Mixproof valve order for UK breweries

A major order to supply two InBev plants at Magor in South Wales and Salmesbury near Preston has recently been completed by the Tyco Valves and Controls Hygienic Products Division

A major order to supply two InBev plants at Magor in South Wales and Salmesbury near Preston has recently been completed by the Tyco Valves and Controls Hygienic Products Division.

The contract was won against stiff competition from other major manufacturers thanks to the modular nature of the Tyco offer, as well as the competitive pricing.

It was completed in time for the plants to satisfy the increased demand that resulted from the 2006 World Cup.

The Hygienic Products Division comprises both the Hovap and Keystone brands and this is one of the first applications of the new Keystone F269J B range of valves which have been developed in New Zealand.

This new range of specialised valves is an acknowledgement of a specific market where extra product protection is required at a modest additional cost.

The range therefore slots in between conventional lower-cost unbalanced double seat valves which offer moderate product separation protection and high-end fully balanced mix proof valves.

Tyco Valves and Controls recently underlined its commitment to the hygienic market and to its Hovap brand in particular with the opening of a new purpose-built plant at Sneek, near Leeuwarden in Northern Holland.

The all-new 1340m2 factory is located where much of the brewing sector technology was originally developed and is designed to service not only the Dutch market but to form an important support for overseas markets.

Importantly the Sneek plant provided the manufacture and test facility for the large manifolds which were also chosen for the InBev plants.

The manifolds were originally developed for the dairy industry are practically unique: they give state of the art performance and highly impressive whole of life costs.

Much of their competitive advantage derives from the expert design and manufacture.

Hovap employs precision welded construction to create a single integrated structure of valves and pipe work.

The use of top loaded drop-in valves makes cleaning and maintenance extremely simple in contrast to competing solutions which often make wider use of clamps and necessitate extensive dismantling of the manifolds to perform routine operations.

The Hygienic Products Division of Tyco Valves and Controls provides an unrivalled range of flow control equipment specifically designed to offer solutions for hygienic and sanitary applications within the dairy, brewing, food processing, pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

The latest addition to the Keystone range of valves, a number of which are fitted at these locations, is the Keystone F269J B valve range.

This valve, designed with a robust one piece fully machined SS316 body and heavy-duty cast body clamps, is capable of withstanding pressure spikes well beyond the recommended maximum 10 Bar pressure rating - conventional lower cost mix proof valves are vulnerable to uncontrolled pressure spikes within the process.

The valve is driven by an all-stainless steel spring-return linear actuator and is configured as standard to 'spring-to-close' - although it can easily be switched to 'spring-to-open' if required.

Completing the package here are the F784 Mastermind Plug-in automated valve interface device (AVID) and F783 Easymind AVID for Digital Hard Wired and BUS Control Interfaces as well as a selection of other valve types.

Both interface devices use globally recognized bus protocols and offer all of the features demanded by the brewing industry.

The orders were placed in January 2006 and after a series of staggered deliveries were completed by May.

Installation was performed at both sites by Cal Systems and by working closely with Tyco Valves and Controls the tight schedules required by InBev were met.

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