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Against the rich backdrop of Phoenix, Ariz., the PTDA’s 50th Anniversary Industry Summit (Oct. 21 to 23) is designed to help distributors and manufacturers work together to move their companies and the industry forward.  Keynote and education sessions help attendees grow their businesses and bottom lines by focusing on using existing capabilities and careful planning to tap into new markets and capturing opportunities.

Themed “A Summit of Possibilities,” there were 676 registered attendees: 160 distributor delegates and 314 manufacturer delegates. The total number of delegates is up 25 percent compared to 2009, and companies represented are up 12 percent from the previous year. There were international delegates from Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Trinidad and The United Kingdom.

Industry Summit Highlights

• Opening keynote address by Mike Rayburn, the “World’s Funniest Guitar Virtuoso.”
• The inside scoop on the emerging wind energy market with Tom Maves, deputy director, Manufacturing and Supply Chain, from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and Brian Lind, sourcing manager with Iberdrola Renewables.
• Specifics on driving new business by leveraging Web 2.0 for B2B Marketing with David Griffith, president and CEO, Modern Group Ltd.
• Maintain corporate expertise by transferring the skills and knowledge in seasoned employees to others in the company with Wayne Rivers, president of The Family Business Institute Inc.
• Make sense of the economy with noted economist Alan Beaulieu.
• Executive Vice President Mary Sue Lyon was honored for 16 years of service to the association. Lyon is retiring at the end of 2010.

50th Anniversary Activities
• PTDA was founded on February 10, 1960. The first “annual convention” was held later the same year at Chicago’s Hotel Sherman.

• Past leaders and founding

Kaydon Corp. Bearings Division has unveiled its new website, www.kaydonbearings.com, and new brand message.

“The new site was developed with our customers in mind, providing more information and a clean, easy-to-navigate design,” said Brian Walters, Kaydon Bearings marketing manager. “It features an improved search function, more product and market information, and additional drawings, specifications, and downloads.”

The website also introduces Kaydon Bearings’ new brand message: Kaydon infinite™ bearing solutions.

“Research showed that our customers value our exceptional engineering expertise and willingness to create virtually infinite solutions for complex bearing challenges,” said Jeff Manzagol, president. “Our new brand conveys that, while also underscoring our position as inventor and leader in thin section bearings and North America’s leader in slewing ring bearings.”

The brand discovery process gathered input from a cross section of Kaydon personnel and feedback from customers.

“Our customers find Kaydon to be flexible, versatile, customer-oriented, and responsive,” said Walters. “They appreciate that we fill order volumes from one-offs to thousands, and that we provide a huge range and breadth of product types, sizes, materials, and options.”

“The discovery process made it clear to us that Kaydon’s unique offering is infinite solutions to the complex challenges no other supplier can solve,” said Walters.

Kaydon infinite™ solutions meet the exacting specifications of the aerospace and defense, heavy equipment, industrial machinery, medical systems, renewable energy, and semiconductor manufacturing markets. Product category offerings include Thinfinite™, Slewinfinite™, custom, and remanufactured bearings and assemblies.

Kaydon Thinfinite™ thin section bearing solutions, including Reali-Slim® and Ultra-Slim® bearings, save weight, create space, reduce friction, increase design flexibility, and provide excellent running accuracy in bore sizes from 1” to 40”.

Kaydon Slewinfinite™ slewing ring bearing solutions

ARCAD in Etobicoke, Ont., has released a set of new Arc-Flash-Analytic video tutorials, providing "a quick and easy method to learn a variety of Arc-Flash-Analytic features and capabilities."

The set includes eight video tutorials starting from how to install and register the program, to more advanced functions like how to save projects, switch units of measurement, customize arc flash warning label layout and perform arc flash hazard analysis using Arc-Flash-Analytic's IEEE 1584 empirical model, fuse equations and low-voltage circuit breaker equations calculation modes.

ARCAD specializes in creating safer working environments for individuals who service electrical systems by providing online and PC-based software tools for short circuit and arc-flash hazard analysis.

