, which was used to split theold reactor. This method allows thecutting of all materials that are elec-trical conductors, such as steel, nick-el, copper, brass, bronze, aluminiumand their alloys. Plasma arc cuttinggenerates high levels of UV radiationlikely to burn exposed parts of thehuman body. Special protective workclothing and a protective shield musttherefore be worn. There is also therisk of sustaining electric shocks dur-ing plasma arc cutting – especiallywhere workers come into contactwith the metal parts of the reactor, aswas the case with the BASF project.Special rubber mats were thereforeused to protect the BIS ROB workersfrom injury.

Once the old reactor had been splitand removed using a special crane,the new reactor vessel had to beconnected to the existing piping system. Initial measurements takenrevealed large differences in thedimensions of the connectionsbetween the new reactor and theexisting piping. “Nothing matched,neither in terms of height nor diam-

BIS ROB meets complex requirements

Plant shutdown projectscompleted in record time

eters,” said Etienne De Jonghe, site manager at theBASF construction site. “We had no choice but toproduce made-to-measure connecting pieces.”

The next challenge the BIS ROB experts were con-fronted with was the welding work. Due to the highnickel content in the alloy from which the pipeswere made, two workers had to work simultane-ously while welding each seam: one from the inside,the other from the outside.Another two crew mem-bers were needed to move the segments into theright position. And finally, there was extensivegrinding that needed to be carried out. Etienne DeJonghe: “It is thanks to the high level of the quali-fications attained by our fitters and welders that wewere able to deliver under this contract within theprescribed schedule and without the need for anykind of follow-up work to repair defects.”

Air Liquide, the manufacturer of gases for technical and medical applications, has been acustomer of the Dutch company BIS Industrial Services for more than ten years. Numerousprojects carried out successfully in the past have now resulted in the award of a mainte-nance contract for Air Liquide plants in four locations. The contract comprises the provisionof scaffolding and insulation.

Founded in 1902, the Air Liquide Group is the worldleader in gases for industrial and medical use. TheGroup has a workforce of over 40,000 in 75 coun-tries. The company produces primarily air gases suchas oxygen, nitrogen, argon, as well as noble gasesand hydrogen.

The Group thus also makes a contribution to themanufacturing of products we use every day: aswell as oxygen used in hospitals and by patients inhome-based therapy, ultra-pure gases for the semi-conductor industry and hydrogen for the desul-phurisation of combustion fuels, the company alsoproduces carbon dioxide for use in carbonated beverages.

Status and size of BIS Industrial Services instil trust

Air Liquide opts for quality and safety

BIS Industrial Services won the first order from AirLiquide more then ten years ago. Since then, theDutch BIS company has regularly carried out main-tenance and repair work on Air Liquide plants.Thanks to the positive track record, the gas manu-facturer has now decided to enter into a long-termmaintenance contract with BIS. Under the contractBIS Industrial Services will be responsible for allmaintenance activities as well as any plannedturnaround projects in Air Liquide plants. About20 BIS staff will be deployed to provide insulationand scaffolding services in the locations Bergen opZoom, Rotterdam-Botlek, Rotterdam-Pernis andTerneuzen in the Netherlands.

“BIS Industrial Services delivers services of a highquality and is able to respond flexibly in a range ofdifferent situations,” said Rolf Klein, ProcurementManager Benelux-North for Air Liquide Benelux, incommenting on the collaboration to date. And headds: “We only work with companies that are cap-

able of meeting our standards and have proventhemselves in the market in the past.”

A clear vote of confidenceWhat counts for the gas manufacturer are con-sistency and transparency in relation to the activities to be carried out. This includes that allwork is performed using the same methods in all locations. For Air Liquide, it is therefore anabsolute requirement that all scaffolding andinsulation work be carried out by a single contractpartner. Other important factors for Air Liquidemanager Rolf Klein are a service company’sknow-how and size: “BIS Industrial Services holdsmany major maintenance contracts through-out the industry. This creates a sense of trust.Thanks to the size of the company, we can beconfident that BIS Industrial Services is capableof handling any type of project.” Last but notleast, safety considerations were also a majorfactor in the decision in favour of BIS IndustrialServices as a services provider for industry.Thanks to years of experience, the BIS specialistsare well aware of the risks involved in work-ing with oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen at AirLiquide plants. “Safety is a top priority in ouroperations. The safety standards in force at BIS Industrial Services are a perfect match for our requirements,” stressed Air Liquide managerRolf Klein.

