The Sentinel 1100 has been designed to demonstrate PFG’s proven boat building capabilities and its application to the defence sector.

PFG Chief Executive Officer, Robert Inches, said the Sentinel 1100 is an adaptable platform designed to deliver advantage in insertion, extraction, and interdiction operations, enhancing mission capability for defence and security organisations.

“HDPE is the next generation boat-building material delivering a vessel of unparalleled safety, survivability and performance in interdiction boarding, pursuit, tactical assault, and first response applications,” he said.

“Cutting edge Hamilton jet propulsion and dynamic positioning systems work in tandem to provide precision manoeuvrability at low speed, resulting in propeller-free propulsion for personnel safety.

“The Sentinel range is the world’s only tactical watercraft manufactured from HDPE, autonomous ready, offering superior durability and reliability in the face of sustained force, optimised for airdrops and hard beaching and ultimately delivers enhanced capability to tactical missions.”

HDPE’s absorption properties dampen noise, vibration and personnel fatigue, while its high stability and responsive handling reduce rollover risk.

Mr Inches said the construction of this vessel was an important step in demonstrating PFG’s ability to deliver next generation world class tactical watercraft.

“We provide a sovereign capability with Australian design, manufacture, and sustainment. In partnership with One2three naval architects, PFG has developed and delivered an adaptable platform deployable to a range of mission sets, offering unmatched performance, safety, and stability,” he said.

“The construction of this vessel was made possible with the support of the Tasmanian Government and its focus on assisting Tasmanian businesses like ours to secure future opportunities across domestic and international military and security domains.

“We were grateful to have Tasmanian Minister for Advanced Manufacturing and Defence Industries, Madeleine Ogilvie, present at the expo to officially unveil the vessel today.”

The Sentinel 1100 vessel will be available for demonstration and sale on return to Tasmania in the coming weeks.

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The award-winning company, which is currently constructing vessels for Defence New Zealand and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, is going through a sustained period of growth, leading the world in the application of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) for defence vessels.

Chair of PFG, Christopher Oldfield, said the Board is delighted to welcome Tracy and looking forward to benefiting from her extensive experience.

“The PFG Board is committed to ensuring a strong membership and mix of skills, knowledge, experience and diversity,” Mr Oldfield said.

“Ms Matthews is a full-time director and governance professional, with more than 20 years’ experience as a non-executive director and more than 30 years’ experience as a chartered accountant.

“She has decades of experience from private, government and not-for-profit enterprises, and her broad experience will further strengthen the skills and expertise of our Board.”

Ms Matthews’ current and previous directorships and committee roles include Forico Pty Ltd, the Department of State Growth Audit and Risk Committee, the Public Trustee, Metro Tasmania, TasPlan Superannuation, Colony 47 Inc., Housing Connect and Van Diemen’s Band Inc. Public Fund.

“Tracy is a former Director of the Tasmanian Ports Corporation and Past Commodore of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania which demonstrates her experience in, and knowledge of, the maritime sector,” Mr Oldfield said.

“Tracy is highly regarded in the industry and we are very pleased to welcome her to the PFG Board.”

Ms Matthews is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

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Eleven Australian innovators from both the defence and civil sectors have been shortlisted for the prestigious Innovation Awards, worth $30,000, with three other Tasmanian companies as finalists.

The entry centred around High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) as a ‘next generation’ boat building material, PFG’s use of which is understood to be a world-first for defence. HDPE has been proven to deliver advantages in industrial and workboat outcomes for over 30 years, and while we pioneered this in the southern hemisphere, our main goal has been to incorporate this material into a high-performing naval craft. In order to achieve this, we have been required to develop a deep working knowledge of the material, highly innovative methods of construction, and a strong partnership with design teams and end-users.

This introduction and adoption of HDPE as a boat building material for tactical watercraft for the application in the defence industry, is the reason we have been short-listed for the Indo Pacific 2022 National and SME Innovation Awards.

The winners will be announced at a special online event on 26 April and receive their Awards during the Indo Pacific 2022 International Maritime Exposition at Sydney’s International Convention Centre (ICC) at Darling Harbour.

PFG would like to congratulate all other short-listed organisations and look forward to updating you on the outcome after the winners are announced.

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The contract, which represents one of the largest single orders of speciality craft yet undertaken by PFG, has helped open-up new market opportunities for the local boat builder.

PFG recently won a contract to build three 12.5 metre speciality watercraft for the New Zealand Defence Force  – a deal that is already exposing the firm’s capabilities to other customers in the highly competitive national and international defence force market.

