Business briefs

Regal-Beloit to buy GE motor businesses

Motor and gear manufacturer Regal-Beloit Corp. of Beloit, Wis., has agreed to buy several motor businesses from General Electric Corp. for about $379 million.

Included in the transaction are GE's HVAC/R motor businesses along with a capacitor plant in Fort Wayne, Ind. The purchase also includes plants in Springfield, Mo., Reynosa and Juarez, Mexico, and Faridabad, India. Combined 2005 sales for the operations are predicted to reach $520 million, according to RegalBeloit.

The Fort Wayne operation employs about 140 people. RegalBeloit chairman and CEO James Packard said there are no plans to close or consolidate plants.

Tampa Armature in maintenance alliance

Tampa Armature Works, an electromechanical service and sales company headquartered in Tampa, FIa., has formed an alliance with Tennessee Valley Authority Power Services of Muscle Shoals, Ala., to perform a variety of maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for the TVA's power generation plants.

Joint capabilities include repair and reconditioning of motors up to 10,000 hp, high-voltage and high-speed turbines, core- and shell-form transformers up to 500 kVA, high-pressure pumps and valves, switchgear to 38 kV, and a variety of electrical and mechanical equipment.

On-site services include emergency callout, preventive and predictive maintenance, and hydroelectric plant equipment repairs and maintenance.

CAM Industries wins Kazakhstan contract

CAM Industries of Hanover, Pa., producer of electric motor service equipment and machines, has been awarded a contract valued at $2.5 million for a state-of-the-art locomotive motor maintenance facility at Lokomotiveremservis, a former maintenance workshop of the national railroad of Kazakhstan.

CAM Industries will manufacture and deliver a line of motor service shop equipment and will provide training for railroad management in current motor maintenance processes.

Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic situated between China and Russia, has a population of 15 million spread over an area three times the size of Texas. The national railway plays a key role in moving minerals and other commodities and products to export points.

New Johnstone Supply facility in Pennsylvania

Johnstone Supply, Inc., of Portland, Ore., a distributor of HVAC/R parts and products with 291 independently owned stores across the U.S., is nearing completion of a new distribution center in Breiningsville, Pa., near Allentown. The 100,000-square-foot facility is expected to be open and ready for operation this April. It will be the company's first distribution facility in the Northeast, joining major distribution centers in Memphis, Term., and Portland, Ore.

Michigan firm named Italian control servicer

Michigan Industrial Controls, Inc., of Port Huron, Mich., was recently named authorized service center for the U.S. and Canada by Phase Motion Control of Geneva, Italy. Michigan Industrial will provide start-up assistance, repair, and replacement for Phase Motion Control's line of motion control components.

General Cable acquiring data cable line

General Cable of Highland Heights, Ky., manufacturer of electrical and data transmission wire and cable, has agreed to buy parts of Draka Holding NVs Comteq business for $5 million to $10 million. Comteq, based in Franklin, Mass., makes electronic cables and data products. General Cable says the acquisition will support the high-end data cable growth it expects as a result of its recent alliance with Panduit Corp. (EA December 2004, page 10). Draka Holding is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

NKK Switches chooses Florida distributor

NKK Switches of Scottsdale, Ariz., a manufacturer and supplier of electromechanical switches, recently appointed LXI Components of Tampa, FIa., as an authorized distributor of the NKK Switches product line. Certified as a Minority Business Enterprise, LXI Components also operates outlets in Alabama and Texas.

Schneider pledges to distributor association

Schneider Electric North American Operating Division, headquartered in Palatine, 111., says it plans to pledge "up to $1 million" to the National Association of Electrical Distributors' Education and Research Foundation. Schneider will donate 50% of all contributions made by its distributors up to a total of $1 million. Based on current contributions, the company has already committed $550,000 to the campaign. Contributions will be made by the company over a period of five years.

MagneTek names New England control rep

MagneTek, Inc., of Nashville, maker of motors and drives, has named Innovated! Associates of Westford, Mass., as its exclusive representative for power control products throughout New England. MagneTek operates manufacturing and research facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia and had revenues of $243 million for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2004.

Tape maker names Midwestern sales agents

Plymouth Electrical Tape, Canton, Mass., manufacturer of rubber and vinyl tape for electrical insulation and other applications, recently announced the addition of Schooler & Associates, Inc., of Kansas City, Mo., and the Fishco Group of St. Louis as its sales agents covering Missouri, Kansas, and southern Illinois.