When one speaks of Italian excellence, thoughts turn to fashion, design, cars, tourism, wine and food. But little-known sectors also contribute to the greatness of Made in Italy. This is the case with the industrial valves and control solutions for fluids and gases sector, which sees Bergamo at the centre of an area that, within a radius of 100 kilometres, brings together 90% of the national manufacturers, i.e. 139 companies, employing some 10,000 people and generating an annual turnover of EUR 3.5 billion.
One of these is the Valvitalia group which, thanks to a series of acquisitions, has expanded its product offering and consolidated its global presence. It currently employs around 800 people and is present in key markets such as the US, China, Saudi Arabia, India, UAE, Algeria, Canada and the UK and has a turnover of just under EUR 200 million. As of 2023, CDP Equity is the majority shareholder at 75 per cent.
Valvitalia specialises in the design, production and distribution of valves, actuators, fittings and gas systems for the energy industry, fire protection solutions for the marine, railway and infrastructure sectors. It also plays an important role in the hydrogen game, a sector for which it has designed and manufactured valves for 100 per cent hydrogen applications.
“Hydrogen is one of the crucial resources for the future of the industry and catalyses concrete expectations for further large investments,” explained Salvatore Ruggeri, founder and chairman of Valvitalia. “At present, medium- and long-term projects for the construction of new infrastructures for the transport of the resource, including new hydrogen valleys, the European Hydrogen Backbone and the Mediterranean Green Hydrogen Partnerships, are being defined. Valvitalia aims to provide solutions to support this transition: recently, we have successfully tested, in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Milan, new products suitable for 100% hydrogen applications in severe pressure and temperature ranges.”
What strategies are you adopting to accompany the ecological transition? Can you illustrate this through practical examples?
“There is more than just hydrogen among the resources we are investing in to contribute to the decarbonisation process. A key element lies in the development of a mix of products and applications. Water transport, for example, represents a market with great development opportunities. Through our subsidiary Vitas, we recently won a large order from Chile as part of a 'pipeline' to transport water from the sea at high altitude, to some copper mines in the Andes, to support the extraction of the metal. Very positive feedback is also coming from the market related to seawater desalination. Through our Firefighting division, we have recently devised a new generation of firefighting solutions that can reduce water consumption by around 60 per cent compared to classical systems. These are water mist systems, which ensure saving up to 40 per cent in terms of energy used. Already adopting this technology are large commercial ship owners such as MSC and Carnival, the navies of several countries, Trenitalia and motorway concessionaires (in particular, to protect tunnels and galleries), but also major energy companies. We are also ready for latest generation nuclear power plants .”
Reducing the carbon footprint also means less energy dispersion. What are your strategies in this regard?
“We have invested in research and development to increase the safety and impact of the transport of fossil resources, so as to reduce the carbon footprint. This is done, in particular, by abating 'fugitive emissions' through a new generation of actuators that prevent the dispersion of natural gas into the environment during valve opening and closing operations. In addition, we make products for CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) plants, which deal with the capture and storage of CO₂ from the atmosphere, a sector with excellent projections. Also decisive is the growth of liquefied natural gas. Valvitalia is present in the most strategic areas of the world to support this growth, and it aims to increase its market share. We are present in major LNG plants such as Piombino, Ravenna and Panigaglia, in China, Australia and in BP's plants in Indonesia, Singapore, Kuwait, as well as at the North Field in Qatar, among the largest natural gas fields in the world.”
