NEWS

May 2013 Sealing Technology5

Flexitallic’s centre in Alberta provides quick access to seals

The Flexitallic Group, which develops specialised sealing products for the

energy industry, has opened a custom-built service centre in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, to enable it to be more responsive to customers in the oil sands region.

‘Our new Fort McMurray service centre fur-ther strengthens relationships with partners in Northern Alberta,’ explained Darcy Chichak, Director, MRO Sales, Flexitallic.

‘Through project design, construction, opera-tion and maintenance cycles, customers now have more rapid access to standard and custom Flexitallic gaskets, fasteners and instrumenta-tion. Products that previously took days to deliver can be now on-site the same day – help-ing our partners maintain the highest degree of operational safety and efficiency.’

The new facility also enables Flexitallic experts to be rapidly deployed for on-site ser-vice and support, whether during planned out-ages or on an emergency basis.

‘This opening represents a significant invest-ment in our customers and the region,’ added Jerry Lastovica, President and Chief Executive Officer, Flexitallic Americas.

‘We have committed nearly C$3 million for infrastructure, inventory and people in order to make our Fort McMurray service centre a reality. Once again, Flexitallic is demonstrating its ability to provide customers with the most reliable, safe products for their increasingly complex needs.’

The site joins existing Flexitallic operating centres across Alberta, including Grand Prairie, Red Deer, Calgary and Edmonton.

Contacts:

Flexitallic Ltd, Scandinavia Mill, Hunsworth Lane,

Cleckheaton BD19 4LN, UK. Tel: +44 1274 851273,

Fax: +44 1274 851386, Web: www.flexitallic.eu

The Flexitallic Group, 250 bis rue du Faubourg Saint-

Honoré, 75008 Paris, France. Tel: +33 1 4888 8887,

Web: www.fdsgroup.net

STLE creates European advisory council

US-based Society of Tribologists & Lubrication Engineers (STLE) is cre-

ating an advisory council to cover new

initiatives and programme develop-ment strategies in Europe.

The council will be composed of seven European sector experts, with STLE’s president and executive director as standing members. It will be chaired and managed on behalf of STLE by Interel, an international consulting and association management firm based in Brussels, Belgium.

Commenting on the formation of the council, Edward Salek, Executive Director, STLE, said: ‘The creation of the council is an important step for STLE as it seeks to widen its engage-ment outside North America. The research that Interel has conducted on the society’s behalf over the past year shows that there is an appetite in Europe for what STLE has to offer, but that our brand and our programmes have, perhaps, not been as well positioned or publicised as they could have been to this point.’

‘The council will help us think through how best to raise our profile and maximise our growth potential in ways that are relevant and sensitive to the particular demands of this very diverse market.’

Interel has conducted a number of research projects for STLE over the past 15 months as well as facilitating it expansion into Europe through the provision of local operational, mar-keting and administrative support.

Bob Lewis, Partner & Group Head of Association Management, Interel, added: ‘We have worked with STLE on a number of stra-tegic assignments over the past year or so and our role in helping to establish and manage the council is a logical outgrowth of that work.’

‘The relationship between our two organisa-tions is complementary and we are delighted to be extending our partnership with STLE into a more operational phase of its programme development.’

Members of the council are David Whitby Chief Executive, Pathmaster Marketing Ltd; Daniel Nelias, Professor, INSA Lyon, LaMCoS; Robert Stubbs, EMEA Business Development Manager, Sea-Land Chemical Europe; Marcin Szponder, Regulatory Affairs Director, Polish Organisation of Oil Industry and Trade; Ekkehard Daschner, Global Industrial & Marine EB/OEM Manager, ExxonMobil Products Technology, Esso Deutschland GmbH; Jesús Terradillos, Director, Tekniker Technological Centre, Fundacion IK4 Tekniker; and Jan Arickx, Manager, Europe Technical Support, Chevron Lubricants.

These members have been selected for their technical expertise and strategic insight into the tribology and lubrication market in Europe, says STLE. Edward Salek and Jerry Byers, Executive Director and President, STLE, respectively, are standing members. The council is chaired by Lewis.

