Global Processing - February 2014

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GLOBAL

February 2014FEATURES

ON THE SAFE SIDE

Safety is paramount during powder-coating manufac-

ture. In many industrial environments, if a mixture of

air, combustible gases, vapor, mist or dust comes in

contact with an ignition source, an explosion can occur.

As part of its explosion-prevention efforts, Switzerland’s

largest powder-coating producer installed explosion-

protection valves for all 20 of its process plants. The

company says the valves offer low actuating pressure

and reliable functionality as well as an attractive price/

performance ratio. Read more on page 8.

EXECUTIVE

INTERVIEW

SERIES:

FLOWROX’S

TODD LOUDINHeavy-duty valve, pump and systems sup-

plier Flowrox has good reasons to expand

internationally, says President Todd Loudin.

Read more on page 12.

CONVEYORS BRING

LOW-ASH COAL TO

MUMBAI POWER PLANTWhen a lack

of suitable

ash-disposal

areas and

complex

transporta-

tion raised

costs, Tata

Power switched to importing low-ash coal.

Read more on page 3.

Click Here to Compare Hundreds of Products & Services

S O L U T I O N S F O R T H E P R O C E S S I N D U S T R I E S

GLOBAL

1 GlobalProcessinG•february2014

ADVERTISING REPRESENTATION

MikeWasson,Publisherphone: 001+973-539-7715

email: [email protected]

ProductivityPersPectives ...........................................2

ASIA Conveyors bring low-ash coal to Mumbai power plantUnloaded at sea onto barges and then pipe-conveyed from ‘finger berth’ by

automated system .....................................................................3

Asia briefsChina aims to develop shale gas industry

Scarcity drives India market for POE water treatment ..............................6

euroPeOn the safe sidePowder-coating systems producer protects its mills with explosion-protection valves ....8

Europe briefsUK offshore exploration said to face crisis

German petrochemical sector slow to bounce back ....................................... 10

northaMericafromfinlandtotheworldHeavy-duty valve, pump maker plans further geographic and product line expansion ... 12

CONTENTS


GLOBAL

6

3

8

10

Jayhaas,districtManaGer phone: 001+205-572-1058 email: [email protected]

elizabethMarloWe,accountManaGerphone: 001+205-408-3736 email: [email protected]

Of the more than 750 attendees at the recent

ARC Industry Forum held in Orlando, Fla., more

than 35 of them had the word “global” in their

job title. These included sales and marketing

managers, but also product and operations execu-

tives. Even a safety manager had his title thus

enumerated.

The Forum attracts a wide assortment of auto-

mation vendors and industry journalists, drawn by

user presentations from companies like BASF, Car-

gill, Chevron Energy, Corning and Exxon Mobil.

The theme of this year’s event and press confer-

ences was the continuing and evolutionary impact

of the Internet of things on the industrial world.

Inductive Automation is a new-breed SCADA

vendor seeking to break out from the notion of

SCADA as primarily human-interface technol-

ogy. It sees SCADA as the means to aggregate data

from across several operations layers. It is com-

mitted to Web-based technologies, SQL databases

and the OPC standard. An unlimited number of

clients can be applied to a server license, freeing

the creativity of users.

Yokogawa Corp., the $4-billion Japanese au-

tomation vendor, will be celebrating its 100th

anniversary as a company next year. At the event,

it announced its new Centum VP process automa-

tion system, which brings its DCS technology into

the era of what it calls the “vigilant plant.”

A marketing director, Bob Gates, of GE Intel-

ligent Platforms, another major SCADA vendor,

pointed out that the particular challenge in in-

dustry is that even machine 50 years old must be

integrated into the Internet of things.

Automation vendor Invensys, recently acquired

by Groupe Schneider, announced “SimSci APC

2014,” which upgrades its advanced process con-

trol and modeling technology to make it easier to

use over time.

