Design meets opportunity - and saves customer millions

Flowserve valves replace competitor solution, saving millions for food and beverage manufacturer.

Flowserve excels at creating innovative solutions to customer challenges.  A case in point: a major food and beverage manufacturer needed to improve its steam-heated kettle control system.

The manufacturer uses large kettles to cook batches of corn, adhering to specific time and temperature requirements. Because the existing valve solution could not adequately control the steam in the process, workers faced a significant safety issue as they tried to handle the hot kettles. The plant encountered high energy costs as a result of the excessive use of steam. Additionally, the end product was often inconsistent and needed to be scrapped, causing the manufacturer to incur additional costs from wasted materials.

The Flowserve team worked closely with the customer to understand the process and project requirements. Based on these conversations, Flowserve specified the appropriate valves to provide the steam flow needed for the application, replacing a competitor’s solution.

The Flowserve team recommended Durco Mach1 control valves for this application, in conjunction with Automax Supernova Actuators and Logix 510si digital positioners. The Durco Mach 1 control valves were able to properly control the steam flow and provide positive shutoff when required. This resulted in enhanced operator comfort and safety, a more consistent, higher quality product, and significant energy savings.

Flowserve now supplies similar valve configurations at multiple locations, which the customer estimates will save millions of dollars a year in energy costs.

Outstanding service and a solution that exceeded expectations provided significant benefits to the customer. Flowserve is now the manufacturer’s preferred supplier for this particular application.