cAMeron international corporation— raising performance. togethertM.
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Quality and Preservation of Value: State-of-the-Art Technology for Proven and Brand-New Compressors With its history spanning 180 years, CAMERON International Corporation, Houston, Texas, USA, is one of the world’s conglomerates with the richest tradition. The company’s approximately 18,000 employees feel committed to their history— and consequently to the corporate maxims that already guided the actions of CAMERON’s predecessor, COOPER Industries: quality and performance. TEXT: Ludwig Schönefeld · PHOTOS: Ralf Baumgarten IllustrationS: CAMERON International Corporation he company’s present name— Over the last few years, CAMERON invested In 1963, AJAX® was acquired by COOPER. CAMERON—dates back to the primarily in the continual optimization of the COOPER and CAMERON systematically expand acquisition of CAMERON Iron portfolio. Initially, the efforts were centered ed the product line—all the way to the current Works by COOPER Industries around boosting the efficiency of CAMERON top model, the 845-horsepower AJAX® 2804. At in 1989. This was the most compressors: “We invested heavily in the devel a maximum of 525 revolutions per minute, Tmomentous acquisition in the history of the in opment of highly efficient products,” Johnson AJAX® compressors are slow-speed compres dustrial enterprise that was founded in 1833 by reported. Another focal area was the minimiza sors. What’s special about the AJAX® principle the COOPER brothers, Charles and Elias, in tion of greenhouse gases from diffuse emissions is that the drive and compressor are combined Mount Vernon, Ohio, and has been managed at the compressors: “The pressure toward lower on a common frame. The simplistic design prin from Houston, Texas, since 1967. Presently, the emissions standards will continue unabated in ciple promises minimized mechanical losses as a company achieves sales of more than 5 billion the coming years. We’re well-prepared.” result of the matched synchronization of all com dollars with its three Business Divisions—Drill ponents and resulting low vibrations. Recently ing & Production Systems, Valves & Measure AJAX®—a Champion developed is an electric drive AJAX® compressor ment, and Process & Compression Systems. in the Gas Field that utilizes many of the same components as the Approximately two thirds of CAMERON’s busi To this day, the AJAX® Integral Engine Compressor integral engine compressor, including the high ness comes from outside the United States. China contributes significantly to CAMERON’s success efficiency lineup of AJAX® cylinders. is increasingly gaining in importance—both as a around the globe: “The AJAX® compressor is sales market and as a production location. one of the oldest, yet also one of the most Intrinsic Value and Innovation successful machines in the world,” explained The technical design of the AJAX® compressor, A Balanced Portfolio Everette Johnson. The AJAX® brand harkens the fundamentals of which were developed at As Director Product Engineering, Development back to AJAX® Iron Works. Founded in 1892 in the beginning of the 20th century, is still applied & Quality, Everette Johnson is in charge of global Corry, Pennsylvania, USA, the company started to this day. This is partly due to the simple development of reciprocating compressors. to produce gas compressors in 1895. After design and the intrinsic value of the construction. Offering proven technological solutions, both for World War II, the compact design of the AJAX® In addition, AJAX®, COOPER and CAMERON the production and for the transport and use of compressor helped make it the leading com have always managed to successfully refine their natural gas in the process industry, CAMERON pressor model in the U.S. oil and gas industry. machine through continuous innovation. To is positioned well: “We have a balanced port With a power spectrum between 30 and 360 accomplish this, CAMERON relies on strong folio covering gas compression from the source horsepower, the AJAX® was able to satisfy virtu partners like HOERBIGER. Everette Johnson to the end user.” ally all requirements of industry at the time. stated: “Our partnership with HOERBIGER has existed for quite some time and is very inspiring A cross-sectional view of for both sides. We purchase all valves as well as the AJAX® DPC-2804LE: the packing and sealing rings for the AJAX® the current top model compressors from HOERBIGER.” also remains true to the simple design principle. HOERBIGER and CAMERON collaborated for a period of three years with the CAMERON AJAX division in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, on a joint project that was aimed at further improving the performance and reliability of the AJAX integral ® compressors by developing a more re liable, anti-scuff, power ring design. The development centered on replacing the previous tapered ring design with a barrel faced Ferrox ring. To improve performance, the top ring’s running surface has several circumferential grooves which are filled with Ferrox. This prevents scuffing and enables the ring face to retain oil. As a result, wear is reduced both on the ring face and the cylinder bore.
