‘I used to work as a receptionist for a firm that no one ever visited – or called. I had to answer the calls, but there weren’t any and the days just dragged by. It was mind-numbing. I had to get out of there…’
And so Kathryn Churchill, buoyed by an overwhelming desire to have a job with a pulse and an opportunity to learn new work skills – eagerly accepted our administration position when we offered it to her this year.
Although restricted in her skill base by her previous employer, Kathryn showed incredible initiative, interest and enthusiasm and seeing her willingness to get involved, we have to admit we threw everything at her. Kathryn hit the ground running and rose to every challenge we set her. We were impressed and realised that she was indeed a ‘keeper’, so we asked Kathryn if she would like to become an apprentice and study a Diploma in Business and Administration.
At Corrotherm, we believe in investing in our staff and helping them grow – and we believe apprenticeships are a great way of doing this. We decided not to go through the government apprenticeship scheme however, and instead developed our own in-house apprenticeship programme, which works very well!
Finding the right people for our team is of huge importance to us. We are really such a tight-knit team and we need people who can fit in and work alongside us. Once we know that we have the right person and can see where their talents lie, we set about developing them to achieve through our apprenticeship scheme. We can’t see a better way of doing it really.
Through an apprenticeship, staff feel valued, supported and committed to the team and by equipping them with the right skills, they are empowered and motivated – and that’s not just what the training videos say! We know it's fact because we have done it before!
For instance, when Cherene Burton joined us at 17 with dreams of becoming a gymnast, we saw her skills in admin and attention to detail and put her on an apprenticeship. Now in her late twenties, Cherene is our Shipping Coordinator. Then there was Natasha who joined us at the age of 21 having previously worked as a barmaid and she is still with us as our Ops Manager, thanks to her apprenticeship.
So what of our lovely Kathryn? What made her want to do our apprenticeship?
‘I came out of school with a few skills and was not sure what to expect from life. This apprenticeship is a-dream-come-true. I have the opportunity to further myself and can start planning for my future. I am so thrilled!‘
Kathryn got engaged to her partner Matthew in October, last year and has yet to set a date for their wedding.
There you have it – from being ‘bored to tears’ Kathryn is now ‘learning lots and doing all sorts’. She also says that she ‘goes home smiling and looks forward to coming to work in the morning’ – and it’s all thanks to her apprenticeship.
‘I would definitely recommend it to people who didn’t shine at school. It’s so much easier to learn a role when you are actually doing it!’
Nice one Kathryn! We love having you on board.
Having worked for both stainless steel piping suppliers Gerab National Enterprises and Dylan Export BV in Abu Dhabi previously, Sayeed has now joined the Corrotherm International team in Dubai. We are delighted to have Sayeed on board, as we know he will be a real asset to the company.
Sayeed is a keen people person, enjoying the interaction he has with his clients. He explains that a solid relationship in this area creates plenty of opportunity to discover new information, and the chance to really determine what the customer is looking for. Customer service is key to Sayeed and his work ethic – which fits in just fine with us at Corrotherm International.
Sayeed is eager to get involved in boosting enquiries surrounding our specialty metals, explaining…
‘It will be a combination of sales, administrative management and customer relations.’
This doesn’t mean to say he is only looking at new clients however. Sayeed is enthusiastic to deliver high standards of service to our existing clientele, explaining…
‘With my inclusion in Corrotherm, customers in this region will definitely feel the positive difference in dealing with us. Corrotherm has a reputation of being a quality service provider and being very customer friendly. Existing clients can expect the same high quality service and I am striving hard to meet these expectations. New clients will definitely not be disappointed with our work.’
He is looking forward to building a solid team and opening new branches across the Middle East with the chance to deliver our quality nickel alloys to new markets.
Sayeed seems just as thrilled to be on board as we are to have him, explaining…
‘The team is fantastic and very supportive which has given me new impetus to accelerate the company’s growth’.
That’s what we like to hear!
If you're heading to Stainless Steel World in November or just fancy a chat, do get in touch with Sayeed anytime on his mobile (+971 50 481 6011) or via email at sayeed.junied@corrotherm.co.uk As he says,
‘No any issue is too big or small – don’t just leave it, I am sure we will find a solution for you.’
