Louisiana fire dealer predicts more wins

NORTHFORD, Conn., and LAFAYETTE, La.—Notifier by Honeywell recently announced that its Marine ONYX line, fire alarm systems designed for nautical environments, has gained approval for marine applications from the U.S. Coast Guard, Lloyd's Register and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).

The approval came after a series of rigorous tests, according to the Connecticut-based company.

Charlie Primeaux, project manager for the Fire & Safety Division of Louisiana-based Dynamic Industries, a Notifier Engineered Systems distributor, predicted the development will make it easier to win jobs by streamlining the approval process.

“We're excited,” he said. “It's nice that Notifier received USCG and ABS approvals on the NFS-320 and NFS2-640. These approvals definitely help during the submittal process [when we're bidding for jobs].” With the approvals in place, a company's bid can be vetted much more quickly, Primeaux said.

The core business of Dynamic Industries is the construction of oil production platforms and modules, he said. Its Fire & Safety Division installs and services fire and gas detection systems on drilling rigs and some fixed platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, South Asia and the Middle East, where it has an office in Bahrain, Primeaux said.

Fire protection is a requirement on drilling rigs and is “a very big part of our business,” he said.

He said fast and reliable fire detection is necessary because the offshore rigs are so isolated, “and the environment you're in can be harsh due to the presence of methane gas and crude oil—it can become very volatile.”

How the rigs are classed dictates how the system is designed. Most of the rigs Dynamic Industries works on must meet ABS standards or USCG standards, depending on the flagging and other information about the vessel.

In addition to gaining approval, Notifier said, its Marine ONYX systems “provide fast, effective fire protection fit for virtually any nautical environment, including oil platforms, luxury yachts, support craft and ships of every kind. The systems feature added protection against airborne particulates, moisture and electrical RF (radio frequency) interference commonly found in harsh marine environments.” The products also have built-in scalability so they can be used for applications that range from basic to complex, the company said.

Primeaux praised the durability of Notifier's products and added, “The thing we like about Notifier is it's a very user-friendly system and very reliable. I can get on the phone with a rig electrician and talk him through just about any type of trouble-shooting scenario there is over the phone. It's a very good system.”