ACQUISITIONS/MERGERS

Asten and JWI, suppliers of paper ma-chine clothing, have announced their intention to merge. The two will join forces to broaden product capability, strengthen research, and enhance distribution. The new company will be named AstenJohnson. Along with its European-based partner, Heimbach, AstenJohnson will provide global product offerings.

Albany International has announced that it will purchase Geschmay’s paper machine clothing businesses. Geschmay’s principal operations are located in Europe and the U.S. The acquisition will provide a greater geographical scope and enhanced research and product applications experience for customers.

Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, a world leader in private infrastructure services, and Nalco Chemical Co., a provider of water treatment services and products, have announced a definitive agreement for Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux to acquire Nalco. This acquisition follows Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux’ announcement of an agreement to acquire Calgon, a Pittsburgh- based water treatment company.

Honeywell Oy (Finland) has agreed to acquire Hildeco Oy, a Finnish manufacturer of web monitoring and analyzer systems for paper and coating machines. The acquisition will allow Honeywell-Measurex to integrate the Hilcont system into its Da Vinci product family, giving customers the choice of either a stand-alone or fully integrated web monitoring system.

Fisher-Rosemount’s parent company, Emerson Electric Co., has acquired Orion CEM, a supplier of process auto-mation and engineering services for the pulp and paper industry. Orion will play a critical role in Fisher-Rosemount project implementations, particularly those involving PlantWeb architecture and Foundation fieldbus technology.

Invensys plc, an electronics and engineering company specializing in automation and controls, has acquired Marcam Solutions Inc., a Massachusetts-based provider of process enterprise resource planning and enterprise asset management solutions. Combining Marcam’s software with Invensys’s Wonderware FactorySuite will provide a complete software solution to the process automation market.

Davco Systems, Protech Controls Corp., and Terryberry Sales Inc., all of New York, have combined to form Applied Measurement & Control (AMC), a provider of measurement and control equipment for pulp and paper making and other process industries. Administrative and corporate headquarters are located in Victor, N.Y.; marketing and MIS headquarters are in Amherst, N.Y., with satellite sales offices in Syracuse and Albany.

Columbus McKinnon Corp. (CM), a manufacturer and supplier of material handling products, has purchased Wash-ington Equipment Co. of Eureka, Ill., a manufacturer and service provider for overhead cranes. The acquisition gives CM additional engineering capabilities and a presence in parts of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Florida. Washington Equip-ment Co. will retain its name and management; CM will provide sales and marketing support.

Mestek Inc., Westfield, Mass., has acquired ACDC Inc., a Milford, Ohio-based supplier of dampers and expansion joints for process industries. The company name has been changed to the Air Clean Damper Div. of Mestek Inc.

Kollmorgen of Radford, Va., has purchased New England Affiliated Technologies (NEAT), a manufacturer of motion control products for advanced positioning based in Lawrence, Mass.

Honeywell Inc. has acquired the electromechanical switch product lines from Saint Switch Inc.

 

JOINT VENTURES

The Petroleum, Chemical, and Consumer Group of ABB Automation has signed a teaming agreement with InControl Technologies Inc., a supplier of multi-variate statistical process control services. InControl’s software tools and statistical consulting services will be used to expand ABB’s advanced process control capabilities.

Walsh Automation Inc. and Pacific Simulation have announced a strategic alliance to help thermomechanical pulping mills reduce costs through the application of advanced control and optimization technologies.

Trigen-Cinergy Solutions has agreed with Millennium Inorganic Chemicals to design, build, and operate combined heat and power plants and to provide energy and utility services for specified Millennium global operations.

Welding Services Inc. (WSI) has reached an agreement with the Canadian Boilermakers Union to train and maintain a permanent work force of machine operators to perform work in Canada and around the world. WSI specializes in mechanical overhaul and restoration of boilers, process towers, reactors, and pressure vessels.

Bezner America LLC, the North American distributor for all Bezner Maschinen GmbH products, has made a long-term agreement with Hustler Conveyor Co. as its preferred conveyor supplier.

Moog Inc., an East Aurora, N.Y.-based supplier of motion control systems, and The Oilgear Co., a Milwaukee-Wis.-based supplier of pump and valve products, have formed a business alliance to pursue markets for fluid power components.

 

TECHNOLOGY

Niel Casale, vice president and general manager of control systems for Valmet Automation in Norcross, Ga., has been granted a patent for a combination blowbox/saveall system used on paper machines. As fabric and web move in concert around the pick-up roll, the blowbox section directs air to reduce the likelihood of web/fabric separation. The saveall section collects water droplets and contaminants dislodged in the process.

The U.S. FDA has granted regulatory clearance for the use of Algroup Lonza’s halohydantoin products in food-contact paper and paperboard. The company plans to market the product under the Dantobrom PG trademark. The patented product balances the stabilization of active halogens in the presence of papermaking components while retaining availability for microbiological control.

 

NAME CHANGES

Thompson Analytic International Inc., an Atlanta-based forest products industry consulting firm, has changed its name from Thompson Avant International Inc., but will retain the initials TAII. TAII provides feasibility studies and other services to the forest products industry.

Lomas International, headquartered in Macon, Ga., has changed its name to Lintech International. Lintech represents various chemical suppliers and offers warehouse and supply chain services.

 

EXPANSIONS

Minerals Technologies Inc. will construct a merchant manufacturing facility in Brookhaven, Miss., for the production of specialty PCC. The $20 million facility is expected to be operating in 2000 and will be capable of producing 50,000 tpy to 70,000 tpy of specialty PCC.

