April 29, 2013 - Baldor, a member of the ABB Group, says Investissement Quebec has agreed to support investments in its Ste-Claire, Que., facility, which are intended to increase production capacity and modernize equipment in preparation for moving a production line from Mexico to Quebec.

April 29, 2013 - PEM has learned Wajax Industrial Components’ 66th branch is now open at 1750 Broadway Avenue NE, Redcliff, AB T0J 2P0. Leading the branch are branch manager Jeff Dares and technical sales rep Kevin Lewis.

As the second-most common machine in all of industry (after electric motors), pumps are at the heart of everything. The world's food, fuel, water and electricity are all processed and transported by pumps. To recognize this technology that is the heart of modern manufacturing, ITT Corp.'s Goulds Pumps brand observed the second-annual Pump Appreciation Day on Apr. 9, 2013, to raise awareness of the value of pumps and the people and organizations that design, apply, install and service them.

In conjunction with Pump Appreciation Day, ITT Goulds Pumps donated $25,000 to the international Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) Program, supported by the American Heart Association and its global partners. Events held on the second Tuesday of April each year include public recognition for recipients of the Heart of Industry and Pulse of Industry Awards, as well as open-house celebrations, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training sessions and other educational events organized by the ITT Goulds Pumps sales team and distribution network.

At ITT Goulds Pumps headquarters in Seneca Falls, N.Y., a recognition event featured a presentation on heart-healthy eating habits, followed by a reception with specially prepared snack items that promote cardiovascular wellness.

"Our food, our fuel, our clothing, nearly everything we use daily, has a pump somewhere in its processing," said Robert Pagano Jr., president of ITT Goulds Pumps. "We're thrilled to devote a special day and related activities to spotlighting the technology and people behind pumps—the heart of industry—and to promoting heart health."

Pumps are behind thousands of daily operations. They allow us to properly handle liquid chemicals for the creation of clothing, heart valves or life-saving medicines. When food needs to travel from farm to table—sometimes from one side of the world to the other—pumps are instrumental in the process. Pumps also take on the world's toughest jobs, such as draining an Olympic swimming pool at 200,000 gallons per minute, or transporting scalding 700ºC crude oil to a refinery.

In addition to Pump Appreciation Day events and awards programs, an online World of Pumps Quiz, which tests visitors' knowledge of the pump industry and its products, has attracted more than 15,065 unique visitors from 151 countries in the past five months.
www.itt.com
www.gouldspumps.com

A new 36-page, color handbook—the AEGIS Shaft Grounding Ring Motor Repair Handbook—describes best practices for protecting motor bearings from electrical damage.

Available from Electro Static Technology (EST), manufacturer of AEGIS shaft grounding rings, the book explains how to diagnose electrical bearing damage caused by variable frequency drives (VFDs), also known as inverters.  It then goes on to explain in detail best practices for preventing such damage to motors of various sizes and horsepower ratings. Ideal for plant maintenance personnel as well as motor repair shops, the handbook is available in PDF format for downloading free of charge at www.est-aegis.com/bearing.

“Users of VFD-driven motors have every right to expect uptime and reliability,” notes Adam Willwerth, EST’s sales and marketing manager. “A repair shop that fixes a motor’s bearing problem properly only has to do it once, and is therefore more likely to earn customer loyalty. Better yet, a shop that offers value-added services such as inspection, vibration analysis, thermography, and shaft-voltage testing can show a customer how the right preventive measures can head off future damage. Personnel who know what they are doing can now protect any motor’s bearings from electrical arcing—whether on a brand new motor prior to its installation or on a motor already in service.”

AEGIS bearing protection rings channel VFD-induced bearing currents safely to ground. Continuous circumferential rows of conductive microfibers embedded securely in the ring’s patented AEGIS FiberLock channel completely surround the motor shaft and provide millions of discharge points for harmful shaft currents. The company says this unique design creates the path of least resistance that effectively diverts these currents away from bearings to ground. The microfibers themselves are specially engineered for exceptional conductivity and flexibility to minimize wear and prevent breakage. AEGIS rings are the only long-term shaft grounding technology proven effective in hundreds of thousands of VFD/motor applications worldwide.

For a copy of the new handbook, visit www.est-aegis.com/bearing.

The Timken Company has acquired Interlube Systems Ltd., which makes and markets automated lubrication delivery systems and related components to end market sectors including commercial vehicles, construction, mining and heavy and general industries.
 
With 2012 sales of approximately $13 million and 90 employees, Interlube is based in Plymouth, U.K., has an operation in Dayton, Ohio, and a joint venture in Zhuhai, China. The purchase also includes MSP Distributors Ltd., based in Cheltenham, U.K., and acquired by Interlube in 2007, which designs, installs and repairs lubrication systems.
 
“We’re pleased to have Interlube join the Timken team,” said Michael Connors, vice-president of distribution for Timken, in making the announcement. “The management team brings a wealth of experience and established customer relationships, and their automated lubrication delivery systems certainly complement the Timken portfolio of power transmission products.”

