Local manufacturer of geomet knife gate valves Dasher, which is a subsidiary of pumps and valves supplier group PSV Holdings, is introducing two new knife gate valves for water and slurry applications.
“Dasher has been manufactur- ing this range of product for many years, but has now upgraded the range. “The new product offers two options – one for aggressive slurry substances, and another for non-aggressive slurry substances,” comments PSV Holdings busi- ness development manger Dave Johnson.
He explains that the company started the development of the new products early this year, and that it is currently manufacturing the first batch of the product. The valves are available in sizes from 50 mm to 600 mm.
“The valves are robust and offer improved sealing abilities when used on slurry,” says Johnson. He explains that knife gate valves have a U-piece, where slurry can sometimes penetrate, which might prevent proper sealing.
With the new valves, slurry cannot get into the U-piece, which allows the valve to seal properly.
Further, Dasher also started developing a new range of pinch valves for slurry applications, in February this year.
“Dasher has received more than 300 enquiries for these valves and is only in the process of testing the first batch of this product now,” says Johnson.
Dasher sells its geomet knife gate valves through Umzantsi Africa, another PSV Holdings subsidiary, as well as to Dasher’s own client base. It has also commissioned R3-million worth of machinery to increase capacity to meet the rising demand.