Industry News
We would like to take this opportunity to give a special thanks to this month's sponsor -- American Standard. American Standard provides the style and performance that fit perfectly in your customers’ lives. With options ranging from exquisite luxury to everyday style for the budget-conscious, American Standard’s exclusive technologies and innovative designs deliver ingenuity, quality and efficiency. American Standard is, quite simply, style that works better.
Visit www.americanstandard-us.com/waterefficiency for further information.
To find out more about special e-newsletter advertising opportunities, please contact your Plumbing Engineer sales rep by visiting www.plumbingengineer.com.
ISH NA hits Atlanta
ISH North America is the only business-to-business event striving towards trade show consolidation in our industry. It will be held October 1 – 3, 2008 in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center.
The fifth edition is expected to host more than 400 exhibitors displaying products for kitchen & bath/plumbing, commercial /industrial pipes, valves & fittings, HVAC/radiant and hydronics. In addition, we will feature international, technology and controls pavilions. For more info, www.ish-na.com.
Viega hosts hydronics seminar
Committed to training customers on industry trends, business development and other key topics, Viega, a leading supplier in plumbing and heating systems, is hosting the Viega Fall Hydronics Seminar with John Siegenthaler on Oct. 14 and 15, 2008. The seminar will combine a full-day technical program on contemporary hydronic system design with unique networking opportunities in beautiful New England. For more information, www.viega.com.
New standard for building in hurricane, high wind areas
In the wake of hurricanes Ike and Gustav, new construction guidelines developed by the International Code Council will increase public safety in hurricane prone areas and other high-wind regions. The Standard for Residential Construction in High Wind Regions (ICC-600) provides wind-resistant design and construction details for residential buildings. The standard applies to areas where wind speeds reach 100-150 miles per hour, including the hurricane prone regions of the east and gulf coasts, coastal Alaska, and the special wind region of the Columbia River Gorge in Washington and Oregon.
“Communities that adopt this new standard will have a tool based on sound science to help them save lives and protect property,” said Code Council CEO Rick Weiland. “It’s necessary if we are to reduce the billions of dollars in wind-related damage this country faces year after year.”
ICC-600, approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an American National Standard, uses the latest engineering knowledge to improve the structural integrity and performance of homes. The standard is an update to SSTD 10-99 and includes new provisions such as prescriptive designs for wind speeds up to 150 mph with three-second gusts, designs for cold-formed steel framing and exterior wall coverings for high wind.
“The High Wind Standard will help First Preventers protect the communities they serve,” said Code Council CEO Rick Weiland. “First Preventers, those many unheralded and mostly unknown code officials who check and double-check code compliance and administer building safety codes, play a major role in saving lives, protecting property and reducing recovery costs often paid for by taxpayer dollars.”
The Standard for Residential Construction in High Wind Regions, available in September for communities to adopt, will be considered as a referenced standard in the 2009 International Residential Code.
The International Code Council, a membership association dedicated to building safety and fire prevention, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties and states choose the International Codes, building safety codes developed by the International Code Council. For more info, www.iccsafe.org.
Uponor breaks ground for new distribution center
Uponor, a global leader in PEX-a systems for radiant floor heating and cooling, plumbing and fire safety, broke ground in celebration of their new 285,000-square-foot distribution center located in the suburb south of the Twin Cities.
The new building, which will house Uponor’s primary North American distribution operations, is a build-to-suit facility leased from commercial building developer First Industrial Realty Trust, based in Chicago.
The new facility will anchor First Industrial Realty Trust’s First Park Lakeville, a 1.4-million-square-foot, master-planned industrial park located near the corner of County Road 70 and Dodd Boulevard, approximately one mile east of I-35W.
In accordance with Uponor’s build-to-suit requirements, First Industrial is developing the building to apply for LEED® certification through innovative, energy-efficient designs. Specific areas of the building, primarily 13,000 square feet in the office area, will feature Uponor radiant floor heating and cooling as well as snow and ice melting in the sidewalks outside the office area.
AFSA announces virtual seminar
The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) will host a 90-minute virtual seminar, “Changes to NFPA 13,” on Thursday, December 18, 2008, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern time; 11:00 a.m. Central; 10:00 a.m. Mountain and 9:00 a.m. Pacific time. NFPA 13 has just completed the revisions for the next edition of the standard, featuring significant changes to the requirements for earthquake bracing, protection of various storage arrangements and installation requirements. This informative seminar, presented by industry expert and NFPA’s own Jim Lake, will detail the significant changes to the standard as a result of the committee actions.
Lake has more than 20 years experience in fire protection, including code enforcement, fire sprinkler industry representation and codes and standards administration. He is presently a senior fire protection specialist at NFPA. Lake is responsible for working with the NFPA Technical Committee on Automatic Sprinklers and for writing NFPA 13, NFPA 13D and NFPA 13R. He has worked with various technical committees, including the NFPA Life Safety Code (NFPA 101), Ventilation and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations (NFPA 96), Road Tunnel and Highway Fire Protection (NFPA 502), and Fixed Guideway Transit Systems (NFPA 130).
How does a virtual seminar work? To register, visit www.krm.com/afsa or call (800) 775-7654. The event ID is 14090. For more information, a detailed flyer can be found online at www.firesprinkler.org.
New Products
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Selectronic flush valves |
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Differential temperature controller The iSolar series is a compact, easy-to-install, multi-functional temperature differential controller for solar water heating systems. Preset factory defaults divert surplus heat, maintain tank temperature, protect against overheating, or direct another source to heat the storage tank. Energy meter records production of solar hot water. Four models plus DC voltage for PV-powered off-grid applications. Easy-to-use icons on a large LCD display. Caleffi.
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Double check valves Compact Apollo 4SG double check valves take up less valuable real estate, but they are not short on safety. The 4SG Series is approved by the USC FCCC&HR for both horizontal and vertical-up orientations. They are also ASSE, CSA, UL, and fm approved. Sized from 2-1/2" to 8", new Apollo 4SG assemblies feature grooved end connections that reduce weight and length. They also allow for the use of lightweight grooved-end butterfly valves as shut-offs. OS&Y or nrs gate valves, with either grooved or flanged end connections, are also available. Conbraco.
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Pump controllers ZoneSmart pump circulators for residential and light commercial hydronic applications feature a host of standard features: leds visible without removing the cover; domestic hot water priority to ensure adequate DHW supply for a user-selectable period of time; post-purge timer maximizes efficiency by distributing Btus to the living space rather than up the flue; pump exercise prevents wet rotor circulators from locking up with mineral and scale deposits. 4 and 6 controllers can be linked together to accommodate up to 18 zones on a single system. Integrated outdoor reset controls available. McDonnell & Miller. |
Movers & Shakers
The board of directors of ABB Ltd. announced that Joseph M. Hogan has been appointed chief executive officer of the ABB Group. Hogan was most recently the CEO of GE Healthcare and a member of the GE senior executive council.
CSI Controls has hired Adam Bates as a regional sales manager. Bates will work closely with customers in the eastern half of the United States to provide unique control solutions. |