“For a life cycle that can easily span 50 years or more, all that’s required of the operator of an AJAX® compressor is an annual oil change and very few special tools.” 2012 AJAX® product brochure 042
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Everette Johnson in the CAMERON exhibition hall behind a historic AJAX® model. “The supply of energy in Chicago is primarily based on gas. They use COOPER-Bessemer® compressors, which in some cases have been in operation for more than 70 years. Have you ever read in the paper that the gas supply in Chicago went down? Reliability, availability and preser- vation of value. That’s what matters in our busi- ness. And we, at Cameron, vouch for that.” Everette Johnson
Thanks to the jointly developed ReigniteTM solution, legacy COOPER-BESSEMER® integral engine compressors satisfy the latest stringent environmental standards—a sustainable investment instead of a new purchase.
EverettE Johnson Director of Engineering The Houston, Texas, site of HOERBIGER Corpora integral gas engine compressors using CAMERON International Corporation tion of America has collaborated with Cameron CAMERON’s distribution channels. “This was Ajax with field tests. The new ring packs showed far more than a joint marketing initiative,” Interested in all things mechanical at a consistently successful results at several field loca Everette Johnson reported. “We were convinced young age, Everette Johnson did his tions. The Ferrox ring style is a not a new concept. that together we would succeed in engineering Mechanical Engineering basic training at It has been around for many years, successfully an outstanding product for legacy compressors.” Purdue University. After that he went on for benefiting many other legacy natural gas engines, The Reignite™ project focuses on the immense brief stints involving Research and and it will continue to be a reliable scuff resistant COOPER-BESSEMER® integral engine com Development at Schwitzer (automotive piston ring design for the future. pressors. The majority of these compressors turbocharger manufacturer), then on to have been in operation for decades. Detroit Diesel and to Cummins Engine Com Quality and Performance pany, before landing in Mount Vernon, Ohio, For COOPER, quality and performance were the COOPER-BESSEMER®— in 1975, where he worked with some indus strongest arguments of the marketing strategy, the Heavyweight try legends such as Mel Helmich, John and they have been for CAMERON to this day. COOPER introduced the first design principle Konkler and Norm Shade, at Cooper- “We want to sell value to our customers,” Everette for this heavy machinery in 1909, which com Bessemer Engine Company. In his Johnson explained. “Because the HOERBIGER bines the drive and compressor in one machine. early years with Cooper, Everette Johnson brand is synonymous with reliable and lasting The basic idea was given a major boost in 1929, worked in both Rotating Products and in quality, we rely on this value proposition.” For when COOPER acquired Bessemer Gas Engine Reciprocating Products, with the bulk of his decades, HOERBIGER Corporation of America Company founded in 1899 by Edwin J. Fithian career spent working on Turbochargers as has been CAMERON’s major provider of valves, and John Carruthers in Grove City, Pennsylva applied to Large Bore Two Stroke Engines. rings and packings. Everette Johnson added: nia. Based on the know-how of both companies In 1999, Johnson went to work with the “For us, the quality of the product is paramount. —not without reason was the acquisition of Bes Centrifugal Compressor group which was And we have always been able to rely on semer later referred to as a “history merger”— purchased by Rolls-Royce and so he ended HOERBIGER’s quality.” COOPER continued to develop the compressor. up in the UK as Director of Europe, Africa The result was a machine in which the vertically and the Middle East. Upon his return in More than Effective Marketing mounted cylinders of the engine acted on the 2003, he found his way back to Cameron Another example of the close collaboration horizontally mounted cylinders of the compres where he works today as the Director of between CAMERON and HOERBIGER is the sor via the common crankshaft. Engineering for the Process Systems and Reignite™ project. In October 2009, HOERBIGER Reciprocating Compression team. Engineering Services, Houston, Texas, USA, The first COOPER-BESSEMER® integral gas en and CAMERON signed an agreement to jointly gine compressor was shipped in 1938 and put market technology that would upgrade aged to work on a pipeline. The V-arrangement of the performance, the investment that is required fields as well as the installation of the necessary from the operator is no more than 25 percent of infrastructure will be among the greatest chal the amount that a new machine would cost. lenges for the economical use of the newly Everette Johnson added: “Together, we managed uncovered natural gas resources. Moreover, he to convince our customers that the investment also sees the changes on the global gas market in reconditioning a legacy compressor creates through the eyes of an engineer: “The gas we new value—and additionally, an exceptionally have delivered until now was dry gas.” Shale reliable machine.” gas, in contrast, is wet gas. Adapting the existing compressor technology to the requirements of Ambivalent Prospects the wet gas will require development expendi Everette Johnson is concerned about the eco ture that is not to be underestimated. nomic environment of the traditional gas indus try. “By continually advancing our technology, Reorganization of the we offer the best conditions for optimizing the Gas Industry value added in our markets.” The problem is the North America, CAMERON’s home market, is pressure on the price of natural gas: “The low rich in shale gas deposits. Nonetheless, the dis gas prices will be one of the biggest challenges tribution of shale