Most of the easy to pick fruits of the industry have already been taken with shallow field development. Compared to shallow wells, deep wells generally require equipment built with more high performance nickel base alloys. Wells are categorized as either being sweet or sour:
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Sweet wells are only mildly corrosive
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Sour wells are highly corrosive and contain hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, chlorides and free sulphur
In addition, different levels of corrosive conditions are compounded by temperatures up to 260°C and pressures up to 25,000psi and deep wells generally have higher temperatures and pressures.
Material selection is especially critical for sour gas wells. The materials of choice must be corrosion resistant, cost effective, reliable and have the required strength for the well conditions. As these conditions become more severe, material selection changes from carbon steels for sweet wells to duplex (austenitic-ferritic) stainless steel, to nickel based alloys such as INCOLOY® alloys 825 and 925, INCONEL® alloys 725HS and 725. The limiting chemical compositions of the nickel based alloys are displayed in Table 1.
Materials selection properties
The strength levels of age hardened materials are increasing in importance, particularly for offshore applications exploiting high pressure deep well reserves, where weight considerations can affect the economic viability of a project. Material selection for down hole and wellhead equipment such as hangers, sub surface safety valves, pumps and packers call for age hardenable alloys in order to obtain the necessary strength in heavier cross sections, which cannot be strengthened by cold work. Nickel alloys commonly used for these applications include Incoloy® 925, Monel® K500 and Inconel® 718, X750, 725 and 725HS. Typical mechanical properties of high performance nickel alloys used in oil country applications are shown in Table 2.
The age hardened alloys are used at different strength levels depending on the application. Generally Incoloy® 925 is used at 758 Mpa (110 Ksi) min yield strength level. The min yield strength level for Inconel® 718 and 725 is 827 Mps (120 Ksi). Inconel® 725HS is used at a 965 Mpa (140 Ksi) min yield strength level. The enhanced strength properties of Inconel® 725HS have been achieved through optimized thermal and mechanical processing.
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Super-Duplex stainless steels and their characteristics
Called Duplex because of its mixed microstructure with about equal proportions of ferrite and austenite, Duplex stainless steels are a family of grades, which range in corrosion performance depending on their alloy content. The term “Super-Duplex” was first used in the 1980’s to denote highly alloyed, high-performance Duplex steel with a pitting resistance equivalent of >40 (based on Cr% + 3.3Mo% + 16N%).
With its high level of chromium, Super-Duplex steel provides outstanding resistance to acids, acid chlorides, caustic solutions and other environments in the chemical/petrochemical, pulp and paper industries, often replacing 300 series stainless steel, high nickel superaustenitic steels and nickel-based alloys. The chemical composition based on high contents of chromium, nickel and molybdenum improves intergranular and pitting corrosion resistance. Additions of nitrogen promote structural hardening by interstitial solid solution mechanism, which raises the yield strength and ultimate strength values without impairing toughness. Moreover, the two-phase microstructure guarantees higher resistance to pitting and stress corrosion cracking in comparison with conventional stainless steels. From the introduction of its first-generation, Duplex steel has seen a steady increase in popularity. Recently, the production of highstrength, corrosion resistant super-duplex coil has been implemented in the marine and chemical industries, architecture and mast riggings, wire lines, lifting and pulley equipment and well service strands. In fact, development of wire processing techniques has enabled the production of steel wires down to 1mm in diameter.
The various alloys
Super-Duplex falls under the Duplex stainless steel grouping.
Duplex stainless steels are graded for their corrosion performance depending on their alloy content. Today, modern Duplex stainless steel can be divided into four groups:
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Lean Duplex such as 2304, which contains no deliberate Mo addition;
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2205, the work-horse grade accounting for more than 80% of duplex usage;
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25 Cr duplex such as Alloy 255 and DP-3;
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Super-Duplex; with 25-26 Cr and increased Mo and N compared with 25 Cr grades, including grades such as 2507, Zeron 100, UR 52N+, and DP-3W
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