15One of East Yorkshire’s longest-established manufacturers is under new ownership and eyeing an exciting future – more than 220 years after it was launched in Hull.
Shipham Valves are now operating as a standalone company since leaving the Wärtsilä group in October 2020. In control of its future, Shipham Valves has exciting plans for 2021/2022.
Shipham Valves was established in 1798 and started life as a brass foundry supplying products including brass valves, bells, cocks, gauges and whistles to the shipping industry. With over 90 years of manufacturing high-quality valve solutions, we enjoy an enviable reputation for product design, safety, and reliability.
Our company is now firmly established as a global leader in the design, development, and manufacture of high alloy valve products for severe service and safety-critical applications in industries such as global naval defence, oil and gas, power generation and petrochemicals.
The transformation of the Shipham’s business
During the past two-three years, the company has experienced a significant transformation journey, which has led to significant investments in equipment, people and the overall business.
Rob Moulds, Managing Director, commented: “Shipham is one of the longest established and most highly respected valve manufacturers in the world. This is an exciting step for us as we pursue our vision to be the market leader again.
“With support from our new owner, we will expand our global reach with new agents, distribution and support networks and will continue to build the Robert Cort, John Mills and Advanced Valve Technology brands.
The first phase of the development plan involved reintroducing manufacturing capabilities in-house to complement existing machine shops and product assembly capabilities. The investment program was completed in spring 2022 with the purchase of eight new machines covering the entire product line. Furthermore, the business also installed modern pressure testing equipment.
Several high-performance, precision-engineered, and highly flexible CNC machines and advanced technologies have been installed, including the HB130-S.4P CNC Horizontal Boring Machine Centre a flexible Trevisan DS450/130C turning and milling machine, and several Hwacheon vertical and horizontal turning centres of various specifications.
Shipham Valves, Head of Operations, Paul Morrod, summarises the step-by-step journey the business has followed over the past 18 months:
“The main objective of this initiative was to return manufacturing capacity in-house to supplement existing machine shop capabilities. Once complete the business will have installed eight new machines.
“This has been a substantial challenge for the business and involved a complete review of layout, structure, internal operations and existing capacity. We are delighted with how the project has progressed. If required, it also allows for additional production capacity and contributes to achieving a lean and modern manufacturing plant.”
Rob continues “Together with our loyal workforce here, we are proud to bring back this iconic brand to the East Riding of Yorkshire. We are looking forward to being an independent company and working with our new owners as we develop the business and further strengthen the Shipham brand.”
