Miras Grotnes
Eternal flame
Miras Grotnes AS was founded in Mo i Rana, Norway in 1969. The company soon began developing its flamecutting technology, based on raw materials sourced from Norsk Jernverk AS, a steel mill located in the same town.
The vision behind the formation of the company was to replace forged components and castings with multilevel flamecutting. Today Miras Grotnes AS has developed into a world-leading flamecutting company within the raw steelplate cutting sector. The unique technology allows multilevel flamecutting with up to 1500 mm cutting edge, and within very small tolerances. The company now achieves a turnover of over seven million euros per annum, and employs 17 staff.
In order to maintain its position at the forefront of the flamecutting sector, Miras Grotnes has recently completed the construction of brand new workshop facilities, at a cost of five million euros. The new development includes a variety of new machinery and fittings, and means the company is able to work 24/7 and a lot more efficiently. Better logistics and room for an increased turnover have also been created, as the new facilities make it possible for the company to double production.
The workshop area is now 3000 m², and the equipment in use at Miras Grotnes includes five ESAB CNC flamecutting machines, two PLS controlled furnace for the heat treatment of steel, one DAVI plate roller (up to 150 mm thick) and welding equipment for manual and automated welding. The company also has extensive lifting capacity, and is quality certified to ISO 9001, 14001, 18001 and 3834.
More than 90 per cent of the products produced in Miras Grotnes’ workshop go to the offshore industry. The specialised skills of the flamecutting machine-operators make it possible to figure cut steel and make it look like it is gross-machined. This is a big advantage for customers, whether they are machining workshops or technology owners.
One of the most important products created by Miras Grotnes was developed in collaboration with Kværner Oilfield Products (now Aker Sub Sea). This product is a steel specification meant to satisfy the quality demands of some subsea products. The steel grade TTSTE 355Z3 has shown to be a quality suitable for use both on- and off-shore. The steel is produced in Germany and finished and heat-treated at Miras Grotnes in Norway.
As Knut Hatlen, managing director of Miras Grotnes, pointed out, TTSTE 355Z3 helps the company to stand out from the competition: “This product has very good charpy values at the lower temperatures (-46, -50 and -60 degrees C). This means it can be used in the coldest parts of the world and hostile environments. This steel, in combination with our short delivery time and the precision and quality of our work, and the 1.5m lengths we can cut, create the reasons why companies choose to work with Miras Grotnes.”
The recent developments and investments seen at Miras Grotnes illustrate that the company is performing well, and as Knut points out, the global recession has only increased the company’s determination to get noticed: “There are still big opportunities in the current market and so we are now focusing more than ever on marketing. We have noticed some ‘downs’ in the market, but thankfully nothing has resulted in us having to send home any employees.”
Moving forwards, Knut went on to discuss further challenges he can see on the horizon: “We need to be in the right position to be able to win more work from the growing oil and gas business in the north of Norway. We are situated by the Arctic Circle and traditionally the bigger companies from southern Norway get the oil and gas contracts. So we need to form some very good relationships with these product owners in order for us to gain a slice of the action. However, I like to think that we are ideally positioned to develop our future in the oil and gas industry, and that is our long-term objective for the future.”
Not only does Miras Grotnes have its new also has the support of a large parent company, Miras AS. Miras AS is a group of engineering and construction companies that provide specialist services and products to offshore and land-based process industries.
The Group consists of:
Miras Multimaskin AS – Welding, machining, assembly and surface treatment
Miras Hydraulikk AS – Hydraulic components, pipelining and maintenance
Miras V&M AS – Pipe Welding, electro motors, switches, mechanics
Miras TechTeam AS – Multidiscipline engineering services
Miras Stål og Metallsveis AS – Welding, mechanics, engineering, maintenance
With more than 40 years of experience, the Miras Group has developed into a three-legged organisation offering engineering, fabrication and maintenance and modifications. Its objective is to appear as a serious supplier, customer, employer and a party conscious to the environment and active within the local community.
Finally, returning to Miras Grotnes, and Knut concluded with an enticement for clients to look out for new developments from the company: “We have plans to expand through our innovative ongoing projects,” he said. “These can’t be stated yet but during the winter/spring we can tell the world.” Watch this space!
Miras Grotnes
Services Flame cutting