Tait Weathers Severe Storm for the New Zealand Refining Company

In July 2007, the New Zealand Metrological Service issued a severe weather warning for the country’s northern area. Heavy rains and strong winds were expected to hit the region for at least two days. 

Located at Marsden Point, near Whangarei in the province of Northland, the New Zealand Refining Company (NZRC) was positioned to feel the brunt of this incoming storm.  The company operates New Zealand’s only oil refinery and is the nation’s leading supplier of refined petroleum products. It relies on Tait radios to ensure its operations run smoothly and efficiently.

When the storm hit, the Marsden Point area experienced wind speeds of 100km/h as an average and 201km/h the strongest recorded for the storm, grading it as a minor cyclone.  As a result there was substantial damage to the area; large sheds were destroyed, old trees uprooted and numerous buildings sustained major damage from the wild weather. 

The refinery experienced some fairly major damage to parts of its infrastructure; but despite this, the refinery’s Tait radio system remained operational throughout the storm and came through with absolutely no damage.  Operating both conventional and trunked radio systems, The NZRC uses Tait base stations, Tait Orca 5040 Intrinsically Safe (IS) portables and Tait mobiles. The single site Trunked network provides day staff with 17 different talk groups, ranging from security and emergency services to engineering and contractors. 

The Tait single site conventional system operates nine channels, providing the 24 hour, seven days–a-week operations staff with the communications needed to keep things moving.  Recent growth saw the NZRC choose Tait again for the introduction of three new channels to their conventional network.  The company’s ongoing relationship with Tait now ensures the 24/7 staff have access to communications they can trust to better manage their operations.  In particular the introduction of a systems instrumentation channel which provides staff with a designated channel for function testing, trip testing and shut downs. 

A key benefit of the company’s communications system is the use of an emergency services channel.  In the event of an emergency, those in the affected area can be informed of the incident whether they are on the trunked or conventional network.  This is achieved by an Omnitronics audio interface system, a software and hardware application that links the two networks ensuring the emergency channel operates effectively.  

Fortunately the emergency services channel was not needed during the storm.  Whilst this system provides the NZ Refinery with streamlined efficient communications, it was the installation and durability of the network that proved most impressive.  A major contributor to the system’s success was the installation service provided by Tait.  The superior installation service ensured the antennas didn’t budge throughout the storm, and came through with no repair work required to any components of the system.