Valve World Americas Conference and Expo 2013

Our 2013 show is now over! Thank you to everyone who visited or exhibited at the expo, purchased a ticket for the conference or attended the Valves and Actuators 101 workshop last week.

It was exciting to finally get to meet those of you we’ve been chatting with both on the phone and online for months, and to see the show come together.

Make sure you’re following us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Valve World Americas news, and on Facebook for pictures of the show in a few days.

For those of you forward-thinkers, book your floor space for the 2015 Exhibition right away—it’s moving quickly. This year our waiting list was nearly as long as our list of exhibitors so don’t miss out!

The 2015 show will be even bigger and better than this year’s. Keep an eye on our Twitter feed, Facebook page and this blog page for updates as they come.

We’d love to hear your feedback. What did you like about this year’s conference and expo? (Workshops, networking, food?) What would you like to see at the 2015 show? (New topics?)

We’ll see you in Houston in two years!

Valve World Americas Conference & Expo - Day one

We’ve reached end of day one at the Valve World Americas Conference and Expo. This year we’re at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, Texas, and thankful that the building is air conditioned!

 

We must apologize for the long line-ups at the registration desk this morning and thank you for your patience; all of our delegates and exhibitors got to where they needed to be, whether it was in position at their company’s booth in the exhibit hall, walking the exhibition floor as a visitor or attending one of the workshops in the conference.

 

The delicious breakfast you all enjoyed was courtesy of one of our sponsors, Bray Controls. We’ll see you there again bright and early tomorrow when we start round two.

 

Our chairmen, Ron Merrick and Claire Dwyer from Fluor, gave an inspiring speech to welcome our conference delegates this morning. The workshops were well-attended and abuzz with thoughtful questions for the presenters. 

As we gear up for day two, remember to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for up-to-the-minute news, pictures and reminders for upcoming events. We're always happy to hear your feedback, so make sure you share your thoughts!

We'll see all of your smiling faces, new and familiar, tomorrow morning. 

Workshop: Valve Asset Management (Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 2:00pm)

Valve World Americas Expo & Conference 2013, Houston, Texas

Moderators:

Benny McCallum, Pentair

Sid Garrison, Pentair

Panelists:

Rajan Hingoray, AramcoServices

Sandro Esposito, GE

Daniel Baxter, Cameron

Description: There can be far more than the loss of mere dollars associated with valve failures, as any experienced plant manager knows. Valves affect all of a plant’s operations and so utilizing predictive techniques within an effective asset management program can optimize maintenance frequency and significantly reduce plant operating costs.

This workshop will discuss best practices and tools for asset management of valves used in various industries: power, oil and gas, chemical, food and beverage, etc.

Don’t miss out. Register now for the conference!

Workshop: Fit for Purpose (FtP) Valves (Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 10:30am)

Valve World Americas Expo & Conference 2013, Houston, Texas

Moderator:

John Gill, Bayer Business and Technology Services LLC

Panelists:

Ron Manson, Cameron, Crane

Rich DeBuck, KSB-Amri Inc.

Mark Fucich, FC Tech

Ron Merrick, Fluor Enterprises

Mirek Hubacek, Velan Valve Corporation

Description: Valve performance is dependent on both the mechanical design of the valve and the materials of the construction. Much design attention is often focuses on the primary pressure containing parts of the valve, but frequently the valve’s internally wetted parts are not given the attention they require.

This workshop will provide insight into the material selection for valve trim, including components such as stems, springs and pins. The goal of this session is to provide the end-user with an understanding of the material options and design considerations for service applications.

Don’t miss out. Register now for the conference!

Workshop: Fit for Purpose (FtP) Valves (Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 10:30am)

Valve World Americas Expo & Conference 2013, Houston, Texas

Moderator:

Henk Hinssen, iHandl Engineering

Panelists:

Andreas Vogt, FIRST GmbH

Richard Harvey, Norgren

Duke Tran, Mogas

Eric Fillion, Metso

Mike Dennis, Bifold

Ryohei Furuta, Kitz

Guang-Quan Li, ASCO US

Don Muske, Emerson

Description: Automated valves and control valves are key contributors to instrumentation unreliability and case of substantial money loss. This workshop is intended to bring the criteria together to discuss, debate and identify better ways to realize a proper “Fit for Purpose Valves” sizing and selection process. The workshop will discuss way to identify the “high performance” valves during the FEED stage and the fact that not only control valves but also solenoid and automated block valves need to be considered.

