Element Materials Technology has opened the doors to its expanded Center of Excellence for oil and gas materials testing in Houston (US), following a successful integration of people and expertise, while bringing enhanced capacity and capability.

Element CEO Charles Noall and EVP Oil & Gas and Infrastructure, Matt Hopkinson, recently welcomed customers, suppliers and other industry representatives to view the new, larger laboratory spread across 55,000 sq ft in Houston, US.

Following the integration of the Houston Exova laboratory and a major upgrade of $5 million in technologies and technical expertise with ISO 17025 and Nadcap accreditation, the Element Houston site now hosts 150 experts across eight departments. 

The site offers testing in: coatings and insulations; sour service corrosion; fracture/fatigue mechanics; engineering critical assessments; non-destructive testing; machining capability; pipeline testing; sour gas testing; industry leading mechanical and metallurgical testing; and environmental air emissions testing.

Matt Hopkinson, EVP Oil & Gas and Infrastructure, commented: “We have opened the doors to Element’s new world class facility which confirms our position as the regional market leader in oil and gas materials testing, offering the most comprehensive scope of testing accreditations for the sector.

“With the continued expansion of services alongside investment in our engaged experts, we are proud to offer a truly global network of customers, capabilities and expertise. The increased capacity offers our customers even more service excellence and efficiency.”

A leading provider of materials testing and inspection services for global oil and gas organisations, Element has over 100 years’ experience working in partnership with the sector. The company’s network of engaged experts and specialist centres of excellence deliver an extensive range of services for a diverse range of metals, polymers and elastomers.

The company is one of the world’s leading independent providers of materials and product qualification testing, inspection and certification services to the global aerospace; transportation and industrials; fire and building products; and oil and gas and infrastructure sectors, where failure in service is simply not an option.

“We exist to help our customers to make certain that the materials, products and systems that they make are safe, quality, compliant and ultimately fit for purpose, leveraging 200 years of testing experience and our global testing capabilities,” the company said in a statement.