The pipe couplings manufacturer Taylor Kerr celebrates its 50th birthday this year[ds_preview]. Since the foundation in 1961, the company has focused on piping products. Taylor Kerr Ltd represented the finest North American pipe, fitting and flange manufacturers and supplied to the leading UK offshore oil and gas contractors. Specialties included titanium fittings for the aerospace industry, exotic metals for extremes of temperature and polished stainless steel for the pharmaceutical and food industries. The company participated in some of the most famous petrochemical projects in the Middle East including Jubail, Yanbu and Ras Tanura.
In 1975 it became the first UK Company to market Polybutylene (PB) pipe and fittings for industrial and domestic applications, including a patented heat fusion joining system. Other joining methods PB included flanges and mechanical couplings. At the same time as the company was developing its product range, many factories for the production of fiberglass pipe were beginning to emerge, especially in the Middle East. It was clear that the Teekay range of products was highly suitable for joining this type of pipe.
In 1978 the Teekay design concept was approved by a number of leading UK consulting engineers, and with advice from the UK National Physical Laboratory, the materials, especially the quality and anti-corrosion aspects, enabled the Axiflex pipe coupling to be used on buried pipelines in highly aggressive ground conditions. Projects in Bahrain, UAE, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in diameters from 300 mm to 2,000 mm resulted in tens of thousands of large diameter Teekay Axiflex couplings being used on water and sewerage projects throughout the Middle East.
In 1982 the company patented its stepped coupling design and in 1984 a hinged coupling. During the 1980s these products were used widely in the UK water industry for new projects and repair, especially the renovation of old pipelines by the scraping and relining method. In 1982 the first distributor agreement was made in Germany, where today the company sees itself as the market leader.
A new era for the company began between November 1989 and June 1990. Four key inventions were patented and the original Teekay Axilock coupling was born, bringing new levels of performance and corrosion resistance, especially to the marine industry. Projects with commercial and military shipbuilders were rapidly won as the company began to add to its energy, water and building service applications.
In 1995 it was apparent that the fire safety standards of marine industry pipe work would, in future, require the use of fireproof pipe couplings. The company patented the original Teekay Axilock-FP, which has now become an industry standard on commercial and military ships.
From the factory in Milton Keynes and the London Sales office (now in Old Beaconsfield), Teekay couplings have been exported to over 85 countries for civil, water, oil & gas, marine, building service, process, automotive and countless other industrial projects for pipes between 21 mm and 4,200 mm in diameter. According to the company, the broad range of products is covered by 92 worldwide patents that enable to offer innovative solutions for applications on sea or land.
Between the millennium and 2005 the company doubled in size and between 2005 and 2010 doubled again. In 2009 the Teekay Rohrkupplungen GmbH in Germany was opened for sales and distribution to middle Europe and expanded the factory, now with 80 % more manufacturing space than before. www.teekaycouplings.com
