MOSCOW (MRC) -- INVISTA, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, will establish a new manufacturing operation in McPherson, Kansas, in order to expand production of its Raptor nylon pipe product, said Downstreamtoday.
The company plans to complete conversion of an existing building in McPherson into a nylon pipe extrusion facility and expects to begin production by early spring.
"Establishing a production facility in Kansas brings a number of efficiencies to our customers, including reducing delivery time to targeted basins in the Midwest, flexibility in production, and leveraging the capabilities of a skilled central Kansas workforce," said Kurt Burmeister, INVISTA executive vice president. "With demand for our product increasing, we need to increase our production capacity. This is especially true as the current price of oil has led to increased interest in our Raptor™ nylon pipe, given its performance benefits and potential cost-savings."
Efficiently connecting wellheads to battery tanks is one of the areas where companies see the distinct value of Raptor nylon pipe. The product was engineered to reduce total job completion costs (material and installation costs) in order to get oil and gas flowing faster to market. In some cases, choosing Raptor nylon pipe can provide up to USD25,000 per mile in cost savings for customers.
"In addition to producing our existing product portfolio, the new facility in Kansas will allow us to develop future products and react more quickly to urgent customer needs, which we also hope will add significant value to our customers’ operations," added Burmeister.
After extensive research and testing for more than a year, Raptor nylon pipe launched commercially last year, and initial market acceptance has been positive from E&P operators for flow line applications. In addition to the product’s low maintenance cost, E&P companies find the ease and quickness of installation as a major factor in choosing Raptor nylon pipe.
As MRC wrote before, INVISTA Performance Technologies has acquired from La Seda de Barcelona SA intellectual property relating to its leading purified terephthalic acid (PTA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and related process technologies, including the full rights to exclusively license the technologies in the region comprising Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
INVISTA is one of the world’s largest integrated producers of chemical intermediates, polymers and fibers. The company’s advantaged technologies for nylon, spandex and polyester are used to produce clothing, carpet, car parts and countless other everyday products. Headquartered in the United States, INVISTA operates in more than 20 countries and has about 10,000 employees.