Doble Engineering Company, an ESCO Technologies, Inc. owned company, has announced the opening of a new insulating materials laboratory in Houston, Texas. The Houston facility is Doble’s fourth oil lab in the U.S. and will provide the Gulf Coast region with local access to comprehensive laboratory, condition assessment and innovative testing solutions.
Opened to meet the needs of Doble’s transmission, distribution, generation, industrial and service organization clients, the lab will help customers make confident decisions regarding the health and reliability of their critical, large electric power assets.
“Laboratory diagnostics are a crucial component of a comprehensive condition assessment program,” said Paul Griffin, vice president of consulting and testing services at Doble. “Our goal is to give customers the objective diagnostic information they need to address their day-to-day and strategic challenges - opening a lab in the region will help us to do that more effectively.”
Doble’s labs perform more than 200 different tests on both liquid and solid insulating materials, including ASTM and IEC tests for dissolved gas analysis (DGA), water content and oil. At Doble’s Massachusetts headquarters, the company also provides high-voltage laboratory testing solutions up to 300 kV AC, 400 kV DC and impulse testing up to 1,200 kV for transformer components, rotating machine stator bars, and cable and accessories testing.
In addition to laboratory services, Doble is expanding its extensive training programs in the region through laboratory diagnostic seminars, client field seminars and the Life of a Transformer™ Seminar, which will be held in San Antonio, Texas, in February 2015.
“Because of the subtle things that their trained lab specialists see every day, Doble’s team provides us with superior analysis, actionable diagnostics and consistent turnaround times,” said Monty Janak, operations manager at Tidal Power Services in Rosharon, Texas. “With backgrounds in refineries, electric utilities, generating plants and service organizations, the Doble team understands the significant pressure Gulf Coast power companies face in order to provide reliable energy.”
Currently, demand for power in Texas is growing significantly -- at almost twice the national average. The state is also the largest energy generator in the country, including leading the U.S. in wind-power generation capacity, with over 12,000 megawatts.
“When a company needs to manage asset health across a transformer fleet or assistance diagnosing a problem asset, Doble is there to provide complete support,” said Griffin. “Our diagnostic solutions and advanced condition assessment programs are supported by a team of chemists and engineers who provide our customers with the independent expert opinion they expect from Doble.”