The workshop will focus on understanding valve flow behavior such as cavitation, flashing and choked flow as an essential criterion to size and select FtP and how having effective engineering tools that tell you, even during the FEED stage, that reliability is at stake, is a great asset.

Don’t miss out. Register now for the conference!

Valve World Americas Exhibition

Don’t forget: Entrance to the Valve World Americas Exhibition is FREE.

Stop by to visit all each of our exhibitors. They've been working hard to prepare their booths for you!

Wondering whom to expect? Click here to see the exhibition floor plan.

Leave a comment below to tell us what you're most excited to see at the exhibition or conference.

Workshop: Introduction to HIPPS (Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 10:30am)

Valve World Americas Expo & Conference 2013, Houston, Texas

Moderators:

Amaro Bustmante, Aramco Services

Pieter Kok, Pentair

Panelists:

Joe Pittman, Chevron

Ian Ramsay Connell, Yokogawa

Patrick Flanders, Aramco

Kevin Jackson, Mogas

Rens Wolters, Mokveld

Ed Wallis, BEL Valves

Description: Worldwide, we see a growing interest in the use of Safety Instrumented Systems. In the upstream and midstream section of the oil & gas industry, more often High Integrity Pressure Protection Systems are installed to protect the installations. 

What are the effects on the total installation and what is the impact HIPPS has on the total safety and the environment? Knowing and understanding the consequences of using a HIPPS should HIPPS become more used as overpressure protection in lieu of or in addition to conventional safety relief valves.

Don’t miss out. Register now for the conference!

Workshop: Effective Engineering Valve Tools (Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 10:30am)

Valve World Americas Expo & Conference 2013, Houston, Texas

Moderator:

Henk Hinssen, iHandl Engineering

Panel:

Colin Roderick, GE Energy

Andreas Vogt, FIRST GmbH

David Gibson, Aveva

Kevin Jackson, Mogas

Description: Control valves are key contributors to the instrumentation unreliability in our process plants and cause of substantial cost. Root cause analysis revealed that high performance valves are higher contributors to unreliability than “standard” valves and the dominant reason for this unreliability stems from a Less Than Adequate (LTA) sizing and selection process.

This workshop is intended to discuss and identify the “high performance” valves during the FEED stage, interface bi-directionally in batch mode to IDDS (instrumentation design & documentation system) tools, calculate the thermodynamic properties necessary to address valve flow phenomena like incipient and severe cavitation, flashing, choked flow, etc, and yield reliability indicators over the full valve working range.

Don’t miss out. Register now for the conference!

Valves and Actuators 101

A one-day education program designed to jump-start your career or provide a refresher on valve, actuator and control basics.

One day prior to the start of the Valve World Americas Expo & Conference 2013, join industry experts for a full day of instruction, lunch and snacks, plus a CD and a certificate!

What topics are covered?

- Introduction to the Industry: A brief overview of the valve industry, end-user applications, standards, basic piping information, pressure ratings and classes, as well as application issues critical to effective valve application and usage.

- Multi-turn Valves: The different types of gate and globe valves, along with stems, bonnets and other components.

- Check Valves: The unique qualities of check valves, how they work and why correct sizing is critical.

- Pressure-relief Valves: How these important valves do their job and why they play a critical role in plant safety, as well as important maintenance issues.

And much more! Find out more and register for the program NOW.

