business & market news
28
Tube Products International November 2013
Valvestock
relocates
Valvestock, the specialist valve and
actuator arm of Pipe Center, has moved
to new premises, and expanded its
offering following a major investment.
The new purpose-designed site at
Fareham Industrial Park, Hampshire,
UK, is equipped with state-of-the-art
design, engineering and test facilities,
and a new training and demonstration
centre.
Valvestock is now authorised by the
manufacturers to build and modify
Saunders diaphragm valves and Apollo
ball valves, fully supported by the latest
CAD/CAM systems. All work, including
assembly and test of actuated valve
packages, is carried out according to
ISO 9001:2008 certified procedures.
The new offering includes next-day
delivery on stocked items, and a
72-hour response on more complex
technical quotations. A new Speedy
Valve Service offers a 24-hour turn
around on assembled and activated
valves.
The company held an open day for
industrial contractors and clients, giving
customers an opportunity to see the
new facilities.
Marcus Sampson, general manager
of Valvestock, said, “Our key aim is
to supply ‘on time’ and ‘on budget’,
while adding value to our customers’
businesses. The move and related
expansion in our offering represents
a major investment by Pipe Center, to
further improve the service we offer
to customers. As a result, I believe
we now offer an unrivalled package of
products, services and support to the
industry – covering valve and actuator
requirements of the water and waste,
power, process, manufacturing and oil
and gas industries.”
Valvestock
– UK
Marcus Sampson, Valvestock’s
general manager
An overview of the Valvestock facility
Severn Glocon acquires HPHT company
Control valve engineering specialist
Severn Glocon Group has strengthened
its presence in the subsea oil and gas
market with the acquisition of High
Pressure High Temperature (HPHT)
downhole tools company Calidus
Engineering.
Now renamed Severn Subsea
Technologies Ltd, the company will
provide research, development and test
facilities to enhance Severn Glocon’s
subsea valves capability.
A former subsidiary of Badger Explorer,
Norway, Calidus is a multi-discipline
engineering firm developing innovative
subsea and downhole technologies for
harsh HPHT environments.
Severn Glocon Group is taking this
strategic move in a bid to align its
operations to better meet future
technical challenges in subsea oil and
gas production. Calidus’s downhole
products already developed will provide
sales opportunities with worldwide oil
and gas corporations.
In addition to modelling and engineering
design services, Severn Subsea
Technologies’ Redruth, UK, facility
has a machine shop equipped for
manufacturing prototypes.
The business is set to become the
nucleus for group subsea R&D and sys-
tems integration activity, in tandem with
small-bore subsea valve firm LB Bentley’s
R&D team and the Severn Unival
Brighouse Valve Innovation Centre.
The acquisition enhances core
capabilities to strengthen the Group’s
global positioning in the subsea
market, and builds on the acquisition
of LB Bentley in 2012. It also increases
the scope for new subsea systems
developments based on LB Bentley’s
valve technology.
Severn Glocon Group chief executive
Maurice Critchley said that the acquisi-
tion underlines the firm’s ambitions to
be at the forefront of technical develop-
ments for the oil and gas industry:
“Offshore operating conditions are
becoming ever more extreme, so
hardware engineers and manufacturers
need to invest in developing break-
through technologies. As an industry we
have a duty to collaborate and innovate.
At Severn, we’re using intelligence-led
R&D to identify potential technology
gaps and focus our engineering exper-
tise in the right places. Calidus brings a
valuable new set of skills to our portfolio
as we upscale our R&D efforts.”
Severn Glocon Group plc
– UK
