An industry-leading importer and custom manufacturer offering an extensive line of spices, seasonings, and specialty food ingredients needed a valve for a new installation at their US West processing facility. Their processes include a multitude of raw materials of various sizes, moisture content and other physical characteristics and the valve needed to work flawlessly under varying conditions.
The company’s engineers had originally tried slide gates to control material feed from hoppers, but the results were unsatisfactory. The slide gates would often hang up, only partially closing. The engineers eventually decided to employ a spherical valve to solve their valve closure issues.
The manufacturer needed a new custom 18-inch spherical disc valve. Going to their original supplier, however, resulted in some problems. The previous valve manufacturer was unable to meet the customer’s needs in a timely manner – “one delay after another”, as the company’s engineering manager describes it.
Timing to receive their new valve was critical, making their past supplier subassembly availability issues a concern. They could not accept delays in receipt.
The company’s engineering manager had started his career in building materials manufacturing and recalled the use of Gemco Valves in the process of gypsum calcination. He was familiar with the full port and the self-wiping action of the Gemco Valve and knew that a Gemco valve would be a great solution to their problem. The manager further noted that the gypsum processing plant’s Gemco Valves had provided more than three decades of satisfactory operation.
Gemco Valve’s T Valve (Heavy Duty) installed in US West facility.
The engineering manager reached out to Jim Lenihan, Gemco Valve’s Special Projects Manager and President. Non-standard valve? Not a problem! The processing plant required a lesser used 18” size, and Gemco Valve was able to adapt their existing design to the company’s special mounting and height requirements. The heavy-duty Gemco Type T Valve was designed, fabricated, polished and assembled in the quoted 14 weeks lead time. “Turn-around was excellent. There were no delay issues at all,” said the engineering manager. “It’s a high-quality product and cost was well within reason.”
The Gemco Valve has been installed in the manufacturer’s US West processing facility and the company expects years- perhaps decades- of trouble-free service.
