By Mridula Bhattacharya
Corrotherm International, supplier of heat and corrosion resistant materials, doubled its turnover in 2005 and also moved to its new facility in Sharjah.
Last year the company launched three new alloys one of which can be used to replace titanium, which is under a worldwide supply shortage at the moment. Corrotherm has also added a super alloy to the range that is specifically for olefins furnaces that will increase production capability of olefins.
The third material is an improvement on one of the most commonly used metals in the aerospace and gas turbine industry.
It has also recently increased its stock range in Inconel 625 and widened its range of sizes in seamless duplex pipes.
"For 2006 we will be concentrating on establishing our stocks of nickel alloys and duplex stainless steels in the UAE which will be unique in the region," according to a company spokesperson.
"We will also be holding a number of technical seminars in the region aimed at passing on the latest information in metals technology."
There are also plans to establish an office in Qatar in addition to its existing offices in the UK, UAE, Saudi and Iran.
"We will be working with customers in Kazakhstan directly for the first time and hope to establish a facility there.
"We are also investigating the needs of training for fabricators in the region in the techniques for fabricating nickel alloys and high grade stainless steels. We feel that as these materials become more commonly used these skills will need to be more widely available to the local fabricators who will be doing more of the fabrication of these materials here, rather than in the US and Europe as has been the case in the past."
Corrotherm has been operating in the Middle East for the past 15 offering a range of materials in nickel alloy (including shape memory alloys), stainless steel, duplex, titanium, aluminium and copper alloys in all product forms.
These products are utilised for their corrosion resistance and/or strength in high temperature applications.
"The experience of our staff encompasses every field from the initial design process, through specification and manufacturing to final fabrication," says the spokesperson. "This enables us produce practical solutions to real engineering and supply solutions."
Corrotherm's extensive scope of material supply ranges in high nickel alloys, copper nickels, titanium and duplex stainless steel and are suitable in the most aggressive and high risk areas of industrial processing.
"High alloy materials save money by providing a longer life and consequently lower maintenance costs in plants where there is a high level of corrosion or high temperature processes. In light of this modern material selection process our extensive range of materials ensures that there is a "tailor made" solution for all applications."
Corrotherm products are used in many industrial applications including:
The chemical & process industries: Wrought nickel and the alloys of the Incoloy, Inconel and Monel series are used for their corrosion-resistance in process applications from vessels, piping and heat exchangers to pumps and valves.
Marine industry: Monel is used for its resistance to seawater corrosion in marine and submarine applications, on offshore platforms and in power and process plants using seawater as a coolant.
Oil and gas extraction industries: Inconel, Incoloy and Monel alloys are used for applications ranging from down hole tubulars and tools, through well-head hardware and processing equipment to flare booms.
Some of these alloys are particularly useful for wells where sour gas and oil products at high temperatures could create major operating problems.
Petrochemical processing: Incoloy and Inconel high temperature corrosion resistance alloys are used for vessels, reactors, heat-exchangers, pyrolysis tubing, pigtails, headers and transfer piping.
In this largely continuous process industry, the predictable reliable performance of these alloys is a major benefit to plant designers and operators.
Pollution control and waste process: Corro-therm products are used in power utilities and municipal and hazardous waste management systems, calling for the highest known performance from metallic materials working in aggressively corrosive environments.
Applications include stack linings, scrubbers, boiler tubing and heat exchangers.
All products are manufactured in accordance with international standard to ASTM/ASME, DIN, AFNOR and JIS. Quality Assurance procedures conforming to ISO 9002 are strictly adhered to.
Over the past 15 years the company has been involved with most of the major projects including: Qatargas II; South Pars 4 and 5; South Pars 17 and 18; South Pars 6, 7 and 8; AGIP; Khasagan and Dolphin.
In addition it also supplies Saudi Aramco, Sabic Services, Adnoc Group, Kuwait National Oil Co, DEWA, SEWA and all their EPC contractors amongst many others for maintenance and upgrade projects.
