Movers and Shakers: Seeq secures IIoT funding; Watson-Marlow, Armstrong Fluid Technology earn pump awards

From left to right: Krzysztof Doroszkiewicz Distribution Lead at Tapflo Group, Hakan Ekstrand COO at Tapflo Group, Börje Johansson owner of Taplflo Group, Emelie Johansson, Gerard Santema EMEA Sales Director Industrial Pumps & Mixers at SPX FLOW. Graphic courtesy of SPX FLOW

Bacharach Inc. acquires Neutronics Inc.

Bacharach Inc., provider of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC-R) gas instrumentation and energy management solutions, acquired Neutronics Inc., a refrigerant and gas analyzer provider. Neutronics’ technologies serve commercial HVAC, automotive and rescue industries. The acquisition will help Bacharach provide the automotive markets with portable gas test and measurement instrumentation. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed. Neutronics will operate as normal under the leadership of President Gary Halpern and Chief Operating Officer David Halpern.

Automation Technology LLC expands production at Houston facility

Automation Technology LLC completed an approximately $1.3-million-expansion on its valve actuation/controls production and assembly capabilities in its Houston facility. The plan will help the company keep up with demands in the oil and gas and pipeline markets. Throughput was increased for assembly cells for the direct gas motor and electrohydraulic power unit (HPU) product lines. New computer numerically controlled (CNC) vertical and horizontal mills were added as well as additional welding stations, lathes and spring press station. Support equipment including additional cranes, a walk-in sandblaster and a new paint booth were also part of the expansion.

Graphic courtesy of Val-Matic

Appointments

Val-Matic names engineering project manager

Val-Matic appointed Tim O’Shea as its engineering project manager. He has more than 18 years of experience and seven valve-related patents. O’Shea takes part in American Water Works Association (AWWA) committees covering air, ball, butterfly, check, cone, plug valves, valve actuators, waterworks gaskets and elastomers, and grooved end connections. He is the chair of the AWWA subcommittee on hydraulic and pneumatic actuators. O’Shea is active in the Manufacturers Standardization Society (MSS) committees and is the chair of the MSS cast iron valve committee and the MSS coordinating committee.

Shale Support appoints two senior staff positions

Shale Support hired Leslie Gillespie to be the director of supply chain and Keith Tubandt to be vice president of production management. Gillespie will oversee the company’s logistics, production and sales capabilities. Tubandt will oversee all production, process improvements at the wet and dry plants, and control capital improvements for new product lines and the preventative maintenance program. Gillespie will work out of Fort Worth, Texas, and Tubandt will be based out of Picayune, Mississippi. Both will report to president and co-founder Jeff Bartlam.

Previously, Gillespie was employed at Superior Silica Sands as a supply chain manager. She also worked in materials and export compliance and forecasting for an avionics company. Tubandt consulted for American Silica and helped implement a processing system construction for the frac sand.

Awards, milestones and achievements

Watson-Marlow Limited awarded Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2018

Watson-Marlow Limited’s Qdos pump technology won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2018 award. The category is designed for innovation with the requirement of five years of sustained sales numbers. The technology Qdos uses allows for accurate, repeatable and linear metering. No tools are required to change out components, which could result in decreased downtime and cost reduction. Watson-Marlow Limited, part of the Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology group, is headquartered in Falmouth, England, and manufactures peristaltic pumps and tubing.

Armstrong Fluid Technology innovation acknowledged at RetroTech Summit

Armstrong Fluid Technology’s parallel pumping modules at the fourth annual RetrofitTech Summit took home an award for innovation and best practices. The Armstrong Design Envelope Tango parallel pumping modules with Parallel Sensorless Pump Control was awarded top prize in the Best Innovation in Automation category. The motor intelligence and connectivity combine to deliver energy savings of more than 30 percent.

Schneider Electric announces 2018 Global ALLIANCE Excellence Award winners

Schneider Electric announced the winners of its 2018 Global ALLIANCE Excellence Awards. The annual program recognizes Schneider Electric system integrator (SI) partner companies responsible for the achievements, innovations and service.

