While 2021 and 2022 have been anything but stellar news years, refining and chemical industries have hummed along, creating record profits and pushing through the Covid-19 pandemic unabashed.
It's true that this development has been great for Conhagen, which has seen accelerated hiring alongside the growth of business. But this push has also been a calculated effort - one several years in the making.
Announcing Conhagen MEDS
Conhagen is happy to announce the creation of the Mechanical Engineering, Design and Systems group, or MEDS. The MEDS group is a dedicated engineering team, aimed at tackling tough applications and providing technical support where traditional design techniques or standard equipment is found unfit for reliable operation. As the department has seen continued growth, the skillset of the team has gone from hydraulic and mechanical design expertise to vibration analysis and rotordynamics, precision metrology, reverse engineering and root cause failure analyses - not only in centrifugal pumps, but high-energy steam turbines and compressors.
As advances in engineering tools are made, Conhagen has always been ready to adapt, learn and implement solutions to old and new problems. Recently, Conhagen began using Axstream, a best-in-class solution for the design of turbomachinery in axial and radial machines. Our engineers can develop in-house tools for most problems, but there is value in recognizing when better tools exist, and when to use them.
Customer relations
Conhagen has always believed in a customer-centric, hybrid model that breaks down organizational silos and pairs engineers, salespeople and shop repair coordinators in a way that any and all inquiries and follow-ups are given a direct line to the right person. Salespersons are no strangers to customer interaction, as our sales force has always emphatically engaged our customer base. However, as jobs near completion, often times there are technical or scheduling questions that should be addressed to specific persons within the Conhagen organization. Our size and agility allow us to route the lines quickly and efficiently. Additionally, our doors are always open to customers, and they are encouraged to visit and ask questions as they perform root cause analysis or equipment assessments.
Documentation
One of the signature philosophies that Conhagen has developed in the 80 years since the inception of the company is that the customer truly owns the equipment, the designs and all of the pertinent information that accompanies its proper function and troubleshooting. At the completion of a job, the engineering reports, calculations, manufacturing drawings, assembly drawings, models and inspection reports are all submitted to the customer for their records.
We believe that true added value comes in the form of customer independence which is created when they are given a full disclosure of the work done from start to finish. Of course, Conhagen is always ready and willing to assist customers, but we believe this transparency relieves bottlenecks in the information pipeline between when equipment is pulled and when it gets reinstalled.
2022 initiatives
Conhagen has committed to the creation of a dedicated turbine and compressor repair shop, located at their La Marque, Texas facility. The shop will be run in conjunction with the main repair shop, which will continue to primarily work on centrifugal pumps. With our size, we will be able to share skills and personnel laterally to accommodate different locales. In other words, all three shops, Texas, Louisiana and California will have the same capabilities from a pump, compressor and turbine repair standpoint.
At the start of 2022, Conhagen was joined by mechanical engineer, Andrew Mills, formerly of Ethos Energy and Turbocare. Mill's vast experience and knowledge of steam turbines and compressors have breathed new life into the repair capabilities and engineering expertise offered by Conhagen.
For more information, visit www.conhagen.com or call (409) 938-4226.