Expansion joint builder expands
ZELIENOPLE — Outside of Badger Industries world headquarters, a warning sign reads: Wear your protective goggles.
Inside the building, the sound of saw blades grinding echoes through the room as raw materials take shape. A forklift operator beeps at his co-workers to warn them of his entry into the next room, and another worker moves a crane across the 24-foot high ceiling.
The space is open, but the dim light and scent of burning metal cause the room to feel smaller.
"The commitment from our customers, our employees and our owner has allowed us to expand our business and become a much stronger presence in the market place," said Mark Chiarelli, president of Badger Industries.
The 160-year-old company is privately owned by the Markovitz family.
The company is in a niche market that designs and manufactures expansion joints, which are used to protect piping systems, fittings and process equipment from damage caused by either pipe movement or distortion resulting from temperature changes.
They are available in a range of sizes, shapes and material. Sizes range from one inch to 196 inches in diameter.
Badger also offers emergency field service work for its customers.
New technology introduced in the past 10 years has changed and improved the quality of Badger products and services, Chiarelli said.
Because of product demand, the company recently doubled in size, and it now has more than 60 employees. Resembling an assembly line, crews work as one unit, but each person has his or her individual job.
Engineers use mathematical formulas to make computer-generated designs of the expansion joints, which are made in the drafting department. The company then buys materials to manufacture the joints.The custom-engineered joints are built to meet each individual company's requirements."It's a large process to actually get to this point," said Dennis Duespohl, 42, of Chicora. "It looks good on a drawing or a blue print, but putting it together is a different story."Duespohl has worked as a welder at Badger for more than 15 years, and he is the last person to inspect a project before it is crated and shipped out. He is in charge of double checking the length of the product and making sure all parts are assembled properly.Without the use of expansion joints to control thermal growth, Chiarelli said, "the result would be catastrophic."There are two ways of handling thermal growth. One is to build a pipe loop, and the other is to manufacture an expansion joint. The joint is the more efficient choice, Chiarelli said."This thing has to be able to grow and contract, be able to restrain the pressure it operates under," Chiarelli said."I like seeing it (the joint expansion) go out the door. We make a drawing come to life and some of these are very challenging, like the bigger ones," said plant manager Mike Yohn, 47, of Zelienople.After manufacturing, the product is shipped by UPS, plane or boat.Badger services power generation more than any other industry. Its major customers are in Houston, the Middle East and the Pacific Ring. American customers include U.S. Steel, Wheeling-Pitt, Alstom, Heinz and many other small companies.Badger is on the bidder's list of most of the oil refining companies, such as ABB Lummus Crest, M.W. Kellogg, Foster Wheeler, Bechtel, Fluor Daniel, Shaw-Stone and Webster Engineering.In the early 1900s, the first Badger expansion joints were designed, manufactured and sold by the Badger Engineering and Construction Co. of Cambridge, Mass.In the 1960s, the product line was bought by Hyde Division of Bath Iron Works. Flowline Corp. then bought Hyde.In 1969, a separate company formed and began manufacturing the Badger product line. It was named the Badger Expansion Joint Co.In 1987, Badger changed its name to Badger Industries, Inc., and relocated its facility from near New Castle to a newly renovated 70,000-square-foot manufacturing operation in Zelienople.
