Newsroom

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22nd Feb 2010 - Matrix Awarded ISO 9001:2008 Accreditation…

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Matrix Composites & Engineering is pleased to announce that we have officially passed the accreditation requirements of ISO 9001:2008 and have been awarded a certificate of registration by SAI Global. Our certificate number is QEC 27216.

The next step for Matrix in our quality accreditation plans is API Q1 accreditation which we expect to have in place by the end of the 2010 calendar year.

1st Feb 2010 - Shareholders double their money…

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Investors fortunate enough to have received an allocation of shares in the recent float of Matrix Composites & Engineering Ltd have seen their investment double in value in the 10 weeks since the Company was listed on the Australian Stock exchange on November 16th 2009. The shares, which were priced at $1.00 each in the prospectus, have recently traded as high as $2.25.

20th Oct 2009 - Riser Buoyancy keeping the industry afloat down under…

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Matrix Composites & Engineering has completed the delivery of several major deepwater buoyancy contracts to major international OEM’s and Drilling Contractors. As demand for our product continues Matrix is undergoing a major expansion project to continue to service our clients and is currently constructing one of the world’s largest and most advanced buoyancy plants at a Dockside facility South of Perth.

MC&E Limited has developed a family of high performance syntactic materials capable of withstanding the enormous pressures exhibited in ultra deep water environments. Combined with Aerospace process technologies, MC&E produces some of the lightest and strongest syntactic foam materials and buoyancy available.

 

 

20th Oct 2009 - Matrix Composites & Engineering to Build New State of the Art Buoyancy and Subsea Equipment Manufacturing facility within the Australian Marine Complex.

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Matrix Composites & Engineering Limited announced today that it is undertaking the construction of a new state of the art facility in the Australian Marine Complex (AMC) Subsea Cluster at Henderson, south of Perth.

To be built in two stages on an 8.4 Hectare site, the Stage I complex will incorporate an integrated buoyancy manufacturing facility that includes bulk chemical storage, warehousing, composite sphere manufacturing, composite layup and casting, painting, dispatch and one of the world's largest full scale hyperbaric testing centers.

When completed in 2010 this facility will house the largest and most sophisticated syntactic foam buoyancy plant in the world and will more than double Matrix's current production capacity. Utilizing material technologies derived from the aerospace industry and Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Matrix's Henderson plant will be capable of manufacturing and testing riser buoyancy and production buoyancy of virtually any size to water depths of 16,500' (5030msw). Construction of a fully instrumented, 63" internal diameter 16,500' test chamber is underway and will be housed in this facility during the second quarter of 2010.

Construction of Stage 1 is underway and operations are due to commence in April 2010.

Facility and Project Overview :

Stage I

The Stage I workshop buildings will house a series of specialised, integrated manufacturing processes, including the following:

1. Deepwater Subsea Buoyancy Production Facilities, under crane (5,778 sqm)
2. Ancillary Manufacturing Plant (5,428 sqm), under crane. This facility will house an advanced composites and elastomer production facility, as well as a composite repair facility
3. Warehousing (3,332 sqm)
4. Laboratories (1,930 sqm)
5. Bunded Areas (3,888 sqm)
6. Hard Stand and open areas of approximately 6,000 sqm

Stage II

Matrix intends to commence the construction of Stage II, following the completion of Stage I. Stage II will comprise the following:

1. Riser and Caisson Fabrication Facilities (3,000 sqm), under crane
2. Heavy Machine and fitting Facilities (3,000 sqm), under crane
3. Conductor Welding (2,295 sqm), under crane
4. Offshore & Subsea Installation Equipment (e.g. winches, tensioners, under-rollers) with a manufacture, rental & service yard and high bay service building (2,295 sqm)

Matrix is currently spread across six sites (mainly in Malaga). The relocation to Henderson will reduce the number of operating sites to two. Matrix believes that relocating to Henderson will provide significant synergies between it, the AMC facilities and the tenants in or to come to the AMC precinct.

The 8 hectare site in the AMC was specifically chosen by Matrix due to its proximity to the ocean, as well as to Chevron's supply base for its Gorgon and Jansz fields. This proximity will position Matrix well to best match its services and products with the subsea offshore infrastructure for these projects.

The Australian Marine Complex

The Australian Marine Complex (AMC) is a world-class centre for excellence for manufacturing, fabrication, assembly, maintenance and technology development, servicing the marine, defence, oil and gas, and resource industries. Located in Western Australia, 23 kilometres south of Perth, the AMC has been developed to enhance the opportunities created by the clustering of industries and is home to the largest marine industry in Australia.

The AMC is currently home to over 100 businesses, which operate out of the area’s 4 main precincts:

1. Shipbuilding
   
2. Technology
   
3. Support Industry
   
4. Fabrication

Within these precincts, the AMC provides the following world-class multi-user facilities:

1. Common User Facility (CUF) is part of the Fabrication Precinct. The CUF is a large, integrated fabrication and assembly facility with extensive load-out wharves that is available to multiple, concurrent users. 
   
2. Central Services Facility (CSF), is a central meeting and networking point for representatives of industry, research organisations, education institutions and support service companies specialising in the marine, defence, oil and gas sector.
   
