Business briefs

Electrical Apparatus, Apr 2008 by Jones, Kevin

Shermco Industries opens Tulsa facility

Shermco Industries, of Irving, Tex., a provider of rotating apparatus and electrical power system testing, commissioning, repair, maintenance, and training, has opened a service center in Tulsa, Okla.

The facility, opened in February, is to provide NETA testing services in Oklahoma and Kansas. "The expansion was a result of the need to service several key accounts as well as power plants, large industrial facilities, and municipalities that can all benefit from a local Shermco facility," said Ron Widup, Shermco executive vice president.

Longtime Shermco employee John Waite will serve as the facility's operations manager. He brings about 20 years of experience in the electrical services industry to the position.

Indiana servicer buys rail repair firm

Miscor Group Ltd. of South Bend, Ind., an electromechanical service and sales company, has bought American Motive Power, Inc., of Dansville, N.Y., a provider of services to the railroad industry. The acquisition expands Miscor's locomotive expertise in its Repair, Remanufacturing, and Manufacturing Division.

Miscor said the acquisition supports the company's desire to increase its service capabilities in the railroad industry by expanding its repair and remanufacturing of locomotives and diesel engines for locomotives. The American Motive Power operation is housed in about 250,000 square feet of space, enough to service 20 locomotives at once.

As part of the acquisition, Pierre Desrosiers will become vice president of operations of the new subsidiary. Joseph Fearon will become vice president of business development and engineering.

Engineering firm partners with Australian firm

Houston-based Mustang Engineering, a subsidiary of international energy services company John Wood Group PLC, recently announced that its Australian affiliate, Mustang Engineering PTY Ltd., has signed a memorandum of understanding with AMOG Consulting to jointly undertake development and implementation of floating production, storage and off-loading, floating storage and off-loading, and other floating facilities. AMOG is an engineering consultancy with offices in Perth, Melbourne, and Houston offering skills in mooring, turret, flexible riser, and hull design.

Rea boosts former Phelps Dodge business

Rea Magnet Wire Co. of Fort Wayne, Ind., has announced its intention to re-establish continuous transposed cable operations in Fort Wayne. "We have decided to significantly recapitalize the Phelps Dodge Magnet Wire CTC operations, which we acquired in 2006," said Chuck Fisher, Rea Magnet Wire's CEO.

Algonquin Industries, a division of Rea, will be the sales representative for CTC to the power transformer market.

The company's re-establishment of CTC operations in North America coincides with its development of a new CTC operation in Changshu, China. "With our partner, Tongling Jingda, we are now able to provide our multinational transformer customers a unique servicing model," Fisher said.

Pacific Northwest makes efficiency strides

Over the past 27 years, the four states that make up the Pacific Northwest-Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana-have reduced the amount of energy they use by a quantity equivalent to that generated by five nuclear-powered plants.

That's the good news from Mike Weedall, vice president for energy efficiency at the Bonneville Power Administration, who spoke at the fourth annual CEE Industry Partners Meeting in St. Louis recently. The conference was sponsored by the Boston-based Consortium for Energy Efficiency, Inc.

Legislation passed in the region in 1980 "kick-started energy efficiency programs in the Pacific Northwest earlier than in other parts of America," reported CEE's newsletter. While saving energy, "program costs have fallen from just under four million dollars per average megawatt saved in 1991 to 1.3 million dollars today."

A powerline filter distributor for Tyco

All American Semiconductor of Boise, Idaho, a distributor of electronic components, has renewed its relationship with Tyco Electronics, the electronics manufacturer based in Bermuda. As part of the agreement, All American Semiconductor will continue as an authorized distributor for Tyco Electronics' Corcom EMI/RFI filters. The Corcom powerline filters, power entry modules, feed-through filters and capacitors, and signal line filters are used throughout the electronics industry.

Littelfuse moving Mexico plant to China

Littelfuse, Inc., of Des Plaines, Ill., manufacturer of circuit protection devices, has announced its intention to move its semiconductor assembly and test operations from Mexico to China. The move will "affect" about 950 employees in Matamoros, Mexico, as the company put it. Littelfuse bought the Mexico plant in 2003 as part of its takeover of Teccor Electronics Corp.

EU gives French distributor takeover OK

The European Commission has granted approval for Rexel, the Paris-based distributor of electrical products, to buy parts of Hagemeyer of The Netherlands, another electrical parts distributor. The acquisition is contingent on Hagemeyer's divestment of its electrical wholesale distribution business in Ireland. Partnering with Rexel in the deal is the French distributor Sonepar, whose purchases have already been cleared.