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Export champion - Shaun
McDonald, managing director
of surface preparation and
coating specialists ESCS.
T
eesside’s export experts ESCS
are targeting further overseas
breakthroughs in Japan, China, India
and Kuwait.
Twice winners of prestigious export
awards this year, the family-run
Middlesbrough firm design and build
specialised systems for surface preparation
and surface coating as well as corrosion
control equipment.
ESCS managing director Shaun McDonald
is targeting the Far East after gaining
approval from Kansai Paint to use the
Japanese company’s passive fire protection
material within the Tees firm’s innovative
ES430 PFP machine.
And more good news is expected to follow
with the successful conclusion of the ES430
by leading protective coatings firm Hempel.
At the same time, ESCS is close to
confirming a £300,000 deal to provide a
wide range of materials for the building of a
coating production plant in Kuwait.
The ESCS export success has been partly
driven by their self-built ES430, a passive fire
protection (PFP) machine that sprays thick
coatings of intumescent epoxy materials to
protect steel structures from the threat of
fire on refineries, chemical plants and oil rigs.
Their extraordinary breakthroughs overseas
were recognised by ESCS winning the Export
category in the Teesside leg of the North
East Business Awards, while they were also
crowned High Growth Markets Exporter of
the Year ahead of businesses from across the
north of England in the Northern Powerhouse
Export Awards.
McDonald said: “Both firms are big players
within the protective coatings market, so
approval from Kansai and Hempel will be
another significant step forward for ESCS.
“We’re the only firm in the UK and
possibly Europe with Kansai approval, so
we’re looking to target further expansion by
focusing on Japan and China.”
The ESCS team includes McDonald’s wife,
son and niece but they have gone global by
setting up distributors in Brazil, Singapore,
Malaysia and China, while they also have an
office in Houston, USA.
The past 12 months have seen the
company increase turnover by around
50% from under £500,000 to approaching
£700,000 – and more than 80% of turnover
is now driven by export sales.
From their base on South Tees Freight
Park, ESCS export to Azerbaijan, Singapore,
Bhutan, Dubai, Brazil, the United States,
Kuwait, China, Australia, United Arab
Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Iraq and
Europe.
Big future in
the pipeline
T
ees firm ESCS is in advanced talks to
provide in-situ pipelining services to the
UK’s major water companies.
A new name in the sector of in-situ
pipelining, ESCS Pipe Coating Systems
brings together Roger Clark, Steve Jones
and Shaun McDonald, three of the industry’s
most experienced engineers.
Boasting more than 70 years of experience
of in-situ spray application, the three
directors are close to agreeing two long-term
deals with the unnamed water companies.
The trio have created a one-stop shop for
those requiring the application of a protective
coating within the internals of static pipes
such as those that supply water to domestic
and commercial properties.
Once approval is received from the
Drinking Water Inspectorate, ESCS Pipe
Coating Systems will be the first company
to offer both the specialist paint and the
state-of-the-art machinery to carry out
the specialised jobs for worldwide water
authorities, as well as companies owning gas
or sewer lines.
While their main business is to rehabilitate
pipes for the supply of drinking water to
Water way - Success is in the pipeline for ESCS Pipe
Coating Systems directors, from left: Steve Jones,
S haun McDonald and Roger Clark
domestic and commercial properties, one of
the UK water companies is also keen to work
with ESCS on a product the Tees firm has
developed for sewage and raw water pipes
too.
“The potential market is huge,” said Clark.
“We’re already talking to companies in
the UK and overseas – including the USA,
Iraq and Libya – who are interested in the
flexibility we’re offering as a one-stop shop
for both material and machine.
“It means that whenever there’s an
issue, there’s no debate or confusion – the
customer comes back to us to resolve it.”
Jones added: “We’ll work with our clients
to help make them successful. There are
good products and machinery out there but
we’re the first to combine the two, which
we’re confident is an all-round better option
for the customer.”
The new company is part of Middlesbrough
firm ESCS, a worldwide manufacturer and
distributor of surface preparation and surface
coating equipment.