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A confidential Ministry of Defence memo says the corrosion on the UK's new fleet of hunter-killer submarines was caused by cost-cutting and warns that quality controls have been ignored, the Guardian can reveal.
Written by a senior analyst at the MoD, the memo says the corrosion is a "cause for major concern", and that the first three Astute class boats are likely to experience "severe problems" in the future.
This has led to discussions on the development and testing during the design and manufacturing stages of this project.
Admiral Lord West, a former head of the Royal Navy and security minister, said he believed the Astute fleet would be a great asset to the navy, but it was important that flaws were acknowledged and rectified.
"If there are problems over Quality Assurance issues, or short-term cuts, then there is no harm in them being exposed. If you spend money up front, then you save money downstream, but that is not always a message people want to hear. It is almost inevitable on a boat as complex and sophisticated as the Astute that problems will arise, and the important thing is to learn from them and get things right."
A message to us all as we develop our business that cost cutting can result in higher future costs to rectify problems after manufacture and should be highlighted to all our potential customers.
Source – The Guardian
Industries and Applications
Below are some applications and industry sectors where chambers have been sold and used. Please send me your comments or feedback as the more information we can share the better for all of us to understand more about the whole corrosion test industry and the opportunities these offer.
- Application - Vehicle Wheel Manufacture
- Industry Sector - Automotive
- Website - www.jantsa.com
- Application - Aluminium Heat Exchangers
- Industry Sector – Manufacturer
This A potential global sales lead is Bekaert. Bekaert is a manufacturer of steel wire transformation and coatings to the automotive, ultilities, agriculture and consumer goods. They made an enquiry for a CC450IP chamber to test coatings for their fence applications. They have many sites round the world which you can find at http://www.bekaert.com/
This Check out this site there may be an opportunity for you to approach one of their sites in your region.
SSIK
Ascott launch thier new Atmosfär Chamber
Ascott launched their new at the Scandinavian Coatings Show in May 2013, with massive potential for ALL distributors to take advantage of this new sales opportunity. With very little global competition the chamber has been designed specifically to comply with Ford and Volvo cyclic corrosion test (CCT) standards:
Ford CETP 00.00-L-467
Volvo VCS 1027,149 (ACT-1)
Volvo VCS 1027,1449 (ACT-2)
Volvo STD 423-0014
Volvo STD 1027,1375
These stories should be submitted to Jeff Lewis jeff.lewis@ascott-analytical.com who willissue them within this section of the forum. | 
