Project Profile: Aisin Light Metals LN2 Installation

When Chart Industries called upon P1 Group as a trusted ESP (Engineered Systems Partner) to do the LN2 (liquid nitrogen) installation/replacement at Aisin Light Metals, Project Manager Nick Lawless knew there would be challenges.

Through the ESP Program, Chart helps P1 Group by bringing regional opportunities to our attention. In turn, P1 Group supports Chart by promoting their product and sharing opportunities with them as well.

The most challenging components of this project were:

• Measuring new piping while the equipment was in use and the new components were not in place
• Installing a new system while existing system was running, with limited down time

Overall, P1 Group installed 400 feet of new rigid piping and final connection hoses.

“In order to replace the system, I had to go out and field measure for new components being added while the equipment was up and running,” Nick explained.

Nick said that besides the equipment being in use while he was measuring, new sub-coolers were being added at a later date and were not yet in place, forcing the team to “best guess” final valve locations.

The team had to be nimble as well. During installation, the equipment was still up and running, producing parts. As each piece of equipment came off line, new piping was installed, requiring P1 Group to work quickly in between those production intervals.

Nick says Brock and Trace went the extra mile to ensure the success of such a challenging project.

“Not only were Brock and Trace able to make sense of the layout as I had intended, they had to make some on-the-fly adjustments to some pretty unforgiving piping,” Nick said.

“Since the system is engineered to order and it takes 4-6 weeks to produce, they had to be innovative in making the new system fit while the old system was still in play,” he explained. “While working safely, they had to crawl all over the equipment to place hangers and coordinate limited downtime for the more difficult-to-reach locations.”

“We did a similar project at Honeywell, but this was the first time we were called upon for an ESP installation outside of the Kansas City Metro area,” he added.

This meant the team was in an area with limited resources (compared to a metro area like Kansas City) and had to overcome obstacles in procuring parts installation.

In addition, Nick noted there was no way to make field alterations once the pipe was fabricated by Chart, leaving little room for error.

Stepping in to work while production is in full-swing and getting the job done right is what P1 Group is known for, and the Aisin Metals project was no exception.

“Brock and Trace really brought this one home for us,” Nick said. “Working right up until Christmas, away from their families, they put a nice big bow on the entire package.”