20.05.2011

Quality Mat supports big lift

US based hardwood mat provider – Quality Mat Company has supplied around 6,000 300mm x 3,650mm crane mats to support ALE’s 4,300 tonne capacity AL.SK190 for a six month overhaul of Valero’s Port Arthur, Texas refinery.

The project, which began in February, was originally due be completed in July and required the services of one of the world’s largest cranes to lift out large coking drums. The crane was shipped to Port Arthur after completing a series of lifts up to 850 tonnes on the Thai Growth Project in Map Ta Phut, Thailand.
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Up to 6,000 mats are being used to support ALE's 4,300 tonne capacity/190,000 tonne metre AL.SK190 while working on the six month overhaul of Valero’s Port Arthur, Texas refinery.

“We are pleased to be selected by Valero for this very important project,” said Joe Penland, founder and owner of Quality Mat. “Not only have we met all of our deadlines, we have exceeded Valero’s expectations.”

Headquartered in Beaumont, Texas, Quality Mat Company donates 100 percent of its net profits from its recently opened Houston location to charity, the latest in a long line of philanthropic acts by the company and Penland.

The company began in Penland’s mother’s back yard in 1974, and has grown into one of the leading producer of hardwood mats in the world. Today, the company’s annual mat production exceeds 250,000.

The big ALE crane was mentioned recently in one of Valero's financial conference calls, when its late arrival was blamed for the delay in the projects start date. More recently there has been talk locally about other techincal problems with the lifting equipment that may or moay not cause further delays.