MT News

News of people and events important to the maintenance and reliability community

IRISS ANNOUNCES TIM ROHRER AS NEW VP OF SALES & MARKETING

IRISS inc. has promoted Tim Rohrer vice president, sales & marketing. In his new position, Rohrer will be responsible for IRISS® brand marketing and sales initiatives, managing a worldwide sales team, with an emphasis on new client acquisition and customer satisfaction. He also will focus on development of additional industry sectors and new international opportunities.

BALDOR ELECTRIC ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF CANADA’S MASKA

Baldor Electric Company has announced the recent acquisition of Poulies Maska, Inc. (Maska) of Ste-Claire, Quebec, Canada. Maska is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of sheaves, bushings, couplings and related mechanical power transmission components. It has 180 employees, primarily located in Canada, and a new facility in China. The company’s 2007 sales were approximately $33 million.

DRESSER-RAND ACQUIRES CERTAIN ASSETS OF UK’S PETER BROTHERHOOD

Dresser-Rand Group Inc. has announced that its UK subsidiary, Dresser-Rand Company Ltd., has completed the acquisition of certain assets of Peter Brotherhood Ltd., which specializes in the design and manufacture of steam turbines, reciprocating gas compressors, gas engine packaged combined heat and power systems (CHP) and gearboxes. The company’s primary clients are in the worldwide oil and gas industry, specifically marine and floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO), refinery, petrochemical, combined cycle/co-generation and renewable energy industries. This transaction is consistent with Dresser- Rand’s business strategy to focus on acquisitions that strengthen and enhance its core capabilities, add new products, services and technologies, and provide access to new markets or enhance current market positions.

HK SYSTEMS STARTS FACILITIES SERVICE BIZ

Milwaukee-based HK Systems, Inc. a leading provider of automated material handling and supply chain software total solutions, has announced the launch of HK Facility Services (HKFS). The new division delivers comprehensive services to manage and/or support facility equipment and facility maintenance. In addition to operations, maintenance and repair, HKFS offers facility audits, project management, CMMS solutions and condition monitoring services, among other things.

VILYUS IS BIG WINNER IN FLUKE SWEEPSTAKES

Fluke Corporation has announced that Tim Vilyus was the Grand Prize Winner in its “We’ve Got You Covered” Sweepstakes. An electrical engineer from Bay Village, OH, Vilyus, was selected in a random drawing from among thousands who participated in the nationwide sweepstakes that was offered through authorized Fluke distributors and online between March 1 and May 31, 2008. The grand prizes offered were a 2008 19-foot BAMBI Safari SE Airstream™ Trailer worth $50,000, or $40,000 in cash. Vilyus chose the cash prize.

COOPER BUSSMANN PUTS $500K INTO IEEE/NFPA ARC-FLASH RESEARCH

Cooper Bussmann recently contributed $500,000 to the Arc-Flash Collaborative Research Project organized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). This Platinum Level sponsorship will help expand the knowledge of the electric arc-flash phenomena with the objective of advancing Codes and standards for greater workplace safety. The multi-year, collaborative project is expected to cost a total of $6-$7 million. “Electrical safety and knowledge of the hazards associated with arc-flash has come a long way since arc-flash tests were initiated in 1996 at the Cooper Bussmann Gubany Center for High Power Testing,” said Kevin Stein, president, Cooper Bussmann. “That groundbreaking research led to the award-winning IEEE paper Staged Tests Increase Awareness of Arc-Flash Hazards in Electrical Equipment and has since improved arc-flash understanding exponentially. Cooper Bussmann has led the industry with our Safety BasicsTM electrical safety training program, so it is only natural that we continue to lead as a Platinum Level contributor for the latest round of electrical safety research.”

ASSOCIATION NEWS: HYDRAULIC INSTITUTE NAMES NEW KNOWLEDGE & EDUCATION DIRECTOR

The Hydraulic Institute (HI) has named Mary K. Maul as its new director of knowledge and education. She will be responsible for developing, marketing and creating the funding for educational programs as well as certification and credentialing initiatives that advance the application, testing, installation, operation and maintenance of pumps and pumping systems. These functions, which also include the development of the organization’s short- and long-term educational planning strategies, will be coordinated directly with associated committees, volunteers members and HI’s sister organization Pump Systems Matter™ (PSM).

Maul brings considerable senior-level management experience to her new position, having spent more than 15 years driving the educational initiatives of several leading trade and educational organizations. Most recently, she served as the director of education at the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), which she joined in 2001. For five years, she directed all of the NSPE’s educational initiatives, including the development of new educational and e-learning products and services for more than 48,000 members, as well as coordinated with volunteer leadership committees to define strategic objectives and educational program priorities.

Before NSPE, Maul held the position of professional development & programs center manager at the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science in Alexandria, Virginia. For almost a decade, she supported the coordination of nearly 150 professional development programs in addition to preparing and continually updating the content of numerous career development certification programs.

To learn more about HI as well as upcoming meetings and technical events, visit www.Pumps.org, www.PumpLearning.org and www.PumpSystemsMatter.org. MT