PELFA Group demonstrates large-hydropower manufacturing competence

2024 has been a year of exciting activity for the PELFA Group, which has its headquarters in Udine in northern Italy. A comprehensive expansion of their range of machinery has allowed the eminent hydropower specialist to elevate their manufacturing portfolio to a whole new level. Numerous international contracts have also been pouring in, feeding their pipeline with projects from Slovakia to Norway and Kyrgyzstan. With their new machinery and the technical know-how of their well-coordinated team, the steelwork engineering specialists are confident to reinforce their position as a reliable manufacturing partner that will continue to extend the frontiers of technology.

PELFA’s service portfolio covers the entire steel engineering production process, from order acceptance to delivery of pre-assembled, ready-to-install components. The company’s sustained success is rooted firmly in their wide-ranging technical expertise in steelwork engineering. All manufacturing steps – including plasma cutting, welding, bending, CNC milling, corrosion protection and final assembly – are performed at the same central production site. PELFA’s expert engineers, many of whom are former apprentices, are a core element of the corporate strategy and the company’s most valuable success factor.

New machines on the block

By extending their range of machinery equipment in 2024, the PELFA Group was able to further grow their manufacturing capacity as well as their portfolio of integrated high-end solutions. The new equipment includes a bending press delivering 2,000 tonnes of bending force, a 3D laser scanner with a 0.2 mm precision rating, and a Series “integrex E500H II” CNC lathe by Mazak. In addition, the existing Pama brand boring mill is currently completely revamped. Throughout 2024, PELFA’s consolidation of their optimised manufacturing workflows also attracted a lot of orders, which are now being implemented step by step. Current key projects include the manufacture of two DN4000 butterfly valves for the Kühtai 2 pump storage power plant in Tyrol. Weighing up to 70 tonnes each, the two valves are designed to withstand up to 15 bars of pressure and are manufactured, painted, assembled and tested by PELFA. Other PELFA equipment for the Kühtai 2 facility include the valve bodies for the spherical valves. For the Ruzin hydropower station in Slovakia the Italian specialists are manufacturing four new DN4450 butterfly valves with a PN10 pressure stage and a weight of up to 60 tonnes. Another contract awarded to PELFA last year is for a Norwegian hydropower station. The Jukla facility is scheduled to receive new valve bodies for spherical valves weighing approximately 9 tonnes. A further recipient of PELFA equipment is the new Kulanak large-hydropower plant in Kyrgyzstan: following the factory acceptance test, four new DN3500 PN10 butterfly valves will be sent on their way to central Asia.

Strengthening customer partnerships

According to PELFA, their customers particularly appreciate being able to rely on the comprehensive technical and logistic support if and when they need it. Among other things, these services include the final assembly of components, acceptance testing and on-site delivery of the pre-assembled components. Since 1979, when the PELFA Group was founded by Redento Fabbro, the company has established itself as a reliable manufacturing partner for a wide range of industrial applications. As managing directors Andrea Forgiarini, Daniele Fabbro and Alessandro Bertino explain, this approach is to be extended further, considering its clear benefits for both PELFA and their customers. This will enable the integration of efficient manufacturing methods while allowing the engineers to react flexibly to special technical requirements for testing and installation, all in close cooperation with the plant operators. By following this strategy, the PELFA Group intends to further underscore their position as leading innovators and providers of comprehensive service. At the same time, the company will continue to reinforce their partnerships with its industry-based customers by providing them with precision-tailored, technically advanced solutions.