Martin starts new division to build pellet plants

Kilgore, Texas-Martin Resource Management Corp. (MRMC) announced that it began a new division, which will offer development, engineering, and installation of molten and dry bulk sulfur handling systems and manufacturing and installation of its PRILLMAX wet prill process equipment. Ruben Martin, president of MRMC, said, “We have been active in the marketing, transporting, storing and handling of sulfur for nearly 50 years. With this new division, we will design and build customized integrated sulfur handling systems from the point of production or receipt of molten sulfur all the way through to the loading of premium quality sulfur prills to any mode of transportation. We feel this ‘cradle to grave’ approach will provide our customers with much needed solutions for all of their sulfur handling needs.” The company recently hired Jean-Marie Koten, a chemical engineer with over 35 years of experience in manufacturing, engineering, and process development, to head up this new division. Koten said, “This was just a logical way for MRMC to expand its services to the domestic as well as international market of sulfur producing companies, and MRMC’s goal is to design its PRILLMAX units using the leading edge of wet prill process technologies, while providing an integrated sulfur system which is easy to operate and maintain.” Most recently, Koten was responsible for the design of specialized processes and managed installations in various parts of the world. He will be based out of MRMC’s corporate offices in Kilgore. A company spokesman said Martin was also developing ideas to make a higher quality product, which should appeal to the oil industry and its sulfur customers. The pellet plants would likely be located near refineries that have transportation capabilities. Potential customers for the pellets could be Brazil and North Africa. For phosphate producers such as Morocco, vessels bringing phosphate rock into the U.S. Gulf Coast would be able to load up on sulfur for their return trip, which would benefit them with a backhaul.