Case Studies

One element of operations that refineries must assure is handled is the purchasing and storage of all the parts necessary to allow the plants to run efficiently. Learn how Valin’s Inventory Management Services Program did just this for one major refinery.

A large medical device manufacturer in Southern California was faced with a dilemma. A machine they relied on to manufacture most of a particular product was soon to be obsolete. Valin was able to provide them with a solution that saved them hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

Accurate flow measurement and control of slurry dispense in semiconductor polishing and lapping tools is critical. Malema’s PFA Coriolis Mass Flow Meter and Flow Controller is the only flow measuring technology that is successfully used in such high viscosity applications.

Precision Sensors' Echoline Smart Sensor with auto diagnostic provides Semi Fabs with UL991 and S2 compliance and provides stability with no need for regular inspections.

Valin helped NXP Semiconductors reduce their wafer scrap costs with its Endura Pneumatic Manifold Retrofit Kits. See how it was done and how much they saved.

In the packaging industry, it is extremely important that product containers accurately represent what is inside, as mislabeled packaging creates serious liabilities across a number of industries. Learn more.

A highly corrosive and toxic chemical with strong disinfecting properties, Sodium Hypochlorite plays an ever increasing role in many industries. However, its corrosive nature and tendency to release tiny gas bubbles that can permeate non-metallic pumps poses a challenge to conventional pumping.

A manufacturer of precision metering mix, dispensing and spray systems was looking for a more efficient way to handle upgrading and troubleshooting their systems at individual customer locations. They were looking for a solution to connect the systems to HMI's and PLC's remotely. Learn more.

With Mott Precision High Purity Flow Restrictors you can reduce the flow of a catastrophic gas leak in minutes, not hours, meet SEMI S2 and SEMI S6 Guidelines, and reduce air vent requirements to save millions on your vent system construction.

A large utility company had a series of dams which controlled the flow of water into the local area. These dams were deemed as a critical infrastructure by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The spillways are controlled by large butterfly valves which are actuated utilizing hydraulics.

The wastewater treatment equipment market was worth over $35 billion in 2015, and is expected to reach more than $55 billion by 2023. Increasing demands for water, alongside a trend in recycling and reusing this precious resource, are two reasons for the growth. Learn more.

Several years ago, a major U.S. pharmaceutical plant suffered the loss of a full batch of an expensive drug because of contamination caused by a diaphragm seal failure. This failure on a measuring instrument led to a time-consuming, costly shutdown and quarantine of the product line. Learn more.

For a leader in industrial flow equipment and services, one specific application was causing significant difficulties for their end user. By working with WIKA's experts in quality instrumentation on a pressure sensor solution, the customer overcame their systematic field problem with great success.

In geothermal plants, transforming the earth's heat into electricity imposes challenging conditions on pressure measurement equipment. WIKA's pressure monitoring instruments and diaphragm seals can withstand harsh environments, as shown in a recent installation in Southeast Asia. Learn more.

A maintenance manager at one of the largest petroleum refiners in the U.S. noticed that many of their duct heaters were failing. Each location has hundreds of industrial duct heaters that provide forced flow heat convection. It had become the #1 maintenance issue at this location. Learn more.

Chlorine dioxide is a powerful oxidant used in pre-treatment of drinking water for reduced trihalomethanes, as an oxidizing agent for contaminated water, as a sanitizer in vegetable and fruit washing, as a biocide in cooling towers and its largest market the bleaching of pulp for paper. Learn more.

A high-purity silicon material manufacturer was looking for a solution to ensure a positive shutoff of gas flows. The company produces 500 tons of high-purity silane gas, 1,000 tons of electronic grade polysilicon, and 18,000 tons of granular polysilicon annually.

To comply with the Clean Air Act, a coal-fired power plant needed to heat flue gas to 455°C (850°F). Watlow engineered a customized design that would meet the customer's needs.

Unlike traditional proportional or even PID control that require a varying output to a modulating control device, time-proportional control can achieve a proportional control response to process variation using an on/off device by varying on and off times in a defined control period.

