According to the company’s public relations office, the milestone was achieved through collaboration with the knowledge-based firm Mash’al-Karan, formed by faculty members and students of Dezful University. Bellows are critical components in control valves and safety valves, protecting internal mechanisms from corrosive fluids and ensuring long-term operational reliability.
Due to the complexity of design, the need for precision engineering, and the use of specialized alloys, these components had historically been imported. However, prolonged sanctions and shortages of spare parts had forced operators to rely on temporary packing replacements in recent years, negatively affecting equipment performance and service life.
In response, Arvand launched a reverse-engineering initiative using domestic capabilities. In the first phase, a bellows unit from key furnace control valves in Area 140 (FV_1400401 and FV_1400501) was selected for sample development. After successful design, manufacturing, and testing, five new bellows were delivered to the complex and passed all functional and pressure tests. Additional worn bellows have since been submitted for mass production.
The project is expected to generate significant foreign currency savings, eliminate reliance on imports for sensitive components, and strengthen collaboration between industry and academia. It also reinforces the role of knowledge-based companies in advancing localized industrial technology within Iran’s petrochemical value chain.