(EnergyAsia, June 20 2011, Monday) — “Singapore is a prominent market for us in the metalising industry. It is a top-tier country in the Asia-Pacific region for the offshore and shipping industry where the bulk of our clients come from. We hope to apply more of our services to serve our clients in this part of the world,” said MTM Metalizing general manager Bill Jordan.

MTM Metalizing is a joint venture set up with the International Metalizing Company (IMC), which has been in thermal spray business for corrosion prevention since 1995.

Since its start-up in May 2006, MTM Metalizing’s Singapore-based mobile teams have been serving customers in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, India, Philippines, Japan, Thailand, China and Taiwan. China, the world’s second biggest economy and a huge energy consumer and producer, is a key target market for the company.

“We’re adopting a cautious approach in knocking on the doors of China’s expansive oil and gas industry,” said MTM Metalizing director Leon Lui, who recently made an exploratory visit to China. “We’re in working out some joint-ventures deals with Chinese companies but for the moment, we want to establish the Singapore operations on a stronger footing before venturing out to open another overseas office.”

The Singapore office at Thye Hong Centre, Leng Kee Road, with a workshop in Tuas, has a permanent full-time workforce of 17, which includes applicators, blasters, supervisors as well as administrators.

Among the company’s major activities in Singapore are its thermal spray coating projects for an ExxonMobil plant on Jurong Island, The Sail at Marina Bay and Bluewater Energy Services at Sembawang Shipyard.

“We’re still a global brand for on-site thermal spray and provide customised solutions to corrosion problems for marine, petrochemical, structural steel, rail and infrastructure industries,” said Mr Lui.

MTM Metalizing said its IMC-patented technology for corrosion prevention has been approved and used in a variety of corrosion prevention projects of high-profile clients, including Panama Canal Authority, NASA, US Navy, New Jersey Department of Transportation, American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and major oil companies. MTM Metalizing said it recently became the first metalising company in the world to obtain a DNV Certification of Approval for its thermal sprayed zinc coating technology.

DNV, a Norwegian classification society that establishes and maintains technical standards for the construction and operation of ships and offshore structures approved MTM Metalizing’s thermal sprayed zinc coating technology for use in ballast tanks, double-skin spaces, cofferdams and other enclosed spaces, under the IMO PSPC (International Marine Organization Performance Standard for Protective Coating) requirements. The certification is valid until December 31 2013.

Mr Lui said MTM Metalizing attained the certification after extensive testing including accelerated corrosion tests. This is believed to be the first “alternative coating” approval issued under the IMO guidelines. The application speed that the IMC-patented equipment produces allows the use of metalizing as a realistic alternative for ballast tank coating.

MTM Metalizing provides thermal sprayed zinc coating services on helideck support structures, ship vessels, bridges and tunnels. In Singapore, it has carried out the procedure on MT Polestar, a 25-year-old tanker owned by Megaports in Pan United shipyard and on the flare boom of Akoa Mizu, a ship belonging to Bluewater Energy Services.