Briefs (November 01, 2002)

Electromate Industrial Sales of Woodbridge, Ont., has successfully completed the ISO 9000:2001 registration process. The Quality Management System registration was completed on June 27, 2002, in the company’s first attempt and ahead of schedule.

Darcor Limited of Toronto, which designs and manufactures ergonomically designed casters and wheels, has received an ISO 9001:2000 Certificate of Approval from BSI Management Systems of Toronto. It is one of the first caster manufacturers in North America to achieve ISO 9001 certification under version 2000 of the standard. “The company will now be able to operate a total quality management system that meets all the design and manufacturing requirements of casters and wheels for a selected range of medical, material handling and industrial applications,.” says Robert E. Hilborn, Darcor’s president.

At a recent North American Quality Circle competition held in Columbus, Ohio, Oetiker, based in Alliston, Ont., placed third out of 25 teams. Sixty companies were in attendance. The competition is offered every year by Honda of America. Earlier this year, Oetiker held an internal competition, with the team Oet-A-Works qualifying to attend the Columbus competition. Their winning presentation is titled “The Reduction of Tool Room Non-Conformances,” a project that will save the company $205,731 per year. The team moves on to the Honda Bloc Convention to compete at the international level.

The Swedish company Hoerbiger-Origa is celebrating its 30th anniversary, as well as the 30th anniversary of the rodless cylinder. In 1971, three Swedish engineers, Bo Granbom, Gunnar Lundquist and Martin Aman, invented the first rodless pneumatic cylinder in the world, called the Origa cylinder. Based in Kungsor, Sweden, the company established a sales network, which expanded into France, Japan, Norway, Germany, North America and the United Kingdom. The sales network grew further when the Hoerbiger Group acquired the Origa companies in 1992 and 1996. The rodless cylinder has been continuously developed since its invention.

Tsubaki of Canada has announced the opening of its Kyotanabe plant in Kyoto, Japan. The plant is a modern, one-million-square-foot roller chain manufacturing facility that will provide the company’s global network of companies with world-class manufacturing capabilities, distribution systems, and research and development.

Headquartered in Hartford, Conn., Permatex, a supplier of specialty chemicals used in the repair and maintenance of automobiles, re-entered the industrial maintenance and repair market in August 2002. Until the late 1990s, the company had been involved in the direct sales and distribution of a wide range of sealant, adhesives and gasketing materials. It exited this market at the direction of Loctite, at that time its parent company. In 1999, Permatex was purchased from Loctite by a group of private investors led by The Jordan Company. The sale agreement restricted Permatex from re-entering the industrial market until August 2002.

The company’s market re-entry is accompanied by a broad range of products, including its waterless hand cleaners, silicone-based sealant and gasketing materials, anaerobic adhesives, epoxies, lubricants and other specialty chemicals. Chairman and CEO Dean Willard states, “We have organized an experienced and motivated sales and marketing team, including some from the original Permatex Industrial group, to support our customers and distributors.” The group is headed by Frank Marino, vice-president of sales and marketing.

With manufacturing facilities in Solon, Ohio, and Kansas City, Kan., Permatex has focused resources on its Solon plant. The site of its distribution centre, Solon also houses research, development and production for hand cleaners and specialty chemicals, as well as packaging operations. Following the purchase of the business in 1999, this site has undergone a multi-million-dollar upgrade, which was completed in July 2002.

“Our goal is to be the standard by which others in the industry are judged. Permatex currently ships in excess of a thousand different product SKUs to over 8,800 customer locations world wide,” says Andy Robinson, vice-president of manufacturing.

Permatex director of R&D and a 13-year veteran of the company, Hans Haas, was instrumental in the development of many of the original products. “We have the same premium formulas, a state-of-the-art research facility and some of the finest technical resources available,” he said.

Further information is available from Mississauga, Ont.-based Permatex Canada, tel. 905-814-1977, or visit the web site at www.permatex.com.

Handling Specialty, a Grimsby, Ont., firm specializing in the design and manufacture of custom lift equipment, has promoted Thomas Beach to executive vice-president. Beach has over 18 years’ experience with the company, the last three as general manager.

The three founders of GBO1 Global Benchmarking Organization, Ken Bannister, Stan Shantz and Jim Dickson, have announced implementation of the GBO1 world standard for performance measurement for manufacturers. This new standard provides manufacturers worldwide with one universal and comprehensive measurement process to allow apples-to-apples assessment for all areas of the enterprise and supply chain, including maintenance and the plant production floor. Standard users may also then benchmark their Key Performance Indicators against sister companies, sector companies and other companies around the world. For more information, call 519-894-4292, or visit www.gbo1.com.

