LNG equipment maker Air Products on Friday rolled out the first completed liquefied natural gas (LNG) heat exchanger manufactured at its new production facility in Manatee County, Florida.
The heat exchanger was transported from the Air Products facility, crossing over Route 41 directly onto the property of Port Manatee, to be loaded on a barge and shipped to a customer for a major liquefied natural gas project along the United States Gulf Coast, the company’s statement reads.
Sandy McLauchlin , general manager – LNG & CryoMachinery Engineering & Manufacturing at Air Products noted that the company selected the second location as it eliminates transportation limitations regarding product size.
The new facility at Port Manatee also doubles the company’s production capacity, according to the statement.
Typically an LNG heat exchanger can be as large as over 15 feet in diameter and 180 feet long, or about two-thirds of the size of a football field. A finished unit can weigh as much as 500 tons.
Air Products has already shipped 116 LNG heat exchangers to 17 countries around the world, this first unit produced here at Port Manatee is the company’s first shipment to a Gulf Coast location and the second U.S. location for Air Products’ LNG technology.