Flow-Cal Inc. was the honoree at the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) annual Report to the Community breakfast where they received the 2015 UHCL Community Partnership Award. The award is presented in recognition of the role that community partners play in assisting students, and is selected based on their support and commitment to UHCL.
Awards & Milestones
Milton Roy Named One of the World’s Greatest Companies By How 2 Media
Milton Roy, a global manufacturer of controlled-volume metering pumps, and a brand of Accudyne Industries, has been named one of the "World’s Greatest" Companies by How 2 Media. Milton Roy has been profiled on the "World’s Greatest!" technology program on Cable and Dish Satellite networks. A repeat airing is scheduled for both networks on May 4. To view Milton Roy’s segment on World’s Greatest! click here.
Spirax Sarco Receives SC Chamber of Commerce Safety Award
Spirax Sarco, provider of products and services for steam system solutions, was recently presented a Commendation of Excellence award by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce for exemplary top safety records at its two sites, located in Blythewood. The awards were given to companies and organizations who achieve a commendable lost workday case rate during the 2014 calendar year. This includes any occupational injury or illness that results in an employee being unable to work a full assigned work shift.
Spirax Sarco Receives a Queen’s Award for Innovation
Spirax Sarco announced that for the first time in the company’s history they have been named as a winner of a Queen’s Award for Innovation—the UK’s highest accolade for business success for the design and manufacture of a flowmeter. The Queen’s Award for Enterprise are the UK’s most prestigious award for business performance, which recognize and reward outstanding achievement by UK companies. The Spirax Sarco TVA flowmeter is an alternative to traditional steam flow measurement. The device is designed to provide reliable, accurate and cost-effective steam metering, combined with quick and easy installation, in many environments and across a range of industries worldwide, including food and beverage manufacturing, healthcare organizations, university campuses and petrochemical plants. The flowmeter uses variable area technology and incorporates a proprietary sensor and unique mathematical algorithms. One of the benefits of this design is its ability to measure a wide range of flow rates.
Flow-Cal Inc. Receives University of Houston-Clear Lake Community Partnership Award
Flow-Cal Inc., a provider of measurement data management for natural gas and petroleum liquids, was the honoree at the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) annual Report to the Community breakfast where they received the 2015 UHCL Community Partnership Award. UHCL President, William A. Staples, presented the award to Flow-Cal’s President and CEO, Mike Squyres, with Flow-Cal’s staff of UHCL alumni in attendance as special guests of the event. The Community Partnership Award is presented in recognition of the role that community partners play in assisting students, and is selected based on their support and commitment to UHCL, as well as financial contributions. Flow-Cal became the inaugural member of the Corporate Partners Program with UHCL’s Office of Career Services, and an Interview Room Sponsor in the fall semester of 2013. With the contributions made by Flow-Cal, the university is able to offer programs to enhance career preparation and skill development for the students. More notably, they have financially supported FOCUS 2, an online career planning tool for students to select majors and career paths in UHCL’s Office of Career Services.
GE’s Water Business Honored by Kraton Performance Polymers Inc. with Safety Excellence Award
GE was recently honored with a Platinum Contractor Safety Award from Kraton Performance Polymers Inc. for the company’s dedication to safety during the last 17 years. GE provides advanced water technology to Kraton’s facility in Belpre, Ohio, where they were recognized for having zero recordable injuries over more than 30,087 hours from January 1998 through October 2014. Kraton, a longtime customer of GE, utilizes a variety of solutions within the water and process technologies portfolio including products within the chemical, monitoring and equipment business units.
GE Announces Innovation Challenge Winners for Water Industry
GE announced five winners of its latest innovation challenge to develop a new design for a central tube connector for its spiral wound reverse-osmosis (RO) membranes. GE said it was looking for a unique and original means of connection that eliminated components, reduced cost and improved efficiency, while also expediting the manufacturing process. Specifically, the "GE Innovation Challenge: Innovative Central Tube Connections" asked for 3D design ideas to simplify the spiral wound RO membrane assemblies in pressure-driven, spiral wound water filtration systems, by identifying a novel means of connecting the component tubing.
The winners of the "GE Innovation Challenge: Innovative Central Tube Connections" competition are as follows:
Tom Henninger, Ph.D., P.E.
College of Engineering, University of Kentucky
Tom Goddu
Blazing Pencils LLC
Sandy Richardson
Design Edge
Paul Santarsiero
Siero Design
Jan Bullemo
TNO
Variable Bore Rams Inc. Celebrates 35 Years of Service
Variable Bore Rams Inc. (VBR), an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) ram and BOP component provider, is celebrating its 35th year of providing support and service to blowout preventer operators. The company, founded in Lafayette, Louisiana, has grown from offering a single variable bore ram model to hosting one of the largest inventories of OEM blowout preventer rams and elastomers in the world. VBR’s 26,654 sq. ft. state-of-the-art warehouse facility, recently constructed in Broussard, Louisiana, houses more than 1,600 different types and sizes of blowout preventer ram type products. All VBR equipment is maintained to meet OEM, API, NTL and BOERME requirements and is stored in temperature and humidity controlled facilities to ensure product reliability.
Appointments
Savignac Joins OPW as VP & General Manager of OPW Electronic Systems
Michael Savignac has joined OPW as Vice President and General Manager for the OPW Electronic Systems business unit. Savignac succeeds Phil Carlin who was promoted to Managing Director of OPW EMEA. In his new role, Savignac will provide leadership and overall management of the Electronic Systems business unit, which OPW formed in April 2014. Savignac will be based at the OPW facility in Hodgkins, Illinois, and will report to OPW President David Crouse.
Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) Appoints Rivera as CEO
The Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) has appointed José M. Rivera as CEO. Rivera, who assumed his new role in late March, brings decades of global experience in the automation industry to CSIA, having worked in six countries, primarily in regional or global roles. During Rivera’s tenure as senior vice president of strategy and communications, industry business at Schneider Electric in France, he realigned the automation business along the company’s energy efficiency direction. He developed and executed the strategy to penetrate the process automation market. Prior to Schneider Electric, Rivera had an 11-year career at Emerson Electric in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Puerto Rico, involving product line, general and regional sales management for the process automation market. He started his career as a sales engineer with Siemens in Costa Rica with later assignments in Germany.
The SME Education Foundation Elects Michael Marlowe to its Board of Directors
The SME Education Foundation recently announced that Michael Marlowe, Managing Director and Director of Government Relations at the Automation Federation, has been elected to its Board of Directors. The SME Education Foundation’s mission is to prepare youth for advanced manufacturing careers through outreach programs encouraging students to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), most notably technology and engineering. With more than 28 years of experience in association management and government relations, Marlowe joined the Automation Federation in 2007. A previous assistant to former West Virginia governor and U.S. Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-WV), Marlowe has worked closely with officials at the White House, Congress and federal agencies as a resource and consultant on all issues relating to automation in manufacturing, particularly cybersecurity and workforce development.
Managing Director Appointed at SIPOS Aktorik
Dr. Thomas Suckut has been appointed Managing Director at electric actuator manufacturer, SIPOS Aktorik. His executive profile lists a series of senior posts including his previous position as COO/MD of Bilfinger Power Systems GmbH and Deutsche Babcock Middle East CEO, Abu Dhabi from 2010 to 2012. In his new post as head of SIPOS, Thomas Suckut draws on extensive strategic and international sales management experience in markets highly relevant to the company. His recent work at Bilfinger included a program to position the group of companies as a solution provider for enhanced plant efficiency.
New General Counsel Joins GTI Team
Gas Technology Institute (GTI) announced that Peter Witty has joined the company as its new General Counsel. Witty was elected as an Officer of GTI and will serve as Corporate Secretary. Witty will play a strategic role in exploring and analyzing potential acquisitions, global joint ventures, and other strategic partnerships for GTI, as well as providing guidance on government regulations, tax matters, and corporate governance. Witty’s responsibilities will also include evaluating and negotiating business transactions, as well as advising senior management on the legal aspects of ongoing operational issues. He will also oversee the development and management of a comprehensive risk management plan.
Acquisitions, Expansions & Partnerships
Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group Acquires Asepco
Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group (WMFTG), a manufacturer of peristaltic pumps and associated fluid path technologies, has acquired Asepco through its parent company Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc, for £7.0 million. Asepco, based in California, specializes in the design and manufacture of high purity aseptic valves and magnetic mixers for the bioprocessing industry. Steve Joy, Asepco President, will remain in his role.
OPW Combines 3 Business Units to Serve EMEA
OPW, a Dover Company, and a manufacturer of fluid handling solutions, announced as part of its growth strategy and One OPW initiative, it has consolidated its OPW KPS, OPW Fibrelite and OPW Fluid Transfer Group Europe management teams to create a single business unit, named OPW EMEA. The combined company will offer one of the broadest product portfolios focused on the safe and efficient handling of fuels and critical fluids in EMEA, the company said. Phil Carlin has been appointed Managing Director of the new business unit and will report directly to OPW president David Crouse. Harry Gilde, Managing Director of OPW Fluid Transfer Group Europe and Ian Thompson, Managing Director of Fibrelite, will report directly to Phil Carlin.
Carlin will be based out OPW EMEA headquarters in Kungsör, Sweden.
SOR Controls Group Expands with the Addition of SENSOR Engineered Solutions
SOR Controls Group expands with the addition of SENSOR Engineered Solutions. SENSOR serves clients as a full service systems integration and engineered products company formed from the core SOR Controls Group competencies by providing solutions based on customer service, quality assurance and reliable delivery. SENSOR delivers custom integrated solutions like remote monitoring and telemetry systems, custom bridles and level measurement systems, knock-out pots & vessels, and panel design, fabrication & commissioning for the oil & gas industry.
GTI International Acquires R&D and Energy Consulting Firm Davis Energy Group
GTI International (GTII), a subsidiary of Gas Technology Institute (GTI) has acquired Davis Energy Group (DEG), a professional R&D and energy consulting firm serving residential and commercial markets. "This acquisition represents an important component of GTI’s growth initiative, building on last year’s subsidiary additions and start-ups. We continue to enhance our overall portfolio and expand the services we provide our customers, increasing the value and impact of our collective organizations," says Ron Snedic, GTI International President and Vice President of Corporate Development at GTI. DEG has been in business for more than 30 years, with a diverse business portfolio that includes capabilities in residential and commercial energy efficiency and sustainability consulting and programs; product and system evaluation; building, HVAC, and water heating research; and technology assessment and standards development.
AT&F Expands Presence in India With New Facility
AT&F, a provider of large-scale steel fabrication, is nearing completion of its first fabrication facility in Asia. The facility, located in Chakan, just outside Pune in the Indian state of Maharashtra, is scheduled to open in early summer 2015. The new plant will fabricate and assemble metal components for OEM customers in the construction, transportation, mining, building and automotive industries. Since its inception in 2011, AT&F India has been involved in major infrastructure projects in the state of Gujarat. AT&F has raised large steel structures for power plants and built barges and pontoons for port expansion projects.
