“What seemed like a simple one-off request for an established Vokes brand filter rapidly evolved into a significant filtration requirement with a very short lead-in time,” explains Paul Baker, Cleanova’s Sales Director for Europe and Africa. “Fortunately, Cleanova has the agility to accommodate the unexpected and we were able to trace the original filtration design, manufacture the OEM Vokes filters to the quality and quantities required, and overcome some interesting logistical challenges along the way.”

Reliable and responsive

The online enquiry had come from a major genset manufacturer in the US, who was working on delivering the gensets for a major crude oil pipeline in Africa. Transporting crude oil over long distances by pipeline requires reliable power generation at regular intervals. The gensets are often required to operate in remote, harsh environments and draw on various fuel types to operate effectively. Filtration is an essential requirement in preventing equipment damage and downtime by ensuring that the crude oil is clean of contaminants before it enters the generator.

A key benefit of the Vokes filtration unit is its Duplex design. A unique transflow valve enables the flow to be switched between filters, which means there is no need to stop the generator to swap out a spent filter. Consequently, there is no interruption to the fuel supply through the pipeline. This tried and tested design was a major factor in the Vokes filtration solution being specified in the original bill of materials.

Due to their usual vendor being unable to supply the filtration units, the genset manufacturer no longer had a supplier for these essential filtration units. Meantime, Vokes filtration had become part of Cleanova. Finding an alternative filtration solution in the timeframe was not an option. Not only would any alternative filter struggle to meet Vokes track record for reliability and low maintenance, but they would also need to meet the same footprint and connection locations precisely to work within the existing genset design.

Fortunately, the team at Cleanova responded promptly to the initial enquiry, and relationships were quickly re-established. Says Paul Baker: “We retain the original designs for our filtration products because we know their reliability means it can be many years before a replacement is required. In this instance, it enabled us to manufacture multiple original Vokes filtration units that meet the customer’s original specifications precisely.”

Delivery challenges

The genset manufacturer needed the filtration units within a tight time frame to meet the pipeline operator’s timetable. This was not only challenging from a manufacturing perspective but also raised some delivery challenges. Cleanova was not registered as a preferred supplier and there was no time to process the paperwork. To avoid any logistical delays this might cause, the Cleanova team worked with a buying house so that the necessary paperwork and payment terms could be put in place, enabling them to ship the filtration units on schedule.

The filtration units were shipped in three batches through 2023. They were then installed and tested by the genset manufacturer before the finished items were sent out to Nigeria.

In conclusion, Paul Baker says: “Providing engineered solutions to filtration challenges is not just about the engineering aspects, it’s about total customer support. This project illustrates how Cleanova mobilises rapidly and intelligently to overcome any obstacles and ensure that the customer meets their targets for quality, performance and delivery.”