As part of its growth strategy, Timken has been steadily adding to its product portfolio and sees Interlube as highly compatible to its core bearing product lines and recent power transmission acquisitions. Over the past two years, Timken has added a number of new products and services, including roller drive chain, gearbox repair and motor rewind services.

Interlube focuses on critical applications where an automated lubrication system can help extend up-time and reduce maintenance costs for end users, a key strength of Timken as well. Interlube also brings Timken access to new channels that serve key end user markets.

“Their expertise and quality product line, coupled with our global reach and market access, will allow us to grow market share for Interlube products,” Connors added, “as well as expose new market space for existing Timken applications.”
www.interlubesystems.co.uk
www.timken.com

Pump service—scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and major overhauls—is a growing business for KSB in Canada. In order to handle the increasing volume of maintenance and repair work, the Canadian subsidiary of global pumpmaker KSB has hired a second service sales expert, James Jette, with responsibility for southwestern Ontario. Jette has more than 25 years of mechanical experience (including more than 18 in the pump industry) and holds degrees from the New England Technical Institute and Humber College.

“Having worked on major projects, from startups to commissioning, as lead technician for many years, James is a sales pro with top-notch, hands-on experience,” says Gary Zeidler, national service manager for KSB Canada. “These credentials and his outgoing personality make him a great addition to our team – and an extremely helpful resource for our many service customers.”

Utilizing sophisticated machine shop equipment and a 16-tonne overhead crane at KSB’s Canadian headquarters in Mississauga, Ont., the service division can handle almost any size of pumps from any manufacturer. Services range from preventative maintenance to major repairs and total overhauls. In addition, KSB Canada can draw upon the pumpmaker’s U.S. and international resources to meet the most challenging maintenance problems, even breathe new life into old pumps with customized upgrades.
www.ksb.ca

Montreal-based Wajax Industrial Components and Kaman Industrial Technologies, two North American industrial distributors, have formed a strategic alliance, strengthening the services offered to customers having business assets in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. While each of Wajax Industrial Components and Kaman will remain as separate and independent entities, they will join forces to compete for business-to-business and supply agreements with customers in multiple jurisdictions, providing an alternative to country-based supply agreements. The alliance will be known as “Sourcepoint Industrial.”
 
“North American and global consolidation of an important segment of our customer base and the resulting impact on their purchasing decisions led us to seek new ways to better serve these customers,” said Adrian Trotman, president of Wajax Industrial Components, referring to the business trends which led to the alliance. “While both Wajax Industrial Components and Kaman have a proven track record of satisfying customer needs in Canada and the U.S. respectively, neither one could individually cover a customer’s needs spanning both countries. This alliance gives customers a viable option to satisfy their North American-wide supply requirements that has unique strengths.”
 
“Historically, North American customers have had a limited choice for suppliers of their power-transmission and motion-control products,” said Steve Smidler, president of Kaman Industrial Technologies. “This alliance gives customers an alternative, and an opportunity to benefit from both companies’ value propositions. It meets the objectives that customers are trying to achieve in terms of cost control, consistency of service and added value.”
 
Kaman Industrial Technologies operates more than 200 customer service centers and five distribution centers across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico. Wajax Industrial Components has 65 branches and 13 certified service and repair centers in Canada.
 
With the alliance, North American customers can expect to gain a large portfolio of products, services and technical expertise, along with better cost efficiency, higher productivity and a one-stop shopping experience for their manufacturing operations. Smidler continued, “More than ever, today’s customers are looking for solutions to their production problems. They’re looking for solutions for their assets. They’re looking for solutions to manage their costs – particularly given today’s global economic environment. This alliance is perfectly timed to deliver what North America’s manufacturing and resource sectors want to achieve.”
 
Added Trotman, “Wajax Industrial Components has skills in hydraulics that can help Kaman’s U.S. customers. Kaman has strengths in power transmission and motion control engineering that can help Wajax Industrial Components’ Canadian customers. The fact that each of Wajax Industrial Components and Kaman operate independently on either side of the border allows us to work together effectively.”
www.wajaxindustrial.com
www.kamandirect.com
 

A Swedish court has sentenced one person to a one-year jail term and a five-year ban from trade, and awarded damages to SKF, after finding him guilty of violation of Swedish trademark law in relation to the SKF trademark. The court found that he intentionally purchased counterfeit SKF products. The products were thereafter sold with a high profit margin to unknowing customers.

The criminal and civil court case was the result of a police raid in March 2010 of stores in Stockholm and Avesta (located in the central parts of Sweden) where the police found thousands of counterfeit SKF products. SKF cooperated with the police in the identification of the counterfeit bearings.

Counterfeit SKF products are non-SKF products illegally marked with the SKF trademark and packed in SKF-like packaging. Counterfeit industrial products like bearings can considerably reduce the service life of machinery and in the worst case endanger human lives. SKF is actively cooperating with law enforcement authorities around the world to facilitate legal measures against those involved in the trade of SKF counterfeit products.
www.skf.ca