NEWS: Guest of honor at the SSPC India

Stopaq receiving award

7 December 2011

Mr. Frans Nooren, founder of Stopaq, was received as guest of honour at the SSPC India Congress (Protective Coating Soceity) and presented a life-time achievement award for his contributions to innovation in the pipeline industry.
Prof. Dr. Khanna, Chairman of SSPC India, presented the prestigious award to Frans Nooren before a large audience.
The award is a great acknowledgement by our industry for the company and its innovative technologies and products.

India is an enormous country where huge investments in energy infrastructure and development are underway.
The education level in the field of Corrosion engineering is high and offers great potential for future cooperation with Stopaq in areas of research & development.
Stopaq’s technology was well received by the over 200 participants attending the SSPC Congress. After several years of intensive testing, qualification and certification procedures, Stopaq has now received its product approvals and is poised for rapid expansion in the important Indian market.

Picture 3 is the Stopaq team, including our Indian colleagues Prakash & Prasad Bhandary.

Picture 5 is Frans Nooren receiving the award from Prof. Dr. Khanna.

NEWS: Stopaq in Australia

International Corrosion Congress & Expo

Perth was host to the 18th International Corrosion Congress & Expo taking place from 21-24 November 2011.

Stopaq Australia participated in the four day Congress and Expo to provide Australian Industry with a "taste & feel" of various STOPAQ materials.

Our participation included a detailed presentation to a technical committee regarding the development of Stopaq's technology, from inventor of the visco-elastic anti-corrosion technology through the creation of Stopaq's worldwide business and market leadership position.

The presentation was well received by an enthusiastic audience.

STOPAQ Australia wishes to thank all delegates that visited our booth with special thanks going to the members of the committees and the audience attending the STOPAQ presentation. We look forward seeing you again next year in Melbourne.

NEWS: BHR Conference Milton Keynes

Field Joint Coating

During the BHR Conference in Milton Keynes, 23-24 November 2011, STOPAQ presented a paper about Field Joint Coating Evaluation in relation to Cathodic Disbondment Tests, Aging and Costs.

The BHR organization took a practical approach to the Conference by requesting field joint coating suppliers to demonstrate their field joint coating systems LIVE to attendees.
Stopaq demonstrated four different field joint systems relating to different soil stress conditions. Applications included different mechanical protection systems featuring tape, sleeve, moisture curing glass shield and the insulated joint using polyurethane infill.
Participants were amazed by the ease and speed of the surface preparation, the overall application and the time to complete the field joint demonstration.

Stopaq looks forward to participating in the next BHR conference in Edinburg, Scotland, in September 2012.

NEWS:China visits compressorstation Gasunie

August 2011

Since 2007 Stopaq is active in China. Our partner of Stopaq China from Chengdu live the words Let's Stopaq the world. They are extremely successful in completing newbuilt pipeline projects and rehabilitation of joints.
This month the sales team has visited our training facilities in Stadskanaal and did receive a training-on-the-job at the compressorstation in Ravenstein (The Netherlands).

NEWS:Diesel Touring Car Cup Race

Marcel Nooren back to the front: winning the Diesel Touring Car Cup.

Stadskanaal, 3 july 2011

With a second and first place in the Diesel Touring Car Cup, Marcel Nooren from Stadskanaal took revenge in a powerful way for the setbacks in recent months.
At the Zandvoort Circuit he formed with his young teammate Maik Barten an almost unbeatable combination.

During the qualifying training session it did not fully work out for the man from Groningen as the seventh starting position for the first race was pretty disappointing. But after 100 minutes, the STOPAQ BMW 123d Coupé became second underneath the checkered flag. “I have to give also my teammate a great compliment. So young and still inexperienced and yet already so fast “, praised Marcel Nooren the only 20 years old Maik Barten, who has started this season with racing.

