Expansions and partnerships
Montech Conveyors Corp. opens in US
Montech Conveyors Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Swiss conveying specialist Montech AG, has recently opened its office and assembly facility in Huntersville, North Carolina. The new location allows Montech to more easily and efficiently serve its U.S. customers, the company said. The Huntersville facility will carry TB30 and TB40 conveyors and the Quick-Set profile system. The products will be assembled in Huntersville and shipped to customers throughout the U.S. Customer-specific solutions, transfer systems and automation components continue to be available to U.S. customers directly from Switzerland.
EnerMech expands valves division with acquisition
EnerMech is expanding its valves division with the acquisition of the U.K. valves business of Denholm Valvecare (DV). The global integrated engineering services group has acquired the U.K. trade and assets of the valves division of family-owned Denholm Oilfield Services for an undisclosed sum. EnerMech expects its UK valves business to generate around £7m revenue in 2018 following the deal, which will see all DV valves equipment, inventory and an estimated 25 staff transfer to the Aberdeen-headquartered business.
EnerMech supplies a wide range of relief, isolation, control and general valves to the onshore and offshore energy industry and wider industrial services sector. The deal follows on from EnerMech’s acquisition last year of maintenance, inspection and integrity specialist Minteg Ltd and the purchase of Australian and U.S.-based EPS Group, which provides electrical and instrumentation services to major infrastructure and power projects.
AspenTech acquires IIoT cloud-based software assets of RtTech Software Inc.
Asset optimization software company, AspenTech, acquired the Cipher Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) cloud-native software and edge connectivity assets of RtTech Software Inc.
The company said the acquisition strengthens AspenTech’s asset optimization strategy by extending the reach of aspenONE software to additional types of assets, adding sophisticated edge processing technology, and providing cloud-native data management capabilities that can be used to enrich the data collection and analytics of existing AspenTech software.
Victaulic to build additional manufacturing facility in PA
Victaulic, a manufacturer of mechanical pipe joining solutions, unveiled a plan to build an additional manufacturing center in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. The 400,000-square-foot facility is the result of increased domestic demand for the company’s products, the company said. The facility is expected to break ground later this year and be fully operational in 2019. In addition to housing the company’s current light assembly operation, which has been conducted in partnership with Cast-Pac Inc. for 20 years, the new facility will include several millions of dollars in new equipment to modernize its manufacturing operations. Robotic and optical technology in Victaulic’s new facility will advance the limits of quality control for the company’s castings and finished products through automated assembly operations. Use of computerized, visual inspection systems can identify nonconformities, preventing them from being shipped to customers and maintaining Victaulic’s operational excellence in excess of Seven Sigma requirements. New hires will join the current Victaulic team of 3,600 employees globally, of which 49 percent are located in the United States. The new facility will be located on 28 acres of land located in Lower Nazareth Township, Pennsylvania.
IEP Technologies acquires Atexon Oy
IEP Technologies, a member of the HOERBIGER Group, has acquired business operations, the portfolio, patents and trademark rights of Atexon Oy, a company headquartered in Oulunsalo, Finland, specializing in spark detection and extinguishing for industrial explosion protection. Since the company’s inception in 2009, the Finland company Atexon Oy has produced early spark detection and extinguishing solutions in dust applications. Its portfolio includes spark detection systems, flame detectors, overheat detectors, as well as backfire detectors for industrial applications. Going forward, HOERBIGER will use the IEP Technologies global distribution network to offer the Atexon protection solutions. Atexon Oy’s CEO and R&D Director Mika Vannas along with the company’s management will remain in place.
Pharma-Safe expands into West Texas market
Pharma-Safe Industrial Services, a leading provider of health and safety services, has recently expanded into the West Texas market through the addition of a new office in Midland. In conjunction with Pharma-Safe’s new office, the company announced that Tony McWilliams will join as the West Texas Area Manager. The new office is located at 501 South Loop 250 W Suite 212, Midland, Texas, and will offer Pharma-Safe’s comprehensive safety and consulting services.
NRI and IMG Composites merger establishes world’s largest composite repair corporation
NRI and IMG Composites, providers of advanced composite repair solutions for the restoration, protection and reinforcement of pipe, pipelines and civil structures, have combined to become the largest composite repair corporation in the world. According to a company announcement, the merger will "revolutionize" the composite repair industry, uniting two companies with the expertise and resources to deliver superior repair solutions and services to its clients worldwide. NRI and IMG Composites will continue to operate as independent entities, bringing together nearly 60 years of combined experience in the development and continued innovation of composite repair systems.
