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Global coordination meets critical delivery requirement
Max-Seal , an American valve manufacturer , was challenged with supplying a crucial valve for Monterrey ’ s “ El Cuchillo ” Dam . Faced with a tight eight-week timeframe , Max- Seal showcased precise coordination and high-quality performance in enhancing the city ’ s water infrastructure .
Text and images by Bob Donnelly
84-inch AWWA C-516 class 150B butterfly valve .
About the author
Bob Donnelly is the Vice President of Business Development for Flo-Tite Valves & Controls .
The “ El Cuchillo ” Dam , located about 60 miles Northeast of Monterrey , Mexico is one of the largest dams in Northern Mexico . It serves as one of Monterrey ’ s main water reservoirs . The Monterrey metropolitan area is Mexico ’ s second largest metro area and has experienced devastating drought conditions in recent years . Although this dam had enough water to supply Monterrey , due to the growth of the metro area , the existing aqueduct was limited in its capacity to adequately supply enough water for the millions of families it currently serves . Therefore , the Mexican government invested in building a secondary aqueduct to meet the city ’ s increasing demand for water . The project was managed by the Mexican National Water Commission and the construction of the new aqueduct was completed in record time of one year . A critical part of this project is the main isolation valve from the dam to the aqueduct .
Swift response to urgent call
Once the new aqueduct was completed , the Water Commission had an extremely short lead time for valve suppliers to deliver an 84-inch AWWA C-516 Class 150B Butterfly Valve of “ eight weeks ”. Additionally , the valve selected from Max-Seal , an unknown American brand to the Commission , had to undergo a rigorous accreditation process in Mexico City with the Commission ’ s engineering staff and was finally approved . Other valves considered from European and American valve suppliers could not meet the eight-week delivery requirement and were disqualified from the project . Their average lead times were a minimum of 6 months . Now the challenge was to construct the valve which was achieved in 45 days from the date
46 Valve World February 2024 www . valve-world . net