BK Precision recently announced a partnership with Kemp Instruments. Under the new partnership agreement, Kemp Instruments will represent BK Precision’s complete line of data acquisition recorders and loggers in the Southwest US. BK Precision looks forward to coordinating with Kemp Instruments to help their customers select the ideal solution for their application.
Earlier in May 2023, several Southwire leaders spoke at the 2023 Interwire Trade Exposition in Atlanta, hosted by the Wire Association International (WAI). According to its website, the WAI’s mission is to serve the technical, manufacturing and general business segments of the global wire and cable industry. Introduced in 1981, Interwire is the largest and longest-running wire and cable marketplace in the Americas. Hosted biennially, Interwire is an international trade event that includes exhibiting companies, speakers, and visitors from more than 50 countries.
Rockwell Automation, Inc. has recently announced that Matt Fordenwalt has been named senior vice president, Lifecycle Services, effective June 1. He will report to Rockwell Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Blake Moret. In this role, Fordenwalt will head the Lifecycle Services operating segment and will be responsible for leading one of the three operating segments in Rockwell Automation. Lifecycle Services is a way to deliver domain expertise at all touchpoints of a customer’s experience and ensures the positive business outcomes that give Rockwell customers a faster return on their automation investment.
EPLAN USA is pleased to announce that Werner Electric Supply has joined the EPLAN USA Channel initiative. This program expands Werner Electric’s offering to now include EPLAN. Together, they provide cohesive solutions to the Midwest region. “Werner is truly an innovative high-technology distributor. They continue to focus on customers first and always bring value to their conversations. With a long history of EPLAN support, it was an easy decision to work together”, says Eli Jenkins, EPLAN Channel Sales Manager.
nVent Electric plc has recently announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of ECM Investors, LLC, the parent company of ECM Industries, LLC (“ECM”), for a purchase price of $1.1 billion, subject to customary adjustments. ECM is a provider of high-value electrical connectors, tools and test instruments and cable management.
Weidmüller Inc., USA has recently broken ground on a new engineering, production, and warehouse facility at its current Southlake location in Chesterfield County. The $16.4 million expansion will create more than 100 new jobs for the greater Richmond, Virginia area. As part of its ‘Made in America’ commitment, Weidmüller will increase its engineering and production footprint in the U.S. by 24,000 square feet, allowing the company to engineer and manufacture products closer to the customer.
In this update of the EPLAN Data Portal, there are now a total of 440 manufacturers and more than 1,420,000 data sets available with the May 16, 2023 update. New manufacturer catalogs come from Delta Computer Systems, Inc. with 80 new data sets for cables, converters and PLCs, and OBO BETTERMANN Holding GmbH & Co. KG with 78 new data sets for cable ducts, housing, protection devices and user-defined rail.
nVent Electric plc has recently announced that its Board of Directors named CEO Beth Wozniak to the additional position of Chair of the Board following nVent’s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on May 12, 2023. Randall Hogan, nVent’s former non-executive Chairman of the Board will continue on the Board of Directors and has joined the Compensation and Human Capital Committee and the Governance and Social Responsibility Committee.
ABB Installation Products has recently opened its $4 million Northeast Distribution Center in Easton, Pennsylvania to meet increased demand for electrical solutions. The new 350,000 square-foot facility adds 100 new jobs in the area, boosts inventory availability and will reduce delivery times to many ABB Installation Products customers and distributor partners across the Northeast region by up to 50 percent.
Recently, EPLAN USA was pleased to announce that CED Nebraska has joined the EPLAN USA Channel initiative. This program expands CED’s solution offering to now include EPLAN. Together, they will provide cohesive solutions across Nebraska and Iowa.
ABB announced at the SelectUSA Investment Summit on May 2, 2023 that it is investing $1 million in the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith (UAFS) to help position the school to become one of the nation’s leading advanced manufacturing educational institutions. This announcement follows ABB’s recent commitment to invest $170 million in manufacturing and distribution operations in 2023.
Emerson has recently announced that Mike Baughman, vice president, controller and chief accounting officer, has been promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective May 10. He succeeds Frank Dellaquila, who will be retiring after 32 years with the company. To ensure a seamless transition, Dellaquila will serve as senior advisor to the CEO through Emerson’s fiscal year end. Baughman will continue to serve as chief accounting officer for the company.
Rockwell’s update on global supply chain issues – Rockwell Automation, along with many industries and customers, continues to face broad-based, ongoing supply constraints stemming from component shortages, material scarcity, logistics challenges, and related issues. These challenges are compounded by the macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical events around the world including war, unexpected shutdowns due to the pandemic, and natural disasters. As a result, there are longer lead times for some of their product lines and more frequent changes to their sales order shipment dates.
Panduit Corp. has recently received the Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Industrial Hygiene Award within the Facility Safety category for its VeriSafe 2.0 Absence of Voltage Tester (AVT). This award honors outstanding product development achievements of health and safety manufacturers whose products or services are considered particularly noteworthy in their ability to improve industrial safety or hygiene.
EPLAN and Weidmuller – the new technology partnership – For many years, control cabinet and switchgear manufacturers have been confronted with a variety of challenges. In addition to the continuing shortage of trained specialists, cost and time pressure for lead times and tests, customer expectations regarding flexibility and change management as well as the new requirements for climate neutrality, sustainability and the circular economy are areas in which the industry must keep pace. Furthermore, it must meet the demands for increasingly individual solutions and often realise flexible batch-size-1 production.
Phoenix Contact USA has received a 2023 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence (GAEE) for its rooftop solar project. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection honored Phoenix Contact and other Pennsylvania companies and organizations at an award ceremony in Harrisburg, Pa., on Tuesday, April 25. The 961-kilowatt solar array went live last year. The system generates about 30 percent of the energy needs at the company’s U.S. headquarters, located in Lower Swatara Township, Pa.