When Canadian Electrolytic Zinc Limited, a zinc processing facility in Valleyfield, Canada, experienced a major break in its 36" HDPE line, staff called Victaulic Depend-O-Lok Inc. for help.
Located next to the St. Lawrence River, CEZinc suffered a critical rupture on the line leading to the pumping station that could have forced a shutdown of the entire plant.
With the possibility of a plant shutdown costing nearly $1 million a day, time was of the essence. Realizing that a quick solution was needed, Victaulic Depend-O-Lok custom designed, produced and delivered a 36" x 16" ExE Type 2 coupling in under 56 hours, helping CEZinc avert a lengthy and costly stoppage.
The Depend-O-Lok ExE Type 2 is a flexible, unrestrained sleeve coupling for use in polyethylene (HDPE) pipe and is typically installed on plain pipe ends. The custom-designed stainless steel coupling for CEZinc was created in two separate pieces to allow installation without having to remove the existing pipe.
Knowing that time was critical, the Victaulic team quickly assessed the coupling specifications, and designed and produced a custom coupling to make the emergency repair in about two days - a process that normally takes three to four weeks.
Victaulic Industrial Sales Representative Robert Dugas hand-delivered the coupling and worked with a CEZinc contractor on the installation, which took less than 45 minutes.
The coupling effectively repaired the break, allowing CEZinc to get the plant up and running at its optimal level with the least amount of time using their bypass section - fulfilling the project's critical time requirement.
