Business briefs

Electrical Apparatus, Feb 2007 by Jones, Kevin

One Australian servicer buys another

P&H MinePro Services Australasia of East Maitland, New South Wales, Australia, has agreed to acquire the G&D Donnelly electric motor repair business. The acquisition is intended to complement existing P&H MinePro electric motor repair capabilities to provide an OEM motor repair shop network in eastern Australia for both P&H and Joy Mining Machinery, a sister Joy Global company.

Abby Mfg. Co. acquires motor base producer

Abby Mfg. Co. of Walnut, Miss., a single-source steel fabricator, recently purchased a motor base and power transmission mounting product line from Steelcraft Corp. of Memphis. The purchase includes the Adjustamount motor base line and the ConvertaMount U-to-T conversion rails. Abby Mfg. plans to continue offering custom mounting bases as previously supplied by Steelcraft Corp.

Emerson Electric buys marine valve supplier

St. Louis-based Emerson Electric Co. has bought marine valve supplier Damcos Holding AS of Naestved. Denmark, for an undisclosed sum. Damcos Holding provides remote controls and tank monitoring equipment for marine and shipbuilding applications. The operation is to become part of Emerson Electric's process management business.

Sonepar USA acquires two more distributors

Philadelphia-based electrical products distributor Sonepar USA recently acquired two regional distributors, one through a subsidiary.

Cooper Electric Supply Co. of Tinton Falls, N.J., a Sonepar USA company, bought Fairview Electrical Supply Corp. of Fairview, N.J., in a move that will increase Cooper Electric Supply's presence to 30 locations in northern New Jersey. Founded in 1962 as a lighting manufacturer, Fairview Electrical Supply evolved into a full-line stocking electrical distributor by 1970. The company had been family-owned and -operated from the outset. Cooper Electric employs about 600 people.

Sonepar USA also acquired Crawford Electric Supply Co. Ltd. of Dallas, a distributor with branches in Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. The company, known as CESCO, was founded in 1986 and in 2005 was ranked the thirty-sixth-largest electrical distributor in the U.S. Its acquisition was the seventh acquisition by Sonepar in the past two years.

Baldor-Reliance waiting period has ended

An antitrust waiting period for Rockwell Automation's sale of Reliance Electric Co. and certain affiliated companies to Baldor Electric Co., reported in the December 2006 Electrical Apparatux. has expired. The deal, valued at $1.8 billion in cash and stock, was expected to close on or about Jan. 31.

Phelps Dodge merger approved by regulators

The proposed merger between copper miners Phelps Dodge Corp. and Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold, Inc., has been approved by U.S. antitrust regulators. Freeport McMoran paid $25.9 billion in cash and stock for Phelps Dodge. The combined operations now constitute the world's largest publicly owned copper company.

Government regulators aim at chemical plants

Government officials in the U.S. and Europe have introduced safety and security regulations covering chemical plants that could be costly to comply with and costlier to ignore. The companies likely to be affected include major insulation manufacturers.

The U.S. Dept. of Homeland security recently proposed regulations that would require chemical manufacturers, including DuPont and Dow Chemical Co., to tighten security at their U.S. plants. Under the proposal, companies repeatedly found to be in violation of the law could be lined up to $25,000 per day.

Such measures are necessary, according to a Dept. of Homeland Security statement, because "voluntary efforts alone will not provide sufficient security for the nation."

Meanwhile, the European Union has passed a set of laws governing chemical manufacturing that will ban numerous chemicals deemed dangerous.

The European law places the burden on chemical manufacturers to prove that their products aren't dangerous. European chemical manufacturers have complained that compliance will cost them between $3.7 billion and $6.89 billion over the next four years.

Chemical manufacturers aren't the only ones complaining. The National Electrical Manufacturer's Association, as reported in last month's "Direct & Current." is resisting European environmental directives that could prove costly for U.S. electrical manufacturers exporting products there.

Texas service firm contributes to tech school

Shermco Industries, a Dallas provider of testing, repair, training, maintenance, and analysis of rotating apparatus and power distribution systems, has committed to donating $5,000 per year for the next three years to the Texas State Technical College Waco Legacy Fund. The fund is available to students who need immediate financial assistance for tuition, books, or rent and to faculty members for professional development.

Certification briefs

Stahlin Non-Metallic Enclosures of Belding. Mich., a manufacturer of fiberglass electrical enclosures, was recently certified to ISO 9001:2000, the international quality standard that confirms consistency of procedures in design and manufacturing. The auditor was American Systems Registrar.