Northeast Technology Solutions (NTS) has installed a Hankook Protec 9NC big bore semi-CNC flat bed lathe at its recently established facility in Dubai.

The new lathe, from Ward CNC of Sheffield, will machine oil industry drilling equipment for Middle East customers, replicating the turning capability available at the company’s HQ in Scotland.

Jan Wojcieszyn completed a management buyout of NTS three years ago, relocating the company from Caithness to Aberdeen to be at the centre of the supply hub serving North Sea oil and gas customers. When one of its major customers asked if similar support could be provided to its Middle East operation, NTS looked on the challenge as an opportunity to expand.

“The oil market in Dubai is around 50 times greater than it is in the North Sea,” said Wojcieszyn, “so we knew there was potential if we were bold enough to make the required investment.”

With a successful turning operation in full swing at Aberdeen there seemed little point in deviating from a proven blueprint.

“We have a couple of 6,000mm between centres oil country lathes at Aberdeen and they have more than proved their worth in recent years. However, getting a machine to Dubai quickly was paramount, so we needed to source a comparable machine that was available immediately.”

Fortunately, Ward CNC offered a Hankook Protec 9NC big bore semi-CNC flat bed lathe with immediate availability.

Installed in November 2007 at NTS in the United Arab Emirates, the 4,000mm between centres 2-axis machine has been busy producing a range of high integrity, high strength down-hole drilling components for oilfield customers. The parts, manufactured from materials such as various non-magnetic and Super Duplex stainless steels, are produced in batch sizes ranging from three to 25–off typically. The machine is also used to produce a host of API threads for oil industry parts.

“It is not unknown for some of the more complex components to demand as many as 300 hours of machining time each,” continued Wojcieszyn. “For this reason we need complete faith in our machine tools that they can achieve the desired quality and repeatability. Our customers rely on our expertise in high integrity machining and so there is no margin for failure – and since installation the Hankook has been excellent.”

Today, the facility in Dubai employs 20 people. With a similar number based in Aberdeen the company has enjoyed rapid, but controlled, growth; a factor to which the new Hankook machine is now contributing. “Originally the machine was purchased so we could fulfil similar work in Dubai to that undertaken in Aberdeen,” concluded Jan Wojcieszyn. “However, word in the region about the new Hankook has spread fast and it now regularly attracts new contracts.”

www.wardcnc.com