Thompson Fabricating · JOVE® Division
Load-rated, made-to-order supports for non-metallic and metallic piping, engineered, PE-stamped and fabricated by Thompson Fabricating in Birmingham, Alabama.
What We Manufacture
Every TF-JOVE® support is made to order, load rated by pipe diameter and built from the material your service calls for.
Our Specialities
Supports, auxiliary steel and engineering coordinated under one roof, from the first calc to the last shipment.
Load-rated supports for FRP, HDPE, PVC and CPVC pipe and duct from 1-1/4 in. to 120 in., from the originator of the JOVE® line.
Hangers, adjustable stanchions, clamps and sliding supports for carbon, stainless and alloy pipe. Standard figures, made to order.
Insulated supports, U-straps, anchors and complex assemblies, engineered and fabricated to your dimensions.
T-poles, stanchions, frames, trusses and tank supports, designed and built with the supports they carry. Need stairs, platforms or handrail on the same job? See Misc. Metals Fabrication.
Notable Projects
From underground tunnel piping systems to hurricane-rated art museum superstructures, JOVE® supports have been installed in most challenging environments.
Albemarle Chemical Plant
2,296 JOVE® Pipe Supports — 1.5 in. to 12 in.
Chemical Plant Expansion — International Export
24 Crates — Loaded in a 40-Foot Container
La Negra Chemical Plant — Antofagasta, Chile
The La Negra Chemical Plant, 27 km southeast of Antofagasta, Chile, has produced lithium carbonate since 1984 and lithium chloride since 1998. Its expansion required 2,296 JOVE® pipe supports from 1.5 to 12 inches, plus export documentation, packaging, containerization, shipment preparation and clear identification of product for the construction laydown area.
With 49,010 lb of crated supports going into a single 40-foot container, load organization and weight balance were critical to safe, successful delivery.
The Solution
JOVE® manufactured the supports, organized them by size, packaged them in 24 marked crates (46 in. W × 52 in. L × 46 in. H), and completed a weight/balance evaluation before loading. Crates were loaded by support size and marked on the outside, so crews could find what they needed in the laydown area. JOVE®’s export experience also includes shipments to Australia, Canada, Egypt, Turkey and Tanzania.
Documentation and shipment preparation coordinated for export to the Port of Antofagasta, Chile.
Twenty-four marked crates were organized and balanced for loading into a 40-foot shipping container.
JOVE® fabrication and export logistics supported the La Negra Chemical Plant expansion in Chile.
Gulf Coast Authority
Pipe Supports, Guides, Anchors & Thrust Anchors
Existing 30-Inch FRP Pipeline — Facility Modernization
Finite Element Analysis — 50,000 lb Axial Thrust Loads
Bayport Industrial Wastewater Treatment Facility — Pasadena, Texas
The Problem
Gulf Coast Authority retained an engineering firm to investigate excessive movement in an installed 30-inch fiberglass pipeline. Lead engineer Morgan Stagg, PE, NCEES concluded that the existing support system was completely inadequate to properly control movement and could allow a potentially catastrophic failure.
The modernization effort required a load-rated support solution capable of addressing the pipeline’s movement and axial thrust demands.
JOVE® was selected to supply the load-rated supports, guides, anchors, and special thrust anchors for the modernization.
Los Alamos
In Los Alamos, New Mexico, an above-ground pipeline was required to divert storm water while protecting an archaeologically significant canyon and its historic site.
Pipe Supports, Guides, Anchors & JOVE® Tilt/Rotator Assemblies
Above-Ground Stormwater Diversion — Protected Canyon
1,000 Feet — 14-Inch HDPE
Los Alamos, New Mexico
The Problem
Storm water runoff from mountaintop development threatened a protected canyon containing ancient cave dwellings. The solution required an above-ground pipeline to carry storm water from a mountaintop headbox to a collection basin 1,000 feet below at the canyon entrance.
New Mexico temperature extremes caused substantial expansion and contraction in the HDPE pipeline, making traditional pipe support systems unworkable.
The Solution
JOVE® designed and supplied the supports, guides, and anchors, including a proprietary Tilt/Rotator Assembly that allowed for constant pipeline growth and contraction. Existing rock formations became anchor locations, supplemented by trolley and cable suspension systems where the terrain required them.
Proprietary assembly designed to accommodate the HDPE pipeline’s constant thermal growth and contraction.
Supports and anchors were mounted directly into exposed solid rock to work with the protected site conditions.
JOVE® combined Tilt/Rotator assemblies, rock anchoring, trolley supports, and cable suspension for the 1,000-foot HDPE route.
TF-JOVE® is backed by a full suite of engineering and consulting services for owners, design firms and contractors.
Industries We Served
TF-JOVE® supports are specified wherever pipe has to survive the environment it runs through.
Non-metallic and stainless supports for long-term wet, corrosive service.
Supports matched to aggressive process chemistry.
Supports sized for thermal movement, plus FRP cooling water and scrubber piping.
Lined supports and support steel for FRP duct and scrubber systems.
Custom structural supports for domestic and international facilities.
