Barry- Wehmiller International Resources (BWIR) has established a European office located in Brussels, Belgium. This strategic location provides BWIR access to the European market to interact directly with existing and potential customers to support their needs and respond immediately to requests.

Belgium was chosen as the most strategic location for this office because it is situated between Germany, the Netherlands, and France, and located very near the UK. It has direct access to the European rail network, making travel to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and various other cities inexpensive and convenient. Compared to many cities, Brussels has managed to retain a highly competitive real estate market and it is no coincidence that so many multinational companies have chosen this city to set up their respective European headquarters. Other key factors for this location include: an outstanding telecommunications infrastructure to support communications across the globe, a favorable tax system, a highly qualified multilingual workforce, and—a crucial factor to BWIR—a high quality of life for employees.

BWIR has grown its European business significantly since 2006. Now more than 30% of BWIR’s total revenue is from European contracts—despite the recent economic crisis in Europe. BWIR is working to become a serious competitor in the European market and to overcome the stereotypes of slow communication and inconvenience that are often associated with India-based services. With its convenient location eliminating time-zone related inefficiencies, the new Belgium office will give BWIR the opportunity for even higher customer satisfaction.

The BWIR Belgium office is located at the facility of Hudson Sharp, a division of Thiele Technologies, A Barry-Wehmiller Company.

High efficiency of the production and operational reliability are the key performance indicators for an innovative plant that will be equipped with Metso’s valve and field instrument solutions. 

Metso has received an order to supply valves and smart instrumentation for the innovative GoBiGas project in the Rya harbor, Gothenburg, Sweden. GoBiGas is a major project for Göteborg Energi AB that is starting a biomass gasification plant. The plant is currently being built by Metso Power and is the first of its kind in the world. The plant converts biomass into renewable biomethane gas, using the existing natural gas grid for distribution.

Metso has been selected to supply the state-of-the-art control and on-off valves together with intelligent and safety valve controllers for both the Gasification and the Methanation part of the GoBiGas project, phase one, to help the plant maximize process reliability at all times. The Metso offer was selected in a procedure following the Public Procurement Act, fulfilling all the technical and environmental requirements accordingly. 

Reliable valve performance in demanding conditions is the key to ensuring safety, flow control accuracy, and reliability together with reduced process variability, which are key challenges in the gasification process. With the intelligent valve controllers featuring performance diagnostics and the safety valve controllers providing extensive safety valve testing and improved diagnostics data, predictive maintenance is possible, thus resulting in improved plant safety and minimizing the operational and maintenance costs of the valves. 

Metso’s field solution delivery consists of a total of around 320 valves, including Finetrol eccentric rotary plug control valve, Butterfly valves, Neles RotaryGlobe valves, Segment and Ball valves, 145 intelligent controllers Neles ND9100 and about 60 new generation safety valve controllers Neles ValvGuardTM VG9000.

GoBiGas focuses on producing biomethane through gasification of biofuels and forest residues. The gasification system, together with the subsequent methanation and gas up-grading system, will produce high-calorific gas, biomethane, for distribution in the existing gas grid. This is the first plant of that kind ever and gas of this quality has never been produced continuously before from gasification.

The GoBiGas gasification plant will be built in two phases, the first being scheduled to be operational late 2013, and the second phase to be accomplished after the first phase has been evaluated.

Unique offering for the renewable energy industry

Metso has a unique and full range offering for control and on-off valves, actuators, intelligent controllers and field instruments for the renewable fuels industry. In Finland, there are examples of major refinery applications of Neles control and on-off valves. Jamesbury and Neles products are ideally suited to bioethanol production, which has led to their use in over 60 such plants, for instance in the USA.

Metso is the leading valve solutions and services provider whose Flow Control solutions include control valves, automated on/off and emergency shut-down valves, as well as smart positioners and condition monitoring. Metso’s world-leading brands include Neles, Jamesbury and Mapag.

