Hobbs Valve - It’s All About Lead Time

With the decreasing availability of engineering professionals, coupled with global demand for increased production of energy, the oil, gas and petrochemical industry is creating unique challenges for valve manufacturers. Although valve manufacturing only comprises around 5% of the overall purchase for new build and/or maintenance, the valve industry is continuously being stretched to unimaginative lengths in an attempt to deliver short lead times.

Lean manufacturing is by no means a new concept, but many valve manufacturers are struggling to keep up with demand.

Since its inception, Hobbs Valve has maintained its commitment to supporting the industries they supply by consistently delivering what could be deemed to be the quickest manufacture to order lead time available for Triple Offset Butterfly Valves. With this lead time currently sitting at 12 ~ 16 weeks, it is with no surprise that more and more companies are turning to Hobbs and the TVT range of Triple Offset Butterfly Valves.

Hobbs Valve was founded when Alun Hobbs recognised that the Triple Offset Butterfly Valve could not only be technically enhanced, but also that the complete customer purchase experience could be greatly improved.

Listening to the requirements of field engineers, Alun Hobbs was able to introduce innovation to the Triple Offset that previously had not been changed for over 15 years. The Triple Offset Butterfly Valve is inherently a torque seated valve and therefore one of the primary areas of innovative change was to introduce lower torque requirements that would reduce the overall cost and improve the capability of the valve.

This was achieved through the elimination of keys and pins strengthening the stem, coupled with a simplified innovative drive chain design that form part of the patented design.

What you see today is the outcome of hard work and determination to become recognised as the ‘forward thinking company’ delivering up to date innovation in Triple Offset Butterfly Valve technology.

With a range of valves now consisting of 2" ~ 42" 150/300 lb in most body materials and body styles, Hobbs Valve certainly are becoming a leading light in the manufacture of Triple Offset Butterfly Valves.

If this was not enough, Hobbs have recently introduced a Triple Offset Double Block and Bleed valve all encompassed in one valve body. This product range has been successfully witnessed and tested by the UK’s largest nuclear supplier for use on its steam and high temperature steam applications.

With the advantages of size, weight and cost benefits as a standard Triple Offset, the Double Block and Bleed also ensures that crucial double isolation in safety critical applications.

In such a complex industrial world, challenges are rarely simple, and require solutions that are innovative, safe and absolutely reliable. For that piece of mind or for any further information, please feel free to visit www.hobbsvalve.com, call +44 (0) 29 2086 1099, or alternatively visit Hobbs Valve at the Valve World Exhibition 2008 on stand N876.

Published: 25th September 2009