I N B R I E F

John Crane responds to growth in the Oceania regionJohn Crane Inc of Morton Grove, Illinois, USA, has appointed Craig Coulston as the new general manager of its operations in Australia. The firm has also opened a cus-tomer service centre in Perth and signed two major contracts as offshore natural gas dis-coveries in the Oceania region drive business growth and investment. Coulston will assume responsibility for all aspects of the business in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Duncan Gillis, President and Chief Executive Officer, John Crane Group, com-mented: ‘The significant offshore natural gas discoveries enable Australia to continue to grow its exports of natural gas while balanc-ing its energy security. This means higher demands on our customers which we will support by investing resources as needed, while remaining committed to increasing local employment opportunities and support-ing communities within this region.’

DuPont opens innovation centre in TurkeyUS company DuPont has opened an innova-tion centre in Istanbul, Turkey – a key growth market for the company. This is 11th centre of its type to be opened by the firm and the third in the Europe, Middle-East and Africa region. It will focus on the automotive, ener-gy, construction and food industries.

Novus Sealing Middle East becomes FlexitallicNovus Sealing Middle East, a manufacturer and supplier of gaskets and industrial sealing products, which is based in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, has changed its name to Flexitallic Llc. This announcement comes after the successful integration of UK businesses Novus Sealing and Flexitallic, which now oper-ate solely under the name of Flexitallic Ltd.

Eriks acquires German distributor and Belgian power-transmission companyEriks Nv, through its subsidiary Eriks Hessen GmbH, has acquired the main assets and commercial activities of German techni-cal distribution company Klaus Technische Grosshandlung GmbH, which supplies a general assortment of industrial products and components – especially industrial hoses and accessories, seals, tools and pumps – to OEM and maintenance, repair and operations cus-tomers. Eriks has also signed an agreement for the acquisition of Belgium’s CET Motoren Theys Nv, which specialises in electrical power transmissions and related services, in particular the sale and repair of electric motors, reduction gears, drives, generators and pumps.

NEWS

6Sealing Technology May 2013

Interel specialises in strategic communica-tions, public affairs and association manage-ment. The group was created in 1983 in Brussels, where it is the single largest consul-tancy in its sector, with close to 100 consultants providing local, European and international ser-vices to well over 200 clients. It also has offices in Berlin, Germany; Delhi, India; London, UK; Paris, France; and Washington DC, USA, and an integrated network of affiliated firms worldwide.

STLE serves the needs of more than 10 000 individuals and 150 companies and organisations that comprise the tribology and lubrication engi-neering business sector around the world.

Contacts:

Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers,

840 Busse Highway, Park Ridge, IL 60068-2302, USA.

Tel: +1 847 825 5536, Fax: +1 847 825 1456,

Web: www.stle.org

Interel Group, Rue du Luxembourg 22–24, B-1000

Brussels, Belgium. Tel: +32 2 213 1300, Email: bel-

gium@interelgroup.com, Web: www.interelgroup.com

PPG set to acquire aerospace coatings producer

In the USA, PPG Industries has reached a definitive agreement to

acquire certain assets of Deft Inc, a privately-owned speciality coatings company based in Irvine, California.

Deft’s primary business is supplying structur-al primers and military top-coats to the aviation industry in North American. It also has smaller architectural and industrial coatings businesses.

‘Acquiring Deft will advance PPG’s strategy to remain a leading aerospace coatings supplier,’ said Barry Gillespie, Vice President, Aerospace, PPG.

‘Deft’s water-borne and chrome-free tech-nologies complement PPG’s existing coatings capabilities and will provide the firm with a broader product portfolio – particularly within the aerospace industry.’

Gillespie continued: ‘The aviation industry continues to drive towards improved environ-mentally sustainable products, and both PPG and Deft have long histories of developing tech-nologies that support this trend. Deft’s ‘‘green’’ coating systems support PPG’s ongoing com-mitment to sustainability, and we will be able to offer an even wider selection of innovative coatings that benefit our customers and lessen the impact on the environment.’

The transaction is expected to be finalised during the second quarter, subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Contacts:

PPG Industries Inc, One PPG Place, Allegheny,

Pittsburgh, PA 15272, USA. Tel: +1 412 434 3131,

Fax: +1 412 434 2125, Web: www.ppg.com

Deft Inc, 17451 Von Karman Avenue, Irvine, CA 92614,

USA. Tel: +1 949 474 0400, Fax: +1 949 474 7269,

Web: www.deftfinishes.com/industrial

SKF appoints Ashton Seals as its seals distributor

SKF reports that it has recently appointed Ashton Seals Ltd – a

UK-based supplier of O-rings and asso-ciated sealing products – as a specialist distributor for its comprehensive range of sealing products.

