OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves originated from the merger of two German companies – OHL and Gutermuth – in 1992. While OHL was established in 1867 in Limburg, Gutermuth was formed in Frankfurt in 1923. Together, both the companies can look back on a tradition spanning a century in the development and production of valves for industrial applications.
Since 1992, when OHL and Gutermuth merged and formed OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves, the company is headquartered in the city of Altenstadt, to the North-East of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The new company continues to successfully produce tailor-made valves for specific industrial applications under the motto ‘Made in Germany’.
Tailor-made solutions
Decades of experience in the development and manufacture of industrial valves offer the customers of OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves the certainty that they receive a product which is specifically tailored and manufactured to their requirements. “Providing individual advice and consultation to our customers right from the start is at the centre of our efforts,” commented Wolfgang Röhrig, managing partner, OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves. Any manufacturing activity at the company starts with the customer’s request for a solution to a specific requirement or problem.
OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves offers a broad range of products. Valves with nominal diameters of up to DN 4000, withstanding pressures of 200 bar and more, as well as temperatures ranging from -196°C to +1,300°C are manufactured by the company. Shut-off valves, butterfly control valves, customised valves and accessories are also in the range of the company’s products.
Industry certifications
OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves has many satisfied customers around the world. The company possess the confirmation of the high quality of their work through certifications from various standardisation bodies. “A convincing technology and the highest possible quality are the important elements, which enable us to fulfil the demands on quality management in accordance with ISO 9001 as well as ISO 14001 and the requirements of the Pressure Equipment Directive 97/23/EC Module H, as certified by the German TÜV,” explained Röhrig.
In addition, all products are certified under the Russian GOST and RTN standards and are officially licensed for use by Gazprom and other market leaders. In order to obtain the best possible quality, OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves makes above-average investments regularly in quality assurance. The certifications enable the company to manufacture and test most of the products in the manufacturing programme in the company’s sole responsibility. While supplying to the petrochemical industry, the company has products, which have received the Fire Safe Certificate in accordance with API 6FA and BS6755. The result is an increase of safety and security as well as economic efficiency.
Wide industrial applications
The valves for shut-off and modulating service manufactured at the OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves in Altenstadt are trusted by the oil and gas, chemicals and petrochemicals, and solar power industries. These valves are also used in the flue-gas treatment, refinery gas desulphurisation, metallurgical, and coke oven plants.
Other uses are in cryogenic engineering, ship building, post-combustion units, and plant engineering and construction. Power stations and incineration plants use the shut-off valves manufactured by OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves. The valves offered by the company find usage also in industrial furnace construction and exhaust technology.
For an example, KX Safeflex – the metal-seated butterfly valves with triple eccentric design for shut-off and modulating service from OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves – combines properties, functions and a variety of uses, which are particularly cost-effective. KX Safeflex valves offer the highest standards of operational reliability and safety as well as longevity under high pressures, temperatures and dynamic strains. Leak tightness from ‘very hot’ to ‘very cold’ is absolutely warranted by these valves.
The seal ring from OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves is a massive, rotation-symmetric seal made from stainless steel. A frictionless release of the metallic seal by immediate lifting from its seating guarantees maximum operational reliability, safety and longevity.
In the early 1970s, two companies – SNEA in France and Lurgi in Germany – developed a new process for flue gas desulphurisation called ‘Sulfreen’ process. The ‘Sulfreen’ process was tested for the first time in the Lacq region in France. The reactor valves had to be robust and metal seated and equipped with a heating jacket in order to be able to heat or cool the processes. An additional requirement was bubble-tight shutoff. OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves developed the valves for the prototype plant to these specifications. This successful start lead to the introduction of the world-famous CAM, CCM and CDM valves, which are now available in sizes ranging from 1” to 80”.
Aiming continuous optimisation
OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves expanded facilities at their headquarters in the Hessian city of Altenstadt in the due course up to a size of more than 20,000 square metres, including different office buildings, machine shops, storage area, and mounting and testing facilities, with a crane capacity of 30 tons and pressure testing facilities. Ninety five employees are working in this facility.
For the last 10 years, the company has operated a sales office in Beijing, China, which generates about one-third of the company’s total sales. Another company was formed in Moscow, Russia, with a group of well-trained sales and service engineers. “In the past 40 years, we have supplied customised valves for more than 130 tail gas treatment plants, among them the largest in the world, in Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, India, China, and in the Middle East as well as in the North and South America,” observed Röhrig.
The continuous developments taking place in OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves are based on the experience the company has gained from the reference plants located all over the world. “The final products are subjected to permanent stress tests, reviewed and developed further on the basis of the latest findings,” revealed Röhrig.
OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves is consistently pursuing the aims of continuous optimisation of its performance and adaptation to the latest technological innovations. The exciting orders, which the company receive, show the future path of the company. “In the current year, we have been manufacturing valves with a unit weight of up to 15 tons. Moreover, the services of OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves are in demand for the world’s largest solar power stations,” added Röhrig.
It is interesting to note that German frigates have been equipped with the titanium exhaust gas valves from OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves and the valve specialist is providing equipment to a project for the French Navy. The company also manufactures the specialised valves for several private mega-yacht projects. Oil barons from Russia and billionaires from the Arabian Gulf trust in the know-how and expertise of the company for the valves in their yachts.
