Resources

Resources

Open House 1995

On November 11 of this year, Piping Technology once again hosted its annual Open House. Representatives from dozens of firms came from all areas to meet the PT&P team and to explore our impressive facilities. Close to 300 people passed through PT&P for the Open House and got a good look at what the future holds for our dynamic company.

Visitors got a chance to see first-hand the plans for our expansion, to view our new company video, to observe ongoing jobs in the shop and, of course, to stop for a delicious bite to eat along the way. Open House guests also went home with some souvenirs of their visit, from spring cans to PT&P caps to slide plate samples. And several lucky winners also received valuable door prizes won in a drawing.

The 1994 Open House was a great success, thanks to everyone who came. We are already getting excited about 1995 and the next chance to show you all the things that Piping Technology & Products, Inc. has to offer. Of course, you are always welcome to stop by the plant for a tour of the facilities at any time. We can’t wait to see you again next fall, or whenever you get a chance to come and visit.

Piping Technology and SPED: A Partnership for Life

The Society of Piping Engineers and Designers, or SPED, has been closely tied with Piping Technology & Products, Inc. since SPED’s founding in 1980. PT&P was one of the companies that helped found SPED fifteen years ago. We are still an active supporter, and our own Terry McCormick serves on the SPED board of directors. Thanks to this position, Terry has developed many friends in the field of piping design, which helps PT&P continue to serve this ever-changing industry.

SPED was born as the result of a union between the University of Houston and the community of piping professionals from the Houston area. Because of this special partnership, SPED has a genuine interest in encouraging the development of technical knowledge and engineering education. And now that SPED boasts over 400 members, the industry still benefits from the annual SPED conference and regular training courses. In addition to the more formal events and purposes of SPED, committee members certainly still know how to enjoy themselves. The annual fall picnic was held at the Buckhorn Ranch & Lake in Houston this year, and all of SPED’s members are eagerly looking forward to next year’.

Piping Technology & Products, Inc. is very proud of our involvement in SPED’s foundation and support. We hope that our support of this society will contribute to the pool of knowledge and experience in our field. We would also like to commend Terry McCormick on his continuing work on the board of directors, and to thank him for his devotion to our industry.

Advancements at PT&P

The newest addition to the Piping Technology & Products, Inc. family of machinery is a thermal spraying unit used for coating touch-ups on our equipment. The versatility of this piece of equipment makes it possible to recoat small areas of our products (which may have been missed by galvanizing) and ship them out quickly, without having to spend the time necessary to send the product for a completely new galvanizing job.

The spray gun works on a relatively simple principle. An electric arc within the gun melts the coating material, which is fed into the gun in wire form. As the wire feeder pulls the wire into the high heat zone, it is melted and blown or sprayed onto the surface to be coated by a forceful stream of compressed air. The spray coats the surface and cools to form a strong, flat structure which will protect the given material.

We at PT&P are very excited about this new addition to our shop, and are pleased that it will certainly allow us to offer you quicker deliveries and lower cost in the long run.

New Spirit of Excellence as PT&P Implements Bar-coding Plan for Quality

Sample Bar-Coded Tag
Sample Bar-Coded Tag

This fall, in the spirit of total quality, Piping Technology is beginning the implementation of a brand-new bar-coding system to streamline shipping, improve inventory techniques and maximize efficiency in all facets of our operation. The effects of this system will certainly be far-reaching, and will undoubtedly affect our customers positively and for years to come.

At present, the bar-coding system seeks to make shipment of jobs easier for both PT&P and for our clients around the world. All products are labeled with a computer-generated tag before they go out, thus cutting down on errors and man-hours, while simultaneously improving the readability and appearance of shipped products. See below for an example of our new shipping tags. As technology improves all around, we also expect for barcode scanners to be used by us and our clients. The scanners will allow for an instantaneous electronic record of all transactions to be made by whomever operates them. In this way, speed and efficiency will be running at peak levels on all sides.

Information Technology: PT&P Faces the Future

1994 has been marked by many new developments in the expanding field of electronic data interchange. Computer upgrades, improved drafting and engineering software, and an electronic network connecting all of PT&P’s computers all contribute to our advance into the future. Look on the Technical page for an example of computer-generated finite element analyses we produce to aid in stress analysis of our product line.

PT&P published a new catalog last winter, and plans are also underway for converting the catalog data to CD-ROM for our forthcoming Electronic Catalog. Piping Technology recognizes the vital importance of high-tech information transfer capability, and it is for this reason that we are looking to make our catalogs and other company information available to our customers who have updated their own electronic capabilities. You can now reach PT&P on the Internet! Our World-Wide Web home page can be found at https://pipingtech.com. Also, we can receive E-Mail at info@pipingtech.com. We are asking all of our customers with electronic mail capabilities to send us their e-mail addresses so we can begin compiling our Internet database.

Our adaptation to the latest computerized business tools is yet another testament to PT&P’s flexibility and desire to remain up-to-date with the latest technology in our field. Look for our new catalog, the upcoming PT&P CD-ROM, and the many other advances in electronic data interchange soon to be implemented at Piping Technology. Join us in the future of design, engineering and communications!

