At the Arendal headquarters, where 80 people work, CEO Svein Haglund and Chief Marketing Officer Jan Kristensen, shared the story of a company that has pioneered purpose-fit CCTV for hazardous and corrosive environments since 1982.
“Hernis provides advanced camera-based surveillance systems for marine and oil & gas installations worldwide. Our solutions contribute to increased efficiency and provide safety for people and equipment in hazardous areas and under extreme conditions,” said Haglund.
How extreme? Well, the camera-based surveillance systems designed, and partially built, in Arendal are certified for use when the temperature drops to minus 60 degrees Celsius or rises to 70 degrees Celsius! So, pretty extreme!
The Hernis client list includes global players such as Petrobras, Equinor, Saudi Aramco, Aker BP, National Oilwell Varco, Schlumberger, Hyundai, Samsung, Saipem and Technip. In other words: Pretty impressive!
The cameras are said to provide great images from 300 meters away in pitch dark. They are coupled with software that produces heat maps, detects smoke and gas, tracks people, and detects if a person is down. The system can also – subject to privacy policies – be set up to detect if a person is not wearing a helmet or protective glasses in a working environment.
“This breakfast meeting is one of the last times we will be accepting visitors at this location,” said Haglund. “We are soon to move to a custom-build facility at Longum Park in Arendal – a modern office and production building with room for growth.”
Following the Hernis presentation, Marie Søraker-Sonesen presented a variety of courses taught at Fagskolen i Agder (Vocational School in Agder) within health, technology, and the maritime sector.
“Our offering also includes courses tailored for the business sector and full-time employees within the process industry, the wood industry, the maritime sector and batteries,” said Søraker-Sonesen.
