Houston, TX, April 2017 – ValvTechnologies, Inc., the global leader in the design and manufacturing of zero-leakage severe service isolation valve solutions, has successfully renewed its American Petroleum Institute's (API) Q1 certification. ValvTechnologies has held the API Q1 certification since 2001, making it seventh oldest Q1 certificate awarded worldwide.

ValvTechnologies is one of the only manufacturers in the severe service industry that goes through the arduous process of earning the API Q1 certification year after year: most others only secure their API product license, a significantly easier process to pass since it reviews their quality program only once every third year. ValvTechnologies, however, is committed to providing the oil and gas industry the highest quality severe service isolation valves available and therefore is audited every year to earn the highly-coveted API Q1 certification.

To become API Q1 certified, ValvTechnologies underwent an evaluation process that included the submission and review of their quality manual and host an on-site audit conducted by the API. The quality manual must meet each item outlined in the API standard. To maintain API Q1 certification, annual audits must be conducted to ensure continued conformance to the API standard.

"ValvTechnologies recently audited a small machining supplier with less than 20 employees," said Todd Blackburn, Director, Global Quality Management. "The owner emphatically stated the reason he is still in business during the recent downturn was he maintained his API Q1 certification: based on the results of our audit I believe this is a true statement," Blackburn continued. "My recommendation is for our customers to evaluate the robustness of ValvTechnologies' quality program against our competition when searching for their severe service valve solutions."