Engineering designs manufacturer and services solutions provider Weir Group opened its new Weir Gabbioneta manufacturing facility in Milan, Italy, earlier this year, which will allow the company to expand its product range for downstream oil and gas, petrochemicals and power generation customers.

Weir Group CE Keith Cochrane says that the new facility includes greater testing capabilities for more powerful pumps, highlighting that the plant, which employs almost 300 highly skilled people, will manufacture and support centrifugal pump products and services.

Weir has had a manufacturing presence in Italy since it acquired Pompe Gabbioneta in 2005 and this latest investment will allow Weir Gabbioneta to increase both its competitiveness and its product portfolio.

Weir Gabbioneta has invested more than €30-million in its new 18 000 ft2 facility. The business’s heritage under the name Pompe Gabbioneta stretches back to 1897.

The Gabbioneta line offers a comprehensive range of centrifugal pumps and spare parts for the energy and related industries, from single-stage overhung pumps to horizontal and vertical multistage pumps. All of its products comply with the latest API 610 standards.

Moreover, Gabbioneta services include scheduled oilfield services and emergency maintenance. It is part of the Weir Flow Control division, which designs, manufactures and supports pumps and valves for power, oil and gas and other process industries.

“[With the] opening [of] the new facility, Weir Gabbioneta customers globally now have access to decades of engineering expertise supported by the most advanced manufacturing facilities. “It gives the business a great platform to grow in the future, as it offers a wider variety of solutions to meet the world’s growing demand for energy,” says Cochrane.

Weir Flow Control division MD John Heasley comments that Weir Gabbioneta is one of Italy’s industrial success stories and this investment is further proof of that.

“Our highly skilled engineers have a facility which is more efficient and adaptable, and our customers will benefit from a broader range of highly engineered solutions,” Heasley asserts.

Welcoming the investment, UK embassy mission deputy head Ken O’Flaherty adds that the ties between the two countries will continue to be strong, fruitful and strategic.