Expanded product range and the highest levels of customer service are the principal factors behind an impressive forecasted turnover increase at Petrochem Carless.

The company - formerly known as Petrochem Middle East and now a joint venture with Petrochem Carless of the UK - is expecting a turnover of Dhs 240 million ($65 million) this year from Dhs182 million last year, said a company official.

The company has one of the most modern distribution terminals in Jafz, which is at the centre of a complete chemical connection that offers a worldwide solution to chemicals.

The 30,000 sq m terminal was commissioned in 1999 and has a capacity to store 25,000 drums - mostly various solvents - and 700 tonnes of dry chemicals.

The chemicals stored at the facility are classified and stored at different locations based on their flammability characteristics.

Petrochem Carless offers a wide variety of chemicals suitable for the paint, coating, oilfield and detergent industries, and is an exclusive distributor to blue-chip companies such as Sasol Solvents, Lyondell, Total Cray Valley, Kao Chemicals and Eternal Buana Chemicals.

With its own in-house logistics department - which works alongside the operations team - the company is able to ensure that its products are delivered anywhere, any time, on time. From the Jebel Ali central storage facility, chemicals are distributed to more than 17 countries throughout the world. Saudi Arabia represents the largest market, representing some 32 to 35 per cent of exports, according to a company official.

The company takes special care in the storage of low-flash chemicals. The flash point of a chemical is defined as the lowest temperature at which a flame will propagate through the vapour of a combustible material to the liquid surface.

It is determined by the vapour pressure of the liquid, since only when a sufficient vapour concentration is reached can it support combustion. It should be noted that the source of ignition need not be an open flame, but could equally be, for example, the surface of a hot plate, or even a steam pipe.

Thus, extreme caution is adopted in storage of low flash chemicals in the canopies. Because of the hazards involved with these chemicals, the construction of the canopies is of special quality, which makes the walls of the cells blast-proof. Each cell of the canopy is equipped with an elaborate fire-fighting arrangement which consists of foam sprinklers.

Chemicals of higher flash points are stored in the Dutch Barn, in which all sides are open. NFPA standards - by which the number of drums stored per sq m area is stipulated - are followed. There are containment areas to arrest any spillage, with underground collection pits constructed with impervious layers to prevent subsoil contamination.

The dry goods warehouse houses dry chemicals in bags, and these are stacked in an elaborate pallet racking arrangement. A battery-operated hydraulic stacker capable of moving between the racks effects stacking and destacking of the dry chemicals. The warehouse is complete with smoke detectors and roof extractor fans.

Besides the storage of chemicals, the Petrochem Carless terminal can also fill drums from tankers. The whole system is automatic and takes one minute to fill a 200-litre drum. The system allows bottom filling of drums as opposed to splash filling; that is, the filling lance goes totally inside to the bottom of the drum.

This prevents generation of static electricity, which is a potential source of fire. In order that the drum-filling operator is not exposed to the vapours emitted during filling of the drums, there is a vapour extractor which sucks out any vapour that is generated. This extracted vapour then passes through a carbon scrubber where the organic vapour is adsorbed by the activated carbon. This is a unique feature which the company says only it has in the UAE.

The terminal has an elaborate firefighting arrangement and the area is well covered by smoke detectors. Fire alarms will be activated in case of fire detection. The alarms are connected directly to Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA) Fire Station.

Stuffing and destuffing of containers in the terminal is done by means of forklifts, which are fitted with spark arrestors, another feature unique to Petrochem.

Petrochem is now in the process of building its own tank farm in Jebel Ali in a Dhs12.5 million expansion. The project consists of the construction of six tanks with a combined capacity of 7,500 cu m. When completed by the end of this year, these tanks will store flammable chemicals, which will be imported from the jetty by pipeline. The facility will also have tanker loading/offloading arrangements.

The tanks will be protected by deluge system in the event of a fire. The entire tank farm will be monitored by a PLC-based SCADA system complete with Emergency Shut Down (ESD) system.