Fjell Industries
Turning up the heat
From its advanced workshop in Straume, Norway, Fjell Industries has been providing heat and evaporating products for its array of clients in the oil and gas industries for over 20 years.
The company employs over 60 people, and is responsible for the development of heat exchangers, cookers, driers, and pressure vessels, to name only a few of its products. Fjell Industries has seen strong growth over the last few years, and enjoys a turnover of 10 million euros.
Managing director Carsten Andersen believes that the company’s success is based on the high standards of its employees. “We have a highly skilled and dedicated workforce, who always pay close 
attention to customer needs,” he says. “The ability of this team to engineer pressurised and thermal exposed equipment of such a high standard is what sets us apart, and this explains why we have major customers such as StatoilHydro, Aker Kvaerner, Aibel, Fabricom and Reinertsen.”
Fjell Industries boasts an extensive product range, and utilises the latest technology to ensure that its work is of the highest order. Indeed, its engineers use a range of computer-aided engineering tools, and the company performs studies and in-depth analyses as part of its work. This allows it to undertake advanced design and fabrication of its products, popular amongst which are its heat exchangers. “We can do everything involved in developing a cooler or heater, for whatever process is needed,” says Carsten. “If our customer knows exactly the quantity of the liquid or gas that needs to be heated or cooled, from one condition to another, we can undertake the entire development process.” Beyond the initial production stage, Fjell Industries specialises in refurbishing its heat exchangers, and is able to do so for its customers either in its workshop or on site. The company is also able to design and manufacture pressure vessels with a diameter of up to four and a half metres, and a maximum length of 24 metres, with a variety of materials that include carbon steel, stainless steel, and duplex.
Along with these products, Fjell Industries is highly regarded for its evaporators, which have been supplied to the fishmeal, meat and bone, alcohol, and offshore industry. One example, the falling film evaporator, operates with a limited amount of liquor, which greatly reduces both retention time, and down-time during cleaning. As heat is transferred through the internal tubes, a low steam pressure is generated in the top of the evaporator, which improves the flow of the liquid, and provides a higher efficiency of evaporation.
In the Mechanical Vapour Recompression Evaporator (MVR), vapour, which has been boiled off from the inside of the tubes, is recompressed to a higher pressure, and reused as primary energy on the outside of the tubes. This prevents the condensing of the vapour through the use of cooling water, which is the biggest loss in a conventional evaporating system. Furthermore, the well-insulated system can usually be run without the need for any additional energy, aside from that which is required to power the fans. Energy consumption can, therefore, be up to 70 per cent less than in a conventional three effect system.
The Stord Bartz Turbodisc Drier, which is designed for heating by steam, hot water, or thermal oil, is another of Fjell Industries’ more popular products. The item being treated is moved through 
the inlet end of the drier, and then thoroughly processed through a paddle system on the periphery of the disc. The discs themselves are mounted on top of a heavy central shaft, with an efficient condensate removal system, and scraper bars guarantee efficient evaporation in the drier. The evaporated moisture is then gathered in a high top vapour dome, and continuously removed through the system.
Whilst the company already possesses an impressive workplace, it is looking to build on this, with the objective of further improving Fjell Industries’ opportunities in the future. “We are located in Straume, at the centre of the on- and offshore activities in Western Norway,” says Carsten. “We have a building today of about 3500 square metres, but we are working on opening a new one. This will be approximately 2000 square metres in size, and will be situated next to our existing facility, so we will have a good increase in space. Furthermore, we have put money into developing equipment, and our multi-discipline workshop.”
Aside from its workplace activities, Fjell Industries also offers an after-sales service for both equipment that it has fabricated, and that which has been developed by other manufacturers. The company sees more possibilities in this work in the upcoming years. “We are being awarded for expertise in subsea operations, and are proud to be a part of the Norwegian Centre of Expertise for Subsea Technology,” says Carsten. “We do a lot of service work, and can see a significant market there for the big subsea installations, and our expertise in thermal and pressurised equipment will certainly allow us to grow in this way. It goeswithout saying that we are constantly looking to expand the business, and we are currently looking at the possibility of developing our operations in the Middle East.”
Fjell Industries
Products: Pressure, evaporating, and heating systems