KKI to tap into velocity control market in 2008

With a bulging order book 70 per cent ahead of budget for 2007/08, severe service valve design and manufacturing company Koso Kent Introl Ltd is going from strength to strength and has big plans for 2008.

It is three years since West Yorkshire based Kent Introl Ltd was acquired by Japan company Koso and renamed Koso Kent Introl Ltd (KKI), and major signs of development are now clear to see. KKI has just enjoyed one of its best ever years with orders expected to reach 70 per cent over budget for the financial year. This has been largely credited to the success of a major frame agreement contract with one of Europe’s leading gas and oil companies and focus on strategic markets.

A specialist in standard and severe service control valves and high technology surface choke valves, KKI became one of only a select few companies in 2007 to be the preferred supplier for the industry-leading European gas and oil company, and the contract is now reaping great rewards.

"These are very exciting times at KKI and at our parent company Koso, with major developments taking place within the company in a physical sense and also strategically," said KKI Managing Director Denis Westcott. "By December 2007 - the ninth month of the financial year - we were 65 per cent ahead of budget on orders, and by April we expect to be very close to 70 per cent ahead of schedule. Koso has confirmed it will expand its manufacturing plants in China and India, and construction work to treble the size of its operations in India started in mid-January."

KKI has set its sights on establishing itself in the ‘velocity control trim’ market with a tactical push to drive forward its VeCTor range now it is supplying the Koso product from its West Yorkshire base. Koso has over 30 years experience supplying the VeCTor Labyrinth Velocity Control Trim design and held the license to manufacture this type of technology for over 14 years. This was a cross licence agreement with a leading global severe service provider. The license expired some years ago and Koso was able to continue manufacture in the form of the VeCTor.

"One of the key areas we’ve highlighted for the immediate future is to target the velocity control trim market by making a concerted effort to promote Koso’s VeCTor range," added Westcott. "KKI is supplying Koso’s VeCTor D and M designs and financially it’s such a big market that we hope it will see us push the company on to the next level."

The VeCTor multi-stage trim provides accurate control and long-life, which is free from cavitation erosion, high vibrations and noise problems, whether the fluid is compressive or non-compressive. Its improved performance and durability make it cost-effective and simpler to use with ancillaries such as diffusers, baffle plates and silencers becoming redundant. The VeCTor trims are specifically designed to control the potentially destructive effects of high velocities experienced in some control valves, but unlike conventional designs, it ensures fluid velocity never exceeds the threshold that could damage critical valve components. It does this by limiting harmful velocities by separating the flow mass into smaller individual channels and staging the full pressure drops across multiple 90° turns in the fluid path.

The standard trim sizes range from 2" up to 14" and the number of turns from one to 24, although more are available through special designs. Long and short stroke options are also available and up to 40 turns have been supplied.

The flow after each turn increases by 7 per cent whether it be gas or liquid, which means that after 10 turns the flow area for turn one to turn 10 has doubled. This lets any solids entrained in the medium pass through.

Characterised disk stacks can be designed to handle the high velocities on low flow and start up conditions (0% to 50% open) and then the disk stack can be altered to have less number of turns on the 50% to 100% portion of the disk. This will accommodate increased flow requirements for end of field-life full flow requirements.

More information

Koso Kent Introl Ltd

Armytage Road, Brighouse,
West Yorkshire, HD6 1QF

www.kosokentintrol.co.uk

+44 (0)1484 710311

control.valves@kentintrol.com

Published: 25th September 2009