That the STOPAQ BMW team is now well balanced became clear in the second race. Marcel Nooren began the races again, but lost in the opening stages five places. “The other cars are clearly faster at the start of the race, but after a few laps we gradually gain advantage, “the Groningen man explained. He moved up very fast to the third place and passed the wheel to Maik Barten, who did not waste any time.
Swiftly the BMW team Molenaar/ Braams was overtaken and he could begin hunting for the leading Volvo duo Roeleveld / Baars. With a few laps to go Barten could take the lead with an excellent maneuver and remove the Volvo from the first place.
Marcel Nooren was pretty relieved with the excellent result. “Our car has proven to be consistently very strong in both races and therefore we can score so well. We now have 38 points collected in one hit, where we did in the four previous races only 12. We are now fully back in the race for the championship, “argued the driver of Stadskanaal.

NEWS: Factory Applied Stopaq

May 2011

NO MORE WEAKEST LINK

In cooperation with Ehri BV, STOPAQ has started the supply of Factory Applied Coating Systems based on STOPAQ Technology for anti-corrosion purposes and tough, but flexible GRE (Glass Reinforced Epoxy) for Mechanical Protection Reasons in case of high soil stress situation and where cathodic protection is an issue.
The system is called FAST (Factory Applied Stopaq Technology). It can be applied in the shop, but also on-site.
The advantages are multiple, above all, the field applied coating at the joint is made of the same system as the line pipe coating.

NEWS: OMC Ravenna March 2011

STOPAQ & IMPRESUB, an Award Winning team!

During the last edition of the OMC conference and Expo in Ravenna, 23 till 25 March 2011, STOPAQ presented their unique Subsea Technology.
The way the technology has been presented to the audience was reason for the jury of the OMC to appoint STOPAQ as winner of the award for the Most Dedicated Technology Display.

In a mobile dive unit IMPRESUB Divers presented the ease of application of the Splash-zone and Subsea system as well as the performance of it.
A team of STOPAQ technicians and sales managers was present to highlight and explain the technology and products.
Result of the presence at the OMC was excellent and above expectation. It showed the need for systems that can be easy applied and offering optimal performance. The reactions and feedback of the audience, and even colleges, was anonymous. All showed respect for the effort STOPAQ puts in their way of showing and experiencing.

NEWS: Stopaq Wins First Battle against Canusa

PRESS RELEASE

Stadskanaal, 3 March 2011


The Preliminary Relief Judge of the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands has ruled in favor of the private company Stopaq B.V. on all points in a legal dispute against Canusa related to Stopaq’s green patented visco-elastic anti-corrosion coating and sealing technology.

Canusa, part of the Canadian stockquoted ShawCor company, claimed before the Court that it intended to bring two new Wrapid Bond products (styled RB-11 and RB-22) onto the Dutch market. It requested the judge to order Stopaq to accept that these products were outside the scope of Stopaq’s patents and to refrain from making any comment that these products infringe such patents in the Netherlands.

The judge denied all of Canusa’s requests finding that Canusa had not substantiated its allegation that Stopaq had threatened to enforce its patents against Canusa or its customers in the Netherlands. The current patent infringement proceedings against Canusa in Germany do not equate to such a threat in the Netherlands. The Court further considered that Stopaq has no legal obligation to declare that Canusa’s alleged new products do not infringe Stopaq’s patents.

Commenting on the legal victory, Drs. J.F. Doddema, CEO of Stopaq stated: “We are obviously pleased with the court’s decision. The court emphatically rejected Canusa’s attempt to short-circuit our rightful protections under the law and force us to accept their alleged new products, when in fact we have no knowledge that any of these products even exist in commercial form. This was simply an effort on their side to distract us from the patent infringement litigation in Germany. We still feel very confident about our case.”

Stopaq’s patent infringement actions against Canusa alleging that Canusa’s Wrapid Bond product infringes its patented visco-elastic coating and sealing technology continue before the German patent courts in Mannheim.

NEWS: Stopaq Subsea Training Facility

Huge demand brought STOPAQ B.V. to develop an anti corrosion system that can be applied on submerged objects, and having all the unique properties we know STOPAQ products are famous for.
In this we succeeded and the positive reply of our clients made STOPAQ B.V. decide to build their own training facility where divers can experience the ease of application of the permanent corrosion preventive products under water.

The Subsea training facility is equipped with state of the art diving equipment and various kinds of applications can be simulated. Objects in the range from small diameter pipes, T’s and Joints onto huge K-knots are available for training of the
STOPAQ applications.

