ITT 101:
Engineered Process Solutions Group
Valves are only half of the story anymore.

Two years ago, sales figures trumped sentimentality when Engineered Valves changed its name to Engineered Process Solutions Group.

No name change is easy, but this one was especially difficult. For more than six decades, the Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based company had gone to market as a valve company, dating back to 1939 when it was known as Diaphragm Valves and owned the licensing rights to the original diaphragm valve developed by P.K. Saunders.

This was like a tool manufacturer tracing its history back to the original hammer. Diaphragm valves are one of the most basic and indispensable components of modern society -- essential to virtually all manufacturing processes and every energy production and supply system.

Through the years, the company expanded its product offerings to include gate, butterfly and ball valves and introduced innovative designs that kept fluids from coming in contact with the working parts. It also enhanced its reputation for quality, reliable products and for its strong distribution system.

But in 1990, the business sowed the first seeds of the eventual name change when it acquired Sherotec (now called Pure-Flo California). The company makes hygienic valves for the pharmaceutical industry and marked a strong move into this marketplace.

"In the late 1970s and 1980s we realized that the design of our valves -- with their inherent cleanliness -- was a good fit for the pharmaceutical industry, and we made some product upgrades in terms of finishes and polishes to meet their needs," says Rick Zinkowski, market manager of Pharmaceutical & Bioprocessing Industries for EPSG. "But the Sherotec acquisition announced our first real commitment to the pharmaceutical industry."

Pharmaceuticals are one of the fastest growing industries, and Engineered Process Solutions Group has expanded its product offerings to become a bigger player. Through acquisitions, it now offers stainless steel vessels, skids and modules, which combine pumps, valves, pressure vessels and instrumentation into one package used by biopharm firms to manufacture high-purity drugs. These pharmaceutical products are now sold under the Pure-Flo® brand name.

Valves still represent a big part of the business, but in 2003 -- after the acquisition of skid manufacturer Martin Petersen -- more than half of the company's revenues came from non-valve products. The Engineered Valves name -- any "Valve" name for that fact -- didn’t do the company justice, and thus was born Engineered Process Solutions Group (EPSG).

Today, EPSG is a $180 million business, and it's landing the largest contracts in company history -- like the $15 million skid system order from Genentech in Vacaville, California -- thanks to its move into the pharmaceutical field. On the industrial side, the company continues to be the second largest supplier of diaphragm valves in the world, and the Richter line of chemical pumps and valves represent almost one-fifth of EPSG's total revenues.

Looking for more ways to live up to its larger name, Engineered Process Solutions Group is pursuing products for the power and pollution control market, as well as the mining and oil sands (extracting oil from sand) markets.

"We've significantly grown our business in the last five years due to our market-focused approach, primarily in bioprocessing," says Jeff Petru, director of Business Development at EPSG. "As we continue to expand our market focus, we expect even more opportunities for growth will be identified."



 
  


EPSG's product portfolio has expanded to include everything from valves to skids.

EPSG Key Markets

  • Power and pollution control
  • Mining and oil sands
  • Chemical
  • Pulp and paper
  • Pharmaceutical
  • Bioprocessing

EPSG Key Brands

Engineered Valves Group (Industrial and Nuclear)

  • Dia-Flo: diaphragm valves
  • Fabri-Valve: knife gate valves
  • Cam-Tite: ball valves
  • Cam-Line: plastic-lined ball valves
  • Skotch: burner isolation valves

Richter Chemie Technik (Chemical)

  • Richter: lined valves and pumps

Pure-Flo Solutions Group (Pharmaceutical/Biopharm)

  • Pure-Flo: hygienic diaphragm valves
  • Pure-Flo Precision: stainless steel tanks and vessels
  • Pure-Flo Cotter: skid systems
  • Pure-Flo MPC: skid systems, process modules and custom fabrications