Over the years Gemco Valve has formed cooperative and insourcing partnerships with local and regional companies to optimize its manufacturing efforts and more effectively serve the needs of its customers. Now, the Central New Jersey based company has gone global in its latest joint venture with the German valve company ATEC-Valve. ATEC & GEMCO VALVE Launch International Partnership.

Since 1948, Gemco has designed and manufactured industrial and custom valves for the powders, solids and slurries processing industries including food, pharmaceuticals and general chemicals. ATEC has been manufacturing customized ball valves for similar industrial use since 1989.

Both companies offer standard industrial solutions, but also engineer valves for some of the most demanding applications. Specialty designs such as spring loaded and inflatable seats from RPTFE, FFKM, PEEK and metals like Monel, Hastelloy and titanium. Most powder processing requires valves between 4” and 16” the sizes most commonly produced by Gemco. However, some fine, free-flowing powders such as silicates, used in solar and other industries, use valves in 1” to 3” range – sizes manufactured by ATEC. Now both companies can offer the full range of sizes and solutions.

ATEC first became aware of Gemco via valve industry news and trade publications. “We did some initial research and based on their reputation, quality of their product line and company philosophy, it looked like Gemco could be the kind of company we might forge a bond with,” said Michael Hampel, ATEC principal and manager. “We were curious when we heard from ATEC – it was great to know that the work we were doing here in Middlesex made an impression on them – a company in the same business,” said Gemco Valve president, James Lenihan. “So we did our own research on ATEC and decided that a collaboration could work,” Lenihan said. “The idea of joining forces fits our business philosophy of working with other stake holders to enhance engineering, production and ultimately offer better solutions for the end-user.”

In April Lenihan paid a visit to ATEC in Klein-Winternheim near Frankfurt, Germany to meet Michael and his son Andreas and see the ATEC operation. “It was good to see that we both utilize state of the art technology and software in the design and engineering of our products, Lenihan said. “And we also have a strong focus on customer support and service.” Mr. Hampel added, “And because we are small companies we are flexible. This has been a really important factor in streamlining production and delivery.”

The trip resulted in the decision to move forward with the collaboration. ATEC managing director Michael Hampel and Gemco Valve president Jim Lenihan agreed that combining their technical expertise and vast experience will bring added value to the end user. Gemco and ATEC have the same philosophy of designing and manufacturing valves for application specific requirements and have resolved many processing challenges with similar solutions. According to Lenihan “Some, but not all, solutions scale up and down from the small (2”/50mm) to the large (24”/600mm). By recognizing our strengths, we can synchronize our technologies to improve both product lines for our customers worldwide.”

Valve World Expo, Nov 29 – Dec 1st 2016 in Dusseldorf will showcase ATEC/GEMCO Valve full product lines including:

ATEC Type VB 1”/25mm – 3”/75mm.

• Full Port Ball Segment Valve for mass flow of most powders, slurries, liquids or gases.
• Shaped segmented ball to cut through abrasive particles – cycles through full flow.
• Double, spring loaded seats for bidirectional sealing of vacuum and pressure.
• Precision machined valves manufactured in Germany and tested in NJ for US market.
• Flanged (ANSI/DIN), Butt weld, Tri Clamp, or custom connections.
• No grease or lubrication required.
• Operated by a manual lever or fully automated.
• Individual approval drawing produced for each project.
• Available in most machinable alloys.

GEMCO Type VP 4”/100mm – 24”/600mm

• Full Port Spherical Disc Valve for mass flow of most powders and slurries.
• Spherical disc designed to cut through abrasive particles – cycles through full flow.
• Inflatable seat for bidirectional sealing of vacuum and pressure.
• Fabricated and machined in USA and tested in Germany for EU market.
• Flanged (ANSI/DIN), Butt weld, Tri Clamp or custom connections.
• No grease or lubrication required.
• Operated by a manual lever or fully automated.
• Individual approval drawing produced for each project.
• Available in most weldable alloys.

The ATEC VB Ball Segment Valve is now available on the GEMCO website.