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Signs Of Industrial Recovery Abound
The most encouraging signal was July's 0.5% gain in industrial production, the first monthly increase since way back in Dec. 2007. Though modest, many manufacturers and economists believe the increase can be sustained.
Also, American manufacturing technology consumption rose 22% in June, according to the latest
U.S. Manufacturing Technology Consumption report , the second consecutive month of growth in purchases. Of course, the June figure is off nearly 70% from the same month last year and year-to-date purchases are also down about 70%. But as the saying goes, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.
More encouragement comes from the July Purchasing Manager's Index
(PMI) for Manufacturing compiled by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). It registered 48.9%, which is 4.1 percentage points higher than the 44.8% reported in June. Although still below the 50% mark that indicates expansion, a PMI in excess of 41.2% over a period of time generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy, according to ISM. July's PMI indicates growth for the third consecutive month in the overall economy.
Also, the American Institute of International Steel said that steel exports from the U.S. increased in June by 12.4% from exports in May. Nonetheless, year-to-date exports stand 39% lower than the comparable period in 2008.
Additionally, a survey of more than 1,000 manufacturing executives conducted by co-sponsors of the upcoming FABTECH International & AWS Welding Show in Chicago found 53% of them saying they have seen or experienced signs of the start of economic recovery.
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Ferguson Eliminates CEO's Job
Ferguson president and CEO John Stegeman is out of work after
parent company Wolseley eliminated the job
in what was described as a cost cutting move. Frank Roach, CEO of Wolseley North America, has taken over the additional duties of Ferguson president/CEO as of Aug. 31. Stegeman had been with Ferguson since 1985, starting as a management trainee and had served as president/CEO since Sept. 2005. Roach joined Ferguson in 1976 and was appointed head of Wolseley North America in Dec. 2005.
API Website Keeps Tabs On Nonconformance
API is rolling out a new website, effective September 1, 2009, that will provide users of products certified by API, manufacturers of those products, and any other parties with the opportunity to confidentially communicate concerns they may have to the appropriate API department for investigation. The new web site will be accessed at www.api.org/ncr
. The site is linked to API's composite list of all API registered and certified companies. Questions about the new website should be addressed to API's Department of Training and Certification at certification@api.org.
Anvil Gets ISO-9001:2008 Certification
Anvil International's manufacturing facility in Columbia, PA and the Anvil Research & Development Center in Smithfield, RI have received ISO-9001:2008 Certification, the Company announced. ISO-9001:2008 is an international standard confirming companies have established and maintained a uniform quality management system.
Anvil becomes one of the first companies in the industry to achieve this highly coveted designation for grooved products.
VMA To Host Valve Basics Program
The Valve Manufacturers Association is introducing a Valve Basics Seminar & Exhibition
on Oct. 29 in Houston. The one-day program will appeal to individuals working in the many industries that use valves and actuators, the distributors who sell these products, and new hires at companies that make valves, actuators and other products used in the flow control stream.
Free Webinar On Using Social Media
SONNHALTER, a Cleveland-based business-to-business marketing communications agency, is hosting a one-hour Webinar on basic training and information about social media on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009 at 2 p.m. EDT. Participants can visit
http://tinyurl.com/lwaven
to register for the "Social Media 101" Webinar. The Webinar will provide practical tips on how to take the first steps toward using social media for businesses in the construction, manufacturing and distribution industries. It will focus on familiarizing participants with the types of social sites available on the Web and take them through the most commonly used sites today. Examples through the Webinar will show how local contractors and national manufacturers are using social media well. |
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5 Breakthrough Technologies
Don't you sometimes find yourself wondering how we ever lived without the Internet, microwave ovens, cell phones and so many other modern technologies that make our lives more comfortable and convenient. Yet, going back just a decade or two, many of them weren't around or were just beginning to emerge.
This Forbes article from earlier in the year provides a fascinating look at five incipient technologies that are likely to become central to many lives in the coming decade. |
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AEC Store's FEATURED Product
 Valve Selection Handbook
Though there are only four basic types of valves, there is an enormous number of different kinds of valves within each category, each one used for a specific purpose. No other book on the market analyzes the use, construction, and selection of valves in such a comprehensive manner.
Click here to purchase, or visit
AECstore.com to view our entire product selection. Call Stephanie at 248-244-1275 with any questions. |
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Tech Tip #29 by Gregg Marshall
To help you make the most of the Digital Age.
Build Your Own Wiki
When I got my MBA, for one class I was part of a virtual team of five. One member was in Bosnia, one in Singapore, and three of us scattered across the US. Every week we wrote a paper using Microsoft Word's track changes feature and email. That was my first truly global collaboration, but there weren't great tools readily available.
