TPi April 2010

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14 Tube Products International April 2010
United Arab Emirates’ largest pre-insulated pipe
manufacturing facility inaugurated
HRH the Crown Prince of Denmark,
Frederik and HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum
have inaugurated Empower-Logstor
Insulated Pipes Systems (ELIPS), UAE’s
largest pre-insulated pipe manufacturing
facility, in Jebel Ali. The move signifies
UAE’s drive towards diversification of
economy in order to sustain growth.
ELIPS is a joint venture between
district cooling company Emirates
Central Cooling Systems Corporation
(EMPOWER), and Logstor, a
manufacturer of pre-insulated pipes.
The $25mn facility will cater to the
requirements of district cooling services
and oil and gas across the Middle
East. District cooling is said to be over
50% more efficient than conventional air
conditioning solutions; it also removes
the heavy load on the electricity grid
when demand for cooling is high.
ELIPS will ensure high quality of
insulation and casing of pipes, enhancing
efficiency and maintenance costs of
district cooling systems services. It will
also ensure price control by improving
supply chain and eliminating artificial
price fluctuations created due to the
demand-supply gap.
Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower
(51% partner), said: “ELIPS will also
specialise in and supply pre-insulated
pipes to the oil and gas sector as
well as district cooling. Through ELIPS,
Empower will be saving between
15–25% on the cost of pre-insulated
pipes for its various projects.”
ELIPS will benefit from its location in
Jebel Ali Industrial area, which will
provide easy access to both Dubai and
Abu Dhabi markets, which are one of
the largest markets for district cooling
and oil & gas sectors in the region.
Logstor has been serving the Gulf
region since 1992 and is now marking
its commitment to serve the region by
establishing an anchored presence with
the ELIPS factory.
ELIPS uses spray technology for
manufacturing large diameter pre-
insulated pipes, which will ensure high
quality products and also result in
savings in raw material costs compared
to traditional injection technology. The
company states that currently only one
out of five existing pre-insulated pipe
manufacturers use spray technology.
Logstor – Denmark
The opening ceremony at the ELIPS facility
Plymouth Tube Company’s Salisbury
Mill has attained Nadcap accreditation
for both heat treating and material
testing laboratories. The mill is
claimed to be the first North American
tubing manufacturer to earn the dual
accreditation from Nadcap for seamless
stainless aerospace tubing.
Nadcap accreditation is becoming
widely accepted as the standard in
the worldwide aerospace industry. The
audits at Plymouth Tube – Salisbury
were performed by PRI (Performance
Review Institute). In addition to Nadcap,
the Salisbury mill also is certified under
ISO9001:2008 and AS9100 surveillance
(International Aerospace Quality
Aerospace tubing manufacturer celebrates being first US
tubing company to attain dual Nadcap accreditation
Management Systems). To meet these
standards, process controls and testing
procedures are utilised to ensure proper
heat treatment of materials, eliminating
the chance of inner granular corrosion,
thereby reducing the risk of field failures.
These process controls provide tubing
that demonstrates uniform, repeatable
mechanical properties, resulting in
improved downstream fabricating
processes.
Steve Bohnenkamp, VP sales &
marketing at Plymouth Tube said, “We
have been providing high quality tubing
to the aerospace industry since the
1920s. Earning Nadcap accreditation
for both heat treating and material
lab testing reinforces our long term
commitment to being a leading supplier
of tubing and special shapes to the
global aerospace industry.”
Plymouth Tube Co supplies the
aerospace, transportation, energy and
industrial markets. Steel, nickel and
titanium extruded and cold drawn
shapes are produced by Plymouth
Engineered Shapes, while Plymouth
Tube Co Chicago Processing offers coil
slitting and a wide variety of edging
options.
Plymouth Tube Co – USA