Rolf Klein from Air Liquide Benelux has a clearset of requirements in relation to professionalindustrial services providers. He has confidencein the competence of BIS Industrial Services.

The 330-t styrene reactor requires the use of a special crane atthe BASF plant in Antwerp.

10

Once again, BIS OKI GmbH and the Portugal-based BIS Prefal Lda. have successfully completed work on fitting out an LNG terminal with ultra-low-temperature insulation.As a result, the liquefied gas plant in Fos Cavaou on the French Mediterranean coast isnow set to go into operation in mid-2009.

The cooperation between BIS Prefal and BIS OKIstarted in 2004, when the two companies joinedforces for a project at an LNG terminal (LiquefiedNatural Gas) at Sines in Portugal. This was followedby an LNG project in Mugardos-Coruna in Spain,where the two BIS companies installed insulationcovering a total surface of 22,000 m2. The currentproject, a natural gas terminal in Fos Cavaou nearMarseille dwarves all the previous contracts, how-ever. The team was responsible for fitting the entirepipeline system as well as the tanks at the terminalsite with ultra-low-temperature insulation. More than240,000 person hours were needed to insulate a surface area of 52,000 m2.

However, the dimensions of the entire project arealso gigantic: it is one of the largest of its type inEurope. A terminal was built on a site covering morethan 75 hectares. The facility boasts a regasificationcapacity for an initial 8.25 billion m3 of LNG per year.There are plans to increase its annual capacity to16.5 billion m3. The gas is stored in three enormoustanks with a capacity of 100,000 m3 each. Shipsholding more than 200,000 m3 can be unloadedhere. To illustrate these dimensions: 150,000 m3 ofliquefied gas is sufficient to supply around 34,000households for one year.

Proven track record In addition to the large quantity of material requiredand the sheer size of the terminal site, the localconditions posed a particular challenge for the BIScompanies. These included the Mistral, a gale lash-ing the area at speeds of up to 150 kilometres anhour on an average of one to two days a week. “Ondays like that, the air is filled with sand, making itimpossible to work outside,” says José Gonçalves,Branch Director at BIS Prefal. What is more, thestrong wind makes for hazardous working condi-tions, as sheets of metal or insulation materials

could easily be hurled through the air. For this rea-son, a factory workshop was erected right at thebeginning of the project, directly adjacent to thebuildings where the piping for the terminal wasbeing assembled. A specially designed rail systemwas used to transport the pipes into the workshop.Especially pipes with a length of around 16 metreswere transported in this way. Inside the hall, theywere then coated with a multi-layer plastic hardfoam called polyisocyanurate (PIR), a particularlyrobust insulation material with extremely low heat-conducting properties that make it especially suit-able for ultra-low temperature insulation, wheretemperatures can go as low as minus 193°C.

The close and trusting working relationshipbetween the Portuguese company BIS Prefal and

Pipeline construction and insulation activities in southern France requireshelter from the Mistral.

Each of the three tanks at the LNGterminal can hold 100,000 cubicmetres of liquefied natural gas.

With an area of 75 hectares, the Fos Cavaou facility is one of the largestLNG projects in Europe.

its German affiliate BIS OKI once again played acrucial role in the successful completion of theinsulation project. Thus, the German company,based in Oberhausen, was primarily responsiblefor conducting the negotiations with the customerSOFREGAZ S.A., as well as for project manage-ment and supply of the insulation material. BISPrefal oversaw the operation on site. On average,150 BIS specialists were on duty at the construc-tion site on the Mediterranean coast, with this figure peaking at 200 at times. Looking back, JoséGonçalves is very pleased with the performance ofthe two companies: “With this contract, we wereagain able to demonstrate the two companies’competence, and we hope that we will be able tocontinue these joint efforts in other projects of thistype in the future.”

Rising demand for liquid gasNatural gas is the second most important source of energy after oil. Tra-ditionally natural gas, which is mostly sourced in Russia, is supplied toEurope via pipelines. However, Europe is increasingly looking for sup-plies of liquefied natural gas (LNG). There are several reasons for this.For one thing, natural gas production in the EU is declining steadily. Foranother, the unilateral dependence on Russian supplies is consideredproblematic, given the growing demand for natural gas. Moreover, it isnecessary to reduce CO2 emissions swiftly and on a sustained basis. Theuse of natural gas as a fuel is far less harmful to the climate than oil.

LNG is shipped in tankers from North and Western Africa, the MiddleEast, Trinidad and Tobago as well as Norway. Special gas import termi-nals are required for transferring the natural gas, which is liquefied bythe exporting countries for transportation by ship, to the pipelines. Fromspecial discharge cranes, the LNG flows through these pipelines intostorage tanks. As liquid gas has a lower volume, large quantities can bestored in these tanks and be held in reserve in the event of any supplyshortages. LNG is heated to revert to its gaseous form for supply asneeded.

In the fierce competition within the industrial services sector, technical know-how alone doesnot guarantee commercial success. The Spanish BIS companies BIS Multiservicios Industrialesand BIS DIASA S.A. are also ahead of their competitors by virtue of having the highest safe-ty standards throughout the industry.

The capacity to quickly assess and then eliminatethe risks inherent in certain situations and course ofactions in the course of a project requires a greatdeal of awareness on the part of employees at alllevels. The entire Group of companies is thereforeguided by the objective of making every effort toavoid incidents and accidents. The Spanish BIS com-panies have been facing up to this challenge con-sistently and with great success. As a consequenceof these efforts, in October of last year BIS DIASAbecame the first scaffolding company in Spain to begranted OSHAS 18001:2007 certification in recog-nition of the successful implementation of its safe-ty systems and other measures designed to protectthe health of its employees. The new standard foroccupational health and safety management sys-tems, OSHAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health

and Safety Assessment Series), was officiallyreleased at the end of July 2007. In comparisonwith OSHAS 18001:1999, the standard still in forceuntil 30 June 2009, greater importance is given tohealth protection under the new standard.

Awards speak for themselvesThe swift implementation of the revised standardfor occupational health and safety managementsystems serves as a good example of the effortsundertaken by the BIS Group in Spain in the areaof HSEQ. Moreover, these efforts have repeatedlybeen given recognition by customers. For scaffold-ing work carried out in Asturia, BIS DIASA waspresented with the Safety Award Of The Month forApril, July and October 2008 by the principalDuPont. In recognition for insulation work on the

Recognition from all quarters for Spanish BIS companies

Customers honour HSEQ effortscoking facility at the BP plant in Castellón, BISMultiservicios Industriales earned the award as thecompany with the best safety performance at theconstruction site for the month of October 2008.Iberdrola Generación congratulated several BISDIASA employees in writing for their exemplaryconduct in terms of occupational health and safe-ty in the course of carrying out scaffolding work.And finally, following the completion of mainte-nance, insulation and scaffolding activities at BASF in May 2008, the safety officers responsiblefor BASF Sonatrach PropanChem in Tarragona presented BIS Multiservicios Industriales with a“Certificate of Appreciation” in recognition of thetheir efforts to prevent occupational hazards.

Ramón Oliver, spokesman for the BIS companies inSpain, said it well: “Prizes and awards recognisingour efforts in the area of HSEQ represent confir-mation that we are seen as role models in theindustry. For us, this acts as an incentive as wellas an obligation for the future.”

Worker safety on scaffolding is a top priority forBIS. This is something customers appreciate.

Major project for BIS OKI and BIS Prefal in southern France

Proven team installs ultra-low-temperature insulation for LNG terminal

11

The trust which Procter & Gamble (P&G) places inthe BIS experts is now also reflected in severalawards. Thus, BIS Frucon Industrial Services wonthe “2008 Supplier of Excellence Award”, whichwas officially presented at the two-day suppliersummit at Procter & Gamble’s headquarters inCincinnati, to which 350 of the group’s total of80,000 suppliers had been invited. “This award

was presented for the first time in 2008 and we arevery proud of being one of the recipients,” saysAndy Donnelli, President and CEO of BIS FruconIndustrial Services. Rick Hughes, Vice President ofGlobal Purchases at Procter & Gamble, explainedthe background to the award: “We want to recog-nise the outstanding commitment and service ofour suppliers.”

