Fort Vale expands rail offerings

KEEP ON THE RAILS

EQUIPMENT • IT’S BEEN A BUSY YEAR FOR FORT VALE. SALES DIRECTOR GRAHAM BLANCHARD EXPLAINS HOW IT IS KEEPING ON TRACK DURING ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTIES

GRAHAM BLANCHARD, GLOBAL sales and marketing director of Fort Vale, is an extremely busy man. Even though the rest of the world has been negotiating the Covid present amidst the pressures of lockdown, and an uncertain Covid future as furloughs end and global economies grind back into action, Graham has been turning up to work every day trying to negotiate a way through the wake of a pandemic-inspired storm.

Blanchard joined Fort Vale straight after school, working his way up the corporate ladder having initially qualified as a mechanical engineer. He was made sales director in 2018 and at the beginning of this year was confirmed as global sales and marketing director. It’s a position that in normal times means a lot of foreign travel - but these aren’t normal times and, as a result, HCB was only able to catch up with Graham via the now ubiquitous Zoom call to talk about Fort Vale’s new offerings for the rail sector.

HCB: Is 2020 a good time to be entering a new market sector? How has Fort Vale coped with such a move during the pandemic?

GB: First of all, rail is not really a new market sector for us - it’s an area we have been working in for more than seven years. As with so much of our business, it started out with a customer enquiry. We were contacted by a US company that wanted to pick our brains with regard to a change in regulations.

The rail market can be a bit conservative, so we saw it as a chance to expand our business utilising our specialist knowledge of effective fuel, food and chemical transfer, using technology from our existing markets and adapting it to theirs. At the moment, we offer products to both the European rail market under RID regulations and the American rail market under AAR regulations.

We started supplying lids and valves to the European rail industry in the early 2000s but at the time did not have a full range of equipment, so volumes were very low. There was no real push to develop the range further as the tank container market was growing rapidly and is the core part of our business, but in 2013 we started work with the Association of American Railroads (AAR) developing relief valves. The surge in crude oil fracking in the US and some regulatory requirements and updates meant that we were in the ideal position to supply the new AAR relief valves for newbuild and retrofit tanks - at which point significant production commenced.

In 2015 we started development work on our European rail range to try and establish a full range of kit for liquid and chemical wagons. Bottom discharge valves, vent valves and y-pattern valves were developed in addition to existing relief valves and ancillary equipment to allow Fort Vale to offer a full rail wagon package.

In 2019, further development for LPG equipment occurred and this is the latest range to be offered to the market – including a hydraulic bottom discharge valve with hydraulic pump and LPG y-pattern valves. We offer both carbon steel and stainless steel valve sets, dependent on operating requirements and conditions. We have seen steady growth in both markets over the years and now we want to expand even further.

As for the pandemic, it has been an obstacle but one that we have successfully negotiated - our original aim in 2020 was to develop relationships, build on our product portfolio and grow market share. Covid difficulties have mainly been limited to travel restrictions, as we haven’t been able to see as many customers or take part in exhibitions as we normally would, but Fort Vale has remained open with the majority of employees remaining at work throughout the entire pandemic.

Many new processes have been implemented to allow us to continue with production while keeping employees safe, which is the main thing. Oddly, we picked up a lot of work

early on when Europe went into full lockdown. Because we own all of our facilities, including manufacturing capabilities in China, we were able to fulfil orders that other companies couldn’t. We have certainly made use of digital communication both internally and externally in the form of video meetings and conferences - but then again, hasn’t everyone?

HCB: How do valves and fittings for rail tank cars differ from those for road tankers and tank containers? What differences are there between European and US standards?

GB: Construction materials, flow rate requirements - generally the size of the equipment is larger than that you would find on a tank container or road tanker. It’s also about how the equipment operates, such as the ability to open a valve from either side of the wagon.

There are many differences between the European and US standards; however, two obvious ones are the requirements around pressure relief valves and the need for service trials prior to supplying equipment into the rail market.

HCB: How has Fort Vale had to re-tool to enter this market? And where is the equipment being manufactured?

GB: We’ve invested in new CNC machinery, test and inspection equipment, casting tools and foundry machinery. The equipment is manufactured in the UK at our purpose-built foundry and manufacturing plant. In addition to our existing ISO 9001 quality management certification, in order to supply equipment for AAR applications the manufacturing plant here in the UK and in the US both needed to undertake a stringent AAR audit to be certified as an authorised and approved manufacturer of AAR equipment. All employees working on AAR valves and equipment must also have undertaken AAR approved training to demonstrate competence for manufacturing this type of equipment. I think we’ve covered all the bases!

HCB: How does Fort Vale see demand for bulk liquid rail services in Europe developing?

GB: The demand for bulk liquid and gas rail services in Europe is only going to increase. Much of this is driven by environmental and carbon footprint reduction initiatives - to try and reduce traffic on roads for example. There are a number of governmental projects across many European countries that are looking to invest in rail infrastructure and services over the coming years and we feel that with our technical expertise, experience and quality, we are in a prime position to take advantage of the opportunities that arise.

When you think about it, this is what Fort Vale has always been about as a company - hard work, dedication and innovation - coupling those core values with our industryleading safety, precision and quality gives us an advantage over competitors. We have always believed that the best way to lead is from the front, by setting an example, and our adaptability in situations where events are out of our control has proved vital this year.

We’ve always been a company that builds from a solid foundation and trains its own staff in a variety of disciplines - I’m a classic example of the company’s approach to succession planning, with over 20 years’ service at Fort Vale - and I started out as an apprentice.

Fort Vale’s long-term strategic view gives our customer base the confidence that we are here to support them for many years. www.fortvale.com

FORT VALE HAS INVESTED IN DEVELOPING A WIDE

RANGE OF VALVES AND OTHER KIT TO SUIT RAIL TANK