Over the years, ATEC has established several collaborations and partnerships with national and international companies to expand its sales network and thus meet the needs of its customers directly on-site. Following the establishment of sales offices in Switzerland, Singapore, and China, ATEC GmbH, based in Klein-Winternheim near Mainz, has formed a joint venture with the U.S. company Gemco Valve.

Since 1989, ATEC GmbH has been developing, designing, and manufacturing custom industrial ball valves for the chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries, particularly for extreme applications such as high pressures, high temperatures, and abrasive media. Gemco Valve has been manufacturing similar industrial valves since 1948, specializing in segmented ball valves for powders, solids, and suspensions.

Both companies develop and manufacture valves for some of the most demanding applications using corrosion-resistant alloys such as stainless steel, Hastelloy, and titanium. Most powder processes require valves ranging from DN100 to DN400. ATEC can now offer these sizes with Gemco segment ball valves. Some fine, free-flowing powders, such as silicates in the solar industry or other sectors, use valves in sizes DN15 to DN80—this range will continue to be served by ATEC’s special ball valves.

ATEC became aware of Gemco Valve through various trade journals and online research. "We’ve been following Gemco very closely for several years. After some research based on their reputation, the quality of their product line, and their company philosophy, we quickly realized that Gemco could be the kind of company to forge a partnership with," said Michael and Andreas Hampel, ATEC partners and managing directors of the family-run business.

“We were excited when we heard from ATEC, and it was great to know that the work we do in Middlesex, USA, had made a positive impression on a company in the same industry,” said Gemco Valve co-owner and managing director, Jim Lenihan. “So we also did some research on ATEC and decided that a partnership could work,” said Lenihan. "The idea of joining forces rather than competing fits into both of our business models to maximize production efficiency in a way that benefits both sides."

In March, the ATEC owners paid a visit to Gemco to get to know Jim better and personally inspect the Gemco facility. "It was good to see that Gemco manufactures products that meet our high quality standards," says A. Hampel, adding, "Because we are both small companies, we are flexible. This is an incredibly important factor in our production and fast delivery of custom valves. Thanks to our high flexibility, we have a decisive advantage over larger companies."

The trip led to the decision to move forward with the collaboration. ATEC Managing Directors Michael and Andreas Hampel, along with Gemco Valve Managing Director Jim Lenihan, agreed that combining their technical expertise and years of experience would bring added value to the user. Gemco and ATEC share the same philosophy regarding the development and manufacture of valves for application-specific requirements and have already successfully solved many challenges with similar solutions.

“We are pleased to have found a company with the same philosophy and commitment to quality,” said Andreas Hampel. “The goal is to expand our product portfolio up to DN600 and to offer our customers segmented ball valves specifically designed for solids, powders, and suspensions.”
Through this partnership, we can serve industries where we have over 25 years of experience with additional high-quality segment ball valves. Furthermore, Gemco will also expand its product portfolio with ATEC specialty ball valves and take over distribution in North America. “We expect to see growth for our special ball valves in North America thanks to Gemco’s well-established sales structure and market growth.

Gemco will fully incorporate the ATEC ball valve product range up to DN350. ATEC, in turn, will offer the segment valve product line from DN80 to DN600, specifically designed for powder

“High-quality ‘Made in Germany’ products are highly regarded in North America,” says Jim Lenihan, pointing to the ATEC ball valves with metal-seated designs already ordered for abrasive processes.” “The collaboration has borne fruit immediately,” say Michael and Andreas Hampel happily.