TPT March 2013

31 / 108

Industry News
March 2013 29
Erne Fittings supplies weld-
overlay elbows and tees to Brazil
THYSSENKRUPP Mannex and Erne
Fittings were recently able to secure a
major order of seamless pipes, fittings
and flanges for a project in Brazil.
Pipes, fittings and flanges are
processed to spools in Suape/Recife
and afterwards integrated into the
refinery “Abreu e Lima RNEST”.
The plant, which is located in Ipojuca in
north-eastern Brazil, is a pilot project of
Petrobras, Brazil’s largest oil company.
In future, oil products with a high
sulphur content will be processed into
diesel with a very low sulphur content
here, using high temperatures and
hydrogen (“hydrotreating”).
The over 200 cladded elbows and
tees with a dimensional range of 457 x
(29.4 + 3)mm are made from the heat-
resistant base material WP22 and an
inside weld overlay of 317L. Compliance
with tightest manufacturing tolerances
during forming process and weld-overlay,
as well as flexible weld-end preparation
in accordance with the connection
dimensions of the straight clad pipes,
ensure problem-free welding of the
composite materials.
Erne clad fittings combine high strength
with excellent corrosion properties. The
inner surface of a high-strength C-steel
base material is coated with corrosion-
resistant materials (eg austenite, Ni-
based alloys). During use, the high-
alloy weld-overlay layer prevents direct
contact with the corrosive media and
the ferritic base material ensures the
required mechanical properties with
regard to pressure and temperature,
such as strength and impact toughness.
In contrast to solid CRA (corrosion
resistant alloys), Erne clad fittings
enable threefold cost savings: due to
the lower price of C-steel compared to
high-alloy steels; due to the reduction
in material used (the higher strength
of the C-steel allows for thinner walls);
and as thinner walls mean a significant
reduction in the welding and inspection
expenses when processing the fittings.
This saving potential is especially
high when either large wall thicknesses
are required due to high pressures and/
or temperatures, or very complex and
therefore expensive alloy concepts are
needed due to the corrosive load.
Erne clad fittings are manufactured
in cooperation between Erne Fittings
and Uhlig Rohrbogen. Erne Fittings
has produced high quality elbows, tees
and reducers since the early 1920s,
as a result of which the company has
established itself as a premium supplier
in the approved field. Uhlig Rohrbogen is
a specialist in the field of weld-overlaying
for an extremely wide range of industrial
applications, such as boiler walls for
waste incinerator plants.
Erne Fittings GmbH – Austria
Email:
Website:
Logistics firm
celebrates
anniversary
RHYS Davies Freight Logistics is celebrating 60 years in
the transport industry. The company began as a family
business in 1952, and currently has 190 vehicles operating
throughout the UK from nine strategically located depots.
Rhys Davies offers tailored warehousing, distribution
and handling service across its nine operating centres,
providing customers with value added, cost saving
services. One example of this is the paint mixing service
that Rhys Davies provides for two separate European paint
manufacturers at its Birmingham and Cardiff warehouses.
This process includes a fully traceable quality sampling
and testing process, where samples are taken, measured
and sent to the customer for recording purposes.
Gary Phillips, commercial manager of Rhys Davies
Freight Logistics, said, “Because the clients are based in
Europe it makes more sense for the paints to be mixed
at our warehouse rather than them shipping paint colours
speculatively. It saves them time, inventory and money.”
Rhys Davies Freight Logistics – UK
Email:
Website: