Leeds Valve joins the Flow Group

Leeds Valve, the Leeds-based manufacturer of butterfly valves, has been acquired from its founding shareholders, Steven and Gordon Heap, by the Sheffield-based Flow Group Ltd, suppliers of specialist valve solutions to the global energy industry.

Leeds Valve, established 18 years ago, has an excellent reputation for supplying butterfly valve solutions for niche applications in many diverse industries including oil and gas, LNG, power generation, industrial gas and naval marine, in materials from carbon steel to aluminium bronze, stainless steels and titanium. Steven Heap, who will continue with the business as Sales and Marketing Director, comments: "This is a great opportunity to accelerate the growth of the Leeds Valve business. Over the last 18 years, we have gradually developed a well-respected butterfly valve range and we already have a loyal international customer base. Now, with Flow Group’s manufacturing skills, financial strength and excellent international network of distributors and agents supporting us, we can offer our products to a wider market with confidence."

John Wall, Managing Director of the Flow Group, who will also take on the role as Managing Director of the Leeds Valve business, adds: "For several years we have been looking to acquire an appropriate butterfly valve business to compliment our current product ranges. Leeds Valve and our existing businesses supply many of the same markets and so there is an excellent fit. We have already started the process of establishing our fundamental business principal - only make realistic commitments, and then exceed them - to the management of the Leeds Valve business, so that customers and suppliers will soon enjoy the level of performance that they expect from Flow."

The Group already has some well-known market leading valve businesses - Shipham Valves, based in Hull, supplies non ferrous and high alloy valve solutions for handling seawater and other severe fluids to the offshore and petrochemical industries; Bestobell Valves makes cryogenic valves for the industrial gas and downstream LNG industries, Bestobell LNG makes fire-safe cryogenic valves for the upstream LNG industry and Conflow is the world’s leading supplier of water control and monitoring equipment for the underground coal mining industry, all three based in Sheffield; John Mills Valves, based in Newcastle, supplies bronze and aluminium bronze valves to valve houses and OEM’s. Flow also has its own distribution business in the USA, based near Pittsburgh, through which the Conflow and Bestobell products are supplied to the North American market.

Over the last three years, Flow Group sales have been growing at a compound annual rate of 30% to $60M in 2007, with exports outside the UK accounting for a staggering 85% of sales. This acquisition should help to continue this impressive performance.

For more information on Leeds Valve and the Flow Group visit www.leedsvalve.co.uk and www.flowgroup.co.uk respectively.

Flow Group Ltd, Tel: +44 (0) 114 224 0209

Published: 25th September 2009