NEWS: BASF and STOPAQ join forces

BASF and STOPAQ join forces in entire prevention and thermal insulation package for offshore industry

BASF Polyurethanes and STOPAQ are joining global forces in the offshore industry. Together both companies will serve the offshore operators and contractors with an innovative and simple solution for protecting the valuable assets against the extreme elements.

Both companies have an excellent longstanding reputation, history and track record in the offshore industry. BASF is well known for the Nordstream Offshore Pipeline Project from Russia to Germany. STOPAQ has built its reputation around anti-corrosion protection of fieldjoints, risers, spools, land/sea pipes and j-tubes, especially in the Middle East (Safaniyah, Manifa and Karan projects). To better cater the needs of the offshore clients, the two companies are forming a marketing alliance to offer a one-stop shop for the entire corrosion prevention and thermal insulation package. This will offer the clients a great source for the protection of the valuable infrastructural assets.

The market demands safe, easy and green solutions, that last for as long as possible. That’s what the future of the supplied material holds in store. Mr. Lynam, Business Development Manager Oil & Gas of BASF Polyurethanes, says: “we see preventing corrosion and system integrity as our common mission”. Via this new common system, STOPAQ and BASF Polyurethanes can offer more control in all process steps from preparation, application and service to go beyond the design life. J.F. Doddema, CEO of STOPAQ says: “Safety is a big issue and our common responsibility. Dependency on heating guns to apply toxic product must be avoided. Working offshore means operating under harsh conditions. This needs a very applicator-friendly approach”. Both companies understand this very well. Therefore, this alliance offers clients a system which can be easily applied to any difficult to coat object. The system is very cost-effective, simple and easy.

For more information
BASF Polyurethanes U.K. Limited
Ian Lynam
Business Development Manager Oil & Gas
Phone: +44 1773 6011-24
Mobile: +44 7768 938 174
ian.lynam@basf.com

JF. Doddema
CEO
STOPAQ B.V.
P.O. Box 285
9500 AG Stadskanaal, The Netherlands
Mob.: +31 6 22 15 62 04
Email: frits.doddema@stopaq.com

NEWS: Rope Access

Stopaq Rope Access provides clients with a fast and easy application method for difficult locations.
Huge costs savings can be realised during the above sea level application of the Stopaq Splash Zone System.
Several Rope Access applicators are trained and certified at 8 meters high, 48” vertical pipeline at the Stopaq Training Center.

NEWS: New Patent

November 2010

STOPAQ is very pleased to announce that the Chinese Intellectual Property Office has officially granted our patent.

LIVE DIVING AT THE ADIPEC 2010

Ministerial visit to STOPAQ booth in ADIPEC

November 2010

With great succes, Stopaq launched the new subsea pipeline and splashzone pile repair system at the outdoor booth. In a special designed stand and diving tank, Stopaq divers demonstrated continuously the subsea surface preparation and application of the complete system.
Among the visitors were:

His Excellency Mohammad bin Dhaen al-Hamli, UAE Energy Minister,

His Excellency Awadh Al-Suqatri, Yemen Energy and Electricity Minister.

STOPAQ Shows Real Quality to PEMEX Mexico

Oktober 2010

From 18-22 October the SSPA Northern Sub-Management’s Pipeline Transport and safety week took place in Guadalupe Nuevo Leôn MEXICO. Stopaq partner GES impressed all visitors by showing the great performance of the original Visco Elastic coating materials by Stopaq.
Backed by a great history and track record, that goes back more than fifteen years ago, Stopaq has convinced PEMEX staff about the sustainability of the company, its products and its services.


In the meantime construction works on the new production line for Mexico are carried out. In the facility in Holland the engineers are working hard to get everything ready for shipment after successful tests runs are being carried out.

Stopaq at the CTDUT BRAZIL

November 2010

Stopaq: high technology anti corrosion coating

On the second day of the CTDUT Week, the Dutch company STOPAQ, along with its Brazilian representative Ciageral, presented its product line of anti corrosion coatings. With a very interested audience, the presentation had the attendance of technicians from Petrobras, Transpetro, Comgás, CEG, Interfibra, Tracbel and from Cenpes.

