Element Materials Technology announces the appointment of two globally recognized senior engineers and two PhD graduates to spearhead the further development of its Oil & Gas materials testing division.
Their role will be to expand Element’s rapidly developing Oil & Gas focused fracture mechanics services in both Europe and the US, supported by significant investment in advanced equipment and multiple laboratory relocations and expansions.
Andy Barron, a highly respected and internationally recognized technical specialist with many years of experience in fatigue and fracture mechanics, has been appointed as Fatigue and Fracture Mechanics Specialist. Andy brings over 30 years’ experience to the role, during which time he has been actively engaged in developing global industry standards. Andy will be responsible for further developing Element’s services to Oil & Gas Majors in Engineering Critical Assessments (ECA) and fatigue and fracture mechanics in pipeline installations.
Sebastien Jeuch has been appointed as Mechanical & Materials Technical Manager in Houston. Sebastien joins Element after spending 9 years gaining a wealth of experience in mechanical testing, failure analysis, fatigue testing, fracture mechanics and general metallurgical engineering. Sebastien will draw on this experience to support the evolution of Element’s growing fatigue and fracture mechanics capabilities for the Oil & Gas sector.
In addition Dr. Steven McAdam and Dr. Farid Afsar have been appointed as Fatigue and Fracture Mechanics engineers. Steven and Farid both have a Masters and PhD in Materials Engineering and bring a wealth of knowledge in fracture mechanics, corrosion, material properties and materials testing.
All four appointments come at a time when Element is significantly investing in strategically enhancing and extending the global capability and geographic reach of its Oil & Gas division. The purchase of new fracture mechanics equipment and expanded corrosion capabilities supports facility and capacity upgrades for Element’s laboratories in Aberdeen, Houston, Amsterdam and Breda. The company also recently began work on creating the US’ first ‘Oil &Gas Materials Technology Center’ in Houston, which will be housed in a state of the art laboratory on a 5.3 acre site adjacent to the city’s Energy Corridor.
Charles Noall, President and CEO of Element, says: “Element’s core objective is to become the recognized global leader for materials testing, product qualification and failure analysis services. Significantly growing the Oil & Gas part of our business is key to achieving that objective. Our investments in this area have been customer-led and the development of equipment, systems, laboratories and, most importantly, people, has been conducted with their specific needs in mind.
“I’m delighted that Andy, Sebastien, Steven and Farid have joined Element’s growing team of Engaged Experts, where they will have the opportunity to develop new front-line services in partnership with a management team that is clearly focused on driving our business forward. Their collective knowledge and experience will be instrumental in supporting the Company’s ambition in strengthening its capabilities in this sector and better servicing our clients,” he concludes.