A local power plant was having issue with clogged nozzles. The nozzles that spray the ammonia to neutralize the NOx began to clog forcing the customer to take the units off line. Valin designed and assembled a turnkey filtration system that consisted of 10 filtration assemblies. Learn more.

An oil production company was having problems with the freshwater flow lines freezing up in the vertical sections that go through the permafrost layer. All of the frozen lines stemmed from the self-regulating heat trace cable they were using which kept burning out. Learn more.

A large semiconductor chip manufacturer approached our customer with a unique challenge and opportunity in cooling the highly concentrated acids and caustic chemicals used in production. Learn about the solution that helped increase the chip manufacturer's throughput and the safety of their staff.

A supplier of ultra-pure fluid heating systems was looking to diversify their product portfolio to offer a new solution to the food and beverage industry. Their challenge was to develop a microbiology media preparation system for food manufacturing QA/QC labs to use in conducting pathogens testing.

Valin bid on large specialized dampers for flue gas with a leading engineering and equipment firm. The Valin team assured them that Valin was capable of supplying non-standard complex damper assemblies and would use the customer specified actuators with Valin specified controls & accessories.

A leading supplier of semiconductor-based solutions was looking for ways to improve the efficiency of routine maintenance change outs for their clean room tools. They were searching for something that would allow the technicians to be more efficient and organized while working in the clean room.

A leading manufacturer of semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment was in need of a filter manifold (skid) for their new N2 on-site generation unit. The company develops innovative solutions that help their customers build smaller, faster, more powerful, and more power-efficient electronic devices.

Valin provided a solution allowing a manufacturer to reliably test new generation valves at 1550°F securing the proper approvals required by their customer. The end-customer was pleased with this solution, yielding 35% more fuel efficiency.

A refinery was injecting a catalyst into their process stream to strip out the propane-impregnated HF gas (mixed gas is a by-product of the FCC process), but the catalyst would only work at temperatures above 385°F. Valin's process team analyzed the situation and made recommendations. Learn more.

A large energy company needed to lower costs, reduce maintenance and provide more reliable hydrogen-cooled generators for their customers. In order to monitor seal oil pressure remotely, provide switch control and be able to instantly view pressure readings, three discrete instruments were needed.

A global leader in advanced composites technology was looking for a way to automation one of their processes. Part of their process includes coating the fiber they create with a resin. The company was starting to wonder if there was a way they could automate such a process. Learn more.

A semiconductor company was given a large government contract to manufacture a special chip for a night vision application. Learn how they were able to increase wafer production by using a custom heating blanket.

A medical device manufacturer wanted to upgrade a legacy water circulation system for an MRI machine that they build and sell. After reviewing the system, Valin's automation engineers recommended using a microcontroller with an Ethernet HMI touchscreen display, and a single power supply. Learn more.

A Valin refinery customer planned a maintenance outage and had an urgent need for two critical valve replacements. Valin's technical specialists worked with their top valve supplier to provide a solution to meet the high-pressure requirements and critical delivery needs.

A company in the spaceflight industry purchased a filament winding machine and was trying to manufacture composite pressure vessels that had a compound curvature. The solution they found was to create an additional axis that could be rotated in such a way that the material would no longer fold over.

A manufacturer of natural gas-fired steam generators contacted Valin regarding a problem they were having with contamination. Valin delivered a new filtration solution that provided a higher confidence in the purity of their gas, and reduced the number of filter cartridge kits that they will need.

Valin's solution to this high temperature application allowed our customer to do the proper testing on the valves used on major aircraft engines. This overall technology will allow improvements of 40% in fuel efficiencies of the next generation aircraft engines.

Valin was approached by a company that purchases natural gas direct from the pipeline, processes it and transports it to CNG filling stations throughout California. They wanted a portable metering system which would allow them to confirm the mass quantities and chemical composition of natural gas.

By adapting serial-based controllers to Ethernet-based networks, customers can lay the hardware groundwork required to take advantage of the Industrial-Internet-of-Things (IIoT) software concepts, allowing quicker response times and proactive maintenance strategies with predictive maintenance

Occasionally customers want to collect information outside of their SCADA systems due to complexity, processing power, or in this case, limited memory being available.  By using simple tools, many tasks can be performed outside of an existing network or supervisory system.

