Mergers, acquisitions, expansions and partnerships
Schaeffler production factory holds ground-breaking
With the Xiangtan in the Chinese province of Hunan 75th production location, Schaeffler expanded its global network of plants and provided a response to the future development trends. The ground-breaking ceremony took place at the end of November and included chief operating officer Oliver Jung. The construction of the 315,000-square-meter production plant will begin in 2018 start operating in 2019. In the new production plants in Xiangtan, components and systems for engines, transmissions, and chassis systems will be manufactured for the automotive industry. These products ensure reductions in emissions and increased driving comfort. In addition to the technology solutions, the production location will also offer its customers a range of services.
Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence supports “Workshops for Warriors” program
Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence made a commitment to help military veterans achieve their career goals in manufacturing by supporting Workshops for Warriors (WFW), a nonprofit school created to train military veterans in the field of advanced manufacturing. Hexagon contributed several portable ROMER Absolute Arms to help expand the program into metrology education with industrial grade equipment and expert mentoring.
Located in San Diego, a major manufacturing hub and one of the largest U.S. military towns, WFW has produced 421 graduates, who have collectively earned 2,500 nationally recognized certifications from the National Institute of Metalworking Skills, the American Welding Society and more. As the industry evolves toward the smart factory, the addition of metrology training at WFW is meeting the demand for workforce proficiency in measurement, inspection, quality assurance and emerging data-driven processes now fueling new and advanced manufacturing practices.
Hernàn Luis y Prado, the school’s founder who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, wanted to help his community of veterans struggling in their transition back to civilian life. Hexagon has provided its expert-level knowledge base and technical support to the school.
Image courtesy of Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence
Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence hosts grand opening of solution center in California
A grand opening for Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence’s newest Hexagon HeSolution Center in Irvine, California will be held 11 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018. The HxGN LOCAL event will be held at 9004 Research Drive, Irvine, California 92618. The 15,500-square-foot facility is the company’s second solution center located in California, in addition to is Oceanside production facility. The new center is strategically situated with easy highway access to five major counties. The site will feature a technology demonstration room, software training facilities, a Leica laser tracker calibration laboratory, and offices for project engineers, applications engineers, sales and support personnel. For more information about the event, visit here.
LANXESS acquires Solvay’s US phosphorus additives business
Specialty chemicals company LANXESS signed an agreement to acquire the phosphorus chemicals business with a US production site from Belgian chemical group Solvay. The transaction is projected to conclude in the first half of 2018, subject to customary regulatory approvals. With this acquisition, LANXESS will expand its additives segment and grow its business in mid-sized markets and in the regions North America and Asia. The Solvay site in Charleston, South Carolina, includes six production units, where roughly 90 employees manufacture phosphorus chloride plus numerous derivative products such as flame-retardants and intermediates for the agrochemical industry. The additives business represents annual sales of around EUR 65 million and is an important pillar of the LANXESS group.
SignalFire adds five automation solution providers
SignalFire Wireless Telemetry expanded its customer reach and support throughout the U.S. and Canada by adding five new channel partners to represent its wireless telemetry solutions. These automation and instrumentation solution providers will increase responsiveness to the company’s channel end users by offering local application engineering and product availability. The solution providers include Eastern Controls, Andrews Industrial, ControValve, CB Engineering and BBP.
Eastern Controls will represent SignalFire wireless solutions with expertise in all primary process variable measurements including flow, pressure, level, temperature and liquid analytical as well as specialty control and isolation valve applications.
Andrews Industrial served as a premier process control solution provider since 1977 to oil and gas, power, chemical/petrochemical, metals/mining, water/wastewater, food and beverage, pulp/paper and the OEMs and engineering firms who provide equipment and services to these industries.
Assigned to Eastern Canada, ControValve is one of Canada’s leading providers of instrumentation solutions to improve safety and reduce cost for customers now and in the future.
CB Engineering is an instrumentation and automation products and service provider committed to setting high standards for instrumentation, automation and control solutions.
BBP brings more than 25 years of expertise in instrumentation, analytical, valves, and control systems. The company has an experienced service department ready to assist with start-up, repair, configuration and training.
FCX Performance acquires Eads Distribution & The Massey Company
FCX Performance, a specialty flow control distributor serving OEMs, EPCs and end users across the industrial process, energy and high purity industries, acquired Eads Distribution, based in Houston, and The Massey Company, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Eads Distribution is one of the leading flow control distributors of instrumentation and valves in the U.S., while The Massey Company brings years of specialty flow control experience and expertise to the FCX Performance portfolio.
