Element Invests in Center of Excellence in Houston

Element Materials Technology (Element) has opened the doors to its expanded Center of Excellence for Oil & Gas materials testing in Houston. This follows a successful integration of people and expertise, while bringing enhanced capacity and capability.

At a well-attended launch event on October 9 at the 55,000 sq. ft. facility, Element CEO Charles Noall and EVP Oil & Gas and Infrastructure, Matt Hopkinson, welcomed customers, suppliers and other industry representatives to view the new, larger laboratory.

Following the integration of the Houston Exova laboratory and a major upgrade of $5m USD in technologies and technical expertise with ISO 17025 and Nadcap accreditation, the Element Houston site now hosts 150 experts across eight departments. The site offers testing in: coatings & insulations; sour service corrosion; fracture/fatigue mechanics; engineering critical assessments; non-destructive testing; machining capability; pipeline testing; sour gas testing; industry leading mechanical and metallurgical testing; and environmental air emissions testing.

Matt Hopkinson, EVP Oil & Gas and Infrastructure, commented: “We have opened the doors to Element’s new world class facility which confirms our position as the regional market leader in Oil & Gas materials testing, offering the most comprehensive scope of testing accreditations for the sector.

“With the continued expansion of services alongside investment in our engaged experts, we are proud to offer a truly global network of customers, capabilities and expertise. The increased capacity offers our customers even more service excellence and efficiency.”

Element is a market leading provider of materials testing and inspection services for global Oil & Gas organizations and has over 100 years’ experience working in partnership with the sector. The company’s network of engaged experts and specialist centers of excellence deliver an extensive range of services for a diverse range of metals, polymers and elastomers.