February 3, 2005
By CB Staff
Caribbean Business
In the five years that UltraPure Systems Inc. has served the local biopharmaceutical industry, it has earned high marks from its clients and has established itself as a leader in the prefabrication and installation of biopharmaceutical process piping systems. But despite its impeccable reputation, not all of the company's vast range of services and capabilities are common knowledge.
The biopharmaceutical process and general piping contractor is also capable of handling all aspects of skidding and modular requirements, including structure design and fabrication, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, and control systems. The company is also the largest orbital welding contractor in the Caribbean, with two fully operational and certified hygienic systems fabrication shops.
"Our philosophy of applying an assembly-line approach to spool fabrication has led to high quality and high productivity," said UltraPure's President & CEO Cesar Roca. "This, in turn, has allowed us to maintain a low average cost per orbital weld and provide our clients with improved quality, increased productivity, and reduced project schedules and costs. Our system is capable of supporting both local installations or prefabricating spools for export anywhere in the world."
UltraPure Systems was initially established in Puerto Rico to provide high-quality process and utility piping systems for the installation of equipment in accordance with biopharmaceutical cGMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) systems.
"All fabrications and installations are conducted in accordance with the requirements of ASME Section IX and ASME B31.3 for process piping," said Roca. "Our in-house piping design and CAD capabilities produce fabrication isometrics and weld mapping, and all our work is fully documented to meet validation protocols."
All of UltraPure's project managers are licensed professional mechanical engineers and all project engineers have degrees in mechanical engineering, with either EIT or PE licenses. All of the company's staff and craftspersons are local residents and are trained locally. "Our resources in terms of orbital equipment and our highly trained management, support staff, and craftspersons give us a unique edge and the ability to handle the largest possible projects in the region, from $500 spools to $20 million jobs with a bonding capacity of $40 million" said Roca. "Before UltraPure entered the market, large local projects were accomplished by stateside companies that relied on importing skilled craftspersons, which ultimately resulted in higher costs."
Roca believes the company's focus on training, internal quality programs, and its attention to documentation are a reflection of its commitment to high quality and have played a large role in UltraPure's rise to its leadership position as a high-end process systems contractor.