Biofab has built a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility on 16 acres in East Butler, PA. With 30,000 square feet of manufacturing space under 80 feet of clear crane span, the shop is serviced by two double-hook cranes. Biofab has fabricated and shipped single weldments of up to 30 tons weight. Our 16 feet square shop opening has allowed us to load and ship tanks exceeding 14 feet diameter. Recently we shipped a fleet of (8) wastewater treatment components each fully assembled and measuring 58 feet long, 14 feet wide, and 10 feet high.
Weldments in all grades of stainless steel and carbon steel comprise the bulk of Biofab’s output. With the capacity to shear 12 feet wide plates of 1/2″ thick carbon steel, and a 400 ton hydraulic press break with a bed exceeding 18 feet, Biofab has direct control over most fabrication operations needed to service its customers. Specialty welding is another of Biofab’s talents. From automated submerged arc welding for heavy gage steel and stainless to pulsed-arc gas metal arc welding for controlling shrinkage in complex light gage stainless weldments, to argon purged gas tungsten arc welding for food grade piping, Biofab has skill in applying ASME welding procedures and welders to all of its work. Considered to be impossible by many, Biofab routinely welds injector nozzles made of copper directly to carbon steel nozzle bodies as it refurbishes furnace nozzles used in making molten metals.
Biofab is a major fabricator of large, complex polypropylene weldments. In 2006, over 40 three-phase separators for anaerobic treatment systems were fabricated in one piece measuring over 30 feet long, 11 feet high, and 6 feet wide. Each component was then sliced in two longitudinal pieces, flanged, and shipped as far as Asia and South America before being re-assembled on site. A segregated clean-room provides the environment needed for these types of components.
Biofab has manufactured a large range of sophisticated operating machinery. Traveling bridge filters are a staple Biofab product for one of our large customers. Fabricated skids containing pumps, heat exchangers, tanks, mixers, piping, instrumentation, control panels, motor control centers and more are frequently ordered from Biofab. Upon completion of the assembly, Biofab can provide interconnection of all I&C systems, programming, checkout, and shop testing prior to shipping to the field.
Piping spool work is another specialty of Biofab. For a recent renewable energy project, Biofab fabricated multiple horizontal pipe racks each measuring nearly 60 feet long. On each galvanized rack we pre-installed multiple runs of large-bore polypropylene piping above and stainless steel piping hung below. When the pipe racks arrived at the job site together with the support columns, the entire field piping system was erected on a few concrete piers in only four days. In less than two weeks the piping for process water, gas and chemicals required to service nearly 10,000,000 gallons of tankage was completed, saving thousands of dollars in field construction effort.
While the fabrication of equipment based on complex drawings is a staple of our business, our clients also rely on Biofab to assist them in the development of new products and construction ideas. Many products have been envisioned on simple sketches and developed to fruition interactively between the client’s design engineers and the fabrication experts at Biofab. While build-to-print is the staple of our business, we have strategic relationships with design engineers who can provide drawings and design calculations when needed.