The world today looks vastly different compared to how things were when we opened our doors in 1965. Granted, a lot can change in five-plus decades but Piping Supplies, Inc. is still here and still proud to be a leading flange manufacturer. Spearheading the changes within our shop have been multiple generations of leadership. These individuals include both family and long-time employees who worked their way up the ladder. Changes in management will typically bring new objectives and this is often a welcome change. In this article, we’d like to deviate from our typical talk about pipe making supplies and weld neck flanges to cover visions for the future from leaders of tomorrow.

It’s safe to say that today’s teenagers will eventually become the CEOs and managers of yet-to-be-established brands. These teens are the members of “Gen Z” born between the late 1990s and 2012. A recent CNBC article shows what these young adults are up against as they graduate from college and attempt to start a career. Even those with an MBA degree are struggling to find employment that relates to their education. This pain will eventually pass, but there is no shortage of societal issues that will shape the thoughts and beliefs of Gen Z. From climate concerns and renewable power sources to racial equality and general health and well-being (thanks to the coronavirus pandemic), we expect business to take a sharp turn toward ethics. We believe this is critical for the health of the planet and for the people running companies across the globe.

As a flange manufacturer, we’ve had the privilege of bringing on some highly-talented machinists who have made weld neck flanges that went on to be used in core infrastructure projects. Getting to know these men and women has also been an enjoyable part of running our shop. Each and every one of these workers held different values and we’ve seen how someone’s thoughts and beliefs can alter the direction of a company as they rise in rank. This is a good thing! No executive-level decisions should be made in an echo chamber. Differences in opinions don’t create tension; they should be used to craft innovative approaches.

Our expertise as a flange manufacturer is making things like weld neck flanges and other flanges for highly-specialized projects – and we’re proud of that. We also recognize that a lot of the issues facing the next generation of business owners are highly controversial. No matter where your opinion falls on these topics, we simply encourage that today’s leaders nurture the up-and-coming generation. Recognize their natural talents and take them under your wing and one day, you’ll also have family members and dedicated employees running the business you built from scratch 55 years ago.

When the pounds per square inch (PSI) rise, you need a dependable pipe system that’s up to the job. A leak in a home’s water pipes, while inconvenient, can’t compare to what’s happening inside a high-pressure system. The force with which liquid, gas or steam is carried through high-pressure pipes raises the stakes and means all parts must be machined to exacting measurements. This goes for welding, too, as flawless connections improve integrity and durability.

For the very best in industrial, pipe flanges and other pipe making supplies, Piping Supplies Inc. wants to brief readers on the future of welded pipe fittings. Piping Supplies Inc., a flange manufacturer that helps clients of all sizes meet unique project needs, knows that there’s always a new form of innovation on the horizon. This could include threaded connectors, gaskets, adaptors, bushings and other male-female connections. Thus, the performance and practicality of welded pipe fittings has become a hot topic – especially when considering high-pressure system needs.

Overall, a high-pressure system will need to operate flawlessly with a PSI that could rocket toward 60,000.
Many industries across vastly different sectors require high-pressure piping systems, from oil rigs and gas refineries to food and dairy applications and industrial waterjet cutting. There are many components that are expected to perform as part of these systems, including line filters, check valves, needle valves, safety heads and more.

What is of interest to Piping Supplies, Inc. are the pipe flanges they are so well-known for. Welded pipe flanges can mean a weld neck flange, which is great for transferring stress. A weld neck flange will require the welding of an attached pipe to the neck of the flange, which will in turn move stress location away from the hub. A socket weld flange is commonly seen on smaller pipes within high-pressure lines. The pipe would be inserted into the flange and then welded together. The exterior weld means there are no obstructions within the high-pressure line. Buttweld fittings are another component that’s typically seen in steel systems. Tees, elbows and reducers are all part of the buttweld family of fittings and all can be welded to pipes to help change flow or otherwise redirect the system. The ease of use is what continues to make these products so popular.

The U.S. Navy counts Piping Supplies, Inc. as one of its providers of pipe flanges. The demands this branch of our nation’s military puts these products up against goes to show what flanges made of carbon steel, stainless steel, copper-nickel and aluminum can withstand. We would expect welded pipe fittings to remain an industry norm for many years to come but are always open to discussing project needs with new clients. Contact us at 609-561-9323 to learn more.

Shopping around and consulting with experts has its benefits. Customers will learn a thing or two about production and if they are really lucky, a flange manufacturer will reveal the finer points of the process. This is the exact scenario we often encounter here at Piping Supplies, Inc. and letting people in on industry norms should be the rule – not the exception.

This topic comes up a lot when discussing tolerances. A customer will come to us with a request for a blind flange or slip on flange. This is what we do daily and it’s what we’ve been doing as a local machine shop since 1960. The discrepancies arise when we review the tolerance block and determine that what’s called for simply doesn’t make practical sense.

We’ll use a real-world example to show the significance of counting on a flange manufacturer to get the job done. That job called for two commercial ANSI B16.5 flanges. The first was a commercial product and the second was drawn by a client’s engineer. The issue is that the tolerance block for the second flange simply didn’t line up with the commercial flange’s specs. It might not sound like much to the layman, but a 6.75” bolt circle on the engineer’s scale drawing differed from the commercial specs and we caught it. The commercial specifications indicated directions for drilling eight 1.125 holes on a 6.750 bolt circle +/- 0.060. Tolerances are a critical part of the machine work we do and a smaller tolerance — which is important in some applications — may be overkill in others. A flange with tolerances of /- .003” is one where we are almost literally splitting hairs. On the other hand, a part that calls for /-.030” means we’re working with almost 10 times that in forgiveness.

The above findings are a hallmark of our quality assurance program and it’s one more reason why customers come to us time and again for jobs of all sizes. When a flange manufacturer spends the time making parts that don’t fit correctly or don’t perform as intended, we believe that it can most likely be traced back to the design process. Size can be a critical component and tight-fitting flanges could mean the difference between efficient operation or sub-par performance. As you might except, machining parts to tolerances that are as slim as a piece of paper brings with it steep financial costs. The alternative, which yields a part that performs just as well at a fraction of the price, is something every expert flange manufacturer should present to customers.