Making waves through innovative engineering - A GLIMPSE INTO OUR WORK IN THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY

Did you get a chance to read our story on Seafood Saturday’s event website?

If not, have a read below as it looks into a small glimpse of what we do in this space.

Published by Seafood Saturday, an event brought to Nelson by Seafood NZ:

As one of New Zealand’s largest and most trusted hydraulic engineering companies, FPS is committed to delivering solutions that work. Since its founding over 20 years ago, FPS’ team of 35, including some of the region’s most skilled engineers and specialists have worked on a wide range of projects across many industries, including the seafood industry, in both the aquaculture and maritime space.  

FPS is proud to work with maritime and aquaculture companies across New Zealand and around the globe at times, supporting their clients’ needs with trusted, proven and innovative motion and control engineering. 

A history of good relationships 

Going above and beyond client needs and expectations is just one reason why FPS has been a go-to hydraulic specialist in the maritime and aquaculture industries. 

Just one of the many examples of FPS' tenure in the industry is Gary Allen’s (FPS' director, sales engineer and system designer) long-established history with Talley's – from one boat to their current fleet, has been there every step of the way and is excited to see the industry evolve to where it is today.  

There are many examples of FPS’s work with Talley’s over the years. One is when the entire inside of the Amatal Columbia had to be gutted and rebuilt, and a state-of-the-art, hydraulically driven factory from Norway was installed aboard the refurbished vessel. FPS built and installed all the pipe work for the refurbishment and when a custom 150 kilowatt power unit was needed to fit into a small space to drive the factory, this too was designed and built by the team at FPS.   

They also work with Talley's in their on-shore factories. When Talley’s upgraded its fish factory on the West Coast, the upgrade required the factory to be closed while work was carried out, so efficiency was key to getting systems up and running again. An FPS team of five worked into the night to complete the week-long job. The team modified the hydraulic ring main in the roof, refurbished the existing power-pack and fitted a new hydraulic pump, cooler and filtration system while also plumbing all the hydraulic drive motors on the new equipment. 

There for the long haul 

In many industries, ongoing service and maintenance is crucial to maximising efficiency, minimising cost and keeping staff safe. That’s why FPS offers customised Systemcare packages to service equipment and components and keep them running smoothly – minimising downtime. 

Talley’s are one of the many companies that uses FPS to carry out Systemcare contracts, undertaking oil analysis and monitoring of its nine fishing vessels on a quarterly roster.  

The FPS team carries out oil sampling across each vessel’s many hydraulic systems, then provides a comprehensive report with assessments and recommendations. 

New innovations in safety 

Sanford is another part of the FPS story. As part of the seafood company’s safety focus on its vessels, FPS worked with them to develop SafeStop, a ground-breaking system of safety solutions that integrate into hydraulic systems and significantly remove human error – stopping an accident occuring in the first place.  

Developed by FPS’ Gary Allen and the team at FPS using one-of-a-kind, tested and approved FPS marine-grade technology, SafeStop’s modules and valves can be built into a completely customisable safety system that is integrated into an operating system, depending on safety needs. 

By limiting user error, FPS and SafeStop can give maritime kaimahi peace of mind when working on the water (or in the factory), and the newly accredited systems are now standard on many of FPS’ maritime and aquaculture projects. 

These projects represent just some of the many ways FPS is involved in our seafood industry. The team at FPS look forward to continuing to deliver customised engineering systems that make our maritime and aquaculture processes safer, more sustainable and even more productive.