As Andy Chatha, president of ARC, said in his

keynote address, “The promise of automation

has not yet been fulfilled for the industrial world

because of the many generations of technology

installed in plants and remaining proprietary ele-

ments in vendor solutions. In the connected plant,

process control systems stay isolated in place, but

companies are already moving business systems

into the cloud.”

KEVIN PARKEREditorial [email protected]

SCADA AT THE ARC INDUSTRY FORUM

PRODUCTIVITY PERSPECTIVES



GLOBAL

PROCESSING (Pub.#ISSN 0896-8659)

PROCESSING Magazine is published monthly by Grand View Media Group. Editorial and Executive Offices: 200 Croft Street, Ste 1, Birmingham, AL 35242. Periodicals post-age paid at Birmingham, AL & additional mailing offices. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canadian Returns to be sent to: Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PROCESSING Magazine, PO BOX 2174, Skokie, IL 60076-7874. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Non-qualified do-mestic subscriptions: one year, $57; two year, $99; single issue, $10. Canadian and foreign surface subscriptions: one year, $93; two year, $162. Air mail subscription: one year, $203; two year, $355. © Grand View Media Group, 2013. PROCESSING Magazine assumes no responsibility for validity of claims in items reports.

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Publisher, Mike Wasson Ph: 973-539-7715, Email: [email protected]

Editorial Director, Kevin Parker Email: [email protected]

Managing Editor, Nick Phillips Email: [email protected]

Associate/Web Editor, Christy Underwood Email: [email protected]

Art Director, Julie Flynn Email: [email protected]

Marketing Manager, Mary Beth Romano Email: [email protected]

Advertising Customer Service, Cookie Rayford Email: [email protected] Administrative Team:General Manager, Barry LovetteVice President of Operations, Brent KizzireVice President of Finance, Brad Youngblood Group Director of Circulation & Fulillment, Delicia PooleCirculation Manager, Anna Hicks


ASIA

The Trombny thermal power station in Mumbai,

India, owned by Tata Power Co. Ltd. includes both

coal- and gas-based units. Unit-5, for example, is a

500-megawatt coal-fired power plant that consumes

about 6,000 tons of coal per day.

Over the course of 32 years of operation, the

Trombny station had consumed only high-ash coal,

mined in India and delivered to the plant by train in

“box wagons.”

Not long ago, however, as a lack of suitable ash-

disposal areas and complex transportation raised costs,

Tata Power switched to importing low-ash coal, after

first finding the best way to bring it into the plant. It

worked with Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd. (TCE) to develop and install a

new coal-conveying system.

In the past, at an unloading station in the plant’s coal yard, trains of box

wagons — each holding 58 tons of coal — were decoupled and emptied

using a “wagon tippler,” discharging the coal into an underground hopper.

The hopper discharge gates were capable of feeding up to 500 tons per

hour of coal onto a belt-feed conveyor, dependent on plant requirements.

The system included dust suppression.

Once on the belt conveyor, coal was moved either to a crusher or con-

veyed to a stockyard for storage. From the crusher,

coal was conveyed to boiler bunkers for immediate

use, or temporarily stored.

Enough ash already

With the coal’s stored energy expended, resulting

coal ash was removed for disposal. But an “ash dis-

posal area” used for many years was totally filled. Its

contents needed disposal at a distant place. With all

the coal ash generated, ash reclamation and disposal

costs were too high.

Costs were also high for fuel and labor to operate the

train and unload the box wagons. Rail and mechanical

equipment demanded upkeep. Finally, coordinating rail traffic on the busy

main line was challenging and sometimes led to delays and late deliveries, as

did inefficient wagon unloading.

To find a low-ash coal source and the best way to bring it to the plant,

Tata Power worked with Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd. (TCE), which, like

Tata Power, is a member of the Tata Group. TCE’s expertise is in bulk-han-

dling systems for the chemical, industrial, nuclear and power plant industries.

