The Pressure Vessel Manufacturers Association

& service companies. The PVMA was formed in 1975 to serve as a voice of the industry in matters pertaining to regulations, codes, and standards governing the design and manufacture of pressure vessels. Its main purpose was to assure representation in accordance with the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section VIII, Division 1 and 2. To this day, PVMA maintains a respectful liaison with code writing and safety enforcement agencies such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and The National Board of Boiler & Pressure Vessel Inspectors.” Alan Ryshavy, PVMA Board Member and President of Penway Inc.: “PVMA was started by a handful of companies that made small ASME vessels for air service, propane, HVAC, and other industries. Most of the vessels manufactured by these companies were mass produced to sustain economies of scale. Buckeye Boiler, John Wood Co., Kargard, and Brunner Engineering were some of the first founding companies. Most, if not all, operate under different names now due to differing mergers and acquisitions. “All of these companies had their own individual problems with the ASME code rules at the time. Most of the rules were created by individuals from large engineering firms who volunteered their time to ASME code committees. Most of these individual’s firms built large high pressure vessels, but not high volume multiple duplicate tanks. Many of the PVMA’s founding company members that attended the ASME meetings complained that their companies were being treated unfairly. The rules simply didn’t apply well for the types of products they were producing. Hence, the PVMA was created as a universal voice for these companies. “Over time, suppliers were added as associate members, other ASME UG-90 c(2) (multiple duplicate manufactured vessels) shops joined, and later the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors was asked to send THE PRESSURE VESSEL MANUFACTURERS ASSOC I AT ION