The company needed to store a high value gas product on a large scale in a refrigerated ATEX environment. They contracted CRS to build, install and maintain an ATEX cold store at their premises in Ireland’s capital. The cold store was produced to client specification, with focus on redundancy to improve the unit’s reliability.
The company is a global manufacturer of microprocessors who had a requirement for large quantities of a gas product which is both toxic and flammable. They needed temperature controlled containers which would allow this product to be stored under 4 degrees celsius.
The company were not able to make use of conventional fridge storage units as the gas is flammable, and its volatile nature would cause it to degrade and become unusable if stored at over 4 degrees Celsius. In order to resolve these issues, they engaged CRS to source, install and maintain an ATEX cold store solution which provided a suitable and secure environment for the product.
Challenges
The challenge the company faced was to find temperature controlled storage made of sparkfree components. ATEX certified products are highly specialised and have significantly longer lead times than standard refrigeration equipment.
Additionally, the company needed a partner who could provide the specialist maintenance and support requirements of the cold storage solution and ATEX components.
Solution
In order to meet the client’s requirements for the project, ATEX components were sourced from Europe and the US, and subsequently brought to CRS own facility in order to assemble and retrofit them to the companies design specification.
Temperature control monitors were embedded in the unit and linked to a communications system, meaning that both CRS and the companies staff are notified immediately of any temperature variation which threatens the integrity of the gas product.
CRS included two cooling units which operate independently of each other and alternate throughout the day, and installed a backup generator which will automatically come into effect in the event of a power failure. These specifications improve the reliability of the system, ensuring maximum operational ability of the unit and security of its contents.
According to the companies need for the project, CRS are first-responders for any issues concerning the refrigeration unit as they provide both preventative maintenance and call-out support services, reducing the risk of damage to the high value product.
Results
The company can store the product in a temperature controlled environment for their client on a large scale while meeting highly specialised certifications. The ATEX cold store has been on-site and in operation on site since September 2014.