gas formations will result in a in the years to come for us all.” To a significant reorganization of the gas industry worldwide. extent, this can be attributed to the global avail CAMERON has already laid the groundwork for ability of shale gas now being within reach. this trend. “Long-term, we have geared up for While problems related to the production of the new situation and searched intensively for shale gas are far from being resolved, the sector business models that matched our portfolio and is investing in this type of natural gas. This con would allow the use of shale gas. The economi 044 trasts with reduced or deferred investments in cal use of shale gas will start in North America traditional technology as a result of the lower gas and Europe,” Johnson stated. “However, we 045 prices. For those who, like CAMERON, are must also develop products for India and China active both in the conventional gas business and in equal measure—with different performance in shale gas, the “Golden Age of Gas” definitely levels, both for gas extraction and gas distribu drive and compressor generated an increase in offers development opportunities. Everette tion.” When it comes to the development of power of 38 percent, which was revolutionary at Johnson added: “People will rely more heavily these new compressors, CAMERON relies on the time. Because of its design, the new com on natural gas than in the past as the primary the expertise the company has acquired over pressor’s outward appearance was more remi resource for energy generation. This will benefit the decades with the high-speed compressors niscent of a marine diesel engine than the recip us, even if the intensity with which the new gas from the SUPERIOR® portfolio. rocating compressors customary until then. fields are developed will initially still suffer from The dimensions and weight of the COOPER- the general economic conditions.” BESSEMER® integral engine compressors necessitated a special infrastructure. For the Everette Johnson has been rooted in the oil and A cross-sectional view of the COOPER-BESSEMER® operators, purchasing the compressor and pro gas industry for decades. And he’s a realist. He W-330C3: the engine and compressor are driven viding the infrastructure to support it were asso knows that the development of new oil and gas on the same crankshaft. ciated with a capital-intensive investment. The interest among current owners in the continued and longest possible use of these reliable machines is accordingly high. However, this will only be possible if the engines continue to satisfy all emissions guidelines. “This was a challenge for us all,” reported Everette Johnson. Because Reignite™ was intended to optimize existing compressors, no modifications were allowed in terms of the basic design. With the support of HOERBIGER Engineering Services, CAMERON optimized the positions of the injection valves at the combustion chamber. HOERBIGER supplied a newly developed gas injector and an innova tive ignition system, the Electronic Pre-Chamber Control System (ePCC).
The results of the collaboration were far better than anticipated. Machines retrofitted with the Reignite™ package safely meet even the most stringent environmental standards. Relative to Part
For decades, HOERBIGER has supplied CAMERON In- ternational Corporation with state-of-the-art com- pressor components. For the high-speed couple-free compressor, CAMERON’s latest development, HOERBIGER adapted the innovative CP valve. The CP valve is marked by high efficiency and strength. Its core is the aerodynamically profiled valve plate made of a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic material developed by HOERBIGER’s research. It assures low maintenance costs and a long service life. www.hoerbiger.com
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With a production volume of approximately 650 billion cubic meters and domestic consumption of approximately 680 bil- lion cubic meters of natural gas (2011 and 2010 figures), the United States of America is one of the largest natural gas na- tions in the world. COOPER, now CAMERON, has supported the evolution of the gas industry in the USA since the close of the 19th century. Some of the legacy machines have been in use reliably for more than 100 years. CAMERON vouches that both these tried and tested machines, as well as the new compressors being built today, will be a sustainable invest- ment for their operators. Because of continuous innovation and modernization of the technical design, CAMERON compressors are considered leading technology to this day. Innovative solutions for the upgrade of legacy machines preserve the value of the financial investment. www.c-a-m.com
Partnership
HOERBIGER is a premium supplier of the major CAMERON compressor brands: COOPER-BESSEMER®, AJAX® and SUPERIOR ®. When it comes to valves and packing and sealing rings, HOERBIGER has repeatedly contributed to the refine- ment of proven compressors by offering new technical designs and innovative materials. CAMERON and HOERBIGER Engineering Services, Houston, Texas, USA, have collabo rated since 2005 on the upgrade of COOPER-BESSEMER® integral engine compressors. Since 2009, CAMERON and HOERBIGER have jointly marketed the Reignite™ brand— technology that significantly boosts the efficiency, flexibility and reliability of integrals. The costs for upgrading integrals are approximately 25 percent of the investment that would be required for a new compressor with comparable power. In addition to the low-speed models from the AJAX® series, CAMERON’s portfolio offers high-speed compressors under the SUPERIOR® brand. More than 10,000 of these compressors have been produced so far. Superior compressors are manufactured in Houston, Texas, and in a CAMERON’s newest manufacturing facility in Gaomi, China. Critical parts are supplied by HOERBIGER in the US and China. The series was specifically developed for shale gas applications.