Tata Group is a privately held conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai,

Maharashtra, India. Founded in 1868, Tata Group today encompasses seven

Conveyors bring low-ash coal to Mumbai power plant

Unloaded at sea onto barges and then pipe-conveyed from ‘finger berth’ by automated systemBy G.D. Nigudkar

From the unloading station, a belt conveyor moves the

coal to the first junction tower (upper right comer),

where it’s transferred to the first pipe conveyor and

moved to the second junction tower (not pictured).

ASIA Mumbai continued

business groups: IT, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products

and chemicals. Its annual revenues have been estimated at more than $100 billion.

Tata Power decided to import Indonesian coal containing only from 2% to

6% ash. Tata Power planned to receive the Indonesian coal by shipments of

60,000 dead-weight tonnage.

To receive the coal, after study, TCE proposed two main alternatives.

First was construction of an offshore coal berth. Ships would berth at an

outer anchorage, in deep sea about

three kilometers offshore from Tata

Power Trombay, “self-unloading”

into hoppers on a coal berth that

would be constructed at the end

of a jetty extending about three

kilometers into the sea. A multi-fuel

berth option would allow unloading

liquid natural gas and other gas and

oil fuels besides coal. However, this

alternative was not pursued.

The way forward

Instead, plans were approved for construction of a 160-meter long “finger

berth” at the Trombay plant’s sea end. Thus, ships are unloaded at sea, with

off-loaded coal transferred to barges that carry up to 2,200 metric tons and

that are unloaded at the finger berth. A pipe-conveying system moves the

bulky commodity to the coal yard, where a “stacker/reclaimer” first spreads it

around the yard and then later retrieves it for use.


The pipe conveyor (black pipe) provides dust-free con-

veying and eliminates spillage. This helps to maintain

compliance with strict pollution regulations.

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ASIA


Unloading and conveying equipment was provided by FLSmidth, a well-

known Danish engineering firm focused on the minerals and cement industries.

Equipment includes a barge unloader, belt conveyor, two KOCH pipe

conveyors, three junction towers, computer controller and various ancillar-

ies. The barge unloader with telescopic loading chute runs on rails and can

move the barge’s length and width, ensuring complete load-out.

Pipe conveyors eliminate dusting and spillage as coal is moved. The

belt runs flat over the head pulley but is troughed by idlers at the feeding

point. Then after being loaded, the

belt moves through a series of idlers

until it formed into a 450-millimeter-

diameter “pipe” carrying material to

discharge. There the pipe opens back

out onto a trough belt and runs flat

over the tail pulley as the material falls.

On return, the belt is formed back

into a pipe, for material return, if re-

quired.

The way today

After a barge is docked at the 160-meter-long coal berth, the barge un-

loader removes the coal at up to 1,500 tons per hour and transfers it to the

1,400-millimeter-wide belt conveyor. The belt conveyor moves the coal a

short distance to the first junction tower where it is transferred to the pipe

conveyor. A dust collection system in each tower removes dust generated

during discharge. The junction tower also houses the incoming conveyor’s

drive motor, gear box, coupling and pulleys.

The first pipe conveyor moves the coal about 440 meters to the sec-

ond junction tower, where it is discharged to the second pipe conveyor or

diverted to another area of the power plant. The second pipe conveyor

moves the coal a little more than 1,000 meters to the third junction tower,

where it is either discharged onto a

belt conveyor for crusher loading or

moved to a storage area.

Tata Power at present operates the

unloading and conveying system 16 to

18 hours a day, depending on the tide,

and can unload and convey around

16,000 tons of coal at an average rate

of 1,550 tons per hour, as per its re-

quirements.

G.D. Nigudkar, General Manager,

TATA Consulting Engineers Ltd.-In-

dia, is a graduate from Jiwaji Univer-

sity Gwalior. The author would like to

express his gratitude to N.V. Parulekar

of Tata Power for his help in preparing

this article, which otherwise wouldn’t

have been possible.