Workshop: Double Block & Bleed (Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 2:00pm)

Valve World Americas Expo & Conference 2013, Houston, Texas

Moderator:

Nitin Parekh, Chevrom

Panel:

Richard Hodgson, Bechtel

Ray Bojarczuk, ExxonMobil

Greg Johnson, United Valve

David Bayreuther, Metso

Description: The workshop will review the various definitions and intent in Federal Regulations for Double Block & Bleed and how these definitions compare with the definitions in the relevant piping and valve codes. The workshop will further cover the sealing characteristics and idiosyncrasies of the various valve types used in the industry to achieve those definitions of Double Block & Bleed, and the new terms of Double Isolation & Bleed and Double Positive Isolation.

Don’t miss out. Register now for the conference!

Workshop: Shale Gas/Update on Demystified Unconventional Energy Sources (Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 2:00pm)

Valve World Americas Expo & Conference 2013, Houston, Texas

Moderator:

David Leavitt, Pentair

Panel:

Jason Pitcher, Cameron

Andrew Lee, Chesterton

Greg Peterson, MRC

Description: This workshop will review API-20A Steel, Stainless Steel and Nickel Base Alloy Castings for Use in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Industry and how it compares to MSS SP-Quality Standard for Steel Castings Used in Standard Class Steels Valves – Sampling Method for Evaluating Casting Quality, with regard to casting quality, applicability and how those standards impact the manufacturer and the end user.

Register for the conference now!

Workshop: Casting Fitness for Service (Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 10:30am)

Valve World Americas Expo & Conference 2013, Houston, Texas

Moderator:

Rich Davis, Flexitallic

Panel:

Greg Johnston, United Valves (API-20A)

Nika Muckelroy, Chevron

Terry Blackard, ExxonMobil

Jim Pease, Newmans Valve

Alberto Rossi, Orion Valves

Description: This workshop will review API-20A Steel, Stainless Steel and Nickel Base Alloy Castings for Use in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Industry and how it compares to MSS SP-Quality Standard for Steel Castings Used in Standard Class Steels Valves – Sampling Method for Evaluating Casting Quality, with regard to casting quality, applicability and how those standards impact the manufacturer and the end user.

Get your conference ticket now!

End User Golf Tournament

We are pleased to announce that we are holding the first Valve World Americas Expo & Conference End User Golf Tournament and networking event.

The event will be held at the Wildcat Golf Club in Houston on June 27th, following the Valve World Americas Expo & Conference 2013.

Tickets are only available to End Users and EPCs registered for the Valve World Americas Conference, and will be available on a first come, first served basis.

Space is limited, so get your tickets now by contacting Josh Gillen at j.gillen@kciworld.com or call 416-361-7030.

Proudly sponsored by Cameron, Midland ACS, Ari-Armaturen and SCV.

Valve World Americas Expo & Conference 2013

Valve World Americas Expo & Conference 2013

George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas

June 25 and 26, 2013

If you have an interest in valves, you’ll want to come to Texas for the second Valve World Americas conference. Whether you are an end user, an engineering contractor or consultant, a distributor, a manufacturer or supplier, there will be something for you here. Especially if you’re an up-and-coming individual ready to solidify your career, this is the place for you.

How to get involved:

-         Visit the exhibition. Register now for free admission and find out who’s exhibiting by checking the floor plan. It is subject to change, so check back regularly.

-         Purchase a ticket for the conference. You’ll have access to two days of workshops led by experts in their fields, access to the expo and the reception, and breakfast and lunch both days.

-         Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We’ll be posting pictures and updates live from the conference.

-         Keep an eye on this page for updates as they happen. We’ll be posting more information on everything to do with this event.

Tell us what you’re most excited about. Is it one of the workshops? Visiting the exhibition floor to see the displays? The Chairman’s welcome on Tuesday morning? Or simply the networking opportunities?

Let us know!

We are back on track...

by Christian Borrmann

  

Wednesday night was the traditional conference dinner. Around 150 people were there in order to celebrate the success of the Valve World Asia Conference & Expo 2011. Sjef Roymans thanked the sponsors and the Steering Committee for their hard and dedicated work in order to make this event the success that it is. Further he called Chairman Jack Ling and Co-Chairman Tony Smart to the stage and handed them over a present as a token of appreciation.

