Euro Gas Systems (EGS) S.R.L., located in Targu Mures, Romania is an ISO 9001 certified packager of natural gas compressors. EGS management has over 30 years of experience in the packaging of reciprocating compressors. Located in the center of the main natural production area of Romania, EGS recruits the `top-of-the-class` personnel for engineering and production activities. The interview was given by Mr. Roger Wachter - General Manager from Euro Gas Systems company.
Could you briefly describe the history of the company and most important moments of its development?
Euro Gas Systems is the largest compressor packager in Europe dedicated to the upstream industry. EGS was registered as a business early 2010 and in less than one year we managed to ship our first compressor package out of the 13,000 foot² (1,200 meter²) start-up facility. A new, 52.500 foot² (4,900 meter²) purpose-built Assembly Plant, was constructed and commissioned in 2012. EGS became an official Distributor and Approved Packager of Ariel Corporation in 2013 and OEM for Waukesha and Caterpillar engines in 2014. Due to the company’s continued growth in sales, the Assembly Plant was expanded to double its original size, reaching 105,000 foot² (9,800 meter²) at the end of 2018. This year started with the commissioning of the most recent investment, a brand new 17,000 foot² (1,580 meter²) fabrication shop for vessels, skids and other weldments. The new fabrication shop is fitted with the latest technology for cutting and welding steel fabrications. Currently we are going through the process of doing the architectural engineering for our next new manufacturing plant which will be dedicated to manufacturing air cooled heat exchangers (ACHE). Plans are to start construction of this 34,000 foot² (3,160 meter²) facility in 2021 with a 2022 completion date.
Please tell us what made your company so successful and gained the trust of its customers?
EGS has been always focused on customer needs, for both equipment supplied and aftermarket support by providing on-time top quality products, engineered to customer specifications. The company has taken steps into developing new product lines and has successfully managed in a short period of time due to continuous investments in tooling, state-of-the-art facilities and people to rapidly gain market recognition and appreciation of quality equipment provider. EGS also works with its customers to ensure proper interface engineering support for the installation of the supplied equipment. Today EGS in house expertise, is covering the full cycle of product designing, manufacturing and service support.
Which strategies have proven to be the most useful over time?
Developing the product range and turning EGS in a single point of supply for the key account customers, has been one of the strategies heavily invested in. Focusing on complete customer satisfaction of equipment build, start-up and commissioning, customer training, on-going aftermarket support, timely communication and reaction to customer needs were also part of the keys to success.
As an authorized packager for several compressor manufacturers, EGS brings world-class compression to the European, Middle East, Africa and CIS markets at competitive pricing levels. What are the exclusive elements that make your company unique from the point of view of design and production?
All manufactured products are engineered using Autodesk Inventor 3D modeling software. From the developed 3D model, an accurate Bill of Materials is imported into our ERP system and from there we can be assured all materials are available in time for scheduled production. During the lead time phase of the major components (compressor, driver, unit control panel), EGS fabricate vessels, skids, piping, etc. so that upon arrival of the major components to our Assembly Plant we are ready for final assembly and test which is typical accomplished in a 4-6 week period. Some important aspects established by EGS are the standards in product quality, safety and reliability, developed with a dedicated team, by supporting the customer during the sale and manufacturing with customized services whichever the country of installation of the equipment might be.
Could you tell us more about your products, services, production technologies and production facilities?
To support the expansion of its business and markets served, EGS is in the final stages of construction of a new manufacturing plant (Plant 3) which will be dedicated to vessels, skids and other steel fabrications. In addition to the impressive tooling EGS has in the existing vessel shop, the new plant will be equipped with new tooling investments to increase vessel size offering while increasing production and efficiency. Known as Plant 3, the shop can accommodate vessel diameters up to 10 ft (3 m), lengths up to 42 ft (13 m), thicknesses up to 2.3 in (60 mm); and structural skids up to16 ft (5 m) wide by 42 ft (13 m) long. Machinery and tooling in the new building includes two 15 metric ton (16.5-tn) overhead cranes; a CNC 5 axis robotic plasma and oxy/acetylene cutting machine capable of processing plates up to 6.5 x 16.4 ft (2 x 5 m), I/H beam contouring for skid fabrication up to 36 inch (91 cm) height and cutting openings in shells and heads up to 80 inch (2 m) in diameter in utilizing CAD/CAM software; a DAVI MCB K30 4 roll vessel shell rolling machine, capable of rolling 2.36 in (60 mm) thick shells at 10 ft (3 m) diameter; a 400-ton (362-tonne) DURMA AD-R 40400 press break for steel plate bending; and a YCM double column CNC vertical/horizontal machining center with a with 33,069 lb (15,000 kg) table load capability for machining compressor/engine sub skid modules. The new plant has seven dedicated vessel welding stalls, four additional sub-assembly worktables, and approximately 1237 sqft (115 m2) of open floor space for skids and larger product construction, and/or increased vessel fabrication area. The products offered by EGS are tailor made to customer requirements with a wide flexibility of integrating customer specs due to in-house engineering capability. Company experience in gas compressor packages supply covers solutions ranging from 100 KW up to 3.5 MW both electric and gas engine drives. Re-packaging of existing compressor equipment is also offered, required conformance to EU directives including PED, ATEX, Mechanical Directive, Low Voltage Directive and CE Marking. Caterpillar and Waukesha are the main engine drivers utilized by EGS, with Tedom and other engine manufacturers also available. ABB, Siemens, and UMEB are the primary electric-motor manufacturers featured in EGS electric drive compressors. Altronic, FW Murphy, and custom-made PLC control panels are offered as standard compressor controls. Aftermarket parts and service support is another focus of EGS. Services offered include start-up and commissioning, operation/maintenance programs, and training for end users. Today, besides the main product line, which is packaging of reciprocating gas compressor, EGS is offering Air Cooled Heat Exchangers (ACHE) design and manufactured completely in-house. The success achieved by promoting Air Cooled Heat Exchangers (ACHE) was above expectations. Following the same strategy of total quality, we managed in a very short period of time not only to make our place in the market, but also to be recognized as one of the top producers.
What are the certificates your company owns?
The company has established an integrated management system which integrates several components: quality, environmental protection, occupational health and safety and radiological security in accordance with ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and OHSAS 18001:2008. We are also certified for PED or ASME in terms of manufacturing pressure vessels, depending on customer needs and specification.
The company’s success would not have been possible without proper management and qualified personnel. Please tell us about the people you employ in your company.
The company’s fast growth is a result of the hard working, dedicated EGS team. Constant investments in employees, current technical challenges, supporting innovation, trainings to ensure a high level of professionalism has been priority number one of EGS. This strategy not only had a direct impact in the quality of the product build, but also made EGS customers fully aware that they are getting exactly what they need, when they need it and exceeding their quality expectations by having the full support of an entire team that today exceeds 180 employees, and growing.
What are your plans for gaining new foreign markets?
Continued expansion of EGS business and direct sale in the foreign markets is a continuing goal of EGS. To accomplish this, EGS is offering full support to all its foreign clients by having regional sales managers in Poland, Russia, UAE and Nigeria which cover the market regions we serve. EGS has opened new offices in Dubai and Nigeria and will continue to open new offices and add to the sales forces in the near future. Promoting the company by attending trade fairs and conferences remains an important goal of the company and one of the best opportunities to gain and discover new foreign markets.
