Two petrochemical industry experts — Shawn Cotter of S.T. Cotter Turbine Services Inc. and John Hanks — are teaming up to found Axis Mechanical Group Inc. (AMG), a millwright company specializing in industrial rotating and reciprocating equipment for the petrochemical industry.

Based in Houston, AMG also partners with the Southern States Millwright Regional Council (SSMRC). This places highly skilled and safety-conscious union millwrights on jobsites to complete installation, maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade projects.

AMG is headed by President and CEO Hanks, a longtime vice president and employee of EthosEnergy Field Services (formerly Wood Group Field Services). Joining Hanks are Jim Romero, Eric Konarik, Jason Stovall and Crystal van Sant. The four combine to provide more than a half-century of experience and share incredible reputations of being at the top in their field.

“John brings 32 years of petrochem and refinery experiences to AMG and works with a management team of four extremely talented managers with the ability to manpower load over 400 craft persons,” said Cotter, vice president of operations at S.T. Cotter Turbine Services.

S.T. Cotter is an industry innovator in maintaining steam and combustion turbines from under 1 megawatt (MW) to over 1,100 MW of both fossil and nuclear, and steam and combustion. S.T. Cotter works throughout North America and provides technical direction, key craft labor, top-notch tooling with repairs and parts as needed.

AMG’s combination of employing a first-class workforce and leveraging the latest in technology creates performance unmatched by any in the industry.

“We invest in our people by maintaining training and certifications for our seasoned millwrights and by providing special apprenticeship programs offering hands-on experience and training for future millwrights before being put in the field,” said Hanks.

AMG millwrights are members of the SSMRC, which is regarded as the safest and most productive labor resource in the country. They know their job is to keep a worksite operating smoothly and safely. They are trained, tested and credentialed for work in oil refineries, chemical plants, gas pipelines, natural gas processing units and more. Technical skills are honed from the same standardized curriculum, so travelers are just as skilled as local millwrights.

“We also believe a company must embrace technological advances to better serve their customers,” added Hanks.

One of those advances is the new FARO Laser Tracker, the world’s most complete tracking solution, offering the ability to get large volume alignments in half the time, with precision reporting, giving the customer a record of its machine’s measurements.

“AMG is well positioned to make a large presence in the Gulf Coast and beyond,” Cotter said. “I have no doubt AMG will be an industry leader in no time at all.”

For more information on AMG, visit www.AxisMechGrp.com or call (832) 449-6485.