Contact: gdnigudkar@rediffmail.

com; +91 22 25410764; mobile +91

8879144299

Mumbai continued

The barge unloader has improved the power

plant’s operating efficiency and reduced the

coal receiving operation’s labor requirements.


ASIA

Chinese authorities,

looking to respond to

indications of climate change, have hopes that

fracking and other non-conventional energy-

production methods will be a means to radi-

cally cut its coal use.

China’s energy generation mostly relies on

coal, but as energy demand increases, China

has become the world’s largest carbon dioxide

polluter. Air quality in the country has also de-

teriorated, putting the lives of millions at risk,

the Scientific American reported.

Reserves of shale gas are bountiful in the

country, but extracting may prove difficult. It

requires expertise and infrastructure not read-

ily available in the region. But helping fracking in China to become viable

is of international importance too, so the

United States has teamed up with China in

pursuit of a common strategic interest, ac-

cording to David Sandalow, an inaugural

fellow at Columbia University’s Center on

Global Energy Policy.

Official Chinese figures show that the es-

timated amount of recoverable shale gas is

25 trillion cubic meters, extracted from eight

basins. But the U.S. Department of Energy

has calculated that China’s reserves could be

about 36 trillion cubic meters, compared to

24 trillion cubic meters in the United States.

Clearly, if regulation allows it, China could

turn into the world’s largest shale gas pro-

ducer, the Scientific American concluded.

chinaaimstodeveloPshaleGasindustry

Chinese authorities hope that hydraulic fracturing will help the country

reduce its dependence on coal. (doranjclark/iStockphoto/Thinkstock)

iranPetrochemindustryfacesover-caPacity,sanctionsAlthough analysts predict the Iranian economy will grow in 2014, its

petrochemical industry will still have to cope with overcapacity. As inter-

national sanctions remain and Iran’s biggest international market, China,

is seeing a drop in demand, Iranian petrochemical companies are facing

contraction.

The situation puts at risk the government’s ambitious development

program to reach total petrochemical capacity of 100 million tpa over

the next five years, according to BMI Research. Over the first half of the

Iranian calendar year exports were more than $4.8 billion, with the year’s

target being $13 billion. The government hoped to export more than 17

million tons of petrochemical products over the present calendar year.

Over the next few years Iranian ethylene capacity is expected to ex-

ceed 11 million tpa, as the two olefins 11 and 12 projects are predicted to

launch, with a capacity of 2 million tpa and 1.2 million tpa, respectively. By

2018 Iran is set to launch capacity in several petrochemical segments, in-

cluding an extra 1.8 million tpa of PE capacity, 500,000 tpa of other poly-

mers capacity, 5.84 million tpa of methanol, 1.68 million tpa of ammonia

and 5.16 million tpa of urea, the BMI report stated.


Asia Briefs continued

exxonmobillaunchescaPacityatSINGAPORE CHEM PLANT

U.S. energy company ExxonMobil opened its expanded Singapore chemi-

cal plant to process crude oil, as well as other commodities. Expansion of the

complex includes more than 40 new technologies that allow market respon-

siveness, ExxonMobil said.

The expansion doubles capacity of the Singaporean chemical facility, mak-

ing it the largest such project in the company’s history, ExxonMobil says.

Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil chairman and CEO, says global chemical de-

mand is set to rise. About two-thirds of this increase in demand is expected

to take place in the Asia-Pacific region.

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As its population grows, India finds it ever more

difficult to meet demand for clean drinking water.

As a result, the local market for point-of-entry (POE) water-treatment sys-

tems is expected to see strong growth in the next few years, according to a

new report from Frost & Sullivan.

Frost & Sullivan estimates that the Indian market for POE water treatment

systems, commercial and residential, was worth INR3.4 billion (about $54.4

million) in 2012. By 2017, revenues are expected to rise to INR5.43 billion.

