“Over the years, Neles and its predecessors have developed capabilities that position it as a best-in-class player in the field. Now, the company looks forward to accelerating this agenda as part of Valmet. The key message to its customers is: our capabilities and know-how are even stronger. In fact, we are operating from a stronger base and with a wider offering, covering more markets, and leveraging our global reach in a more efficient manner.”
Simo Sääskilahti
By Joanne McIntyre
Neles merged with Valmet on April 1st of 2022 and became Valmet’s Flow Control Business Line. “Since the merger, Valmet has become an even stronger, globally leading company with a unique and competitive offering to process industries,” explained Simo Sääskilahti, former CFO, Interim CEO of Neles and current President of the Flow Control Business Line within Valmet. “Traditionally Valmet developed and supplied a unique combination of competitive and reliable process technologies, services, and automation solutions globally. Now, its offerings are complemented by flow control solutions. The automation solutions cover distributed control systems, quality management systems, analyzers and measurements, related services, and Industrial Internet solutions.”
According to Mr. Sääskilahti, the heritage of reliable flow control solutions remains intact. The former Neles demerged from Metso in 2020, as Valmet did seven years earlier. “We pride ourselves on over 65 years of experience in designing and manufacturing flow control solutions for various process sectors. Building on this foundation of knowledge, expertise, and insights, we are ready for the 21st century with exciting developments in renewable energies and more mature sectors such as oil & gas, pulp & paper, and mining.”
Positive Market Signs
The first signs for 2022 are positive for Valmet’s flow control business, be it that the financial figures for Q1 of 2022 were still listed as Neles. “The first quarter was strong,” Mr. Sääskilahti said. “Our business developed positively despite current global market challenges, and we had good momentum across all geographies, especially in North America. In terms of end user categories, pulp, paper, and bio-products projects orders remained at a good level. We also saw growth in chemicals and oil & gas project orders after a challenging 2021.”
Services and MRO-driven businesses also developed well, according to the company. Organic growth was further complemented by the acquisition of Flowrox’s valve and pump business (see text box Flow-roxTM). “I am extremely proud of our experienced and capable global team, which has been delivering reliable products and services to our customers in a challenging environment and working together to build the foundations for future growth,” said Mr. Sääskilahti.
“The North American market has performed well in the first half of the year. Together with our distribution partners, we have been able to service our end-customers in a challenging supply chain environment”, added Vice President of North American market area, Patrick Dunn.
FLOWROX: STRONG ASSET IN MINING AND METALS
With the acquisition of the valve and pump business of Flowrox
(Q4 of 2021, before the merger), Neles cemented its position in the mining and metals industry. The business line’s expanded offering of valves, pumps and services for mining minerals and metallurgical applications is now more complete than ever.
The expected growth in these markets is driven by the increasing demand for metals, ore depletion, and underlying investments into more efficient processing. With good long-term fundamentals, service intensity, and a different cyclical nature balancing out cycles of the business line’s traditional core industries, mining and metals is an attractive industry for the company.
Mission-Critical Flow Control Technologies and Services
Flowrox is not the only product brand in the flow control business within Val-met. “The Flow Control business line will continue to offer the expertise and same extensive flow control portfolio as before: industry-leading valves, valve automation solutions, and related services, under the renowned NelesTM, Neles EasyflowTM, JamesburyTM, StonelTM, ValvconTM and Flowrox product brands,” Mr. Sääskilahti explained.
“With our mission-critical flow control technologies and services, we answer the continuously evolving needs of various process industries. In addition to our traditional strongholds (pulp & paper, gas processing and LNG, industrial gas, chemicals, energy, refining, etc.), we have systematically expanded our footprint in strategic focus areas such as mining and metals, Power-to-X (see ‘Power-to-X’ box text), and renewable energy.”
As the company has decades of experience in valve automation, it has developed solutions, not just for Neles, Jamesbury and Flowrox valves, but for any manufactured valve. “We offer a complete range of solutions for valve automation needs (e.g., actuators, controllers, limit switches) for all industrial valves, providing the best possible flow control performance,” said Mr. Sääskilahti.
Focus on Sustainability
Another aspect of the company’s culture that has remained strong throughout the merger is its focus on sustainability. Valmet’s Flow Control Business Line will continue on its path to reduce CO2 emissions for its own operations as well as for its customers.
“Being ready for what the future brings is not just about understanding and anticipating the changing needs of the industries or the specific processes and valve applications within,” explained Jukka Borgman, Director of Technology Development, Valmet’s Flow Control Business Line. “It also means designing and manufacturing product solutions and services that help reduce energy consumption and environmental impact.”
