TPi July 2016

business & market news

AHC’s new plant in China Dutch industrial company Aalberts Industries has operated a plant for surface treatment of components near Shanghai, China, for around two years, under the name Hangzhou AHC Surface Treatment Technology Co, Ltd. Since 1 January 2016, this plant has been officially integrated into the AHC Group, which is itself part of Aalberts Industries NV. The AHC Group, with its headquarters in Germany, focuses on providing technically functional coatings of surfaces as a service. AHC Hangzhou can draw on over 50 years of coating experience within the AHC Group. The AHC group finishes around one billion components annually for thousands of customers in all key industries. Overall, more than 40 processes and more than 100 process variations are used, in more than 20 plants for close proximity to customers. At the Hangzhou plant, the concept of sustainable environmental protection and energy efficiency meets stringent Chinese requirements. Reproducible and robust processes are necessary in order to be able to control the high differentiation of finishing of customer components. For this reason, AHC’s process experience was used in the design of the coating systems and the wastewater technology.

AHC supplies surface coatings for mechanical engineering, and for large system suppliers to the automotive industry. Fuel pump casings, impellers for turbocharg- ers and control pistons for automatic transmis- sions, all made from aluminium alloys, are protected against wear and corrosion. The team at AHC Hangzhou provides different processes of anodisation and hard anodisation, as well as electroless nickel plating

Durni-Coat process electroless nickel coated ball valves

of aluminium components. In addition, non-ferrous metals and ferrous materials, including stainless steels, are treated with diverse electroless nickel processes. Components of up to 1,000kg and with dimensions up to 3,000mm length x 600mm width x 1,200mm height are treated in the anodising line. Processes are hard anodising Hart- Coat ® , Hart Coat GLATT (HC-GL), and technical anodising, in each case with the possibility of black colouring and repressing. Components suitable for the electroless nickel plant have

a maximum weight of 1,500kg and maximum dimensions of 1,100mm x 600mm x 1,500mm. In addition to the Durni-Coat ® process, a variant with incorporated PTFE (PTFE Durni- Disp) is offered. This is a dry lubricant layer having good adhesive wear properties.

Hangzhou AHC Surface Treatment Technology Co, Ltd – China

info@ahc-china.com www.ahc-china.com

AHC Oberflächentechnik GmbH – Germany www.ahc-surface.com

Celebrating 40 years of manufacturing Valen Fittings Ltd is a manufacturing company operating in the UK, offering products to the oil, gas, petrochemical, nuclear and related industries. high quality products, all made from European materials.

aluminium, and offers both standard and fast-track delivery options, allowing it to supply against time-restricted contracts. A range of testing is available, and the company has an independent UKAS-approved testing laboratory and independent radiography unit on site.

Valen Fittings produces large-diameter welded fittings, bespoke lengths of pipe to suit order-specific requirements and special fabrications. It has a manufacturing capability of 6" NB to 40" NB and a thickness range of 5 to 35mm. The company uses materials that include stainless steel, super austenitic, duplex, super duplex, nickel alloys and

This is the company’s 40 th year of manufacturing products to suit the individual needs of its customers. With ongoing investment in new techniques and machinery, and a skilled workforce, the company states that it has built a reputation for producing

Valen Fittings Ltd – UK sales@valenfittings.co.uk www.valenfittings.co.uk

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July 2016 Tube Products International