43
Canfield Industries evolves product to compete
By Kalea Hall
BOARDMAN
A local company that produces valves and connectors has created an innovative product for its global market to offer competitive pricing and a list of other positives.
The 6200 plastic valves series is a completely new alternative to stainless steel offered by Spartan Scientific — the mechanical division of Canfield Industries Inc.
“The development of it took some years,” said John Piscitelli, Canfield’s marketing coordinator. “From what I understand, there aren’t really a lot of these in the market.”
The three-division company, which employs a little more than 90 people, works to provide high-quality products for fluid power, electronics, plastics and industrial marketplaces. Products ship worldwide, with the bulk going to North and South America, Canada and Mexico.
About a year ago, the Spartan Scientific division unveiled the new series of lower-cost composite valves to give customers a cost savings. The composite plastic solenoid valves also are lighter and will not rust or oxidize like metal valves do over time.
Piscitelli said customers are loving having the option of a composite body valve for applications in the air-cylinder world. Other products that would use the valve include ice machines, spraying systems, water-purifier systems and car washes.
The new product line allows for two-way or three-way valves for a variety of fluids, flow rates and pressure ranges.
“We are able to get them what they need at a lower cost,” Piscitelli said of Spartan’s customers. “They like what it has to offer.”
Canfield also offers its 3827 valves in composite form. Not all of the products offered will have a plastic option because of the way they are used.
“We are trying to integrate the composite valves in our other bodies,” Piscitelli said. “The possibilities are endless.”
The reinforcing rings remain stainless steel for durability, he said. The interior of the valve contains baskets that come in eight sizes to accommodate various types of media. One body design is used to adjust to the different sizes, which cuts down on lead times. The bodies of the 6200 series are made with injection molds and assembled by Spartan Scientific employees.
The composite-body option provides several benefits to customers: lower cost and increased durability and chemical compatibility. A plastic valve will cost $30 to $40, while a stainless-steel valve can cost $80. Composite bodies will not rust like metal, and are not as bulky.
Canfield Industries began in 1977 as Canfield Fluid Power, a representative company for a German product, then eventually developed into a three-division part-making plant.
The name changed to Canfield Industries in 1978, and in the 1980s, it started to make its own products.
In 1987, Canfield Connector, the company’s main division which focuses on manufacturing electrical parts such as connectors, and Spartan Scientific, the mechanical division which develops items such as valves, split. The company’s third division, Gator Polymer offers molding, labeling and pad printing.
The company makes a variety of electro-pneumatic, electronic interface and insert-molded components and sells them through a distributor, which then sells to consumers.
“Everything we build here is tested before it is shipped out,” Piscitelli said. “I can probably tell you any machine out there, we probably have a part in.”
Products are made to order based on the customer’s needs.
“A lot of our parts build other parts,” he said.
For information on the products Canfield Industries offers, visit canfieldindustries.net.