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MERGERS/ACQUISITIONS

Siemens Automation and Drives (A& D) Group intends to acquire the electronic controls business of the Vickers Electronic Systems Group, which develops and manufacturers computer numeric controls for machine tools and plastic processing equipment in the U.S. market.

AlliedSignal Inc. and Honeywell Inc. received clearance from the European Commission for their merger, which was completed Dec. 1, 1999. The all-stock merger is free to shareholders, except for cash paid in lieu of fractional shares.

Wavetek Wandel Goltermann, a global provider in communications testing, announced the sale of its Precision Measurement Div. in Norwich, U.K., and its Test Tools product line based in San Diego, Calif., to the Fluke Corp. of Everett, Wash.

PSDI, a provider of enterprise asset maintenance systems and MRO e-commerce systems, announced that it has acquired Modern Distribution Management, an information source covering strategic management issues affecting suppliers and distributors of MRO supplies. All of the newsletter’s content and editorial resources will now become part of the MRO.com portal.

Clariant Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., has sold its fungal inoculum business to AgraSol Inc., an active company in the field of biological control solutions for agricultural and industrial applications based in Raleigh, N.C.

Praxair’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Praxair Surface Technologies Inc., has completed its acquisition of the TAFA Group, formerly a unit of Eutectic+Castolin. The TAFA Group consists of TAFA Inc., TAFA Europe, and TAFA Material Technologies.

Thompson Analytic International Inc., an Atlanta-based consulting firm, has announced that it has merged with Laué Guay Inc., Montreal, Que., a company that provides specialized serviced in market research and marketing planning, as well as project development and execution.

Velan Inc. Canada has acquired 100% ownership of Alstom-Velan in Lyon, France. Alstom-Velan manufactures highly sophisticated industrial valves, as well as control valves for severe services.

IMS Group Inc., a provider of industrial plant maintenance, repair, and operation products and services has acquired C&S Inc. Headquartered in Mulberry, Fla., C&S specializes in the maintenance, fabrication/construction, condition monitoring, and repair of fluid storage tanks, product piping systems, boiler tubes, rotary kilns, and a variety of plant equipment.

RHI AG, a Vienna-based industrial firm with holdings throughout the world, has announced its acquisition of Global Industrial Technologies and its major asset, Harbison-Walker Refractories Co. of Pittsburgh. The resulting combined refractories companies, which will do business in the future as RHI Refractories America Inc., will have executive offices in Pittsburgh, Penn., and operating offices in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, Ohio. The company specializes in heat-resistant ceramic bricks, mortars, and sprays used to line industrial furnaces and heat-processing vessels.

Electromotive Systems by Magnetek, the designer/manufacturer of motor controls, has acquired Mondel Engineering, a brake manufacturer headquartered in Mississauga, Ont.

 

REORGANIZATIONS

Ahlstrom Corp. will divide itself into two new companies after its merger deal with Kvaerner ASA fell through. Directors have voted to create an industrial group, Ahlstrom Industries, and a private company, New FamCo. Pending approval by shareholders, Ahlstrom Industries will compete in specialty papers and advanced fiber web materials. New FamCo would be a 100% family-owned firm that would invest in new business ventures.

Nalco Chemical Co., a subsidiary of Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, announced that it has formed a new business unit called Nalco Industrial Outsourcing (NIO) to address a trend in the marketplace where customers are outsourcing their non-core business operations.

 

JOINT VENTURES

Penford Corp.’s Paper Chemicals Group and Monsanto Co.’s Kelco Biopolymers Group has announced that, working under their 1997 alliance, the two companies have developed and are commercializing their first product, a new ink jet specialty carbohydrate-based ingredient system for the North American paper industry. Patents are pending on the new PenExcel sizing technology, which delivers ink jet printability that meets or exceeds the paper performance of traditional surface sizes at a lower total cost.

PSDI, a provider of enterprise asset maintenance systems and MRO e-commerce systems, announced that Oracle Corp. has tested the integration of PSDI’s Maximo to Oracle applications release 11.0.2 for projects. Building on existing Maximo integration to Oracle financial, purchasing, and inventory applications, users of the joint Maximo and Oracle release will be able to reduce project-related costs and streamline associated processes via real-time budgeting, costing, project, and capital control.