BIS Frucon Industrial Services recipient of several awards

Industry Leading Performance areas of industrial services, maintenance, turn-around management and construction as well asplanning and engineering. Many other renownedcompanies in the US process industry alongsideProcter & Gamble also rely on the experience andexpertise of BIS Frucon Industrial Services.

Whereas BIS Frucon Industrial Services received the“Supplier of Excellence Award” for the first time,the St. Louis, Missouri-based company was presentedwith the National Maintenance Agreements PolicyCommittee (NMAPC) “Zero Injury Safety Award” forthe seventh time at the NMAPC Safety Awards Din-ner on October 29, 2008 at the National BuildingMuseum in Washington, D.C. This award recognisesthe fact that BIS Frucon Industrial Services completedits services at the Procter & Gamble plant in Iowa Citywith no accidents in 2007.

400,000 zero-injury person hoursThe high occupational safety standards are alsoacknowledged in the receipt of the “ConstructionIndustry Safety Excellence (CISE) Award”. Present-ed at the Annual Construction User Round TableConference in November 2008, this award recog-nises the joint safety programme which BIS FruconIndustrial Services pursues with Procter &Gamble at their plant in St. Louis. As a result, noaccidents have occurred in the past three years,during which the BIS Frucon Industrial Servicesexperts have completed more than 400,000 personhours. In addition, the “SafeStart Programme” wasimplemented with the aim of heightening each indi-vidual employee’s safety awareness and encourag-ing them to take the initiative in ensuring zeroinjuries.

BIS Frucon Industrial Services joined the BIS Groupin January 2008 and is one of the ten oldest companies of its type in the United States. Withjust under 2,000 employees, it operates in the

US company BIS Frucon Industrial Services Inc. received no less than three awards last yearas a result of their work for Procter & Gamble. The awards are in recognition of its outstanding performance and particularly also its industry-leading safety standards. Globalconglomerate Procter & Gamble is one of BIS Frucon Industrial Services’s most importantcustomers. For over 60 years now, it has been providing construction, industrial,maintenance and turnaround management services, among other things, at the 14 Procter & Gamble facilities across North America.

P&G awarded BIS Frucon Industrial Services the “2008 Supplier of Excellence Award” in recognitionof its outstanding services. From left: Jeff Koop, Senior Vice President and CFO of BIS; William R.Campbell, Director Global Capital Purchases at P&G; Andy Donnelli, President and CEO of BIS;Greg Fox, Senior Purchasing Manager, NA Capital Purchases at P&G.

B I S L O N G - S E R V I N G S T A F FG E R M A N Y25th Anniversary in 2009Andres, Werner 1 AugBabacan, Dilaver 1 SeptBaumgart, Brigitte 1 SeptBernhardt, Uwe 1 SeptBiedermann, Manfred 7 JuneBogatzki, Romuald 6 AugBraune, Simone 27 MarchBreuer, Klaus Bernd 1 AugBruneit, Dirk 1 SeptBuettner, Alfred 19 MarchBurghardt, Olaf 1 SeptButz, Ralf 1 FebČaušević, Fadil 1 AprCichonczyk, Herbert 27 JuneDietze, Jörg 1 SeptDressen, Erwin 9 AprEngel, Jürgen 9 JulyFehlau, Ruediger 18 JulyFinger-Oliva, Markus 1 SeptFischer, Volker 1 SeptFrank, Roland 1 AugGauger, Erwin 25 JulyGerhards, Holger 10 DecGerlich, Jörg 1 MayGiebels, Helga 1 JanGimber, Reiner 15 OctGimpel, Uwe 1 SeptGodo, Hans-Juergen 3 SeptGoergen, Hermann-Josef 25 JulyHanauer, Christof 1 SeptHapp, Rüdiger 3 SeptHarzheim, Klaus 1 JulyHeffels, Willi 1 OctHenn, Norman 1 SeptHeun, Alexander 1 SeptHoffmann, Heidi 8 OctInamoglu, Metin 1 SeptJacob, Andreas 1 AugJansen, Freddy 1 OctJungbluth, Inge 1 SeptKaya, Ramazan 30 JulyKlocke, Dirk 26 JuneKnopf, Peter 3 SeptKoch, Rainer 1 FebKopp, Karsten 10 SeptKorthals, Peter 1 SeptKratzer, Günter 19 July

