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The H-1022 Double Flap Airlock Valves were installed on a cement plant clinker cooler in the late 80’s/ early 90’s. These valves were in operation for 30+ years with very minimal maintenance.

In 2019 the plant had planned to replace the Plattco valves with new valves as they had reached the end of their useable life, or so they thought. At that time the plant chose to use a lower cost fabricated double flap valve over purchasing the Plattco Valves.

In February 2021 Plattco received a frantic call from the customer, they were in need of new valves. The maintenance manager explained that they were having issues with the “copycat” valves that were installed 18 months before and were in danger of having to shut down due to MSHA & EPA violations.

‍The valves they had installed were worn so badly that it created holes in the housing causing leaking to atmosphere.
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The Plattco team jumped on manufacturing new valves for them, however lead times were longer than the customer could wait. To avoid penalty the customer pulled the original Plattco valves that were from 1994 out of their scrap metal area and reinstalled them until the new units could get to site.

Now, the plant has all-new Plattco valves installed since 2021.

❌ The problems at the cement facility were:

• Plant wanted a quick cheap solution instead of a long-term investment.
• Competitor valve was made in Mexico and was not engineered for the customer’s specific application causing rapid wear and increased maintenance headaches.
• The competitor valve was leaking to atmosphere due to wear causing holes in the house. The plant was almost shut down due to OSHA & EPA violations.

✅ Benefits to using Plattco Airlock Valves:

• Plattco valve is specifically engineered per customer applications therefore providing a long-term reliable solution.
• Plattco valves are built to last therefore saving maintenance and personnel time.
• They create a safer and cleaner environment when maintained.
• As a US-based manufacturer, we are very responsive to our customer’s needs which offers the customer minimal downtime.

The Plattco valves were found to be the superior airlock for this facility and have proved their worth and are being integrated back into the plant.
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‍The H-Series Premier Valve is the leader in dry material handling valves with thousands of successful applications in industries throughout the world. The H-Series valve is the perfect solution for the most demanding conditions. Customers frequently turn to Plattco when no one else can handle their system's high temperatures and high pressures. Our solutions are customizable and include the options of metal to metal seals, silicone seals, or sacrificial coatings.