Metso Corporation’s four biggest registered shareholders on October 1, 2012 i.e Solidium Oy, Cevian Capital II Master Fund L.P., Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company and Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company have named the following persons as their representatives in Metso's Nomination Board: 

Kari Järvinen, Managing Director (Solidium Oy); 
Lars Förberg, Managing Partner (Cevian Capital); 
Harri Sailas, President and CEO (Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company); and
Matti Vuoria, President and CEO (Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company).

Jukka Viinanen, Chairman of Metso's Board of Directors will serve as an expert member in the Nomination Board.

Metso's Nomination Board, established by the Annual General Meeting, prepares proposals on the members of the Board of Directors and their remuneration for the next Annual General Meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for March 28, 2013.

International technology Group ANDRITZ has acquired Allied Environmental Solutions, Inc. (AES) whose headquarters is in Columbia, Maryland, USA. The company has around 40 employees and generates annual sales of approximately 30 MEUR. It was agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

AES – now ANDRITZ Environmental Solutions – is a leading supplier of air quality control systems for utilities and various power generating industries (e.g. fossil-fired power stations) in the USA. ANDRITZ Environmental Solutions offers a comprehensive product and service range of flue gas cleaning technologies, including Circulating Fluid Bed (CFB) scrubbers, fabric filters, wet and dry electrostatic precipitators, and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems.

With this acquisition, ANDRITZ Energy & Environment (AE&E) is strengthening its flue gas cleaning portfolio and has entered the US market.

Recently published ARC Advisory Group study states Collaborative Production Management (CPM) for process industries is a growing market, driven by the need to improve energy efficiency, reduce costs and manage production

Zurich, Switzerland, October 8, 2012—In a recently published study titled “CPM/MES Systems for Process Industries Worldwide Outlook,” industry analyst firm  ARC Advisory Group ranked ABB in the leading worldwide position for this expanding market. CPM and MES (Manufacturing Execution System) software provides visibility, execution, tracking, reporting and optimization of manufacturing processes to improve product quality, safety, and overall productivity.

According to the study, the CPM market grew in all regions of the world in over the past two years, as all manufacturing organizations need to collaborate and improve their efficiency to operate profitably. The increased use of CPM is driven by the need to control energy use and costs, new regulations, globalization, standards enforcement, big data analytics demographic changes, and the overall need to reduce manufacturing costs.

Even with economic instability and exchange rate fluctuations, ARC forecasts that industry dynamics will continue to drive the overall CPM for process market growth positively in 2012 and beyond. The increased use of new technologies such as tablets, smartphones and cloud computing as workplace tools have set new expectations for the information access and capabilities provided by CPM solutions.

“ABB’s CPM solutions provide users with collaboration tools to improve productivity and asset availability, while reducing energy and maintenance costs in a rapidly changing business environment.” said Janice Abel, principal consultant at ARC and author of the study. “The acquisitions of both Ventyx and Mincom vastly expanded ABB’s CPM business. With its comprehensive product line, ABB stands poised to grow its presence even further in this market.”

ABB acquired power networking software company Ventyx in 2010. Ventyx then acquired Mincom, a software company focused on the mining business, in 2011. The combination of Ventyx, Mincom and continued strong organic growth of ABB’s existing CPM portfolio allowed ABB to move to the market leadership role. In 2011, ABB also recorded good organic growth across the key business areas of oil, gas and chemicals, as well as very strong organic growth in the mining business.

"Collaborative Production Management allows our process customers to extend the benefits that they get from the underlying automation they already have in their plant. The software ABB provides has been proven to reduce order to cash time for our customers’ manufacturing operations, improve throughput, reduce inventory and optimize maintenance,” said said Veli-Matti Reinikkala, head of ABB’s Process Automation division. “We've heard customers talk about the need for complete shop floor to top floor integration for years; ABB is delivering CPM solutions that do exactly that and more."

