Explosion-proof enclosures stand the test of time at MCI Electrotechnics

A range of explosion-proof enclosures from Cooper Crouse-Hinds (CEAG) are being used by MCI Electrotechnics Ltd, a leading supplier of electrical instrumentation and control panels, to protect a variety of electrical equipment destined for offshore and onshore oil, gas and petrochemical applications.

Established in 1995, MCI manufactures, and if required, installs and commissions custom control panels and electrical equipment for both hazardous and non-hazardous environments around the world, including the North Sea, Middle East and Far East. The business has an annual turnover of around £4 million and employs 32 staff. The company's manufacturing plant is based in Dyce near Aberdeen and covers approximately 6,500 square feet.

MCI supplies a diverse range of electrical control systems, including motor control centres (MCCs), junction boxes, motor starters, control panels, distribution boards and CPFG (combined pressure fire & gas) panels. On the hazardous area side of the business, MCI offers customers two main types of explosion-proof enclosure for its products: a moulded plastic (GRP) EEx de version, as well as a range of metal (aluminium / cast iron) Ex d enclosures. All of these enclosures are supplied by Cooper Crouse-Hinds.

Impact-resistant GRP enclosures from CEAG provide increased safety protection for the components.

Using the CEAG moulded plastic Ex de enclosure, MCI assembles and mounts a variety of flameproof-encapsulated components, such as fuses, contactors, lamps, MCBs, switches and meters. These impact-resistant GRP enclosures provide increased safety protection for the components. Built up units include Ex distribution boards, control stations and motor starters, all supplied to European standards EN 50014 and EN 50018. The systems are ATEX-certified for use in Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 21 and Zone 22.

MCI also uses aluminium / cast iron CEAG explosion-proof enclosures for use with control panels, starters, junction boxes, MCCs, distribution boards and CPFG panels. MCI offers three versions of CFPG panels for A60 class modules, battery isolators and temporary power units. These ATEX-certified systems are suitable for use in Gas Group IIB installations, Zone 1 and Zone 2 areas, fulfilling the requirements of EN 50014 and EN 50018.

As Ian McIntosh, Managing Director of MCI comments: "We began using CEAG explosion-proof enclosures around 10 years ago. In that time, the enclosures have proved very reliable. We've probably only had to reject one or two units in the last 10 years, which is pretty impressive. For MCI and its customers, it is absolutely critical that the enclosures are reliable because we need to guarantee the safety of our products and help to minimise any downtime for the customer caused by faulty, unsafe equipment."

"CEAG enclosures are designed and manufactured to a high quality and the service and technical back up is also very reliable," adds McIntosh. "Even our customers sometimes specify that we use CEAG enclosures. They understand that CEAG is a respected, globally-recognised product in the oil and gas sector and they appreciate the quality of the enclosures."

In late 2009, MCI supplied a motor control centre for a drilling system to be delivered to an oil and gas exploration platform in the North Sea. The 10-metre long MCC panel was built in three sections, which in total use 52 separate explosion-proof enclosures. All of the enclosures were Ex d certified and interconnected by using 'barrier assemblies'. The entire unit has ATEX assembly certification. The remainder of the project was the build of Ex de moulded plastic lighting distribution boards. All units were EEx d certified for Zone 1 and Zone 2 areas.

As McIntosh explains: "We won the contract by offering the customer a very competitive price and delivery time for the MCC. We couldn't have done this without the support of CEAG, who was able to respond to our customer's requirements in terms of the enclosures. We believe that our delivery time of 16 weeks was almost twice as fast as any competitor could offer for this project. But without CEAG's support, we couldn't have met this timeframe."

In addition to supplying explosion-proof enclosures and other electrical equipment certified for ATEX environments, Cooper Crouse-Hinds also offers other hazardous area electrical equipment to IEC and NEC standards, as well as other international approvals for Eastern Europe, China and North America.

Cooper Crouse-Hinds (UK) Ltd in profile
As part of the Cooper Industries Group, Cooper Crouse-Hinds (UK) Ltd is the number one company in the field of explosion protection. Committed to technological progress, the company develops and manuactures a range of products that cover all the requirements currently placed on modern, explosion-protected, electrical installation technology, including illumination, safeguarding, signalling, controlling, instrumentation and distribution of electrical energy in potentially explosive atmospheres. In the company's production plants in Germany, England and Spain, the company manufactures a wide range of products for explosion protection.

Cooper Crouse-Hinds supplies products that comply with all the latest directives and standards - worldwide. In addition to systems and components built to ATEX standards, the company also provides solutions that have been certified to both IEC and NEC standards. Moreover, the company also has a large number of other national approvals, e.g. for Eastern European countries, China and North America. With Cooper Crouse-Hinds you can get all you need from one source.

