News

Industrial equipment, services and inspection news and information for manufacturing, process, facilities and related fields.

23/06/2011 MSS boosts responsiveness with Masternaut tracking system Facilities management firm MSS (Managed Support Services) has bought a real-time tracking system to gain visibility of its mobile engineers, their jobs and vehicles live on screen. » Read More

23/06/2011 Amarinth builds specialist industrial pump testing facility Centrifugal pumps specialist Amarinth has completed its new test facility, providing additional capacity. » Read More

22/06/2011 United Utilities Kirkbride reports smoother pumping operations An EZstrip maintain-in-place pump and two SB Muncher twin shaft, low speed high torque grinders, from NOV Mono, have been installed at United Utilities pumping station in Kirkbride, North Cumbria, to improve efficiency and cut downtime. » Read More

21/06/2011 £1.6m wind energy centre to develop technologies of tomorrow A new centre to develop and test offshore wind energy condition monitoring technologies, while also helping Scotland to meet its renewable energy targets, is to be opened at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. » Read More

21/06/2011 Brammer expands maintenance centre in Cardiff Maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) products and services firm Brammer has relocated and expanded its Cardiff sales and service centre. » Read More

20/06/2011 UK first as TfL installs eco-lighting in London road tunnel In a UK-first, eco-friendly LED lighting, installed in a central London tunnel by TfL (Transport for London), is set to deliver 60% savings in energy consumption and maintenance costs. » Read More

20/06/2011 Softstart UK hammers motor starter costs for EdF When EdF (Cottam Power) needed a starter for the MV drive fitted to a hammer mill at its Nottingham site, most suppliers claimed that only a variable speed drive would be suitable. » Read More

17/06/2011 Europe’s new motor efficiency requirements welcomed Electric motors and drives giant ABB has welcomed the EU's introduction of minimum efficiency levels for LV motors. » Read More

16/06/2011 Peristaltic pump eliminates printing machine breakdowns Bristol-based Portishead Press is reporting that peristaltic pumps have eradicated issues with printing machine breakdowns, previously caused by failures to its air-operated diaphragm pump. » Read More

15/06/2011 Kings Cross station first for solar test technology Hand-held solar photovoltaic PV electrical test instrumentation has been used for the first time as part of the installation of one of the UK's largest solar panel systems. » Read More

15/06/2011 Kittiwake acquires acoustic emission pioneer Holroyd Global equipment protection specialist Kittiwake Developments has acquired Holroyd Instruments, which pioneered acoustic emissions techno9logy for plant condition monitoring. » Read More

14/06/2011 Theory of Constraints giant Eli Goldratt dies, age 64 It is with great regret that Plant Engineer has to report the death of Dr Eliyahu Goldratt, aged 64, renowned developer of the application of Theory of Constraints. » Read More

14/06/2011 Vibration is on the up for condition monitoring The use of vibration equipment for monitoring industrial machinery is on the rise, according to Hansford Sensors, which reports increased sales of its systems. » Read More

13/06/2011 Safe maintenance gets new ambassadors from Europe In the second year of EU-OSHA's Healthy Workplaces Campaign on safe maintenance, the number of partners has risen to 52. » Read More

10/06/2011 LEEA boosts training and technical audit teams LEEA (Lifting Equipment Engineers Association) has expanded both its training and technical audit teams in response to what it calls rapidly growing membership and demand. » Read More

09/06/2011 Hose test and maintenance service prevents costly leaks Eriks UK is now offering an industrial hose testing services either on-site, with the firm's mobile testing teams, or at one of Eriks Hose Technology centres. » Read More

09/06/2011 Compressed air savings revealed with software system Plant engineers can now assess their plants' volumes of wasted air, caused by leaks and pressure losses on their compressed air networks, using Parker Hannifin's Transair energy efficiency calculator software. » Read More

08/06/2011 Denca to build controls for new cell culture plant Automation control systems specialist Denca Controls is to supply the E&I controls for the new IPB2 facility, designed by laboratory clean room specialist T Squared for chemicals firm SAFC in Irvine, Scotland. » Read More

08/06/2011 BBC Fake Britain boosts the campaign against counterfeit PPE BSIF (the British Safety Industry Federation) is praising last week's showing of Fake Britain on BBC One, which included an investigation into the devastating impacts of counterfeit and illegal PPE (personal protective equipment). » Read More

07/06/2011 Speedy says suppliers must shape up or ship out Plant rental firm Speedy has launched a sustainability strategy under which its suppliers are being warned to prove their environmental credentials or risk losing out. » Read More

06/06/2011 24-hour service for geared motors from Siemens Mechanical Drives Round-the-clock service for geared motors and couplings has been introduced by Siemens Mechanical Drives. » Read More

06/06/2011 Worker cheats death after being dragged through 125mm gap A worker who sustained horrific injuries, but lived, having been dragged through a gap no wider than a CD case on a poorly guarded machine, has become a symbol for getting guarding right. » Read More

03/06/2011 Four killed in Chevron Pembroke refinery explosion Four people have been killed and one seriously injured as a result of an explosion and fire yesterday evening (2 June 2011), at Chevron's Pembroke refinery, currently being bought by Valero Energy. » Read More

03/06/2011 Ex-serviceman’s severed arm costs Transwaste Recycling £18,000 An incident in which an ex-serviceman had his right forearm severed by a baling machine, while working at the Transwaste Recycling plant in 2009, has refocused attention on the Importance of machine guarding. » Read More

03/06/2011 Algerian desalination plant saves energy with inverters and soft starters The Spanish consortium building the Tlemcem-Honaine desalination plant near Oran, in Algeria, is expecting significant efficiencies as a result of using inverter drives and soft starters. » Read More