AVK Fittings

AVK is a global leader in the manufacture of valves, hydrants, pipe fittings and accessories for the water, sewage and gas industries. AVK products are highly innovative and comply with the highest standards of safety and quality, with long asset life and low 'whole life cost' being key drivers. With manufacturing in influential global regions, the company offers products in most relevant legal standards such as BS, ISO, CE, DIN and AWWA. The company also has a global philosophy of aligning itself with its customers' strategic drivers and as an industry specialist supplies support, products and solutions to their issues, ranging from leakage management and prevention through to carbon reduction initiatives. Prevention through design AVK valve products ranging from sizes DN32mm to DN4000mm are designed not to leak over their design life and are 100% tested prior to packaging and dispatch. UK standards for products such as gate valves, hydrants and swing check valves demand type testing that take the product to considerably beyond their designed application in terms of life cycles and pressure tests, with the greatest aspect of failure or success of the test being leakage. All AVK products are successfully tested beyond these criteria in order to enhance their asset life and decrease the 'whole life cost'. The AVK Series 29 fire hydrants are fitted as standard with auto-frost valves that prevent six litres per minute of water being lost when the hydrant is in use, not much but every little helps. The seals used in all the AVK products are engineered in the company's elastomeric manufacturing unit AVK Gummi. They are designed to not suffer the degradation across the life of the product; this being an historic cause of leakage. As well as designing out leakage in its product, AVK also supplies a number of product ranges that help prevent catastrophic failure in water mains. The major cause of pipeline failure is as a result of air contained in water mains, which creates a perfect environment for corrosion in metallic mains and then provides the force required to rupture the pipes where corrosion has made them weak. Additionally, the well publicised inaccuracy and wear caused to analogue water meters is also a real issue. The AVK Series 701 is the most comprehensive and innovative range of air valves designed to address all air entrapment issues for any part of the water cycle. The major strategy in the prevention of leakage has been to manage the system pressure more effectively by reducing the mains pressures whilst maintaining full service to the customer. To assist in this level of control, AVK supplies one of the most modular and comprehensive ranges of pressure reducing valves , the Series 710. Prevention through maintenance All AVK products are designed to be as maintenance free as possible and as such offer extended warranties. However, if maintenance is required, it can be carried out quickly and cost-effectively due to their design. Efficient repair Should a pipeline failure occur, AVK produces a full range of standard and bespoke repair fittings for all ferrous and rigid plastic pipe systems from ½" to DN1200mm, with a range of service offers from planned repair to a complete emergency response. Having these key initiatives in place, AVK will continue to work with its customers to deliver solutions to address their strategic issues. This article with supporting AVK advert appears in the Water & Sewage Journal Issue 4 / 2009.