Unique fire-resistant shelters simplify chemical plant's control system upgrade December 10, 2018 — Novel outdoor equipment shelters from Intertec Instrumentation have been chosen to help a leading European chemical manufacturer to upgrade its distributed plant control system. Constructed using unique composite GRP (glass fibre reinforced polyester) materials, four Intertec shelters will provide advanced fire resistance properties. This attribute will simplify the housing and protection of electronic control and instrumentation equipment at optimised satellite locations within the processing plant. Additionally, the GRP-based fabrication materials significantly reduces the weight of the shelters compared with traditional metal- or concrete-based constructions. In this application, this weight reduction will allow the plant operator to further optimise the positioning of the control system by mounting three of the shelters at height on steelwork frames. The shelters offer F60-rated passive fire resistance, providing a barrier to fire spread for 60 minutes. This is achieved by means of a unique composite material that combines GRP sheets with embedded layers of mineral wool. The shelters provide large interior floor areas up to 55 m2 (5 x 11 m). To help speed this plant upgrade project, Intertec is providing the plant buildings fitted with lighting, a raised floor to accommodate cabling, and ducting for the cooling air with a sophisticated downflow cooling system to protect the electronics equipment. www.intertec.info ENDS For further information please contact any of the company's European facilities: Intertec Instrumentation Ltd, 14a Riverbank, Lower Beach Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex BN43 5YH, UK. t: 0800 756 1102; sales@intertec-inst.co.uk Intertec Instrumentation B.V., Oerseweg 2b, 7071 PP Ulft, The Netherlands. t: +31 315 215 000; nederland@intertec.info Intertec-Hess GmbH, Raffineriestr. 8, D 93333 Neustadt, Germany. t: +49 9445 9532 0; info@intertec-hess.com - Ends - Background information on Intertec Intertec produces protective enclosures for field-based process instrumentation and control equipment, using glass fibre reinforced polyester (GRP). This material offers remarkable advantages for oil and gas applications (including natural corrosion resistance, low weight, extended durability for long life applications, much higher thermal resistance than metal – making it easier to insulate against heat and cold – and benign environments for wireless communications). A broad range of enclosures, cabinets and shelters, plus a comprehensive selection of accessories including heating and cooling components, protect against freezing, condensation, solar radiation/UV, explosion, fire, corrosion, impact, etc. Intertec has designed and shipped over a million instrument protection enclosures since 1965, to protect equipment operating in the most demanding operating conditions on Earth - from Arctic regions to deserts to harsh coastal and offshore environments. Application-specific protection may be configured using free software tools. Or, Intertec will configure a turnkey solution for clients, using know-how that has evolved over more than 50 years. Intertec manufactures in Neustadt (Germany), Sarnia (Canada), and Houston (USA), and also has an assembly and system building centre in Russia. www.intertec.info---Visit https://www.wordsun.com/news/pr/unique-fire-resistant-shelters-simplify-chemical-plants-control-system-upgrade/en for downloadable photos.