Valve Repair Companies

“Most fly-by-night repair facilities offer products and services at a much cheaper price. But more often than not, these repair shops do not have the technical knowledge, experience, capability or resources to handle the maintenance and repair of valves to OEM specifications. Relying on these often leads to cost consequences,” Mukhopadhyay explained.

Mukhopadhyay was one of the VRC company representatives who responded to VM’s call to tell us why companies should join VRC, the advantages of belonging, and most importantly, the advantages end users gain by seeking out a VRC member. We also spoke with Darrell Roberts, owner of Wal-Tech; Kim Beise, president of Dowco Valve Company; and Cliff Smith, director of Operations & Service, Flow Control/Automation Business Line, Metso Automation, Inc.

Darrell Roberts, who has just a few years in the valve repair industry, says he is amazed at how many end users have little to no knowledge of the benefits of using an OEM-certified repair facility, a requirement for service and repair companies that wish to join the Valve Repair Council. He tells this story:

“We almost lost a major client because they did not understand what an obsolete valve was.” The client would call and request a quote for a repair, then when Wal-Tech would explain that parts were not available, the client would find a shop that would make repairs without question. “When I discovered what was going on, I made it a point to ask, during the next meeting with our client (a meeting attended by a regional manager, a reliability manager and several other high-level company reps), ‘do you know what an obsolete valve is?’ Not one of them knew!” he explains.

“What I have learned in my short time in the valve business is that we ‘assume’ our clients know and understand the valve business,” but this is simply not always true, he says. As a result, repair companies need to understand how to educate their customers because: “an educated client is the best client we can have,” he says.

But even companies not dealing with the small “fly-by-night” repair shops face real dangers in not using OEM-certified companies, VRC members point out.

“Many of these ‘repair shops’ are quite large,” says Metso’s Smith. However, because they do not belong to an organization such as VRC, they often just don’t have access to OEM specs. As a result, “they are either reverse engineering components or they are purchasing parts from the OEM. Since they cannot be competitive when buying the OEM parts, they are much more likely to reverse engineer,” Smith adds.

But it’s not just the dangers of reverse engineering that should encourage valve companies to seek out an OEM-certified repair facility.

A significant advantage of an OEM service center is the engineering support, Smith points out. “We will not only repair older equipment and restore products to OEM specs, we will review performance issues and provide upgrades and alternative solutions,” Smith continues.

Also, the processes that involve valves themselves change over time so products that were appropriate years ago may no longer be adequate or they may have been improved, which a user is much more likely to know if they are dealing with an OEM-certified company. ­Meanwhile, however, “non-OEMs service by repairing old, and often obsolete, equipment for as long as possible,” he concludes.

Dowco’s Kim Beise agrees that too many end users don’t actually know the differences between OEM and non-OEM repair facilities, “and many don’t care as long as they get the lowest price at the time the work is done.” However, like all those interviewed for this story, he has a list of dangers to cite in using non-OEM including those already mentioned as well as:

• The end user may not have the right documentation of the repair work performed when an inspector asks for the paperwork.
• A company that isn’t OEM-certified is often in the business for a quick dollar.
• A fly-by-night company may not have the proper equipment to perform a repair job.
• Non-OEMs may not have the updated tools they need to make a good repair.
• A non-OEM-certified company cannot be viewed as a trusted advisor.

THE BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP

That last reason—trust—is one of the main benefits of dealing with a company that belongs to an organization like VRC, members say. It is also one of the main reasons companies join the council in the first place.

Non-OEM companies profit by “repairing as much equipment as possible as often as possible,” Smith says. “However, the relationship between an OEM company and the end user is long term. Our goals [the VRC member] are to minimize repair cost and improve product performance for the customer.”

While it may cost more to a VRC member to do the job right than it might cost the fly-by-night operation to do it wrong, “the relationship [between the OEM-certified company and user] will result in continued business and new investments in the years to come,” he explains.

Belonging to VRC can also offer a host of other advantages.

