Hobbs Valve: Founded on Innovation, built through service

Hobbs Valve was founded on an innovation. Just eight years ago when the company was formed in Caerphilly by six share holders, it was on the principle that the design for butterfly valves in high pressure applications could be significantly improved. Today, the Hobbs’ triple offset butterfly valve is synonymous with high performance and has been well received by contractors in the oil and gas industry. Valve User met with Hobbs’ Managing Director Rhys Jones, who explained that by placing a lot of emphasis on the product and the customer alike, Hobbs Valve has gone from strength to strength.

“The first 12 months of Hobbs Valve’s existence was spent on research and development, which shows that when we say we put our product first, we mean it” says Mr Jones, who was one of the founding share holders of the company and the original Sales Director.

“A passion to produce the best possible product”

“We had, and still have, a passion to produce the best possible product. We discovered that the best way to find a company that was willing to take the business risk on making significant changes to an established successful valve, was to form our own company.” The business’ policy of exceeding industry expectations led to Hobbs Valve becoming the first manufacturer to deliver a fire safe Triple Offset Butterfly Valve in line with BS EN ISO 10497:2004 and API Std 607:2005 5th Edition in 2006. This now sits with Hobbs’ other certified standards in Fugitive Emissions, Cryogenic and Fire Safe in Titanium, Non-Graphite and Nickel Aluminium Bronze.

“Driven by customer satisfaction”

An excellent product, no matter how good, does not guarantee a successful business. However Hobbs Valve is thriving and in 2013 has moved to a new facility with 25,000 ft2 of floor space and a production capacity of $20 million per year; over twice the size of their previous facility. Mr Jones believes that service levels are equally as important as the quality of the product, and this attitude has been integral to Hobbs’ success: “We are driven by customer satisfaction; in fact in the eight years we’ve been in business, we have never lost a customer through disatisfaction.”

Hobbs Valve’s growth has been nurtured through building relationships with their customers, the sales team operate an ‘innovate and educate’ policy as part of a robust customer excellence programme, whereby they ensure that customers understand why the product is effective, therefore eliminating any practical problems in application. The metrics used by the management team to measure success are based on customer satisfaction, to ensure the customer is always in their thoughts, no matter what aspect of business they are focusing on.

“Just the Beginning”

While Hobbs Valve is a success story, success based on the product and the customer, Rhys Jones feels that this is still “just the beginning” for the company. One thing that is for certain, the company is not standing still. This year has not only seen it move to new premises, but also purchase the assets of a precision engineering company. The move has seen Hobbs move their machining requirements ‘in-house’ giving them greater certainty on quality standards. Essentially it is another development made with product quality and customer satisfaction in mind.

What next for Hobbs Valve? The brand is capturing the attention of several major end users. It has been fast tracked onto Approved Manufacturer Lists for the likes of Conoco Phillips and Saudi Aramco. The Company is also now in talks with certain end users seeking Frame Agreements for exclusive supply. Alongside these developments the Caerphilly based engineering department is embarking on a three year research and development programme to enhance the product offering further by expanding the range; another step towards the ambition of their product becoming “The Triple Offset Butterfly Valve of choice.” Like everything else at Hobbs, the ambitions are centred on the product and the customer.

Hobbs Valve
Tel: +44 (0) 29 2086 1099
www.hobbsvalve.com

Published: 16th October 2013