To say Curran International is known for its unique methods to coat small heat exchanger tube inner diameters (IDs) is only part of the company story. Recent growth driven by product development and new field services has Curran International well positioned with an expanding linecard of innovative solutions to global refinery, petrochemical and power generation plant maintenance.
The current trajectory has a strategic goal at its core: to become a comprehensive provider of solutions and services for tubular heat transfer equipment. Curran International’s success with its one-of-a-kind exchanger tube ID coating has served as a launching pad for developing new ancillary services. Tube ID grit blast cleaning was a serendipitous discovery more than 15 years ago that has since become a best practice at many refineries. More recently the company expanded field services to include tubular mechanical repairs, alloy sleeving, high pressure exchanger tube plugging and turnkey NDE tubular inspection. The shop and field capabilities portfolio provides Curran International with a range of expert services in the area of heat exchanger reliability maintenance.
In 2011, Curran formed a Power Generation Services Division to focus on steam condenser and balance of plant exchanger services, including mechanical tube services. The areas include mechanical tube repairs, sleeving, explosive plugging and turnkey NDE tubular inspection. This positions Curran International as a turnkey contractor to power generation clients receptive to seamless execution by a multi-service contractor.
Refinery reliability and turnaround clients continue to embrace Curran International’s tube ID grit blast cleaning services. The results have shifted expectations of tube ID cleanliness when used as a surface prep method for NDE inspection. The combination of nozzle technology, compressed air and durable materials work to scour tube IDs clean of even the toughest scales. Curran’s proprietary tube ID cleaning changed the expectation and is recognized for rendering tube IDs “near white metal” clean. In 2013, tube ID cleaning crews were mobilized to refinery sites in the United States and across the globe; the practice has been used on production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico where standards of tubular inspection have become more onerous in recent years.
For more than 15 years, refinery clients found Curran’s patented thin film tube ID coating as a solution to “bad actor” exchangers where maintenance issues were prevalent using low-cost mild steel in cooling water. Full length tube ID coating proved to increase heat exchanger duty, reduce micro and macro fouling, promote energy efficiency and reduce exchanger tube ID cleaning. The company coats more than 3 million feet of exchanger tube a year.
In 2010, Curran introduced a high functionality thin film tube ID coating that has placed the company in control of its coating technology. Curran 1000T met development objectives on several levels — durability to survive refinery cooling water “upset” conditions and has passed auto clave testing exceeding 400 F.
The tube ID coating remains proprietary. Blends for tanks, pressure vessels and tubesheets are commercially available products.
Curran International has a full-service production shop in the Houston area. Infrastructure includes crane and forklift capacity for loads up to 25 tons, and have one of the largest gas-fired oven chambers on the Gulf Coast. The company is recognized for its expertise in applying a wide range of protective coatings, including heat catalyzed fluoropolymer and bake phenolic coating, and metal spraying using electric arc and gas flame sprayed methods. The company has a proven record of innovation and the capital position to provide growth to meet client expectations.
For more information, visit www.curranintl.com or call (281) 339-9993.