By changing inefficient pneumatic and hydraulic systems to electric ones, companies can be more productive, flexible, and efficient in their production.

Omron's NJ501-1340 CPU unit integrates both machine control and communication functionality, meaning the NJ controller can be directly connected with the existing host to establish SECS/GEM communications, eliminating the need of a separate computer or special communications unit. Learn more.

An Industry 4.0 Workstation is a semi-automated workstation that provides a link between the real world and the virtual world. It is a versatile solution that enables a highly efficient use of resources, great planning, reliability and short throughput times. Learn more.

By putting sensors on a network, their information can be transmitted to any location the information is needed. With this connection in place, software functionality can then be implemented at the supervisory level to decide what to do with that information. Learn more.

Motorizing the feed process increased production, and significantly lowered electricity and labor costs.

By using higher performing electric actuators from the motion control industry to control valves in the process industries, customers can achieve higher performance and better control for their processes.

Valin assisted a customer in upgrading their winding machine to replace a manually controlled axis with a motorized one, allowing them better controlled motion synchronized to one of the existing axes.

Applying a liquid solution to a copper twisting machine – CT-Effects Application Example

An aerospace manufacturer contacted Valin regarding a filtration issue they were having in the production of their aircraft brakes. Due to the hazardous material the filter is capturing, the filter is required to be disposed of by an approved hazardous waste facility. The expense was considerable.

A hydrogen production plant was having to replace gauges every 30 days and needed a better solution. Valin's technical specialists recommended an all-welded system gauge and installed it. The special gauge can be used in many applications where vibration and temperature are a challenge. Lean more.

Accidents such as the Deepwater Horizon, Macondo Prospect, well blowout and explosion that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, and the gas leak in the Elgin Field in the North Sea in 2012, are causing the industry to rethink its approach to pressure monitoring during drilling and production.

A customer that designs cost-effective chemical dispense system contacted Valin for automation assistance. Valin's application engineering and sales team showed the engineers at the company how we could save them money and speed up their delivery time. Lean more.

A major refinery was looking for a way to control the distribution and handling of instrumentation products during a dual turnaround. Valin's material handling solution took the burden off the refinery's planners and freed up their time to work on more important tasks. Learn more.

A semiconductor manufacturer of wafer handling machines and wet benches was looking for a way to reduce the engineering hours spent on writing code. Semiconductor companies are commonly required by their customers to be SECS/GEM compliant and this can be a laborious and costly task.

Valin's technical team was approached by a company that manufactures ammunition for sporting enthusiasts and law enforcement. The customer has an in-house integration group that designs and builds machines for use throughout their facility. Learn more about compact valve manifolds with Ethernet/IP.

Valin worked with a refinery that was processing approximately 145,000 barrels (5.7 million gallons) of crude oil per day. The refinery has a 2 Column Jet Fuel Clay Treater that came online in 1960 with a treat rate of 750 GPM. This technology is very inefficient and outdated. Learn more.

A global automotive components company was having issues with their vertically integrated equipment used to manufacture seating and interior systems. We assured the auto manufacturer that we had a technical specialist and an application engineer on-site to troubleshoot the issue. Learn more.

While reviewing accounts, one of Valin's regional sales managers noticed that a refinery customer had been consistently increasing purchases of filters and housing units for a reactor feed. In speaking with the engineers, he found out about a major issue they were having with filters. Learn more.

A leading provider of flat panel display production equipment was looking for assistance with their glass screen production alignment system. During processing the glass must be aligned with a mask. Their alignment target was around 10 microns, so the two parts had to be nearly perfectly aligned.

An American car manufacturer was looking to expand their entire production facility, and in order to meet the growing demand for their vehicles, they needed a factory upgrade to increase their manufacturing capacity.

During an observation at a refinery, chemists noticed the sample cylinders currently installed at their facility did not have the latest features specified by the Department of Transportation (DOT) / Cal-OSHA regulations. Valin assessed the issue and made recommendations. Learn more.

