Valmont is an international manufacturer of center pivot irrigation systems, light wall steel tubing, street and area light poles, traffic signal poles, communication structures and electrical transmission structures. Valmont currently operates 21 facilities in nine countries and employs more than 3500 people. The primary long-term goal is to eliminate activities that fall under federal, state and local regulations. To accomplish this, short-term goals are developed during process reviews.
Process reviews concern reducing regulatory liability and future risks.
The pickling process involves immersing product components in a series of tanks to clean and prepare them prior to immersion in a molten zinc bath. First, oils and greases are removed from metallic surfaces by immersion in a tank of heated caustic solution. The solution then is rinsed from the surface in the caustic rinse tank. Next, the material is transferred to a tank containing a 10 percent sulfuric acid solution. The pickling process removes oxidized iron from the surface of the product.