PFG’s Chief Executive Officer, Rob Inches, said the opportunity to build watercraft for the military and for emergency services was in keeping with the company’s vision.

“Our aim is to build boats that complete the missions they are tasked to undertake and to then bring their crews homes safely. In that context, we delighted in building these boats for WADFES since they are specifically designed and constructed to provide rescue services to communities in times of natural emergencies,” Mr Inches said.

To mark this milestone of the WA contract, PFG today brought together its employees to personally thank them for their efforts in fulfilling the contract which has kept the business working around the clock for the past 18 months.

Mr  Inches said the reasons for the company’s growing success could be attributed to its innovative design and construction, the use of new generation materials and technology, and PFG’s local, skilled workforce.

“Without our people and our local suppliers, we would not be where we are,” he said. “We cannot thank them enough. We are very proud of what we do, and very proud that our boats are used in such vital services.”

In addition to currently constructing vessels for the New Zealand Defence Force, PFG has also recently won its first ever contract with an  Australian Government agency and is building two vessels for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

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The Sentinel range has evolved to include a broad range of RHIBs and vessels capable of achieving many mission sets.

PFG’s latest demonstration boat, The Sentinel 1100 is currently under construction and is taking shape in the Goodwood workshop.

Production over the last month is progressing with the 1100 configurable to a range of defence and security applications.

In collaboration with our partners, the development and delivery of the tactical watercraft are expected to hit the water ahead of Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition 2022.

Workshop update in pictures

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The Kiel heritage is something PFG is proud of. With the creation of long-lasting relationships, and a wide and varied list of proprietary products, the plastic pallet range is the greatest in the Southern Hemisphere. PFG offers a vast range of bulk storage bins, insulated bins, and hopper bins. The New Era fuel tank range is the largest in Australia. The Roto-Loo composting toilet surpasses competitors in design and ease of use. PFG continues to create and develop innovative and durable custom products that Kiel Industries customers have come to rely upon.

PFG is an award-winning Australian company with over forty years’ of experience designing, manufacturing, and selling polymer and marine products to maritime security, aquaculture, mining, and civil construction services. PFG’s increased scale matches its range of products and services with manufacturing facilities in Prince of Wales Bay Tasmania, Port Lincoln South Australia, and Gippsland Victoria. From simple moorings and buoys to fabricating and designing offshore sea cages and tactical watercraft, PFG takes pride in being creators of durable products for harsh environments.

Mark and the team in Morwell continue to produce high-quality products, however, the online presence has changed. The Kiel Industries website is no longer online but you can connect via LinkedIn and Facebook.

With offerings under the PFG name being far more significant than previous, the service will remain excellent and pricing competitive.

Mark Medew at PFG Morwell

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The two vessels, based on PFG’s proven Aquatruck Responder design, will be delivered to Brisbane and Darwin, represent the next generation of oil recovery watercraft.  These vessels are designed to be mobile and highly-manoeuvrable in order to be able to rapidly respond to environmental oil spill incidents and to be able to efficiently recover floating oil and oil debris which can be disastrous for the environment.  Oil spreads out rapidly across the water surface to form a thin layer which can be very harmful to marine ecosystems and needs to be contained quickly.

The vessels, designed by One2three Naval Architects and constructed in high density polyethylene (HDPE) will be high-performing and durable with significantly reduced whole of life operating costs. HDPE is easily repaired in-situ with no hot works, allowing reliability and therefore less downtime of the vessel.

PFG Senior Business Development Manager, Stephen McCullum said today that PFG’s Aquatruck range of work boats offered proven performance based on over 25 years’ experience of constructing hard-working vessels for Australian coastal conditions.

“Aquatrucks are legendary in the Australian maritime industry as reliable and virtually indestructible work boats,” Mr McCullum said,

“These new vessels are designed specifically to operate at a high level of performance and reliability and will be at the front line of protecting Australia’s precious coastline.”

The AMSA contract follows PFG’s recent announcement that it had secured agreement to design and construct three Sentinel 12.5 metre craft for the Royal New Zealand Navy.

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Hobart based boat builder PFG, today announced that through an open Tender process, it had secured a contract valued at approximately $6 million with the New Zealand Defence Force to design and construct three 12.5 metre, high-speed Littoral Manoeuvre Craft (LMC). These watercraft, will be fully constructed from next generation boat building material, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE).