The acquisitions maintain FCX Performance management’s continued push to provide additional value, synergies and better efficiencies to their customers and suppliers. The benefits include a wider range of product solutions, additional industrial proficiency and sharing of strategic partnerships for products and services. Eads Distribution and The Massey Company will maintain their identities in their respective marketplaces, with Eads Distribution operating as a standalone division of FCX and The Massey Company operating as a branch of Eads Distribution. Together, these acquisitions are the largest undertaken by FCX Performance to date, and expand FCX’s footprint to 67 offices nationally, staffed by more than 1,000 experienced team members.
Dunleary, D&F & DN Lukens partner to meet evolving needs of market
Dunleary Inc. established a new corporate identity as The Terra Firma Company LLC. Terra Firma’s mission is to offer stability to chemical suppliers and customers in an evolving world. The company serves 28 states, has more than 50 employees and covers a wide array of chemical markets, including CASE (coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers), plastics, construction, food, personal care, cosmetics, graphic arts, oil and gas, rubber, textiles, and others. Headquartered in Towson, Maryland, Terra Firma will maintain local sales, customer service and distribution in Baltimore, Boston and Dallas, ensuring comprehensive coverage of its geographic markets and preserving longstanding relationships. It is among a new class of distributors referred to as "super multi-regional" specialty chemical distributors. The three founding companies of Terra Firma operated across multiple regions of the U.S. since 1949 (Dunleary), 1951 (DN Lukens), and 1975 (D&F). Dunleary first announced its acquisition of the two companies in July 2017, with the deals being completed on Sept. 29.
Momar acquires Superco Specialty Products
Momar Inc., a specialty manufacturer of general maintenance and sanitation chemicals, purchased Superco Specialty Products Inc. in the company’s largest acquisition to date. Momar specializes as a total fluids management supplier and provides its customers with products or services available in the areas of maintenance chemicals and equipment, lubrication, water and waste water treatment, food processing chemicals, mineral handling, specialty hardware, industrial safety, and expert application services. Based in Los Angeles County, Superco brings a strong line of 500 products and 32 experienced professionals to the family-owned and operated firm. With the Superco acquisition, Momar added experienced sales and sales management teams from Los Angeles to Philadelphia. Superco will continue operate “as is,” to distribute and sell its quality line of maintenance products for commercial, industrial, institutional and federal/state agency clients.
Appointments
WYNRIGHT appoints VP of project management
Wynright Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daifuku North America Holding Company and a part of the Daifuku Group, appointed Greg Taylor as vice president project execution. With nearly three decades of experience in project and supply chain management, Taylor brings progressive leadership in growth and turnaround environments. Taylor joins Wynright from Nortek LLC, a publicly traded $3 billion globally diversified heavy manufacturing company, where he and his team were responsible for a $150 million supply chain. Prior to that, he was vice president of supply chain systems design and support at Staples, a multinational office supply retailing corporation, where he increased revenues threefold during his tenure.
Sulzer appoints US sales manager for high voltage coils
Independent high voltage coil manufacturers Sulzer appointed Janice Fillinger as the sales manager to cover the U.S. market. Fillinger will be responsible for medium and high voltage coil sales as well as developing new business in this competitive market where speed and quality are essential to customers. Fillinger has several years of experience in coil insulation and maintenance and is looking to widen the existing market for high voltage coils in the U.S. Her main objectives will be to service existing customers and identify new customers that will benefit from high quality coils manufactured in a short time frame to ensure projects are delivered on time.
MCAA members elect 2018 board of directors
MCAA President Teresa Sebring certified the election of officers and directors of the Measurement, Control & Automation Association for 2018.
Bharat Naik, president of Reotemp Instruments of San Diego, was elected chairman. He has spent more than twenty years in the chemical industry in a variety of technical, commercial and management roles. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Master of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Massachusetts, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.
James M. Waters will serve as vice chairman. Waters joined SOR Controls Group Ltd. as president and CEO in April 2012. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Distribution from Texas A&M University and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Bill Edinger, general manager for Process Instrumentation at Siemens Industry Inc., Process Industries and Drives Division was elected to the board as a director at-large with a term through 2020. Edinger holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Penn State and began his career in the industry at Moore Products which was subsequently acquired by Siemens.
