The Industrial Group of Moog has launched a contest to find the oldest operating Moog servo valve. The company will also be sponsoring monthly drawings to give people with newer valves a chance to participate. This contest is part of a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Moog’s operations in Europe.

“Moog’s servo valves have a legendary reputation for reliability, and it’s not uncommon to find our valves in service for 25 years or more in tough environments like steel production, gas turbines and industrial machinery”, said Gary Parks, group vice president and general manager of Industrial Services at Moog.

In 1951 William C. Moog, Jr., developed the first commercially viable servo valve. Servo valves transform a digital or analog signal into a hydraulic output such as flow or pressure.

“We’re celebrating our reliability and anniversaries in Europe, while having fun by challenging people to find the oldest operational Moog servo valve”, added Gary Parks.

The contest is simple and open to anyone who can find a Moog servo valve in operation on a machine. Here’s how it works: using a smartphone, take a photo of the valve including the serial number on the nameplate (Moog will use this information to check the date of the valve); upload the photo and complete a short form at http://oldestvalve.moogglobalsupport.com/.

The grand prize is an Amazon voucher for 500 dollars; Moog will award additional Amazon vouchers for the second prize and third prize. Even if a contestant’s valve is not the oldest operational valve or if they have multiple valves, participants can still qualify to win five 50-dollar Amazon vouchers that Moog will draw each month. The contest ends February 29, 2016.