Vessel Support Grid Project
Updated: July 20, 2026
Vessel Support Grids Fabricated for a Chemical Manufacturing Facility
A few years ago, Marco Specialty Steel fabricated custom stainless steel vessel support grids for a chemical manufacturing company completing a new vessel design during a scheduled shutdown and turnaround.
The project required specialized 8-space bar grating, domestic stainless steel materials, custom tooling, approval drawings, secondary finishing, and delivery within approximately one month. Marco Specialty Steel coordinated the fabrication, outside processing, and expedited transportation required to meet the customer’s shutdown schedule.
Project Details
- Industry: Chemical manufacturing
- Application: Vessel support grids
- Material: Domestic 316 low-carbon austenitic stainless steel
- Welding wire: 317 low-carbon stainless steel
- Grating configuration: Custom 8-space grating
- Raw materials: 895 flat bars and 176 round bars
- Fabrication services: Punching, flattening, forming, fitting, welding, and assembly
- Finishing: Sandblasting and passivation
- Delivery: Houston, Texas, to Virginia
- Schedule: Approximately one month for a shutdown and turnaround
Project Requirements
The customer was developing a new vessel support grid design for use in an experimental process application. The fabricated components had to be completed and delivered in time for a scheduled facility shutdown and turnaround.
The schedule ran from November 1 through December 1 and included the Thanksgiving holiday. Meeting the deadline required Marco Specialty Steel to procure domestic stainless steel materials, develop the fabrication process, produce approval drawings, complete the grids, coordinate finishing, and deliver the order to Virginia within the limited project window.
Fabrication Challenges
The vessel support grids used an 8-space grating configuration with tight spacing between the bearing bars. The close spacing required careful fitting and welding to maintain the intended configuration.
Because the project used 316 stainless steel, Marco Specialty Steel also needed to prevent cross-contamination from other metals during fabrication. Dedicated 316 stainless steel welding tables were created specifically for the project.
The 3/16-inch-thick bearing bars required punching, followed by additional flattening and shaping so the individual pieces would fit correctly during assembly.
Custom Tooling and Fabrication
Marco Specialty Steel reviewed the customer’s design drawings, produced approval drawings, and provided fabrication recommendations for the customer’s review.
A custom jig was then built to position and hold the closely spaced components during fitting and welding. The support grids were fabricated from domestically melted and manufactured 316 low-carbon stainless steel, with 317 low-carbon stainless steel welding wire used for the welds.
The complete project required 895 pieces of flat bar, 176 pieces of round bar, and eight spools of welding wire. Marco Specialty Steel coordinated with its vendors to procure the required domestic material within the accelerated schedule.
Sandblasting, Passivation and Expedited Delivery
After fabrication, the completed vessel support grids required sandblasting and passivation.
These processes normally required approximately seven to 10 days, but Marco Specialty Steel coordinated with its vendors to complete both within 48 hours. Once finishing was complete, the order was transported from Marco Specialty Steel’s Houston facility to the customer in Virginia in approximately one and a half days.
Completed Vessel Support Grid Project
The support grids arrived in time for the customer’s scheduled outage. According to the customer, the fabricated pieces were installed without problems and received positive comments regarding their fit and finish.
The customer subsequently tested the modified vessel equipment and reported that the new design performed successfully. Testing led to plans for a follow-up order for another unit and potential use of the design in additional vessels.
This project demonstrates Marco Specialty Steel’s ability to fabricate custom vessel internals under demanding material, design, finishing, and delivery requirements.
Customer Review: “The outage went very well, especially the grating. All the pieces went in without any problems. The lugs we added on site worked well. There were lots of good comments about the fit and finish of the grating. Getting the material on time was critical to our outage success. We appreciate all the extraordinary effort to make it happen, and make it happen well!
Read the full article that was featured in BIC Magazine.
Marco Specialty Steel supplies and fabricates catalyst support grids, vessel support grids, baskets, trays, outlet collectors, and other custom vessel internals. Contact us to discuss your drawings, specifications, or rush fabrication requirements. For rush services, call (800) 200-3047