Although P91 offers many advantages for power generation in terms of strength and service life, it is more difficult to fabricate than traditional materials and many contractors shy away from it. Icon Mechanical, Granite City, Ill., is one such contractor. However, a chance to do some work on an energy system provided an opportunity to explore the potential of a nontraditional welding method that turned out to work well on P91.

Founded in 1930 to supply radiator components to the budding automotive industry, H & H Tube was built on a tradition of seeking challenges—pursuing new customers in diverse markets, chasing manufacturing challenges, and often building its own equipment. This created a cycle of learning by doing that allowed it to pursue still more challenges. A change in management a few years back enabled the company to go further still in kaizen events, ISO certification, and so on.