Uniroyal Fendering To Be Fitted On ARAMCO Tug —Literature Available

Components of an extruded EPDM/butyl fendering system receive the final inspection at the Uniroyal Engineered Systems plant in Mishawaka, Ind., prior to shipping to the ARAMCO maritime company for use on one of its 6,000-bhp Water Tractor tugboats.

Neal Olsen (right) Uniroyal senior product engineer, measures the widths and dimensions of two units while employee Tom Montgomery (left) stencils numbers. According to Mr. Olsen, it takes 186 pieces of 47 different designs to outfit a typical ARAMCO tug. Uniroyal, which already has supplied fendering for three of the company's tugs, developed the numbered unit system to simplify installation. The synthetic rubber fendering is able to withstand both hot and cold temperature extremes without cracking or losing its shockdampening capabilities. Mr. Olsen said the biggest challenge in producing the custom-designed fendering system was keeping the die properly adjusted. The metal plate inside each piece of fendering also has to be perfectly aligned so that mounting studs can be inserted. Uniroyal is one of the largest fendering producers in the world.

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