INDUSTRY CAPSULES
ASSOCIATION NEWS
Valves & Actuators 101 Course Has More Than 600 Graduates
Another successful Valve Basics Seminar & Exhibits took
place in Houston, March 6-7, bringing the total number of
participants who have taken VMA’s Valves & Actuators 101
course up to 625. As the program continues to gain momentum, the Valve Manufacturers Association has announced
additional offerings to satisfy the demands of an industry
that is very much in need of entry-level education.
Nearly 100 attendees attended the Houston seminar to
learn valve and actuator fundamentals. The 1½-day event
included a Valves & Actuators 101 program that encompassed 10 hours of education, a “valve petting zoo” and an
interactive panel discussion to test attendees’ knowledge of
what they learned. Participants came from all phases of the
industry—valve and actuator manufacturing, end-user
plants, engineering firms and distributors, as well as some
soon-to-graduate students from Texas A&M University.
Ross Eppinette, a mechanical engineering (M.E.) student
graduating in May told VMA staff that: “This program is
ideal for students and individuals entering the industry. They
don’t teach you this stuff in school… As a student, I can’t
say enough about how valuable this program is.” Mark
Sauter of Pioneer Industrial, a distributor, wrote that the
event was a “well organized and worthwhile program,” and
he is looking forward to VMA developing another level of
classes. And Melanie Romero, Kinetrol USA, said: “
Attending the class was surprisingly informative to me even though
I have been in this industry for many years! There is something about seeing all the data in one concise presentation
that brings everything home and solidified my knowledge in
many respects.”
Education Offerings to Expand
Attendees at the Houston and previous basics programs have
been asking for additional courses, and VMA expects to roll
out more education programming in 2013. Greg Johnson,
chairman of VMA’s Education & Training Committee, said:
“We’re planning to add an optional half-day to the end of
the 101 course, made up of some select topics that we
haven’t been able to cover in our regular presentation.”
Among topics under consideration are modules on Sizing &
Selection, Codes & Standards, Materials, Repair & Maintenance, Industry Applications and Accessories to Valves.
In addition, “we are beginning to work with VMA member companies to prepare a variety of short courses in
PowerPoint, which will be available in The VMA Store as
downloadable PDFs. We hope to start rolling these out within the next few months,” he said. These “mini courses” are
expected to cover a wide range of subjects and will be pre-
In response to an attendee question, presenter Ed Holtgraver, QTRCO,
demonstrates how a particular type of actuator works during the
Valve Petting Zoo.
pared so each topic is presented in an educational and nonproprietary manner—which is the criteria the committee has
used from the program’s start to develop and assess course
content.
Recognizing that online training is an essential part of
any training offered in today’s world, the association is
developing a narrated, online program for those who want to
learn about the industry on their own time and at their own
pace. The Valve Basics Online Training program is expected
to launch in late 2012. Watch Valve Magazine and VMA.org
for additional information.
Next Up: Denver
The next Valve Basics Seminar & Exhibits will take place in
Denver, Oct. 10-11, 2012, at the Crowne Plaza Denver-International Airport. Registration for attendees and
exhibitors will open on VMA.org by May 1.
VMA Welcomes Two New Members
The VMA Board of Directors approved Rupture Pin
Technology of Oklahoma City, OK and Franklin Valve
LP of Houston for full member status, making them
VMA’s second and third new members for 2012.
Rupture Pin Technology ( www.rupturepin.com)
manufactures relief and shut-off valves as well as rupture pins. Sarah Taylor will serve as the official VMA
representative and the company president is Anthony
Taylor.
Franklin Valve LP ( www.franklinvalve.com)
manufactures double block and bleed valves. Lenny
Pereira, vice president/general manager, will be the
official representative to VMA.
