NEWS

EN Engineering acquires Spectrum Engineering

EN Engineering, a national engineering, consulting and automation services firm, announced it has acquired Spectrum Engineering Corp., an engineering firm based in Auburn, Indiana.

With this acquisition, EN Engineering, headquartered in Warrenville, Illinois, will build upon its strong position in the electric power and gas utility markets with added presence in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri and other surrounding states. Spectrum Engineering’s strengths will also add to EN’s growing communications engineering platform through the addition of Spectrum’s fiber optic, data center and telecom services.

“We are very excited to expand EN’s transmission and substation engineering, protection and controls, and SCADA services for utilities,” said Steve Knowles, CEO of EN Engineering. “Spectrum Engineering’s solid reputation for excellence and integrity aligns well with the vision and values we hold at EN. The company will fit very well with our team and will expand EN’s capabilities, geographic presence, and customer base.”

Throughout the years, Spectrum Engineering has increased its communications engineering design services, designed relays communicated by fiber optics, and invented an advanced SCADA system called “Utility Management Sentinel.” Spectrum has a rich history of valuable partnerships, groundbreaking projects, and recently trained staff to utilize big data and informatics.

“We are excited to become partners with EN Engineering, a top-level engineering firm whose values and philosophy are very similar to ours,” Specturm Engineering President Scott Bowles said. “We were attracted to EN for the company culture and the growth platform that we believe will help accelerate our expansion.”

Gears
Pme 09214 Csa 403187

Terracon Foundation announces grant in wake of Haiti hurricane

The Terracon Foundation announced a $5,000 grant to Heart to Heart International (HHI) to provide emergency health care in the aftermath of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that occurred Aug. 14 in Haiti.

“Terracon is pleased to support Heart to Heart International in its efforts to provide urgently needed medical care to those impacted by the devastating earthquake,” said Gayle Packer, Terracon chair, president and CEO. “We value the opportunity to partner with this incredible organization serving the critical needs of the people of Haiti.”

“The support from the Terracon Foundation and other partners enables us to rapidly deploy experienced, dedicated medical teams to disaster-affected areas. Medical needs are vast following a disaster. We are so grateful to the supporters and partners who enable us to provide vital care so quickly,” said Kim Carroll, CEO, Heart to Heart International.

Headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, Heart to Heart International is a global humanitarian organization focused on improving access to health. Since its inception in 1992, HHI has delivered medical aid and supplies worth $2.2 billion to more than 130 countries, including within the United States. HHI responds to natural disasters both domestically and internationally by supplying medical relief and mobilizing volunteers. The organization is a four-star Charity Navigator charity and is on the “Philanthropy 400.” To learn more, visit hearttoheart.org.

Latest News

PHCC names Ingrao new CEO

The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors — National Association announced Mark S. Ingrao, CCP, CAE, has been selected as its new CEO. PHCC CEO Michael Copp will retire from PHCC in December 2021, and Ingrao officially assumes duties as CEO on Oct. 22, during PHCC’s Annual Business Meeting at PHCCCONNECT2021 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Ingrao brings more than 18 years of executive-level association management experience, most recently serving as CEO of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association. Prior to that, he was president and CEO of the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce. He also has served as principal of Aspen Strategies and vice president of government affairs for the National Apartment Association. He began his association career with the Apartment and Office Building Association.

“Mark has a solid record in association management, a keen eye for small business, having served as a local chamber executive and experience working with construction industry stakeholders,” PHCC President Hunter Botto said. “We welcome him to our team, confident that he will continue to expand the services we offer our member contractors, strengthen our industry partnerships, and build a better future for PHCC and the industry.”

Ingrao has been exposed to the building trades his entire life; his father was a carpenter and owned a construction company specializing in high-rise multifamily and commercial complexes. Prior to his association positions, he was an associate with the executive recruiting firm of Heidrick & Struggles, manager of recruitment for the National Business Development Practice of Arthur Andersen, and held various positions at Washington Gas.

Ingrao also is active with several professional and community organizations, having served on boards for the Fairfax County’s Economic Advisory Commission, Reston Hospital Center, Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance and the University of Mary Washington, among others.

He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Mary Washington and is a certified association executive (CAE) and a certified compensation professional (CCP).

“During my recent interactions with PHCC, I have been impressed with the passion of the members and their vision for the industry,” Ingrao said. “I look forward to working with the member-leadership and staff to develop future strategic plans for this well-respected and long-established organization, and building on the terrific achievements of the PHCC federation.”

