THE EIGHTIES
36
Airpac chose Ingersoll Rand as its partner to develop a custom-
built machine complying with stringent safety standards for
hazardous offshore oil platforms. By 1984 the HP750 Zone II Air
Compressor, ideal for space efficiency on confined oil rigs, had
become Airpac’s core piece of offshore equipment. In 1988
Airpac’s oil and gas activities expanded with the opening of the
Great Yarmouth depot. The new depot complemented the
Aberdeen-based HQ and serviced the southern sector of the
North Sea. The area was rapidly developing as a valuable oil
region and demand for specialist air compressor equipment was
growing fast. Additionally, the Piper Alpha oil rig disaster in 1988
led to sweeping changes to standards for offshore safety in the
North Sea thus highlighting Airpac’s value.
Growth in the 1980s on both sides of the Atlantic had been
extensive and as the decade drew to a close there was another
acquisition. In 1989 the company acquired the hire fleet of
portable accommodation manufacturer Britspace for £2.67m.
Vibroplant was trading strongly, well illustrated by its Rights Issue
invitation to shareholders (three for 20) in May 1989. This
succeeded in raising £11.7m to fund, without recourse to the
Bank, further expansion in both the UK and USA. From a business
perspective this was an outstanding decade for Vibroplant.
(above)
JLG 60’ boom
(above right)
Ingersoll Rand offshore
"Rig Safe" specification
compressor
(right)
Zone II specification
750 Ingersoll Rand
compressors operating
on an offshore platform
