Did you know that 15 percent of control valves are responsible for 85 percent of valve problems in any industrial plant?
These problems may include corrosion, cavitation and flashing, and high levels of noise or vibration — all of which can result in application failure, environmental risks, and costly outages. Because they have such a considerable impact on your plant’s performance, it’s important to make sure your control valves are fit for purpose. And that all starts with finding the right control valve manufacturer.
The question is: how?
There are many reputable companies out there that offer similar products, but their specifications, services, and support differ. To give you some direction, we’ll provide a side-by-side comparison of two leading control valve manufacturers: Emerson Fisher Controls and Trimteck.
Trimteck is a second-generation, American control valve manufacturer that recently made the Inc. 5000 List of fastest-growing private companies. We’re committed to solving the most complex flow control problems quickly, economically, and to a superior standard.
Since the company’s humble beginnings in 1890, Fisher Controls has become one of the largest global technology solutions providers in the world.
In the following guide, we’ll compare Trimteck and Fisher Controls based on five notable factors. To avoid bias, we’ll make our comparisons as factual as possible.
When it comes to complex, severe service applications, a generic off-the-shelf control valve won’t cut it. Customized valves, specified for your unique use case, will deliver superior performance and longevity.
Trimteck and Fisher Controls both offer valve customization and specification to some degree:
Trimteck
Users can customize a range of Trimteck control valves. We also provide a valve design service, allowing you to specify a completely unique solution for your application.
Customization can include body, material, trims, and accessories. To ensure we build the best possible control valve for your use case, we follow a seven-step consultative process. Through this process we:
Many of our unique custom valves end up in critical severe service applications that handle extreme conditions. In these instances, it’s unlikely you’ll find a generic control valve that can guarantee the same degree of quality or performance.
Fisher Controls
Fisher Controls provides customization for:
Their options are broad, which is helpful if you need to tweak an existing valve for your use case (for instance, if you require special materials to withstand erosion or cavitation). However, they don’t offer complete custom design services. So, it may not hold up for more complex severe service applications where only built-to-specification valves will suffice.
Both Trimteck and Fisher Controls offer a broad range of products, including globe, angle, three-way, ball, and severe service valves. This means when making your purchasing decision, you must look closely at the technical specifications of comparable products.
As an example, let’s examine the specifications of two globe control valves: Trimteck’s OpGL™ Globe Control Valve and Fisher Control’s Fisher™ easy-e™ Globe Control Valves.
| Trimteck’s OpGL™ Globe Control Valves | Fisher’s Fisher easy-e™ Globe Control Valves | |
| Service | General, Special, Severe Including: Low Flow, Corrosive, Dirty, Cavitating, Noisy, Flashing, and Zero Fugitive Emissions |
General and Severe Including: Corrosive, Cavitating, and Noisy |
| Materials | Carbon Steel, Stainless Steel, Duplex, Chrome Moly, Alloy 20, Monel, Hastelloy, and various other Alloys | Carbon Steel, Stainless Steel, Duplex, and various Alloys |
| Standard Actuator | Field-Reversible Piston Cylinder | Spring-Diaphragm |
| Valve Size | NPS ½” to NPS 36” | NPS ½” to NPS 36” |
| Flow Characteristics | Equal Percentage, Linear, Bi-Linear, Quick Open, Custom | Equal Percentage, Linear, Special Characterization, Quick Open |
| Trim Type | Mostly Unbalanced, Some Balanced | Mostly Balanced, Some Unbalanced |
| Trim Size | 8+ Trim Reductions per Valve Size | 3+ Trim Reductions per Valve Size |
| Shutoff Class | Class IV, V, and VI | Class IV, V, and VI |
| Operating Temperature | Standard, Hi-Temp, Cryogenic, and Custom | Standard, Hi-Temp, and Cryogenic |
| Pressure Class | CL150 to CL4500 | CL150 to CL900 |
| End Connections | Flanged, Butt Weld, Socket Weld, Threaded, RTJ, Grayloc | Flanged, Butt Weld, Socket Weld, Threaded, RTJ |
| Standards and Certifications | ANSI/ISA, FCI, ASME, CRN, NACE, PED, Fugitive Emission | ANSI/ISA, FCI, ASME, CRN, NACE, PED, Fugitive Emission, SIL capable |
While the globe valves have many similarities, the specifications differ. This may impact your purchasing decision. For instance, if your application handles standard temperatures, you could opt for either valve listed. However, if you’re sourcing a valve for a high-temperature application, Trimteck’s globe valve will provide more resilience.
