Local valves industry bodies urgently need to develop and implement ‘buy local’ awareness campaigns to ensure the domestic valves manufacturing sector grows and increases its contribution to the South African economy, says valves manufacturer Paltechnologies marketing and technical sales manager Len Klassen.

He adds that these campaigns should be supported by government initiatives, such as the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA), which is aimed at boosting the use of locally produced goods.

Klassen highlights that the biggest challenge facing South African valves manufacturers is the lack of support from other local companies and contractors.

“There are a few local valve manu- facturers that produce high-quality valves; however, large companies prefer to use imported valves, which makes it extremely difficult for local producers to compete,” he says.

He points out that South Africa has the technical ability to produce global industry-leading valves but says local buyers are not aware of this, resulting in a decline in the number of valves producers.

Further, he says the introduction of cheap inferior-quality imported valves has worsened trading conditions for local manufacturers, making the level of com-petition alarmingly one-sided.

“Low-quality, cheap valves are hurting local manufacturers. Some companies are willing to spend millions, and at times billions, on components for their plants, but when it comes to valves, they go for the cheaper version.

“What is even worse is the high levels of damage to plant facilities [companies] continue to accommodate through these cheap imports, resulting in even higher costs,” explains Klassen.

Paltechnologies director Keith Alexander adds that another contributing factor to cheap imported valves being widely used is that they are available in large quantities.

“It is virtually impossible to compete with mass production. You cannot compete with high-volume, dedicated production lines that make their products available almost anywhere in the world at a fraction of the price you are able to charge,” he argues.

However, Alexander says that, with the introduction of the PPPFA and the potential establishment of an initiative by industry bodies to encourage companies to use locally produced products, he is optimistic that conditions will improve for the local valves manufacturing sector.

He adds that Paltechnologies is seeing more interest from engineers and con- tractors in the company’s valves, after inspections following valve failures revealed that imported cheap valves caused more damage, resulting in higher costs.

“Engineers and contractors are beginning to realise that there are no cost savings when buying and installing cheaper valves, as these are low quality and put other components at risk.”

Klassen says the company’s flagship Paltech single and double eccentric butterfly valves, designed to handle high pressures and temperatures, are now offered in a range of alloy materials to suit the customer’s needs and specifications.

“Through our constant research and development, we offer a range of alloy-based single and double eccentric valves, including ones with higher nickel and chrome alloys that improve corrosion resistance for various acid applications,” he adds.

Klassen says Paltechnologies has not received any warranty claims in the past five years and attributes this to the high quality that he says is applied to the company’s products from concept to installation.

“Our highly trained staff ensure that we produce high-quality valves that last longer and that are of benefit to the client,” he adds.