DAL North East's Groundbreaking Investment
Pioneering the World's Largest Aluminising Furnace for Heavy Process Industries
Involving the establishment of a new wholly owned subsidiary to house its activities for the coating and protection of long tubes and other large parts used in the heavy process industries. Diffusion Alloys North East Limited ("DAL North East") will offer customers the full extent of DAL's technical capabilities for the aluminising of large parts that it has been successfully carrying out for over 25 years. The business has recently acquired and is now finalising the construction and commissioning of a 21m furnace, the largest of its type anywhere in the world. Equipment and working capital financing has been arranged through Hephaestus Holdings Limited, the investment company which owns DAL.
- Substantial investment into Teesside facility – new subsidiary established
- Confidence in the market for aluminising of long tubes and large parts for the heavy process industries
- Investment into 21 metre furnace gives ability to coat tubes up to 18.5m in length and means DAL North East can aluminise larger parts than any other supplier in the world
- DAL enters the market for the heat treatment of large components for the process industries
The mainstay of DAL North East's business is the aluminising of long tubes and other large components used in heavy process industries, for the purposes of protection of those parts against hot corrosion, oxidation, sulphidation and especially metal dusting.
DAL's Technical Department has been a leading contributor to a number of forums researching the prevention of metal dusting in aggressive process environments. The company is currently experiencing record levels of enquiries from its customers on behalf of wide range of end-user industries where high carbon activity in the gas phase leads to corrosion problems. Such conditions are prevalent in many chemical and petrochemical processes as well as, for example, the biomass industry.
With the new furnace in operation, DAL North East will be able to coat tubes up to 18.5 metres in length. The dimensions of the furnace are 21m L x 5m H x 5m W, allowing the Company to coat or heat treat a wide range of the large components of assorted size and shapes. The furnace is a top-hat variety which hops, using 2 x 30t cranes, across two hearths, allowing treatment of a second batch while the first consignment is cooling in situ. The company also benefits from a smaller furnace (7.6m L x 3m H x 3m W) for treating smaller components.
DAL North East has also entered the heat treatment market in co-operation with a leading global heat treater, which will utilise DAL North East's highly efficient furnaces for the heat treatment of a range of heavy process components for inter alia the oil and gas industry.