Summer Interns Benefit from PT&P's Investment in the Future

Over the summer of 1995, Piping Technology & Products, Inc. again took advantage of the opportunity for outreach to area high school and college students in order to give them some real-life experience in the world of professional engineering. This year, PT&P sponsored 12 summer interns for work in the design, engineering and clerical departments of our offices. This internship program is a great opportunity for Piping Technology as well as for the students themselves. Several of the students returned from last summer, and it is certain that several of them will be back next year.

The summer interns came from local St. John’s high school and from universities all over the country. Among the represented colleges were the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, Middlebury College and Rice University. As a matter of fact, PT&P employees got an exciting opportunity this season to watch summer intern Eric Ober help push the Rice football team to an unprecedented first-place ranking in the Southwest Conference.

Piping Technology & Products, Inc. is committed to furthering the education of today’s young leaders. PT&P realizes that, as we move into the future, the investments we make in the professional and academic development of students will most certainly flourish and provide us with a brighter tomorrow. Piping Technology & Products, Inc. thanks and salutes our summer interns. We look forward to continued participation and cooperation in years to come.

Fuel Cell Technology: PT&P's Role in Tomorrow's Energy Production

PT&P has received a contract to design, develop and furnish all of the supporting systems for a 250 kW fuel cell unit prototype. Greg P. Michaels and Kishor Bhalara represented PT&P in this venture, designing the alloy supports for the piping and equipment. See below for a look at the fuel cell. PT&P’s contributions are shown in dark green.

Fuel cell technology is a cutting-edge advance in the field of energy production. Though in principle fuel cells have been in development for over 150 years, today’s refinements and prototypes have put the units closer to commercial availability than ever before. During the “space race” of the 1950s and 1960s, NASA launched fuel cells into space for electrical generation on its Gemini and Apollo missions. Today, they are regularly used in space shuttle missions. Until recently, the high cost of fuel cells made them prohibitively expensive for commercial use. However, experts are now predicting a drop in the price per fuel cell kilowatt, and have even ventured that as much as 60,000 MW of power will be produced by fuel cell in the year 2010.

The fuel cell works on a simple though significant principle. Fuel cells produce power by converting chemical energy directly into electrical energy, without requiring work like that done by a rotating generator. As the need for mechanical work is eliminated, the efficiency of the fuel cell increases dramatically. If a fuel cell takes advantage of cogeneration technology as well, the overall efficiency of the unit skyrockets to between 80 and 90 percent, unheard of in conventional power generation schemes. See the diagram below for a look at PT&P’s contributions to this revolutionary advance in energy production technology.

Piping Technology and Products, Inc. is thrilled to be a part of this piece of history. This prototype is certain to profoundly affect the way the world gets its power in the future. PT&P continues to look toward the twenty-first century in our quest for innovation and excellence.

Corrosion Problems? Fight Back with Hot Dip Galvanizing

Many piping groups in E&C firms are reviewing their strategies for combating corrosion in piping components. The history of Piping Technology & Products, Inc. has been strongly influenced by industry efforts to combat corrosion, which has always been a major problem at Gulf Coast U.S.A. petrochemical plants. The bolted design we developed for variable springs was originally justified as a quality improvement for hot dipped galvanized finish. This approach allows the spring to be assembled and calibrated with no welding after galvanizing. Prior to this PT&P innovation, the heat from welding could damage both the finish of the welded component and the neoprene coating of the spring coil inside the can. The thousands of springs we have supplied with hot dipped galvanized finish and neoprene-coated coils have proven the validity of this approach as the most cost-effective way to prevent corrosion.

Hot dip galvanizing is a unique process which develops a metallurgical bond of zinc-iron alloy between the zinc coating and the steel product it protects. It provides a continuous layer barrier which physically isolates the steel from the environment. Painting, on the other hand, is a barrier coating which is subject to damage from contact (scratching). Hot dip galvanizing provides a much longer life than painting in corrosive environments partly because zinc forms protective oxide and carbonate films which reduce the rate of corrosion dramatically. Steel exposed to the same environment will corrode at a rate of about twenty-five times the rate of zinc. Zinc also resists accelerated local corrosion even when its outer film has been broken or scratched. The actual rate varies with the electrolyte at the surface.

We provide various types of finishes for corrosion. Contact us for the right finish for your application.


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Plant Expansion Promises Bright Future

This fall marks the beginning of our plant expansion to over 240,000 square feet— an increase of more than 42%

This expansion will help maximize Piping Technology’s plant safety and efficiency. We are adding a covered loading dock to facilitate pickups and deliveries from trucks, regardless of the weather. We will also be paving and covering our large shipping yard. Wall lights and skylights in the warehouse will improve its appearance and the new ventilation systems and fireproof exit corridors we will be installing will boost our emergency safety capabilities. Finally, the entire plant will be made wheelchair-accessible and in accordance with all ADA specifications and regulations. A diagram of the plant can be seen below, with the proposed expansion highlighted in blue

Plant Expansion
Proposed Plant Expansion: The blue area indicates the shop space being added

Completion of PT&P’s expansion is targeted for early 1996. This means that next year, and in years to come, PT&P customers can look forward to heightened production, speedier delivery, and maximum efficiency from Piping Technology. Don’t forget to come out and see the beautiful new addition to our plant next year we can’t wait to show you around!

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