Company Briefs (September 01, 2001)

Rick Thomas was promoted to president of NTN Bearing Corporation of Canada, Mississauga, Ont., July 3, 2001. A 29-year veteran at NTN, Thomas was most recently executive vice-president, sales and marketing. In his new position, he will oversee the strategic development and direction of the unit. Thomas replaces Shinichi Ikuta, who has been reassigned to NTN’s corporate headquarters in Osaka, Japan. NTN recently entered into a strategic alliance with bearing manufacturer FAG of Schweinfurt, Germany (see Machinery & Equipment MRO, April 2001, p. 8, for details).

National Bearings, Wajax Motion Technologies, Wajax Process Technologies and Spencer Teris, the operating divisions and corporate entities formerly comprising the Industrial Components business of Wajax Limited in Canada, are now operating under the name of Kinecor. The consolidation makes, Kinecor the largest industrial distributor in Canada. It distributes bearings and power transmission products, hydraulics components and systems, process pumps and equipment, and automation and motion control technologies. The company’s 66 branches are divided into three geographic regions — West, Central and East. Branch locations include: British Columbia (4), Alberta (4), Saskatchewan (2), Northwest Territories (1), Manitoba (3), Ontario (21), Quebec (19), Nova Scotia (5), Prince Edward Island (1), New Brunswick (3), and Newfoundland (3). Further information can be found at the company’s web site at www.kinecor.com.

Canadian Bearings has been awarded Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada’s prestigious “Outstanding Supplier Performance Award.” Canadian Bearings received this award for its extensive Customer Cost Savings performance throughout Year 2000. “Our Cost Savings program is a proactive approach aimed at enabling our customers to build, operate and maintain machinery and equipment to tomorrow’s higher standards,” said spokesman Don Latham.

ABB Inc. has created a new partnership with a Canadian-owned supplier of electrical solutions as part of a realignment of its businesses and associated sales forces. Hampton Power Products (1984) Ltd. of Richmond, B.C., is now ABB’s factory authorized distributor and service centre for low- and medium-voltage induction motors, as well as adjustable speed drives, in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, NWT and the Yukon. More information can be found on ABB’s Canadian website at www.abb.ca, or at the Hampton Power Products website at www.hampton-power.com.

Vince Casali has joined Fluke Electronics Canada of Mississauga, Ont., as service manager for the Canadian customer support service operations. Casali will lead the calibration and service organization.

Osborn International has appointed Vageesh Bakhshi as product manager for its North American business. He will be responsible for the company’s brush product lines.

SDT North America Inc., Cobourg, Ont., has been appointed the exclusive representative for SDT International, Brussels, Beligum. SDT manufactures ultrasonic detectors. These products were formerly represented by SDT USA of Santa Rosa, Calif. Details can be found by calling 800-667-5325 or by visiting www.sdt-canada.com.

Effective August 1, 2001, Siemens Moore Process Automation became Siemens Process Automation. The change reflects the integration of the Canadian operations of Moore Process Automation into the similar operations of Siemens Canada. Since the purchase of Moore by Siemens last year, the two companies have worked to create a single operating unit. Andre Dagenais is the newly appointed Siemens vice-president, process automation.

Ken Reed, head of Tenaquip Limited, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., a national distributor of industrial equipment and supplies, is among 33 people representing Quebec’s top entrepreneurial talent who have been nominated as finalists for the Quebec Entrepreneur of the Year Program. Tenaquip is represented in the Business-to-Business Products & Services category. Award recipients in eight categories will be announced Oct. 25, 2001. These award recipients will compete for the title of Quebec Entrepreneur of the Year.

Heather Fiorita has joined Advantage Sales Network Corp., Mississauga, Ont., as administrative manager; she also will assist with vendor and customer relations. As well, Jim Brown has been named regional sales manager for Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces. In other news, Advantage opened its Edmonton Fee warehouse location in May to add support to the efforts of Edmonton-based regional sales manager Chris Talbot. Products stocked at this location include Grove Gear, Diamond Chain and AMI Bearings.

Basic Technologies Corp. of Burlington, Ont., has been acquired by one of the companies for which it distributes products. Rexroth has increased its ownership position in Basic from a minority position, which it has held since 1996, to that of majority shareholder. As a result, the company name is now Bosch Rexroth Canada Corp.

Trillium Controls Inc. of Markham, Ont., has been appointed the master distributor for Moujen Electric of Taiwan, a manufacturer of CSA/UL/cUL-approved and CE-certified industrial, electrical control products. Details can be found at www.trilliumcontrols.com.

Think & Do Software and Steeplechase Software have merged to form the PC-based automation and control division of Entivity, Inc. Its website is www.entivity.com.

ACC Associates of Caledon East, Ont., has been appointed by Schmalz of Raleigh, N.C., to represent part of its product line in Canada. Included is the Vacumaster Laser lifting system.

In order to better meet its customers’ needs, Ontario Drive and Gear Limited (ODG) has expanded. The company recently opened a new 40,000-sq-ft manufacturing and administration facility in New Hamburg, Ont., which accommodates its two new separate yet tightly integrated divisions, Vehicle and Gear. In other news, Joerg Stieber has been nominated for Ontario Entrepreneur of the Year. A full list of nominees can be found at www.ey.com/global/gcr.nsf/ Canada/Canada_home.

