WEW has recently been awarded a contract for the supply of 25 fuel tank containers for the British Army. The units will be deployed with the new Support Vehicle (SV) Enhanced Load Pallet System (ELPS) MAN trucks to enhance the Army’s fuel logistics capability and the contract is being managed through GSV-IPT.
Tight Lead-Times
“I was most impressed with the way you (WEW) and your team dealt with our changes and proposals to an already good piece of equipment,” said Staff Sergeant Smudge Smith after working with
WEW to ensure the MoD SME approval. WEW worked closely with various staff in the MoD to ensure they got the right product (in this case,
a 10m7#179; fuel tank container with integral twin-head
pumping set) in what is, by any standards, a very short lead-time UOR for bespoke equipment.
WEW obtained two fuel units from the German Army in order to provide a very rapid ‘prototype’ testing programme; the test units were on site in Aldershot within a week of contract signature.
There followed a series of static and dynamic tests of the system and function tests of the Alfons Haar KPA 400 twin-head pump integral pump systems.
The first production units are scheduled for
delivery in October, 2008 and the total contract is for 25 units.
The new units will provide the British Army with a significant improvement in fuel delivery capability. After unloading the container the system can be
operated independently using its autarkic dieseldriven
pump.
WEW – Hazardous Cargoes Expertise
WEW pioneered the development of specialist containerised pressure-vessels, or tank containers, for civilian supply-chains in the 1970s. From origination, the basic WEW tank container design
had to transport and store some of the most hazardous
and toxic chemicals and gases known to man. Therefore failure (i.e. load leakage of any form), even under the most extreme stress/shock loads such as road-traffic accidents, cannot be an option.
WEW and the Military
About ten years ago, WEW applied its core design
capabilities to water and fuel logistics for the German
Bundeswehr (BW) and units underwent extensive
testing including operation to -40°C in the BW’s
testing laboratories.
Six years ago, WEW was invited by the US Army to develop a water tank for their ‘Hippo’ program. WEW’s design solution underwent a $3M testing programme lasting 18 months, which simulated the
most arduous climatic and operating conditions that
the tank would ever encounter in operation. DoD’s
choice and continuing belief in containerised water
and fuel solutions was completely vindicated, as
WEW’s design passed every test with very few modifications to the original design. Hundreds of
Hippo tanks are now in service without a single
reportable operational defect.
A modernized version of the Hippo is currently
being built as a prototype for later testing at
Tacom’s facility in Warren, Detroit. This unit will
be exclusively assembled in WEW’s newest facility
which includes latest series CNC bending, cutting
and welding equipment. The factory has also been
extended by 2,600m² to increase production
efficiency and therefore further reduce lead-times.
Apart from this, WEW has delivered around 500
tank containers to various Nato militaries, British
and European Civil Defence forces. For Nato, these
include the German, Belgian, Lithuanian and
Slovenian armed forces in Nato, as well as other
friendly armies such as the Irish (these tanks are
used in peacekeeping duties in Chad). This MoD
contract is particularly important, since the British
Army have the reputation of being a tough and
demanding customer.
Operational Advantages
WEW’s tank container concept has a substantial
number of operational advantages compared with
other systems, particularly in fuel storage; most
notably, immediate deployment without the need
for any prior ground preparation and total intermodal
flexibility (road, rail, ship, aircraft, DROPS primemover).
Equally, a WEW tank container can be
collected full, empty or even half-full and simply
placed into any civilian supply chain at very low
cost.
Most WEW military designs incorporate a number
of innovative features which are patented. WEW is
now in full production with the Hippo, German Army
water tanks and has recently delivered combined
systems to the Slovenian, Lithuanian and Belgian
Armies.
WEW – a Focused Supplier
WEW applies two main competencies to the
development of military tank container solutions.
Firstly, WEW has a deep understanding of the ISO
and IMDG regulatory environment surrounding the
transport of products considered hazardous and
toxic, including diesel fuel. This allows WEW to offer
bespoke solutions which conform with all national
and international regulations, whilst accommodating
the special military operational requirements in the
field.
Secondly, WEW are welding and fabrication
experts with exotic materials and are truly flexible
in manufacturing tailored solutions to military (and
civilian) requirements. The whole production area is
configured with ‘customerisation’ in mind and WEW
have over 30 years’ experience in this field. Typical
production runs are anything from a single unit, with
a typical batch order numbering 10–15 units.
This winning combination gives WEW the
benefit of being able to respond quickly to military
technical challenges and leverage their already
well-developed experience in military fuel and water
logistics solutions.