Ceylon Oxygen to begin production of Argon for the first time in Sri Lanka
View(s):By Bandula Sirimanna
Ceylon Oxygen Ltd, a member of The Linde Group, is to more than treble its production capacity with the launch of the operations of the new 62 tons per day (tpd) air separation unit (ASU) and Argon column in Sapugaskanda, top official of the company said.
The total investment for the Linde Group machinery imported from USA and its installation adjacent to the company’s existing ASU in Sapugaskanda was in the region of Rs.1.7 billion, Ceylon Oxygen’s Chief Executive Niran Pieris told the Business Times.
He added that the production process of the ASU will begin next week to enhance the product and service offerings to existing and potential new customers in the hospital, ship-building and ship-repair, steel, glass, food and chemicals sectors.
The company’s existing 24 tpd ASU is not sufficient to meet the increasing demand in line with continued economic growth, he said adding that commissioning of the new unit will enable them to ensure the reliability of its supply more than trebling the production.
“The new plant has a separate column to produce Argon and this will make Sri Lanka fully self-sufficient in Argon. The company will soon be able to supply Argon to the local market and potentially for export,” he revealed.
This is the first time that Sri Lanka has ventured into the production of Argon, the third most common gas in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Argon is mostly used as an inert shielding gas in welding and other high-temperature industrial processes where ordinarily non-reactive substances become reactive; Argon gas is used in incandescent and fluorescent lighting, and other types of gas discharge. Ceylon Oxygen Ltd employs approximately 160 staff and has two manufacturing sites in Sapugaskande and Colombo, as well as four depots in Galle, Ratnapura, Kurunegala and Anuradhapura.
It produces liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen at its Sapugaskande air separation unit, and its facility in Colombo houses a liquid carbon dioxide plant, a dry ice plant, a dissolved acetylene plant and a nitrous oxide plant.
Mr. Peiris said that the Linde Group acquired majority shares of the company in 2010 and almost all the employees who were serving for long period in the factory and office have been allowed to continue their service as their experience and skills are very much needed by the management.
The Linde Group is a global leader in gases and engineering, and Asia is a key growth market for the group.
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