Additional information on the CPM/MES Systems for Process Industries Worldwide Outlook, as well as other studies on the global automation market, is available at www.arcweb.com

Clearwater Paper Corporation (NYSE:CLW) has announced that Linda K. Massman will become the company's next chief executive officer, succeeding Gordon L. Jones, who will be retiring from his roles as chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors, on December 31, 2012.

Ms. Massman, currently president and chief operating officer, will begin as president and chief executive officer, effective January 1, 2013. Ms. Massman will also join Clearwater Paper's board of directors at that time. Additionally, vice chairman and lead director of the board, Boh A. Dickey, has been appointed chairman of the board, effective January 1, 2013.

"Linda has been an integral part of the company's ability to design and execute its strategy from the beginning," said Mr. Dickey. "She came toClearwater Paper as one of the company's original leaders after a rapid succession in finance and strategy development, and is now making the natural progression from chief operating officer to chief executive officer. She is the right person to lead Clearwater Paper as we enter our next phase of growth and development."

"I have had the pleasure of working closely with Linda since the company's spin-off in 2008 and she has been an integral part of Clearwater Paper's success," said Mr. Jones. "Since that time, we have executed on our growth strategy and successfully transformed our company into one of the largest and most successful premium private label tissue and bleached paperboard producers in North America. Under Linda's leadership, I am confidentClearwater Paper will continue to build on this track record of success."

Ms. Massman was appointed vice president and chief financial officer of Clearwater Paper in 2008, then named president and chief operating officer inNovember 2011. Before joining Clearwater Paper, Ms. Massman was group vice president, finance and corporate planning, for SUPERVALU Inc. Prior to this, Ms. Massman worked as a business strategy consultant for Accenture. Ms. Massman has more than 20 years of corporate finance and business strategy development experience and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of North Dakota and an MBA fromHarvard Business School.

Added Mr. Dickey, "Linda's customer-side experience, broad financial and strategic planning expertise with some of the country's biggest consumer brands and her knowledge of the company from day one give her the unique ability to lead Clearwater Paper and ensure the company's continued growth and success. We look forward to working with Linda as we build upon the strong foundation already in place and continue to execute our strategic priorities and create stockholder value."

"I am honored to take on the role of CEO of Clearwater Paper at this time of great opportunity," said Ms. Massman. "Given the market dynamics within private label, our track record of success and strategic plan for growth, I believe we are well positioned to continue to enhance stockholder value. We remain focused on expanding the geographic and channel reach of Clearwater Paper while executing on our cost efficiency and integration synergy goals. I look forward to working with the board, management team and our dedicated employees to continue Clearwater Paper's achievements for customers and investors."

"On behalf of the board and everyone at Clearwater Paper, I would like to thank Gordon for his leadership, commitment and countless contributions to our company," said Mr. Dickey. "We look forward to continuing to benefit from his experience as a director on the board, and we wish him all the best in his retirement."

Source: Clearwater Paper

Industrial air systems meet Chinese energy savings targets

In mid- September  TM Systems, the Finnish industrial energy efficiency company, established a new factory in Kunshan, China, doubling production capacity in the world’s hottest energy market.

The 12th Chinese five year plan has allocated over 300 billion euros in investment for the green economy. China is investing 40 billion euros just in the forest industry alone. In modernizing the branch the emphasis is not only on effectiveness, but also energy savings and reduced emissions. ‘This is exactly the kind of market we want to invest our technical knowledge in’, says Markus Hallapuro, Managing Director of parent company TM System Finland Ltd.

TM Systems specialize in delivering tailored industrial air systems, which can considerably reduce production energy consumption while at the same time increasing volume.  The company is meeting increased demand for its services with a new production plant, which serves both its own projects in the pulp and paper industry as well as clients from other industries.

The new production facility allows the company to offer high quality, cost effective production to third parties. ‘TM Systems can produce ready made products, partial systems and also work together with clients from design and process modeling through to production’ says Riku Saari, Managing Director of TM System (China) Air Technology Co, Ltd.

The main responsibility for designing the company’s technical solutions is in Finland, where the parent company employs about 30 people.  Finnish engineers are also responsible for quality control at the Kunshan factory.

