Tyco Flow Control’s Fasani plant near Milan, Italy has inaugurated a new test bench for large gate, globe and check valves. In the presence of a number of clients and an enthusiastic workforce, a hydraulic test was successfully performed at the end of February on a 72in gate valve purchased by Reliance for its Jamnagar project. The investment is part of a larger lean manufacturing project that has seen a major assembly line reorganisation and the provision of testing facilities dedicated to large size and high-pressure valves. The test bench facility was designed and built by Italcontrol. The investment enables the Fasani plant to test large sized valves in dramatically reduced time frames and its location in a specially constructed pit safeguards health and safety considerations. The bench can test valves with transition pipes with up to 4700mm face-to-face dimensions as well as gate, globe and check valves up to 60in ANSI 600, 30in ANSI 1500, and 24in ANSI 2500, with a reaction force of 3000tns.