The event was divided into three parts: a speech introducing the product, an open session of questions and answers and the practical demonstration of product application.
“Stopaq is a corrosion inhibitor product which, once applied, protects the equipment – valves, pipelines, fittings, tanks and other equipment in general – against corrosive agents. Its protection has 30 year shelf life”, assured Luiz Antonio Buarque de Macedo, Ciageral director.
Just launched in the Brazilian market, the product already has Petrobras as a client, which has been applying the coating on risers.

Dinko Cudic, a Croat who works for the Dutch Stopaq division, highlighted the various coating applications. “The product generates no crystallization, has excellent adhesion, is available in several different forms (sheets, rolls and pastes) and still can be applied on top of other coatings. The product is two millimeter thick, but only one millimeter is enough to protect the coated surface”, he explained.
“It is also self-healing and moldable on any surface, and is an impermeable fluid which prevents oxygen or water penetration, not thus enabling the action of corrosive agents. On top of that, the product still offers the advantage of being non-toxic and, even being wrongly applied, does not lose its properties, and can be reused”, he stated.

For the engineer of the asset integrity area of Comgás, Antonio Carlos Rodrigues Valente, an interesting characteristic of the coating is the fact that it does not harden, therefore it does not suffer from problems of cathodic disbondment, and can be applied onto wet or blistering surfaces. “We can use it, for instance, in pipelines with cathodic protection”, he mentioned.
For the engineer, the CTDUT Week, besides updating the market in terms of technology, also ensures the soundness of the company participating in the presentation of your product.
“The CTDUT Week is a very important tool for the disclosure of products into the sector”, stated Luiz Antonio Buarque de Macedo, Ciagera directorl.

Attending the event for the first time, the equipment engineer of Cenpes, Rafael Wagner, believes that the presentation brought good solutions for the application of coatings in pipelines. “My major interest was the question of the use of the product in risers in tidal areas”, he commented. “Today I had addressed many technical questions”.
This second participation of Stopaq during the CTDUT Week was concluded with outstanding results for all involved.

Pipeline Integrity Forum, IQPC, 2010

A large group of pipeline integrity specialist have visited the Stopaq premises. Instead of organizing a workshop Day 3, October 13th 2010, at the Radisson Hotel Amsterdam, IQPC organized a trip.

Specialist from Australia, Malaysia, France, Taiwan, Nigeria have visited Stopaq. One of the reactions of Theo Samosir, TOTAL, who had to leave earlier was:

"The visit to STOPAQ was wonderful, though I only have the time for the welcome and the comprehensive presentation on the STOPAQ, as I have to catch my flight back to France.
The visit provides more in-depth understanding of the product, the process, the application with the use of some real size mock up to solve the pipeline corrosion problem."

Spectacular Underwater Demo

Spectacular Underwater Demo

STOPAQ will present its new Subsea Compound System in a spectacular live demonstration at Adipec 2010. STOPAQ Specialists will demonstrate the newest revolutionary underwater anti-corrosion techniques in applying the self-healing, visco-elastic corrosion-prevention systems at the STOPAQ Outdoor Pavilion. The Pavilion features a purpose-built basin.

The Stopaq Subsea Compound System can be applied fully underwater and offers a long-term (30 years) anti-corrosion guarantee  against the harsh consequences of subsea conditions.  This specialized, non-toxic subsea system is environmentally friendly and easy to apply requiring  only two divers at a time.

The Stopaq Subsea Compound System allows careful and timely planning of projects. Operations can be carried out irrespective of weather constraints, such as wind or rain. High-pressure water cleaning at 200-300 bar is sufficient to obtain the required level of cleanliness ST2-3.

The Stopaq Subsea System is presently being applied in a major project in the Port of Rotterdam. Commissioned by Ballast Nedam and the Maasvlakte Oil Terminal (MOT), STOPAQ and SMIT Subsea Europe have been tasked to renew and protect 133 steel jetty piles. This project has already attracted many visits from companies and port authorities interested to witness the new system in operation.

