Forged Components Inc. (FCI) is a global leader in the forging and manufacturing of integral self-reinforced connections for ASME pressure vessels, butt-weld stub-end connections, studding outlets, heavy wall cylinders up to 140 inches in length, and ASME B16.47 Series A & B large-diameter flanges and blinds. In addition to pressure vessel connections, FCI produces forgings for the energy, petrochemical, refinery, power generation, and oil and gas exploration and production industries. This includes wellhead casings, and subsea connections manufacturing.

FCI currently operates from over 300,000 square feet under-roof and over 50 acres of manufacturing facilities, including:

• Corporate office and main manufacturing and storage facility at Humble, Texas
• Heavy forge and machining facility in Navasota, Texas
• Small forging and manual machining facility at Porter, Texas
• CNC (computer numerical control) machining facility in Houston
• Hammer forge and heat treatment facility in Houston. This latest facility (Forge USA) was acquired in June 2017

The forging and machining facilities are equipped with 500-ton, 1,750-ton, 2,000-ton and 3,000-ton open-die hydraulic forge presses; a 14,000-pound open-die hammer; a 300-ton California ring roll; and a wide range of machine tools, including CNC lathes, machining centers, manual VTLs (vertical turret lathes), milling machines, drill presses and saws. FCI can produce open-die and semi-closed die forged shapes weighing from 5 to 50,000 pounds. In addition to the heat treatment furnaces located at the Humble and Navasota forging locations, FCI has added an additional ten heat treating furnaces and both a 16,000-pound polymer and 30,000-pound water quench tank through the latest facility acquisition (Forge USA), adding 300,000 pounds to FCI’s heat treating capacity.

In addition to an extensive finished and semi-finished product inventory, FCI maintains a large inventory of bar, billet and ingot materials in carbon, alloy and stainless steel in certifiable ASME, API and ANSI material grades to service customers’ special orders. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, FCI has invested and reinvested in forging and machining equipment to expand its production capacity and stay ahead of customers’ needs.

In support of its diverse manufacturing capabilities, FCI has established a Quality Management System based on ISO 9001:2015. Its forging and finish machining facilities are also certified to PED (Pressure Equipment Directive) and ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) Quality Systems. FCI has a strong Metallurgical Quality Control program in place that directs the selection of raw material heats, forging practices and heat treatment cycles to meet specified mechanical properties and service conditions. FCI has an on-site NDE department with SNT-TC-1 A certified Level II and Level III personnel who verify forged product integrity per specified requirements and conduct PMI (positive material identification) testing in-house.

Quality, Documentation and Delivery

Today, operating 24/7, FCI is vertically integrated with forging and finish machining, continuing to meet the needs of the industry by manufacturing and providing quality products and services to upstream, midstream and downstream companies.

One customer that can attest to FCI’s diligent, individualized attention to customer needs is Gulfex Holdings LLC, one of the leading high-quality custom metal fabricators in the nation. Gulfex specializes in manufacturing high-quality custom pressure vessels, towers, process skids and modules for the upstream, midstream and downstream industries, focusing on large and small capital projects, including replacement and turnaround vessels and towers.

“In 2012, we were using a vendor that was providing FCI products to us,” explained Gulfex President Aubrey W. Davis. “This vendor failed miserably, and I contacted FCI directly to discuss how FCI was going to complete the order and how we were going to get them paid. The FCI representative was overly accommodating and, surprisingly, was more interested in providing the flanges that we desperately needed than how they were going to get paid. FCI completed the order and shipped the flanges a week ahead of the promised date. In discussing payment with FCI, we were told that, with our annual volume, we should buy direct. We were able to set up a manufacturer’s account and have been using their products ever since.”

Expounding on why Gulfex selected FCI’s products in the first place, Davis pointed to the company’s consistency in quality, on-time delivery and 24/7 service. “Gulfex had received flanges manufactured by FCI from several different suppliers previously and had always had good success with the FCI quality, documentation and delivery,” he said. “Being able to buy directly from the manufacturer is a major time-saver and provides an extra margin of control over the design of custom forged connections and flanges. The ability to confer directly with the FCI engineering and quality team and work through stringent design and specification requirements to develop the final product is a major benefit to Gulfex. This ensures that we procure and receive exactly what we need for the project on time.

“FCI has provided all of the specialty and custom forgings, RFLWN (raised face, long weld neck) heavy-barrel and intermediate nozzles for most all of the vessels and towers that we have fabricated since 2012. They have provided products that have run the gamut of metallurgy from carbon steel to Inconel, and they have provided the most stringent testing requirements imaginable. Our customers have strict standards and specifications for recorded traceability and documentation for all components that comprise their vessels and towers. The documentation and traceability of the FCI products and testing have always been extremely organized and complete.”

Service = People

FCI’s exceptional customer service, according to Davis, can be summed up best by one word: People. “People make FCI the exceptional choice. The folks at FCI really care about performing the project correctly the first time,” he said. “Service is people. If a company doesn’t have the people with the ‘right stuff,’ then there is no service.”

“Since projects are not all the same, and have different requirements and chemistry restrictions, the delivery duration is different. However, in all cases, FCI has delivered on time and within our required schedule.”

Davis added that the list of benefits FCI offers with a one-stop-shop solution are far more extensive than those of others, including, “The correct product on time at a fair price, service-minded folks, superb engineering capabilities, and detailed QA/QC documentation and overall program.”

Declaring without question that Gulfex plans to utilize FCI’s products again in the future, Davis gives the company “the highest recommendation possible.”

“We have assisted FCI in becoming accepted to multiple customer Approved Manufacturers Lists,” Davis concluded. “We inform our customers that all forgings and specialty flanges will be purchased from FCI because of their strong product knowledge, quality and on-time deliveries.”