‘Many companies have had bad experiences of Chinese production. Variable quality and unreliable delivery are common problems and continuous professional quality control is a necessity’, says Riku Saari.

The expanded China factory specializes in producing demanding acid proof stainless and aluminum sheet metal fabrications. The factory has a 13 x 3,4 m pickling pool  enabling it to handle large items and deliver better quality end products.

In the future TM Systems will increasingly serve the mining- and energy industry in which they continue to expand. The company expects production at the Kunshan factory to grow by 40 percent during over the next few years.

BASF and Purac, a subsidiary of CSM, are establishing a joint venture for the production and sale of biobased succinic acid. The company will be named Succinity GmbH and will be operational in 2013. The establishment of Succinity GmbH is subject to filing with the relevant competition authorities. The company headquarters will be in Düsseldorf, Germany.

BASF and CSM have been conducting research on succinic acid under a joint development agreement since 2009. The complementary strengths in fermentation and downstream processing led to the development of a sustainable and highly efficient manufacturing process based on a proprietary microorganism. The bacterium used is Basfia succiniciproducens, which produces succinic acid through natural processes. It is capable of metabolizing a variety of renewable feedstocks into succinic acid. The new process combines high efficiency with the use of renewable raw materials and the fixation of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the production of succinic acid. This makes biobased succinic acid an economically and ecologically attractive alternative to petrochemical raw materials.

The demand for succinic acid is anticipated to grow strongly in the years ahead, driven mainly by bioplastics, chemical intermediates, solvents, polyurethanes and plasticizers.

BASF and CSM are currently modifying an existing fermentation facility at Purac’s Montmélo site near Barcelona, Spain, for the production of succinic acid. This plant, which will commence operations in late 2013 with an annual capacity of 10,000 metric tons of succinic acid, will put the new joint venture company in a leading position in the global marketplace. This is complemented by plans for a second large-scale facility with an annual capacity of 50,000 metric tons of succinic acid to enable the company to respond to the expected increase in demand. The final investment decision for this facility will be made following a successful market introduction.

“Our strategy clearly focuses on innovations for a sustainable future. Chemistry-driven innovations are the responses to megatrends, such as the shift to renewable raw materials. The development of a succinic acid production process based on fermentation in cooperation with Purac is a good example of this strategy being put into practice,” said Dr. Andreas Kreimeyer, Member of the Board of Executive Directors and Research Executive Director of BASF.

“CSM is developing into a leading provider of biobased ingredients and solutions. Our joint venture with BASF for the production and sale of succinic acid is a milestone in this journey. The succinic acid project is fully in line with our strategy to develop commercially attractive biobased alternatives using renewable and sustainable resources,” explained Gerard Hoetmer, Chief Executive Officer of CSM.

“Our cooperation with Purac to produce biobased succinic acid is a perfect example of how we enable our customers in many industries to develop sustainable solutions,” said Sanjeev Gandhi, President of BASF’s Intermediates division.

“We know from many discussions with customers and samples we sent them that the demand for biobased succinic acid for example for biodegradable plastics is set to grow faster and more strongly than expected earlier,” said Fabrizio Rampinelli, President of Purac, and added, “We look forward to providing a high-quality product globally to customers in this industry at our usual high service levels.”

Celanese launched its new website October 1 to better serve its customers’, stakeholders’, communities’ and employees’ needs. The bold new design features easy-to-use navigation, updated content, video, case-studies highlighting product innovation and improved search functionality. There’s even an easy way to follow us on social media channels.  Easy-to-use describes the new Celanese website.     

The customer-focused website centers on Celanese products and the industries where they are utilized.  Customers can still find products within the individual business sections of the website with ease and with enhanced content.  In addition, customers can start a search via a particular application and then view all the products offered company-wide for that end-use.

Everyone is invited to enjoy the new website at www.Celanese.com or the Emulsions section at www.Celanese-Emulsions.com