Beise lists the many networking opportunities that VRC membership can provide. Roberts adds that, being a fairly new member, the council has been critical in “helping to understand the complexity of the valve industry and allowing me to learn critical information.”

Mukhopadhyay says that the council also educates repair customers themselves on issues such as safety standards, which helps those users make sounder decisions and protects Cameron’s reputation. The VRC also “provides a forum for legal exchange on information that advances the quality and integrity of valve repair services so that key issues are addressed immediately,” Mukhopadhyay adds.

All agree that VRC is playing a key role in addressing and helping to understand how the entry of foreign players in valve manufacturing has affected the North American industry.

“Most imported valves are bought because of low prices,” says Mukhopadhyay. However, “customers will most likely face problems with inexpensive imported valves if the company doesn’t have authorized repair services within the country or if the valves have unusual designs or do not meet quality specifications.” While Cameron can repair a few of these valves, it’s just as likely the valves prove irreparable and have to be replaced, he adds.

The problem, adds Beise, is that if they do not have local representation, it’s likely the parts for repair are not available locally and will have to be expedited and shipped from overseas, which proves to be very costly.

THE HORROR STORIES

Those involved long enough in valve repair have some good anecdotes to share about what can go wrong with valves, especially when a non-OEM was involved.

“We have seen and documented many examples of repairs completed by non-OEMs resulting in poor performance of the equipment. Undersized components, incorrect materials, shims under seats, honed actuator cylinder, purges added to valves with no indication of reduced pressure,” and the list goes on, Smith reports.

But even when the problem is not OEM-related, repairs come in many forms.

Beise gives this example: “A customer had three valves that constantly leaked immediately after repairs.” After multiple repairs, the valve was shown to be operating at 95% of set “because they thought they could operate up to 100% of set.” By educating the customer on how a valve is supposed to work and at what level it can realistically be operated, “we saved the customer a lot of money in repairs,” he explains.

Mukhopadhyay tells about a situation in dealing with a liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing facility. One of the first steps of the LNG process uses rising stem ball valves to provide bubble tight shutoff. A series of these valves were installed in about 1995 and had minimal maintenance for 8 years. But in 2003, some leakage was noticed and operating managers were concerned they would need to replace all the switching valves in the plant—losing money both because new valves were needed and through downtime. The company contacted the local Cameron service office, which had extensive experience with these valves. Cameron staff consulted with the facility’s engineering staff and found the leaks were the result of seat damage—not a mechanical problem with this valve type—and the leakage had come from a catalyst escaping the screen on the dryer beds. A leap frog approach of eliminating a problem with the leaking dryer beds, then purchasing a small quantity of new valves and having them repaired on line in successive order minimized downtime and gave the customer valves under full warranty by the OEM, Mukhopadhyay reports.

HOW THE INDUSTRY LOOKS TODAY

Asking Valve Repair Council members to look back over the last decade to report on how things have changed, then into the future to give others advice, nets a variety of responses, but most end up advising others to look at VRC membership.

Mukhopadhyay believes one of the most recent changes in the industry is price sensitivity. However, he adds that: “low-cost providers are not always a wise long-term solution.” This is because the most expensive repairs are those that simply do not work, he points out. He advises users that want minimum repairs to follow installation and maintenance guidelines from product manuals provided by manufacturers and then to get the manufacturers to train personnel on regular maintenance.

Roberts agrees and points out that: “The purchase of cheap valves, whether foreign or domestic, is very costly in the end. If I could advise the client on one thing, that would be to go with a quality product that is supported with parts and trained personnel. Profit results from reliable equipment.” He says one of the biggest changes he’s seen in the industry is that end users are more knowledgeable on both valves and service providers because of computers, which gives them fingertip access to information.

Smith’s view about how things have changed is that OEM service centers have had to change tactics to stay competitive—they are offering more services while focusing on improved customer support. His view for VRC members is a bright one, however: he says that while many third party or non-OEM shops have emerged over the last decade, “we are beginning to see a shift in the last few years back toward OEM repairs. Many customers have learned painful lessons about the value of restoring equipment to its original condition.”

Genilee Parente is managing editor of Valve Magazine.