Plumbing Engineer Blog

Cranston, R.I. — Taco, Inc.’s John & Happy White Foundation is now the White Family Foundation. The non-profit charitable foundation, established in 2000, recently received permission for the name change from State of R.I.

John Hazen White, Jr. President and CEO of Taco, Inc., commented that the name change is a reflection of the Foundation’s continuing efforts as it enters its second decade of gift-giving. “My late parents established the John & Happy White Foundation to benefit worthy community-based organizations operating here in RI for the benefit of Rhode Islanders. While we have altered the Foundation name slightly to reflect where we are today, the mission they established remains the same.”

Recent gifts have included awards of $10,000 each to the House of Hope Community Development Corporation of Warwick, which provides permanent housing and social services to families and individuals in need, and to the RI Free Clinic of Providence, providing free care to the uninsured.

“Both of these organizations are on the frontlines of providing the homeless and the uninsured with housing and medical care at one of the most difficult economic times in our state’s history. The work of these organizations are in service to two of society’s most critical tasks,” the White Family Foundation stated in its announcement of the gifts.

The Foundation also made a $20,000 contribution recently to Butler Hospital for the creation of a new Center for Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics in Alzheimer’s Disease.

Since its inception in 2000 the Taco-based White Family Foundation has provided assistance to almost 300 non-profit organizations active in RI. “Giving back to the community” is one of the Taco’s core values.

Taco, Inc., headquartered in Cranston, is a leading manufacturer of heating and cooling equipment for use in residential, commercial and institutional buildings. The company employs approximately 500 in Cranston, Fall River, MA and Milton, Ontario, Canada. www.taco-hvac.com.

2010 AHR Expo-MEXICO (International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition)

• The largest industry trade event for the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration industry in the Mexican and Latin American HVAC/R marketplace

• Leading HVAC/R manufacturers and innovative suppliers from Mexico, the U.S., Canada, and over a dozen other countries

• A variety of seminars and educational sessions for professional development on topics such as:

  • Energy efficiency

  • Green and sustainable building technology

  • Industry trends

  • HVAC/R best-practices

WHO:

Exhibitors and attendees from around the world and every segment of the HVAC/R industry

• Over 350 industry leading manufactures from every segment of the HVAC/R industry

• More than 9,000 visitors and exhibitor personnel

• Nearly 57,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space

WHEN:

• Tuesday, October 26, 2010 1:00pm - 8:00pm

• Wednesday, October 27, 2010 1:00pm - 8:00pm

• Thursday. October 28, 2010 1:00pm - 8:00pm

WHERE:

World Trade Center in Mexico City, Mexico

ABOUT THE AHR EXPO-MEXICO:

Held every two years, AHR Expo-Mexico is the premier trade event for the Mexican and Latin American HVAC/R marketplace. Alternating locations with Monterrey, the 2010 Show returns to the World Trade Center in Mexico City, D.F. for the first time in four years.

Over 6,000 contractors, engineers, dealers, distributors, facility managers and other HVAC/R buyers and specifiers of HVAC/R technology look for energy efficient products, sustainable technologies and dependable suppliers. And with over 350 leading manufacturers displaying thousands of the latest products, this is THE “must-attend” event of the year.

AHR Expo-Mexico is the only trade show in Mexico that can boast the sponsorship of such prestigious industry organizations as ASHRAE and AHRI. In addition, the producers of the AHR Expo, the world’s largest HVAC/R exclusive event held annually in the United States, also manages AHR Expo-Mexico,

Since 1930, the AHR Expo has been the HVAC/R professional’s leading resource for new products, new ideas and new services. It’s a hands-on, interactive event that showcases a wide spectrum of equipment, systems, and components. This unique industry forum creates a dynamic learning environment unequaled in size and scope by any other industry event.

www.ahrexpomexico.com

On March 4, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) WaterSense program released its final specification for showerheads. Manufacturers can now submit their showerheads for testing to earn the WaterSense label, and consumers will soon be able to renovate their bathrooms with the full suite of WaterSense labeled products.

Showering is one of the leading ways we use water in the home, accounting for nearly 17 percent of residential indoor water use, or about 30 gallons per household per day. WaterSense labeled showerheads will use 20 percent less water and perform as well or better than standard models. The final specification sets the maximum flow rate at 2.0 gallons per minute (gpm) at a flowing pressure of 80 pounds per square inch (psi).

