Technology and Skills Drive Flexitallic Growth in Middle East

A drive to transfer the latest in sealing technology into the Middle East has led to the Flexitallic Group expanding its operations in the region and investing in its facilities and technology. The group’s two facilities in the region, Flexitallic Middle East LLC in Saudi Arabia and Flexitallic LLC in the United Arab Emirates, have both prospered in recent months as a result of increased demand for high quality sealing solutions complemented by specialist engineering support services. Flexitallic Middle East LLC, which was launched in 2013, has already established a growing customer approvals register, which, most notably, includes its facility on the Dammam to Jubail Highway becoming fully approved by Saudi Aramco and SABIC for the production of the Flexitallic Group’s established range of advanced and innovative gasket technologies. These approvals have enabled Flexitallic Middle East LLC to establish relationships and secure work with a growing number of end users and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). In the United Arab Emirates Flexitallic LLC will, by the beginning of 2015, have trebled the size of its production and training facility in Ras Al Khaimah, which has been supported by a $1m investment in new manufacturing and testing equipment. Already established as the premier sealing solution provider to the UAE region, the company has helped to energise local industries’ commitment to maximise assets through its range of gasket solutions, but also from its engineering and competency expertise. Alongside its ability to manufacture the Flexitallic Group’s full range of semi-metallic and metallic gaskets, Flexitallic LLC applies its comprehensive technical application support to help industrial facilities achieve leak-free joint integrity, eradicate unplanned pipeline maintenance and extend asset lifespans. Such is the demand for Flexitallic’s engineering support, the company has been able to grow its regional workforce to 40 and is relocating one of its experienced applications engineers from Europe before the end of the year. As part of the company’s engineering support, Flexitallic offers skills development and competency assessment for engineers and technicians through its Academy of Joint Integrity. The Academy is an Energy Institute-approved training provider and delivers Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) mechanical joint integrity programmes to support the skills development and competencies of engineers. These programmes are delivered through the use of the Flange Assembly Demonstration Unit (FADU). Flexitallic recently invested in two new FADUs, which have been installed at both Middle East facilities, as part of its global commitment to increasing joint integrity skills across industry. Providing hand-on, practical training scenarios, the FADU forms an integral part of the Academy’s joint integrity programmes for engineers involved in flange assembly, pipeline integrity and hazardous areas. The units enable engineers undergoing training to tighten a bolted joint and see the impact of tightening procedures, on-screen, through innovative load monitoring software. Phil Kelshaw, Eastern Hemisphere Sales Director for the Flexitallic Group, said: “Flexitallic has always aspired to be more than just a manufacturer and supplier of sealing solutions and this philosophy has proven to be well-received across the Middle East region as local industry enhances its focus on quality, safety and competency across its assets. “Our expertise in developing and applying sealing technology for aggressive chemical environments, high and low temperature and high pressure applications, for example, is very much in demand in the Middle East, which has led to our expansion in the United Arab Emirates and rapid establishment of our facility in Saudi Arabia.”

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