Maric Flow Control celebrates 50 years

Adelaide manufacturer Maric Flow Control is celebrating its 50th birthday with record sales and exports.

Maric is a key supplier to various industries, particularly mining, water utilities, water treatment, pumping and irrigation. Aluminium producers in Australia and the US, including Alcoa World Alumina, are among the company’s biggest customers.

Over the past three years Maric has recorded a 32% increase in exports which now account for 40% of total sales. Overall turnover has surged 11% in the first four months of 2013-14.

Director Grant Schroeder said recent investment in new production equipment is helping the business keep up with its expanding order book.

But it is the company’s ability to tailor high-quality, long-life valves to meet specific customer requirements that is a key point of difference - and the company says this is achieved by hand.

“The fact that we can deliver thousands of different configurations involving different valve materials, body specifications, flow rates and pressure ranges is unique in the marketplace,” said Schroeder. “It’s why we’re now regarded as a leading manufacturer and supplier of flow control valves internationally.”

The company was formed as Maric Products in December 1963 by Eric Schroeder to manufacture his self-designed water heaters. The Maric heaters were a significant improvement over the existing instantaneous water heaters of the day, and had become the market leader in Adelaide.

Maric Flow Control director Grant Schroeder at the Adelaide Hills facility.

Schroeder saw an opportunity to improve the design of his heaters. If a constant flow of water could be maintained despite the fluctuating water pressures then water temperature would be constant. At the time, the only flow control valve on the market was a very expensive American product. Schroeder set about designing his own. He studied rubber chemistry and designed and patented his own valve, named the Maric Valve.

The Maric valves had applications beyond the water heaters; they were good for saving water, including costly hot water in the bathroom. Schroeder repackaged his invention into a ½″ BSP chrome-plated valve which sold well into the hotel/motel market, both nationally and internationally, throughout the 1970s.

Sales of the Maric water heaters declined in the 1980s, as they were superseded by mains-pressure storage water heaters. Grant Schroeder joined the business in 1987. The business was at a low point, but with machinery upgrades and Grant’s concerted marketing commitment, sales of the Maric Flow Control valves continued to grow.

The name change to Maric Flow Control Australia in 2003 acknowledged that the Maric flow control valves had become the core product. Expanding applications for the valves necessitated adaptations to suit different environments.

Recently, a patented non-return feature was incorporated into the valve to create Maric flow control check valves for use in the mining sector, both nationally and internationally. The use of EPDM, Viton and high-pressure control rubber materials has increased for more aggressive industrial environments. Further developments have also included manufacturing valve bodies in titanium and Super Duplex stainless steels.

Markets for Maric Flow Control now include industries such as water treatment, municipalities, mineral processing, pumping and irrigation. 40% of total production is for export, and includes Europe, the United Kingdom, the US, South America, New Zealand, South Africa, the Middle East, and China and Scandinavia.