C.I.-D.I GLOBE VALVE MADE IN USA?
I am looking for a U.S. company that makes cast iron or ductile iron globe valves 3-12 inch. Seems every company I take with now makes the valves in China or India.Gate Valves Really depends what you mean by "makes". Most any company, including the reputable ones, forge and cast in Asia, though some still do part of the work (machining, assembly, testing/certification) in the US.Butterfly Valves All that at a premium. If your concern is quality, go with a reputable one: Velan, Kitz, Bonney Forge, Douglas Chero or Powell, for example. The problem is some of the new federal stimulus package funding has a "buy American" Clause and requires valves made in America of American materials. I have received several questions asking for an American company that makes cast iron or ductile iron globe valves.Most of the foundries left in the US are either too small or pouring low cost cast iron valves is not worth their time.If I am not mistaken there is an exception clause in the buy American act something along the lines of allow exceptions ifdomestic items are unavailable at a reasonable cost or quantity. but to be honest I have no idea on how that works.There's also an exception for COTS -- Commercially Available, Off-The-Shelf items. The test for "Made in America" does not depend on the source of the components if the product is sold to the government (or government-funded) project) in the exact same form as other private purchasers may buy it. Globe Valves Note: this is only as long as the product is substantially transformed in the US. It can be argued that assembling a Japanese actuator onto an Italian valve body with Korean linkage creates an automatic valve -- a substantial transformation. Safety valves Neither the actuator, nor the linkage, nor the valve body could serve the purpose of controlling flow from an electrical or pneumatic signal. The assembly can do so, so it's substantially transformed.I'm not going to pass judgement on the argument -- but I do know it has been used successfully many times.It's a lot easier to prove (if you win the argument) than the exceptions that deal with lack of availability in the US.Final note is that the assembly must take place in the US (or one of the Free Trade Agreement countries).Don't take my word for all this -- you'll really need to get the provider of the assembled valve to stick their neck out and swear to it. Plug ValvesOf course, if it's just a plain manual valve, all bets are off. If you resell something in the exact same form in which it was imported, it's not domestic at all.I marked this thread hoping to find a domestic valve body myself...
MORE NEWS