This figure includes reverse osmosis (RO) systems and conventional ones

such as filtration systems, iron and arsenic removal systems and softeners.

In 2012, RO systems accounted for 52% of revenues generated by POE

water treatment systems. Frost & Sullivan expects this segment to deliver an-

nual growth of 10% between 2012 and 2017.

ASIA

scarcitydrivesindiaWATER TREATMENT MARKET


Founded in 1968, IGP Pulvertechnik AG,

develops and manufactures powder coat-

ings for architectural and industrial uses. It

is Switzerland’s largest powder-coating pro-

ducer and a participant in global markets.

The company has partners and agencies in

40 countries, seven subsidiaries in Europe,

more than 380 employees and an output of

more than 12,000 metric tons of powder

coating each year.

Leo D’Anna has been part of the IGP team

for 18 years and, besides being a member of

the company board, is responsible for opera-

tions, including production planning, main-

tenance and process engineering. More than

150 others are employed in these areas as well,

across three production shifts per day.

“Our core task is to produce and develop

powder coatings for a wide range of applica-

tions. These can be for use by makers of any-

thing from office furniture to drinking bottles

to switch cabinets,” D’Anna says. “We deliver

product all over Europe. Especially in the field

of architecture we have a strong presence, be-

cause covering metal facades with our powder

coatings makes them robust and weather resistant.”

Powder coatings offer significant advantages, D’Anna adds. “Our busi-

ness is important in both its economic and ecological aspects. Powder

coating is not only solvent-free but also leads to customer productivity

gain.”

Safety in making

Productivity during powder-coating manufacture is important as well,

but safety is paramount, D’Anna says. As is well known, in many indus-

trial environments, if a mixture of air, combustible gases, vapor, mist or

dust comes in contact with an ignition source, an explosion can occur.

“During the processing of powdery materials, dust explosions can

occur. We give high priority to constructive ex-

plosion prevention and protection measures,”

says D’Anna.

All 20 IGP process plants are equipped with

a Ventex explosion-protection valve by RICO

Sicherheitstechnik AG, located in the nearby

Herisau, Switzerland.

“Our milling process starts with a chip-shaped

primary product,” D’Anna explains. Material

is first crushed and then placed in a cyclone,

where the fine dust is extracted. After that, the

final product falls directly into the packaging.

Throughout, process air serves as a transport

On the safe side

euroPe

Explosion-protection valves are installed in the pipeline following

the milling process.

Leo D’Anna is responsible for op-

erations at IG Pulvertechnik AG.

Powder-coating systems producer protects its mills with explosion-protection valves


euroPe Rico continued

medium, so that powder is continuously carried through the mill’s pipes.

Given special circumstances, a dust explosion can occur.

Such an explosion would pose risk and hazard to the entire plant and its

employees. However, an explosion originating from the powder-produc-

tion area would be isolated by a Ventex ESI Type 6 explosion-protection

valve installed in the pipeline following the milling process.

Isolating the wave

The point is that explosion protection valves are a viable option for ex-

plosion “decoupling.” They offer, with low actuating pressure, says RICO,

uncomplicated and reliable functionality.

In normal production, the valve-closing device is in the open position

and material flows around it. In the event of an explosion, the pressure

wave pushes the closing device against the closing device seal. In this

closed state, the spread of flames or of any pressure wave into the plant

interior is effectively prevented. Simultaneously, venting to atmosphere

takes place.

“We have used these explosion production devices for more than 20

years now,” D’Anna says.

Experts support RICO’s approach to explosion protection, D’Anna

says. What’s more, he adds, the valves’ price/performance ratio, based on

high quality, durability and consequent low maintenance are attractive. In

fact, he concludes, the company insists on retrofitting these valves into

mills it acquires, even when alternative solutions are in place or planned.

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Oil and gas exploration in the UK Conti-

nental Shelf (UKCS) is in a state of crisis and,

unless urgent action is taken, sustainable future

production is not assured, according to indus-

try body Oil & Gas UK.

