TÜV SÜD engineering lab launches Advanced Multiphase Facility
The TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory in Glasgow, Scotland recently launched its £16 million ($20.6 million) Advanced Multiphase Facility (AMF), which will help global oil and gas operators to ensure that production remains economically viable.
Operating at pressures up to 140 bar, the AMF doubles previous test facility capabilities to meet the industry’s current and future measurement challenges. With a working envelope at least 20 times larger than any multiphase or wet gas facility in the world, the AMF also has the highest flow rate in the world (for both gas and liquid) within one multiphase facility.
The AMF contains a full production scale separator and is also the only facility in the world to offer an integrated subsea choke.
ExRobotics, Yokogawa collaborate on inspection robotics tech for facilities in hazardous environments
ExRobotics B.V., a Netherlands-based developer of robotics technology for hazardous environments, and Yokogawa Electric Corporation, a global provider of industrial automation, control and measurement technology, have signed an agreement that will enable Yokogawa to sell and deploy ExRobotics’ inspection robot hardware and software platforms worldwide.
ExRobotics was established in 2017 to commercialize robotics technology for use in the potentially explosive atmospheres found at oil and gas production and processing facilities, which are often in remote locations with harsh environments.
Under the agreement, Yokogawa will leverage its customer base and global sales and service network to introduce the ExR-1 and future ExRobotics products to offshore and onshore oil and gas production facilities where inspections by humans should be minimized, as well as large refineries and chemical plants.
SABIC opens new caps and closures technology center
SABIC, a global leader in the chemicals industry, recently opened its new Technology and Innovation Center dedicated to the caps and closures segment in Geleen, the Netherlands.
The center includes facilities that allow SABIC to simulate the real-life performance of finished products. The dedicated research laboratory has equipment for testing material characteristics such as mechanical properties, dimensional stability and environmental stress cracking resistance. Cap specimens can be produced in-house for performance testing for potential applications and for the development of improved products. There will also be capability for developing and testing new product designs.
Chroma Color expands Massachusetts facility
Chroma Color Corporation recently completed a yearlong expansion of its Leominster, Massachusetts, manufacturing operation. The investments included significant structural upgrades, new compounding lines, a dust collection system and new state-of-the-art color development laboratory, along with improvements to both warehousing and office environments.
Chroma Color Corporation is a specialty color and additive concentrate supplier with more than $160 million in sales.
Sulzer expands footprint in Southeast Asia
Sulzer, a provider of pumping solutions, services for rotating equipment and separation, mixing and application technology, recently opened a service center in Semenyih, Malaysia.
Local industries — including oil and gas, power generation and water — will benefit from the recent opening of the new service center. The center specializes in centrifugal pumps, compressors, steam turbines and electric motors.
