The Challenge
ECL Group was asked to help introduce a new blended ethanol fuel product to the New Zealand market. The customers challenge was that this had been attempted in Australia and Asia with limited success, a concern as failure being expensive to remedy.
Ethanol is a highly sensitive product to water, so any water in a fuel tank spells disaster. The ethanol and fuel separate due to the water in the product, commonly described as "phase separation" effectively rendering the product to be "out of specification" and not saleable.
The customer needed to be sure it could introduce this new "blend" to the market and have no concerns about fuel quality, water issues and reputational risk to their brand.
ECL Group Solution
ECL Group used a smart technical solution to ensure that the conversion to a blended product went smoothly and most importantly achieved the required outcome to eliminate water entering tanks and "phase separation" occurring.
This process included tank cleaning, site preparation, remedial site work, and a work methodology that provided an assurance that the work could be completed safely, on time and within budget.
Critical Outcome
ECL Group successfully delivered the project in an extremely hazardous environment, and is now recognised worldwide as a leader for our process and methodology in blended fuel installations.
With the recognition came Global safety awards for the project delivery, New Zealand Contractor of the Year award and worldwide recognition for the innovative solution to produce a high quality outcome for our customer