Page 1 of 2Oil Review Middle East speaks with Sheikh Mishal Yousef Soud Al Sabah, chairman and managing director of Kuwait-based Tank International Petroleum Equipment & Instrumentation Co. (TANKCO), distributor of LUF and IFEX firefighting support machines and services for the MENA region
What are the main features of your firefighting support machines?
LUF 60 and 120 are two wireless remotely-operated firefighting support machines from the LUF family. They can control and extinguish a fire from 300 metres away wirelessly, with a discharging capacity of 3,000 litres per minute for LUF 60, and 12,000 litres per minute for LUF 120 up to a distance of 80-100 metres. All functions are controlled by a remote control unit, making them unique in their category. No other machines match their features and capability, which are offered in such a compact but powerful format. LUF machines’ compactness, tremendous power, flexibility, mobility and safety make them game changers in big fire scenarios. This avoids risk and safeguards the precious lives of firefighters. Usually features that are available with LUF 120 exist only on 40 ton trucks with four axles.
The IFEX® Technologies Impulse firefighting system was developed in 1994 and to this day is still considered to be a pioneer in the market. Through its unique efficiency, lives are saved and protected by the firefighting, and also material damage is reduced many times over. IFEX systems can be used in different configurations from back pack modules to IFEX Helicopter modules to fight fire efficiently and effectively while saving 90 per cent of water resources.
What other services are you looking to promote?
We are looking into providing complete outsourced firefighting services by using LUF and IFEX systems. Due to the peculiar nature of the fire fighting and safety sector, certain types of clients may sometimes prefer to outsource their fire-fighting operations to third party service providers such as TANKCO. Some of these clients may belong to categories such as:
a) Clients that just wish to focus on their core businesses / activities rather than having in-house fire-fighting systems;
b) Clients from certain industries who may need fire fighting services only for short durations at regular intervals etc. such as air and defence shows, fire-cracker displays, large social and cultural events, industrial shows etc;
c) Governmental clients who usually take much longer to decide on the eventual purchase of firefighting equipment etc.
In all the above scenarios TANKCO is well equipped to offer complete outsourcing firefighting services with both equipment and technical manpower in a highly flexible and agile manner.
The many upcoming high profile international events in the GCC (e.g. Expo 2020, UAE; FIFA World Cup 2022, Qatar; Annual Haj Pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia), mean that growth is the buzz word across firefighting and safety sector. In view of these upcoming events, which will result in an increased demand for innovative and unique products / services, TANKCO is repositioning its offer to suit local market requirements.
