Eltorque Pushes into US Market

Eltorque, a Norwegian manufacturer of electric valve actuators, has experienced strong growth in the last few years, positioning itself as a leading supplier to the OSV and fishery segments in Europe, Asia and in part, Brazil. As the U.S. shipbuilding backlog continues to grow, so too does interest from global product, system and service providers, and Eltorque is now gearing up to expand. “Local presence will be vital for our success,” said Arnstein Kjesbu, CEO. Increasingly shipyards and owners are now seeing the benefits of electric valve actuation, and over the last four years or so Eltorque has almost quadrupled its turnover.
Since the beginning in 1996, the company has developed a range of electric actuators, both quarter turn and multi turn, which are effectively helping to change the standard of valve control in mid- to high-end applications, especially in the Norwegian market.
Over the years, Eltorque has built an increasingly strong position in different international markets, and its reference list now includes more than 400 vessels, mainly including OSVs and fishing vessels.  Eltorque offers a maintenance free solution with real time remote control and status feedback on valves. The electric actuators distinguish themselves by a high level of precision in the control of valves, and are easily configured in terms of torque, speed and turning angle.
With the additional possibility of serial bus connection, the need for cables and piping is dramatically reduced, while at the same time providing increased flexibility.  The quarter turn actuators range from 250 Nm all the way up to 4000 Nm, and cover valve sizes between DN 50 and DN 800. Part of this range is also a newly developed 250 Nm explosion-proof actuator for EX areas.
The 50 and 150 Nm multi turn actuators cover a range of Rolls-Royce Marine’s multi-turn bilge and crossover valve manifolds from DN50 to DN150.
Building a Presence in the United States
The U.S. market represents a number of opportunities for Eltorque, according Kjesbu. “We`ve built a very strong position in the OSV segment, and with the way American shipyards are increasing their order backlog, the U.S. market seems to be the obvious choice for us to expand right now.
We are contemplating several growth strategies, but a strong local presence will be vital none the less.
The Eltorque electric valve control is more than just a single piece of hardware, and a complete technical perspective is important.
“Therefore a close dialog with the yards are important to us, and to secure that our customers have the necessary know-how.”
The OSV segment will be the main focus to start with, but fishing vessels and the merchant segment also represents an attractive potential for the Norwegian company.