SUPERIOR®— being incorporated in the development of new America designed a new variant of the CP valve the Premier Brand compressors for the global market. The most re for the new compressors. The valves have under The history of the SUPERIOR® brand stretches cent development is a high-speed couple-free gone rigorous testing since the end of 2012 in back to a company founded in 1889 by Patrick compressor, for which prototypes are presently light of the upcoming series production. J. Shouvlin in Springfield, Ohio, USA, which in manufactured at the Houston, Texas, site in the 1892 became Superior Engine and Compressor United States. In the future, these compressors Over the course of 2012, CAMERON and Company. In addition to building compressors will be manufactured in Houston and a new plant HOERBIGER together overcame the last techni with outputs of 20 to 100 horsepower, in the in Gaomi, was recently completed in the eastern cal hurdle of the new compressor series. “Shale years that ensued the business was primarily Chinese province of Shandong, China. “China is gas not only has a wide variety of BTU values, engaged in the production of diesel engines. In a great opportunity for CAMERON,” Everette but depending on the reservoir, some of it 046 1928, the company was acquired by its strongest Johnson explained. “We are convinced that, in contains extremely corrosive elements,” Everette distribution partner, National Supply Company, the future, China, will play a significant role for Johnson explained. To solve the problem, 047 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, which was the gas industry.” HOERBIGER Corporation of CAMERON developed a special inside coating founded in 1894. The new owner focused on America not only supported the development of for the cylinders—and HOERBIGER contributed the manufacture of engines. The compressor the couple-free series from the very start, but the matching piston rings. “Our goal is to achieve business, on the other hand, was sold to AJAX also assured the technology transfer to China. more than 50,000 hours of service without Iron Works in 1945. In 1955, National Supply al The valves, rings and packings for the couple- maintenance as a result of the coating piston- so divested the Diesel Division, selling it to White free compressors that CAMERON will produce ring combination,” said Johnson. Motor Company in Cleveland, Ohio. in China will be supplied by HOERBIGER Shang hai Co. Ltd., one of the most modern production Global Partnership White Motor Company recognized the synergies plants in the HOERBIGER Group. The technical “CAMERON sees itself as a solutions provider that engines and compressors had to offer. It re specifications will exactly reflect the design from the source to the end user,” Everette Johnson activated the know-how that the company had developed between HOERBIGER and CAMERON continued. The company considers long-stand acquired and at the beginning of the 1960s in the USA, as guaranteed by HOERBIGER’s ing and reliable partners that can guarantee began to develop high-speed compressors for global quality standards. global quality standards an indispensable asset the rapidly growing natural gas industry in in its efforts to live up to this performance claim. North America. Enjoying a long tradition, the The Global Player In addition to offering proven concepts and SUPERIOR® brand was used from then on to “We engineer a new couple-free compressor products, for the future it is also vitally important offer compressors—either turbine- or motor- primarily with shale gas applications in mind, to continually explore new solutions. The objec driven—ranging from 400 to 2,600 horsepower. which place high demands on the machine,” tive: to make the best even better. “We need After having been reorganized for the compressor Everette Johnson expounded. This included the companies that continue to invest in the oil and business in 1965, White Superior Division was valves and packings as much as the life span of gas industry, in new products that offer high faced with financial difficulties around the the cylinders. An important aspect that had to value for OEMs and their customers.” mid-1970s. COOPER Industries recognized the be taken into account was the wide range of HOERBIGER is that kind of a partner—and has opportunity of becoming active in the growing pressure fluctuations that occurs during the been for decades. So there is only one concern high-speed compressor market by way of acquisi production of shale gas. Everette Johnson com left for Everette Johnson, the experienced chief tion. In 1976, the year when the company for the mented: “We were looking for a partner that can developer at CAMERON: the “Silver Tsunami.” first time surpassed the magic half billion dollar help us solve these problems: HOERBIGER was “Our sector is facing a generational change,” he mark, COOPER Industries was ultimately able to there for us immediately.” Under comparable explained. “The majority of us will retire soon, take over the SUPERIOR® portfolio as a result of requirements, HOERBIGER has already collect and we barely have enough experienced junior the acquisition of the White Superior Division. ed excellent experience in pilot applications with professionals.” HOERBIGER was able to score the newly developed CP valve. The overall points yet again: “HOERBIGER has experienced Production in China design, and notably the aerodynamically pro research and development employees and the COOPER/CAMERON have since produced more filed valve plate made of carbon-fiber-reinforced right talent around the world to meet our than 10,000 SUPERIOR® compressors with out polymer material, are compelling, especially expectations in the future.” puts as high as 9,000 horsepower. The experi with respect to pressure resistance. The appli ence that CAMERON collected as a result is now cation developers of HOERBIGER Corporation of