High global demand prompts new Metso valve facility
28 Sep 2011
Helsinki — Finnish group Metso has opened a new valve production and technology centre in the Helsinki region, in response to increasing global demand for engineered industrial valves particularly from the Middle East and China.
”Our current deliveries have increased by half compared with the corresponding period in the previous year. Production is more than 2,500 valves monthly, and volumes will be further increased order to meet the growing global demand,” said Markku Simula, president of flow control business within Metso’s automation business unit.
”Companies in Middle East, Brazil and in China have recently invested at an accelerating pace to new production facilities” added Simula. “The customers include major global companies, such as Saudi Aramco, ExxonMobil, Petrobras and Stora Enso.”
The new Helsinki facility improves Metso’s product development capabilities. For example, it includes a new flow laboratory for valve testing and a new expanded cryogenic testing facility for the LNG industry.
In 2010, Metso opened a facility in Shanghai, China, and is currently expanding its valve production premises in the US. Metso also has industrial valve facilities in Brazil and Germany.
The investment in new facilities are intended to provide customers with faster deliveries as well as a wider product and application scope, said Metso, which has strong market positions in the oil & gas, pulp & paper, refining and chemical/petrochemical industries
“In 2008 when the market situation looked uncertain,” said Simula. “Nevertheless, we went ahead with our plans in Finland and China. This is a strong message for our customers globally: We are in the business with a long-term strategy to continuously improve our products and services.”
“The newly started facility in Finland reaches record level production, and the Shanghai centre has been operating for more than one year also at record level, as it is located in the midst of the world’s fastest growing valve market.”
Short video clip of the new factory (Click back button to return to Process Engineering)
