Saudi petrolvalves recently set up a 2,000 sq m local assembly and service facility in Dammam's Second Industrial Estate, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, to target the oil and petrochemical industries in the Kingdom and the Gulf, according to the company.

Formed in 1956 in Italy, Petrolvalves is a leading manufacturer of valves with yearly sales of $120 million, and production of more than 30,000 valves per year.

In addition to Saudi Arabia, Petrolvalves now has facilities in the United States, Mexico, Norway, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Algeria and Singapore.

Petrolvalves is one of Europe's leading companies in the valve industry, with more than 40 years' experience in the manufacture of gate, globe, through conduit, expanding gate and ball valves.

The company's strategy has always been focused on the development of custom or niche products designed according to customers' specific requirements. Petrolvalves' scope of custom production is focused in the following areas: refining, petrochemicals, power generation, offshore platforms and subsea, oil and gas transportation and drilling.

Areas of specialisation include hydrofluoric acid (alkylation), cryogenic (liquefied natural gas - LNG) and hydrogen processes.

Petrolvalves production starts from 1/2" and extends to 110" valves with pressure ratings of ANSI150 to 2500 and API 2000 to 20,000.

The company's range of production also includes the use of unique materials such as Super Duplex, Duplex, 6MO, Monel, Incoloy 825, Inconel and many other special alloys.

Clients include Saudi Aramco, Qatar Petroleum (QP), Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (Adco), Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), Shell, ExxonMobil, BP Amoco, TotalFinaElf, Italy's Agip, Statoil of Norway and PDVSA of Venezuela.

Saudi Petrolvalves will be able to supply full quotations for all valve packages and spare parts with direct on-line support from the Italian head office for all commercial, technical and quality assurance (QA) matters.

A team of technicians, fully trained at the Italian factory, will be based in the new plant with facilities for machining, refurbishment, assembly and testing of valves up to 48" in size. Total crane tonnage for the facility will be 25 tonnes, according to the company.

A stockholding of spares, semi-finished and finished products will be built up throughout the year.

Petrolvalves has been supplying valves in Saudi Arabia for more than 25 years (most recently at the Hawiyah and Haradh projects for Saudi Aramco).

The company has now decided to further consolidate its commitment to the Middle East region by creating a local joint venture and by investing in a comprehensive production facility.

It is the intention of the local joint venture to provide technical support and service on an immediate basis, according to Saudi Petrolvalves.