For further information or for a free CD-ROM on Cooper Crouse-Hinds Enclosures Division (UK) Ltd, email: sales@ceag-crouse-hinds.co.uk

How safe is your electrical enclosure?

When it comes to selecting the right electrical enclosure for hazardous area applications, choosing a manufacturer that is in total control of its product quality on a global basis is essential, advises Richard Gipp of Cooper Crouse-Hinds Enclosures Division (UK) Ltd.

"For our Sheerness plant, customisation is the standard. 70 per cent of our output is specific to the customer. You could say we have a bit of a reputation for never saying no, regardless of how small the order quantity is," says Richard Gipp, Operations Manager at Cooper Crouse-Hinds Enclosures Division (UK) Ltd.

"Batch size is not a problem for us at all, as we will customise the enclosure to suit any application. And just as important, we are in complete control of the process, from enclosure design and fabrication, through to electropolishing, powder coating, assembly, quality and despatch. And the label says 'made in the UK' which is very important to some of our customers."

With more than 30 years' experience in the industry, Cooper Crouse-Hinds Enclosures (UK) Ltd manufactures a wide range of enclosures for hazardous areas and general industrial applications. 70 per cent of enclosures are customer-specific and 80 per cent is exported. The manufacturing plant in Sheerness, Kent is now the single largest user of 316 stainless steel in the UK electrical industry, processing around 600 tonnes of the material each year for its enclosures.

Due to the flexibility, variety and enormous size range available (from 40mm x 40mm x 15mm to 1800mm x 1800mm x 600mm), the Sheerness plant is not highly automated but instead prefers to rely on the craft skills of its 90-strong workforce. "Each enclosure is essentially hand crafted," says Gipp. "Our plant is a model lean factory and so we never make-to-stock. Every enclosure is made-to-order and we are therefore agile and flexible when it comes to providing solutions for customers. We've even been asked by our regional manufacturing advisory service to show local manufacturing firms around the plant, in order to help them visualise what a genuine lean manufacturing operation looks like and to learn from us."

"Because of our agility, our lead times for custom enclosures are very competitive and our quality consistent, which is critical in hazardous area applications, where an enclosure failure can have serious consequences for the customer and could put peoples' lives at risk," he adds.

The Sheerness plant also prides itself on design innovation. The latest enclosure for hazardous dust and gas applications is the Ex-CELL range of ATEX-certified stainless steel heavy-duty enclosures. Fully compliant with the impact, thermal and ingress protection requirements for hazardous areas, these enclosures are ideal for protecting electrical devices and instrumentation in hazardous gas or dust areas.

With Ex-CELL, the customer gets to choose from a wide variety of service fittings, including terminals, cable glands, breather drains and blanking plugs. In addition, control apparatus, measuring devices, instrument transmitters and fieldbus modules can actually be installed in the enclosure in order to provide a fully certified OEM solution.

The Ex-CELL enclosure has some very neat design innovations. The enclosure is mounted by using four heavy duty, 3mm thick surface welded stainless steel lugs. Bottom lugs are slotted for ease of mounting. These provide a secure, reliable means of mounting the enclosure. There's also a high integrity, one-piece sealing gasket, which provides an IP66 rating and excellent recovery and re-sealing properties for continuous environmental protection.

An integral drainage channel prevents liquids or other solid contaminants from running in or falling into the enclosure when the door is opened, which minimises gasket path contamination. The enclosure is available with up to four gland plates (3mm thick) on each side. Five possible combinations of 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 gland plates is available. All these are sealed to IP66 rating by a high integrity Chloroprene gasket and secured by rapid fixing 'Hytork' fixing bolts.

The standard cover on the enclosure has a quarter turn keyed lock fastening mechanism that provides a rapid means of achieving an IP66 rated seal for reliable environmental protection. A bolted cover and padlock option are also available. The enclosure is also supplied with an external and internal feed through brass earth/ground stud assembly, which enables rapid and reliable protective earthing connection. This is mounted on the side of the enclosure for ease of access.

"There are thousands of different options on the Ex-CELL enclosure, including window kits, a padlockable hasp, pockets for CAD drawings or rain canopy. We even provide special sloped or flush mount versions and large enclosures with double doors for protecting PLCs, large displays, air conditioning systems and fans. These are ideal for food and dairy producers, waste water treatment and harsh environment wash down applications."

Cooper Crouse-Hinds (UK) Ltd has a network of authorised local assemblers across the UK, who can provide custom assembled enclosure solutions on fast lead times.

For further information or for a free CD-ROM on Cooper Crouse-Hinds Enclosures Division (UK) Ltd, email: sales@ceag-crouse-hinds.co.uk