In July 2013 SSE Pipefittings employed Wessex Hydraulic Services to undertake a complete 180 turn and renovation of its Nelson Tee Press. It is one of two large Wellman Tee Presses used at SSE for the production of Seamless Buttweld Tee fittings. It has a 1000 tonne top ram and two 850 tonne side rams. Produces Tees upto 8"NB and 1" (25.4mm) wall thickness.

The project was completed in November 2013 and involved all pumps and valves on the press being relocated and refurbished. In addition to this all pipework was replaced and fabricated in house by SSE engineers. The ram seals were all replaced at the same time.

The Pièce de résistance was the complete wiring and fitting of a new touch screen and digital PLC for operating the press. The press along with the existing Wellman Tee Press give SSE two of the largest cold form Tee Presses in Europe and the capacity to produce a complete range of Fittings from 1/2"nb to 8"nb with further capacity to exand on these sizes in the future.

The pictures to the left show the press in various stages of the refit, top picture shows the press as it stood prior to the work being undertaken. Second picture shows the press stripped of its hydraulic pack and the last picture the two side rams removed.