Like all WaterSense labeled products, showerheads must be independently tested and certified to meet EPA’s criteria for water efficiency and performance. To determine what makes a good shower, EPA conducted consumer testing and worked with a variety of stakeholders to develop performance attributes, such as water coverage and spray intensity. As a result, WaterSense labeled showerheads can be tested and certified to ensure that users will not have to sacrifice a good shower in order to achieve water savings.

With WaterSense labeled showerheads expected to be on retail shelves later this spring, contractors can offer their customers a full bathroom makeover that saves about $60 each year on utility bills. Replacing older, inefficient fixtures with WaterSense labeled toilets, faucets, and showerheads can save a home more than 7,000 gallons of water annually, or enough to wash six months’ worth of laundry.

WaterSense is an EPA partnership program that seeks to enhance the market for water-efficient products and services. WaterSense is both a label for products and a resource to help people use water more efficiently.

MORTON GROVE, Ill. — ITT Bell & Gossett announces a new extensive online library of 3D Building Information Modeling (BIM) content files in Autodesk^® Revit^® 2010. A total of 113 Revit families and 5,252 types have been created for the following HVAC product lines:

• Pumps: VSX, Series 1510, 1531, 80, 80-SC, 60, and 90

• Pump Accessories: Suction Diffusers & Triple Duty Valves

• Engineered Specialties: Rolairtrols and B&D Expansion Tanks

• U-Tube Heat Exchangers

Bell & Gossett contracted with CADworks^®, one of two certified Autodesk Content Network providers in the world, to transform its HVAC product drawing files into Revit families, which are parametric components that serve as the basis for all designs. Users can select the files directly in Autodesk Revit with a one time download of the Bell & Gossett Content Module at http://www.cadworks.net/bellgossett and picking the appropriate models from the Content Library.

Benefits of the Bell & Gossett Revit content include:

• Easy access to integrated content in Autodesk Revit, eliminating the need to search and download files from external websites

• Fully certified content created by CADworks and approved by Bell & Gossett

• Bell & Gossett content is created in the latest Revit version (2010), and will be automatically upgraded to future generations, requiring no user patch downloads

• Changes to designs are automatically updated across the entire project and are easy to track; there is no need to re-enter information

• Multiple simultaneous design alternatives are allowed within projects

• Flexibility and control over visualization of projects

“This new Building Information Modeling drawing library will be very beneficial for mechanical system designers at architects, engineers, contractors, fabricators, building owners,” said Mark Handzel, Director of Building Services, Americas at ITT Residential & Commercial Water. “The on-line design will eliminate the need for downloading extensive libraries of drawings and assure that all drawings are 100% accurate.”

Secaucus, N.J. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named Panasonic Home & Environment Company as a 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for its outstanding contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by manufacturing energy-efficient products and helping to educate consumers about those products. Panasonic’s accomplishments will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 18, 2010.

BROOKSHIRE, TEX. — Despite the challenges of the global economic downturn, Danish pump manufacturer Grundfos Pumps continued its commitment to the North American market with the grand opening of the brand new Peerless Engineered Systems (PES) building. The 45,000+ sq. ft. facility was built outside Houston. The building shares land with Grundfos Commercial Building Services (formally PACO Pumps), and will be home to the PES division of Peerless Pump Company.

“With the acquisition of PACO Pumps in 2006, Peerless Pumps in 2007 and the most recent acquisition of Yeomans Chicago Corporation in 2008. We bought these businesses as a sign of our commitment to North America market and now, the Grundfos North American business has grown both organically and through these acquisitions, by a factor of three,” said Jes Munk Hansen, managing director of North America for Grundfos. “We also made a commitment to investing in the businesses we acquire; investments in people, machinery, and the buildings. I am proud to see the most recent of these investments, this wonderful new building. I am pleased to stand here amongst you with the excellent examples of the highly engineered systems that are made here,” Hansen added in his comments to Grundfos and PES team members and assembled VIP’s at the grand opening event.

The PES facility will continue its focus upon the design and manufacture of pre-packaged fire pump systems. “A near 50% gain in square footage will definitely aid in our growth ambitions,” said Arron Phillips, PES general manager. “Our proximity to the Grundfos facility will not only support with our integration activities, but allow us to take full advantage of the synergy that exists within our products and our talented group of employees,” Phillips added. “It says a great deal about Grundfos, Peerless and our people, that we can move a facility nearly 30-miles and retain virtually every employee, this is a very exciting time for all of us,” said Andrew Warrington, president of Peerless.

The nearly $4 million facility will be home to 32 highly skilled workers including; engineers, machinists, welders and electrical professionals.