Fenner Drives, Manheim, Pa., has acquired the business and assets of Eagle Belting Company, a global supplier of urethane belting for mechanical power transmission and material handling applications. Founded in 1916, Eagle is based in Des Plaines, Ill. “Combining the Eagle brand with existing Fenner product lines positions us as the market leader in the U.S. and Canada,” said Mike Turek, president of the industrial products division of Fenner. Fenner Drives, a division of Fenner Plc, East Yorkshire, U.K., designs and manufactures mechanical power transmission components for a wide range of applications.

Less than a year after the launch if its Total Cost of Ownership Appraisal process and TCO Toolbox software, Rockwell Automation sales engineers representing the Dodge and Reliance electric brands claim that they have identified US$3.7 million in cost savings for their customers. With 50 TCOs completed, an average savings of almost $70,000 per appraisal has been documented in industries as varied as food, transportation, mining, HVAC, petrochemical and unit handling. The software produces a visual record showing customers how to lower lifetime product, systems and services expenses by providing measurable and actionable cost information. For details, contact Rockwell Automation at 864-281-2171 or visit www.rockwellautomation.com.

Cantronic Systems, located in Coquitlam, B.C., has been granted ISO 9001 certification. This certification signifies the company’s commitment to deliver consistently high-quality products and services adhering to the most rigorous international standards. Cantronic is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of ultra-high-performance infra-red imaging solutions for security applications. Its active infra-red CCTV night vision surveillance system includes object recognition distances of up to 800 m. For more information, call 604-516-6667

SKF Canada, Scarborough, Ont., reports that its parent firm in Sweden will be the main supplier of bearings to Metso Paper, which is supplying Stora Enso’s Langerbrugge Mill in Belgium with the world’s largest papermaking machine. The machine is due to start production in June 2003 and will make about 400,000 tons of newsprint per year. The number of bearings in a large paper machine such as this total as many as 3,000 p
ieces, but with lock nuts, washers, bearing housings, etc, the number of SKF items in the machine is about 10,000 pieces. The largest bearing, a spherical roller bearing, has an outer diameter of 1.3 m and weighs 1,200 kg.

Invensys plc of London, England, has sold Rexnord Corporation of Milwaukee, Wisc., to the Carlyle Group, a private equity buyout and investment firm based in Washington, DC. Rexnord manufactures power transmission components, motor brakes, chain, and bearings. There are five bearing companies alone that are part of Rexnord: Link-Belt, Rex Bearings, Filament Bearing Operation, MB Bearings and W.M. Berg Inc.

The Service Centre Network of Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp., Longueuil, Que., recently completed implementation of an integrated MRO solution based on the SAP business platform. New processes made possible by the MRO software will result in significant operating improvements, from the reception of an engine to shipment. “A key feature that we are particularly proud of is the electronic inspection workbench,” says Denis Parisien, vice-president, service centre operations. “This new feature will manage the engine configuration and incorporates service bulletins, customer requirements and airworthiness certificates.”

A new service is available for producing pulleys, sheaves and sprockets for non-standard power transmission applications. Gates’ Made-To-Order Metal service specializes in providing prototype and production components for Gates Poly Chain GT2 and PowerGrip GT2 synchronous belts, Micro-V belts, and V-belts. The Made-To-Order Metal drive components are available in a variety of bores, styles, materials and finishes. Gates also is providing services such as subassembly, press bearings, sprocket/bushing balancing and index marking. For details, call 800-709-6001 or visit www.gates.com/mtometals.

The Timken Company’s rail business recently expanded its global rail capabilities to include reconditioning services for axle boxes, housings and cylindrical and spherical bearing boxes. The Canton, Ohio, company will continue to offer reconditioning services for cylindrical bearing journal boxes and Timken tapered roller bearing housings.

The branches of Motion Canada in western Canada have been recognized by Lincoln Industrial as Distinguished Distributors. Branches in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba received the award, which is presented annually to distributors who meet certain criteria in sales, marketing, inventory, administration and service, and who distinguish Lincoln Industrial as a leader in the lubrication industry. Jim Clark, Motion Canada group vice-president, said, “The Lincoln products have helped differentiate Motion Industries from our competition and have long been a significant contributor to our success in western Canada. Motion Canada is based in Mississauga, Ont. Lincoln Industrial has its headquarters in St. Louis, Mo.

Also at Motion Canada, Peter Brushaber has been promoted to controller, making him responsible for the financial reporting for all Motion Industries’ Canadian operations. In addition, he will continue his responsibilities as tax manager for parent firm Motion Industries of Birmingham, Ala.

