Houston facility

Fine Tubes, a leading manufacturer and global distributor of precision tubes for critical applications, is delighted to announce the opening of its new facility in Houston, Texas, and the appointment of Robin Hodgson who will be heading up the new operation in the position of oil and gas business development manager.

With oil and gas companies undertaking exploration and production activities in ever more hostile environments, Fine Tubes is in an ideal position to support these opportunities. The company’s experience in manufacturing high-pressure, highly corrosion-resistant tubes for North Sea drilling projects is clearly of great potential value to operators in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico.

Robin will have primary responsibility for building on the commercial and technical customer interface that Fine Tubes can offer. He will also aim to develop key business relationships across the immediate region and the wider Americas including Brazil in conjunction with Fine Tubes’ sister company Superior Tubes in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.

Robin joins Fine Tubes from ContiTech Oil & Marine Corp . He moved with the company from the UK to Houston in 2002 and his final position was sales manager for high pressure hose assemblies in North and South America. Robin commented: "I am very much looking forward to being part of a global team and contributing to the further success of Fine Tubes in the US. Working together with Superior Tubes we’ll be able to deliver an exciting product offering across the spectrum of oil and gas applications."

Fine Tubes global sales and marketing director Brian Mercer added: "Whilst we focus on manufacturing high-quality products for often ‘mission critical’ applications, an important part of the Fine Tubes offer is the technical support and advice we can provide across a broad range of stainless, nickel and titanium alloys. Robin has the experience and skill to ensure that our customers are fully supported in this way."

The Houston office opened on 15 July and is already offering sales and technical support in the region, complementing Fine Tubes’ global operations which cover more than 35 countries from offices in the UK, Germany, France, India and now the US.