In 2005, Walmart announced three broad sustainability goals: to be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy; to create zero waste; and to sell products that sustain people and the environment. Thursday, February 25, the company announced another major step toward its sustainability mission. Walmart CEO Mike Duke announced the company’s goal to eliminate 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from life cycle of products Walmart sell around world by 2015. This represents one and a half times the carbon growth over the next five years. To understand the scale, 20 million tons is equal to what 3.4 million cars emit in greenhouse gases over one year. ”We will be a leader in retail, because we will be first to take a look at the supply chain on a global scale,” said Duke.

Warrington, UK — Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), a world leader in product safety testing and certification services, announced today that UL UK (UL International (UK) Ltd.), a Notified Body to the Construction Products Directive, has signed an agreement with SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden. The agreement with SP allows UL UK and UL’s family of companies to expand its European testing capabilities and bolsters both its CE Marking Services and global market access.

The alliance with SP expands UL’s current capabilities to test and certify to a wider range of European standards. Specifically, UL UK, as a Notified Body to the Construction Products Directive, will utilize SP’s test facilities for testing to a variety of EN and ETAG standards in the areas of fire resistance and fire alarm & detection covered within UL UK’s scope of services. Following successful testing, as part of the attestation process, UL UK can issue the CE Certificate of Compliance, needed by manufacturers for their products to bear the CE marking.

“We are excited with the additional opportunities for advancing public safety that are available to us as a result of our alliance with SP,” said Chris Hasbrook, UL’s Vice President of Building Materials and Systems/Life Safety and Security. “SP, another well respected name in Fire Safety, provides the UL team with expanded testing and fire research services in Europe, and enables us to provide better service and more options for our customers and for citizens in Europe.”

SP is the Technical Research Institute of Sweden, well established for its research, testing and certification services in the area of fire safety as well as a vast array of other technical areas that include building and construction, electronics, energy and the environment, materials, chemistry and food science. SP applies its internationally leading competence to the development and evaluation of technologies, material, products, and processes to meet its customers’ needs and provide an effective link between research and commercialization.

Northbrook, Ill. — Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and ICC Evaluation Service, Inc® (ICCES®), announced that one of the leading building product manufacturers, United States Gypsum Co. (USG), is the first to have products assessed through the new Dual Evaluation and Certification Program receiving both the UL Mark for safety and ICC–ES Mark for code compliance.

“Our company is privileged to be the first to have a product successfully pass under the new UL and ICCES Dual Evaluation and Certification Program,” said Robert Grupe, director, Architectural and Technical Solutions at USG. “As a global company, speed–to–market is important to us. The dual listing process helped us move through the certification process faster. Having one point of contact for both certification and evaluation helped maintain efficient communications and eliminate back end administrative time.”

The Dual Evaluation and Certification Program with UL and ICC–ES launched in December 2009 to help building manufacturers show compliance with both standards and codes, through one point of contact. USG’s Fortacrete® Structural Panels were tested and certified to UL safety standards and evaluated to meet ICC–ES acceptance criteria. The complying products will be posted in UL’s Online Certifications Directory and Code Correlation Database along with ICC–ES’s online directory of evaluation reports and

will be embedded in ICC’s e–Codes Premium.

“In just a short time, we have seen a great response to the dual evaluation and certification partnership,” said Chris Hasbrook, vice president and general manager, UL Global Building Materials and Life Safety & Security Industries. “Manufacturers are concerned with two things: speed to market and providing safe, quality products. The Dual Evaluation and Certification Program is the solution to industry needs.”

In addition to the Dual Evaluation and Certification Program for the building products industry, UL and ICC–ES also established a Dual PMG Listing Program to verify that plumbing, mechanical and fuel gas products comply with applicable codes and standards.

“The partnership with Underwriters Laboratories has been tremendous,” said Mark Johnson, president, ICC–ES. “Together we are able to better serve manufacturers, regulators, building officials, architects, contractors and insurers to make sure products are safe and code compliant as they are introduced to the marketplace.”

Utica, N.Y. — Mike Paparone, President and CEO, ECR International, announces that Carol Gee has been named Marketing Director effective February 1, 2010.

Gee comes to ECR after a long and successful career at DuPont and most recently Owens-Illinois. While at DuPont, she was key to the development of such well-known ingredient brands as LYCRA®, COOLMAX®, STAINMASTER® and ANTRON® and was Global Brand Manager of CORIAN® where she developed programs and worked closely with both the distribution, dealer and fabrication networks. She was asked to lead the DuPont Corporate Brand and during that time lead all the strategic positioning work to move DuPont from a chemical company to a science company. During her career at DuPont, she was the recipient of two Corporate Marketing awards.