Accompanying this significant step forward in the evolution of IMI’s brand has been a series of significant developments, achievements, and milestones. So, as an eventful year draws to a close, let’s reflect on some of the standout moments in a pivotal year at IMI.

A Milestone Year for Our Valve Doctors

IMI’s Valve Doctor™ programme was established twenty-five years ago as a mechanism for developing IMI’s cadre of engineers into major experts in their respective fields. Since its launch, the seven-year intensive training and development programme has proven highly successful, with many Valve Doctors driving technological innovations by working directly with our clients to solve customer problems.

In videos and blogs, several of our Valve Doctors have discussed IMI technologies they had helped develop, like EroSolve Flashing, Acoustic Control Vantage, EEEasySeal® and Metamorphic Trim. Each of them explained how close collaboration with IMI’s customers had supported the development of solutions that embody IMI’s purpose of developing breakthrough engineering for a better world. IMI is proud of its engineering heritage and experts, and we would again like to congratulate them on a memorable year and their many accomplishments over the course of the Valve Doctors programme.

Solving Your Critical Engineering Problems

This year also saw continued progress with Growth Hub, IMI’s innovation arm, which was originally established in 2018 and focuses on solving customer problems through close collaboration to develop effective solutions. EroSolve Wet Steam, an early Growth Hub innovation introduced by IMI in 2019, has successfully managed wet steam erosion in power plants worldwide. In tackling the effects of erosion like steam leakage, cracking, and water hammer, the solution has helped power facilities reduce costly unplanned downtime. This year, we celebrated its success by announcing the 200th installation of the technology.

Over the years, Growth Hub has overseen a series of sprint cycles and stage-gated processes that have concentrated on real industry problems, such as developing national green hydrogen. With centralised production being the main impediment to green infrastructure, the Growth Hub team worked with industry and various research institutes to introduce the IMI PEM electrolyser. Capable of integrating renewable energy sources and onsite storage, our PEM electrolyser has proven to be a great success, with a significant number of orders placed for our solutions and excellent feedback from our customers. The IMI electrolyser technology also contributed to a significant breakthrough when, in February of this year, IAAPS, a subsidiary of the University of Bath, ran an internal combustion engine on hydrogen generated by its own H2 power plant for the first time. The electrolyser split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and the hydrogen was harnessed for an internal combustion engine, generating a major success for the research team.

New manufacturing capabilities

This year, IMI acquired Dutch company TWTG Group BV to become part of Process Automation. The move strengthened our digital transformation and process automation position and extended our wireless IoT solutions capabilities.

TWTG specialises in cutting-edge wireless products and LoRaWAN-enabled devices and offers solutions that enhance safety, operational efficiency, and sustainability across various sectors. This acquisition signals our aim to leverage the burgeoning IoT market and provide our customers with state-of-the-art digitalisation solutions. As Roby Buyung, President of Process Automation, notes, this will enable clients with ‘innovative solutions that help our customers make smarter, more efficient and sustainable decisions.’

IMI also committed itself to a long-term future in Poole in Dorset (UK) with a new 105,000 square feet site located at the town’s Technology Road industrial park. We will develop and create a broad range of products for critical applications in challenging environments, such as high-integrity solenoid valves, pressure regulators, and other components at the new location. Chiefly, manufacturing activity will be undertaken for the IMI Herion, IMI Maxseal, and IMI Thompson Valves product brands, but the new site also provides production capacity for other IMI products.

With a state-of-the-art customer experience centre planned for the site, current and future clients will be immersed in our technology. The Poole site is set to create many new jobs for the area, and we can be proud of our status as a leading employer there.

Inclusion and Diversity

Inclusion and diversity are fundamental to all of us at IMI, so it was with some pleasure that we announced that our Korean site had won an important Korean government award for Outstanding Workplace Without Discrimination. The resulting outcome, good labour-management relations, and improved productivity clinched the award, and we again congratulate all our colleagues in South Korea on a major achievement overall.

A Happy Festive Season

As 2024 draws to a close, we can reflect on many other company and individual achievements this year. Among the most notable is APAC Director of Engineering Chulho Pang’s award for contributions to industry and the Korean economy, which the Korean government awarded. Again, we congratulate Pang and wish him even greater success in the future.

We also extend our season’s best wishes to all our customers and partners worldwide and the IMI family. May your holiday season be peaceful and restful, and the New Year bring you happiness, good health, and prosperity.