A. O. Smith Vice President-Finance Barb VanderMolen received a Women in Manufacturing STEP Ahead Award from The Manufacturing Institute. The awards are part of the larger STEP Ahead initiative, launched to examine and promote the role of women in the manufacturing industry through recognition, research and leadership for attracting, advancing and retaining strong female talent.

Bryant K. Elder has been appointed the new director of business development for ICE AIR, a manufacturer of a wide variety of HVAC units. Also at ICE AIR, Zeshan Haider was appointed sales engineer.

Manufacturers representative Keystone Sales & Associates out of Pottstown, Pennsylvania hired industry veteran Paul Thieberger to the position of territory sales manager for Virginia and North Carolina. KSA also recently secured the exclusive rights to represent Bosch PHVAC products in North and South Carolina.

KNIPEX Tools named Tony Arena its sales manager and Peter Grable product manager.

Enviro Water Products promoted Justin Barker to vice president of sales.

T&S Brass and Bronze Works hired Greg Morgan as its IT manager.

Kerridge Commercial Systems, a provider of specialized software solutions, services and support to a variety of distribution, wholesale and retail markets, announced Cary Anderson has been appointed vice president R&D (North America).

Tigre-ADS USA, a manufacturer of PVC fittings, announced Jim Moynihan has been named general manager after the departure of Fabricio Rubine at the end of 2017. Also, Jay Molnar has agreed to join the company as vice president of sales and marketing, reporting to the freshly hired Moynihan.

Airmaster, a manufacturer of air circulation and ventilation fan solutions, hired Mario Meiwes as its operational excellence manager.

AquaMotion is the winner of the AHR Expo Innovation Award for the most innovative plumbing product for 2018 for its Aqua-Flash recirculation system that works with tanks and tankless heaters, one-pipe and dedicated return lines. In January, AquaMotion was awarded US Patent No. 9,863,647 B1 for this invention.

Winters Instruments was honored with the prestigious Canada’s Best Managed Companies designation. The 2018 Best Managed program recognizes best-in-class of Canadian-owned and -managed companies demonstrating strategy, capability and commitment to achieve sustainable growth.

Duravit USA named B.A. Robinson Co. its distributor of the year for the Canadian market and Central Plumbing for the U.S. market, both honored for impressive sales and “remarkable dedication to the Duravit brand.” The overall top sales region was awarded to ACS Marketing. Emerson Swan earned showroom market of the year. Jason King received the project market of the year, while Andrea Raymond won rookie of the year honors.

Lux Products Corp., announced a co-branding program for contractors that offers a front-and-center position with the contractor’s brand in a homeowners’ LUX mobile app.

Daikin expanded a partnership with Thermal Mechanics, Inc., to benefit Daikin dealers and end users in the Missouri, Kansas and Southern Illinois markets.