ALL IN A DAYS WORK
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK...
NAME: Jeff Main COMPANY: Tyne & Wear Marine OCCUPATION: Managing Director HABITAT: Tyne
ACCOLADE
Not many people can boast the accolade of 500 years experience in a specialist environment, collectively in the company! well Tyne & Wear Marine certainly can.
Leading the way is Jeff Main, all told an eclectic and charismatic person who’s story is a most unusual and enlightening one.
IN THE BEGINNING...
A background as a fabricator and welder for many years, Jeff utilised his experience and became a welding inspector for some 10 years. However the oil industry beckoned, where he enjoyed many years employment.
Alas, with the slump in the 80’s he was one of the casualties and was made redundant.
Not one to rest on his laurels, having gained a wealth of experience and a ‘can do attitude’ he set about designing and building his own salvage vessel. No mean feat!
Jeff, his colleagues in the business and also his marine engineering friends created a 20 m 140 tonne steel workboat complete with a 15 tonne hydraulic crane – The TWM Reclaim. Almost 1 year to the day of sitting down to design his salvage vessel the company of Tyne and Wear Marine Ltd was born in 1987.
This quickly became a successful business, where there was much demand for his expertise, not only within the salvage business, but also within engineering. With his diverse experience, he grew the company employing over 20 personnel and over the years owning and manufacturing some 20 vessels, 14 in place currently.
CHALLENGES INTO SOLUTIONS Jeff’s passion derives from the ability to turn challenges into solutions and has the innate ability to be innovative – thinking ‘out-side of the box’ as the saying goes.
When he was building the TWM Reclaim he was met with many build issues, often not having the correct tool or equipment with which to work – there was nothing suitable available on the market - so he designed and built one which did!
Jeff is very quick to point out that his success is due to the support and loyalty of his team, with particular mention to his business Manager and pA Margaret Carrigan and in recent years his projects Manager John Crammon who, he believes is very much on the same wavelength. Often coming up with the same solutions to problems without conversing. They bounce ideas off one another when designing and forward planning and therefore make a formidable team.
DIVERSIFICATION
The success of his business is the ability to diversify and offer a variety of services within the marine environment – with this in mind Jeff and his team are constantly flexing to the demands required within the industry.
NEW PREMISES
So much so, that they are currently planning on new premises on the waterfront, seeking an ideal location with a deep water berth, as they are increasingly dealing with the wind industry and wish to concentrate on wind farm mobilisation.
WIND ENERGY
As the wind sector expands Jeff is finding that the company is undertaking more and more windfarm related projects.
While chatting, Jeff just happened to mention matter of factly that he was one of the pioneers for deep wreck diving using rebreathers and blending mixed gases in the North Sea. Diving - a passion he still enjoys to this day and has been involved for over 30 years for both sport and work.
MICRO-ROVS
To add to his list of talents, he pilots micro-RoVs, and undertakes numerous demonstrations and seminars on a regular basis. these micro-RoVs are a scaled down version of their larger relative, however just as adept and skilled in undertaking inspections such as foundations, ships, j tubes, quaysides, walls and pipelines.
Jeff has forged such a good rapport with the company called Video Ray, who designed the micro-RoVs, in the USA that he has undertaken seminars and talks over there as well as with Atlantas Marine in the UK; tWM has even designed tools for them!
Jeff and John have also developed side- scanning for quay walls and jetties where images can be processed immediately and work can be physically underway within hours; where previously it would take a dive team weeks to come up with the same information. This development has created a great deal of interest throughout the world.
REAL LIFE SCENARIO
Tyne & Wear Marine were called upon to assist with a wind farm vessel which had been holed in the river, on an exposed old pile, which ripped through the bottom of the ship. Thankfully, it did not sink and the water was contained. Jeff’s team went in with a micro-RoV, surveyed the damage and an underwater team sealed the hole on the outside of vessel - crisis averted!
HOBBIES
Designing and inventing (not surprisingly) and also skiing. Jeff also has a passion for Salsa dancing, as he and his wife are regular travellers to Cuba, and no doubt end up dancing in the streets! Not sure if this is the case in Tyneside, but if anyone heralds the way it will be Jeff and Gill!
UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES? One particular challenge that was brought to his table was one that encapsulates Jeff in a nutshell – this was one which demanded tenacity, strategic thinking and above all ingenuity! – all three things he has in abundance!
A client had some damaged dock gates in a marina which were constantly leaking. They had to be sealed before work could commence and repairs carried out. A number of contractors had tried and failed previously to do this, however the gates continued to leak.
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www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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