"This year’s winners exemplify the value the SI created with our offers by empowering customers to migrate away from the traditional control hierarchy to actual plant asset topology and an asset-centric architecture that controls their most critical business risks and variables, including the safety, security, efficiency, reliability, sustainability and, most crucially, the profitability of their operations in real time," said Jérôme Firmin, vice president, Strategic Marketing, Schneider Electric.

Winners of the 2018 Global ALLIANCE Excellence Awards include:

• Global Control System Alliance Partner of the Year: Trend Ingeniería (Argentina)
• Global EcoStruxure Hybrid DCS Alliance Partner of the Year: SuperTech Instrumentation Services (India) and Master Systèmes (France)
• Global Telemetry Alliance Partner of the Year: Bit Control (Italy)
• Global EcoStruxure Partner of the Year: Control Software Solutions (South Africa)
• Certified Expert of the Year: Siraparn Panukonpatsawe, Unity Focus, (Thailand)
• Business Development: SAFEgroup (Australia)

MCAA announces retirement of Cynthia Esher

Cynthia Esher retired from the Measurement, Control & Automation Association (MCAA) after 40 years of service. She joined the Scientific Apparatus Makers Association (SAMA) as administrative assistant and held increasingly responsible positions including director of administration and vice president. She was named executive director of the process measurement & control section of SAMA in 1988. In 1990 she was named president of SAMA while she maintained her responsibilities as executive director of the PMC Section. In 1994, after a name change to Measurement, Control & Automation, the section disassociated from SAMA and Esher was named president. In August of 2016, she reduced her work assignments in preparation for retirement.

Emerson donates $1.5M to Texas A&M for automation lab

Emerson donated $1.5 million to Texas A&M for the establishment of the Emerson Advanced Automation Laboratory. The facility will have a modern, active-learning environment that simulates real-world plant operations found in manufacturing facilities for the oil and gas, refining, life sciences and food and beverage industries.

The lab will be a part of the university’s new Zachry Engineering Education Complex, a 525,000-square-foot facility scheduled to open this fall. Emerson will provide the process control equipment for a distillation column. Next to the distillation column, students and faculty can meet to study and problem solve in the Emerson Collaboration Room. Emerson will work with the College of Engineering to expand its industrial wireless technologies throughout the Zachry Engineering Education Complex.

The new Emerson Advanced Automation Lab will be located within the Zachry Engineering Education Complex, pictured here, under construction. It is a 525,000 square-foot active learning center dedicated to undergraduate engineering education scheduled to open this fall.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Huffman Engineering named a Rockwell Automation Recognized Control System Integrator

Huffman Engineering Inc. achieved Machine Safety recognition in the Rockwell Automation Recognized Control System Integrator program. The program includes companies that advance machine safety design, delivery, remediation and staff. Huffman Engineering achieved the status by completing the machine safety education and assessment process, which includes topics like global safety standards, safety risk assessment practices and safeguarding mitigation and validation.

Global Shop Solutions employee named 30 Under 30

J.N. Strausbaugh, a Global Shop Solutions employee, was named one of Manufacturing Engineering’s 2018 Class of 30 Under 30 honorees. Strausbaugh served as a Global Shop Solutions operations consultant for over five years and specializes in implementation of software for new and existing customers. He graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in finance and global supply chain and operations management. When he began his job at Global Shop Solutions, Strausbaugh was a member of Fast Response and was promoted to Tier 2 Service team, where he trained customers on applications, showcased features and fixed operational issues.

Hoffer Flow Controls achieves ISO 17025 and Z540-1 accreditation

Hoffer Flow Controls Inc. was granted ISO 17025 and Z540-1 accreditation for its flowmeter calibration laboratory by the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA).

Hoffer performs flowmeter calibration and recalibration services on different types of flowmeters and offers field calibrations for cryogenic customers. Calibrations on liquid are offered up to 1525 gpm (5772 lpm), cryogenic liquids up to 200 gpm (757.08 lpm), and on air up to 200 ACFM (5.66 AM³/min).

Hoffer Flow Controls Inc. was granted ISO 17025 and Z540-1 accreditation for its flowmeter calibration laboratory by the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation. Graphic courtesy of Hoffer Flow Controls Inc.