Expanded facility increases Coriolis mass flowmeter output

Krohne is now seeing the benefits of the substantial investment made to expand their British Coriolis mass flowmeter manufacturing facility at Wellingborough. 

The OPTIMASS 2300 installed at a refinery, illustrating the benefit of its compact design.

The OPTIMASS range of Coriolis mass flowmeters has been manufactured there since 2002, and is a winner of the innovation category of the highly acclaimed Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

The popularity in the market place for the OPTIMASS range meant that to keep up with customer demand, Krohne had to expand their British manufacturing facility; a key decision to make during a recessionary period.  A 1,687 Sq Mt extension to this manufacturing facility has since been completed and has proved to be essential in allowing the company to keep pace with opportunities world-wide and continue with their new product development plan. 

One of the most recent innovations is the OPTIMASS 2000; a mass flowmeter for bulk measurement of liquids and gases.  It ranges in size from DN100 (4”) to DN250 (10”) and is the only mass flowmeter available in both Duplex and Super Duplex.  However for a meter that is designed to measure such high flow rates, it has what is considered to be a small installation envelope making it a very attractive proposition to skid builders and companies who have limited space for installation, such as on offshore platforms.  The footprint of the OPTIMASS 2000 also offers significant energy savings to the customer as it has a lower pressure drop due to its straight tube design and the minimal length of the measuring tubes.

Krohne Ltd exports over 90% of its production and has long-term plans for continuous investment to further improve production capacity.  Already in 2012 they plan to increase their calibration facilities and add further rigs to the 11 UKAS accredited calibration rigs already housed at the Wellingborough facility.  Coupled with this will come the launch of a new Coriolis  mass flowmeter to handle  high temperature, high pressure and cryogenic applications.

"The building expansion in the UK is a confirmation of the trust that our customers have in our company and in our employees who’s knowledge and dedication is the key to our success” says Trevor Fawcett, Managing Director of Krohne Ltd.  “Employing and maintaining a skilled work force and developing specialist skills is essential in our line of business.  For this reason we are now offering engineering apprenticeships through a government backed programme. We also operate a recognized industry training and certification programme. The key to our future success depends on our ability to continue to produce innovative and reliable products that exceed our customers’ expectations and having a skilled and dedicated workforce along with excellent manufacturing facilities is a vital step to achieving these goals.”