News

Virginia Governor praises High Purity Systems expansion

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam hailed High Purity Systems for its commitment to growing its business and strengthening the regional economy.

The praise comes as we move to a larger, 30,000-square-foot facility which will allow us to stay in the Manassas, Virginia area—where we’ve been located since 1985. This $8.5 million investment will significantly increase production capacity and result in the creation of 105 new jobs over time.

“Innovative manufacturers like High Purity Systems are thriving due to the region’s competitive operating costs, strong pipeline of skilled talent and extensive transportation network,” Northam stated. “With a wide range of clients across cutting-edge and emerging industries, High Purity Systems is an emblem of 21st-century manufacturing, and we thank the company for its continued commitment to the City of Manassas.”

Read the Governor’s full statement here.

According to HPS CEO Jody Ralston, the expansion is about more than just adding production capacity.

“This expansion gives us greater space to continue building on the culture upon which our company was founded,” Ralston said. “We always tell customers, employees and prospective employees that we are unique. We don’t operate like a traditional construction company. We collaborate, we communicate and we care. This move allows us to continue to do these things on an even greater scale. And we’re thankful to our employees because they’re the reason why we’re able to do this.”

“We are excited for Manassas to remain our home,” said Doug Barefoot, who leads business development for High Purity Systems. “This state-of-the-art pipe and metal fabrication facility provides us with more space for skidded systems fabrication as well as separate dedicated fab shops for stainless steel and carbon steel. In addition, we’ll be able to enhance our ability to serve customers by adding to our BIM/CAD/VDC team. I’m looking forward to seeing our new purchases of automated equipment in action!”

Diverse project expertise

In almost 35 years in business, High Purity Systems has made a name for itself as more than just a mechanical contractor. Our skilled team produces innovative, creative work that’s driven progress in key industrial sectors.

You can view our past projects here.

Our new facility, located less than a mile down the road from our current space, allows our team to grow its capacity and expand on the capabilities that have made us integral partners in our customers’ success.

Work with High Purity Systems

Due to this expansion, we’re hiring for a wide range of office and field positions, including Project Managers, Estimators, BIM/CAD/VDC, Accounting/Administration, Welders, Steamfitters and Mechanical Helpers.

Want to work with us? Apply here.

High Purity Systems, founded in 1985, specializes in solving complex, highly technical mechanical projects for a variety of industries including microelectronics, biopharmaceutical, aerospace, food and beverage manufacturers, and other industrial companies. In addition to traditional mechanical services, HPS’ expertise includes fabricating and installing critical process piping systems, performing orbital welding and other specialty welding services, and manufacturing skidded piping systems.

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The fact that much of this work took place in a shop setting was also instrumental. Unless there’s no way to avoid welding or other construction operations in the field, shop fabrication should be any contractor’s priority. It’s faster, safer, more predictable and less costly.

Smart employment of the mandrel bender allowed our crews to reduce the total number of welds on certain skids by about 60%. That resulted in these benefits:

Inside surfaces of piping are smoother when mandrel-bent compared to welding
The effort and expense of radiographic inspection and attending documentation was reduced
Bending is faster than welding, so labor hours were reduced

Planning ahead to execute concurrent shop staging and using the techniques described above gave us a leg up compared to others bidding on the job. We estimated project completion many weeks earlier than the next closest bidder. This strategy also gave us the flexibility to adjust on the fly if long lead material was expedited or delayed in production as all skids were placed in a dedicated area of the shop until final completion.

Mosquitos? Yep.

On the topic of flexibility, site crews did not anticipate a minor but noteworthy challenge during system installation at the launch facility.

Tucked between Pocomoke Sound to the west and barrier islands to the east, the area around NASA’s Wallops Island facility is home to giant mosquitos.

Imagine trying to concentrate on orbital welding for critical piping infrastructure while under attack from bloodsuckers the size of baseballs.

The welders were thankful for the pod-like protective shields we built to keep the bugs, wind and other environmental influences away from their critical work areas.

There’s no room for mistakes on a job like this, and we weren’t about to let mosquitos put a space mission in jeopardy.

Mission: Success

Thanks to a team effort from engineers, designers, welders and fabricators, these LFF skids and panels were instrumental to a successful launch.

In addition to delivering provisions, hardware and scientific equipment to astronauts stationed at ISS, the mission also successfully released several satellites into orbit for private customers.

We were truly proud to be part of the ground support effort for this project because our crews knew what was at stake.

Astronauts need tools and parts to make repairs. They need equipment to conduct their experiments. They need to eat. Resupplying the ISS is no easy errand.

Space agencies and aerospace organizations need partners who understand the gravity of their missions.

If there’s a mission on your horizon, now’s the time to think about who will help get it off the ground. Let’s talk about it.