Employees of Timken Aerospace & Super Precision gathered at the Lebanon, N.H., bearing facility on Sept 7, 2002, to celebrate the plant’s 75th anniversary as a leading bearing supplier to North American aerospace companies. A Black Hawk military helicopter was arranged to land on the grounds, courtesy of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a long-time Timken customer. Timken split ball and tapered bearings are used within several components on Black Hawks, including gear boxes, transmissions and landing gear. The original split ball bearing, similar to what is produced today at the Lebanon plant, was invented by Winslow S. Pierce, Jr., who received a patent in 1921. The plant opened in 1926, and, after several mergers, was acquired by The Timken Company in 1990.

Ontario Power Generation has added FAG Bearings, Missagauga, Ont., as a customer opting to demonstrate environmental leadership by purchasing OPG Evergreen energy, power that is EcoLogo-certified green. “Using green power to meet some of our electricity requirement is completely in line with our corporate philosophy,” says Frank Lang, FAG’s president and CEO. “We are always looking for innovative ways to support the environment and buying green electricity for our operations will help promote additional electrical generation from renewable resources.” Green power is generated using resources such as wind, solar, biomass and small hydro.MRO

Schneider Electric in Canada has announced the appointment of Tony Munden to the position of vice-president of sales. Munden has 16 years of senior-level sales and marketing experience in the electrical manufacturing and wholesale distribution sector. Also appointed is Bruce Chorlton as vice-president of marketing. Chorlton has 17 years of senior-level sales and marketing responsibility in the electrical and automation equipment business.

The Mesh Metal Company of St. Catharines, Ont., represents various manufacturers of perforated metal, expanded metal and welded and woven wire mesh throughout Canada and the United States. Although the company is not a stocking distributor, it can source heavy- or light-gauge mesh metal requirements, in stainless steel, aluminum, carbon steel, galvanized or specialty metals. Contact the company for more information at 289-213-2687 or visit www.meshmetals.com.

Integrys, based in Mississauga, Ont., has signed a distribution agreement with Rymic Systems, in which Integrys will market and sell Rymic’s rymicNET family of Internet-enabled remote monitoring and control products throughout Canada. This product family allows any computer with a Web browser to actively view, control and collect data from almost any remote asset for performance monitoring, preventive maintenance and trend analysis. Call Integrys at 888-509-8455 or 888-509-8456 or e-mail integrys_sales@aca.ca for further information.

Montreal-based Air Liquide Canada has purchased the Canadian business of Messer Griesheim Industries of Malvern, Pa. A subsidiary of the Air Liquide Group, Air Liquide Canada is a distributor of industrial, specialty and medical gases and a supplier of welding products. Messer Griesheim Industries of Canada, a distributor of industrial cylinder gases, bulk gases and specialty gases, operates two filling plants and 12 sales locations in Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland, employing a total of 86 people.

Amacoil/Uhing has added a representative network to its field sales operation. Summit Agencies has established itself in the Canadian MRO and OEM marketplaces as a service/supplier organization for lubricants, sealants, gear reducers, clutches, brakes, bearing blocks, couplings and rollers. Serving a number of markets, particularly those addressing the western Canada resource-based economy, Summit will cover the four western provinces and will maintain its current offices in northern Alberta, Vancouver and Calgary. It will handle sales and service responsibilities for Amacoil/Uhing rolling ring linear actuators and assemblies. For urther information, visit www.amacoil.com or call Summit at 403-236-8655.

Rockwell Automation has teamed with Sunset Learning, a global provider of e-learning technology and services, to develop knowledge management systems for the industrial sector. This strategic relationship offers manufacturers the expertise and tools to digitize and archive and provide their employees with real-time, multi-media access to information such as best practices, subject matter professionals, training, equipment documentation and performance data that can cut operating expenses and improve manufacturing efficiency.

Grand Eagle, a motor, switchgear and transformer services provider located in Richfield, Ohio, offers a comprehensive range of services that include remanufacturing, refurbishing or reconditioning circuit breakers, on-site services, nuclear certified services; training, emergency services; turnkey solutions and total circuit breaker management programs. The company specializes in the refurbishment and reconditioning of low- and medium-voltage circuit breakers used in industry and at nuclear power facilities. Its preventive maintenance programs keep circuit breakers in prime operating condition with scheduled on-site maintenance, as well as refurbishing at scheduled intervals. For more information, call 330-659-7500 or fax 330-659-5825, or visit the web site at www.grandeagle.com.MRO