Dutch and Saudi Arabia based STOPAQ (with a factory in Dammam) is a manufacturer and worldwide supplier of the highest quality patented visco-elastic anti-corrosion products. Specializing in self-healing corrosion prevention and sealant systems, STOPAQ supplies a wide range of green visco-elastic solutions to protect assets from corrosion and water ingress.  Its systems  are applied on-shore and off-shore, in the field and in the factory , and both above ground and subsea. STOPAQ coatings and sealants are used in many applications, ranging from pipelines to piles and rails to cable joints, delivering unique and easy to apply protection even in the most extreme climates and conditions.

Sales Hub for Latin America

Stopaq Invests in Mexico

After Holland and Saudi Arabia , Mexico will be the third country in which Stopaq invests in a brand new production plant. On September 15th 2010 Stopaq signed the agreement with their Mexican partner to start production in Mexico.
The Mexican plant will be the hub to the Latin American area in which Stopaq sales are very fast growing after signing long term deals with private companies for supplying the Stopaq products to the industry. With the new production plant Stopaq will be able to deliver their products in big quantities without any delay.
Besides the new production plant Stopaq will also equip their new building with a state of the art Training Centre. This training centre will be a copy of the one in Holland and available for all Stopaq existing and future clients to learn about the possible applications and moreover to learn about the characteristics of the unique Stopaq materials.
The clients can experience and carry out applications which will go from above and below ground straight pipes, flanges and fittings onto applying Stopaq materials under water. For the last type of application Stopaq will have a fully equipped Dive centre available from mid 2011 in which the applicators can be trained according IMCA norms on applying Stopaq Subsea materials.

In memory of Adeel Rana

In Memory of Adeel Rana

October 18th, we received the very sad news that our friend and colleague Adeel Rana passed away yesterday in Pakistan.

The entire Stopaq family would like to extend its thoughts and sincere condolences to Adeel’s family in this difficult moment.

Adeel has worked with Stopaq as our distributor in Pakistan for the last two years. His work was instrumental in getting Stopaq’s technology widely accepted in Pakistan. He was a strong and dedicated partner and we will miss greatly his personal energy and enthusiasm for building our mutual business interests in Pakistan.

In memory of Adeel, a picture will be placed at the front of our offices and our flags will fly at half staff.

Update German Courtcase against Canusa CPS

Update German Courtcase against Canusa CPS

Stopaq’s legal proceedings against Cansua CPS, a ShawCor company, for infringement of its patents continue before the courts in Mannheim, Germany. The proceedings concern Canusa’s Wrapid Bond product.

The court has separated the claims into two legal proceedings, each proceeding involving separate Stopaq patents. Following an initial hearing in June, the court has now scheduled main hearings for both legal proceedings for November 2010. These hearings will allow the parties to comment on the most recent information submitted in their respective briefs.

Commenting on the proceedings, Frits Doddema, Stopaq CEO stated: “We are very pleased that the legal action is proceeding quickly. Canusa has been forced to disclose significant facts about its product, and we are looking forward to the two hearings in November, particularly with regard to our second patent which enjoys broad protections worldwide. We are confident in a favourable outcome to these proceedings and that this will be a first and important step in securing protections of our products in other jurisdictions

Extension headquarters approaches completion

In recent months a lot of hard work has been done on extending STOPAQ headquarters.
New buildings have been added to enlarge the offices, restaurant, lounge and the Experience Centre “World of STOPAQ”.
The extensions are shown in the general view photo.

POGEE Pakistan

STOPAQ B.V. and its partner Rana Trading was present at the POGEE Pakistan May 18th 2010. Also, the new subsea anti-corrosion system was exhibited.

STOPAQ FILES PATENT INFRINGEMENT LAWSUIT

STOPAQ FILES PATENT INFRINGEMENT LAWSUIT AGAINST CANUSA

PRESS RELEASE

18 January 2010

Stopaq Europe B.V. (“Stopaq”) has announced that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Canusa Systems Ltd. and its publicly traded parent company ShawCor Ltd. of Canada (“Canusa”) for infringement of patents relating to its self-healing anti-corrosion technology.

