Salina Vortex Corporation

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Salina Vortex Corporation, also known as Vortex, Vortex Valves and Vortex Global Limited, is an industrial equipment supplier with valves and other components to facilitate dry bulk material handling and movement through a manufacturing process.

Salina Vortex Corporation was founded in 1977 and is based in Salina, Kansas, United States. In 1980, co-founder Loren Neil Peterson, a mechanical and process engineer with expertise in pneumatic conveying, became the patented inventor of the first slide gate specifically designed for handling dry materials. Salina Vortex Corporation was also the patented inventors of a slide gate designed for quick sanitation, a slide gate designed with a particle clearing action, a revised iris diaphragm for controlling flow of bulk solids, a slide gate capable of sealing high pressures, a diverter with improved sealing capabilities, and a revised design for the originating slide gate.

Today, Salina Vortex Corporation operates 250,000 square feet of manufacturing space and has 425 employees. The company produces 7,000 to 10,000 components per year, with 50% of those being customized in some way.

Salina Vortex Corporation

Type	Private
ISIN	🆔
Industry	Dry bulk material handling
Founded 📆	1977 (1977)
Founders 👔	Loren Neil Peterson & Lee Young
Area served 🗺️
Key people	Lee Young (Executive Chairman); Jeff Thompson (President); Travis Young (CEO); Brian Burmaster (Senior Vice President of Global Sales); Cory Downing (Senior Vice President of Corporate Manufacturing & Development); Monty Leach (Vice President of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) & Standards)
Members
Number of employees
Parent	Vortex 1725
Divisions	Vortex 304, Vortex Global Limited, Vortex Latin America, Vortex Asia-Pacific
🌐 Website	[ ]
📇 Address
📞 telephone

History

1950s

Loren Neil Peterson's career in dry bulk solids begins at Salina Manufacturing in Salina, Kansas, USA.

Late 1970s

In 1977, Loren Neil Peterson leaves Salina Manufacturing. He and his son-in-law, Lee Young, start a pneumatic systems business: Salina Vortex Conveyor Corporation. They begin inventing in a 5,000-square-foot early military building from the Cold War era on Schilling Air Force Base, working on an initial conveying system concept to create a vortex/whirlpool for directing dry material flow. The company is named after Salina, Kansas, the city in which it was founded, and "Vortex" because of the material vortex/whirlpool in this initial conveying system concept.

In 1979, after more than a year of research and development, the initial valve concept fails. Peterson and Young instead market a slide gate they designed as part of their prototype system.

1980s

In 1980, Loren Neil Peterson receives a patent on the slide gate. It receives a John C. Vaaler Award from Chemical Processing Magazine for its major contributions toward more efficient and effective operation of plants in the chemical processing industry. The company is renamed Salina Vortex Valves. Lee Young leaves Salina Vortex Corporation for financial reasons before returning in 1989 as the company's ninth employee and General Manager, in preparation for Loren Neil Peterson's retirement.

Throughout the decade, Loren Neil Peterson develops additional valves – with the patented slide gate serving as the benchmark design concept. This includes a roller-supported slide gate, as well as a patented "Y"-type diverter which applies a slide gate design, a coupling system and a straight-through channel to reduce pressure losses in pneumatic conveying systems.

1990s

In 1990, Loren Neil Peterson receives a patent on a slide gate designed with a particle clearing action. That year, additions are made to expand manufacturing space from 5,000 square feet to 60,000 square feet.

In 1993, Loren Neil Peterson receives a patent on a revised sealing design, to be used in slide gates. The seals are pressure loaded and are shielded from the abrasive effects of the material flowing through the valve. The peripheral seals can be removed for cleaning and inspection without having to remove the valve from the duct or other conduit to which the valve is mounted.

2000s

In 2002, Salina Vortex Corporation starts expanding internationally. The company name is officially shortened to Vortex Valves because the word "salina" translates to "salt water" in other languages.

In October 2006, Salina Vortex Corporation relocates from their original location on Schilling Air Force Base to a newly constructed, 120,000-square-foot (15 acre) space near Interstate 35.

In 2007, Lee Young retires as CEO and assumes the role as Executive Chairman of Salina Vortex Corporation. Jeff Thompson is named President and CEO of Salina Vortex Corporation. Lee's son, Travis Young, is appointed Vice President of Business Development. That year, Lee Young is inducted into the Salina Business Hall of Fame.

Throughout 2007-2008, Salina Vortex Corporation establishes Vortex Valves Europe in Darlington, United Kingdom. Today, Vortex Valves Europe is known as Vortex Global Limited. The European division services the UK, rest of Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Also in 2008, Salina Vortex Corporation establishes Vortex Latin America to service manufacturers throughout Central and South America.

In 2009, Salina Vortex Corporation establishes Vortex Asia-Pacific in Pudong, Shanghai, China.

2010s

In 2011, Salina Vortex Corporation begins designing valves for handling heavy-duty dry materials. The new valve series is released to market in 2012, bringing company offerings to 21 product lines.

In February 2013, Vortex acquires PMC Unlimited to add loadout equipment to the company's offerings. The company had now grown to 165 employees. Additions are made to expand the new facility to 185,000 square feet.

On January 29, 2017, Salina Vortex Corporation co-founder Loren Neil Peterson passes away at age 87. He is recognized by the industry as a pioneer for conveying materials other than flour, developing formulas that were otherwise unproven, at the time. Most notably, Loren Neil Peterson pioneered the experimentation and analytical processes on testing a gallon-sized product sample before scaling it up to a full-size system.

In March 2017, Laurence Millington is appointed Managing Director of Vortex Global Limited. After nine years of managing the company’s business development in the EMEA and Asian markets, Travis Young returns to headquarters in Salina, Kansas, USA.

In January 2018, Vortex Asia-Pacific relocates offices within Pudong, Shanghai, China.

On September 1, 2018, Salina Vortex Corporation acquires Kasa Fab, a custom metal fabrication and manufacturing company, from Kasa Companies. Kasa Fab is also located in Salina, Kansas, USA and has since been renamed Vortex 304.

In November 2018, Vortex Latin America relocates from Pachuca, Mexico to Queretaro City, Queretaro, Mexico.

Education & Training

Salina Vortex Corporation donates equipment to the Bulk Solids Research Center at Kansas State University. It is the only publicly funded facility of its kind in the United States. There are only two similar facilities in the world, including the Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology, which has been operating at the University of Greenwich in the United Kingdom since 1973. Today, a second center exists near London, as well as a similar center in Australia.

Worldwide, Salina Vortex Corporation provides field service training from six mobile showrooms. The showrooms are on the road 40-45 weeks per year, holding approximately 20 training sessions per week. This program began in the 1980s.

Salina Vortex Corporation also provides education and training for Manufacturing Day.

External links

• [1]

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