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​​This year, we once again had the opportunity to participate in the annual AIChE Central Florida chapter's International Phosphate Fertilizer and Sulfuric Acid Technology Conference.

The folks in this chapter truly run a great program. There is a spirited camaraderie that extends to vendors, competitors, non-engineers, and families alike -- which is unique to any conference we participate in. The presentations and programs were technically informative, interesting, and fun...and now we know why the Central Florida chapter of AIChE is one of the organization's shining stars.

Special thanks to Lian Blackwelder, Justin Graff, and the other Board members, as well as all the AIChE members and volunteers that helped make this such a successful event.

Gene Jenkins and Joe McCloskey exhibited with Shane Nicholson & John Francka of Gilbert Industries and Drew Sholar & Wayne Moroz from Mersen, with participation from Matt Thayer at Koch Knight.

All three principals agree with us wholeheartedly this is a must-do event/conference annually. Thanks to all for a great weekend and see y'all in Clearwater in next year!

McCloskey & Company is proud of our longstanding relationship with Gilbert Industries. Part of our partnership with our customers is to inform and anticipate bumps in the road in raw materials prices, and therefore finished products. This helps bring our customers’ projects in on-budget and on-time.

Obviously no one can predict the future, and sources are mixed as to which direction and magnitude the stainless steel surcharge will move. We are receiving multiple indicators that 1st Quarter pricing of stainless will be on the rise. The charts below (from various sources) are a few examples of this volatility. Regardless of how the market plays out, we wanted to keep our customers aware of the uncertainty.

If you aren’t already accounting for potential volatility in your plans, now might be a good time! Don’t let an increase in the stainless steel prices steal your wallet!

As a national market leader in stainless steel fabrication, Gilbert Industries (headquartered in Sparta, MO) is a company you can trust staying on top of these trends.  Ultimately, we can provide you top quality field-erected and shop tanks, with an industry leading safety record, at competitive pricing. Family owned and operated--with millions of hours in Stainless fabrication experience--let Gilbert and McCloskey & Company partner with you on your next project!

With rapid advancements in digital technology, is your centrifuge keeping up with the modernized, hands-on landscape? Here at McCloskey & Company, we are proud to partner with a market leader in up-to-date automation and controls: Western States Machine Company. 

Older style controls are becoming increasingly obsolete because as time passes, platforms and equipment become more difficult to support and maintain. 

When we think of black gold, most minds immediately wander to oil. The folks at McCloskey and Company and Mersen have a little different perspective! Our hidden treasure isn’t found deep in the ground—maybe just deep under weeds in the scrapyards and lay-down areas of shops and plants across the country.

Look familiar? Let us help. Instead of throwing away or scrapping the unit, why not consider a rebuild? At first glance it might be hard to believe…

    … but these pieces of equipment can be refurbished to like-new condition using Mersen’s two graphite repair shops.

We have a dedicated repair facility in Gonzalez, LA (Mersen GRI) as well as full repair capabilities at our factory in Salem, VA. Our factory-trained staff can turn even the most problem-filled unit into one that functions again as good as new, typically at a cost well below that of a new unit.

Mersen holds the industry-coveted graphite code stamps, both “R” and “U”, and handles hundreds of graphite heat exchanger repairs annually. 
 
For shell and tube units, the repair process can include replacement and/or plugging of tubes, as well as a new tube sheet. Block units are re impregnated and completely cleaned and bored out. We’ll also handle any cosmetic work that needs to be done on the unit, such as metal repair, blasting/painting, and re-gasketing.  We’ve seen it all as far as specs go!
 
Those who work with graphite know it's fragile characteristics, and at Mersen, we know how to ship graphite – our dedicated providers have years of experience transporting graphite equipment.
 
With a warranty comparable to a new unit, you can trust Mersen for the best graphite repairs in the industry. Let us turn that piece of junk back into a gold mine!

At McCloskey & Company, we pride ourselves on knowing our products inside and out and developing great relationships with our equipment manufacturers. Recently, the entire team (Joe, Gene, & Molly), ventured to Missouri to visit fabrication facilities for 2 of our principals, Gilbert Industries and Houston Polytank. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and will definitely be back!

First up was a visit to the wonderful team at Gilbert Industries in Sparta, located just between Branson and Springfield. Gilbert is one of America's premier stainless steel and alloy vessel manufacturers. While Gilbert is renowned for their proprietary field tank erection system, they also have extensive shop tank capacity and know-how. All Gilbert shop-fabricated vessels are expertly welded, engineered in-house, and can also be customized to meet customers' individual needs and ASME/API code requirements. Our team was able to see this first-hand on our shop tour and extensive educational training with the Gilbert folks. As a family-run company, Gilbert's hospitality extends to employees as well as their representatives. Also, as an added bonus, Molly got to practice some amateur welding out in the shop (not to worry, they won't let her anywhere near an actual job site...yet!). Check out some pictures of our visit below:

After Sparta, we headed north to Hopkins (about a mile from the Iowa border) to meet our new friends at Houston Polytank. This unique line provides corrosion resistant tanks with a new twist....plastic winding.  Houston Polytank is the only supplier in the US of these one-of-a-kind vessels that combine the corrosion resistant benefits of thermoplastics with the strength and thickness of a wound tank, all at competitive pricing. Unlike traditional roto-molded plastic tanks, Houston tanks are much more robust and not subject to buckling or deformation.  Houston Polytank manufactures tanks using polyethylene and polypropylene in sizes ranging from 5 to 50,000 gallons, which are ideal across many corrosive applications where plastic tanks have not traditionally been an option.  During our visit, we were able to see this unique manufacturing process first-hand, as well as enjoy the hospitality of the knowledgeable and dedicated Houston Polytank team.  Some highlights:

Well, it's been a long time coming, but we are pleased to officially roll out the McCloskey & Company website.  We hope it serves as a helpful resource for our current and future customers. We plan to update  blog posts regularly with information about our products and lines, as well as keep you in the loop on what's going on at McCloskey & Company. Check back often so you don't miss out!

P.S. We're also now on LinkedIn! Click here to go to our page and follow us!