EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA - Surface Engineered Products Corp., a subsidiary of The Westaim Corporation, today announced the opening of its U.S. marketing and operations center in Houston, Texas. The Company has also strengthened its reach in the U.S. marketplace with the addition of two ethylene industry veterans to its international sales force: Randy Miller as U.S. Sales Manager and Arthur Bailey as Technical Service Manager.
“Houston is the center of petrochemical production in the U.S. and is home to many of North America’s largest ethylene producers,” said Ted Redmond, President of Surface Engineered Products. “The opening of our Houston office is another step in our ongoing efforts to broaden the reach of our CoatAlloyTM anti-coking coating technology.”
Surface Engineered Products’ establishment of an office in Houston is a strategic move designed to tap the largest single ethylene market in the world. The United States accounts for approximately 28 per cent (25.6-million metric tonnes/year) of the world's ethylene capacity. Ninety-five per cent of the U.S. capacity is concentrated in the coastal area of the Gulf of Mexico, with the majority of producers operating in the Houston/Southern Texas area.
“This new office allows us to work more closely with our existing customers and to proactively seek out new clients for our CoatAlloyTM anti-coking products in our target market.” Said Edward Maharajh, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for Surface Engineered Products, Inc. “Mr. Miller’s and Mr. Bailey’s vast experience in the ethylene industry will enable us to increase the value we add by helping customers optimize the operation of furnaces coated with our CoatAlloyTM product.”
Prior to joining Surface Engineered Products, Mr. Miller, an ethylene engineer, worked as a consultant for Barnes and Click, advising on the design and start-up of new ethylene plants. He also worked as a process engineer for Westlake Petrochemicals in Texas. He will use his technical background and understanding of petrochemical operational problems to develop and manage a sales network in the United States.
Mr. Bailey is an ethylene furnace specialist who previously worked for Exxon and Equistar Chemicals in both Louisiana and Texas. He has seven years of process engineering experience and has been involved in the start-up of more than 90 ethylene furnaces. Mr. Bailey will support the sales team by using his ethylene furnace expertise to work closely with ethylene producers to solve their furnace coking and carburization problems.
Surface Engineered Products develops, manufactures and markets proprietary products and services which reduce operating costs and increase productivity in high-severity operating environments found in the petrochemical and other process industries. Its first product, CoatAlloyTM coated tubes and fittings, targets the ethylene industry, which loses $2 billion in annual production due to the build up of coke (carbon) in ethylene furnace tubes.
CoatAlloyTM coated tubes and fittings reduce the rate of coking in ethylene pyrolysis furnace tubes by up to 90 per cent and increase the throughput of ethylene plants by 2 to 8 per cent, leading to lower unit-production costs and increased profitability for ethylene producers.
The Westaim Corporation specializes in launching high-potential technologies into the marketplace. In addition to Surface Engineered Products, Westaim’s other technology businesses include: Westaim Biomedical Corp., which has developed an infection control technology for use in the treatment of wounds; and Westaim Advanced Display Technologies Inc., which is developing a revolutionary low-cost flat panel display. Westaim also operates three industrial businesses, which produce aerospace materials, coin blanks and chemical products. A TSE 300 company, Westaim’s common shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange, The Alberta Stock Exchange and The Montreal Exchange under the trading symbol WED.
*CoatAlloy is a trademark of Surface Engineered Products Corp.
Houston Office
Surface Engineered Products Inc.
2nd Floor, World Houston Plaza, Suite 270
15710 - JFK Boulevard
Houston, TX 77032, USA
Phone: (281) 987-7353
Fax: (281) 987-7383
e-mail: coatalloy@surfaceengineered.com
website: www.surfaceengineered.com
For more information, contact:
Tony Johnston
Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs
(403) 234-3103
tjohnsto@westaim.com
website: www.westaim.com
e-mail: info@westaim.com
|