More information, visit www.arcadvisor.com/arc-flash-video-tutorials.html.

The Timken Company has announced that Michael Arnold, executive vice-president and president of the Bearings and Power Transmission (B&PT) Group, intends to leave the company at the end of the year. He has accepted a new position as president and CEO of a private equity-owned firm.

He will officially retire from Timken on Dec. 31, 2010, following more than 31 years with the company.

“Mike has had a long and successful career with Timken leading the Bearings and Power Transmission group through an evolution that has enabled us to achieve higher sales and significant profit improvements,” said James Griffith, president and CEO of Timken. “We certainly wish him well in his future endeavors.

“He leaves in place a top-notch leadership team,” Griffith added, “a high-performing group that is well-prepared to build on the momentum, carrying the business into new markets and expanding well beyond Timken’s current product and service portfolio.” He said the company does not intend to fill Arnold’s position and noted, “The B&PT leadership team was reorganized earlier this year, which now enables the company to have the business segment presidents report directly to the CEO.”

Arnold joined Timken in 1979 as a sales engineer in Cleveland, Ohio. He thereafter held a succession of sales and general management positions with increasing responsibility. He was named vice president — bearing business process advancement in 1998, promoted to president — industrial in 2000 and has held his current position since 2007.
www.timken.com

A worker in Alberta using a high-pressure washer in a motor shop severely burned their foot, requiring skin graft treatments, according to a Safety Alert released by Enform.

The incident description says a worker using a high-pressure washer in a motor shop was washing parts that were resting on the floor. The back and forth of the washer wand motion caused the parts being washed to move and roll around. The worker braced a part with their left foot and continued spraying in a back and forth motion, but the worker sprayed their boot with the water stream causing the boot to tear and exposing the
skin to the stream.

The hot water from the washer caused a burn and laceration to the workers foot. Damaged skin required a skin graft for treatment.
 
The spray from the pressure washer — set at 1900 PSI — came in contact with the employees boot. The water temperature was set at 63ºC.

As for recommended corrective actions, the pressure of the washer has been reduced to 1200 PSI and the water spray temperature has been reduced to 32ºC.

Additional corrective actions:

• All workers who use the pressure washer, will be required to be upgraded to metatarsal protected work boots
• Destructive testing on the old and new boots with the old and new set pressures/ temperatures was done to establish the adequacy of personal protective equipment for the task.
• Use of physical control devices to secure equipment or objects worked on to eliminate the potential exposure of a worker to the water stream.  Inadequate risk assessment as the hazard of the pressurized scalding water may have been indentified but the worker did not recognize

Burlington, Ont.'s Endress+Hauser Canada Ltd., a leader in measurement and automation equipment, is celebrating 20 years of growth in the Canadian marketplace. Since launching its Canadian operations in 1990, the Switzerland-based company has experienced consistent economic growth in Canada and built a reputation for product quality and service.

"Looking back at the past 20 years, I am overjoyed by our performance in the Canadian market," said Klaus Endress, CEO of Endress+Hauser (E+H) Group. "In July 1990, we received our first order from Aliments Delisle for a total price of $3,500. Today, 20 years later, we have grown every year without fail in Canada and the Canadian business has become one of the most successful ones for E+H globally."

Endress+Hauser Canada employs over 100 people from offices in Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton as well as Burlington. In addition, the company recently expanded into Saskatoon to seize the potential in this emerging market. Endress+Hauser Canada has become the leading provider of complete solutions for industrial measuring technology and automation in the country.

"We work in a very specialized industry," said Richard Lewandowski, general manager of Endress+Hauser Canada. "We expend considerable energy hiring and nurturing our people to give them a chance at enjoying our sector and benefiting from a very supportive corporate culture. By managing to maintain our family-inspired culture while adapting to the local market, we have exceeded our expectations and eagerly anticipate additional growth in the future."

Endress+Hauser Canada says it is committed to providing a high quality of life to its employees and was recognized this year as one of the top employers in the Hamilton-Niagara region. In addition, the company invests in the next generation of engineers and automation experts by supporting several educational institutions, including the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).