Fox Innovation & Technologies Inc. (FIT) has acquired Revak Keene Turbomachinery (Revak), a full-service repair, manufacturing, and industrial storage provider with facilities. The acquisition serves as the formal introduction of FIT, a new compressor technologies venture led by Vincent Volpe, former Dresser-Rand chief executive officer (CEO), and backed by private equity firm Bluewater. FIT will target the aftersales segment of the compressor and other rotating equipment markets, with the goal to improve, modify, and service existing compressors and turbines, resulting in improvements in efficiency and reduction in operating costs.
FIT has developed a proprietary technology and design approach to produce impellers and the associated gas flow path that focuses on optimizing and maximizing the efficiency and operating range of in-service equipment and mitigating performance degradation due to common variances in operating conditions or new processes introduced over the life of a gas field. According to press statements, FIT’s concept is to produce a “cartridge” that can fit in any original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM’s) existing compressor casing with a simple bespoke design process using internal detailed criteria sources from end-user clients’ files.
FIT has the capabilities to do its own design work and manufacture the cartridge to be inserted in the existing casing when the equipment is made available during planned turnaround and maintenance periods.
“There is an opportunity to do something different in the compressor market. We have a clear strategy that will allow us to service industrial companies’ existing assets to increase efficiency, thereby reducing costs and the global carbon footprint of industrial processes,” said Volpe. “It is our belief that successful execution of this strategy in the coming years will affect the reduction in equivalent emissions of more than 1 million automobiles annually. Over the past 18 months, we have built a leadership and technology team with more than 600 years of combined experience in high-speed rotating equipment. Our development platform is now ready for launch.”
The Acquisition
FIT’s first major act is the acquisition of Revak, which will serve as a catalyst for this new platform. Revak’s 350,000-sq.ft. (32,516-m2) headquarters in Houston provides a strategic presence and manufacturing base from which FIT can grow.
FIT says the acquisition of Revak is the first deal in what it expects to be a busy 12 months of acquisitions. The leadership team and Bluewater have already identified potential acquisition targets as it looks to build an international-scale platform to take on the rotating equipment and compressor market.
“With the acquisition of Revak, we now have the needed manufacturing footprint to build the equipment, which also supports a well-established, mid-sized aftermarket parts, services, and repairs business,” said Volpe. “In short, the core building blocks of this two-legged strategy are now in place. Prospectively, we must now execute in both segments. We have the tools, financial backing, and people to make this happen.”
