Putting your own brand on ball valves made in China is straightforward. Keeping every batch the same as the sample you approved is the hard part. These are the checks we suggest to distributors and importers before the first order — they are the same questions we ask ourselves when we quote.
1. Write the specification down, completely
“Stainless, 1 inch, full bore” leaves a dozen decisions to the factory. A complete line on your purchase specification covers:
- Construction (1-, 2- or 3-piece) and bore (full or reduced)
- Body material (for example CF8M), ball and stem material
- End connection and thread standard — see NPT, BSPT and BSPP
- Pressure rating and seat material — see seat materials
- Operator: lever type, locking device, mounting pad for actuation
- Marking, nameplate and packaging
2. Approve a sample — and lock it
Test the sample the way your customers will use it: thread it onto your fittings, check torque, check the face-to-face length against what you currently stock. Once approved, the sample should fix the factory, materials and specification for every repeat order. Ask your supplier to confirm in writing that any change — a new casting supplier, a different seat compound — will be announced before production, not discovered after delivery.
3. Agree on the marking
Decide what goes where: your logo cast or engraved on the body, a nameplate, printing on the lever grip, and the carton design. Cast logos need a mould and take longer; nameplates and printed grips are quicker for a first order. Also decide what stays on the body as standard marking — size, material grade, pressure rating — because your customers’ inspectors will look for it.
4. Agree on inspection and testing
Say which test standard the valves must meet (catalogue valves are commonly tested to API 598 or EN 12266) and what you want checked on each batch: shell and seat tests, dimensions, thread gauging, marking, packing. If you use a third-party inspector, agree on the inspection point and notice period with the supplier before production starts.
5. Agree on documents before quotation
Material certificates, pressure test records, certificates of conformity — decide which ones your customers need and confirm the supplier can provide them before you accept the quotation. Asking after shipment rarely ends well.
6. Plan the packaging for your warehouse
Individual boxes with your barcode and size label, inner cartons by quantity, end caps on threaded ports, and a carton label your warehouse can read without opening the box. Neutral packing is also an option if you relabel locally.
7. Start mixed and small
A first order of several sizes in small quantities tells you more than a large order of one size. It tests the whole range, your customers’ response and the supplier’s consistency across sizes, before you commit to volume.
8. Judge the communication, not just the price
How quickly and clearly a supplier answers before the order is the best predictor of how they will answer when something goes wrong after it. Clear answers to the questions above are worth more than a slightly lower unit price.
We work this way by default: samples and small orders accepted, your brand on body, nameplate and box or neutral packing, and the approved sample locks factory and specification. Send us your list and we will reply with questions — or a quotation.