The patent infringement action relates to two of Stopaq’s patents applied to Stopaq’s Wrappingband and states that Canusa’s Wrapid Bond product line is an illegal copy. The lawsuit, which also lists directors and officers of Canusa as defendants, seeks permanent injunction, destruction of stocks and damages. The action was filed on Friday 15 January 2010 in the district court of Mannheim, Germany.

Frits Doddema, Stopaq CEO, commented on the filing:
“We have filed this case for a very simple reason: Stopaq’s property is being knowingly and unfairly exploited. We spent over eight years of research and development to find the perfect product that stops corrosion and many more years to open this new market for visco-elastic material. We invested many millions of Euros. It is disappointing that we have to resort to legal action to protect ourselves, but as our attempts to address this matter with Canusa were rebuffed, we had no choice. We will do whatever is necessary to ensure that our intellectual property is protected.”

Frans Nooren, Inventor, Founder and Chairman of Stopaq, said:
“We understand that taking this action is a big step. We have designed, tested, patented and produced a unique product that has revolutionised the anti-corrosion market. This visco-elastic coating can be applied in any environment - from Alaska to the Middle East - for permanent corrosion protection. It is non-toxic, adheres to almost any surface and is especially effective in oil and gas pipelines. It can be employed for a multitude of applications whether onshore, offshore or sub-sea. It avoids many problems of conventional coating repair, saving pipeline owners millions. Patents exist to protect inventors, and we will defend our rights.”

Stopaq Wrappingband is used in corrosion protection and rehabilitation. It belongs to the new type of visco-elastic coating solutions and contains a unique composition of fully-amorphous polyisobutene polymers.

ENDS

For further information please contact Richard Moore
+44 2079401700 /
+44 7889 691 831

STOPAQ lecture, SSPC 2010 in Pune, India

February 2010

28th of January, the SSPC 2010 was held in Pune, India. STOPAQ B.V. was present as main sponsor.
Mr. Broesder of R&D gave succesfully the first lecture on the self-healing visco-elastic coating.

Gasunie approved training centre

January 2010

STOPAQ is very proud to announce that the STOPAQ Training Centre has been certified as official pipeline coating training & examination centre by the Dutch Gasunie NV. The official award has been handed over by Mr. F. Berends of the Gasunie NV.

Exhibitions

Exhibition Agenda

STOPAQ B.V. will be exhibiting soon at the following exhibitions:

• “NACE” 13th. Middle East Corrosion Conference & Exhibition, Bahrain, 14-17 February 2010

• Nace San Antonio, 14-18 March, USA

• Piping & Pipelines, March 17, Ridderkerk, The Netherlands

• INTERPIPE 2010, PetroChina, March 31- April 2nd, Langfang, China.

• Pipeline Technology Conference, 19-20 April 2010, Hannover, Germany

• Pipetech World Summit, 14-16 June 2010, Cyprus

• ONS 2010 (Offshore Northern Seas), 24-27 August, Stavanger, Norway

• Adipec, 1-3 November 2010, Abu Dhabi

Constructec Madrid 2008

Sispo, the FN 2100 distributor exhibiting at the Constructec Fair in Madrid. For more info, please contact:
Polígono de Piadela Sur, Vía 1 - Nave 3
15319 Piadela - Betanzos (A Coruña)
Phone: 981 775 914
Fax: 981 775 915
Mail sispo@impermeabilizacionesespeciales.com
www.sispo.es

Gas 2008 Seminar, Loughborough, UK

At the 9th of October 2008, a one day seminar has been organised by IGEM and Utility Networks Division of SBGI. The programme was focussed on the role and potential for gas in the Energy Scene.

CIPPE 2008, China

In Beijing, China, at the 07 - 09 April 2008, STOPAQ EUROPE was presented at the CIPPE Trade Show. We hereby thank our local distributor DY OIL for their support and participation and wish to welcome all the visitors again.

Gastech 2008

In Bangkok, Thailand, at the 10-13 March 2008 STOPAQ EUROPE was presented at the GASTECH 2008. We hereby thank our local affilate JST for their support and participation and wish to welcome all the visitors again.

STOPAQ runs a demonstration at Rio Pipeline

January 2010

During Rio Pipeline 2009 Exhibition, STOPAQ runned a demonstration, using CTDUT facilities. Please find the article of CTDUT for more information.