IN BRIEF/NEWS
The new centre is “designed to allow
In Brief
• 1200 Grundfos employees from 55
countries participated in 26 sports
during the recent Grundfos Olympic
Games in Bjerringbro, Denmark. The
Grundfos Olympics are held every four
years, bringing employees and cultures
together with a focus on teambuilding
and friendship. At the end of the two
days of competition, 384 medals had
been presented and 10 611 km covered
by the cyclists, swimmers and runners.
www.grundfos.com
• Westinghouse Electric Co has officially
opened a branch in Abu Dhabi. The
new office will promote the merits of
nuclear energy throughout the Middle
East region. Westinghouse is supporting
the United Arab Emirates’ peaceful
nuclear energy program as a US
subcontractor to the Korea Electric Power
Co (KEPCO), the prime contractor
to the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp
(ENEC). Westinghouse is providing
plant components such as reactor coolant
pumps, along with engineering, licensing,
and training services for ENEC’s four
units currently under construction at the
Barakah Nuclear Power Plant.
www.westinghouse.com
• Idex Corp has acquired Alfa Valvole
srl, an Italian manufacturer of specialty
valve products used in the chemical,
petrochemical, energy and sanitary
markets, in a E102 million deal.
Casorezzo-based Alfa Valvole has revenues
of approximately E30 million and will
operate within Idex’s Fluid & Metering
Technologies segment. Idex chairman and
CEO Andy Silvernail said: “Alfa is the
fifth acquisition in our rapidly expanding
specialty valve platform. The company’s
products, technology, brand and installed
customer base are an excellent fit with the
Idex business model.”
www.idexcorp.com
• CECO Environmental Corp and PMFG
Inc have received early termination of the
required waiting period under the Hart-
Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements
Act of 1976 in relation to CECO’s
acquisition of PMFG (see Pump Industry
Analyst, May 2015). The deal is still
subject to the approval of stockholders
of both CECO and PMFG and other
customary closing conditions.
www.cecoenviro.com, www.pmfginc.
com and www.peerlessmfg.com
12
Pump Industry Analyst June 2015
Lewa establishes new
subsidiary in Russia
G erman pump manufacturer Lewa
has transitioned its Russian joint
venture into a full subsidiary.
Lewa will now expand the subsidiary’s
on-site service capabilities to improve its
market position in the region.
The new structure will enable Lewa to
better serve the region’s requirements for
pumps and systems.
“Through our own subsidiary, we will
be able to create more added value in the
region, which our customers there greatly
appreciate,” said Lewa managing director
Stefan Glasmeyer.
For further information, visit www.lewa.de
Pentair opens
aquaculture centre of
excellence in Florida
P entair has invested in a World
Aquaculture Technology
Engineering & Research Center of
Excellence on the Pentair Aquatic
Eco-Systems campus in Apopka,
Florida, USA.
The centre, which consists of 12 400 sq
ft of laboratories and fish culture systems,
will be used for demonstration, research
and teaching activities. Customers and
educational institutions will be able to
monitor online the progress of fish culture
trials, including water quality, feeding,
feed conversion ratios, growth rates, energy
consumption and harvesting activities.
“We call this farming reimagined,” said
Karl Frykman, president of Pentair’s Water
Quality Systems.
The centre will showcase Pentair’s
expertise and technologies in water reuse
systems and solutions, including pumps
and filtration systems. Frykman said the
centre also highlights the scientific expertise
of Pentair’s biologists, engineers, designers
and technicians who specialise in sustaining
aquatic life.
“Through our work in aquaculture, at
this centre of excellence, we are innovating
to help a new industry bring healthy food
to developing countries, arid climates and
space-challenged urban centres.”
development of innovative technology as well as
showcase solutions for different environments
around the world,” said Bob Miller, Pentair vice
president Environmental Systems.
The Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems campus
already houses offices, a customer contact
centre, and manufacturing and warehouse
operations.
For further information, visit www.pentair.com and
www.pentairaes.com
Kaizen recognition for
Kirloskar Brothers’
Coimbatore plant
K irloskar Brothers Limited’s
all-women facility in
Coimbatore, India has received
two excellence awards in the 10th
Kaizen Incremental Improvement
Competition organised by the
Quality Circle Forum of India (QCFI).
The awards recognised the KBL
Coimbatore team’s presentations on process
improvements.
Kaizen is a system of continuous
improvement in quality, technology,
processes, company culture, productivity,
safety and leadership. The KBL Coimbatore
plant introduced the Kaizen culture in 2012.
Dr Raj Kuumar, KBL Coimbatore plant
head, said: “We are honoured to receive
this recognition for our continual quality
improvement practices. KBL’s Coimbatore
plant encourages its employees at all levels
in various undertakings at the facility to
participate in all our quality enhancement
initiatives. Employee involvement has helped
in creating a work-friendly environment and
helped increase productivity at the plant. We
continue to make incremental improvements in
our processes to make them more efficient.”
For further information, visit www.kirloskarpumps.com
Xylem launches new
Flygt YouTube channel
X ylem Inc has unveiled a new
YouTube channel dedicated to its
Flygt brand.
The new channel’s content includes a
behind-the-scenes video of one of Xylem’s main