Omni Willig Carbon (OWC), the European subsidiary of Sydney tanker specialist, Omni Tanker, has won the coveted Innovation Award at expo PetroTrans, Germany’s most important industry event in the petroleum logistics field.
OWC was honoured for developing the first carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) tank to be approved according to ADR.
According to Omni Tanker CEO, Daniel Rodgers, the innovative product is able to achieve payload increases of up to 30 per cent for European transport businesses because of the material’s inherent weight advantage combined with intelligent design and manufacture processes.
“Even more importantly, though, it solves a major issue in the industry in terms of very high chemical resistance,” he said.
“We are able to do this with technology we developed that achieves a high-strength bond between the CFRP structure of the tank and the polyolefin thermoplastic material which is used for the interior of the tank.
“The thermoplastic liner is made in one piece which eliminates the weak points of any seams or welds and because of the high strength bond, there is no risk of collapse or delamination from the structure.”
The Award comes on the back of Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, visiting Omni Tanker’s Sydney factory in May and commending the team on driving the nation’s innovation agenda.
“We were very honoured by having the Prime Minister acknowledge our hard work and dedication here in Australia, and we’re excited to now have gotten the same recognition in Germany, one of the most demanding and sophisticated marketplaces in the world,” said Rodgers.
Rodgers said it took “a lot of work” to reach a stage where Omni Tanker was ready to export a manufactured product from Australia to Germany, “and we are very proud of our team and the technology that have enabled us to finally get here”.
He added, “The vision of the company has always been to see the Omni Tanker sold overseas, so winning the Innovation Award is a major milestone for us and our local German partner, Kurt Willig.