Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor Corporation, a group company of Japan-based Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., will establish its MHI Compressor Manufacturing in Pearland, Texas, near Houston.

The company will produce and service compressors in the U.S. market to accommodate demand generated by rapid growth in shale gas and oil development. Supported by this growth, many new petrochemical plant construction projects are planned, and heavy demand for renewal of existing plants is expected. Mitsubushi officials said as such, the new company is being set up to provide comprehensive, one-stop support, covering everything from production to long-term service, as well as emergency repair and on-site construction work. The production plant is slated to commence operation in the autumn of 2014.

Acquisition of a 26 acre site and construction of a planned manufacturing and servicing base will be funded by MCO. The new company will conduct compressor business operations in the U.S. in collaboration with MHI Compressor International Corporation MCO-I in Texas, which handles MCO compressor marketing, sales and after-sales services in the U.S., and Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. MPSA in Florida, the business base for MHI's power systems operations in the U.S.

The production and servicing base will conduct knockdown production of compressors using components manufactured and tested in Japan, and will provide after-sales and modification services to MCO compressor users, the company said. The base will also enhance the company's long-term service agreement (LTSA) capabilities, and enable it to respond to package orders of compressors and gas-turbine power generation systems for petrochemical plant.

Future plans call for the U.S. base to also handle material procurement and parts processing through local suppliers, and to ultimately becoming a full-scale production and testing center on a par with comparable facilities in Japan.