After enduring a unique set of challenges through 2020 and 2021, industry experts are excited to move forward into another high-demand year. The excitement is coupled with caution, as supply chain constraints, material pricing and labor shortages are not expected to resolve themselves in the near future.
Munch’s Supply a Chicagoland area-based heating, air conditioning and plumbing distributor, has acquired TML Supply and its 13 branches servicing the province of Ontario, Canada. This will expand Munch’s geographic footprint to 64 locations serving 16 U.S. states and one Canadian province.
I read somewhere that the most prevalent machine in the world is the electric motor. I thought about that for a while and it made sense. Just look around. But then I began to wonder what the second-most prevalent machine in the world is. Turns out it’s the pump! And most pumps are connected to electric motors of one kind or another, so there you go. Throw a rock and you’ll hit a motor. Or a pump. They’re everywhere.
Navien has introduced three new chemical-free and environmentally friendly products to refresh their PeakFlow lineup of scale prevention solutions. The three models, PeakFlow S, PeakFlow A and PeakFlow C, expand the options made available by Navien to now include point-of-entry and commercial grade scale prevention.
The topic of labor has been front and center for quite some time now inside and outside of this industry. But it wasn’t until the recent Thanksgiving holiday break that it really hit home as to just how bad the current situation is. While waiting for my daughter to finish a recent fitness class, I decided to run a quick errand to mail a package. While driving down this road in an industrial park setting, business after business had roadside signs looking for labor — virtually every business on this busy road.
Plumbing and Heating Wholesale (PHW) announced the acquisition of Sioux City, Iowa-based industrial supplier Wigman Co.
Wigman will initially continue to operate in their current location under the same name, plans will be made in the future to identify a new home for Wigman Co. and the industrial team.
Rinnai America announced its soon-to-be-completed North American facility located in Griffin, Georgia. Rinnai is investing in product development for tankless water heaters, boilers, wall furnaces and more on US soil. Alongside business development, Rinnai will also play a role in the local economy by fulfilling 150 positions by early 2022.
PMI announced the election of Martin Knieps as president of the 2022 PMI Board of Directors during PMI’s 67th Annual Meeting of the Membership yesterday. The senior director of operational excellence at Viega, Knieps succeeds Todd Teter, senior vice president and general manager of the Professional Plumbing Group House of Rohl North America, a division of Moen. Teter will remain on the board as immediate past president. The meeting was held during the PMI21 Manufacturing Success Conference in San Diego.
The For the Pro Training Academy combines the company’s existing in-person training programs with a new self-paced eLearning option for Bradford White’s valued contractor customers.
Navien has added a new 120,000 BTU/h model to the NPN non-condensing tankless water heater lineup. The NPN-120E is the fourth model introduction to the NPN-E (exterior) series. The new size is offered in separate natural gas and liquid propane configurations for outdoor-only operation. NPN-120E provides 4.2 GPM at 45° F temperature rise and stays in-line with the rest of the NPN series at 0.81 UEF.