In 2014, the U.S. industrial valve industry will see the fifth straight year of increases in annual shipments. The industry will grow more than 2.1% during the year to reach almost $4.4 billion by year’s end, according to the annual forecast just released by the Valve Manufacturers Association (VMA).

At its 75th Annual Meeting, held Oct. 3-5 at The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL, members of the Valve Manufacturers Association of America elected Ivan Velan, executive vice president of Velan to serve as 2013-14 chairman of the VMA Board of Directors, filling the slot held by 2012-13 chairman Mark Cordell of Cameron Valves & Measurement. Greg Rogowski of Mueller Co. is vice chairman, while Bob Kemple, ASCO Valve – Emerson Industrial Automation, is program chairman. Newly elected to the board for three-year terms are: Mark Nahorski, PBM; Bryan Burns, DeZURIK; Jeff Drees, Flowserve; and Patrick Dunn, Metso Automation USA.

Although VMA’s entry-level basics seminars have been extremely popular since introduced to the industry in 2009, the association has worked for a long time toward a broader way to reach people hungry for knowledge. That goal has been accomplished in the form of VMA’s Valve Basics Online Program (VBOT).

The Valve Manufacturers Association had an active role in this week’s Valve World Americas Expo and Conference in Houston, where a large contingent of VMA members exhibited. Members reported the increased size and new location at the George R. Brown Convention Center was a positive move for the exposition. One member described the first day of the exhibition as having non-stop traffic at his booth, and others also expressed enthusiasm at the high level of traffic—and high-quality leads.