March 2010 Vol. 237 No. 3

Business Meetings & Events

March 2010 Company News, Mergers & Acquisitions

Deepwater EU Ltd., the European subsidiary of Houston-based Deepwater Corrosion Services Inc., has created a protection design and project management center at the University of Surrey Research Park in Guildford, UK.

Manager Geoff Camm said the center will specialize in providing corrosion consultancy from initial design assistance, third-party review, failure investigation and analysis and project managed total project implementation.

Alex Delwiche is the engineering manager of the center. In addition, the center employs several CP designers and project managers from various industry sectors.

The Lincoln Electric Welding School, which has instructed more than 120,000 students since its inception in 1917, has announced its 2010 schedule. Classes are taught by the school’s seven full-time instructors who have more than 100 years of combined industry experience. Courses are designed to teach arc-welding skills that employers need.

Classes range from a six-week basic course to an advanced 15-week comprehensive course, as well as one-week classes on specific welding processes, certification and customized programs. Students spend 80% of their time in the booth learning to weld. Lincoln limits class sizes to 15 students to maximize learning and guarantee one-on-one instruction time. Courses scheduled through December can be seen by visiting www.lincolnelectric.com.

To enhance services to customers, ISCO Industries, a Louisville, KY-based pipe systems solutions company, will soon open a 55,000 square foot, eight-acre distribution facility in Martinsburg, WV. The plant will serve as a major hub for ISCO Industries, servicing most of the Northeast. The main functions of the facility will be to: fabricate high-density polyethylene pipe (HDPE) fittings and custom-designed HDPE structures; stock pipe and accessories from .75 inches to 63 inches in diameter; warehouse, rent, and refurbish McElroy fusion equipment; send out field-service technicians to operate fusion equipment on customer jobsites; and train customers on HDPE pipe properties and operation of HDPE welding equipment.

Dallas, TX-based Driver Pipeline has opened its fifth regional field office in Waskom, TX, 15 miles from Shreveport, LA. Driver chose the site as its primary headquarters for servicing customers in the Haynesville Shale located in Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas and eastern Texas.

Ten Ditch Witch® dealerships were recently honored by The Charles Machine Works, Inc., manufacturer of Ditch Witch products, as members of the 2009 Crescent Club. From sales and marketing to parts and service, these dealerships exhibited extraordinary service to their customers, to the industry, and to the Ditch Witch organization in 2009. Members of the 2009 Crescent Club are: Ditch Witch of West Texas, Inc. (Amarillo, TX), Ditch Witch France (Ablis, France), Ditch Witch of Minnesota, Inc. (Shakopee, MN), Ditch Witch Sales of Mississippi (Pearl, MS), Ditch Witch of South Dakota, Inc. (Sioux Falls, SD), Ditch Witch of Virginia (Glen Allen, VA), Ditch Witch of North Dakota (Mandan, ND), Ditch Witch of Oklahoma (Edmond, OK), Ditch Witch of Michigan (Howell, MI), and Ditch Witch of Ohio, W. PA., & W. NY. (Columbus, OH).

Huisman, a specialist in heavy lifting, pipelay and drilling equipment opened a new production hall in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, China. The site is equipped with 17 production halls, a shot blasting and painting hall and a maintenance facility which accommodates a welding school. Huisman is accessible for seagoing vessels and has access to heavy-lift capacity, enabling it to install equipment onboard vessels.

CECO, the Houston-based compressor and engine optimization firm, said its ACTT unit will now be known as CECO Training & Technical Services Division. More information is available at www.TRYCECO.com.

GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies announced a $1 million investment to expand its Odelzhausen, Germany facility, which designs and manufactures Rheonik coriolis flow meters. The expansion will create a calibration center to test and calibrate ultrasonic and coriolis flow meters, helping ensure accurate measurement and performance.

Rain for Rent is offering customers a newly enhanced online portal that allows customers to access accounts at www.rainforrent.com.

The Allied Power Group has opened its new Houston facility at 10131 Mills Road. The 70,000-square-foot building centralizes headquarters, sales, repairs and warehousing. Allied’s product line now includes Westinghouse 501F and GE Frame 7FA+e turbines and parts and extends repair capabilities to steam turbines and a worldwide customer base. The expansion brings up to 100 new jobs to the Houston area.

Corrpro Companies, Inc., a subsidiary of Insituform Technologies Inc., has received a $3.6 million task order from the U.S. Navy. This order was received under an existing Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract valued at up to $8 million per year. The Navy can renew the contract, which expires in September, for up to four years at a value of up to $8 million per year.

The task order requires Corrpro to perform engineering services as well as design and installation of cathodic protection systems, field inspections and surveys in military installations worldwide. Most of the work will be located in the U.S., Japan, Korea and South Pacific islands.

OSD Pipelines’ asset services division continues to develop its international operations through expansion, opening an office in New Plymouth, New Zealand and naming Derek Coombe operations manager.

With support from OSD’s three Australian offices, New Zealand asset operations will provide a range of domestic services, including technical audits, operations establishment services, operations support services, safety reviews, commissioning services and decommissioning services. OSD will also provide local training services in conjunction with its Pipeline Industry Professional Education (PIPEd) division.
RigNet Inc., has relocated its Aberdeen operations the Arnhall Business Park, 9 Abercrombie Court, Prospect Road, Westhill, Aberdeenshire, AB32 6FE. Phone +44-1224-442100 or sales@rig.net.

Accreditation
Sensus’ DuBois, PA manufacturing plant has earned accreditation from Measurement Canada to verify and seal its Sonix®600 and Sonix®880 meters prior to shipping, a manufacturing improvement that the company says will save gas utilities time and money. The Sensus Sonix products are the only single-path ultrasonic meters approved by Measurement Canada for custody transfer, making Sensus the first supplier to earn this accreditation.