Of course, it’s helpful to go beyond these technical details. Thoroughly assess the quality of the components you’ll be working with, as well as the ease of maintenance for your technicians. This includes inspecting the standard of trims, linear actuators, and accessories that may come with your valve. Both manufacturers offer product pages and support services on their websites to help with this.
Need a control valve or spare part quickly? Run into a sudden outage?
When you need a flow control solution, time really is of the essence. That’s why lead times should be a high priority when comparing control valve manufacturers:
Trimteck
Naturally, the more complex your control valve, the longer the specification, build, and delivery will take. That being said, we strive to outperform our peers when it comes to lead times. All of our products are made in the USA and we guarantee the fastest lead time in North America.
Unlike many competitors, we also offer same-day shipping for our general service control valves, providing customers submit their order by 10:00am Eastern Time. Our manufacturing facility will configure, assemble, test, and ship your valve within hours of receiving your request.
Fisher Controls
While Fisher Controls doesn’t offer same-day shipping, their range of QuickShip Services promises to provide purchase confirmation and shipping estimates within 24 hours. For emergency cases, they liaise with local distributors to coordinate faster delivery.
Slow lead times are a typical pain point for Fisher Control customers, so it’s worth assessing their shipment options in detail.
We’re sure you and your technicians are more than familiar with the stress of control valve failures. Ideally, to limit the likelihood of unplanned outages, your manufacturer should be on hand to troubleshoot problems and escalate your support requests.
Here’s how Trimteck and Fisher Controls can help you:
Trimteck
For immediate aftermarket care, you can find downloadable installation and instruction manuals on the Trimteck website.
Should you need more hands-on support, we provide remote troubleshooting, spare parts, on-site commissioning, startup, and servicing of all our control valves, actuators, and positioners. You can request help online using our first-in-class customer support platform. We pride ourselves on our customer responsiveness and can guarantee that a qualified technician or engineer will respond to your request within 24 hours.
Fisher Controls
Similarly, Fisher Controls publishes an extensive library of user manuals on their website. You can also purchase spare parts and request add-on services, including valve maintenance, reliability services, performance services, and educational services.
When seeking product support, you’ll find it harder to speak directly with a expert. This is typical of a larger manufacturer. Customers must first go through a sales channel partner before being directed to the necessary application or product expert.
As you’d expect, the cost of control valves will vary depending on the type, specification, customization, and add-ons. This is true for Trimteck, Fisher Controls, and our other market competitors.
While we cannot give you a specific price breakdown, we can confidently say that many of our competitors charge higher prices than we do. To get an accurate quote, visit our dedicated quote center.
Of course, as many of our customers will attest, cost isn’t the be-all and end-all. When sourcing a control valve, quality, service, and responsiveness should be your top priorities.
We want you to source the right product for your application, whether it’s general service or severe service. That means finding a high-quality valve that’s built to last and supported by a responsive manufacturer.
When choosing your manufacturer — whether it’s Trimteck, Fisher Controls, or someone else — you should compare:
From our comparison of these criteria, it’s fair to say both Fisher Controls and Trimteck have their benefits. On the one hand, Fisher Controls offers reliable, industry-recognized control valves predominantly intended for general service and special service applications. On the other hand, Trimteck specializes in crafting highly customized control valves for severe service applications at a lower price point and with faster lead times.
To help finalize your decision, we’d recommend reading customer case studies and testimonials, as well as speaking to the manufacturer directly.
With that in mind, if you’d like to talk to us about your control valve needs, please get in touch with our sales engineering team.
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