TPi January 2015

developments products & Flame-free alternative to welding

not dependent on the availability of specialist staff, which again minimises inconvenience for our customers and maximum flexibility for ourselves.” The Haelok press has a purely steel composition, with no elastomeric or rubber sealings. It was invented with difficult, constrained working conditions in mind, and has a working temperature ranging from -50°C to 400°C and a certified working pressure of up to 600 bar. The system has 16,500psi certification, and full conformity to ASME B31.1 Power Piping and ASME B31.3 Process Piping.

without taking any health and safety risks. The Haelok system helped us get the best of both worlds – safe and cost- effective maintenance, and the district network back up and running before most of our customers even noticed it was down.” Haelok uses a wedge design and axial pressing with up to 60 tons to create a seal that is as strong as a welded connection. It was devised in Switzerland ten years ago, and was first used on a cruise liner two years later. Since then, the Haelok system has been used by more than 100 customers. The spokesperson from the energy provider elaborated, “Haelok also gives us an edge because it can be used by workers without welding or specialist connection experience, so we are

Swiss firm Haelok has devised a high- pressure pipe fitting system that can take less than a minute, even for an unskilled worker. The fitting system, which has been used by one of Europe’s largest energy providers to repair its network, uses metal-to-metal compression to offer a viable flame-free alternative to welding. With no need for open flames, this erad- icates the danger of repairing district heating pipes in dark, narrow spaces. Pipes can be fitted quickly, while water is still running, so the district heating system was barely down for any time at all. A spokesperson from the energy provider said, “Obviously, the safety and convenience of our customers is always our priority and we want to keep downtime on our network to a minimum

Haelok aG – Switzerland info@haelok.com www.haelok.com

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Tube ProducTs InTernaTIonal January 2015

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