Kremers, Hermann-Josef 10 SeptKrings, Anton 1 OctKrusche, Eberhard 1 DecKubel, Martin 1 AugKunert, Michael 1 SeptLauer, Peter 19 JuneLennartz, Heinz 1 OctLinnert, Walter 20 AugMeinzer, Joachim 13 AugMelder, Heinrich-Peter 27 MarchMirković, Dušan 9 JulyMustajbegović, Ismet 4 DecNauert, Gisela 1 MayPfannes, Roberto 1 SeptPinarbasi, Aydin 1 OctPoschen, Theodor 16 JulyPotthoff, Robert 6 FebPuljić, Boško 7 MayRabe, Bernd 1 SeptRadek-Lehmann, Frank 1 SeptRanko, Heinz Dieter 12 JanReuken, Arndt 1 AugRichter, Jens 1 SeptRichter, Jörg 1 SeptSchilcher, Friedrich 1 AugSchlebusch, Werner 1 AugSchmelz, Matthias 1 SeptSchmidt, Dieter 2 AprSchmidt, Klaus 1 AprSchmitt, Waldemar 3 DecSchneidewind, Thomas 2 JulySchöber, Ingo 16 JulySchubert, Herbert 1 SeptSchubert, Robert 1 SeptSepak, Ivan 3 SeptSeven, Manfred 2 JuneSollmann, Frank 17 DecSt Maria Schmeier,Alexander 1 SeptStolz, Dieter 30 JulyTekbicak, Pasa 1 SeptTerwei, Matthias 5 NovTheile, Jens 1 SeptThierjung, Harald 9 JulyTurpcu, Süleyman 1 SeptVocke, Holger 1 SeptVojnov, Svetomir 1 AprWagner, Klaus 1 AprWerner, Volker 1 Aug

Wessinghage, Gregor 1 SeptWiesmann, Lutz 1 AugWohlfahrt, Bernhard 1 SeptWoog, Rolf 1 FebZausinger, Maximilian 2 JanZielske, Michael 1 Sept

40th Anniversary in 2009Barkmann, Peter 1 SeptBerns, Klaus 20 NovBormann, Dietmar 1 SeptBorowka, Christoph 19 MayBruckner, Albert 13 OctBurgmann, Hubertus 13 NovChrist, Dieter 1 SeptDisque, Lothar 15 OctDrolic, Reinhard 1 AugDurović, Ljubisa 1 OctEberling, Peter 1 SeptEdelberg, Martin 29 JanFackelmann,Wolfgang-Dieter 29 SeptFieger, Franz 2 JanFinger, Horst 20 OctGeiser, Peter 1 DecGratzl, Karl 1 SeptGrüning, Bernd 1 AugGüttler, Waldemar 1 JuneHaase, Klaus 1 AugHamacher, Heinz 4 AugHauth, Werner 3 FebHenrich, Günter 1 JulyHensgens, Franz 4 AugHochmuth, Gerhard 1 SeptHochrein, Klaus 1 SeptHuber, Horst 1 SeptJansen, Helmut 4 AugKremer, Dieter 6 OctLambertz, Johannes 4 AugLang, Klaus 28 AprLechner, Dieter 1 SeptLiebrecht, Klaus 1 SeptMenz, Gottfried 2 JanMobers, Gerd 15 DecMueckschel, Franz 4 AugNeumann, Erhard 1 SeptNix, Hans 3 FebPalm, Siegfried 1 SeptPfaud, Peter 1 July

Piplak, Kurt 1 OctRicker, Peter 1 SeptRömisch, Manfred 1 SeptRücker, Werner 7 NovSchneider, Josef 1 SeptStevens, Dietmar 18 AugStickel, Franz-Peter 1 SeptStreubel, Manfred 1 SeptTurba, Günter Albin 1 SeptUhl, Friedhelm 1 AprWillhardt, Dieter 1 NovZdobinsky, Peter 1 SeptZender, Heinz 21 NovZuehlke, Klaus-Juergen 4 Aug

