Innovation Zone

Our Projects Business Manager, Craig MacBeath, talks about the importance of being innovative within the industry

1. Why do you think it is important that ACE Winches continue to challenge current industry practices? How have you adapted to the evolving industry?

With the low oil price over the past few years, it has been a challenging time for Oil & Gas operators which has resulted in huge pressures on the supply chain, including us here at ACE.  All businesses dependent on the sector have had to think differently and adapt to meet changing customer requirements.  Within ACE, it’s essential we support our clients, through creativity and innovation, so that they can operate and deliver competitively and safely in a lower cost model. Our engineering team are involved from the early stages of project development, adapting technology of existing products, and delivering industry leading concepts and solutions specific to the client’s needs. With a focus on advancing existing products and services to elevate the company’s market position in an ever-evolving industry.

2. Can you give us an example of an innovative product you have recently designed and developed?

The most obvious innovation we delivered recently has to be the vertically mounted linear winch for the LLOG Buckskin project. Although using a linear winch is nothing innovative or new, having the ability to mount it vertically to significantly reduce the deck footprint made it a game changer for this project. With the reduction in footprint, and the speed that the pull-in could be completed, this provided a technical solution that was commercially advantageous against traditional chain jacks or a traction winch solution. The project was hugely successful and wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of our forward-thinking teams.

3. What opportunities have arisen as a result of this project? 

The LLOG Buckskin project provided us with research and data on vertical linear winch possibilities for riser pulls. It provided proof of concept for further developments, including contract awards for BP Mad Dog 2 and Shell Vito projects. The combined contracts for these two projects amount to a seven-figure sum. Without this proven solution we would not have won these contracts. Furthermore, following the kick off of these projects, and the delivery of early stage engineering to our clients, we are in discussions with various clients in Houston for future developments in the Gulf of Mexico. 

4. What does the future hold for ACE Winches and how will you ensure that you will continue to be competitive? 

As the industry recovers from the recent downturn, and more deep water projects get sanctioned, we will continue to be a solution provider, not only in the Gulf of Mexico, but other deep water basins such as Brazil. We are already engaging with clients for projects yet to be sanctioned for 2023 and 2024, which is fantastic news for the medium to longer-term outlook of the business and should help us grow our presence not just in the USA but around the world.

However, we must not become complacent and think linear winches are our only asset! We must continue to listen to our clients to adapt to new challenges that the industry brings.