A developer and manufacturer of molded-fiber packaging was struggling with controlling the consistency of the pulp feed stock in their manufacturing process. They tried numerous solutions with little to no success. This was due in large part to the fact that they were forced to use numerous vendors.

There are 27 mines located in a geographically isolated area using fittings and tubing provided by Valin. Valin looked at the areas local resources to see if we could partner up with a local vendor that is currently in the mines and can present Valin products to the mines. Learn more.

When assessing the filtration needs at a major refinery, one of Valin’s technical specialists discovered that there was no standardization in regard to the filters used in the safety showers and eyewash stations.

A large mining operation in Nevada had 33 emergency shower stations that were in need of freeze protection.

A major refinery in the Northwest (with a production capacity of 225,000+ barrels per day) “Fast Tracked” a project to capitalize on receiving Crude Oil supplies via Rail Car from the Oil Boom region in the Dakotas.

A local electrical contractor needed to provide a complete integrated solution for gutter and downspout de-icing for a large data center in the cold wintery conditions of Quincy, Washington.

Valin had an opportunity to work on an application to heat-trace various process lines for temperature maintenance and freeze protection at an oil processing plant in Stockton, California.

Valin provides assistance to plastic resin and synthetic fiber manufacturer with integrated valve solution.

A medical equipment manufacturer in Concord, CA was developing a 3D X-ray microscope and used liquid nitrogen to preserve their samples for solid imaging.

Crisis Averted at a Large Copper & Nickel Mining Company in Tucson, AZ.

A large electronic test & measurement instruments manufacturing company was using a legacy production tool for “Mesh Cutting” gold for electrical circuit connections that was developed over 20 years ago.

Valin® Solves Multiple Problems for Major Communications Testing Equipment Manufacturer.

A Major Refinery in Washington Realizes a 20% Savings on their Maintenance Labor Thanks to Valin.

Valin® Becomes the “Go-To” Source for Major Chemical Processing Company in Utah.

A major refinery in California turned to Valin to help them solve a problem with their sample cylinders. This customer has many sample cylinders that are used to transport a process sample from a refinery unit to the lab to test for recipe accuracy. They are using cylinders from multiple suppliers.

Over the last few years a leading manufacturer of waste (linen/trash) disposal systems have relied on a well-known brand PLC and their HMI software as the backbone of their controls systems.

Because coal is dusty, it is common for mining and power plants to minimize the dust by spraying down the coal with a water-based chemical solution. In the colder months of the year, however, this solution causes the coal to freeze together in clumps and stick to the cold walls of the coal chute.

To meet growing demand for distillates and to also meet environmental and regulatory compliance, a large refinery in the Northwest began construction of a new Ultra low Sulphur Diesel Unit.

A large steel company had an existing Cisco industrial wireless mesh-network they were using to connect information from their cranes back to their offices, but had constant communication failures.

A customer called the Utah office to obtain pricing for 3,700 ft. of self-regulating cable. They asked for a rush delivery, and said some of the heat traced lines had to be operational within 2 weeks.

The demand for molybdenum is increasing among the petroleum refining, electronics and aerospace industries and a large mining operation recently enlisted Valin Corporation to help them take advantage of this opportunity.

As emission standards began to increase, a large mining operation found that they were incurring added expenses from field servicing trucks for unclean fuel filters clogging often and shutting down the trucks to protect the engine.

An industry leader in developing load transfer solutions for the transportation/construction markets sought out Valin® to assist them with a problem.

A major supplier of engineered dowel baskets for transferring vehicle loads across concrete roadway joints recently enjoyed a substantial growth period due to government based infrastructure rebuilding programs.

One of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial gas turbines had a problem that needed solving and Valin® acted as the general contractor for this job providing project management, supervision and all of the cable and components.

For over three decades, Huntington Beach, Calif.-based Circuit Automation, Inc., has been a leading provider of liquid photoimageable solutions.

Valin® was asked to provide a compact, failsafe electric actuation solution for high torque metal seated ball valves in a severe process application.

Standardized systems and organization can cut costs and improve production and efficiency. Learn how we helped a refinery go from 4 filtration systems to 1.