Proclad was established in 1985 as a division of a BI Group subsidiary company.

David Neill, managing director of Proclad International Limited, developed protective weld cladding systems to surface treat pipeline components used in highly corrosive metal loss environments such as the oil and gas, petrochemical and energy sectors.

The automated protective weld surfacing systems apply high integrity corrosion resistant alloys, including Alloy 825 and 625, Alloy C276 and C22, 300 and 400 series stainless steels, to a variety of substrates such as carbon manganese, low alloy, martensitic and ferric stainless steels.

Proclad was established as a separate company in January 2002 and relocated to new custom built premises in Glenrothes, Scotland.

The relocation is part of a major investment programme that will lead to a significant increase in capacity with over forty automated weld cladding stations being installed in the new premises.

In addition, the building of an extension to the new factory has just commenced which will incorporate specialised heat treatment, NDE, hydro-testing and shot-blasting facilities as well as providing increased floor space for pipe spool fabrication.

Proclad International's ongoing commitment to research and development has led to the company recently patenting a process for the manufacture of clad co-extruded pipe.

This process, called Proclad WEX, involves the extrusion of a clad billet in order to produce fully metallurgically bonded seamless pipe in 12 metre lengths, in sizes ranging from 2" to 30".

"WEX pipe offers superior weldability compared with other clad alternatives and is easily fabricated and can be used in manifold systems. Any instrument tap-ins that are required can be effected with no loss of corrosion resistance and WEX pipe can be easily threaded for use in downhole tubulars." Neill explains.

In November 2001 BI Group Plc took the first step in adding to the scope and capability of Proclad International by acquiring Induction Bending Services Limited, which is based in Sunderland in the North-East of England.

In December 2001, the next step in the creation of the Proclad International group of companies was the BI Group's investment in Hunting Park Engineering Limited, the only independent specialist fitting manufacturer in the European market and the principal supplier to operating companies in the North Sea.

The final link in the supply chain integration was put in place with the acquisition of Pipelines International Projects Limited by the Fil Group in January 2002.

The integration of engineering knowledge and product expertise will allow Proclad to handle every aspect of pipeline component design, manufacture and supply.

In order to emphasise the Proclad identity, the companies who have joined the group were renamed in June 2002 as follows: