Founded in 1982 in Ordizia (Guipúzcoa), ORKLI Sociedad Cooperativa is a member company of Mondragón Componentes, a division of the MCC (Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa) Industrial Group.

Orkli has always focused its activity on the production and marketing of heating and household appliance components. As a result, it currently has a wide range of products aimed at the Home Comfort sector.

It has three operating plants, two of them in Guipúzcoa, which employ about 550 people, and another one in Ningbo-Yinxian (China) with 90 workers.

Orkli is characterised by its clear exporting vocation, with sales abroad amounting to 80% of its production.

Moreover, the company has its own trade network in 20 countries and its clients include the world leading manufacturers in the sector: Robert Shaw, BoschSiemens, Electrolux, Merloni, General Electric, Fagor, Vaillant, Junkers...

The company is divided into three business units:

 Thermoelectric Safety.
 Water heating.
 Heating and D.H.W.

With a market share of 55%, Orkli is clearly a world leading company in thermoelectric safety.

Last year, it manufactured 45 million magnet units and thermocouples for gas burners. It is also the European leading company in the manufacture of products such as motorised valves and hydraulic block.

At Orkli, production processes are characterised by a high degree of automation, as a result of which Orkli is a leading company in the sector.

Product:
Thermoelectric safety systems for gas burners

Thermoelectric safety systems for gas burners consist of a range of products from magnet units, thermocouples and flame sensors, to electronic systems such as millivolt actuators and self-driven magnet units.

They manage safety in devices requiring a gas burner, such as gas domestic appliances (cooker and hobs), boilers, heaters and gas water heaters, gas fires and absorption fridges.

When fitted to a thermocouple, the magnet unit acts as a flame failure safety device in gas appliances.

The magnet unit is the system actuator that operates from the voltage generated by the thermocouple, and guarantees that the safety valve opens and closes.

The thermocouple is the source of thermoelectric voltage that transforms heat energy from the flame into electric voltage. This electric voltage generated when connected to the magnet unit makes the latter work.

When the head of the thermocouple heats up as a result of the action of the flame, an electromotive force is produced that is used to keep the electromagnetic unit activated. When the flame is extinguished, there is a reduction in the amount of the current, which closes the magnet unit, which, in turn, automatically closes the gas supply.

The incorporation of a thermoelectric safety system into a gas appliance enables managing the safety functions of the device. It is an autonomous system that does not require external energy to operate. It consists of two parts, the thermocouple and the magnet unit.

Its operation consists of a system working in conjunction with the mechanical generator (thermocouple), which controls an on-off gas flow. The magnetic field generated in the unit, together with the voltage generated in the thermocouple, ensures its operation.

The end of the thermocouple head is located in the mode device that is in contact with the flame. When the flame is lighted, the welding compound in the head generates a small electric voltage (in millivolts) depending on the flame temperature.

As the thermocouple is connected to the magnet unit in closed-circuit, there is a direct current that is enough to hold its armature on the core, allowing gas supply into the device. This gas supply is open as long as there is a flame.

When the flame is extinguished, the voltage generated by the thermocouple and, consequently, the current that flows through the magnet unit coil decreases to a level in which it is not powerful enough to hold the magnet unit armature, and, as a result, the gas supply is shut off. The gas supply is usually shut off.

Other Products:

Other products include Safety, Regulation and Control components for heating and domestic hot water systems. Particularly, Orkli offers the following components:
 Safety: Valves, Anti-pollution safety groups, Equalising valves, Filling units, Differential valve, Drain valves...
 Regulatión: Radiator valves and lockshields, Thermostatic valves, Monotube valves and radiant floor manifold, Flow stats...
 Control: Zone valves, Ambient thermostat, Time-meter.

Address:

ORKLI SOCIEDAD COOPERATIVA
Carretera de Zaldibia. 20240
Ordizia - GIPUZKOA
Tel: + 34 943 71 94 38
www.orkli.es

INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED BASQUE INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS

The aforementioned product is part of a catalogue published by the Society for Industrial Promotion and Restructuring (S.P.R.I. in its Spanish acronym). The catalogue compiles the main industrial products from Basque companies that have become 'internationally renowned' and are 'global leaders within their sectors'.
The publication 'Basque Country, A World Class Industry' gathers the activities of a total of 121 Basque corporations and institutions.

This compilation, though tiny, is a quite significant example of the wide range of INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED BASQUE INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS that corporations in this country design, develop and produce, and that comply with the expectations and needs of clients around the world.

The Sectorial Associations, the Basque Clusters and Euskalit have been in charge of selecting these internationally renowned products.