Pattrick & Thompsons Ltd has installed what it believes is the largest treatment plant to be sited in any UK port.
The 18m-long vessel was big enough to cause the temporary closure of the Humber Bridge while en route to its home at Hull.
King’s Lynn-based Pattrick & Thompsons invested in the plant to keep up with growing demand for treated timber. About £500,000 has now been spent on the company’s treatment facilities at Hull since 1999.
Managing director Keith Arnett said: “Continued demand meant we had to review the whole operation with Associated British Ports and Osmose, resulting in the only real option being a larger diameter pressure vessel.”
The 2.8m-diameter plant can treat two to three stacks high – an entire articulated truck load in one process, giving the company an annual capacity of 100,000m3.
Osmose’s WorkNet software program has been installed to ensure optimum operation, while a hydraulic tilting system is designed to add to general effectiveness and efficiency.
Pattrick & Thompsons operates a contract timber treatment service for the many importers using Hull, offering Protim Clearchoice and Osmose Naturewood preservative systems.
The company originally installed a single treatment plant at the docks following the closure of Hunter Timber’s facility in 1999. A CCA plant was then added in 2001.
Both plants had to work 24-hour shifts to cope with demand. The CCA plant, converted to Osmose Naturewood at the beginning of the year, was replaced by the new vessel.
