Home » Industry News » Petrochemicals, Oil & Gas » Air Products and Columbus Stainless: Stainless Steel Casting Collaboration
Air Products prides itself on its commitment to customer satisfaction. This is reflected in the number of clients with whom they maintain long-term relationships. The solid foundation of this relationship is based on Air Products’ approach, innovative measures and technologies to provide customers with quality products that allow them to avoid delays and disruptions. Air Products recently helped its largest argon customer, Columbus Stainless, resolve production issues that could seriously impact their operations.
This relationship dates back to the 1980s when the company was renamed Columbus Stainless. Over the years, Air Products has gradually increased the industrial gas output of Columbus Stainless, Africa’s only stainless steel plant, part of the Acerinox group of companies.
On June 23, 2022, Columbus Stainless reached out to the Air Products team for help with an emergency oxygen supply solution. The Air Products team acted quickly to ensure that production of Columbus Stainless continued with minimal downtime and to avoid delays in export trade.
Columbus Stainless is facing a major problem with its oxygen supply through its pipeline. On Friday evening, the general manager of the supply chain received an emergency call about possible solutions to the lack of oxygen.
Key people in the company are asking for solutions and options, which requires late-night calls and site visits after business hours to discuss possible routes, viable options, and equipment requirements that can be considered. These options were discussed and reviewed by Air Products executives, technical and engineering teams on Saturday morning, and the following solutions were proposed and adopted by the Columbus team in the afternoon.
Due to an interruption in the oxygen supply line and unused argon installed at the site by Air Products, the technical team recommended that the existing argon storage and vaporization system be retrofitted and used as an alternative to supplying oxygen to the plant. By changing the use of equipment from argon to oxygen, it is possible to use all the necessary controls with minor changes. This will require the fabrication of temporary piping to provide interconnection between the unit and the oxygen supply to the plant.
The ability to change equipment service to oxygen is considered the safest and easiest solution, offering the best solution that can meet the client’s expectations within the time frame.
According to Nana Phuti, Lead Female Senior Project Engineer at Air Products, after offering an extremely ambitious timeline, they were given the green light to bring in multiple contractors, form a team of installers, and meet prerequisites.
She further explained that material suppliers were also contacted to understand required material stock levels and availability.
As these initial actions were expedited over the weekend, an oversight and supervision team was formed among various departments by Monday morning, briefed and dispatched to the scene. These initial planning and activation steps help to significantly reduce the time it takes to deliver this solution to customers.
Project technicians, Air Products product design and distribution specialists, and an engaged group of contractors were able to modify plant controls, convert raw argon tank stacks to oxygen service, and install temporary piping between Air Products storage areas as well as downstream lines. connections. Connection points are determined until Thursday.
Phuti further explained, “The process of converting a raw argon system to oxygen is seamless because Air Products uses oxygen purification components as the standard for all gas applications. contractors and technicians should be on site on Monday for the necessary introductory training.”
As with any installation, safety is a top priority as all necessary procedures must be followed regardless of the project timeline. The roles and responsibilities of Air Products team members, contractors and the Columbus Stainless team were clearly defined for the project. The main requirement was to connect approximately 24 meters of 3-inch stainless steel pipe as a temporary gas supply solution.
“Projects of this nature require not only quick action, but also familiarity with product characteristics, safety and design requirements, and effective and continuous communication between all parties. In addition, project teams must ensure that key participants are familiar with their responsibilities and ensure that they complete their tasks within the time frame of the project.
Equally important is keeping clients informed and managing their expectations for project completion,” Phuti said.
“The project was so advanced in the sense that they had to connect pipes to the existing oxygen supply system. We were lucky to work with contractors and technical teams who were experienced and willing to do whatever was necessary to help customers continue production,” he said. Phuti.
“Everyone on the team is committed to doing their part so that the Columbus Stainless customer can overcome this challenge.”
Alec Russell, CTO of Columbus Stainless, said production outages are a major problem and downtime costs are a concern for every company. Luckily, thanks to the commitment of Air Products, we were able to resolve the issue within a few days. It’s at times like these, he says, that we feel the value of building long-term relationships with suppliers that go beyond what’s needed to help in a time of crisis. ”