Accreditation for local and international compliance

Through years of hard work, AVK Southern Africa is racking up industry accreditations that ensure its compliance with both local and international standards. The aim is for the valve group to compete with world-renowned brands in local and international markets. 

The Johannesburg-based valve manufacturer recently underwent an eight-month audit by the NCPC-SA (National Cleaner Production Centre) to determine its cleaner production status. The outcome: AVK Valves is rated one of the first cleaner production factories on the African continent. The NCPC-SA is hosted by the CSIR on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry, and the rating means that AVK is resource-efficient, having reduced its water, energy and material usage while effectively managing waste. 

“Our cleaner production status is certainly a feather in our cap,” says AVK Southern Africa MD Patrick Jantjies. “A few of the initiatives we implemented in working towards this was focusing on capacity, energy and water savings at AVK Manufacturing, our greenfield plant. We managed to reduce our water and energy consumption by about 40%.”

To achieve this, the company restructured shifts in the manufacturing plant in such a way that allowed them to focus on meeting these objectives. Additionally, compressor upgrades to reduce energy consumption were instituted, along with other energy savings initiatives.

Earlier this year AVK received PED accreditation for the manufacturing its CEM, IPV One-Piece Ball Valve DN80-DN350mm; and the PVE Boving Butterfly Valve DN350-DN4500. “The accreditation means that these valves conform to European standards and permits us to certify them with the CE mark,” Jantjies explains. AVK was also instrumental in aiding a local lost-foam castings company to achieve PED accreditation. “We liaised with the foundry and with government which, through the National Foundry Technology Network, assisted the foundry through the PED process.”

Next in line is the EN 1074 standard, which outlines the requirements and test conditions when designing valves for water supply. “The certification process is currently underway,” says Jantjies, “and our teams have worked hard to satisfy the requirements.” Under material requirements for the certification, AVK uses only drinking water-approved EPDM rubber. “To be certain of the ingredients and processes used, we use our own rubber and we also coat our products in compliance with DIN 3476 part 1 EN 14901 and GSK to ensure our products are highly corrosion-resistant.” 

AVK has taken measures to meet all the requirements stipulated in EN 1074. Other categories audited include: designing in accordance with the service life and temperature specifications; tightness, operating torques when testing for tightness and strength; operating cycles while testing for endurance; required test procedures; and documents and marking. 

Last but certainly not least is WRAS-approval for locally produced products, which AVK is aiming to achieve in the very near future. WRAS, or Water Regulations Advisory Scheme, approval demonstrates compliance for a material or water fitting where whole products undergo mechanical and water quality testing. Product approval denotes compliance with regulations and by-laws, and material approval demonstrates that non-metallic components do not contaminate the water.

“WRAS approval qualifies us to supply products for use in municipal potable water infrastructures locally and in some European countries,” Jantjies concludes. “It differentiates us from current and potential competitors and gives us an edge in tendering for both municipal and industrial contracts in South Africa, Europe and the Middle East.”

From PED to cleaner production to EN 1074 and finally to WRAS, AVK Valves Southern Africa has set the stage for rapid local and international expansion – taking its footprint to more countries around the world.