Huge Fire Tube Boiler Refurbishment Achievement, by North East Fabrication and Engineering Specialist

Phil Black - PII Editor 07/12/2011

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Francis Brown Ltd, the North East fabrication and engineering specialist, has refurbished a giant 120 tonne fire tube boiler for Lucite International.

The Stockton-on-Tees-based company refurbished the large vessel, which is has been returned to Lucite International’s Billingham site.

The two-year project was planned and executed by Francis Brown Limited in partnership with Lucite International and supported by logistics specialist GCS Johnson.

Refurbished by a team of 16 specialist fabricators, the fire tube boiler was refurbished over a period of 11 months. To meet the challenge of such a large scale project, Francis Brown introduced a dedicated temporary workshop alongside its existing facility.

Upon completion, the boiler was transported to Lucite International through a highly intricate logistical operation. Managed by GCS Johnson, the boiler was loaded onto a ten axle trailer with a 250 tonne capacity.

The trailer has one of the lowest load bearing decks in the UK to allow the vessel to pass under the high voltage power lines on the A19 trunk road.

During the transportation process, the gross weight of the whole rig was approximately 200 tonnes and the journey was supported by a police motor cycle escort. In addition, the convoy was aided by BT, which provided engineers to remove and reinstate telephone lines with the minimum of disruption where necessary.

As a specialist fabricator working across a range of sectors including the chemical industry, oil & gas and renewables, Francis Brown Ltd was perfectly-placed to complete this project.

It included the removal of old and installation of new 21/2”dia special alloy tubes 4.8m long within the vessel. The real innovation by Francis Brown was the tube extraction process created to meet Lucite International’s requirements.

Among the other unique aspects of the boiler include one complete end of the unit being weld overlaid with special Alloy of up to depth of 5mm. The boiler has also been pressure tested to 78 atmospheres after filling with 86 Te of water.

One of the key elements of the project was the consideration that, at any time during the refurbishment, the boiler could be required to be back in service within a two week timescale.

Therefore, the team at Francis Brown created a re-build sequence, including the coordination of painting, insulation, scaffolding, cladding and Metal spraying, that would allow the unit to be quickly returned to site.

Jamie Brown, Managing Director of Francis Brown Ltd, said: “The refurbishment of the fire tube boiler marks a major achievement this company. The sheer mass of the product demonstrates Francis Brown’s ability to deliver large-scale fabrication solutions for highly-specialist applications.

“Working closely with our client and our logistics partner we ensured that this project was completed successfully. It was an impressive sight to see the boiler being transported over the A19.”

Jamie added: “The end result demonstrates the quality workmanship and cutting-edge fabrication methods which Francis Brown is applying across sectors such as renewable energy and oil & gas. Demand for our services continues to grow and to meet demand, as well as fill the capacity created by our new shift system, we will soon be looking to further increase our workforce.”

CONTACT: Jamie Collis on 01325 363436