BATAVIA, N.Y. (May 30, 2014) – Graham Corporation announced that it was recently awarded four orders for projects valued at approximately $10 million. The orders are for upgrades of Graham ejector system components at three oil refineries and an ethylene capacity expansion project in North America. Shipments are expected to occur during the next nine to 15 months.
The three orders for equipment at existing North American oil refineries include replacement parts for two Canadian oil sands refineries and another oil refinery in the U.S. Due to the highly corrosive nature of feedstocks being processed, upgrading of Graham's critical components is required to enhance the throughput of these plants. These upgrades include improved metallurgy to help extend the amount of time between planned plant maintenance and inspection shutdowns.
The fourth order is for a project adding ethylene production capacity on the U.S. Gulf Coast, as the abundance of readily available natural gas in North America resulting from recent technological advances has led to attractive feedstock prices. Due to its strong brand and reputation in the North American ethylene market, Graham has been selected to supply surface condensers for this project.
James R. Lines, Graham's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our large installed base in the North American oil refining market continues to drive orders as our customers attempt to reduce the frequency of plant shutdowns and change the feedstock refining capabilities of their facilities. We believe that our customers' choice of Graham for replacement equipment is a testament to our quality and reliability."
Mr. Lines added, "The technical advances in the extraction of shale gas and oil have lowered the prices and increased the supply of feedstocks for the chemical and petrochemical industry in North America. Our pipeline of bids is double the size of what we saw at the beginning of the last expansion cycle in 2004. We remain encouraged by the overall market fundamentals, our expectation for orders to be placed during the next 12-15 months and, importantly, our capabilities today to execute a higher level of orders than in our past."
Graham Corporation global designs, manufactures and supplies of custom-engineered ejectors, pumps, condensers, vacuum systems and heat exchangers.