Provincial Partitions, a manufacturer of portable modular structures for indoor and outdoor applications, has added a new division for heating, ventilation and air conditioning installations. Called PPI Mechanical, the division will provide full service, including sheet metal and ductwork, refrigeration and air conditioning systems. In other news, Provincial Partitions won awards in three categories at the Modular Building Institute’s 2001 annual convention in Las Vegas. The company’s website is www.pro-part.com.

CoLinx is a combination of four bearing and power transmission product manufacturers that was formed earlier this year to develop an Internet site for distributors. INA Holding Schaeffler KG, Rockwell Automation, The SKF Group and The Timken Company wanted to offer a site where distributors could place orders on-line, check the status of their orders and see customized pricing. Located at PTplace.com, the site offers distributors the advantage of being able to order products from any of the four companies. The manufacturers maintain control of their own product offerings and distributor relationship, while sharing site development costs.

Parker Hannifin, based in Cleveland, Ohio, has entered into an agreement to acquire Miller Fluid Power of Bensenville, Ill., and Wilkerson Corporation of Englewood, Clo., both filter, regulator and lubricator (FRL) businesses of CKD-Createc, a subsidiary of the Japanese company CKD.

The Regal-Beloit Corporation has announced the formation of the Motor Technolog
ies Group, which will manage the manufacturing operations of Marathon Electric, Lincoln Motors and Leeson Electric, all company-owned motor manufacturers. Each of the three companies will maintain independent brands with their own separate sales and marketing organizations.

The Ford Motor Company has presented THK Manufacturing of America with its highest award for supplier quality — the Q1 Quality Award, which recognizes suppliers that have achieved a sustained level of excellence in their systems and performance.

The Industrial Pump Group of ITT Industries of Seneca Falls, N.Y. and the Hi-Spec Solutions business of Honeywell Industrial Control of Phoenix, Ariz., have formed an alliance to jointly develop and market new integrated solutions that will enable improved flow control, reduced energy consumption, lower maintenance costs and real-time asset management of industrial rotating machinery. The two companies will integrate Honeywell’s @sset.MAX asset optimization technologies with ITT Industries’ PumpSmart, part of the Goulds Pumps line of flow control products. Further information is available from ITT Industries, tel. 315-568-2811, or at www.gouldspumps.com.

Under an agreement with Koyo Machinery USA, Setco Sales Company’s Great Lakes Service Center is now the factory-trained and authorized remanufacturer of Koyo grinding machine spindles in North America. For details, contact Koyo Machinery at 734-354-5236 or Setco at 248-888-8989.

Eaton Corporation has announced that IEEE has presented a special recognition award to James Funke, a chief engineer with the company’s Cutler-Hammer business. Funke received the award for his development of C62.62 – IEEE standard test specifications for surge-protective devices for LV AC power circuits.

Vallen Safety Supply Company, which is located in Houston, Tex., has announced the acquisition of Montreal-based Kimrik Safety Equipment, a full-range safety products distributor. Kimrik, which opened for business in 1979, has locations in Calgary, Alta., and Winnipeg, Man. To find out more about Vallen, visit its web site at www.vallen.com.

Nominated for Quebec Entrepreneur of the Year in the Manufacturing–Industrial Products category are: Vincent Dequoy and Benot Duplessis of Hydro Mobile Inc., L’Assomption (hydraulic work platforms); Gilles Labb of Hroux-Devtek Inc., Longueuil (which manufactures and overhauls systems and components used in the aerospace and industrial sectors); and Armand Rainville of Les Produits Fraco Lte, St-Mathias-sur-Richelieu (hydraulic lift platforms).

Combining nearly 100 years of welding and cutting research and development with a leading technical training college, ESAB Welding & Cutting Products of Florence, S.C., and the Florence-Darlington Technical College have partnered to form the ESAB School of Welding & Cutting Technology, located at the Advanced Welding & Cutting Center at the Technical College in Florence, S.C. The joint venture is designed to help stabilize an industry-wide shortage of skilled welders. For more information, contact the school at 843-661-8172.

Rockwell Automation of Greenville, S.C., and Fluor Global Services, have announced the creation of a strategic alliance that will enable customers to gain the plant floor expertise of both companies to solve a wide range of plant maintenance, repair and asset management challenges. For more information, call Rockwell Automation at 864-281-2171 or visit rockwellautomation.com.

Demag Cranes & Components of Cleveland, Ohio, has expanded its XPress program to include three new lines: double girder DH wire rope trolleys with up to 15-ton capacities, travel speeds up to 80 fpm and lift up to 33 ft; under-running end-trucks with up to 10-ton capacities, travel speeds up to 80 fpm and 60-ft spans; and foot-mounted DH wire rope hoists with up to 15-ton capacities with lift speeds up to 18 fpm and up to 33 ft lift. Further information is available at www.demag-us.com.MRO

Editor’s note: More details on many of the items here — as well as up-to-the-day reports — can be found in the Newsbreak section of our website at www.mro-esource.com.