This agreement will provide Ashton Seals’ customers with access to the SKF range of power-transmission, hydraulic, fluid-handling and machined seals, which are used across a diverse range of industries, including the steel, automo-tive, food-processing and pharmaceuticals sectors.

Zoe Fearnley, Commercial Director, Ashton Seals, commented: ‘This is a fantastic develop-ment for both our companies and I am confi-dent that expanding our range of sealing prod-ucts and technology will benefit our customers.’

‘We are committed to enhancing our prod-uct portfolio in response to their needs. As a company we pride ourselves on our second to none customer service which, coupled with SKF’s highest quality products, means that our relationship will provide enormous benefits throughout the industry.’

Barrie Archer, Distributor Development Manager, SKF Industrial Market, Regional Sales and Service, added: ‘Combining our joint specialist knowledge and experience, the relationship with Ashton Seals, our new seals distributor in the UK, will enable us to serve our nationwide customers that require proven, high-performance sealing products – perhaps most importantly, quickly and with an unri-valled level of customer service.’

Contacts:

Ashton Seals Ltd, Ashton Building, Cortonwood Drive,

Brampton, Barnsley S73 0UF, UK.

Tel: +44 1226 273700, Fax: +44 1226 756774,

Email: ask@ashtonseals.com, Web: www.ashtonseals.com

I N B R I E F

Management changes at three Lanxess business unitsGerman speciality chemicals company Lanxess Deutschland GmbH reports that Dr Ron Commander, head of its butyl rubber (BTR) business unit, will retire at the end of this year, but until then will take on a new role within the company in Canada. Dr Guenther Weymans, who is currently head of the Keltan Elastomers business, based in Geleen, The Netherlands, will succeed Dr Commander as the head of BTR, and will be based in Singapore. Dr Torsten Derr, who is currently responsible for Lanxess’ Material Protection Products (MPP) segment will suc-ceed Dr Weymans – taking control of Keltan Elastomers in June. In Singapore, the current country representative, Ian Wood, will be suc-ceeded by Par Singh, effective 1 September.

MPM expands technology centre in KoreaUS-based Momentive Performance Materials Inc (MPM) is expanding its technology centre in Seoul, Korea, creating a global innovation centre that will focus on the electronics industry. It will combine existing technical laboratories with application devel-opment, research and development, testing and manufacturing operations. The facility will be devoted to developing materials and technology for display applications that use light-emitting diodes (LED) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLED).

Dana’s Asia–Pacific president in top rank of talented managers in ChinaUS-based Dana Holding Corp, a developer of drive-line, sealing and thermal-management technologies, has announced that the presi-dent of its Asia–Pacific operations, Robert Pyle, has been named among the top ten automotive managerial talents by Gasgoo International, China’s leading on-line news source for the automotive industry.

Fluorosilicone is certified for use in aircraft engines and fuel systemsThe specifications of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies GmbH & Co Kg’s fluoro-silicone sealing material F273 meet the aviation and aerospace industry’s strict requirements for seals that come into contact with fuels and oils. The American Society of Automotive and Aerospace Engineers/Performance Review Institute (SAE/PRI) sets out all the parameters and threshold values for the testing of fluorosilicone seals used in the aviation and aerospace industry in AMS-7273. F273 fully meets all these requirements and, in some cases, even exceeds them, says Freudenberg.

May 2013 Sealing Technology7

NEWS

SKF (UK) Ltd, Sundon Park Road, Luton, Bedfordshire

LU3 3BL, UK. Tel: +44 1582 496433,

Fax: +44 1582 846812, Web: www.skf.co.uk

SKF, SE-415 50 Göteborg, Sweden.

Tel: +46 31 337 1000, Fax: +46 31 337 2832,

Email: info@skf.com, Web: www.skf.com

EagleBurgmann highlights positive results and business activities

Sealing technology company EagleBurgmann Germany

GmbH & Co Kg reports that its sales for the past fiscal year increased by 8.3% to E815.6 million, compared with E752.8 million posted for the previous twelve-month period.

International sales accounted for 85% of the total, with the remaining 15% being made domes-tically. Europe, North America, China and Japan experienced the strongest growth, says the firm.

