At the beginning of November 2006 the KSB Group received an order for valves amounting to roughly € 17 million. This is the largest order exclusively for valves the German pumps and valves manufacturer has ever secured. The contract covers 215 butterfly valves with diameters from 1.5 to 3.5 metres.

The valves are intended for one of the biggest seawater cooling plants in the world, which is being built in the industrial city of Ras Laffan in Qatar on the Persian Gulf. Once completed, the plant will have a capacity of 860,000 cubic metres per hour.

The seawater handled is required for cooling processes in a gas liquefaction and several petrochemical plants, as well as in a seawater desalination plant. Years ago, KSB valves were supplied for the first unit of the plant, where they have proven their worth under arduous conditions, coping with high flow velocities and an aggressive fluid.

Reason enough for the owner to turn to the KSB Group again for the second extension phase. KSB received the order to supply the required valves in just under 12 months.

KSB is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of pumps, valves and related systems for industrial applications and building services, for water and waste water management and for the energy and mining sectors. The Group has a presence on all five continents with its own sales and marketing organizations, manufacturing facilities and service operations. With a workforce of approximately 13,000 worldwide, the Group generates a total sales volume in the region of €1.4 billion.

Picture: Butterfly valves with an inside diameter of 3,500 mm, as produced for Ras Laffan. (photo: KSB Aktiengesellschaft, Frankenthal)