Metal Valve Manufacture
Buy This Industry Report
Get more in-depth industry information with a First Research industry report containing business challenges, trends, executive insight, call prep questions, and so much more!
Get Information Now
Rest assured, your information will not be shared with anyone else (see our privacy policy for details).
Industry Overview
The US metal valve manufacturing industry consists of about 1,100 companies with combined annual revenue of $22 billion. Major companies include units of integrated process control companies such as Parker Hannifin, Curtiss-Wright, and Flowserve, as well as valve manufacturers such as American Valve and William Powell Company. The industry is concentrated: the largest 50 companies have about 65 percent market share.
Competitive Landscape
Demand depends primarily on the level of manufacturing and construction activity. Construction activity in the chemical, petroleum, utilities, water treatment, and housing industries is especially important. Large companies have advantages in efficiency of operations and economies of scale. Offshore subsidiaries are frequently used for low-cost manufacturing. Smaller producers compete by focusing on specialized product offerings and superior customer service. Annual revenue per employee is about $200,000.
Metal valves compete with other materials, primarily plastics, in the residential market and with high-strength composites, fluorocarbons, and elastomers for high-end uses.
Products, Operations & Technology
Major product categories are industrial valve applications used primarily in water works and municipal water systems (about 40 percent of US shipments); fluid power valves used in compressed or pressurized applications (30 percent); and plumbing-related valves and fixtures (20 percent). Valves control the flow of liquids, gases, slurries, or dry materials through a pipe or similar passageway, and may also control the rate of flow, volume, pressure, and direction. Some of the most common types of valves are gate, ball, butterfly, pressure relief, and custom engineered for special applications. Valve activation is controlled by an actuator that may be manual, pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric. Valve sizes range from fractions of an inch to 25 to 30 feet in diameter.
Raw materials are primarily aluminum, copper, iron, and steel. Bronze and brass, frequently used in valve manufacturing, are copper-based alloys. Raw materials are bought from primary metal producers or secondary processors that alloy ingredients.
Manufacturing facilities frequently include foundry operations. Most valve housings are castings made from molten metals poured into molds, often made of baked green sand. Manufacturing processes include designing and building the molds into which the molten metal will be poured. After the valve housing is removed from the mold, the interior surface is cleaned, trimmed, and machined to ensure exact dimensions. To enable flow to occur as designed, flow control inserts are placed inside the housing and actuator mechanisms are attached. Quality assurance and testing ensure structural integrity, dimensions, and optimal performance.
Most valves are standard products and built to stock. However, some specialty applications may be one-of-a-kind designs and can be very expensive. Facilities range from 40,000 to several hundred thousand square feet.
Companies use sophisticated computer programs to aid in the design process and quality control, and in-the-field monitoring of performance criteria. In critical applications, such as gas pipelines or nuclear power plants, computer monitoring, assessment, and continuous self-adjustment are major components of the total valve solution.