Programme manages seal repair and replacement

ReadySeal guarantees 24-hour shipment from regional Flowserve facilities of compressor seals and spare parts included in the programme.

Flowserve has released a new programme designed to manage mechanical compressor seal inventories and deliver comprehensive repair and replacement services for customers worldwide.

ReadySeal effectively addresses compressor seal maintenance budgeting, availability and reliability.

ReadySeal guarantees 24-hour shipment from regional Flowserve facilities of compressor seals and spare parts included in the programme.

It also eliminates the need for extensive customer investment in compressor seal inventory, repair and storage.

"With the ReadySeal programme, Flowserve completely manages our customers' gas compressor seal inventory and all associated costs", says Mark Fallek, Vice President of Marketing, Flow Solutions division.

"This ensures minimal downtime and budget impact, while eliminating problems with compressor seal storage and availability".

"The Flowserve reputation as a trusted partner is a key component in developing a programme like ReadySeal".

"End-user customers know that we will service both their immediate and long-term needs, and actually assist them by pro-actively increasing mean time between failures".

"The ReadySeal programme is ideal for pipeline and petrochemical companies that own and operate gas compressor systems for methane, ethane, and other materials".

"It is also well suited for refineries that operate hydrogen recycle compressors, cokers, and any type of gas transmission".

According to Fallek, most customer-based inventory management programmes for compressor seals are not as effective as they could be.

The long life of compressor seals - many may sit on the shelf for more than five years - often results in end-users seeking better ways to plan for routine replacement and maintenance.

"Customers who manage their own compressor seal inventory are faced with frequent storage and maintenance problems", adds Fallek.

"Spare compressor seals may be lost or misplaced in storage, or suffer degradation due to the lengthy shelf life".

"Many others are simply improperly stored, which may cause premature ageing of the seal and its components due to moisture or other factors".

"The required repairs prior to installation can be quite costly during both routine and emergency procedures".

Emergency compressor seal replacement involves greater risk and higher cost than many standard mechanical seal emergency replacements.

Failures frequently cause equipment damage to and from high-speed turbines upwards of a quarter of a million dollars.

And as gas compressors are usually large and vital pieces of equipment, associated downtime costs can run up to one-half million dollars to one million dollars per day.

According to Fallek, ReadySeal offers customers a level cash flow over the life of the compressor seals included in the programme, with no required capital investment for spare seals.

This provides programme participants with a high rate of return compared with traditional compressor seal purchases.

There are also financial advantages regarding warranty risk and liability.

The Flowserve programme assumes those risks through warranty extension on all compressor seals already in use, as well as those within a customer's existing inventory (including competitive seals) which are incorporated into the programme.

When a compressor seal is needed for emergency replacement or routine maintenance installation, it must be available immediately.

Seals from an end-user's inventory, however, often need to be cleaned and tested.

O-rings, which may have hardened and lost their elasticity during extended storage, may require replacement.

The ReadySeal programme provides field-ready seal availability to minimise costly downtime.

Flowserve takes responsibility for proper storage and regularly inspects and confirms the seal quality and integrity prior to installation.

This ensures that all seals in inventory are immediately ready for installation.

Specially trained compressor seal specialists work directly with end-users to pro-actively address application and other issues.

Consultation regarding technology upgrades that can further increase the reliability of the compressor is offered to customers as part of the ReadySeal programme.

Spare seals are stored and supported at Flowserve compressor seal service centres located strategically worldwide.

Flowserve has invested up to one-half million dollars in each facility for compressor seal testing and repair.

Existing facilities in Kalamazoo, Michigan in the US and Dortmund, Germany are joined later this year by a new facility in Singapore to support Southeast Asia.

Additional facilities are also being planned.

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