Based an hour outside of Buffalo in Olean, New York, M J Painting Contractor Corp. is 1,800 miles (2,896.8 km) away from the 60,000-bpd CHS refinery in Laurel, Montana. But in this modern tale, when CHS needed a facelift for its massive crude oil heater, all it took was one Google search to bridge that gap.

When Flowchem decided to expand and upgrade its plant in 2017, they needed a proven contractor they could trust to insulate three stainless steel (SS) product tanks and one plastic water tank at their home base — all while matching the exterior appearance to other white tanks at the facility.

Nearly 60 years of exposure to the elements can pose quite a corrosive threat to a bridge’s structural integrity.

To help strive toward a successful partnership and effectively obtain the proper surface preparation (or perhaps any standard) on a new or existing project, here are a few things we have found that add to our success.

The skinny dimensions of the 150-foot (45.7 m) tall, 12-foot (3.7 m) diameter smokestack, however, posed unique challenges from the standpoint of both access and aesthetics. Fortunately for the client, one creative coatings contractor was ready to pencil in solutions.

California’s Occidental of Elk Hills needed the tank, which holds heavy crude oil, back in service within 24 hours. The applicators needed to prep and paint — and they proved that they were up to the challenge!

When the 10-man crew arrived at the site to recoat both the exterior and interior surfaces of the carbon steel tank, they immediately found a number of unique challenges.

Not only did the three-person United Thermal crew need to go out on a limb, aka man lift to get this job done, but the project itself was for Sunset Fruit & Vegetable Company.

As the oil market continues to change abroad and in the United States, so, too, do the refineries themselves. And keeping sites and workers safe has become a top priority.

For many, Belize is a place to rest and relax. It’s a small country, and a place where cultures and languages mix. It’s also a place where beans and rice are food staples, which explains why a new facility was being built and why a crew came down not for vacation but to apply spray polyurethane foam (SPF) and coatings on seven bean-holding bins.