MT News

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

SERVOMEX APPOINTS HURLEY AS GM AMERICAS

Servomex, a supplier of reliable, high-performance gas analysis solutions to a wide range of industries, has named Charles "Chuck" Hurley as general manager of Servomex Americas, effective immediately. Hurley comes to his new position from gas detection manufacturer Honeywell Analytics, where his previous responsibilities included the design, manufacture, sales and service of industrial gas detection in a variety of roles, including director of global services and European service manager. His appointment is one of several moves by Servomex to emphasize ongoing improvements in manufacturing, supply and customer service. Among these moves has been the recent establishment of three region-specific business centers dedicated to providing an enhanced pre-sales and post-sales support to customers in the EMEA, Americas and Asia Pacific regions respectively. (Editor's Note: The Servomex Americas Business Center is located in Sugar Land, TX.)

NEW HEADMASTER FOR LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE®

Larry Konopacz has been appointed manager of Training and Education at Bell & Gossett's Little Red Schoolhouse® in Morton Grove, IL. He succeeds Roy Ahlgren who retired in March of this year. Konopacz began his ITT career in 1983 as a junior CNC programmer in Bell & Gossett's Manufacturing Engineering Department, and progressed through a series of managementlevel engineering positions. During that time, he programmed many of the major components used in a variety of the company's products. In 1992, he transitioned from engineering to manufacturing before being named factory manager in 1995. Konopacz is an ITT certified VBSS Black Belt and Lean Master. He holds BS and MS degrees in Industrial Technology from Western Illinois University, and an MBA in Managerial Accounting from DePaul.

SKF SET TO ACQUIRE PEER BEARING COMPANY

SKF has signed an agreement with the owners of U.S.-based PEER Bearing Company (PEER) to acquire PEER and its manufacturing operations in China and Thailand. Headquartered in Waukegan, IL, PEER primarily manufactures deep groove ball bearings and tapered roller bearings, most of which are sold to North American customers. In 2007 the company had approximately 1400 employees and sales of almost $100M. According to SKF, the acquisition is expected to strengthen the corporation's presence in certain North American market segments that it doesn't currently serve, including Mechanical Power Transmission. PEER will continue to operate as a stand-alone business, acting independently on the market under its existing PEER brand. The proposed transaction is subject to certain conditions to closing and requires approvals by relevant authorities.

MOTOROLA MAKES INVESTMENT IN APPRION

Motorola, Inc. through Motorola Ventures, its strategic venture capital arm, has joined a number of other groups to invest in Apprion, Inc., a supplier of advanced wireless products, applications and services for industrial plants. (Apprion notes that its IONizer product was the process industry's first industrial-grade, multi-RF, wireless network appliance.) With the Motorola investment, Apprion has raised over $23.5M. Other participants in the Apprion funding include Anvil Investment Associates LP, CTTV Investments LLC, the venture capital arm of Chevron Technology Ventures, Advanced Circle 65 or visit www.MT-freeinfo.com Technology Ventures and Allegis Capital.

ASSOCiation News: TYCO FLOW CONTROL OPENS NEW SERVICE & REPAIR CENTER

Tyco Flow Control (TFC), a business of Tyco International Ltd., is opening a new 42,000-square-ft. service and repair center at 9560 New Decade, in Pasadena, TX this month. The facility will provide all service and repair operations previously performed at the company's Pasadena distribution center. This expansion not only allows TFC to continue providing ongoing service for pressure relief valves and tank vents, but also integrates its field service, quarter-turn, automation and control valve repair capabilities. Some of the site's square footage will be used for two new testing stands capable of testing valves up to 30" and for additional machining capabilities. MT