Elton Liu, general manager of Fort Vale Shanghai, has many years of experience in the tank industry and has been part of the Fort Vale family since 2003. He has been on the board of directors of @tco, the organisation promoting safety and sustainability of tank container use in the Far East, since its inception.
Since small beginnings, providing technical expertise and support to the Chinese and Asia Pacific market, the company then opened storage and distribution premises in 2005, employing eight personnel. Such was the success of this venture that in 2008 Fort Vale Shanghai moved to new premises occupying 5100 sqm and currently employs around 110 personnel. On site it has a range of the most advanced CNC lathes and machining centres, welding plant and finishing machines as well as co-ordinate measuring machines and laser marking capabilities.
In addition to supplying manways, valves and ancillaries to the OEM tank builders in China, Fort Vale Shanghai provides a full repair, refurbishing and testing service to end users and carries large stocks of genuine spare parts and consumables.
The company’s quality credentials are every bit as stringent as those established at the UK Head Office. Fort Vale Shanghai participated in drafting the Valves & Fittings chapter of the Chinese standard JB/T 4782-2007: Tank containers for the transport of dangerous liquid cargoes, and is accredited with ISO9001:2008 and PED/TPED. In 2011, the company was recognised as a High Technology Enterprise by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.
With Asia being the fastest growing tank container market in the world, and China being the leading tank container manufacturer, Fort Vale Shanghai has grown up with the market and is able to respond to its specific needs by designing and developing new valve solutions for the hazardous cargo transportation industry in this region. Recent projects include a fully steam-heated discharge ball valve for high-temperature cargo; easy maintenance dry disconnect couplings; a high-flowing powder blower relief valve; a 45degs reverse-mounted footvalve and a 180degs bottom-mounted dual outlet footvalve for the Chinese road tanker market which discharges at either side of the tank. The company is also busy promoting the 4ins Safeload petroleum loading coupler and has recently completed its application for a Chinese license to manufacture valves for compressed liquefied gas tank containers.
Fort Vale Shanghai design engineers recently collaborated with a Chinese tank builder for China Railway Smarttanks (CRT) to design valves and manlids that transmit a signal to the CRT Logistics Centre communicating the tank’s geographical location and when a valve has been opened for loading or discharge.
“We are proud to have such a well-equipped factory and highly-trained and motivated workforce,” says Elton Liu, Shanghai General Manager. “We are confident that we have laid a very solid foundation for our company to continue to grow and develop with the Asia market.”
www.fortvale.com