50th Anniversary in 2009Suckrau, Wolfgang 1 Apr

OT H E R C O U N T R I E S25th Anniversary in 2009B E L G I U M Antheunis, Jos 19 NovCordeel, Ronny 3 JanMarchouh, Mohammadi 1 OctSwerts, Guy 15 OctVan Exaerde, Werner 28 AugVan Rijswijk, Willem 3 JanVleeschouwer, Peter 3 Sept

U KBest, Clarence 1 MarchFisher, David 10 MayHaigh, Harry 30 AprMcDonald, Patrick 7 FebMorgan, John 1 JanSeddon, Peter 25 Apr

T H E N E T H E R L A N D Sde Hoon, Hans 8 Octde Vos, Adrianus 3 SeptKuijpers, Albert 8 OctLeeggangers, Franciscus 3 SeptMol, Chiel 15 AugRoossien, Alfred 9 JanTu, Jimmy 17 Decvan den Berg, Arie 20 FebVisscher, Berend 9 JanWedda, Jakob 10 Sept

Willemse, Cor 10 SeptWillemse, Hans 14 June

N O R W AYOlafsen, Johnny Olaf 20 AugSelfors, Svein Aksel 25 June

P O L A N DCzartoszewski, Andrzej 23 OctFidler-Szczepańska, Monika12 DecJeziorski, Zbigniew 1 SeptKordos, Roman 3 DecKościjańczuk, Kazimierz 11 JanKulikowski, Dariusz 23 OctPorębski, Krzysztof 5 JanSzostak, Tomasz 5 SeptTarkowski, Mirosław 11 MayZasiewski, Paweł 11 Sept

P O RT U G A LGonçalves, José 11 JuneSilva, Maria 11 Dec

S W E D E NGranskog, Leif 20 AugHansson, Bo 22 OctHedvall, Roland 15 DecMalmqvist, Mikael 1 DecNilsson, Joacim 26 NovNilsson, Gustav 1 Sept

C Z E C H R E P U B L I CBaldrych, Václav 5 MayPochobradský, Zdeněk 30 NovValeš, Milan 8 March

H U N G A RYEgresi, Sándor 16 JulyKocsis, Miklós 14 AugMeixner, Zoltán 4 Sept

U S AAly, Khalid 21 AugCampbell, Kenneth 1 JulyChristianson, David 4 AprClaverie, John 7 MayCoffey, James 4 SeptEllis, Matthew 19 MarchJackson, Terry 1 July

King, Shawn 27 AprLange, Carlos 11 JuneMitchell, Harrison 7 SeptPepple, Daniel 14 MaySchmidt, Francis 1 Sept

40th Anniversary in 2009T H E N E T H E R L A N D SLukasse, Dirk 8 Dec

N O R W AYKleven, Helge 27 Oct

P O L A N DBednarczyk, Krzysztof 20 SeptBiałkowski, Zdzisław 22 MarchBloch, Franciszek 14 JulyChełchowski, Kazimierz 2 DecKania, Henryk 23 OctKoluśniewski, Marek 23 JuneKowalewski, Jerzy 2 AprKuzka, Henryk 9 DecŁanczont, Zbigniew 24 JanMisiejuk, Zygmunt 3 AugObrembowski, Kazimierz 13 AprPasternak, Józef 20 MarchTopczewski, Marek 17 AugŻółtowski, Bogdan 4 Nov

S W E D E NPersson, Jan 10 Oct

S PA I NGarcia Colorado,Fulgencio 19 May

C Z E C H R E P U B L I CBuben, Vladimír 17 JulyVraný, Bofřivoj 16 May

H U N G A RYKoller, Istvánné 2 JanPócs, János 3 Feb

U S ASchenkelberg, Paul 16 Dec

P R O D U C T I O N C R E D I T S

Publisher:Bilfinger Berger Industrial Services AG, Munich

Responsible for content: Thomas Töpfer

Project management: Ullrich Esser

Editorial team: Ullrich Esser (copy and editing),Beate Kneuse and Susann Naumann (copy),Michaela Helm (assistant)

Editorial address:Zentralbereich Unternehmenskommunikation,Gneisenaustrasse 15,D-80992 Munich Telephone +49 89 14998-135Telefax +49 89 14998-277e-mail: ukomm@BIS.bilfinger.com

Internet: http://www.BIS.bilfinger.com

Reprinting with indication of source permitted.Please submit copy.

