John Crane cuts refinery seal refurbishment time by more than 60%
John Crane has helped a refinery in Bavaria, Germany, restart production on schedule after refurbishing two critical dry gas seals in just six weeks, reducing the usual turnaround time by more than 60%.
The two Type 28XP dry gas seals support a compressor essential to the refinery’s operation. With the shutdown confirmed at short notice, both seals needed to be inspected, repaired, dynamically tested and returned within six weeks, compared with a typical refurbishment lead time of 16 to 18 weeks.
To meet the deadline, John Crane coordinated its international service network, with refurbishment work carried out at its dry gas seal service centre in Japan, metal components manufactured in the Czech Republic and specialist suppliers accelerating delivery of the seal faces.
Teams in Germany and Japan monitored progress throughout the project, ensuring both seals were returned within the planned shutdown window.
According to John Crane, the accelerated turnaround avoided a potential 10-to-12-week delay to the refinery’s restart, with at least €1 million in production at risk for every additional week of downtime.
Christian Naldini, VP, Europe at John Crane, said: “By mobilising our teams and supply network across Germany, Japan and the Czech Republic, we completed in six weeks work that would typically take 16 to 18 weeks.”
The project was delivered through John Crane’s Performance Plus service solutions, which support rotating-equipment reliability and critical maintenance requirements.
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