Movers and shakers: Metso moves forward with new operating model; Seeq integrates with Tableau

Sept. 27, 2017

New developments, acquisitions, partnerships, appointments and awards from around the process industries.

Metso to move ahead with new operating model and organization

Metso‘s board of directors has agreed to move forward with a new operating model and organization, effective Jan.1, 2018, according to a group announcement. The new organization is designed to accelerate Metso’s strategy implementation by strengthening its service and product businesses in the minerals and flow control markets. Growth will primarily be sought organically, but also through acquisitions, the company said. Metso’s new business areas will be mining equipment, aggregates equipment, minerals services, minerals consumables, recycling, valves and pumps. The group’s current reporting segments, Minerals and Flow Control, remain unchanged.

Seeq partners with Tableau for faster visualization of time series data in process manufacturing organizations

Software companies Seeq and Tableau have partnered on a technology integration that gives Seeq customers access to Tableau’s advanced visualization tools for their time series data. In turn, Tableau users can leverage Seeq for data wrangling and modeling prior to visualization in Tableau.

"The partnership between Tableau and Seeq provides our customers faster access and incorporation of time series data, while eliminating the tasks of manual data extractions and time-consuming data cleansing," says Sunil Sanghani, Head of Global ISV’s and Technology Alliances at Tableau. "With this partnership, engineers, analysts and operations managers can leverage Tableau to uncover insights within their time series data."

Colfax sells fluid handling business for $860M

Annapolis Junction-based Colfax Corp., an industrial manufacturing and engineering firm, is selling its fluid handling business to Circor International Inc., a Massachusetts valve manufacturer, in a deal totaling $860 million. Colfax’s fluid handling business has a history dating back to 1860 and had about $463 million of sales in the 12 months ending June 30. The company expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of the year. Colfax’s deal with Circor included $542 million and 3.3 million shares of Circor common stock. Circor will also assume $150 million in net pension liability. Colfax said it plans to grow its ESAB and Howden business units through acquisitions. The company also plans to make more deals to expand its portfolio and build out new business platforms.

SABIC develops polypropylenes pilot plant in the Netherlands

SABIC has developed a gas-phase, polymerization-licensed technology plant to support the production of materials to meet the needs of various industries, such as automotive, pipe, appliances and advanced packaging. The company’s latest pilot plant for polypropylenes, located in Sittard-Geleen, The Netherlands, will be operated by 13 qualified operators and was installed in two weeks by pilot and demonstration-scale plant designer and builder Zeton B. V. The plant aims to develop grades with improved balances of stiffness and impact resistance, further flow and properties specific to individual applications. The company plans to concentrate on development of impact grades of polypropylene, as well as random copolymers and homopolymers. It will also carry out experiments on advanced catalysts.

Appointments

Schneider Electric names VP of US industry business

Schneider Electric named Carlos Villa as the new vice president of its industry business. Villa will lead the organization’s portfolio of hardware and software solutions and services for plant operators, OEMs (original equipment manufacturing) and machine users in manufacturing and other industrial environments, including digitally enabled solutions such as EcoStruxure Plant and Machine.

Matcon Ltd appoints new global systems director

Andre Goodson has been appointed as the new global systems director for Macon Ltd., headquartered in Evesham, U.K. Goodson will bring commercial leadership experience to the sales processes and will also be responsible for overseeing the development of the systems team and business.

Bunting Magnetics Co names metal detection line product manager

Bunting Magnetics Co. has appointed Barry Voorhees as the product manager over metal detection. Voorhees will manage the growth and profitability of the company’s line of metal detection products by supporting the company’s sales team, identifying new markets and customers, improving the product and enhancing the accompanying service and warranty programs. Voorhees is a company veteran, having been with Bunting Magnetics Co. in various positions.

Rockwell Automation appoints CEO to become chairman

Rockwell Automation’s board of directors has elected president and CEO Blake D. Moret as chairman of the board effective Jan. 1, 2018. The company will continue to have an independent lead director. Moret served in senior positions across the organization, including international assignments in Europe and Canada.

