The Thermal Insulation and Abatement Experts

Inscan Contractors Inc.
Written by Robert Hoshowsky

Energy-conscious Canada is ‘going green.’ Inscan Contractors helps businesses, industries, and government save the environment by using less energy. Just a simple, practical, money-saving way to bring about a better, cleaner future for the planet.

Inscan Contractors has been leading the way in industrial thermal insulation and abatement solutions since 1982. In these 37 years its client base has come to read like a who’s who of industry, from world-famous Redpath Sugar to the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), ArcelorMittal – the world’s leading integrated steel and mining company – and energy sector clients including the Ontario Power Generation (OPG), Imperial Oil, Enwave, IGI, and Suncor. Currently, the company has taken on projects in excess of $25 million.

A provincewide force in the industry, with a stellar track record, Inscan builds on its status as Ontario’s expert in thermal insulation. The company takes on projects for new and existing customers in industrial, institutional, commercial, and nuclear sectors. These projects include new builds and operating-plant maintenance work. And no matter the sector, the company’s commitment to safety for all involved remains its top priority.

Keeping it safe
Often working under the most challenging conditions, Inscan’s leadership core and highly trained specialists operate with the conviction that every workplace-related injury or illness is preventable. Specific jobs – especially working in tight and limited spaces, as is necessary in the oil and gas sector – demand special skills, which is why the company rope access specialists are all certified with the International Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA).

“It takes a special breed,” says Operations Manager Chris Paszkat of Inscan’s IRATA certified experts, who regularly work with ropes and related equipment at extreme heights to access work areas, and whose lives depend on safe support. “Rope Access injuries are few and far between using IRATA rope-access trained technicians. There are numerous safety procedures and protocols in place.”

This past April, Inscan Contractors received a notable safety award from the Hamilton-Halton Construction Association (HHCA) in Category 3 – from 100,000 to 249,999 hours worked – recognizing its excellent safety record in 2016/17. Inscan is a long-time member of the HHCA.

Unwavering in its pursuit of a safe workplace for all, Inscan is moving towards Certificate of Recognition (COR™) safety certification, which it hopes to achieve by 2020.

Endorsed by members of the Canadian Federation of Construction Safety Associations (CFCSA), COR “provides employers with an effective tool to assess their health and safety management system,” according to the Ontario Government’s Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA)

Having started up in Alberta over two decades ago, the COR™ program is the standard used by many business sectors, including construction, with the IHSA having jurisdiction to grant COR, the national safety certification, in Ontario.

Insulation, abatement and more
In his almost 20 years with the company, Paszkat has worked in many roles, including apprentice, mechanic, foreman, superintendent, and now operations manager. In his role in Inscan’s growth over the decades, he has seen how the business has continually added services to accommodate client requirements.

“Our core wheelhouse is industrial insulation,” he says. “Then we branched out to scaffold; coatings and sandblasting rope access; asbestos, lead, and mould abatement; fire stop and fireproofing.”

Working with clients small and large, Inscan’s internal emphasis is on quality execution, and the on-time and on-budget completion of projects. From insulation systems for pipes, vessels, equipment, boilers and turbines, to asbestos and mould abatement, fireproofing systems, scaffold/access systems, corrosion under insulation, dry ice blasting services, passive firestop systems and more, the company can meet all customer requirements.

Energy loss appraised, money saved
Among Inscan’s growing services is energy appraisal. With its own insulation energy appraisers certified by the National Insulation Association® (NIA) – a not-for-profit trade association based in Virginia – Inscan works with clients to significantly reduce their facility’s energy consumption, costs, and environmental impact.

Using advanced software, Inscan’s certified appraisers evaluate the thermal performance in clients’ facilities of all piping and equipment, insulated or not, measuring actual BTU (British Thermal Unit) losses, and “translate those losses into dollars, and calculate your greenhouse gas emission levels,” according to the company. “Most importantly, they can project total potential energy savings/emissions reductions with an upgrade to your insulation system.”

Customers are presented with a customized report to guide the action they take. “The report is designed to help make informed business decisions regarding insulation that can have significant payback for the life of your facility,” according to Inscan. “Insulation systems provide an excellent return on investment and quick payback through cost savings.”

As energy survey specialists, Inscan’s team not only determines the best type and quantity of insulation, based on temperature and location – sometimes less insulation than anticipated – but the amount of maintenance required, which can vary with the system.

Driving down costs – and emissions
By working directly with fuel suppliers Enbridge and Union Gas, which have good incentive programs, the company can help customers realize even greater savings and rebates. As a bonus, “Insulation is also good for the environment,” says Paszkat. “It helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning systems (CO2, CO, and NOx) On top of the environmental factors, Insulation significantly improves the performance of industrial processes, increases the interior comfort of buildings, helps to control energy waste, saves personnel from burns and injuries in the workplace, and helps owners save money in energy costs.”

An advantage coming from Inscan’s close relationship with fuel suppliers like Enbridge is that they will also – with their eye on the long term – structure their charges to provide an incentive to clients to insulate their pipes. As supplies of natural gas are by nature limited, fuel suppliers don’t want to see waste or extravagant use of their product – whatever the reason – so they provide an incentive to insulate.

“It is very beneficial for everyone to insulate,” says Paszkat. “It is good for us as the contractor, and it is good for the client, because a properly designed, specified, installed and maintained insulation system is really an investment, as ROI or payback is seldom rivalled and is usually realized in six months or less.

Major projects
Recently, the Inscan-Interprovincial Joint Venture completed the insulation at the Napanee CoGeneration Power Plant, one of the largest insulation projects in Ontario in recent times.

Together with Interprovincial Insulation based out of Kingston, Ontario, the Inscan-Interprovincial Joint Venture Inc. was formed. Led by Inscan’s President Tom Kelly, the IIJV was responsible for the supply and install of all pertinent insulation systems required at the power plant, including combustion and steam turbines, heat-recovery steam generators, and all related equipment, pipework and ductwork.

The IIJV’s portion of work was approximately $25 million of the cost of the natural-gas fuelled generator. With up to 100 staff on site for over two years, the company expects completion by the end of this year.

Operations Manager Paszkat says that Inscan and Interprovincial reputation, experience, and size were the factors that aided the Joint Venture in procuring the project. “There weren’t a lot of our competitors who were able to take on a project of this magnitude,” he says.

Word of mouth
The company advertises on some sites including LinkedIn, but still receives most of its new work through word-of-mouth recommendations by site engineers, facility managers, and others on the client side. More frequently, as recently occurred with Redpath Sugar, customers have an established relationship with Inscan – for 30 years in Redpath’s case – and simply don’t want to go anywhere else.

“They trust us, and we have a good working relationship. You take care of your clients, and they take care of you. We have grown substantially every year over the past several years. That is because of our reputation, our quality work, and our relationships with our clients,” says Paszkat.

With an eye to building its business, Inscan envisages growth in the nuclear sector, including Bruce Power, a nuclear plant on the eastern shores of Lake Huron, which is undergoing major expansion over the next 20 years.

“People are realizing you have to protect your assets, or they’re not going to last. They’re going to cost you money down the road,” he says. “And energy appraisals are important, especially environmentally. Canadians are becoming more passionate and knowledgeable in regards to greenhouse gas emissions. We are seeing that, by insulating, it saves on these greenhouse gas emissions and on unnecessary pollution.”

The “Power of Insulation” is tremendous, notes Paszkat. “The trick is to find a contractor that you trust, with the experience, knowledge, and passion to see your project through from inception to completion. That is where Inscan Contractors is ready and eager to take your call.”

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