One of Atlas Copco's six global 'competence centres' (which design and assemble bespoke compressed air and nitrogen generation packages, primarily for the oil and gas industry), it has more than doubled in size to 1,950 sq m and been equipped with new facilities.
A mezzanine level has been built above a section of the workshop to accommodate, alongside refurbished offices, a dedicated viewing area for customers to witness product testing.
An external 12m x 15m covered test area has also been built, adding additional space for testing large engineered packages in any weather. These packages can now be moved around in the workshop more easily thanks to two 5-tonne cranes, trackways and controls, which complement three existing cranes.
Nico Delvaux, president of Compressor Technique at Atlas Copco, said: "As one of the first competence centres in our global Systems network, the Hemel Hempstead site was established in 1972 to serve customers operating in the North Sea but, since beginning to fulfil orders from oil and gas operators internationally in 2008, this facility has taken on even greater importance and the investment we have made is a testament to that.
"Today we have a custom engineering competence centre with staff, expertise, products and capabilities that are truly world-class. This will help us meet the long-term needs of the oil and gas industry and other industries for many years to come."
Other new additions include two spray paint booths and a grit blast facility. Permanently installed test equipment, such as orifice plates, silencers and flow tubes, as well as an electrical panel housing 415V main contactors, mean that equipment no longer needs to be hired for string testing the finished compressed air and nitrogen systems.
