The KSB Group will deliver cryogenic butterfly valves for 20 liquefied gas tankers by the end of 2012. Each of the ships will be supplied with about 80 of these expensive special valves that are technically demanding to manufacture.
Norwegian, Greek and Russian shipping companies are the contractors of the tankers. A well-known Norwegian shipping company has ordered Danaïs TBT butterfly valves for as many as nine gas tankers and one floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), with an order option for the delivery of valves for three additional ships.
After a boom in the years 2004 to 2007, shipbuilding activities considerably slowed down between 2008 and 2010. After the Fukushima disaster and the nuclear phase-out in Germany, the demand for liquefied gas, and hence for means of its transport, increased sharply.
The French production site in La Roche-Chalais as well as the most recent member of the KSB Group benefit from this strong revival in the shipbuilding market. The Korean company KSB Seil manufactures hydraulic drive/actuator and control systems for the shipbuilding industry worldwide.
The KSB Group was awarded the contracts because they could offer the shipyards all-in packages consisting of valves, actuators and control systems. Another aspect was that more than half of the liquefied gas tankers operating worldwide are equipped with KSB butterfly valves.
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WMN Staff, November 15, 2011; Image: KSB Group