Coperion K-Tron, which is located in Salina, Kansas, is going to start manufacturing Germany’s Coperion rotary valves type ZRD in the U.S. The Coperion brand rotary valves are being added to the full line of Aerolock rotary valves that Coperion K-Tron has manufactured out of the Salina location for over 60 years.
“The joint effort included an extensive study and several meetings between the Salina and Weingarten sites to make sure that the same high quality of standards would be met and maintained,” said Scott Schlesener, operations manager of the Salina site and integration manager of Coperion’s Equipment & Systems Div. “Raw materials, product designs, manufacturing methods, and quality assurance standards from Germany were copied and adapted to fit Coperion K-Tron Salina’s extensive machining capabilities and quality management system.”
This joint effort ensures the American-made valves will perform to the highest technological and performance standards, for which the German manufactured valves are known. This effort, along with a considerable investment of stocked inventory, will allow Coperion to deliver and repair valves for the Americas market with significantly shorter delivery times. In fact, standard grey cast iron and stainless steel ZRD rotary valves will be available to customers within 4 to 6 weeks.
The Coperion ZRD rotary valve is specially designed for food, mineral, plastics, and chemical applications. The valve is engineered for heavy-duty industrial service with pressure differentials up to 21 psi(g) and temperatures up to 212°F; higher temperature options are available. The ZRD is often used as a discharging and metering valve for conveying products in powder and granular form. A range of sizes is available, with large throughputs ranging from 500 to 400,000+ lb/hr (subject to bulk density and application).
Image courtesy of Coperion K-Tron