By Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme
Established in 1775, Mandals AS has been operating in Norway providing wide range of lay flat hose products to local and international markets. Mandals AS is a global supplier of lay flat hoses for agriculture, industry, fire and much more…Some of the company’s products are irrigation hoses, drinking water and well hoses, dewatering hoses, slurry drag hoses, heavy duty transfer hoses, compressed air hoses (Mantex) and of course fire hoses.
Flexible lay flat hoses offer many advantages over more inflexible types of hoses or pipes, for instance in terms of transport and storage volumes, handling and usage. Product development is a top priority at Mandals, focusing mainly on the area of large dimension heavy-duty polyurethane hoses. The well known MANTEX compressed air hose is typical case study of the company’s high quality lay flat hose with very high pressure ratings.
Another case study is the Mandals Mortar, a concrete placement hose with 2500 psi/172 bar burst pressure, designed to meet the very strict ASME requirements.
Over the last years, Mandals have invested heavily in machinery and have open up to reach a wider market through production for external companies in addition to the continued cooperation and production for its sister
company. Product development and product quality is strongly focused at Mandals, which has earned the company ISO 9001 certification.
Mandals Technology AS, a sister company of Mandals AS, offers three world class models of circular weaving looms. Mandals Technology AS has developed and manufactured Circular Looms since the 1930’s, and is now the leading
global developer and manufacturer of this machinery, which is used for the production of lay flat hoses.
The company has developed more models of the Circular Loom with engineers and tools to cover all tasks from
initial idea until the finished products. A well equipped modern workshop with up-to-date machinery as well as skilled staff makes the company both competitive and innovative.
Mandals AS offers nitrile rubber extruded hoses up to 6 inches diameter (152 mm) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) extruded hoses up to 12 inches diameter (305 mm). The Extrusion through the weave method gives a very strong bond between the inner reinforcement and the TPU or rubber cover. Generally, nitrile rubber has an abrasion resistance approx. 3 times better than PVC, and TPU has an abrasion resistance 4-5 times better than nitrile rubber. Mandals also manufactures uncovered textile hoses.
Mandals delivers quality hoses:
Mandals has always been a pioneer in the development of quality lay flat hoses. There are different types of hoses and the most common ones are with braided or spun reinforcement, like hydraulic and garden hoses. The amount of
reinforcement decides the burst pressure. This is why people equal thickness of hose wall with strength. Tensile strength or end pull is limited, and when such a hose is pulled hard, the braiding will cut into the stretched hose and the hose delaminates.
More interesting, the type of hose which is been manufactured by Mandals AS, is made with a woven reinforcement. This gives a hose with reinforcement similar to a circular woven hoisting sling. Since the reinforcement is woven, it interlocks, thus achieving very high burst pressure and tensile strength (end pull) ratings. Typically an identical pressure rating with woven jacket requires 1/5 of the wall thickness compared with braided reinforcement.
Mandals offers rubber- or polyurethaneextruded hoses for most areas of utilization. The wide range of lay flat hose
products includes, but is not limited to:
• Compressed air hoses (Mantex)
• Irrigation hoses
• Drinking water hoses
• Slurry drag hoses
• Heavy duty transfer hoses
• Dewatering hoses
• Pipe rehabilitation linings
• Fire hoses
Track Records:
Mandals has been involved with major projects in international markets with a consistent track record of delivering it
services to clients within Norway and other countries. Some of these projects are listed below:
Drill Water Hose, GCC
Mandals Flexitex Extra Tropical are used as drill water hoses at on shore oil installation in f.ex. Oman, Bahrain, Saudi
Arabia.
Silt Curtain, Norway
Mandals Flexitex Extra hoses and other hoses have been used as flotation devices for silt curtains, oil lenses, fish nets and more.
Pipe Relining Operation, Norway
Mandals Inversion Lining used at Sauda, Norway, 2011.
Guardman Fire Hose, UK
Mandals Guardman yellow fire hoses used at the Total refinery fire at Hemel Hempstead (UK) in 2005.
Wellman Borehole Installation, Australia
Mandals Wellman, 230 m total, drinking water well, Brisbane, Australia, 2009