So now, we are back in the conference rooms in order to follow the first sessions of the day, three keynotes by EPC contractors Fluor, Technip, and Sinopec. All three explained how they deal with the valve suppliers and manufacturers and what challenges they faced, how they solved them and also they shared their experiences.

After this 'early' morning session and the coffe break, the conference continued and they delegates split into three groups to attend the three sessions that were offered by the conference programme.

The first paper session was chaired by Tony Smart, Shell, and the topic of this was design and 5 valve export from all around the world presented their challenges and solutions regarding the design of valves. The second session dealt with the topic of LNG/Natural Gas and was chaired by Jack Ling, Guangdong Dapeng LNG. Presentations in this sessions came from experts from China, Italy and the Netherlands.

The third session was a workshop, moderated by Henk Hinssen and with the help of Stan Hale and Rens Wolters. They talked about the difficult topic of Partial Stroking. Here the focus was heavily on the end users' side as many of them face severe problems when it comes to partial stroking, while manufacturers tend to have more success stories then issues.

Following these 'late' morning sessions, the delegates headed back in to the expo hall for their lunch and after lunch the conference continued with another threepiece of sessions, dealing with the important industry topics Materials, Actuation/Automation, and another workshop dealing with predicting valve performance during the sizing and sealing phase.

And now back to the expo floor, so stay tuned.

Best wishes,

Christian

There and back again

Posted by Christian Borrmann

Heading back to the conference rooms after a walk around the expo floor and a lunch in the delegate lunch area, the conference delegates where they were in for two sessions: one session was dealing with Fugitive Emissions and the second one was a Masterclass.

The Masterclass dealt with the safe operation of valves and their maintenance in the daily practice. This course which focused on the heart of the valve was held by Mr Cor Bahnerth, who has more than 30 years experience in dealing with valves and has amongst others worked for Shell as their valve expert.

During his, well totally packed masterclass, Mr Bahnerth was able to explain the audience how the valves work and how to keep them functioning and running as wished.

Valve World Asia 2011 sponsor and valve manufacturer Neway was so kind and opened up some valves and gave them to Mr Bahnerth to enable him to provide the audience a deep look into the valve, where everything is happening.

The second session was dealing with Fugitve Emissions and how to avoid these. Obviously, this is a topic perfectly suited for  Barrie Kirkman and so it was quite quickly considered that he would accept to chair this session.

During this paper presentation session, a total of seven presenters shared their views on this topic and how standardization bodies, manufacturers and end-users covering various industry sectors – from oil over gas to nuclear. The presenters came in from all around the world, although the largest group was Western representatives: three presenters came from the US, one from Germany, one from Belgium, and two from China.

Similar to Mr Bahnerth's session, this sesssion was also packed and created a lot of discussions between the presenters and also with several questions coming from the audience.

And Barrie stayed busy as after this paper session he headed quickly back to the expo hall. At one corner of the delegate lunch area, there was this year's first session of the speakers corner. Barrie talked about his many years of experiences as valve expert at BP and the ones he made on his trips to China. As you can see on the pictures it was quite busy and people showed a lot of interest in hearing what he had to share with them.

After this last key event, the first day of Valve World Asia 2011 ended with the famous dinner and a nice party afterwards.

Stay tuned for more updates on the second and final day.

Best wishes,

Christian

Straight from the expo floor

Posted by Christian Borrmann

My god, all these people are waiting to get into the expo hall. Although the entrance this time was not free (only pre-registered people had free entrance) still the hall was filled with many people as you can see on the following pictures.

But not only there are more visitiors then last time, also more stands than two years ago are exhibiting their latest products and services – a total of 149 companies. Here, you can see a small selection of pretty impressive stands that you can see at this year's Valve World Asia Expo. Enjoy!

Stay tuned as we are now heading back into the conference rooms for two interesting seesions: Testing chaired by Mr Barrie Kirkman and the Masterclass held by Mr Cor Bahnerth.

Best wishes,

Christian

 

 

We are rolling...

