Sparks company expands as natural gas imports rise

Responding to the rising worldwide demand for liquefied natural gas shipments, the cryodynamics division of Ebara International Corp.

last week began work on a $2 million expansion of its plant in Sparks.

The company makes specialized equipment that's used to pump natural gas when it's at a very low temperature something in the range of minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit.

When gas is chilled to that temperature, it becomes liquefied and can be transported in ocean-going tankers.

Ebara's business has grown as U.S.

supplies of natural gas dwindle, and energy companies increasingly look internationally for supplies they can export to the United States, said Joel Madison, the division's president and chief operating officer.

Each of the submersible pumps built at the facility at the east edge of Sparks is tested before it's shipped.

Ebara-Cryodynamics' customers include energy companies that refine and liquefy natural gas as well as companies in the shipping industry.

The expansion project includes the addition of two test tanks, bringing the total to five.

Also under construction are in-line heat exchangers to increase the efficiency of the closed-loop system.

Davis Construction is the general contractor on the project.

Ebara International employs about 150 at the 54,000-square-foot Sparks facility, and Madison said the company hopes to expand its staff by about 10 percent.

But employment growth, he said, has been slow as the company struggles to find enough skilled engineers, machinists, quality- assurance specialists and other workers in northern Nevada's tight labor market.

Ebara International is a unit of Japan's Ebara Corp., one of the

world's largest manufacturers of pumps.