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QA Weld Tech Gains ‘Shop Window’ with European Oil and Gas buyers

QA Weld Tech has gained a ‘shop window’ with companies in the oil and gas sector by joining Achilles FPAL – an online community which is used by over 100 buyers from oil and gas companies.

We will now be able to share on an online platform our capabilities in key business areas, such as quality, health and safety and financial performance.

Achilles works to ensure suppliers’ information is accurate via data validation and desktop and physical audits. The FPAL community serves the procurement needs of the wider European oil & gas market, whilst maintaining firm roots within North Sea operations. FPAL is an industry-run community of operators, contractors and suppliers working in collaboration to promote a fair and transparent supply chain.

Malcolm Wilson, Director for Achilles FPAL, said: “By joining the biggest supply chain risk management community supporting the North Sea and European oil and gas industry, QA Weld Tech has put itself in the best position to be considered for work with major oil and gas buyers. Achilles FPAL is a simple and successful model which has operated since 1997 by streamlining procurement and reducing cost for suppliers and buyers.”

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New Employees at QA Weld Tech

QA Weld tech Ltd, is celebrating £5 million of new orders and expanding both premises and staff numbers to deliver them. The new orders are for BP’s redevelopment of the Scheihallion field West of Shetland, the huge Ichthys LNG Project off the Westcoast of Australia, as well as in Brazil’s offshore pre-salt areas. These orders follow on from previous projects in the South China Sea, the Nile Delta and off the West coast of Africa. The increased workload has meant 12 new positions have been created in Production Management, Estimating,Welding Engineering and Quality Management and required the recruitment of additional welders, and CNC machinists.

Discussing the expansion, Managing Director, Charles Tighe said: “Three years ago we took on additional fabrication space and built a new two-story office block that, at the time, seemed almost too big for our needs. We’ve now filled that with new employees and have taken on further facilities to house shot-blasting equipment and fabrication bays for our Brazilian projects. The opportunities in Brazil are huge and that country is the focus of our first overseas expansion of the business with the development of QA Weld Tech Brazil. We also have plans to increase our machine shop capabilities, add further weld cladding equipment, and redevelop our pressure testing bays.”

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QA Weld Tech wins Supplier Award

QA Weld Tech are delighted to have been awarded Bronze Supplier Status by Cameron Subsea, Leeds, recognising six consecutive months of achieving targets for quality and on-time delivery.

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New Pipe Cladding Rig Commissioned

QA Weld Tech has invested £250k in a custom built cladding rig to meet the growing demand for weld overlay of pipe with corrosion resistant alloys. Engineers from QAWT worked with Key Plant of Leek, Staffordshire to design and build a modular rig capable of cladding pipe up to 7.5m long and 1m diameter, down to bores as small as 125mm. Drawing on 30 years of weld overlay experience the Company was able to ensure this latest piece of equipment will meet the needs of the Oil & Gas industry well into the future.

The computer –controlled, twin head, twin wire design uses servo motors to ensure accuracy over a 7.5m travel of 0.02mm, so that stops and starts in even the longest of bores can be achieved without fear of defect.

Windows-based software allows real time monitoring of all welding parameters, taking its readings from the unit’s digital power source. Chiller units cool the AVC motors while an adjustable head stock and spring loaded stands ensure no torsional stresses are introduced into the positional chucks. QAWT’s proprietary self-tensioning jacking system for the guide ropes maintains the welding torch head in the optimal position during cladding.

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QA Weld Tech wins award for Block 31 Angolan Development Program

During the recent Open day held at QA Weld Tech’s new offices in Bowes Road a surprise visitor was Saskia Macfarlane, Purchasing Manager of Heerema Marine Contractors Nederland BV, who had been tasked with presenting the Company with an Award Plaque of Excellence to show appreciation for the commitment and work performed on the Block 31 PSVM Project.

Block 31 is BP’s ultra deep water development off the coast of Angola. QA Weld Tech’s part in the project involved the supply of WeldLinks, J-lay collars, interface spools and transition pieces to Heerema who were contracted to fabricate 44 sub-sea structures to enable extraction of oil in water depths of over 2000m.