Cover Story products find their way to all corners of the world . The company is currently working on jobs for clients in Asia , Australia , Brazil , Mexico , and the US . “ About eighty percent of our products are destined for subsea applications ,” Matthieu says . “ There are also good opportunities for us in the topside and land-based markets .” He adds that they took on a distributor in Houston last year . “ At the moment , we are penetrating the US market .” “ In the US , there are several compact valve suppliers ,” says Benjie . “ What sets us apart is that our products are drop-in replaceable . This means that our end patterns match up to a specific size range , up to six inches . For our FPSO clients , this means that they have a variety of options to source their compact valves . If they were to buy compact valves , they are never limited to one supplier . On top of that , we work with the same end connections as these other suppliers , which means that our valves are interchangeable with any of them .”
Looking towards an even brighter future
Business has been booming for the team , and it seems there is no end in sight . “ We ’ re outgrowing our workshop ,” Matthieu says proudly . “ Although we haven ’ t been in this building very long , I ’ m in discussion with our neighbour about renting half of their workshop . This will allow us to move some of our stock and free up space for more projects .” “ Our figures are going straight up ,” Benjie adds . “ Our business has significantly accelerated since the pandemic .” The team plans to stay in the same building for as long as possible to
Matthieu Smit , CEO of Combet Valves .
The full Dutch Combet team at their facility in Houten , the Netherlands .
increase their market share but add that they might have to move sooner rather than later . “ Over the last couple of years , we have invested in new test machines and more stock . The war in Ukraine has affected material availability , but we make sure to have everything in stock . This gives us an edge because in the US , our competitors tend to rely on the same resources , while we have access to different resources in Europe ,” Matthieu explains . While the US market is Combet Valves ’ biggest competitor , it is also their biggest client . “ Most of our material is sourced within Europe , so that ’ s where we opened up shop ,” Benjie chimes in . “ We notice material cost increases as soon as they happen , while in the US , they first have to use up six months of stock before they notice the increases as well . By that time , we will already have mitigated that price increase . We believe this puts us a step ahead of the US market .” “ We are young and small in this market and see opportunities to take a larger market share . We want to get the word out about compact valves because they have not yet been adopted on a large scale in Asia and Europe ,” Matthieu says . As the company grows organically , they strive to keep offering the same level of service , both in the office with their quotes and in the workshop with their deliveries . The men look forward to a bright future . “ One thing ’ s for sure ,” Benjie adds . “ Compact valves haven ’ t realised their full potential yet .” www . valve-world . net Valve World August 2023
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