Local valve manufacturer Gunric Valves has won a multimillion-rand contract to supply large ball metal-seated butterfly valves, ranging in size from 36 to 80 inches in diameter, to a project being undertaken by Tengizchevroil (TCO) ¨C a partnership between National Oil Company Kazakhoil and Chevron ¨C in Kazakhstan.
Gunric Valves marketing director Mark Wilson tells Engineering News that the company has managed to outbid ten other competitors to supply the valves to the project, which involves the construction of an oil refinery on the Tengiz oilfields which is believed to have potential reserves of six- million barrels of oil.
Engineering News understands that TCO, which will be investing some $20-billion in Kazakhstan over the next 40 years, intends to increase the production output from Tengiz and the nearby Korolev field to a peak of 700 000 barrels of oil a day by 2010.
¡°The bid process took about six months to complete and, in the end, we were selected over a UK-based multinational valve manufacturer,¡± Wilson says.
It is believed that a combination of the quality of Gunric's products and the company's ability to manufacture products exactly to customer requirements gave it the competitive edge. ¡°Our valves will be used for gas applications on the refinery,¡± Wilson explains.
The valves are being manufactured at Gunric's factory in Robertville, Florida, on the West Rand.
The bulk of the components are sourced locally, with the exception of operating mechanisms like actuators, which have to be imported.
¡°A great aspect of this job is that it gives everybody, including local foundries, steel merchants and inspection authorities a bit of work,¡± Wilson notes.
The company will be delivering the first batch of valves in March, with final delivery scheduled for late June or early July.
There is a possibility that it will be called upon to assist with final commissioning of the valves and, says Wilson, as part of its after-sales services, the company will also do maintenance work if the need arises.
Although Gunric has sufficient capacity at its factory to deliver the order, it had to invest a certain amount of money into research and development over the last few months as some of the valves are very specialised.
Wilson believes that the Kazakhstan contract will serve as a further endorsement of the quality of the company's products, which will not only help to expand its export market, but also its local market.
¡°Some large end-users in South Africa have the perception that local manufacturers are not capable of meeting their needs, but hopefully this contract will help to eliminate these perceptions,¡± Wilson says.
Gunric Valves experienced a good year in 2003.
Apart from the Kazakhstan project, it also sold many valves to the oil industries in the Middle East.
Locally, it supplied 12 very large butterfly valves to Eskom's Tutuka power station, near Standerton, and it is also currently involved in the refurbishment of the Vereeniging Rand Water pumping station.
Both these projects are worth several million rands.
Gunric Valves, which was established in 1989, employs just under 50 people.
Its export market constitutes between 20% and 30% of its total business but, as Wilson explains, because the company is project driven, these figures vary according to the number of projects it participates in. On both the local and international front, the company supplies specialised butterfly valves to the petrochemical, water and power- generation industries. Looking forward, Wilson expects 2004 to be a big year, especially with Sasol expected to get its Turbo project in gear.
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