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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, August 11, 2010 · 4 ERIC RIEHL / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER SIZE DOES MATTER: Hooper Welding has made a giant reactor that will be shipped to the US via what's reputed to be the world's largest rail car. Hooper goes huge By Nathan Howes OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF What weighs more than 1.3 million lbs, is 140 feet in length and is one of the largest of it's kind in the world? No, it's not a monster. It's an ISO-Therming reactor -- built here in Oakville. Founded in 1952 as a welding repair shop, Oakville-based Hooper Welding, constructed the colossal-sized reactor. The company specializes in customized design and fabrication of pressure and process vessels, reactors, steel and alloy. Once the reactor was completed, it was hoisted and shipped on a CEBX-800 rail car -- a one-of-a-kind rail car that is the largest in the world. Combined with the 140-foot reactor, the rail car will be over twice that size, says Chris Hooper, vice president of Hooper Welding. "When this unit is fully assembled on the railcar, it actually will be of upwards of 350 feet long, (maybe) a little longer I think." The rail car will be transported on four 12-line Scheurle transporters, pulled by two tractors trailers and pushed by another. The reactor, which is used for breaking up the oil in its refining process, is now on its way to El Dorado, Kansas after being shipped from the lot of Hooper Welding this past Saturday morning. It is expected to take upwards of 30 days to reach its destination because of the speed at which it must travel, said Hooper. "It can't travel very fast. It has to go very slow, and I don't think it can travel more than 50 km/h or so." With an inside diameter of 13.6 feet and 5.5 inch-thick chromally with a 347 stainless steel weld overlays, the project was first conceived in the fall of 2006 and came to fruition in the spring of 2007. It took 20,000 man-hours to complete, according to Hooper. The number of workers operating on the reactor was unknown. "Well if you said one man worked 40 hours a week for an entire year at 50 weeks, that's 2,000 man-hours there," said Hooper. "If you could only equate it this way, which you can't because of the nature of the construction, that's 10 man-years if you will. "I think it's probably the largest, heaviest refinery reactor that has ever been built in North America from start to finish." Hooper adds that while places like Fort McMurray, Alberta have seen heavier reactors, he noted those have been partially built in another location. "They've been partially built in Japan and then they ship over the big components for assembly up in northern Alberta. I think (ours) ranks up there as the biggest one." Now that the reactor is fin- ished and shipped out, there are a few projects the company is working on between the Oakville facility and its recently-opened shop in Hamilton. "We just recently shipped our first vessel out of that facility (Hamilton), which was lifted onto a jumbo heavy lift ship just a month ago. We're building a number of other projects there and actively pursuing work in both North America markets and overseas as well." The company's extensive client list comes from across the globe. Some of its major clients include Exxon Mobil, BP, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Chevron Canada, Petro Canada, Shell Canada, CDI Engineering, Mitsubishi Power and Saudi Arabia Electric. "One of the unique aspects of this project was that we knew this was going to be a tremendous challenge and from day one we understood it would take a long time to build," said Hooper. "It's a culmination of many hours of hard work, much sweat (and) experience contributed by the many people at Hooper Welding. "It's a proud accomplishment that everyone shares. Hopefully this opens the door for future opportunities." The cost to build the reactor wasn't disclosed, though Hooper says the freight bill alone is in the millions of dollars. Hooper Welding is located at 1390 Advance Rd. and has a staff of fewer than 100 employees.