The is available in English, Czech, German,Hungarian, Polish, Spanish and Swedish.

12

BIS Industrier exclusive supplier of scaffolding services at Kårstø

Greater safety and efficiency for Norwegian gas terminal Over the next three years, Norwegian company BIS Industrier will be exclusively responsiblefor all scaffolding activities for the KEP 2010 project at Kårstø gas processing facility. Signedlast year with StatoilHydro, the contract provides for the delivery of all the equipment as wellas the provision of expert personnel.

Kårstø, which is located on the west coast of Norway, is a key centre in the gas industry,supplying many European countries, including Germany, with gas and gas condensate. The gasis extracted from fields located in the North Sea and fed into the distribution network via aterminal which went into operation in 1985.StatoilHydro, the largest supplier of gas to Western Europe after the Russian companyGazprom, is responsible for the technical opera-tion of the terminal. In addition, there is a gas-fuelled power station in Kårstø.

To render the site fit for the coming years, the“Kårstø Expansion Project 2010“ (KEP 2010)was launched last year with the aim of enhanc-ing safety and efficiency at the site. This consistsprimarily in modernising the plant facilities andequipment directly related to the Statpipe pipe-line system and the Sleipner gas field (see sup-plementary report). This equipment is to bebrought into line with the latest technologicaldevelopments. All told, the efforts to modernisethe gas terminal will cost 6.5 billion NorwegianKroner (NOK, around EUR 680 millions).

Working at great heightsBIS Industrier has been selected as the exclusivesupplier for all scaffolding work for the KEP 2010project. As well as supplying all the equipment, itwill also be furnishing the necessary staff, primarilylocal specialists. This is not an easy job for the BISIndustrier employees as 90 percent of the work willhave to be performed at great height, thus makingextreme demands on site safety. “We are very muchlooking forward to this job and will be giving it our complete and utter attention,” says Jens Chr.Terjesen, managing director of BIS Industrier.

With a term expiring in January 2011, the contracthas been signed directly with the Norwegian ener-gy group StatoilHydro, which is a major advantage,as Sigve Aaboe, director of tenders & contracts atBIS Industrier, explains. “Frequently, we operate as

Hungary receives the bulk of its gas deliveries fromRussia. The gas is pumped through long-distancegas pipelines via Ukraine to Beregdaróc. This townin eastern Hungary is located only a few kilometresfrom the border with Ukraine. A compressor stationthat has been in operation for 20 years compress-es the gas and pumps it into Hungary’s gas supplynetwork. Some of the gas also supplies neighbour-ing countries further south, such as Serbia, Croatiaand Bosnia.

To double the flow capacity of the pipeline fromUkraine, MOL upgraded the station with the addi-tion of three new compressors. These compressorsare capable of pumping around 30 million cubicmetres of gas into the country’s supply networkeach day. Of the three new compressors, two are inoperation, while the third is held in reserve in caseof an equipment failure. The responsibility for pre-fabrication, assembly and installation was given to

Large-diameter pipelines for compressor station in eastern Hungary

No compromises whenit comes to qualityIn an effort to secure the gas supply for Hungary and the neighbouring countries to the southfor the long term, the Hungarian oil and gas group MOL upgraded its compressor station atBeregdaróc. BIS Hungary was awarded the contract for the prefabrication and installation ofthe pipelines.

BIS Hungary, as the company not only has adequateexperience with large-diameter pipelines for the gasindustry, but was also involved in a project toincrease the capacity of the Beregdaróc stationsome years earlier. In this new project, which wascompleted in November 2008, the focus was on theinstallation of underground and above-groundlarge-diameter pipelines. The pipelines were madeof weather-resistant steel, with diameters rangingfrom 600 to 1,200 mm and wall thicknessesbetween 17 and 30 mm. The fittings were of simi-lar proportions, with the largest weighing 26 tons.

