Paladon Valves are now AKO UK
Years ago, Paladon PV were previous distributors of AKO Pinch Valves. This means that the AKO Pinch Valves were being sold under a different name (Paladon PV). In 2000, the company Paladon PV was bought out by AKO GmbH in Germany (AKO head office), and renamed as AKO UK Ltd. Since this time, AKO UK have continued to supply Pinch Valve products under a new name/brand change, into a wide range of industrial sectors, and former Paladon customers naturally changed over to AKO UK products.
AKO is a family run company with it’s head office based in Germany. AKO Armaturen & Separationstecnik in Germany already had their reliable pinch valve brand on the market, and so expanded their distribution into the UK, forming AKO UK. The AKO Pinch Valves replaced the Paladon version of pinch valves imminently. It is quite rare, but some sites across the UK are still using the older Paladon pinch valves as they are currently still installed and working, even 15+ years later.
Paladon Valves – Sleeves still available
AKO UK supply the spare and replaceable rubber sleeves for Paladon valves. However if a new complete valve is required, the old Paladon type was made obsolete in 2000, therefore a new complete pinch valve from AKO UK will replace the Paladon type.
Nowadays, when 50mm or 65mm Paladon valves that are still in use are concerned, there is sometimes a slight confusion over the sleeve size. The AKO 65mm rubber sleeve used to fit both Pinch Valve sizes 50mm & 65mm with the old Paladon bulbous body shape, but now to clear things up and to make it simpler, with the new AKO Pinch Valves, the 50mm sleeve only fits the 50mm valve body and the 65mm sleeve will only fit the 65mm valve body.
Paladon Valves Vs AKO Valves
The main difference between Paladon valves and AKO valves is the body shape. Paladon valves were very round and bulbous shaped, whereas the AKO pinch valve has an elliptical shaped body which uses less air consumption and ensures that the sleeve closes in the same way every time.
AKO Pinch Valves are also a lot more light weight because they no longer have heavy cast iron flanges. Instead they now come in aluminium with a choice of bushing material if required, such as mild steel or stainless steel.
The rubber sleeves inside the AKO Pinch Valves are also improved with extra walls, and are therefore longer lasting. The AKO valves also have a true and full bore, whereas with the older Paladon valves, sometimes the sleeve would reduce the bore.
See more advantages of the AKO Pinch Valve and how it could benefit your system, by replacing ball valves or knife gate valves etc with a much more reliable, long lasting product. (See some of AKO UK’s customer success stories and case studies).
