Wessington Cryogenics: The World’s Choice for Leading-Edge Cryogenic Solutions
Tank commanders
Wessington Cryogenics is enviably positioned as global preferred supplier of cryogenic pressure vessels to some of the world’s blue chip oil and gas majors, industrial gas suppliers, scientific users and leading research laboratories
The company was established in 1984 and its primary line of business was to supply stainless steel cryogenic pressure vessels to industrial, scientific, laboratory and cryo-biological market sectors, mainly in the UK and Western Europe. Having exported from day one, Wessington spread the net over the years and was soon successfully exporting products to all corners of the globe, with an existing broad range of cryogenic pressure vessels, which had applications in every imaginable sector.
Around 20 years ago there was a significant step change with the move to build larger industrial tanks including 10ft and 20ft ISO tanks for offshore use to the well service companies.
Wessington’s offshore and industrial gas portfolio now boasts the world’s leading 2000 gallon tank for the Wellservice industry, the ISO PACK 2000. However, this is only part of a family of tanks, which include 3000, & 4000 gallon tanks in a range of pressures from three to 24 bar. Other similar tanks include the smaller Wellmite series, in 500 & 1000 gallon capacities, again all with DNV 2.7-1 approved frames. Standard 20 ft and 40ft tanks for air gases, CO2 and LNG are also available. The company remains active in the original markets too, and the standard portfolio has grown since the early days to incorporate small open dewars, standard pressure vessels, bulk tanks and a range of liquid helium dewars from 30 to 20,000 ltr capacity. Custom/bespoke designs have always been a speciality of Wessington’s, from one off projects to production products designed to fit a client’s particular needs.
In collaboration with these industrial and scientific partners, Wessington has invested intensively in Research and Development and is rolling out plans to broaden the supply offer to meet industry demand for a suite of acid and chemical tanks for offshore use. In the 31 years since its inception, Wessington has earned a deserved reputation for engineering excellence in terms of design to manufacture capability, product quality, technical functionality and ergonomic consideration. The spirit of the company is not to just replicate but to innovate and this is evident in both the regular refresh of standard products as well as the range of challenging bespoke projects that are regularly commissioned by clients from all over the world. The company has seen its products find their way to the South Pole, up Mount Everest, down some of the deepest mines housing world-leading research laboratories and even to NASA. So when it came to considering the latest product development, Wessington was determined to design a range of acid and chemical tanks that would be perceived as truly the best in class.
Building upon the success of the 10ft Acid Pack 2000, which was released to market in 2013, Wessington is now proud to launch the Acid Pack 4000 to meet industry demand for a larger capacity tank, suitable for transportation offshore.
Paul Rowe, Managing Director of Wessington Cryogenics Limited explains: “We listened to customer feedback and put safety at the heart of this particular product development, to consider the ergonomic improvements that could be made, considering the hazardous chemicals being used in hostile offshore environments. As well as an outstanding design and high quality build, we believe we are the first company to incorporate a four-inch remote valve, which allows the operator to empty the tank remotely. This has been very well received in the industry and we are very optimistic about future sales.”
Another addition to the range which will be launched imminently is the 4000 litres chemical tank, which builds upon the design of the existing 1000 gallon tank, creating greater storage capacity but is designed, for efficiency, to a smaller footprint for offshore.
With the current economic uncertainty and the downturn in oil and gas, the company fully recognises the importance of this agility and diversity. Coupled with an ongoing programme of investment in skills and apprenticeships, Wessington has committed to introducing new models to the portfolio, and also new/additional technology to the business for productivity and design specific improvements. These provide a solid platform for future growth.
Recognising the engineering excellence of this rapidly growing family firm, Wessington was delighted to be invited by UKTI to take part in a prestigious trade mission to South East Asia at the end of July and have an opportunity to showcase manufacturing and celebrate the Best of British.
It was a fantastic endorsement for Wessington that the Prime Minister, David Cameron, personally endorsed the calibre of Wessington Cryogenics Limited and applauded its efforts and ambition to continue to take the business from strength to strength.
Prime Minister, David Cameron, said: “British companies like Wessington Cryogenics are flying the flag and unlocking the economic potential of the fast growing economies of South East Asia. I’m delighted that they have joined me on my first trade mission of this government and I hope that we can work together to create jobs and growth for the UK.”
Wessington Cryogenics
Services: Cryogenic vessels and storage tank