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HCB RECENTLY CAUGHT up with Fort Vale’s sales director, Graham Blanchard, at the ITCO members meeting in Amsterdam. As vice-chair of ITCO’s Manufacturing Division, Graham had enjoyed a tiring but fruitful day,
engineer. A spell in the Purchasing Department gave him the impetus to widen his horizons and he progressed to design engineer, then project engineer, before becoming works manager. At the end of 2018
know this development of our people brings continuity of what we call the ‘Fort Vale approach’, ensuring support and service to our customers for years to come. “Fort Vale Engineering Ltd is the world leader in the design and manufacture of manways, safety valves and loading and discharge systems for the transport, transfer and storage of bulk liquids and liquefied gases,” Graham adds. “We own self-sufficient manufacturing facilities, giving us total control over all manufacturing processes from foundry to testing - from initial research and development to the final product. This means that Fort Vale can supply quality equipment, both standard and bespoke, to meet each individual client’s requirements.” As we near the end of an eventful 2019, HCB asked Graham for his thoughts on the future of Fort Vale and what products the market can look forward to in the near future: HCB: As a pioneer and leader in the field, can Fort Vale lead the market in terms of product development? GB: Very much so, in fact we do! We have a purpose-built R&D facility with state-of-the-art CNC machinery, measuring equipment, flow testing and explosion rigs - our R&D facilities are second to none. We invest $750,000 annually in R&D because it’s a vital part of our make-up as a company, and has been right since the early days when Fort Vale was founded. We also have a fantastic pool of resources we can call on at any time - chartered and Incorporated engineers for example - all available in-house. We think it’s vitally important that we can verify the technical integrity of our range of products - that’s why we built our own third party-approved test laboratory, where we conduct cycle and endurance tests, air and liquid flow tests, flame and explosion tests and so on.
but managed to find the time to sit down with us and discuss Fort Vale and its plans for the future. Graham has spent most of his professional life with Fort Vale. After leaving school at 16, he was taken on as an apprentice and subsequently qualified as a mechanical
he was promoted again to sales director. It’s a career progression that typifies Fort Vale and its approach and attitude towards staff. As Graham himself puts it: “Our apprentice programme is also guiding the next generation, giving them the tools they need to become leaders themselves. We
HCB: Or does Fort Vale have to listen to what the market is requesting? GB: Well, both in fact – Fort Vale is continually developing its own products while listening to customer ideas and market requirements. We believe in constant innovation. We always listen to what our customers want and
LEAD THE WAY VALVES • FORT VALE’S APPROACH TO PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ILLUSTRATES A LONGSTANDING COMMITMENT TO LEADING THE INDUSTRY IN TERMS OF QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE
HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019
