April 2007

Alba powers ahead with major plans to quadruple the size of its facilities

Independent gas turbine specialist Alba Power is building on a record trading year during 2006 with significant new investment in “C rated” Olympus turbines, ambitious plans to quadruple the size of its facilities and a major recruitment drive to augment the project engineering and turbine fitters/inspecting teams.

Having already accumulated the world’s largest stock of Olympus and Avon spares, Alba Power has also recently expanded its fleet of Olympus turbines available for exchange, lease or sale.

“We believe the unrivalled depth of our stockholding allows us to deliver a highly competitive long-term support and maintenance service to turbine users,” says Alba Power sales director Campbell Archibald.

“This is particularly valuable for the many turbine users who are anticipating an inevitable shortfall in support from OEMs for turbines which may already have seen several decades of service.”

“Last year, we won a number of significant three and five-year contracts from major UKCS operators, including Marathon Oil, and we consider we are now better placed than ever to build on that success.”

October 2006

Major North Sea long-term turbine service contract for Alba Power

Netherley-based Alba Power has announced the award of a three-year contract from Marathon Oil UK Ltd to provide an onshore repair and overhaul service for the fleet of Rolls-Royce Olympus gas turbines on the Brae Alpha platform 155 miles North-east of Aberdeen.

The key goals of the contract are to ensure Marathon’s fleet of Rolls-Royce Olympus gas turbines and associated ancillaries are overhauled and repaired to maintain the current levels of reliability in a cost-effective manner.

Alba Power was founded in 1997 as an independent gas turbine maintenance, repair and overhaul specialist, and operates from a 2,000 sq.m custom-built workshop complex at Mill of Monquich, on the outskirts of Aberdeen.

“In recent years we have invested heavily in building up what we believe to be the world’s largest stocks of Olympus spares,” says Alba Power managing director Terry Alderton.

“This stockholding of over one million product lines underpins our ability to offer turbine owners like Marathon a sustainable long-term support and maintenance service which can greatly extend the working life of their turbines.”

“On top of this substantial stock-holding of spare parts, Alba Power also maintains its own fleet of maintained Rolls-Royce gas turbine engines ready for immediate exchange, lease or sale.”

The Marathon contract is the second major UKCS contract won by Alba Power in recent months, following the award of a similar five-year contract in June from a leading independent North Sea oil and gas operator.

October 2006

Alba Power featured in global review article in “Diesel & Gas Turbine Magazine”

Independent Scottish-based gas turbine specialist Alba Power featured heavily in a recent (Oct 06) two-page article published in Diesel & Gas Turbine Worldwide magazine.  Entitled “Competition for business intensifies”, the article by Ian Cameron examined current trends in the gas turbine service requirements of 200 power plant managers who had been polled by market research consultants Frost & Sullivan.

The research examined the competitive strengths of OEMs and independent gas turbine specialists in various international markets, and concluded with a full-page profile of Alba Power based on an interview with Alba Power managing director Terry Alderton.

“Overall, the market for companies like us (Alba Power) is fairly buoyant, and the amount of business we have done has doubled over the last year,” Alderton is quoted as saying.

“We are winning long-term contracts and looking farther afield, and are currently planning to quadruple the size of our facilities.”

Click here to download a pdf of the original Diesel & Gas Turbine Worldwide article.

You can visit the website of Diesel & Gas Turbine Worldwide at www.dieselgasturbine.com

June 2006

Building up the world’s largest stocks of Olympus and Avon spares

For the last few years, Alba Power, based just outside Aberdeen, Scotland, has been investing heavily in Olympus and Avon spares and exchange turbine units in preparation for the anticipated shortfall in OEM support for these turbines.

The company believes it has already accumulated the world’s largest stock of Olympus spares, on which it can base sustainable long-term support and maintenance services for the Olympus fleet.

Following years of discussions with users of Olympus and Avon gas turbines, Alba Power has invested heavily in a strategy to future-proof the service life of these turbines when OEM support for these engines is withdrawn.

“At this stage, all anyone can predict is that, at some time in the future, OEM support will no longer be judged viable for turbines first introduced into service over forty years ago,” notes Alba Power managing director Terry Alderton.

“When it does happen, however, the termination of OEM spares supply and the withdrawal of OEM service support facilities will have a significant impact on turbine users who have been counting on further decades of maintained service for their engine fleets.”

Alba Power already has an excellent track record in providing rapid-response gas turbine repair and overhaul services, together with performance testing and spare parts supply, all fully quality-accredited to ISO 9001. 

Alba Power currently has available quantities of "A rated", “B rated” and “C rated” gas turbines for exchange, lease or sale, together with modular exchange units (all subject to prior sale).  These are complemented by a world-leading stock-holding of Olympus and Avon spares and consumables.

Click here for further details of how Alba Power can help Olympus and Avon gas turbine users plan for a long-term service life without relying on OEM support.

May 2006

Largest-ever five-year turbine support contract for Alba Power

Aberdeen-based gas turbine specialist Alba Power has announced (May 2006) its largest long-term gas turbine overhaul support service contract, a five-year agreement with a major North Sea oil and gas operator.

The comprehensive contract covers all overhaul, repair and maintenance activities including spare parts and stockholding for four gas generators (dual types) on a North Sea offshore installation.

“This is our first five-year contract of this type and scale to be won in competitive tender, and demonstrates our capability to provide the highest standards of support to turbine owners/operators in the energy industry,” comments Alba Power managing director Terry Alderton.

“One of our major competitive strengths is our ability to enhance the maintenance life of turbines through technical and commercial innovation, and the duration of this contract will allow us to make the most of our recognised abilities in these areas.”