Company Briefs: Endress+Hauser breaks ground at new Gulf Coast site 

March 26, 2019

Acquisitions, expansions, partnerships and new services from around the process industries

Endress+Hauser broke ground on a $38.5 million, 112,000-square-foot Gulf Coast Regional Center Campus just outside of the Houston area. Completion is projected for the end of 2020.

The new campus will offer areas for calibration, repair and training, which will include a process training unit. The facility will house teams to support Endress+Hauser’s products, solutions and services for process automation, SpectraSensors’ gas analysis systems for the U.S. and international customers and Analytik Jena’s product lines for laboratory instrumentation. The campus will include a building and warehouse location for Endress+Hauser’s partner for sales and service in the Gulf region. The new campus will house approximately 110 employees.

A Messer gas storage tank. Image courtesy of Messer

Messer Group acquires North American gas business of Linde plc

Messer Group and CVC Capital Partners Fund VII acquired most of the North American gas business of Linde plc, as well as certain Linde business activities in South America. Messer has more than 70 production facilities and approximately 5,400 employees operating in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Colombia and Chile. Together with Messer Group, the company represents a $3 billion global enterprise with presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

One Rock Capital Partners acquires Process Solutions from Newell Brands

An affiliate of One Rock Capital Partners has agreed to purchase Newell Brands’ Process Solutions.

Headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, Process Solutions is a manufacturer and material sciences company that offers custom-designed plastic, nylon, monofilament and zinc products in the health care, consumer and industrial end markets. Process Solutions is also the primary supplier of copper-plated zinc penny blanks to the United States Mint as well as a supplier of coinage to other countries.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2019.

A pump being tested at Finder Pompe’s new facility at its headquarters in Merate, Italy. Image courtesy of Finder Pompe

Finder Pompe opens new pump-testing facility

Finder Pompe, part of PSG, a Dover company, opened a new pump-testing facility at its headquarters in Merate, Italy. Finder Pompe has designed and manufactured API-engineered centrifugal and plunger pumps, and liquid ring vacuum pumps and systems for more than 65 years. The creation of the new test building, which covers 5,000 square feet, was driven by the growth in size and complexity of the company’s pump models, along with expanding customer expectations regarding pump performance.

The facility features three stiff platforms that can accommodate horizontal pump and skid installations. These platforms allow for extremely precise vibration tests, while two independent areas with three tanks that are 43 feet deep can test vertical pumps with shaft lengths up to 40 feet. Additionally, the facility is equipped with a testing circuit for lube oil pumps and another one that is dedicated to the testing of liquid ring vacuum pumps. 

SCHWING Technologies opens location in US

SCHWING, a provider of thermal cleaning solutions and fluidized bed process technology, is opening a sales office in Princeton, New Jersey. The North American office is headed by chemical engineer Michael J. Robinson, an expert in fluidized bed process technology and previous manager of the Fluidized Bed Process Technique department at SCHWING Technologies GmbH in Germany.

The new partnership between Martin Engineering and German Conveyor Industries delivers unmatched bulk material handling expertise to UAE. Image courtesy of Martin Engineering.

Partnership brings bulk handling provider’s products to UAE

Bulk handling equipment provider Martin Engineering has entered the Middle East market by forging a partnership with German Conveyor Industries, UAE’s experts in the design, installation and maintenance of industrial plants. The deal means that Martin Engineering’s products are available for the first time in UAE. The products are exclusively supplied, installed and maintained by German Conveyor’s local team of specialists.

Martin Engineering is present in more than 20 countries across six continents, supplying conveyor belt cleaners, air cannons and associated parts.

CIRCOR Industrial Valves announces rotable maintenance program for valves

CIRCOR Industrial Valves has instituted a cost-saving Rotable Critical Trim Refurbishment Program. Eliminating the delay and expense of cutting out a leaking valve, the program replaces internal valve components to return valve function quickly while restoring the removed parts for future use. "Rotable" is a term normally associated with the aerospace industry where key parts are rotated through a reuse, recondition and recycle method of exchange. CIRCOR’s program replaces the trim of a valve body in the field with brand new factory trim, sends the used trim back to the factory for evaluation and reconditioning and returns the refurbished used trim to the customer to store for future use on the valve.

Applied Motion Products creates tools for programmers to use Python with its stepper, servo motors

Applied Motion Products now offers a set of free tools for programmers using Python, the popular computer programming language, to use with its stepper and servo motors to efficiently integrate motor control into their applications. These new tools, including an application note and sample code, guide Python programmers in sending high-level motion commands, using Applied Motion’s Serial Command Language (SCL), to one or more axes of stepper and/or servo motors.

The SCL commands are text-based, making them easy to read and understand. Programmers can stream SCL commands to one or more motor axes at a time, creating straightforward sequences of motion profiles on multiple axes. SCL provides commands for motion control including homing, absolute, relative and jog move types as well as input/output control, drive status, alarm status, and much more.  SCL commands can be sent over Ethernet TCP or UDP, RS-485, and RS-232 connections.

Software company Seeq adds 50 system integration partners

Seeq Corporation will add more than 50 system integration partners in the Middle East, Europe, North America, South America, and Asia — along with new offices in Malaysia and Europe. Seeq now has support offices across the United States and direct representation in Europe, as well as resale and services partners on six continents.

Seeq is a privately held company that publishes Seeq, an application for engineers and operations analysts to find insights in process manufacturing data. Seeq is currently being used in the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, specialty chemical, utility, renewable energy and many other process industries to improve production outcomes including yield, margins, quality and safety.

Awards

Madison Chemical officials celebrate the company being recognized as part of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Environmental Stewardship program. Image courtesy of Madison Chemical.

Madison Chemical honored by environmental regulators

Madison Chemical was recently recognized for its commitment to the environment by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). The organization granted Madison Chemical membership in the state’s Environmental Stewardship Program for implementing and maintaining measurable environmental improvements.  The company put in place practices to use, reuse or repurpose resources, from wood pallets to chemicals that are not properly mixed.

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