Posted by Christian Borrmann

Following a very impressive Chinese traditional Lion Dance, the Vize-Mayor of Suzhou Government held a short opening speech where he welcomed everybody to this year's Valve World Asia Expo. This year's event is the first ever Valve World Asia to be supported by the government. His speech was followed by short speeches from Conference Chairman Mr Jack Ling, Valve World's Mr Sjef Roymans and Messe Düsseldorf's Mr Gerrit Nawracala. After these speeches they cut the limbo to officially open the event.

Once the official opening ceremony was over the audience split up into two groups: one group headed into the expo hall to visit the stands and explore the latest development and the other group made their way to the conference rooms, conveniently located just across the entrance of the expo hall.

Here, Mr Jack Ling opened the conference sessions and then passed the microphone on to his colleague Mr Junfeng Niu who talked about the maintenance of pipeline valves within his company Guangdong Dapeng LNG, China's first LNG company, located just North of Hong Kong.

Valve World Asia Co-Chairman Mr Tony Smart from Shell was next on the agenda and he talked about the importance of Valve Selection and Application and he used audio/video to support his highly interesting and informative presentation. The last presentation before the coffee break came from Mr Zhang Jie, who is from the Sinopec Nanjing Valve Procurement Center, and his keynote dealt with the company's experiences when it comes to purchasing valves and the challenges, problems, and solutions that goes with this.

Then the conference delegates headed back into the expo hall to enjoy their morning coffee and to take a stroll around the stands.

This is the first report from the conference rooms and now I will head back into the expo hall to bring you the latest information and news from there. Stay tuned...

Best wishes,

Christian

Ready, nearly set and almost ready to go

Posted by Christian Borrmann

A lot of preparations have been made over the past weeks, months and years to get the Valve World Conference & Expo Asia 2011.

Our Shanghai office put a lot of work into this and now that the people from the Zutphen office have arrived two days ago, it is all a GO!

As you can see on the pictures the workers in the hall make good progress to get everything ready. The stands are getting ready, the first exhibitors are also arriving to check what their booths look like and whether they need to make last minute adjustments.

Our Conference Secretary Yuzhong Shen and Conference Director Sjef Roymans are controlling the conference rooms in order to have everything prepared for tomorrows Kick-off.

In the meantime, while all these things are taking place, Valve World Staff is packing bags for delegates, exhibitors, and visitors. These bags include the latest issues of Valve World and Valve World Asia magazines but most importantly they contain the Valve World Conference & Expo Asia 2011 catalogue, so that everybody knows where they have to go once the event has started.

So, when all these things are done, what can you expect?
Well, tonight will be a Welcome Reception, for all delegates, exhibitors and visitors to get in the mood for the coming two days, an official Opening Ceremony starring, an official representative from the government of Suzhou, representatives from Valve World and Messe Düsseldorf and of course our Valve World Asia Conference Chairman Ling Yun, the well known, conference dinner and a closing ceremony featuring speeches from Valve World Asia Co-Chairman Tony Smart and Sjef Roymans, and of course you are in for the latest discussions regarding the hottest topics in the valve business – to be discussed in the conference – and the newest product developments – to be presented on the expo floor.

Stay tuned for more in the coming hours and days.

Best wishes,

Christian

DBB vs DIB

The range of technical papers that pass the desks here at Valve World is quite astounding.

Some cover the mechanical properties of valve bodies or internals; others look at the latest advances in communications technology and yet more provide case histories or look at innovative field trials.

All these papers are treated with the respect they deserve. After all, if a busy professional makes time to write an article, the least we can do is review it thoroughly. And find the best ways to present it, such as in the magazine, via the webshop, or even in one of the Valve World Conferences.

And, like Lady Justice, we treat each submission fairly, irrespective of the author's credentials.

That said, of course from time to time we will have personal favourites.

Recently, for example, Valve World magazine published a paper with a very intriguing headline: DBB vs DIB.

Sounds almost like a football game, doesn't it?

Actually, the author gives a good review of the differences between double block and bleed valves as compared to double isolation and bleed valves.

I am pleased to note that this paper is now availavble to all parties through the Valve World Webshop. Please click here for more info.