An Investment in the future of midstream – How IMI’s Lake Forest site is responding to ratcheting sector pressures

At the same time, changing operating conditions, supply chain challenges, and demand for greater production capacity are increasing the need for responsive flow-control expertise and aftermarket support.

North America remains the largest regional market for oil and gas midstream infrastructure, with pipelines accounting for a significant share of the market. For operators, maintaining the performance of existing assets is therefore increasingly important, particularly where replacing complete systems would be costly, disruptive or impractical.

IMI’s new facility in Lake Forest, California, brings engineering, manufacturing, quality assurance and research and development capabilities together at a single site. The purpose-built facility supports IMI’s Process Automation operations in Southern California and brings together more than 200 people.

The site builds on more than six decades of IMI’s presence in the region. Its history can be traced to Control Components Inc., which IMI acquired in 1981 and which developed expertise in addressing challenging pressure-, temperature-, and erosion-related flow control applications.

Today, the Lake Forest team applies this experience across engineering, manufacturing and aftermarket services, supporting customers with flow control challenges from initial diagnosis through to manufacturing, refurbishment and retrofit.

“The new site in Lake Forest is really about problem-solving. By having all our constituent teams under one roof, we’re able to diagnose, design and deliver flow control solutions at a much quicker rate than before.” - Sina Alikhani, Interim General Manager at IMI’s Lake Forest site

Bringing engineering and manufacturing capabilities together can help shorten the path from identifying an equipment problem to developing and delivering a solution.

For midstream operators, this is particularly relevant where equipment operates under demanding conditions and unplanned downtime can have significant operational and financial consequences. The Lake Forest team can support applications through:

The ability to draw on expertise across disciplines also supports collaborative problem-solving, helping customers address application-specific challenges while considering the complete equipment lifecycle.

Recent supply chain disruption has highlighted the challenges associated with extended international manufacturing and delivery networks. Delays, constrained capacity and complex logistics can make it more difficult for operators to respond quickly when equipment requires repair, refurbishment or replacement.

Regional manufacturing can provide greater flexibility by bringing production and customer support closer to the end market. For operators, this can help improve control over scheduling and delivery while reducing reliance on complex cross-border supply chains.

From Lake Forest, IMI can support customers across western North America, including Canada, as well as major midstream and liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure around the Gulf Coast.

A significant proportion of midstream infrastructure in North America comprises brownfield assets that have been operating for decades. As operating requirements change, equipment originally designed for different conditions may be required to deliver higher performance.

For many operators, replacing complete systems is not the most practical approach. Targeted retrofit and upgrade programmes can provide an alternative by addressing specific performance issues while retaining existing equipment where appropriate.

IMI’s retrofit and upgrade capabilities are designed to enhance equipment performance, extend service life and reduce operational disruption.

Retrofit3D is an additive-manufactured valve trim solution designed to upgrade existing control valves without replacing the complete valve body. The solution uses DRAG® technology to address challenges including erosion, vibration, noise, cavitation and controllability.

By upgrading internal valve components rather than replacing the complete valve, Retrofit3D can provide an alternative when valve removal, cutting, welding, and other intrusive work would cause significant disruption.

EroSolve technologies address specific flow-control challenges, including erosion and challenging operating conditions.

EroSolve solutions can be applied to existing equipment and are designed to help extend valve service life, reduce maintenance requirements and improve operational reliability. IMI’s portfolio includes solutions for flashing, wet steam and other demanding applications.

For midstream applications, EroSolve Metamorphic Trim is designed for challenging services where contaminants can cause valve clogging, poor rangeability and increased maintenance requirements. Its self-cleaning design combines velocity control with cascade-style trim technology.

The same approach to extending asset life is relevant across other critical energy applications.

In nuclear power, IMI provides retrofit and upgrade solutions for systems, including feedwater and main steam isolation applications. In power generation, control system and valve upgrades can help address issues such as vibration and erosion. In petrochemical applications, refurbishment and targeted upgrades can support plant safety, reliability and continued operation.

The common principle is to understand the specific equipment and operating conditions, identify the underlying problem and develop an appropriate engineering solution rather than automatically replacing the complete system.

Lake Forest is part of IMI’s broader manufacturing and service capabilities in the Americas.

IMI has supported customers in the Houston region since the early 1990s, providing services to the midstream market as well as refinery and power generation customers. A new service and manufacturing facility in the region opened in June 2025, providing design and manufacturing capabilities for silencers and desuperheaters, as well as field service and repair.

Together, these regional capabilities provide customers with access to engineering, manufacturing and aftermarket expertise closer to their operations.

For operators managing ageing infrastructure, the challenge is not simply keeping equipment operational. It is finding practical ways to improve performance, manage maintenance requirements and extend asset life while minimising disruption.

IMI combines flow control engineering, manufacturing and aftermarket expertise to help customers address these challenges. From valve refurbishment and replacement components to advanced retrofit technologies such as Retrofit3D and EroSolve, the focus is on solving specific operational problems and delivering solutions that work within the realities of existing assets.

For midstream operators, regional capability means access to this expertise closer to the equipment and the market — helping support reliable operation when responsiveness matters.

Learn more about IMI’s solutions for Midstream and LNG.

A version of this article appeared in World Pipelines Americas 2026 magazine in September 2026.