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ACQUISITIONS/MERGERS

Group Laperriere & Verrault Inc. (GL&V) has announced the largest acquisition in its history by purchasing all the shares of Dorr-Oliver Group, a provider of technological solutions for liquid-solid separation. GL&V designs and manufactures engineered proprietary equipment for the pulp and paper industry and other industrial markets.

Mountain Systems Inc. (MSI) has acquired Sarbrook Co. Inc. MSI’s software product Proficy for Manufacturing attempts to enhance and improve manufacturing processes in many industries. Sarbrook’s software product WinSPEX is used for product specification management.

Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, a provider of private infrastructure services, has received the necessary clearance from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission regarding the acquisition of Nalco Chemical Co.

Birmingham-based Motion Industries has acquired Eastern Bearing Co. of New Jersey. Facilities are located in Elizabeth, N.J.; Whippany, N.J.; Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.; New Brunswick, N.J.; Trenton, N.J.; Allentown, Penn.; and Bronx, N.Y.

Eastman Chemical Co., Kingsport, Tenn., has acquired the ethylene methyl acrylate (EMAC and EMAC+) and ethylene butyl acrylate (EBAC and EBAC+) product lines of Chevron Chemical Co. LLC.

Tuthill Corp. has acquired Atlantic Fluidics of South Norwalk, Conn. The newly formed business will operate under the Tuthill Corp./Vacuum Systems Group and will market its product both under the Kinney brand name as well as continuing the Atlantic Fluidics brand name. Atlantic Fluidics manufactures liquid ring vacuum pumps. Kinney Vacuum is a Division of Tuthill Corp. that designs and manufactures industrial vacuum pumps.

Bray International Inc. has purchased Flow-Tek Inc., based in Columbia, S.C. Flow-Tek manufactures high quality ball valves for the fluid process market. Bray International Inc. is a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of process control automation.

Flowserve Corp. has agreed to acquire Honeywell’s industrial control-valve product line and related production equipment in Germany. Currently located in Honeywell’s Maintal plant near Frankfurt, this industrial control-valve business comprises the design, manufacture, and marketing of general-service control valves and positioner products.

GE Fanuc Automation North America Inc. has acquired a minority share of Horner Advanced Products Group. Horner APG manufactures industrial automation controls including I/O, display, control, and network devices for seamless integration. GE Fanuc has worked closely with Horner APG for several years, developing highly integrated solutions for GE Fanuc’s family of PLCs. The two companies most recently launched the Operator Control Station (OCS) family, which was the springboard for GE Fanuc’s minority ownership.

 

JOINT VENTURES

Ariba Inc. and Indus have announced their eCommerce partnership. Their alliance is designed to give Indus’ industrial customers faster, more cost-efficient Internet standards with suppliers, while providing a greater presence in industrial markets and commodity areas for Ariba.

FESTech Software Solutions and Northwest Controls have announced the automation distributor’s membership in FESTech’s software technology center affiliate program. As part of its membership, Northwest Controls will provide exclusive representation of FESTech’s products and services in Ohio.

Fisher-Rosemount Systems Inc., a member of the Fisher-Rosemount group of companies that offers process management solutions, and MDC Technology Ltd., a provider of production optimization and performance monitoring solutions, have announced the establishment of a formal business partnership to provide Advanced Process Optimization products and services to Fisher Rosemount customers. Products from MDC Technology will be embedded in Fisher-Rosemount’s DeltaV automation system. Also, Fisher-Rosemount has announced that it has further expended its Asset Management Solutions (AMS) software features to include a new interface option to the RBMware software suite from Computational Systems Inc. (CSI).

Sorm Inc./PrimeBoard, Wahepton, N.D., and Valmet Panelboard (formerly known as Sunds Defibrator Panelboard Systems) have joined forces to provide the market with straw-board solutions. The companies have signed an agreement to combine Sorm/PrimeBoard’s process knowlege and Valmet Panelboard’s equipment knowledge and sell complete wheat-straw lines to customers worldwide.

PaperExchange.com and VerticalNet announced a strategic alliance designed to provide mutual benefits for two of the industry’s online paper communities. Under the terms of the agreement, PaperExchange.com members will get co-branded access to leading industry content, including news, feature articles, and interviews from VerticalNet’s Pulp and Paper Online property. VerticalNet’s Pulp and Paper Online members will get access to PaperExchange.com’s pulp and paper exchange.

MRO.com Inc., a provider of MRO e-Commerce systems and wholly owned subsidiary of PSDI, announced that it has completed alliances with several providers of software for industrial distributors in North America. The alliances between MRO.com and Eclipse Inc., NxTrend Technology Inc., Prelude Systems Inc., and Tribute Inc. will allow users of its software solutions to make product, inventory, and order status information immediately available to industrial buyers via the Internet.

Container And Pallet Services (CAPS) and Savi Technology have teamed in an effort to bring advanced technology to distribution and supply chain management. CAPS, which rents and manages returnable containers and pallets, will use Savi’s integrated software system to provide its customers with an automated data collection and asset identification system.

American Sigma and Hach Co. has announced the formation of a strategic alliance that will combine the capabilities of each company into a single source "site-to-lab" monitoring and analysis solution provider. They will team to provide water quality products and services that will offer operational efficiency and reduced equipment life cycle cost.

