APV opens heat exchanger service centre Saudi.

Contact: Alison Scarrott, Ballard Communications Management
email: a.scarrott@ballard.co.uk
Stephen Ballard, Ballard Communication Management
email : s.ballard@ballard.co.uk tel: 01306 882288
Sales Contact : Nell Burden, Invensys APV
email: nell.burden@invensys.com tel: 44 (0) 1293 527777
16 th August 2004
APV opens heat exchanger service centre Saudi.
APV a business unit of Invensys has strengthened its service offering in the Middle East
by opening a new dedicated plate heat exchanger refurbishment facility at Al Jubail
Industrial City, Saudi Arabia. The location of the new facility is important as it will serve
industries within the Al Jubail industrial belt including Qatar, Bahrain, UAE & Kuwait.
"The Al Jubail region is extremely important as the area represents a huge APV user
base, said Erik Petersen the Manager of the new facility. "Many of the industrial process
here require the cooling of return process cooling water by using sea water. Most of the
SABIC companies in the region generate a lot of excess heat which is dissipated by sea
water flowing through a battery of plate heat exchangers".
APV have built an international reputation for producing high quality plate heat
exchangers. Heat exchangers essentially employ thin corrugated plates pressed
together using sealing gaskets in between them to force the liquids to flow in alternate
channels (usually in counterflow arrangement) in order to facilitate heat transfer through
the plate material. Although the principal is simple the engineering required to build and
maintain plate heat exchangers is advanced and as such the new facility has been
equipped accordingly.

After extended periods of usage, plate heat exchangers need to be refurbished in order
to clean the plate surfaces to remove any built-up deposits, thereby restoring the heat
transfer efficiency. Gaskets also need to be changed as they can become deformed over
time due to the high pressing forces. Further, plates need to be checked for corrosion,
cracks, pinholes or deformation and some plates may need to be replaced.
APV's service centre is capable of handling over 15,000 plates annually and caters for
both plates manufactured by APV and other manufacturers. All refurbishment work
utilises the highest quality of materials and all workmanship is backed by a full warranty.
A detailed report is provided along with digital photographs and the units are delivered
back to the customers in a virtually 'as good as new' condition !
APV pioneered the plate heat exchanger in 1923 and manufactures one of the widest
ranges of gasketed plate type heat exchangers in the world, for various applications e.g.;
food, pharmaceutical, industrial, HVAC etc. Main manufacturing facilities are in Denmark
and USA.
APV has been present in the Middle East since the early 1970s and currently employs
over 100 skilled engineers and technicians in offices spread across the Middle East
including Riyadh, Jeddah, Jubail, Dubai (Jebel Ali).
About Invensys
Invensys is an automation, controls and process solutions Group working to create value
for customers and investors. Our products, services, expertise and ongoing support
enable intelligent systems to monitor and control processes in many different
environments. The businesses within Invensys help customers in a variety of industries -
including chemical, oil and gas, power and utilities, telecommunications, paper, food,
dairy, beverage, pharmaceutical and personal care - to perform with greater efficiency,
safety and cost-effectiveness.

APV’s knowledge and expertise in the food, dairy, beverage, personal care,
pharmaceutical and chemical industries has made it a leading supplier of process
equipment, engineered systems and asset services. With nearly 1,000 engineers and
700 sales personnel across 48 countries, APV delivers return on investment across the
world and throughout plant life cycles.
Process Systems provides hardware, software, services and solutions for the
automation and regulation of plant operation in the process industries. Eurotherm is a
leading supplier of control and measurement instrumentation solutions to industrial and
process customers. Rail Systems is a global leader in the design, manufacture, supply,
installation, commissioning and maintenance of safety-related rail signalling and control
systems. Climate Controls is a major producer of environmental control components,
systems and services. Appliance Controls has the broadest range of control-related
products for the white goods industry in the world.
The Invensys Group is headquartered in the UK and listed on the London Stock
Exchange. With 42,000 employees operating in 60 countries, Invensys helps customers
to improve performance, profitability and the value they offer to end users and
shareholders alike.