MATCOR was recognized recently by Colonial Pipeline as a recipient of their prestigious “Circle of Excellence” designation. Colonial’s contractor recognition program seeks to recognize contractors doing their part to support Colonial’s safety culture in their own organization. To be honored in the “Circle of Excellence” contractors must achieve:
Zero OSHA Recordables (Colonial)
Zero Fatalities
Zero OSHA citations
Zero Line/Equipment Strikes (Colonial)
Zero Product/Non-Product Spills (Colonial)
Contractor Performance Evaluation score of 90 percent or higher (Colonial)
TRIR less than or equal to Industry Average
RAVS Written Program Score of 100 percent (Colonial)
ISN Dashboard Grade of “A” (Colonial)
We are pleased to receive this recognition. MATCOR has a world-class observation-based safety program focused on an “I own Safety” approach.
Learn more about MATCOR’s safety program at the link below.
MATCOR just experienced our own “Wally Pipp” moment.
Even though it happened 97 years ago, sports fans today still remember the story of New York Yankees’ first baseman Wally Pipp. As the story goes, Wally told his manager that he had a headache and did not feel like playing that day for the Yankees. Sitting on the bench was a young man who was surprised to get the call to take the place of Wally Pipp in the lineup. That young man was Lou Gehrig and he played every game for the Yankees for the next 14 years, setting a consecutive games streak that earned him the nickname Iron Horse. Coaches continue to tell that story to their players to motivate them to play ball – you never know who might be waiting for the opportunity to take your place.
Our Wally Pipp Moment
MATCOR’s SuperVent™ deep anode venting pipe was introduced over 20 years ago. Since then, MATCOR had adapted the same inorganic, acid-resistant polyester fabric used on our Linear Anode product for the SuperVent product.
Procured from a local mill, the fabric is slit and sewn to our specifications. Supply chain issues, however, resulted in a temporary availability issue. Our long-time supplier informed us that the product we needed would not be available for 6-8 months.
The Search For An Alternative Vent Pipe Fabric
MATCOR’s SuperVent™ product is a key component of our world-class Durammo® deep anode system, and this type of disruption would have a significant impact on our customers.
We immediately began looking for an alternate supplier that could meet our requirements and provide more reliable delivery. And just as the Yankees were unexpectedly surprised to find a superstar to replace poor old Wally Pipp, MATCOR was surprised to find an alternate fabric material that was more readily available and similar in price.
Enter Lou Gehrig… this was a noticeably better product!
Our existing fabric worked fine, but it was intentionally a slightly larger diameter and had a noticeably loose fit. The old fabric was rip, tear and puncture resistant, however the loose fit, on rare occasions, could cause some issues while the deep anode system was lowered down the hole.
Old (top) and New (bottom) SuperVent Deep Anode System Fabric
The New SuperVent Material
The new fabric maintains the same chemical resistance and has similar rip, tear and puncture resistance.
The big difference is in the spandex material that gives the new fabric some stretch. When installed on our flexible HDPE pipe, the spandex fibers pull the polyester fabric filter cloth tightly to the deep anode vent pipe.
We are excited about this new fabric and feel that it is an incremental upgrade to what was already an industry-leading product. All the result of an unexpected supply chain issue!
For a quote or more information about MATCOR deep anode systems and SuperVent, please contact us at the link below, or reach out to your local MATCOR account manager.
This article examines two cases where MATCOR customers were able to save up to 23% on their deep anode system budget.
Today’s inflationary and supply-chain-impacted environment adversely affects many of our clients as they try to complete necessary upgrades and replacements to critical cathodic protection systems after two years of COVID-impacted operations.
Unfortunately, costs are climbing faster than most cathodic protection budgets. This often means doing less and/or pushing already overdue projects that should be completed this year into future budget cycles.
Relief For Your Cathodic Protection Budget
With owners stressed by diminishing return on limited cathodic protection budgets, there has never been a better time to consider MATCOR’s Durammo® Deep Anode System. Simply put, Durammo significantly reduces your installation cost compared to traditional deep anode systems.
If you are not familiar with MATCOR’s Durammo Deep Anode System or deep anode systems in general, read the articles below.
This article is not about the higher quality, longer system life, improved venting, greater ease of installation, lighter system weight, or the safer-to-install features of the Durammo – we have all of that going for us.
This article is about stretching your deep anode system budget. Let’s look at two recent quotes submitted by MATCOR in competitive bidding situations this month, March 2022. These are not abstract numbers for illustrative purposes, but real system quotes provided by MATCOR in a competitive situation.
CASE 1: High Silicon Cast Iron (HSCI) vs Durammo Deep Anode System in OKLAHOMA
This proposal was for a single anode system installation where there was an existing anode junction box and rectifier. The existing anode junction box reduces the materials savings since one is not needed for the Durammo. In this case, it is not needed for the conventional HSCI system either.
For most projects, the installation cost savings are higher when multiple anode systems are installed. While saving a few hours on one site does not result in much savings, over multiple sites, there is a greater cost reduction since entire project days can be eliminated.
Material savings of 31% (or 43% if using 8” diameter hole)
Installation savings of 3% (or 8% if using 8” diameter hole)
Total Installed Cost Savings of 16% (or 23% if using 8” diameter hole)
CASE 2: Graphite Anodes vs Durammo Deep Anode System in Wyoming
Client Specification
MATCOR Durammo Alternative
30 Amp Groundbed
30 Amp Groundbed
300-foot total depth
300-foot total depth
10” diameter hole
10-inch diameter hole (8-inch option)
Loresco SC3 backfill
Loresco SC3 backfill
(15) 4” x 80” wax treated graphite anodes
Continuous MMO wire anode assembly
#8 AWG HMWPE/Kynar individual anode leads
#8 AWG HMWPE/Kynar dual system leads
Allvent PVC slotted vent pipe
MATCOR high performance SuperVent™
Supply and install Junction Box and Rectifier
Supply and install Rectifier
Materials Cost $32,427
Materials Cost $24,608 ($22,291)
Labor and Equipment $22,426
Labor and Equipment $21,472 ($20,197)
Total Installed Cost $54,853
Total Installed Cost $46,080 ($42,488)
CASE 2 Deep Anode System Savings
Material savings of 24% (or 31% if using an 8” diameter hole)
Installation savings of 4% (or 10% if using an 8” diameter hole)
Total Installed Cost Savings of 16% (or 23% if using an 8” diameter hole)
Saving Your Cathodic Protection Budget
These were two recent, completely different projects with different anode comparisons and different scopes of work. In both cases, the Durammo provides significant cost savings over conventional discreet anode systems. We see this pattern repeating often.
For more information, or to learn how much you can save with Durammo deep anode systems, please contact us at the link below, or reach out to your local MATCOR account manager.
