Export Barriers Identified For
Small & Medium U.S. Firms

Insufficient access to finance, complex regulations, and rising transportation costs are the top barriers to exporting identified by U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), reports the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in its report Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: U.S. and EU Export Activities, and Barriers and Opportunities Experienced by U.S. Firms.

The report compares the exporting activities of SMEs in the United States with those of SMEs in the European Union. Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: U.S. and EU Export Activities, and Barriers and Opportunities Experienced by U.S. Firms (Investigation No. 332-509, USITC Publication 4169, July 2010) is available on the USITC's Internet site at http://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub4169.pdf.

Click here for more information.

Flowserve Acquires Italian Valve Maker
Flowserve Corp. announced it has acquired Valbart Srl , a privately owned Italian manufacturer of trunnion-mounted ball valves (TMBV) used primarily in the oil and gas industry for approximately $200 million in cash.Valbart, formed in 2003 and headquartered in Mezzago, Italy, specializes in the design, development and manufacture of a comprehensive range of API 6A and API 6D TMBVs in split-body, all-welded and top-entry configurations. For its fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, Valbart reported revenues of approximately $104 million. Flowserve previously entered into a joint venture agreement with Valbart in December 2009 focused on combining Valbart's ball valve technology with Flowserve's high performance noise and cavitation-reducing trim designs.

Tyco Opens Nuclear Testing Facility
Tyco Flow Control  opened its $25 million Advanced Nuclear Testing & Development Facility in Mansfield, MA. The Advanced Nuclear Testing & Development Facility stretches larger than two football fields, occupying 118,000 square feet. Its advanced technology includes a range of steam test facilities that can test the full line of pressure relief products on steam, air and liquid.In addition, the facility's testing capabilities enable Tyco Flow Control engineers to perform testing for other manufacturers who lack equivalent ASME Nuclear Component Certifications.

Bradley To Host 3rd Green Manufacturing Summit
Commercial plumbing manufacturer Bradley Corp. will host a free half-day business forum focusing on cost-saving green technologies at the 3rd Annual Green Manufacturing Summit . It will be held Tuesday, August 31, at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in Bayside, WI. Local business and community leaders, and other green experts will discuss sustainable best practices. They will also spotlight proven cost- and resource-saving strategies geared toward small- and mid-size local manufacturers. 

Parker's New Valve-centric Website
Parker Fluid Control Division's new website,  www.parkerfluidcontrol.com, makes it easier to browse through the company's lines of solenoid and process control valves and to find distributors of those products.

Pipe Programs Get New Software Manager
Engineered Software, Inc., developer of the PIPE-FLO and PUMP-FLO design and selection programs, named Steven Stoyles its new Software Development Manager. Stoyles brings with him over 30 years of experience in software development, business analysis, database modeling and project management to this new position.  Most recently he had spent more than 17 years working for the Weyerhaeuser Co.

RathGibson Gets Highest Marmon/Keystone Honor
Marmon/Keystone recently held its annual Supplier Recognition Day, and presented the perfect performance award to RathGibson for achieving the highest scores in the areas of on-time delivery, zero defects, and outstanding service.

Free Webinar On Pre-Insulated Pipe Supports
Piping Technology & Products, Inc. invites participation in a free Webinar session on Pre-Insulated Pipe Supports for both Cryogenic and High Temperature Applications. It is slated for Thursday, August 5, 201o.

When Is Pipe Like A Wet Noodle?

The answer is, when you're trying to drill a well in a mile deep of water, as BP is striving to do to put an end to its massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This fascinating New York Times article gives an inkling of the technical difficulties involved.

Tech Tip #51 by Gregg Marshall

To help you make the most of the Digital Age.

Skype

One implementation of VoIP everyone should be looking at is Skype. The biggest reason is it is free. The software to use Skype is free. Skype-to-Skype calls anywhere in the world are free. All you need is a headset for your computer, which you can get for $5 to $10 if you don't already have it (experience has proven that using the speaker and microphone built into most notebooks produces very bad quality phone calls).

Calls to regular phones in most the rest of the world are only around 2 cents per minute. If most of your calling is within the U.S. and Canada, Skype has a plan for $29.95 a year that gives you unlimited calling to the U.S. and Canada.

If you want, you can get a phone-like handset that plugs into your computer (Phillips VoIP Phone, www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbint/cpindex.pl?ctn=VOIP1511B/37&scy=us&slg=en,  for $26). Or get a phone that uses your WIFI wireless network without a computer at all (the Belkin WiFi Phone, www.belkin.com/skype/howitworks/ for $179). In a followup article I'll look at Skype phones in more detail.

You can also get a regular telephone number (SkypeIn) that lets people with regular phones call you for $10 per month, including voice mail. (I use Skype only for outbound calls.) The only possible negative to Skype is that you need to have your computer on to make or receive phone calls (unless you are using one of the special phones above).

Another potential negative, and I say potential because it is becoming more uncommon, is you need a high-speed Internet link. Even if you decide on another VoIP phone solution, I would suggest installing Skype on your notebook computer. Then while traveling, if you get high-speed Internet in your hotel room (or at a local Starbucks), you can make all the calls you want at no extra charge. Since most hotels charge up to $1.50 for a local call, and cell phone minutes can be precious, Skype is a great option I use a lot when traveling - especially when you are overseas, where my cell service is $1.99 per minute.

I've even made a Skype call home from 34,000 feet mid-Atlantic on a SAS flight. Another area Skype excels is its video conferencing. If your computer has a webcam (you can add one for $25-50) and the person you are talking to on Skype has a webcam, you get a button to make a video call. It is absolutely simple and a great way to do video. I've even attended a conference in Denver where a keynote speaker spoke from Warsaw, Poland via Skype and remote access with both computers projected on dual screens.

I also saw an attendee at another conference holding a computer with the webcam toward the speaker to share that session with someone at the office. Think of the possibilities in your business.

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.

AEC Store Corner

Must-Have, Tried and True Product Training Series! Order this CD for you or your staff. 

College of Product Knowledge CD
by Don Arnold - $89.85

The best-read, most highly acclaimed product training series ever published in the plumbing /PVF industry has been made available to fill the gaping hole in the industry's knowledge training.The College of Product Knowledge is ideal for wholesalers, manufacturers, agents, designers, contractors, technicians, engineers, architects and other pros who need to understand a variety of systems and components.

The College of Product Knowledge CD is simple to navigate and provides:

• More than 100 products into 27 sections in 300 pages;
• 4-color diagrams showing product cut-aways and flow direction;
• New section on tankless water heaters and more;
• Overview, Glossary and Section Quizzes (and answers);
• Clickable Table of Contents;
• Expert compilation by top industry consultant and writer, Don Arnold
• Expanded content includes: Residential Faucets, Supply Piping, General Application Valves, Water Heating, Fixtures, DWV Pipe Fittings, Water Treatment Products, Disposer Dispensers, Shower Valves, Tubular Goods, Chemicals & Compounds, Drains, Sump Pumps and More!

Follow this link to purchase this item.   Quantity discounts apply to bulk orders. Call 248/244-1275 for bulk orders.

Visit AECStore.com to view all of our technical resources, CDs and DVDs.

What's The Industry Buzzing About?

• DOE Likely To Modify Showerhead Definition 
• EPA Approves 1st Hydrocarbon Refrigerant 
• Let's Stop Yakking Ourselves To Death