Two reports highlight continued decline

in UKCS drilling activity. One is the annual

review from consultancy firm Wood Macken-

zie. The other contains the latest exploration

figures from the Department of Energy and

Climate Change (DECC).

Malcolm Webb, chief executive of Oil &

Gas UK, said both publications illustrate the

need for action. The UKCS downward trend

has persisted since 2011, when the number of

wells drilled slumped by 50%. In 2013, there

were only 15 offshore exploration wells, the

DECC says in its report. Unless action is taken

without delay, a few years from now capital

expenditure could collapse and adversely affect

future production, Webb said.

Two major factors behind the slide include

the constraints related to drilling rigs and

problems encountered by smaller companies

in their attempts to secure equity capital, Webb

added.

uKoffshoreexPlorationsaidtofacecrisis

euroPe

Two recent reports highlight the continued decline in UK Continental Shelf

drilling activity. (Tomasz Wyszoamirski/iStockphoto/Thinkstock)

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has been notified of

a mad cow disease case in Germany. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

(BSE) was identified in a slaughtered cow that did not exhibit any clinical

signs of the disease.

Tests conducted at the National Reference Laboratory (Friedrich-Loef-

fler Institute) confirmed the presence of a very rare form of BSE known

as L-type. This is a disease form not generally linked to an animal’s intake

of infected feed, the OIE said.

The Paris-based organization stated further that the cow’s carcass was

destroyed and no meat had entered the food supply channels. Moreover,

the identified offspring of the diseased cow have been slaughtered: out of

seven in total, five had already been slaughtered before the notification and

the other two have since been destroyed.

Reporting the news, Bloomberg said that it was the first BSE case in

Germany since 2009.

When people consume meat from infected animals, they can develop a

human form known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. According to the

World Health Organization, there were 175 cases recorded in the United

Kingdom between October 1996 and March 2011, and 50 or so in 11

other countries, among them the United States.

MadcowdiseasecaserePortedinGerMany

euroPe


Europe Briefs continued

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Ad-

ministration (FDA) have a joint program for sharing information on bioequiva-

lence studies required during generic drug approvals. The initiative will facilitate

joint facility inspections on both sides of the Atlantic, the agencies announced.

For generic drug approvals, pharmaceutical companies have to prove that the

drug is bioequivalent to the respective brand drug. This means generics must

serve the same purpose as the brand name product and perform the same way.

Thanks to the new program, approving generic drugs will be facilitated.

Despite recent turmoil in European petrochemicals markets, Germany will

remain the strongest player in the region, a new report from BMI Research

finds. Current demand in the petrochemical market is very close to the peak

recorded before the financial crisis took hold in 2008.

The latest Germany Petrochemicals Report revealed that the market has

been driven by small- and medium-sized petrochemical companies that

manufacture high-value niche products with relatively stable demand. Still,

the report estimates that the market growth for 2013 will reach 0.8%, down

from its previous forecast for a 1.5% increase.

Similarly, BMI’s output predictions were also revised, bringing the volume

growth estimate down to 1% from the 1.5% it previously forecast. This

means that the German petrochemical industry will need at least two years to

recover from the output drop of 3% recorded in 2012.

While small-scale capacity is being closed in an effort to cut costs and to

boost competitiveness, some large chemical companies like BASF are plan-

ning to launch new capacity.

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us,euroPeanwatchdoGsjoinforcesonGenericdruGs

Heavy-duty valve, pump maker plans further geographic and product line expansion


From Finland to the world

The thing we call globalization was early

taken advantage of — was in fact first ac-

complished by — industrial mega-corpora-

tions with the means to distribute product

worldwide. The next step taken was to

position productive capacity in regional

configurations.

Today, responding to developing-world

infrastructure demand, even mid-size in-

dustrial providers — which for present purposes may include those with

$1 billion to $2.5 billion in annual revenues — are expanding internation-

ally. Some are doing so at a fierce rate.

