Valve Distributors Basics

A brief look at the industry and its suppliers

By Phillip Galey
Valve manufacturing in the United States is comprised of approximately 1,100 companies with a combined revenue annually of $22 billion. The industry is dominated by a number of integrated process control companies and also valve makers like American Valve and Wm Powell. The industry is highly concentrated, with the 50 most sizable companies enjoying a 65% share of the market.

Market demand for valves depends largely on construction activity and valve production levels. Construction activity in the housing, water treatment, utilities, petroleum and chemical industries have a particularly large impact on the valve industry. Subsidiary enterprises operating offshore are often sought for their lower-cost manufacturing services. Smaller manufacturers and distributors vie for market share by pushing specialized products and exceptional customer service. If you need to contact valve manufacturers or distributors, use the following as a guide to valve distributors basics.

1. Contact value manufacturers to set up a distributor account.

2. Obtain industrial valves needed for your business.

3. Procure valves needed for pneumatic applications.

 

Contract with valve suppliers to distribute their products

If you are a valve distributor and wish to expand your business by finding new wholesale sources of valves, these two valve wholesalers work with a variety of distributors. Both companies make a wide array of valves.
Try: Kennedy Valve is a wholesaler of all types of valves with distributors across the United States. Sun Hydraulics is also a manufacturer and great wholesale source of valves, working with distributors around the globe.

Investigate the wares of an industrial valve distributor

Industrial valves can be sizable; consequently, so can their prices. When you need to procure industrial type valves, it pays to shop for the best price. These sites will give you a good starting point in doing some comparison shopping among various industrial valve suppliers.
Try: The website easy2source provides a directory of suppliers of industrial valves from across the country. MacRae's Blue Book is your one-stop source for industrial valve manufacturers and industrial valve distributors. ValveWeb has contact information for hundreds of valve distributors, categorized by state.

Shop air valve distributors to compare prices on pneumatic valves your business needs to buy

If you need to acquire pneumatic valves, solenoid valves or control valves, save time by searching an industry search directory. There, you'll find a number of sources, no matter which type of pneumatic valve you're looking for.
Try: A pneumatic valve distributor is not hard find at HVAC Plus' website, which contains an extensive listing of manufacturers of pneumatic valves. Though links to these manufacturers are not included, you can copy and paste the names into your browser search engine to find the companies. IQS Directory is another great source for searching for pneumatic valves. They have a handy Request for Quote tool that saves you time by allowing you to submit your inquiry to all the pneumatic valve manufacturers and suppliers you select. Motioncontrol provides a lengthy discussion about the state of pneumatic (air) valve systems today and a wealth of advice on how you can take full advantage of current pneumatic valve technology in your organization.

 

  • In an industrial setting, it's smart to be prepared for catastrophic line breakages with a cost-effective and fast-tripping mechanism that will stop flow immediately when a sudden leakage condition arises. SmartFlow Technologies is one of a number of valve suppliers that carry smart valves. Whether or not your plant has a control architecture in place, smart valves can be used as isolated control packages. In fact, isolated control loops and higher level control architecture can even exist together, whether or not the valve is integrated into a larger system.