PFG’s Chief Executive Officer, Rob Inches said today that the awarding of the contract was recognition of over 25 years’ experience the company has had in the building of durable and safe high-performance boats.

We have been building boats with HDPE for over 25 years, mainly for use in the aquaculture industry. However, with our Sentinel Tactical Watercraft branded boats, we have had success more recently in the police and emergency services sectors”, Mr Inches stated.

“Our boats are renowned for being virtually indestructible, can’t corrode or suffer from electrolyses and renown don’t ever require painting resulting in comparably low whole of life costs.

“The boat hulls are 100% recyclable, and of course being built in Tasmania, they are constructed using 100% renewable energy. We are also delighted that we have been able to partner with New Zealand industry with the inclusion of the highly renowned Hamilton Jet water propulsion units and General Marine Services of Auckland who are both major equipment suppliers and sustainment partners for the program.

“Due to the design excellence of a partner naval architects, One2Three of Sydney, and PFG’s craftmanship in building quality, the boats perform to a very high level, offering strength, reliability, manoeuvrability and crew safety that is unmatched in this class of craft.

“We are also proud that these craft are being built in a region such as Tasmania, a State with a boat building heritage stretching back over 200 years,” Mr Inches said.

“The LMC’s will provide the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) with an improved ability to detect and respond to underwater threats, support expeditionary reconnaissance and provide an agile platform for the transport of troops and materiel.

“It is also important that the LMCs are capable of performing multiple roles and tasks and be able to operate in a forward command role as required.

“We are proud of our Sentinel craft and proud of the team we have assembled who will deliver them. We are also delighted to work with the RNZN to develop a boat that will set a new bench mark in meeting the needs of a modern defence force,” Mr Inches said.

The post TASMANIAN BOAT BUILDER ANNOUNCES NEW ZEALAND DEFENCE CONTRACT appeared first on PFG.

For more information on the Tasmanian Governments commitment, Roger Jaensch, Minister for State Growth’s press release can be found here

The post HELPING TASMANIA’S ADVANCED MANUFACTURERS TO EXPLORE NEW OPPORTUNITIES appeared first on PFG.

Chaired by former Australian Consul General and Austrade Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, Chris Oldfield, the Committee includes Rear Admiral (Rtd.) Steve Gilmore AM CSC, Rear Admiral (Rtd.) Allan du Toit AM, former Tasmanian Police Inspector Lee Renshaw and PFG CEO Robert Inches.

CMDR (Rtd.) Parker will bring invaluable insight to the Committee to ensure PFG continues to create a premium product with Defence needs in front of mind.

CMDR (Rtd.) Parker is a highly experienced and respected Royal Australian Navy Officer and reconnaissance diver. He has served our country with distinction,” explains the Chair of PFG, Chris Oldfield. “CMDR (Rtd.) Parker will bring specific operational knowledge and experience that will be highly valuable in the development of The Sentinel. This will help ensure that we are designing and building vessels that are fit for purpose and offer a high level of performance, durability and crew protection.”

CMDR (Rtd.) Parker has three decades of Defence experience. He joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1980 and specialised as a Mine Warfare Clearance Diving Officer in 1985, later he served as the Executive Officer of Clearance Diving Team (CDT). He was deployed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as a member of Australian CDT3 for Operation Desert Storm. Afterwards he served in missions in both Iraq and East Timor. CMDR (Rtd.) Parker was posted to a secondment for the UN’s Integrated Training Service (ITS) in New York where he spent time in various UN missions in countries such as Burundi, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan.

I knew of PFG and its Sentinel range of watercraft through my long-time friend and colleague Admiral Gilmore,” CMDR (Rtd.) Parker said. ‘’I was very excited to be a part of PFG’s Advisory Committee for Defence Capability when I was offered the opportunity. I could see that The Sentinel’s highly durable HDPE construction, and innovative design features, would be great capability enhancers for the ADF.”

 

The PFG-manufactured Sentinel is used for patrols, crew transfer, rescue, first response and dive boat operations by Defence, public security, and emergency service organisations across Australia. The Sentinel is manufactured from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and delivers an inherently smooth ride at full speed due to the low centre of gravity and features shock and vibration absorbing properties, proven design and build methods. The smoother ride reduces fatigue and other safety risks to the vessel’s operators. It is these virtues that The Sentinel brings a new generation of evolved design, fast military vessels, as well as industry leading, low whole-of-life costs.

The post PFG’s DEFENCE CAMPAIGN BOLSTERED WITH THE ADDITION OF A NEW CAPABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBER appeared first on PFG.