PITTSBURGH Corning, a leading manufacturer of Foamglas, cellular glass insulation products for both industrial and commercial use, sees steady future growth for the company driven largely by the oil and gas sector in the Middle East.

“I think it is fair to say that the oil and gas sectors have been good for us and we see nice steady growth in the future, barring anything unforeseen which might put the brakes on that momentum,” says Peter Bakker, region manager, Pittsburgh Corning Europe – Middle East operations.

Having performed well last year, the company is looking forward to robust business in future, as well. “The company has done well during the last year. Our business has been very good. Our manufacturing colleagues are keeping busy,” he says.

“We should continue to be busy in the Middle East for the foreseeable future. Our business globally is expected to be strong as well,” Bakker adds.

Bakker started work at Pittsburgh Corning Europe-Middle East in 2007 and continues to manage the company’s engineering and sales activities in the oil and gas markets. In addition, he is also responsible for managing the company’s relations with several key global contractors with operations in the Middle East.

The company’s key focus in the Middle East is the engineering, manufacturing, and supply of cellular glass insulation, which provides superior long term insulation value and fire protection for sophisticated processes such as the gas processing, petrochemical, and refining businesses. These high performance insulation products and systems have significant service life performance records with few rivals.

According to Bakker, the company continues to invest in the business and is currently constructing a new factory in China to serve the Asian market. “This is important as the industrial demographics in Asia continue to grow. It will also relieve some of the demand pressure which has historically challenged our US and European factories. In addition, we are investing in more technology professionals (we currently have several PhD material scientists on our staff) in an effort to continue the process of making our products more application friendly and cost effective for our customers.”

Looking forward, Bakker says that the company’s number one priority is to finish the plant construction in China and get into production. “In addition to the investments previously mentioned herein, we are also adding staff to our technical services group to make sure we continue to supply the highest quality technical assistance for our customers, given their increasing project demand levels. We are also working on some new systems which will reduce the cost of our material per unit of length (linear metres or feet) of pipe, but this is nothing new.”

Talking about the challenges in implementing the projects in the region, Bakker says: “Basically, our business is engineering driven, so nothing really starts for us until there is a project schematic, then a specification. Once the construction project is funded, then the real fun begins. We line up contractors to bid on and ultimately complete the work and we protect our specification position from competitors, some of which are less than qualified at times.”

The company also has a committed sales force driven to the building insulation market, also headquartered in Dubai. “They have done a nice job of securing several significant `owner occupied’ structures where fire safe and water resistant insulation is critical,” Bakker adds.

The company has completed notable projects with the Hamad International Airport (Qatar), RasGas, QP, Saudi Aramco, Adgas, Takreer RRE, Sabic, Yanbu Export Refinery Project and Sadara Chemical. “We have new work pending with all of the aforementioned companies, plus KPC and the Jazan oil refinery,” Bakker reveals.

A privately held company, Pittsburgh Corning has sales offices in many global locations, six manufacturing facilities (including the one under construction in China) and distribution points (or partners) which serve all continents but Antarctica.

Pittsburgh Corning was formed in 1937 in the US and Pittsburgh Corning Europe was organised by the same owners in 1963. The company has been active in the Middle East since the mid-70s and its direct presence in this region is now approaching ten years.

“Our company tagline is `Protecting Companies and Their People Worldwide’. We’re very proud of that and strive to provide the best ethical performance to go along with it,” Bakker concludes.