Last edition I introduced collaboration software and the open source peer-to-peer althernative to Groove, Collanos. There are online collaboration alternatives, and many use the web. In fact, there are
a lot of online collaboration tools on the web.
For most people, collaboration is a way to work on a document together. Emailing drafts works, but there are problems keeping track of two people editing the document roughly at the same time. Plus the emails really start to multiply.
One alternative is to use a wiki. Take a look at this video on wiki's that shows how they can reduce the email storm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY. There are a lot of free wiki sites like
PBwiki or WikiDot. For more options Google "free wiki." A wiki lets you collaborate on some editing and gives you a place to put supplemental files.
Another option is to use one of the many on-line document creation tools like Google Docs, Zoho or
Buzzword. All three let you share a document with other users so they can edit the document too. And since Buzzword is part of Acrobat.com
, up to 3 people can go on-line together and share their desktops and editing.
Gregg Marshall, CPMR, CSP, is president of Rep Connection Inc. He can be reached by e-mail at gmarshall@repconnection.com, or visit his LinkedIn profile at
http://www.linkedin.com/in/greggmarshall. |
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What's The Industry Buzzing About?
One way to tell is to visit the website of Supply House Times
. If you scroll to the bottom of the lead page, you will find lists of the "Most E-Mailed" and "Most Popular Articles" (as measured by visitations). This gives a pretty good feel for what industry citizens regard as important.
For example, as of Tuesday, August 25, these were some of the "Most E-mailed" articles from the Supply House Times website.
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Hydronic Options for High Capacity Domestic Water
Heating:
The best mix of instantaneous capacity and
storage
Presented by John Siegenthaler, PE
Tuesday, September 22, 2009 at 10am PT | 1pm ET
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION only $49 thru September 3,
includes live webinar session and certificate of completion
This Webinar explains why the hydronics approach is superior to both
instantaneous water heating and massive storage-type systems. It shows you how
to configure and control a high capacity domestic water heating subsystem, and
how that subsystem can be easily expanded to handle several other common heating
loads. It gives you information that builds a case against competing options. If
your view of hydronics is limited to space heating, this Webinar will show you a
new profit opportunity. Learn
more or register!
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Integrating Geothermal Heat Pumps into Hydronic Heating/Cooling Systems
Presented by John Siegenthaler, PE
Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 10am PT | 1pm ET
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION only $49 thru September 3, includes live webinar session and certificate of completion
This Webinar will explore this combination in detail. You'll learn how to design systems that provide both hydronic heating and chilled water cooling. Design appropriate for both residential and larger commercial applications will be discussed. You'll see how the latest hydronics technology can be used to enhance performance of such systems. If you're ready to explore the complementary and profitable interface between hydronic technology and geothermal heat pumps this Webinar is for you.
Learn more or register! |
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Cooper B-Line's New Wash-Down Products
Cooper B-Line
has announced the addition of Dura Clean, a new line of products specifically designed for the critical and rigorous wash-down requirements of the food and beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Dura Clean is manufactured from high quality stainless steel with all angles minimized to prevent water pooling and collection. The strut and hanger components are designed with the durability and flexibility needed for applications where pipe, conduit and enclosures are subjected to regular, high-pressure and moisture wash-down environments.
The system can be installed in trapeze configurations for hanging piping (shown here), conduit or virtually any type of roof supported racking system or wall-mount configurations for vertical or horizontal pipe support runs and enclosure support. |
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ERICO Sway Bracing Products
ERICO offers a new line of CADDY®
sway bracing products for seismic and other catastrophic events. The line is fully compliant with NFPA 13, is FM approved and UL listed, and for use with service pipe up to 10 inches. Structural attachments include Bar Joist Adaptor, I-Beam Adaptor and Universal Structural Attachment/Multi Attachment. Longitudinal and lateral sway braces include an Easy Universal Sway Brace and Standard Universal Sway Brace. |
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New Line Of Filter Cartridges
Eaton Corp.
announced availability of a new line of filters, the LOFMEM membrane filter, the LOFPLEAT pleated filter, the LOFTREX depth filter, and a series of specialty filters marketed under the brands LOFSORB, LOFMET, and LOFCLEAN that are engineered to handle a wide range of liquid process applications across a broad range of industries that span power, water, oil and gas, chemical, electronics, paint, food and beverage and other industrial market applications. |
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BNP Media
2401 W. Big Beaver Road, Ste. 700
Troy, Michigan, 48084-3333
U.S.A. |
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Contact The Editor
PVF e-News is a twice-monthly newsletter edited by Supply House Times Editor Jim Olsztynski. Contact him with any requests, complaints, compliments or information you think worth reporting in this e-newsletter.
1050 IL Rte. 83, Suite 200
Bensenville, IL 60106
630/694-4006
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