Mark Ingro

Obituary Sioux Chief’s Mike Stallings

Sioux Chief Director National Sales Michael Stallings died July 28 after a battle with cancer. Family and friends gathered for a celebration of his life in Stallings’ hometown of Shelby, North Carolina.

Stallings is survived by his wife, Donna, son Matthew, daughters Lisa (Craig), Jessica (Johnathan) and a grandson, Fin.

Stallings started his career in the plumbing industry in the early 1980s working for Plastic Oddities, holding various management positions while there. He later formed his own company, Stedco and manufactured a line of residential drainage items, of which Sioux Chief was a customer.

In the late 1990s when Sioux Chief purchased the assets of Stedco, Stallings took a couple years to pursue other interests, but his heart and head were always with the plumbing industry. Stallings joined Sioux Chief in 2001 and managed its southeast distribution center. Shortly after, he became the regional sales manager for the southeast. Stallings advanced into the role of director of national sales for Sioux Chief in 2013 and carried out that position with great success until his passing.

Stallings was so much more than an average salesperson — distributors and plumbing contractors considered him more of a friend and consultant, Sioux Chief noted. Stallings always made it a point to show them better, easier and more efficient ways to do things, regardless of the sales numbers, the company added.

“To say Mike will be missed is a gross understatement — he is irreplaceable,” Sioux Chief said. “He was loved by coworkers, customers and competitors alike. All of us will forever benefit from having known Mike Stallings.”

MDS

Uponor sells stake in Phyn

Uponor and Belkin International have signed a share purchase agreement for the sale of Uponor’s shares in Phyn, a water-sensing and conservation technology company, to Belkin. Phyn was founded in 2016 as a joint venture between Uponor and Belkin, with both owning 50% of the company. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. Uponor booked an impairment on Phyn’s valuation in its Q2 results.

“These five years have proven that Phyn is on the right path with its water leakage detection technology, yet market adoption has not reached the targeted levels,” said Jyri Luomakoski, president and CEO of Uponor Corp. “Uponor has not been able to leverage its strong presence in the wholesale channel optimally. Having only limited synergies with our building solutions businesses, we have decided to sell our stake in Phyn to Belkin.”

Uponor Phyn Plus Front PEX

IPEX to open North Carolina plant

IPEX announced a major investment in a new state-of-the-art injection molding plant to be built in Pineville, North Carolina. The new facility will encompass Industry 4.0, including artificial intelligence, and will significantly increase the company’s ability to manufacture fittings for plumbing, electrical, industrial and municipal applications.

The nearly 200,000-square-foot manufacturing facility is being custom designed and built, and will become the technological flagship for the company’s operations and one of the most advanced plastics manufacturing facilities in the industry, IPEX pointed out. The plant’s flexible automation capabilities will enable total automation for all facets of sorting, labelling, counting, packing and assembly, it added.

To ensure world-class safety results from day one, the facility will incorporate industry-leading health and safety best practices, IPEX said. The plant’s automation capabilities will eliminate the majority of manual repetitive processes and tasks, and the production floor will be forklift-free, with vehicles auto-guided by artificial intelligence, increasing plant safety. Also, with sustainability in mind, the plant will be fully climate-controlled, use energy-efficient lighting, and high-efficiency machines to reduce the use of both electricity and water.

Given the importance that IPEX places on innovating to create new products and ideas to fulfil customer needs, the plant layout will also provide IPEX with space for testing and prototyping a great number of new products already in development, the manufacturer noted.

This new facility will increase production capacity substantially and will provide new career and job opportunities, with the expectation to hire more than 150 people from the local area. The plant’s use of Industry 4.0 will increase the need for supervisory, technical and quality control positions, IPEX added.

“This new plant is an exciting endeavor for IPEX, our customers, employees and the surrounding community. It is an integral part of our continued growth plans in North America,” said Alex Mestres, IPEX CEO. “This level of investment in new technologies, cloud connectivity and flexible automation will make this plant a learning showcase for the rest of our operations and will allow us to better serve our customers with added flexibility, response time and innovative products.”

Construction of IPEX’s groundbreaking facility is expected to be finalized in late 2022 with full operations expected to start in early 2023. Once the project is completed, the Pineville site, which includes an existing molding facility, will be home to nearly 100 injection-molding machines, IPEX’s biggest molding complex.

IPEX has announced significant expansion plans this year. The Pineville manufacturing plant is the company’s fourth new facility announcement in 2021, following three new distribution centers in Garland, Texas in the U.S., and in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, in Canada.

Ipex Pineville
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