Victrex names new CEO to execute growth strategy

Jakob Sigurdsson joined Victrex in September 2017 as CEO-designate and will assume the role in October 2017, after Dave Hummel retires following 24 years. Sigurdsson came aboard the team with a clear focus on further executing Victrex’s successful polymer, forms, and parts strategy. He brings more than 20 years’ experience in large multinational companies, including with Rohm & Haas (now part of Dow Chemical) in the U.S.

Fairmont Supply appoints new CEO

Fairmont Supply, a distributor of industrial maintenance, repair, and operation supplies in the United States, appointed their new CEO, Paul Fichiera. Fichiera will be based out of Fairmont’s corporate headquarters in Washington, Pennsylvania and will be responsible for the overall management and growth of the company and its subsidiaries. Fichiera has more than 20 years of experience in industrial supply and has served in executive leadership positions with HD Supply and GE Supply.

Orbital Gas Systems appoints trace measurement specialist

Orbital Gas Systems ("Orbital") has appointed Jacob Tivey as its trace measurement specialist. Tivey is based in the company’s Houston office and will serve as an integral member of Orbital’s research and development team. He will be involved in the company’s research into adsorption phenomena. Tivey is a member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers and recently graduated from the University of Birmingham, U.K., with a foundation degree in engineering fundamentals, as well as a bachelor’s and master’s degree in chemical engineering.

Magnum Systems appoints director of engineering

Magnum Systems has appointed Anatoly Grushansky as director of engineering. Grushansky will oversee engineering, product design, and research/development areas of the company and help strengthen 3D design, engineering quality and automation technology capabilities to better serve customers. Grushansky currently holds an international patent and two U.S. patents in machine designs as well as certifications in Lean Six Sigma, leadership transition, project control and change management, and earned value project management.

WAGO North America appoints new president

WAGO has named Toby Thomann as president of North American headquarters in Germantown, Wisconsin. Thomann has been with WAGO for 23 years and has worked as regional sales manager, zone manager, marketing manager and most recently vice president of sales.

Awards, milestones and achievements

MilliporeSigma announces grand prize winner of Alfred R. Bader Award for Student Innovation

MilliporeSigma recognized four student chemists for their research and innovations in synthetic organic chemistry as part of the Alfred R. Bader Student Chemistry Symposium in Darmstadt, Germany. At the close of the event, students presented their research to an audience of MilliporeSigma staff and guests, and a panel of judges selected Thomas McTeague from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the $5,000 grand prize, plus $500 prize winner. Thomas McTeague, Photoredox Activation of SF6 for Fluorination. The Alfred R. Bader Award for Student Innovation competition was open to advanced graduate students (three-plus years) in synthetic organic chemistry from around the world and recognizes the big ideas of up-and-coming chemists whose work is expected to accelerate progress in chemistry.

Ingersoll Rand selected for the 2017 Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indices

Ingersoll Rand has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indices for seven consecutive years. Continued placement on this index series showcases the company’s position as an economic, environmental and social leader among peer companies, the company said. Having been presented with this honor falls in line with Ingersoll Rand’s commitment to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its products and operations by 2030.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices launched in 1999 as the first global sustainability benchmarks for investors who integrate sustainability considerations into their portfolios, and provide an effective engagement platform for companies who want to adopt sustainable best practices. The indices are offered cooperatively by RobecoSAM and S&P Dow Jones Indices.

AkzoNobel reclaims top ranking on Dow Jones Sustainability Index

AkzoNobel has returned to the top of the influential Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) to lead the rankings again for the fifth time in six years. The company placed first in the chemicals industry group and has now been featured in the top 10 for 12 consecutive years, which the company said underlines AkzoNobel’s commitment to working with customers to develop sustainable solutions that make a positive impact on the whole value chain. AkzoNobel  also aims to become carbon neutral by 2050.

Endress+Hauser receives gold recognition from EcoVadis

EcoVadis honors sustainable business processes and Endress+Hauser received a Gold Recognition Level certificate in the EcoVadis audit, improving on the previous year’s result with 66 points. According to the company, the result illustrates the high importance Endress+Hauser places on its corporate social responsibility and the structured, foresighted approach the company takes. Twenty-one criteria were assessed in the  audit, including environment, labor practices, fair business practices, and sustainable procurement. The company achieved an above average rating for all categories, receiving the gold certificate.

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