Good results out of workshopsThe work required a high level of organisationaleffort, as well as state-of-the-art welding process-es. Project Manager Lajos Szabó explains: “Pro-ducing some 1,300 welding seams on pipelineswith a wall thickness of up to 30 mm is not a simple task. As the pipelines were running close to

each other, the welders did not havemuch room to work in. Furthermore,time was short, and the qualitystandards in the gas industry arevery strict. The Hungarian BIS com-pany therefore decided to carry outthe bulk of the prefabrication not onsite, but in their workshop in Tisza-újváros – some 150 kilometers fromthe construction site. They succeededin welding 60 per cent of all theseams there. “This resulted in weld-ing seams of better quality,” said Lajos Szabó,“because neither rain nor wind nor cold hamperthe work. Moreover, at the workshop the pipelinescan be rotated, and this eliminates the need forworking overhead. The pipeline sections weighingmany tons were then transported to the compres-sor station by truck.

BIS Hungary also broke new ground in the weldingof the seams. While the root layers inside thepipeline were produced using the so-called WIGprocess (Wolfram inert gas welding), metal activegas welding using filled-wire electrodes wasemployed for the first time on the cover layers. Thewelders had undergone comprehensive training atthe company’s own welding training workshop inthe lead-up to the project work. “Filled-wire weld-

For more than 20 years many European countries have been supplied with natural gas and condensate via the natural gas processing plant atKårstø in Norway. This site, which also houses a gas-fired power plant, is to undergo modernisation over the next few years.

The pipelines and fittings for the new compressors are impressive in their dimensions.

ing is a high-performance welding process thatresults in better seam quality as well as greaterefficiency,” explains Lajos Szabó. “The high meltingrate not only speeds up the welding process, it alsoproduces better results.”And he adds: “The successproved us correct. In the 100-per cent radiographytesting, the seams were rated as ‘very good’.”

Some 35 welders were working during the peakperiod, and the entire project required between 40and 60 BIS Hungary employees. All the work wascarried out to a high standard of quality, on time,and to the fullest satisfaction of the principal. Andthe reward for this toil: BIS Hungary will be a lead-ing participant in the construction of Hungary’slargest gas storage facility in Szőreg.

Gas from the Statfjord, Gullfaks and Heimdal fields andthe Troll/Sleipner project is transported to Kårstø via theStatpipe pipeline system. This pipeline made it possibleto cross the Norwegian trench, which is over 300 metresdeep, for the first time. In Kårstø, propane, butane andbenzene are separated from the gas. The resultant drygas is then pumped to the Ekofisk complex through afurther part of the Statpipe system. The gas is then trans-ported from Ekofisk to the terminal near Emden via theNorpipe pipeline system. Statpipe has a total length of around 850 kilometres. Located some 250 kilometresto the west of Stavanger, the Sleipner gas field was discovered in 1974. In the years that followed, giganticrigs were assembled, with gas production commencingin 1996. Together with Troll, Sleipner is one of the largestgas fields in the North Sea. Whereas the processed gasreaches the European continent by means of a pipelinesystem, the gas condensate is transported by ship fromKårstø.

Gas from the North Sea

Øyv

ind

Hage

n/St

atoi

lHyd

ro

a subcontractor. In this case, however, we have theadvantage of direct contact with the customer. Thispermits more efficient communications, thus allow-ing us to gain a better understanding of the cus-tomer’s requirements. At the same time, the twoparties have greater scope for implementingimprovements and enhancing the consultationprocess.”

The contract, which includes an option for renewaluntil September 2011, is of great strategic impor-tance for the Norwegian BIS company. For onething, BIS Industrier was able to prevail over strongcompetitors while, for another, the company hopesto obtain further projects thanks to the protractedduration of this contract. As well as this, Kårstø hasa favourable strategic location for BIS Industrier asit is close to Haugesund and also Stavangar – “thecapital of Norway’s oil industry” as well as BISIndustrier’s headquarters. The company has suc-cessfully completed numerous jobs for the localindustry in the Haugesund-region in particular,where around 150 employees are assigned to long-term projects. “Here we have been able to demon-strate our entire expertise covering insulation andscaffolding as well as surface treatment and indus-trial cleaning,” explains Sigve Aaboe.