3. The Australian Centre for Energy and Process Training (ACEPT) is a leading provider of process operations training for the Australian oil and gas, mineral and chemical processing industries.
   
4. The Marine Support Facility (MSF) is owned and operated by Tenix, and provides WA with a significant marine repair, refit and modernisation capability. The MSF is an integral part of the State’s burgeoning shipbuilding and ship repair and maintenance industry.  The MSF is equipped with extensive dry-berth support infrastructure, including one of Australia's largest ship-lifts, which is used extensively by the Royal Australian Navy. This facility is currently being complimented by the $174 million upgrade currently underway at the Common User Facility, which includes a floating dock and transfer system.

Source: http://www.australianmarinecomplex.com.au/amc

18th Oct 2009 - Matrix Composites & Engineering Limited to Construct New High Capacity Full Scale Testing Chamber.

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Matrix Composites & Engineering Limited announced today that it will construct a fully instrumented 52 MPa ( approximately 7500PSI) full scale test chamber capable of testing subsea equipment including riser buoyancy modules, production buoyancy and other susbea equipment to pressures equivalent to 16,500’ (5030m) water depth.

Due for completion during the second quarter 2010, the vessel will be built at Begley International’s heavy engineering facility in Perth, an example of the Matrix group’s integrated engineering and manufacturing capabilities.

The internal dimensions of the vessel will be 1.6m (63inches) internal diameter and 7.7m (303inches) in length. The vessel design will incorporate the revolutionary quick release head design utilized on Matrix current full scale vessels enabling fast cycling of full scale tests to API 16F.

The vessel will be fully instrumented and capable of measuring and recording buoyancy changes vs. temperature vs. time vs. pressure as per the following extrapolated data curve from the company’s current test center.

The vessel is capable of performing in process and type testing to API 16F and significantly expands the companies capacity to deliver compliant deepwater buoyancy modules.

24th Jan 2009 - Ultra Light Buoyancy Systems for Marine Riser Applications

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Matrix has recently received several orders for Ultralight Composite Buoyancy for Marine Riser Applications. The ultra low density buoyancy systems manufactured by matrix utilize materials that are typically found in aerospace applications due to their unique strength to weight ratio properties to produce very light composite syntactic foams which exhibit high compressive strengths designed to withstand the extreme pressures experienced in deep water. Ultralight Buoyancy Systems product more uplift per module than conventional materials and are used to increase the uplift of Riser Buoyancy strings where tensioning capacity is exceeded or approaching upper limits where there is some other restriction affecting maximum allowable diameter of the buoyancy module such as rotary table or diverter housing internal diameters.

Matrix has many clients that also require customized buoyancy solutions that use a combination of standard and Ultra light materials, which offers a cost effective solution if buoyancy needs to be optimized to suit a specific uplift requirement. In many cases some applications do not require the full increase in uplift the Ultralight Buoyancy systems offer. If this is the case, hybrid ultralight/standard foams can offer a cost effective alternative to a "homogenous" Ultralight system.

24th Jan 2009 - Facility Expansion

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MC&E's main buoyancy productions facility has undergone a major upgrade to meet the dramatic increase in demand for buoyancy products. This expansion includes the stats of the art chemical blending and composites processing equipment for the production of high integrity syntactic foams, product finishing and final product qualification and in process testing.

Further expansions are planned for 2009, increasing the company's elastomer processing capabilities and shipping and receiving capabilities. Once the upgrades are completed the company's syntactic foam output capacity will be increased by 400% from 2007 output levels.

24th Jan 2009 - Bend Restrictors

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Matrix has supplied over 100 Bend restrictor assemblies for a major deepwater project offshore Brazil, one of the largest projects of it's kind even undertaken. These Bend Restrictors are manufactured from a series of polymeric interlocking elements designed to ensure that the minimum bend radius of a flexible riser is not exceeded under specified loads.

Matrix has the capacity to produce Bend Restrictors of virtually any size and load rating in a variety of materials including steel and polymeric materials. Matrix's 2007 merger with Begley International offers the market a fully integrated, design, testing and manufacturing facility for Bend Restrictors that is capable of handling projects of virtually any size and complexity.

5th Mar 2008 - MCE has appointed a new agent to service the US market

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MCE has appointed a new agent to service the US market. Strategically located in Houston the Subsea Company LLC is owned and operated by Mr. Andy Cates and Mr. Barry McMiles. Andy and Bill offer over 50 years of combined Subsea engineering and operations experience to our clients, additionally the company can offer technical and design support, logistical services and can facilitate warehousing and ancillary services such as riser dressing, inspection and witnessing services. The Subsea Company enables Matrix to offer our client base technical and logistical support as opposed to offering just a sales service, in line with Matrix's objective of supplying clients with full technical and product support in the US market. To contact the Subsea Company LLC click here.

22nd Jan 2008 - Matrix announces name change to Matrix Composites & Engineering Ltd

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Matrix is pleased to announce a change of name to Matrix Composites & Engineering Ltd as a result of the recent merger with Begley International (SES (Aust) Ltd). Whilst this continues the many exciting changes that are occurring at Matrix in recent times, all other details remain the same and we look forward to servicing our customers under this new banner.