‘Our past business year was characterised by a strong increase in received orders during the first half-year, which diminished during the second half-year,’ said Dr Stefan Sacré, Chief Executive Officer, EagleBurgmann.

In the USA, the company successfully con-tinued its strategic growth project in 2012. The second half of the year also saw the completion of a company building in Houston, Texas. This new site, with an area of more than 2200 m2 (23 680 ft2) was established to better fulfil the requirements of regional and global customers.

A sales company, with a connected service centre, was founded in Columbia in 2012 to

increase the firm’s worldwide presence in the service business. In another move – to realise synergies in sales and production – the compa-ny’s operations in Australia and New Zealand were merged to create EagleBurgmann Australasia.

In order to respond to increasing interest in energy-saving and environment-friendly tech-nologies, in 2012 the firm enhanced its Cartex product by applying a DiamondFace (DF) coat-ing to the cartridge seal (see Sealing Technology October 2012, page 1). Characterised by its high dry-run capability and solids resistance, it extends service life and improves operational performance.

The DF-coated seal faces on the eCartex cartridge are extremely hard, wear-resistant and have excellent thermal conductivity, says the industrial sealing technology company. These characteristics result in potentially huge sav-ings – energy consumption is reduced by up to 80%, and the sturdy seal faces increase the operating period by up to 100%.

At the end of 2012 the EagleBurgmann group had a total of 5844 employees, compared with 5766 at the close of the previous financial year. Training also continues to be particularly important to company. Dr Sacré commented: ‘We have been training in Wolfratshausen, for example, for more than 40 years and have offered more than 600 young people access to a qualified career entry.’

EagleBurgmann is assuming that growth will continue at a lower rate of increase. The firm says that because of the economic situation in Europe and in other economies it will system-atically continue cost and liquidity management that it has previously pursued.

Contact:

Ellen Klier, EagleBurgmann Germany GmbH & Co Kg,

Äußere Sauerlacher Str. 6–10, 82515 Wolfratshausen,

I N B R I E F

PPE opens new test and customer support facility in Houston, TexasPrecision Polymer Engineering Ltd (PPE), a UK-based manufacturer of moulded elasto-mer seals, has opened a new test and custom-er support facility in North Houston, Texas, USA. The firm says this facility will enable it to improve the support it gives to the global oil and gas market by providing fast manufacturing, optimised materials and local engineering. The 650-m2 (7000-ft2) facility will also provide sales services, warehousing, training and test resources.

Acquisition strengthens Trelleborg’s position in the offshore oil and gas sectorSweden-based engineering company Trelleborg Ab has – through its business area Trelleborg Offshore & Construction – acquired UK company Ambler Technologies Ltd, which develops and produces composite materials that create strictly specified buoy-ancy and insulation properties in applications used primarily in deep-sea environments. According to Trelleborg, this acquisition pro-vides it with access to cutting-edge expertise and expanded production capacity of strategi-cally important components. It also strength-ens its position in oil and gas exploration and extraction, particularly in buoyancy modules for remotely operated vehicles.

Simrit initiates distribution programme in North AmericaSimrit, part of Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies, launched its North American distribution programme at its inaugural Preferred Distributor Conference, which was held recently in Wesley Chapel, Florida, USA. Although the firm’s preferred distribu-tor programme has operated successfully in other regions for a number of years, the company used this event as an opportunity to name its first group of preferred distributors for the North American market place.

Flowserve obtains ownership of manufacturing facility in IndiaUS-based Flowserve Corp, which provides flow-control products and services for the global infrastructure markets, has completed a series of transactions related to its former Audco India Ltd (AIL) joint-venture with Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T). As a result of these transactions Flowserve has obtained full ownership of the joint venture’s Maraimalai Nagar (MMNagar) manufacturing facility in Chennai, India, and retains the key Serck Audco brand of lubricated valve products and related technology. Flowserve says that L&T will retain the remaining AIL entity and its other operations.

Zoe Fearnley, Commercial Director, Ashton Seals Ltd, with Paul Harrison, General Manager Sales, SKF Industrial Market, Regional Sales and Service, signing the distributor agreement.

Dr Stefan Sacré, Chief Executive Officer, EagleBurgmann Germany GmbH & Co Kg: ‘Our past business year was characterised by a strong increase in received orders during the first half-year, which diminished during the second half-year.’