Krautkramer Branson and ABB NDE Products have joined forces in the production and marketing of a phased array ultrasonic imaging system that will be commercially available in 1999. Both companies will continue to develop and market other ultrasonic instruments, array systems, and imaging products independently.

TAVA and Intellutions have teamed in an effort to decrease the implementation time for plant floor systems. TAVA will provide resources for integrating Intellutions’ automation solutions for supply chain and plant optimization. Automation integrators will be accredited and trained on Intellution software, such as SCADA, manufacturing execution systems, batch, and HMI solutions.

Tamfelt Corp., a manufacturer of technical textiles, and Tianjin Paper Net Factory have made an agreement to establish a company in China. The new company will start production in the summer of 2000.

Gibson Tube Co. and Rath Manufacturing Co. have agreed to combine forces to offer an expanded product line for the commercial market. Immediate plans call for the companies to remain independent in terms of management, manufacturing, and customer service.

 

NEW FACILITIES

BASF Corp. has begun construction of a new $20 million paper colorants plant at its facility in Altamira, Tamaulipas, in Mexico. This new plant will produce paper colorants for the NAFTA region in North America as well as specialties in chemical colorants for the BASF Corp. textile and leather businesses in the U.S.

WAGO Corp. is opening new U.S. corporate offices and a manufacturing facility. The new 60,000+ sq. ft. facility in Germantown, Wis., houses engineering, design, manufacturing, and a fully automated distribution center for WAGO’s North American operations.

 

EXPANSION/MODERNIZATION

Raisio Chemicals, Americas and Raisio Chemicals de Mexico S.A. de C.V. have announced the expansion of production at their manufacturing plant in Mexico. The site in Mexico City manufactures process chemicals, and, with the installation of new equipment in June 1999, Raisio can now also produce AKD sizing chemicals, anthraquinone pulping catalysts, and a line of defoamers. Raisio Chemicals has also announced that it, along with Raisio Quimica Andina S.A., will be producing ADK sizing chemicals at its manufacturing plant in Medellin, Colombia.

 

MARKETING/LICENSING

Van Waters & Rogers Inc., North American chemical distributor, has made a U.S. distribution agreement offering silicone fluids and emulsions produced by GE Silicones.

 

PRICING

Reichhold of Research Triangle Park, N.C., has announced a price increase of $0.05 per dry pound on all styrene butadiene (SB) and styrenebutadiene acrylonitrile products (SB/AN), effective for North American orders. This increase on SB and SB/AN products was implemented to offset major movement in raw material costs.

Dow Chemical Co. is increasing the off-list selling prices for all grades of caustic soda by $50 U.S. per metric ton globally.

Rohm and Haas has announced an increase of $0.03 per wet pound for most acrylic-based dispersants and Acusol rheology modifiers in its North American markets.

 

CERTIFICATIONS/AWARDS

BNA Bonfiglioli North America Inc., Concord, Ont., has received ISO 9002 certification. BNA is a supplier of drives, gear motors, and planetary gearboxes. The company is headquartered at it’s newly expanded facilities in Concord, Ont.

The Motion Industries facilities in Springfield, Mo., Lexington, Ky., Harvey, La., Knoxville, Tenn., and Morristown, Tenn., have achieved ISO 9002 registration.

Framatome Cogema Fuels (FCF) of Lynchberg, Va., has received ISO 9001 certification. FCF provides fuel-related engineering and analysis services, and field services for inspection and repair of fuel and related components.

Gauld Equipment Co. Theodore, Ala., has received ISO 9001 certification. Gauld manufactures equipment for the pulp and paper and wood handling industries.

OMYA Inc. was named "Most Outstanding Supplier of 1998" by the Westvaco mill in Luke, Md. This award is based on a 100-point scale with 50% resting on product quality and the remaining 50% on delivery and service. OMYA produces six million tons of GCC every year for the paper industry.

Buckman Laboratories’ manufacturing plant located in Memphis, Tenn., was the 1999 recipient of the Tennessee Association of Business Environmental Excellence in Air Quality Award. Buckman won the award for substantially reducing risk to human health and the environment through an active hazardous chemical elimination and reduction program.

 

NAME CHANGES

ENSR International, an environmental and engineering services firm based in Acton, Mass., has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Galson Corp., has changed its name to ENSR.

 

REORGANIZATION

The Torrington Co., a producer of bearings and precision components, is creating a new market-focused organization consisting of three new divisions -- automotive, industrial, and aftermarket -- that will focus on key global markets.

Following its recent acquisition of the Geschmay Group, Albany International Corp. has announced that the U.S. portion of the Geschmay Group business, previously identified as Wangner Systems Corp. and located in Greenville, S.C., becomes Geschmay Corp., and now offers products in the U.S. under the Geschmay brand.

 

NEW COMPANIES

Formation of the Durameter Pump Co. Inc., Angola, N.Y., a subsidiary of Aqua Care Systems Inc., was announced by Aqua Care Systems Inc., Coral Springs, Fla. Durameter manufactures EV Series metering pumps in a wide range of sizes, alloys, and non-metallic materials.

 

To have an announcement or press release considered for publication in Supplier News send the release or notice to Pulp & Paper magazine, 525 Market Street, Ste. 500, San Francisco, Calif., 94105; fax: (415) 278-5389. To have an announcement or press release considered for publication in Supplier News send the release or notice to Pulp &Paper magazine, 525 Marekt Street, Ste. 500, San Francisco, Calif., 94105; fax: (415) 278-5389