Danish plastic manufacturer Carmo has designed and developed a unique turn valve for urine collection bags. The valve will be moulded in a single piece, which increases its strength and durability and ensures fully automatic high-volume production in Denmark.
Valve production in the West is under pressure by Eastern manufacturing, where low wages keep costs down. But Danish Carmo has now designed and developed a fully moulded turn valve for urine collection bags and other medicine bags. Moulding the valve in one piece means costs are kept low. This makes fully moulded high-volume production in Denmark competitive internationally.
Anders Johnsen, development and technology director at Carmo A/S, said: “We will go as far as to say that Carmo SuperValve truly is a revolution on the market. We have cracked the code on how to mould a turn valve in one piece, which means that we can cut production time significantly. As a benefit to us we become competitive in an area, where there is a lot of competition, and we’re doing it with a highly durable and safe product.”
Groundbreaking production increases safety
Besides the competitiveness of high-volume production, there are more benefits in producing the new valve in one piece. Normal valves, which are produced in several parts, are held together with silicone to ensure density. With the new valve, you minimise the risk of leakages because there are no joints, and you also avoid silicone in the production, which is non-biodegradable.
Johnsen added: “It’s a clear improvement compared to normal turn valves that we can now produce them in a single piece. We avoid all the intermediate processes where several parts need to be produced and assembled. We have a product with a high level of durability and uniformity, which makes the valve more secure and resistant to leakage.
“It’s groundbreaking for the industry that we can now reach such a high level of valve safety. At the same time, they meet the ISO 13485 and the MDR-regulation and will be produced in medically certified materials to ensure that safety and leak resistance is guaranteed.”
Custom-design presented at trade fair
Carmo’s specialty is custom-designed products that can be produced in great quantities, and Carmo SuperValve is no exception. This means that the valves can be produced specifically for various purposes and needs, and thereby to specific industries, which is unique considering that costs and production rates are still competitive.
Johnsen added: “It’s a rather simple product with a highly important function for both investors and the end user. That’s why it’s essential for us to be able to offer a safe, quality product that can be custom designed to fulfil the customers’ wishes. We look forward to presenting the valve on the fair in Germany, where potential business partners can see the valve and talk to our team regarding the development and the design of the product.”