In 2019, Perry Process Equipment received a telephone enquiry from India from a company we had never worked with before. The company was a major player in the edible oils industry and was looking to expand from edible oils into biodiesel.
The company had found Perry Process Equipment through a Google search, identifying us as a company that could assist with sourcing a biodiesel plant.
At the time, we did not have a suitable plant available, so the search began to source equipment of the size and specification required by the customer.
Once we had established that the company was genuine, multiple departments across Perry, including marketing, projects and purchasing, worked together to identify a suitable plant.
After an extensive search, we located a biodiesel plant in Bilbao, Spain. The plant was owned by a company that had ultimately never operated it and wanted to dispose of the equipment and reuse the space.
Establishing who owned the facility and whether the plant could be purchased was a time-consuming process. The plant was located within the Port of Bilbao, in a high-security area alongside other refineries and chemical facilities. It was therefore essential to understand who owned the equipment and establish whether the purchase and relocation of the plant were possible.
Once the owner had been identified, we engaged with them to negotiate a potential purchase.
However, before we could proceed with purchasing the plant, we first needed to establish whether it was suitable for our Indian customer. We presented the equipment to them, and they requested detailed information to assess whether it could meet their requirements.
Once we had satisfied their requirements and established that the plant could be a suitable candidate, we invited them to Bilbao to inspect the equipment in person.
This involved additional complexities, as the Indian customers required visas to enter the facility. As a UK company, we could not simply invite the company into Spain ourselves, so we worked with a trusted partner in Spain who was able to issue the necessary letters of invitation.
The customers eventually travelled to Spain, where we showed them two plants. One was less suitable for their requirements, while the second visit was to the biodiesel plant in Bilbao.
It quickly became apparent that the Bilbao plant met their requirements.
Following their return to India, we continued negotiations and ultimately agreed the sale.
Managing the Purchase and Dismantling
Although the sale had been agreed, the purchase of the plant presented a new set of challenges.
The project became a significant team effort, with multiple Perry departments working towards two key objectives: completing the sale and satisfying the requirements of the Indian customer.
Our purchasing department began the process of purchasing the plant, while the Perry team travelled back to Spain to inspect the equipment we were purchasing.
We also invited a specialist dismantling company and logistics company to assess the facility and understand the requirements of the project. Following this meeting, we were able to negotiate the purchase of the plant.
The next major challenge was satisfying the requirements of the local authorities, council and Port Authority in Bilbao and demonstrating that the project could be completed safely.
The facility was located in a highly secure area, where several passes were required to enter and exit and to access certain areas.
During discussions with the dismantling company, we discovered that the plant had not been fully decommissioned. There was still product within the plant which needed to be safely removed and disposed of before dismantling could begin.
We therefore worked alongside several specialist Spanish companies to decommission the plant and safely dispose of the remaining product, ensuring that all the correct paperwork was completed.
The decommissioning process took approximately one month, after which the relevant authorities were satisfied that the product had been disposed of safely.
Dismantling the Plant
Once decommissioning had been completed, the three-month dismantling project could begin.
A specialist team from Poland was brought in to undertake the dismantling work, with the team reaching approximately 35 members at the peak of the project.
The Indian customer wanted the equipment supplied as complete as possible, including every last nut and bolt. This created a significant logistical challenge, particularly when removing the larger vessels from the building.
To remove the vessels, sections of the roof had to be removed so that the equipment could be lifted out. The equipment was held in an extremely tight space, so removing these pieces via the rough was a complex puzzle where there was no room for error. Once the vessels had been removed, the roof was closed again so that the building could be returned to a suitable condition for reuse.
Health and safety remained a key priority throughout the project. The companies involved at each stage were carefully selected to ensure that the work was completed to the highest standards.
The Indian customer understood the importance of this approach. They knew they were receiving a very little-used plant and that, if delivered correctly, the equipment would provide them with the opportunity to enter a market in which they had not previously operated.
There was therefore a significant responsibility on Perry Process Equipment to ensure that the equipment was removed safely and delivered correctly.
Carlo Ragusa was stationed in Spain for most of the project, overseeing the work and coordinating the various activities.
The responsibility for the project sat with Perry Process Equipment. If anything went wrong, we were accountable. As a result, we took the time required to complete the project correctly, without cutting corners or taking unnecessary risks.
Transporting the Equipment to India
Once the dismantling work had been completed, the equipment needed to be transported from Bilbao to the customer in India.
A global shipping company was used to manage the transportation, with approximately 70 containers required. This included a combination of 40ft standard containers and flat racks.
Moving this number of containers through a busy port presented another significant logistical challenge, but the work was successfully completed and the equipment was shipped to India.
Throughout the project, the Indian customer was invited to visit Spain as often as they wished. They visited approximately three or four times and were able to see the dismantling process first-hand.
Their objective was to understand how the plant could eventually be rebuilt at their facility in India.
We offered the dismantling company's services to rebuild the plant in India, but the customer felt that they were capable of carrying out the reinstallation themselves if they understood exactly what equipment was being removed.
This is where the 3D mapping became particularly important.
The plant was 3D mapped before dismantling began, providing the customer with a detailed reference that could be used to mirror the Bilbao plant when rebuilding it in India.
This was exactly what happened.
All of the equipment was fully documented, and the customer received the relevant documentation from the original owner to support the process.
Completing the Project
As the equipment began arriving in India, the Perry team started to wind down the work in Bilbao.
An important part of the final stage was ensuring that the original owner was completely satisfied with the work and that the building was left in a condition that allowed it to be reused for its next project.
The project was completed in the April/May of 2020, when we handed the building back to its owner.
The owner was extremely satisfied with the condition in which the building was returned.
From the original enquiry in India through to the sourcing, sale, purchase, decommissioning, dismantling, documentation and international transportation of the equipment, the entire project required close coordination between multiple Perry departments and specialist companies across different countries.
The project was executed safely and correctly, with Perry Process Equipment taking responsibility for each stage of the process and ensuring that the customer's requirements were met.
It was a complex international project, involving a very little-used biodiesel plant, a high-security facility in Bilbao, specialist dismantling, 3D mapping and approximately 70 containers of equipment transported from Spain to India.
The successful completion of the project demonstrated the importance of experience, persistence, coordination and attention to detail when managing the sale and relocation of complete process equipment.