MT News

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

EMERSON acquires Norway’s ROXAR

Emerson has announced the acquisition of Roxar ASA. The deal creates the world’s first integrated automation solutions company whose products span from subsea oil and gas reservoirs, to platform and floating production, to transmission and ultimately through refining and production of goods.

Based in Stavanger, Norway, Roxar, which has annual revenues of US$200 million, maintains 28 offices in 19 countries, with a network of wholly owned offices in Europe, the Americas, Africa, CIS, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Its international customer base includes all of the multinationals, major independents and the majority of national oil companies. Roxar will now become part of Emerson Process Management.

FLOWSERVE BUYS SWISS DESALINATION FIRM

To expand the products and advanced technologies it offers to the growing global desalination markets, Flowserve has acquired the privately owned Swiss company, CALDER AG. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. CALDER specializes in the design, engineering and supply of energy-recovery equipment and related proprietary technologies for the reverse osmosis process used in desalination plants around the world. Energy-recovery equipment is a critical technology within reverse osmosis in that it captures and reuses waste energy, thus lowering net energy consumption, which is generally the biggest cost driver in the desalination process. Based in Egliswil, Switzerland, the CALDER product line includes Pelton Turbines and Dweer Recovery Devices. CALDER AG generated about $23 million in revenue in 2008.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Market research reports from analysts covering the water industry project that worldwide desalination capacity will more than double within the next decade, with the reverse osmosis methodology expected to be utilized for a majority of these new plant developments.)

PDMA OPENS ADVANCED TRAINING CENTER

PdMA has announced the opening of a new state-of-the-art, 1000-sq. ft. training center in Tampa, FL. The facility has four EMAX testing stations, allowing students to perform online testing of both healthy and faulted AC induction motors. One EMAX station supports testing of AC and DC drives. According to a company spokesperson, these online workstations incorporate PdMA’s Motor Test Access Panels (MTAP) ensuring the safest working environment possible for students. Several specialty motors also are available for MCE testing to support the offline portion of PdMA training courses.

SKF CONSOLIDATES 3 PENNSYLVANIA FACILITIES

SKF USA will be consolidating three Pennsylvania facilities (Norristown, Kulpsville and Bethlehem) into a new environmentally friendly corporate headquarters in Kulpsville, PA in May. The transition will put the company’s Industrial, Service, Logistics and Corporate teams all under one roof. SKF 800 phone and fax numbers will remain the same, as will remittance and lockbox addresses. The company’s new mailing address is: SKF USA Inc., PO Box 332, Kulpsville, PA 19443-0332. The new visitors’ address is: SKF USA Inc., 890 Forty Foot Road, Lansdale, PA 19446 MT