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AAAS 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
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
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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
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
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
2 GlobalProcessinG•february2014
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
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.
For Subscription Questions/Inquiries:U.S. – 866-721-4807 Outside U.S. – 847-763-1867Email – [email protected] / Renew / Change of Address:www.processingmagazine.com/subscribe
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
3 GlobalProcessinG•february2014
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.
4 GlobalProcessinG•february2014
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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5 GlobalProcessinG•february2014
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.
6 GlobalProcessinG•february2014
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.
7 GlobalProcessinG•february2014
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
8 GlobalProcessinG•february2014
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
9 GlobalProcessinG•february2014
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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10 GlobalProcessinG•february2014
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
11 GlobalProcessinG•february2014
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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Heavy-duty valve, pump maker plans further geographic and product line expansion
12 GlobalProcessinG•february2014
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.
13 GlobalProcessinG•february2014
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
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