Discover Fort Vale Engineering: a world leader in the design and manufacture of valves and fittings for transportable tanks 

Fort Vale Engineering is the leading manufacturer of fittings and valves for the transportation of bulk liquids in the tank container, road tanker, and rail industries. Managing Director, Ian Wilson, shares some exciting developments that have occurred over the last 12 months: “We have expanded our factory and put up a new 2500-square-meter assembly factory. We’ve moved into this new facility, and it is now fully up and running. We have also been successful in diversifying into different markets. We have traditionally relied upon the ISO tank container industry. It’s a very cyclical market in which we’ve been actively involved for over 40 years. Because of its cyclical nature, there can be huge peaks and troughs to navigate. As such, diversification has helped mitigate some of the challenges that this can present. 

“We chose to diversify into areas where we already have design expertise and manufacturing capabilities. Subsequently, we have moved more into rail-based transportation of liquids and gases. The liquids being transported range from very dangerous and corrosive materials all the way to foodstuffs. We have seen considerable success in the rail market in America. 

“We’ve got one particular product that goes on the rail cars that carry crude oil in America. In the USA, they produce a lot of their oil from fracking. They’re now producing enough oil to be self-sufficient. In fact, they’re even exporting some oil now. The problem with fracking is that sites can be very small in size and scattered around, so they’re unable to justify running a pipeline. As a consequence, they move it all in rail cars and we produce the safety valves for those transportation systems. 

“We have developed a very strong presence in the market, and now we are progressing into other product areas, including hazardous materials, which are also transported by rail: for example, hazardous chlorine and hydrogen fluoride. We’ve developed a range of valves for these materials and recently began supplying the first orders to the market. These are very expensive valves. They’re made from a sophisticated material known as Hastelloy, which is an immensely compatible metal. It’s like stainless steel but a lot more expensive and a lot more resistant to corrosion and other dangerous chemicals. We have seen great success with this product in the European rail transportation market. 

“We’ve also been developing valves for the transportation of gases, and we’re confident that we can break into that market. The other area we have expanded into is what I call lined products. These are valves that are fully lined on the inside with PFA (Perfluoro alkoxy), which is a material similar to PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) in that it is also highly resistant to corrosive materials. We have developed a range of these valves as well as a manufacturing facility capable of injection molding the linings into the stainless-steel valves.” 

Over the years, recruitment has played a major role in the company’s success. Ian goes on to highlight the importance of Fort Vale Engineering’s apprenticeship scheme: “For the last 40 years, apprentices have been an important part of the business. Over the last ten-to-15 years, we have taken on eight apprentices each year. It’s a four-year course, so at any time, we have around 30 young people doing their training within the company. So many people within the company have come through the program, including three of my directors.” 

Sustainability has also been a central focus for the company more recently. “We’ve done a lot to reduce our carbon emissions,” Ian explains. “We have solar panels on all the roofs. In summer, throughout the middle of the day, the entire factory, including all the heavy machinery, runs off solar power. We’ve also increased our insulation to reduce heat loss, as well as changing out all of the lighting in the facility to significantly more efficient LEDs. All of our director’s cars are electric now, and with the 50 acres of land we have, we have also planted 5000 trees as a way to offset some of the carbon.”

Having previously won four Queen’s Awards for export, the company recently won its first King’s Award for exporting. Ian explains how the company is approaching the uncertain economic situation and preparing to face any incoming challenges. “Exporting accounts for around 95 percent of our business, and we sell a lot to Americans, so any tariffs could have a big impact on our business. We’re not a small company but we retain the feel of a small family-run business. 

“We are very proud of maintaining that feeling. For example, I know almost everyone’s names, and all of the people working on the floor know me and know they can come and talk to me. We don’t want to become the type of big corporate entity where the people at the top have no idea what’s going on below them. Apart from our finance team, everyone in the company is an engineer, and we’re all entrepreneurs. We’re all constantly looking for great opportunities. We go to exhibitions and trade shows and look at everything. When we find an interesting product, we try to find out what parts they are buying and for what price. If we see an opportunity, we’ll seize it because we’re a private company and can move on with capital expenditure very quickly. We don’t have to go through several rounds of board approval; if we see an exciting prospect, we can move forward with it. 

“In a manufacturing business, planning ahead is crucial. For the expansion of facilities, for example, the planning stage takes between a year and 18 months; there is also a six-month lead time on any new machines. Then there is also labor to consider, which takes a long time to either develop or find the right people with the right skills. In a business where planning is so essential, economic uncertainty can present serious challenges. 

“We are hoping we can limit the negative effects of the upcoming regulation implemented by the UK Government. We are also continuing to develop new products and assessing future investments, such as an X-ray machine for the factory, which will cost £500,000. We want to continue to diversify and strengthen the business,” Ian concludes. “It was never the ambition of me or my business partner to become a huge company; we just want to be successful. If we are successful, the growth will come.” 

www.fortvale.com