Pump action

Pumps and valves are the unglamorous but very necessary core components of many small and large-scale installations where materials need to be moved round and regulated as part of a process.

Pumps, in the main, move materials from A to B, usually by pressure, whereas valves (generally speaking) regulate the rate of flow of materials. Other than mainline process valves, there are also pressure relief and burst valves, used for safety.

With great growth opportunities in the developing markets of eastern Europe and the far east there is much evidence that this is having a real effect on sales of plant components such as pumps and valves. Indeed, a recent report from

on the European centrifugal pump market estimated that it will grow by around 20 per cent by 2013, driven by additional countries joining the EU.

Many new products coming to market are highly-developed specialist offerings. For example, recently-introduced pumps from Verder and 3m are designed to provide safe transport of materials. Verder's Verderflex seal-less peristaltic pumps are claimed to offer degradation resistance — especially to petroleum-based products — while