At Valmet, there are three key sustainability focuses when it comes to industrial valves: the reduction of emissions, ensuring internal tightness, and analyzing lifecycle view. In all three cases, industry standards and regulations play an important role in driving development and enhancing the environmental performance of industrial processes. Valmet also focuses on relatively new industrial processes designed to lower or offset CO2 emissions such as: Carbon Capture Utilization & Storage (CCUS), and green hydrogen.
Oxygen Valve Service
When dealing with oxygen in industrial processes, such as PtX, it is important to not only select valves that will perform as expected, operate safety, and have long-lasting reliability, but it is also vital that the valve degreasing and cleaning process adheres to the tightest regulation-based international standards.
“Our special cleaning process is planned and implemented by our global procedures, which fully comply with the international oxygen cleaning standards. The safe and effective cleaning and degreasing of oxygen valves set specific demands on the equipment, space, and facilities used for this important maintenance work. We have therefore dedicated clean rooms permanently constructed in five different countries,” stated Mr. Sääskilahti.
Lifecycle-Focused View
“While regulations dictated by governing bodies continue to set strict parameters, there has been a strong shift towards end users setting tight demands on valves in industrial processes,” stated Mr. Borgman. “The shift in emphasis has been from factory acceptance testing (FAT) to type testing. Type testing is where valves, similar in type to those ordered for a project, undergo rigorous testing to ensure that the vale will function after several hundreds of thousand cycles of simulated conditions. This practice is a testament to the ongoing shift towards a more lifecycle-focused view on sustainability. Products not only need to pass pressure testing prior to being installed, but the valve design and manufacturing quality must be proven to perform over time.
There is also a clear trend on the rise for the implementation and adherence to emission standards, even by customers in rapidly developing and industrializing countries. The reason for modern emissions requirements can often be found in environmental concerns rather than just the elimination of local risks and hazards.”
Next Generation Butterfly Valves
Plants around the world are increasingly focusing on the renewal of established technologies, better-performing solutions, and the use of (data) analytics. These, and the ever-present need to in-crease cost-efficiency, guide the company’s R&D activities.
In 2021, the company launched a new versatile butterfly valve range designed based on these customer trends. “Safe and sustainable operations must adhere to today’s standards and regulations. This range ensures adherence to these standards and facilitates extended process uptime, a performance that maximizes process efficiency, yield and simplicity. These characteristics make these valves an attractive option for a wide range of applications,” said Taija Hämäläinen, Head of Butterfly Valves at Valmet’s Flow Control Business Line.
The versatility of the range is illustrated by its ability to combine various parameters, such as materials, sizes, and pressure classes, which allows customers to get the exact configuration for their application.
“The versatile butterfly valve platform offers reliable solutions for various applications, including a high-cycling valve to manage high-purity gases and valves for abrasive service or corrosive media. The cross-compatible components and standardized parts make it easy to up-grade valve performance or to conduct maintenance without the need to replace or dismantle the entire valve. “Our goal was to simplify valve selection for all customers, irrespective of their industry or technical background,” continued Ms. Hämäläinen. “Customers have welcomed the new range, which helps them easily select the features, functionalities, and materials they need to create a robust and reliable butterfly valve that meets their exact requirements.”
POWER-TO-X
Power-to-X (PtX) refers to the hydrogen technology used to store or convert surplus electricity, generated from renewable energy sources. PtX also references the conversion of electric energy via hydrogen to hydrogen-based synthetic fuels and feedstock. Producing hydrogen requires huge amounts of energy. Traditional production methods that use fossil fuels emit a significant amount of CO2. Green hydrogen production uses renewable energy, such as wind, hydro, or solar power. Green hydrogen is a great carrier of renewable energy and it also facilitates the production of green hydrocarbons and chemicals, such as eMethane or eMethanol.
Metal Matrix Composite Materials
Another topical area within material science is the advance of metal matrix composite materials (MMC), as used the Neles WearblockTM. These hybrid materials combine the superior hardness of ceramics and the toughness of metals to offer end users the best possible reliability and performance. Often, material wear is the root cause of failures. In MMC, the ceramic addition is embedded into metal and contributes especially to the wear resistance, while the metal carries the mechanical load and improves impact resistance. “We have built up expertise in technologies, such as advanced powder metallurgy, that are needed to integrate MMCs into products. These MMCs are used as an inner layer in multi-material constructions where the outer layer is a standardized construction material. This combination ensures PED requirements for ductility are met. We have implemented various MMC-based solutions in the field for more than ten years,” stated Mr. Borgman.
Final Thoughts
To recapitulate, Valmet’s Flow Control Business Line will continue on its path to developing reliable, safe, and sustainable flow control solutions for various applications in a myriad of product segments. “For our customers, we are on the same road towards more sustainable and efficient process industries,” concluded Mr. Sääskilahti.