AcquiData Inc., a provider of automation systems for paper testing laboratories, has added three leading test instrument manufacturers to its Alliance Partnership Program. The new partners are Technydyne Corp., a supplier of optical testing instrumentation, M/K Systems, whose formation test instruments and Formation Index are industry standards for fiber distribution measurements, and Emveco Inc., a leading manufacturer of precision instruments. The Alliance Partnership Program teams AcquiData’s Testream/CS data acquisition and management software with the precision measurement expertise of its partners to provide integrated, quality data collection and management solutions.

Trace Laboratories-Central and TUV Rheinland of North America Inc. have announced the formation of a cooperative relationship established to provide a wide range of testing and certification services to manufacturers. This new relationship will enable manufacturers all over the world to utilize both Trace’s testing facilities and experience, and TUV’s knowledge of international certification and compliance, to more easily meet the certification testing requirements of the international community.

Four leading Messer companies in the on-site gas generation business have joined forces under Messer Advanced Gas Systems (AGS). Mahler AGS, Generon, Italfilo Engineering, and SMC Asia Gas Systems Co. will now operate as one company under Messer AGS. Products will continue to be offered under these individual brand names.

TM Systems Finland OY has signed an exclusive agreement with Compass Systems & Sales Inc. to design, manufacture, sell, and service Trimvac Edge Trim Removal Systems and paper mill air systems in the U.S. and Canada.

Gas Tech Inc. is joining Commerce One Inc., a leader in business-to-business electronic procurement solutions. Commerce One Inc. links buying and supplying organizations into real-time trading communities, increasing efficiency and reducing operational costs across the entire indirect supply chain.

 

NEW FACILITIES

IMS Group, a supplier of industrial plant maintenance, repair, and operations products and services has added to its customer support services with the opening of a new facility in Kansas City, Mo. This facility will serve customers in the Midwest with local access to IMS Group’s comprehensive offering of industrial products, engineering support, and equipment repair services.

 

EXPANSIONS/MODERNIZATION

Trace Laboratories-EMC Division has announced a number of new capabilities and a sharpened concentration on its newly-renovated 27,000 ft2 electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) facility just outside Chicago, Ill. Newly completed are a three-meter semi-anechoic RF test chamber and a shielded control room. The chamber offers full scan height FCC and CISPR-radiated emissions testing at frequencies ranging from 10lHz to 20GHz, with field strengths as high as 200V/meter. Most products can be fully tested for EMC at this new Palatine, Ill., facility without having to be re-tested at an Open Area Test Site (OATS).

 

MARKETING/LICENSING

Ronningen-Petter Inc. has formed Ronningen-Petter Financial Services to offer lease options for its liquid filtration equipment. The company manufactures bag, cartridge, tubular backwashing, and mechanically cleaned-in-place filters for removal of solids from one micron and larger from a wide variety of process liquids and water.

In order to meet growing demand, VibrAlign has expanded its distribution channels in eastern Pennsylvania and Denver. VibrAlign will be represented by NOVA PA in eastern Pennsylvania and by Stephen Gordon in the western U.S.

 

NAME CHANGES

General Alum & Chemical has been renamed GAC Chemical Corp. The name was selected to emphasize the company’s broadened capabilities.

 

CERTIFICATIONS/AWARD

Rockwell Automation’s Reliance Electric plant in Athens, Ga., was recently certified as a leader in pollution prevention by the state of Georgia. The facility was recognized for its progress in waste minimization and overall management commitment to environmental excellence. The Athens plant has recently been accepted as an entry-level company in the Pollution Prevention Partners (P3) industry recognition program, a three-level certification program that recognizes continuous pollution prevention performance and environmental improvement by Georgia industries.

The 1999 Queen’s Award for Environmental Achievement acknowledged a joint effort by Osmonics Inc., Minnetonka, Minn., and Esmil Process Systems Ltd. in Buckinghamshire, England. The two companies have developed zero discharge effluent treatment and water recovery systems for medium-density fiberboard (MDF) plants throughout Europe. The Queen’s Award recognizes a company’s significant advances in the development of a product, technology, or process that is commercially successful and offers major benefits to society.

Erhardt + Leimer Inc., a manufacturer of web control systems, has received ISO 14001 certification.

LINPAC Materials Handling, a manufacturer of reusable, collapsible containers, has received QS-9000 certification.

TECHNOLOGY

The U.S. patent office recently awarded Rockwell Automation’s Reliance Electric engineers Michael Melfi, John Early, and Wesley Haynes a patent for the Variable Speed AC Motor Application and Selection Software called the RPM AC Motor Wizard. The software is designed to perform highly complex motor selection tasks that, in the past, have only been done manually by motor design engineers