Ajman's Emirates Techno Casting (ETC), manufacturer of zinc and aluminium alloy anodes for the marine and offshore industries, has announced plans to invest $4 million in a production plant to produce new-generation pipeline repair clamps.

ETC claims its new proprietary clamp can save oil companies up to $15 million in repairs along a 100-kilometre pipeline. The announcement of the new plant was made on the second day of the Chemtex & Corrosion Middle East 2002 trade show at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre.

"We plan to have the new Ajman factory operating by the end of this year. It will give us a 50 per cent increase in production capacity and enable us to manufacture up to 300 offshore repair clamps per month," said ETC general manager Roger Joyce.

"We believe there is a big market in the Middle and Far East for this product, where much of the oil industry infrastructure is 15 to 20 years old. It not only cuts the cost of repairs substantially but also reduces the time taken to fix the problem. We have already sold 47 to a client in Iran."

ETC has set up a joint venture with Sharjah's Gulmar Offshore Group, repair specialists for undersea pipelines, to offer oil companies a turnkey maintenance solution using the new clamps.

As well as pipeline repairs, Gulmar also conducts external and internal inspections of pipelines, anode refits and pipeline stabilisation.

Chemtex and Corrosion, the Middle East's only international event for the chemical, petrochemical, chemical process technology, corrosion control and management industries, had the participation of 70 companies and industry organisations from 19 countries.

Among them were industry groups from India, Iran, Syria and Australia. Other countries represented were the UAE, US and Canada. Companies from Europe, Africa and the Middle and Far East were also present.