The US Army Core of Engineers, Tulsa District, has selected Unico Mechanical Corp to rehabilitate two 180 Inch Butterfly Valves (BFVs) at the Tenkiller Dam Powerhouse in Gore, Oklahoma.
The $4.9 million contract will cover the removal of the existing OEM metal seats and the installation of a "CIRCLOC" seal assembly, a Hartman Valve Company proprietary technology. CIRCLOC utilizes an integral elastomeric rubber seal, creating a positive and resilient seal. Unico will manufacture the new components for the CIRCLOC seal assembly in its California facilities, and Unico's field service team will perform all specialized field installation work to overhaul both BFVs on site during a six-week outage in early 2022.
The Unico Engineering and field service team will also conduct onsite operational and performance testing for both 180-inch butterfly valves upon completion of the overhaul work.
"We are proud that the Army Core of Engineers has vetted our team and entrusted us with this large-scale and complex Butterfly Valve rehabilitation project," said Randy Potter, President and CEO of Unico Mechanical. "Our team brings decades of experience in overhauling large-scale hydropower valves, including past projects for the Army Core of Engineers & Bureau of Reclamation, so this project is an ideal fit. It is critical to the success of the project that the engineering, manufacturing, and installation of all components be managed and performed by a single entity to ensure the project runs smoothly and is completed on time and to specifications. We have overhauled more large valves in the hydro power market than any other party and that experience is critical to having a a planned outage adhere to the schedule. There is no substitute for the knowledge and experience gained by actually performing similar work.
"We've seen a dramatic uptick in hydropower flow control device overhaul projects in recent years and have scaled our business up to meet the increased needs as the rehabilitation of our nation's hydropower infrastructure takes place. Earlier this year we acquired several businesses, including Accurate Machining, that has allowed us to expand our field services team with some of the most experienced field machinists in this business."
The Tenkiller Dam valve refurbishment of the two 180-inch butterfly valves, includes new gearboxes and controls, lubrication systems, and valve bypass systems. Unico Mechanical will provide all services related to the contract with its own highly skilled craft people and in house engineering support.
