EXHIBITIONS The specialists amongst the valves Valve World Expo 2016: Trend towards stainless steel valves for all things hygienic S
tainless steel valves always stand in the limelight, thanks to resisting the horrific
temptation of corrosion. They allow for perfect hygiene. As such, they are used often enough by the food and pharmaceutical industries. Such rustproof valves offer a happy ending for manufacturers and dealers. Stainless steel valves have been
an impressive success story in the last few years. “Current demand is very good. A lot is being invested worldwide in plant engineering for the pharmaceutical industry,” states Marco Becker, head of distribution marketing, Gemü. A development which has come to stay. “Thanks to ‚global health trends‘, a growing world population and industrialisation in emerging markets the trend will remain positive for the time being,” even though the sector can’t disconnect itself entirely from the global economy, adds Becker.
Requirements are increasing Mankenberg also shares this view of the situation. “The trend in the last decades continues to be increasingly towards stainless steel,” the company declares. Demand for the material is rising in many sectors. Reasons are “higher standards also abroad and rising quality and purity requirements for plants,” reports Heiko Bischoff, export manager, Mankenberg. Compared directly to steel, stainless steel offers far different qualities in terms of corrosion resistance, purity and longevity. Mankenberg has even made stainless steel valves its company standard – its share of production is around 75 percent, and still rising. Gemü also has such praise for valves made from the material. In the pharmaceutical, food and
36 IMT September 2016
biotech industries “the focus is on sterility, aseptic handling and safety,” explains head of distribution marketing, Becker. The surfaces of stainless steel valves can be processed very well, making it possible to produce a precisely defined surface. This allows “a stainless steel valve or tubing made from stainless steel to be cleaned and sterilised very easily”.
Corrosion resistance Stainless steels become corrosion resistant thanks to the formation of a passive coating on the surface. Such a metal oxide or metal oxide hydrate coating has a high chrome content, and prevents the steel from coming into direct contact with aggressive media. Should the coating itself be damaged, a new one forms itself most of the time – the material is self-healing, so to speak. In order to make sure this is the case, stainless steels have a
chrome content of at least twelve percent and a carbon content of no more than 0.12 percent. Adding molybdenum, for instance, again increases resistance. Stainless steels are not only corrosion resistant and hygienic, but also wear-resistant, low- maintenance, long-lived, durable, weldable and temperature- resistant. For the pharmaceutical and beverages industry stainless steel V2A with the material numbers 1.4301 and 1.4305 is used. The rustproof steel 1.4301 – also called AISI 304 – is a chrome-nickel steel approved for a permissible temperature stress of up to 600°C. One of its properties also is its polishability.
Pharmaceuticals on course for growth These are properties the valve sector can exploit. They are especially in demand by the
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pharmaceutical industry, which has been growing for years. Global turnover of pharmaceuticals in 2014 was 864.4 billion euro, states the German Pharmaceutical Industry Association (BPI), a growth of 6.4 percent year over year. Latin America is the strongest growth market with a rise of 17 percent, followed by North America with growth of 12 percent. Asia, Africa and Australasia trail behind, with an increase of six percent. Based on absolute sales, North America is the largest market with a turnover of 322.5 billion euro, while Asia, Africa and Australasia are second place with 246.8 billion euro. Europe comes in third, contributing 213.8 billion euro. As such “more than 70 percent of total sales in the global pharmaceuticals market is achieved in North America, Europe and Japan,” declares the BPI. The BRICS states Brazil, Russia,
Source: Diebels
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