Flow Group Make waves

makes waves Leading valve manufacturers, the Sheffield-based Flow Group, is making waves with sponsorship of British and European Women’s Surf Kayak Champion, and world number two, Tamsin Green. The Group – a key player on the international stage with a sales turnover of $50million – has a knack for backing winners, and has given Tamsin its support as she prepares for the World Surf Kayak Championships in October. Flow Group Chief Executive Mark Ansell said: “Many of our Shipham valves are used to control seawater in the coastal and offshore oil and gas industry, as well as on naval submarines and ships. We also supply our range of Bestobell LNG cryogenic valves to LNG cargo ships, so our business is heavily focused on the sea and we know how tough it can be out on the water. So when Tamsin approached us to be her sponsors, as top performers in our field, we felt it was highly appropriate that we should help in her quest to reach the top of hers. Her ambitions to be world number one match ours and, as a successful team, we know the value of working in partnership. We wish Tamsin every success when she competes for gold this autumn.” Flow Group is a privately owned British valvemanufacturing group, recognised internationally for its engineering excellence. The Group – which has purpose built manufacturing facilities in Sheffield, Hull, and Newcastle and a distribution centre near Pittsburgh in the USA – has 50 years’ experience supplying the global energy industry. It now consists of five major specialist valve manufacturing brands – Shipham Valves, Conflow,Bestobell Valves, Bestobell LNG and John Mills Valves– each supplying its own niche global energy market. Tamsin Green said she was “delighted” to have won the backing of such prestigious sponsors. She said: “I’m really grateful to Flow Group for their support. It will be a big help in providing some of the logistics for my training programme and I hope I can justify their faith in me.” Tamsin has had a meteoric rise to the crest of her wave. She became British Women’s Surf Kayak Champion at her first attempt in West Donegal last September, and a month later took a silver medal in the World Surf Kayak Championships in Portugal. This was the first time the 32-year-old from Northumberland had competed in the event, which was only her second open competition. This year Tamsin has maintained her form, retaining her place as the world number two at the Santa Cruz Surf Festival in California, in March.

Published: 25th September 2009