One such is heavy-duty valve, pump and systems supplier Flowrox, a

Finnish company that’s been in existence more than 30 years, but that in

2013 added subsidiaries in Russia and China to a list that already included

operations in North America, South Africa and Australia.

“To address a global opportunity, Flowrox is making sure it manufac-

tures and distributes its products on each major continent, with South

America still remaining to be accomplished,” says Todd Loudin, president

of Flowrox Group’s North American operations. “Being a Finnish com-

pany we already have long-term relationships in Russia. Manufacturing in

China will be important for us.”

With global headquarters in Lappeenrante, Finland, and known as

Flowrox since 2011, the company’s heritage is as a pinch-valve manufac-

turer, and it is said to make more of them than anyone else in the world.

In 2003, it introduced a heavy-duty peristaltic pump; in 2008 invested in

the services provision capabilities needed to be a solutions provider; and

in 2009 added a knife-gate valve to its portfolio.

As discussed recently in a Processing blog, the markets for equipment

for process operations aren’t dominated by their major suppliers the way

even some related markets are. For example, major industrial automation

and software vendors seem to gobble up emerging product lines soon

after they are launched.

The complexity and diversity of the mechanically driven markets, how-

ever, means mid-size providers continually find relevant niches, most

especially today by combining products and services to deliver solutions.

Flowrox serves heavy industries — mining, metallurgy, energy, cement,

pulp & paper and chemicals — with solutions for abrasive and corrosive

materials, including shut-off, control, pumping and dosing applications.

“Mining is a big part of what we do,” says Loudin. “Heavy-duty knife

gate valves with the right rubber linings are important. We have peristaltic

pumps that can move 80% solids. That eliminates the need to dilute the

stream and then recondition the water. We have valve and pump solutions

NORTH AMERICA

Serving heavy industries – mining, metallurgy, energy, pulp & paper and

chemicals – with solutions for abrasive and corrosive materials.


NORTH AMERICA Flowrox continued

for the many challenging flows found in the North American shale gas

and oil fields.”

To compete, says Loudin, “the most important thing is to have the lon-

gest mean-time to failure. If you have that, you’re able to compete based

on the honest premise that quality costs.”

In particular, Loudin points to the company’s rubber formulations,

all important in securing shut-offs and minimizing maintenance. “We

use standard SKF bearings so as to avoid proprietary items. The rubber

sleeves, however, are ours and we stock them. In fact, our parts inven-

tory is equivalent to about 1/6th our annual sales. That’s an investment

we make to ensure we don’t let customers down. Our training programs

serve the same purpose.”

According to Loudin, it’s not over yet. “Flowrox Automation will focus

on scaling sensors. Our joint venture partner, Rocsole, has combined

mathematical modeling with industrial measurement in an innovative way

and we’ll be launching solutions aimed at our industries later this year.”

flowroxwww.flowrox.com

Click here for the ad in German

Click here for the ad in Chinese

Click here for the ad in Portuguese

Click here for the ad in Spanish

A History Steeped in Innovation.

Cashco, Inc.

P.O. Box 6, Ellsworth, KS 67439-0006

Ph. (785) 472-4461, Fax: (785) 472-3539 | www.cashco.com

The all new

PGR-1 Pressure Regulator

from Cashco

Model PGR-1 is a high accuracy, pressure loaded,

pilot operated pressure-reducing regulator.

The flow to open design includes an internal

pressure balancing piston-cylinder that

provides high flow capacity. This internal trim

design allows the same basic unit to cover a

broad range of pressure settings.

Performance meets or exceeds that of

competitive pressure loaded or pilot-

operated designs. The PGR-1 regulator is

applied primarily in clean natural gaseous

service and fuel gas – sweet or sour.

Learn the full story on the new

line of Control Valves by visiting

www.cashco.comModel PGR-1

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS

Global Processing - February 2014

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