Nashua Corp. has approved a $1.6 million capital investment to expand the thermal coating process at its Specialty Coated Products facility in Merrimack, N.H. The project will enable the company to manufacture, store, and distribute thermal coatings within in its manufacturing process.

Brookfield Engineering Laboratories, a manufacturer of viscometers and rheometers, has moved into a new 100,000 ft² headquarters and manufacturing facility in Middleboro, Mass.

Rohm and Haas Co., a supplier of specialty chemicals, has completed a $4 million plant in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, that will make products for the detergent additives, water treatment, and mineral processing markets throughout Southeast Asia.

 

NEW FACILITIES

Laminations, a part of Great Northern’s Specialty Group that manufactures laminated paper products for industrial shipping, packaging, and warehousing, has moved its headquarters and Central region manufacturing plant to the Northeast Business Park in Appleton, Wis. Its new 100,000 ft² facility replaces the company’s former headquarters and manufacturing plant in Neenah, Wis.

 

REORGANIZATIONS

The Johnson Corp., a manufacturer of auxiliary equipment for the dryer section, has created an international management board. The 14-member board, representing four business units: systems, software, services, and manufacturing, will set the strategic direction of global operations and services.

ABB has created a new business unit for management consulting based in Baden, Switzerland (ABB Business Services Ltd.), and Hunt Valley, Maryland (ABB Auto-mation Inc.). The unit will offer consulting services emphasizing a total enterprise view of strategies, processes, and information technology and automation.

 

NEW COMPANIES

John Patterson, former president of Total Logistic Control, and Michael McClelland and Gregory Morello, former executives of Schneider Logistics, have formed a new company called KNGT Logistics Inc. with offices in Grand Rapids, Mich. The new venture offers a full range of supply chain management services including outsource and “insource” logistics to help customers manage order fulfillment chains. It is financed by Phoenix-based Knight Transportation Inc., a group of investors from the Knight family, and the management principals.

 

MARKETING/LICENSING

The Babcock & Wilcox Co. and Nooter/Eriksen Inc. have formed a limited liability company to market heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) technology worldwide. The new company, Nooter/Eriksen-Babcock & Wilcox LLC, will provide HRSG technology to recover waste heat from gas turbines for steam-based electric power, cogeneration, and other process applications.

ABB’s Pulp & Paper Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) Group has announced a co-marketing relationship with Teklogix Inc., a manufacturer of wireless data communication systems. ABB has integrated Teklogix’s radio frequency technology with its own MES software for product tracking, quality management, production planning, and information exchange.

J&L Fiber Services will be represented by The Summitt Group LLC, an independent representative agency, in its Southeast sales region. Exclusively representing J&L products and services in Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee, The Summitt Group will provide fiberline optimization to pulp, paper, and board mills. It will help J&L provide additional technical assistance and customer services.

Bonetti Steel Co., a manufacturer of doctoring systems and coater, doctor, and creping blades, has announced the representation of its products by Zane S. Blanchard & Co. Inc. (ZSB) of Hampton, N.H. ZSB will be responsible for developing sales and service to paper mills in the states of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Support responsibilities for Bonetti’s existing clients in these states will be taken over by ZSB.

Bezner America LLC has announced its formation as the exclusive North American distributor for all Bezner Maschinen GmbH products and tech-nologies, which will be sold through a dealer network of local representatives.

Data Collection Systems Inc. (DCSI) now offers its two primary products worldwide. Data Collection Advantage, an automatic identification system, and Warehouse Advantage, a warehouse management system, both integrate with ERP applications such as SAP and PeopleSoft.

U.S. Filter Corp. (USFilter) has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Team Engineering Inc. of Merlin, Ore. Under this agreement, USFilter’s Stranco Products subsidiary has the exclusive distribution rights in the U.S. and Canada for Team Engineering’s Holger Sommer-designed water particle counter.

Lintech International has been appointed as distributor for the southeastern and southwestern United States representing Lord Corporation’s Chemlok and Ty-Ply adhesive lines.

 

PRICING

Air Products Polymers L.P. has increased prices by 2 cents per wet pound of its vinyl acetate-ethylene, vinyl-acrylic, polyvinyl acetate homopolymer, polyvinyl acetate copolymer, and ethylene-vinyl chloride emulsions sold to all markets in the U.S. and Canada. These products are marketed under the Airflex, Flexbond, and Vinac trademarks.

Millennium Inorganic Chemicals has increased prices U.S. $100/mton on Tiona titanium dioxide products sold in the Asia-Pacific region, reflecting increasing demand and tight supply within that area.

 

AWARDS

Great Northern Paper presented BASF Corporation’s Paper Chemicals business unit with a Supplier Excellence Award for outstanding quality achievement in 1998. The Champion paper mill in Quinnesec, Mich., also recognized BASF with a Gold Supplier Award for the second consecutive year. In addition, the Wisconsin Council of Safety and the state Department of Workforce Development commended BASF’s Appleton, Wis., plant for safety and health excellence in 1998.

Nalco Chemical Co. has been awarded a 1999 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award from the U.S. EPA. Nalco received the award for its Ulltimer product, a liquid form of dispersion polymer that removes suspended solids, organic matter, and other materials from water prior to use in industrial processes.

Motion Industries Inc., a distributor of bearings and mechanical, electrical, and fluid power transmission equipment, has been honored as a General Motors Worldwide Purchasing Supplier of the Year. The company is one of only 26 out of 30,000 to receive the award for three consecutive years.