Also elected as a director at-large was Ron Hegyesi, president of VEGA Americas. Hegyesi held positions at BASF and Dow Chemical Company before joining Ohmart/VEGA (now VEGA Americas). He holds degrees from Texas A&M University and Northwood University. He will serve as a member of the board through 2020.
The remainder of the board is comprised of immediate past chairman Peter Martin (vice president), Strategic Ventures for Schneider Electric Systems USA Inc., and at-large members Mike DeLacluyse (president of Lesman Instrument Company), Mike Gallagher (president and CEO of Centro Inc.); Gary Johnson (president of Azbil North America Inc.), Don Maness (senior director of North America Channels, Honeywell Process Solutions), Scott Saunders (president and CEO of Moore Industries International Inc.); and Jim Winter (director of Global Process Business, Rockwell Automation). The terms of immediate past chairman Joe Incontri (director of Marketing, Krohne Inc.) and at-large director Stan Ronna (President of Automation Products Group Inc.), conclude at the end of 2017 and they received the thanks of the association for their service.
Awards, milestones and achievements
EASA’s electric motor repair accreditation program reaches milestone
The Electrical Apparatus Service Association (EASA) accreditation program provides assurance to electric motor owners that repairs performed at accredited facilities conform to industry standards and maintain the reliability and efficiency of the repaired motor. One-hundred and five locations worldwide have been approved as EASA Accredited Service Centers, assuring efficiency and reliability of repaired motors. Accredited service providers will affix a serially numbered "EASA Accredited Repair" label to repaired motors.
The repair standards are contained in the American National Standards Institute approved ANSI/EASA-AR100: Recommended Practice for the Repair of Rotating Electrical Equipment. These criteria address the initial condition assessment of the failed motor and the repair of the motor’s mechanical components such as shafts, bearings, housing and cooling system. Further, the program addresses repair of the motor’s electrical elements including winding and insulation. Other criteria include balancing and testing of the repaired motor, required equipment used in the repair, instrument calibration, training of repair personnel, and documentation of findings and work performed. An independent third-party audit of a motor repair service provider’s practices assures compliance with these standards.
Image courtesy of Brooks Instrument
Brooks Instrument receives Supplier Excellence Award from NAURA Technology Group
Brooks Instrument, a supplier of precision fluid measurement and control technology for semiconductor production and other industries, earned a core partner supplier excellence award from NAURA Technology Group Co. Ltd. (Naura). Naura, of Beijing, China, is a supplier of wafer processing tools to the semiconductor industry. The company uses Brooks Instrument mass flow controllers (MFC), including the GF100 Series and GF125 Series metal-sealed thermal mass flow controllers in its wafer processing equipment. Brooks Instrument received the "Core Partner Top 100 Supplier" recognition from Naura at the toolmaker company’s first supplier conference devoted to semiconductor industry trends and collaborative innovation, held May 26 in Beijing.
Ross Company in India. Image courtesy of Charles Ross & Son Company
Charles Ross & Son Company reaches 10-year milestone in India
Charles Ross & Son Company (Ross) VP of corporate operations Joseph Martorana recognized the 10-year anniversary of Ross Process Equipment (RPE), the U.S.-headquartered mixer manufacturer’s operations in Pune, India. RPE produces tumble blenders, ribbon blenders, planetary mixers, multi-shaft mixers, high-speed dispersers, high-shear mixers, as well as pressure vessels, tanks and other custom-fabricated equipment. Early this year, RPE completed a plant expansion that doubled its manufacturing space to 50,000-sq.ft. Located in Pune’s Chakan MIDC industrial area, the RPE plant sits on a 2.5-acre property that could accommodate further expansions as the business grows. RPE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ross that serves customers in India and neighboring Asian countries.
ENGIE Lab Crigen selects contest winner for innovative biomethane analysis solutions
Orbital Gas Systems Ltd was recently awarded project approval for an open-invitation competition by one of Europe’s leading energy producers, French pipeline operator, ENGIE. Initiated by ENGIE Lab Crigen, ENGIE Group’s research and operational expertise center dedicated to gas, new energy sources and emerging technologies, the contest called for projects to identify innovative solutions for testing the quality of biomethane.
Orbital Gas Systems, a CUI Global Company, has more than 30 years of experience in design, installation and the commissioning of industrial gas sampling, measurement and delivery systems. CUI Global Inc. is a publicly traded company dedicated to maximizing shareholder value through the acquisition and development of innovative companies, products and technologies.
