Integrated pigging and sealing solutions for pipelines

April 17, 2025

Alfonso Magaña, general-director of Flusell by XISEMA (Flusell), talks to The Energy Year about the products the company manufactures for the hydrocarbons sector. Flusell manufactures and sells chemical products for valve maintenance and manufactures specialised bolts for the oil industry and grease for pipelines.

What products does Flusell manufacture for the hydrocarbons industry?
Flusell by XISEMA began operating in 1989 with the vision of establishing a company focused on meeting the requirements of the energy sector. We’ve been in the industry for 35 years and are specialists in the manufacture of pipeline cleaning equipment.
Given our well-established position, we were part of the committee supporting Pemex’s NRF [Reference Norm] “Internal cleaning of pipeline systems for the transportation and collection of hydrocarbons through pig runs” in 2013.
We offer an array of specialised products, which include sealing greases, which are designed to seal and lubricate valves to extend their lifespan and eliminate leaks; protective greases and lubricants for pipe joints, high-pressure adapters and injectors; degreasers and industrial cleaners for heavy industry cleaning; and pigs.
When it comes to the fabrication of pigs, we are among the top two manufacturers in the country. We make various types of pigs, including polly pigs under our brand TULIM, which are made out of foam or solid polyurethane. We also manufacture steel pigs. While the latter can be used many times, the former are disposable and can only be used once. Polly pigs are also 80% cheaper.
As for raw materials, we acquire the steel nationally, while the thermoplastic elastomers for polly pigs come from the US. These pieces of equipment are designed and manufactured to international industry standards, which puts us at the forefront in the pipeline maintenance industry in Mexico and beyond.

How does Flusell’s integrated approach differentiate the company in the market?
Flusell offers integral solutions to clients. In order to run a pig, you need to seal the valve before the pig enters the pipeline. We make the grease for sealing the valves in our laboratories, we fabricate the required high-pressure adaptors and injectors, and we make sure everything is ready in order to insert the pig in the pipeline. Additionally, we can supply the absorbents for oil spills in case there is an accident or valve failure.
This comes to say that we can offer the client an integrated package – we do everything. Apart from our track record and experience, we ensure that we offer the highest quality on the market. Our prices are probably not the cheapest, but our quality is unparalleled on the market.
Given these added values, we have tier-one clients, such as Pemex and Cenagas, as well as companies that work for these state-owned enterprises, such as Halliburton, Baker Hughes, SLB, NDT Global and Rosen. These firms buy our products to then provide services to the main gas-transporting companies in the country. We also work with EPC companies, such as Bonatti, for which we are now working on a pipeline project in Mérida.

Tell us about your fabrication capacity and what strategy you have in other markets.
We fabricate our pipeline cleaning equipment in our manufacturing plant in Pachuca. Given economic and political reasons and the current status of the hydrocarbons industry in Mexico, in Q1 2025 our plant was running at 10% of its operational capacity. In 2024, the plant operated at 60-65% of its capacity. From our total sales, 70% comes from our pig business, while 30% comes from the sealing grease business.
With respect to the markets we cater to, around 70% of our production stays in Mexico. The regional arena has started to interest us, and now 30% of our production goes to different countries across the Americas.
Today we manufacture 15% of our products for Argentina, and the remaining 15% is divided between Colombia and Chile. In the US we also have strategic distributors, such as CDI and Spiltech. However, Flusell’s vision for the next five years is to be a leader in Latin America.
We want to enlarge our distribution footprint across Latin America to reach high-potential markets. To this end, we have planned to set up a warehouse in Panama as a strategic location for serving Central American markets and nearby countries such as Colombia, Venezuela and even Brazil. Having a warehouse in Panama would speed up our delivery times in these countries.
Ultimately we aim for Mexico to represent 60% of our sales, with the rest of Latin America comprising the other 40%.

To what extent are your products ecofriendly and sustainable?
We are the first company in the region that manufactures ecofriendly pigs. We reuse our waste to make the spacers, which is an important part of the pig. Moreover, the greases we manufacture are also ecological, as they are all vegetable based rather than synthetic based. Our products are therefore fully sustainable.
When working with major hydrocarbons firms, especially private and international companies, having sustainable and ecofriendly products is very important, as many require their providers and products to be sustainable. This gives us an advantage over other companies wanting to work with them.
The same happened with ISO certifications years ago: While before they were just good to have if you wanted to work with international hydrocarbons companies, now they are mandatory.

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