About Us
K-TORK has a long and successful history with high-performance vane actuators.  In 1983, the principle owner of K-TORK began importing a similar vane actuator manufactured in England to the United States. These products were marketed through a division of Controls International, Inc. to valve automation suppliers located around the U.S.  It was Controls International's responsibility to establish the distribution, marketing policy, inventory product, warranty all sales, train distributors and create a market for a product that had no previous significant presence in the United States.

K-TORK International, Inc. had known for years that the imported product lacked the operating pressures and temperatures demanded by the Power Utility and Municipal markets in the United States. In 1996, K-TORK International, Inc. embarked on a mission to design and produce the World's Finest High Performance Valve Actuator.

It was important for K-TORK to incorporate some of the same features found in the imported design to facilitate retrofit field installations:

Identical mounting bolt circle dimensions so that K-TORK actuators will mount onto EXISTING mounting brackets without any modification to the bracket.
Identical output drive shaft dimensions so that K-TORK actuators will utilize EXISTING couplings without any modifications to the coupling.
Same torque outputs for each similar Model.

From there, we improved K-TORK actuators with the following patented features:

Integral NAMUR solenoid mounting pad.
Integral VDI / VDE 3485 NAMUR accessory top works mounting pad for positioner and limit switch controls.
150 PSI maximum working pressure rating, 220 PSI maximum over-pressure rating per
AWWA C-540, Power Actuating Devices.
300° F. maximum temperature rating with K-SEAL modifications.
High-Tensile alloy steel – electroless nickel-plated vane and output shaft.  Kinetrol uses ductile iron on similar models.

 Click link to view documents

Vane Actuator Comparison Chart           K-TORK Patent(1 MB)            Complete Warranty

In short, K-TORK actuators were designed for long-life and the precise control of ¼-turn valves.  With only one moving part, the simplistic design provides years of service in demanding, high-cycle, fast operation and critical modulating applications.

To reinforce your confidence in K-TORK, we offer a standard THREE YEAR / 2 MILLION STROKE Performance Warranty.  This is more than a “Materials and Workmanship” guarantee as K-TORK will repair or replace your actuator AT NO COST if it does not perform to your expectations.