NAI brings manufacturing back to the US with new plant in MI
NAI, a manufacturer of global connectivity solutions for high-performance systems used in the industrial technology, telecom, data and medical industries, plans to open its newest factory in Gaylord, Michigan. The new plant represents the company’s return of manufacturing to the U.S. and the Midwest. NAI moved its manufacturing operations out of the U.S. in 2009, during the telecom market collapse. NAI’s return of manufacturing to the U.S. was prompted by customer requests to provide support from a U.S. location for certain products and projects. The new 25,000 square-foot Gaylord manufacturing facility will begin production in June 2018. NAI plans to hire approximately 40 new employees in 2018 and reach a total of 125 in 2019. The new plant will produce various interconnect assembly solutions, eventually including electro-mechanical assemblies such as box and panel builds. Capabilities will include injection molding (with nine large presses initially, ranging from 50 to 500 tons), sterilization and the assembly of finished goods. The Gaylord facility will serve all three NAI customer segments: medical, industrial technology and telecom.
Tapflo appoints Trident as new dealer and service partner
Tapflo in Montreal has appointed Trident Pump & Filtration as a new dealer and service partner for the provinces of Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador). Trident Pump & Filtration is a supplier of pumps, industrial equipment and accessories for water and wastewater treatment and other industrial applications, with branch locations in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and Dieppe, New Brunswick.
SignalFire adds 5 new North American 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 company said. 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.
Patents and Certifications
PcVue receives patent for SCADA technology
The U.S. Patent Office has granted a patent for contextual mobility to use PcVue HMI/SCADA solutions in new and innovative location-based applications. ARC Group companies: ARC Informatique, PcVue Inc. and PcVue GmbH of Germany designed the patented innovation of systems and methods for location-based control of equipment and facility resources. It is particularly important for industrial control systems (ICS) including building management systems (BMS), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) as described by U.S. Patent No. 9,819,509. The patented systems and methods are now incorporated in PcVue solutions.
Blue-White Industries receives ISO 9001:2015 certification
Blue-White is now ISO 9001:2015 certified. ISO 9001:2015 is the internationally recognized standard for Quality Management Systems (QMS). It is the most widely used QMS standard in the world, with over 1.1 million certificates issued to organizations in 178 countries.
Evolution Scientific Inc. is now ISO/IEC 17025 accredited
Evolution Scientific Inc. located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, announced its calibration laboratory has been approved for ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) for in-house and field calibrations.
Three Motion Industries service centers become Rexnord-certified
Motion Industries Inc., a distributor of maintenance, repair and operation replacement parts and a wholly owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company, announced its service centers in Charleston, West Virginia; Pensacola, Florida; and Salt Lake City, Utah have become certified Rexnord partners in Falk gear drive repair. These three Motion Industries service centers each passed an extensive facility and process audit to verify repair execution to Rexnord’s original OEM work standards. Rexnord Certified Shop service technicians undergo the same rigorous training and follow the same industry-leading Falk RENEW standards of work and quality as Rexnord Service Centers. With the certifications, these service centers expand their offerings to provide customers with shorter lead times, yet with enhanced quality. Gearbox repairs at these sites are approved to Rexnord’s standards for quality, process and authentic OE parts content. Certification also ensures that all repairs are completed with authentic Falk or Rexnord parts.
Schneider Electric software delivery center appraised at top CMMI designation
Schneider Electric’s India-based Software Delivery Center (SDC) was appraised at Level 5 of the CMMI Institute’s Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI). With this designation, Schneider Electric’s SDC becomes part of a small group of companies with a CMMI Level 5 assessment in the industrial software industry. An appraisal at maturity level 5 indicates that the organization is performing at an "optimizing" level. At this level, an organization continually improves its processes based on a quantitative understanding of its business objectives and performance needs. The organization uses a quantitative approach to understand the variation inherent in the process and the causes of process outcomes.
Endress+Hauser to provide free training on instrumentation to military veterans
Endress+Hauser will provide training to military veterans on process instrumentation, as part of the 12-week Academy of Advanced Manufacturing (AAM) program offered by Rockwell Automation and ManpowerGroup. Professionals from Endress+Hauser will be teaching process instrumentation as part of the larger AAM curriculum, which began in January, and being offered at no cost to veterans. The technical curriculum being taught by Endress+Hauser will offer in-depth training on technology and instrumentation for monitoring and managing temperature, flow and pressure for machinery and equipment in industrial process industries. Endress+Hauser will lend its time and expertise in process instrumentation to help train military veterans for careers in advanced manufacturing, while enhancing the technical talent pool and helping to bridge the skills gap that exists globally.
Machfu joins Industrial Internet Consortium
Machfu has joined the Industrial Internet Consortium(IIC), the world’s leading organization transforming business and society by accelerating the adoption of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Machfu will bring to the IIC its specialization in IOT connectivity to legacy devices and modern sensors to both the cloud and SCADA systems. Machfu aims to work with IIC member companies to uncover industry solutions that interoperate with a wide variety of devices, including devices that speak legacy protocols.
