Overseas

PCB Piezotronics Inc., a PCB Group Co., Depew, NY, has established a direct sales office to serve customers in the United Kingdom, PCB Piezotronics Ltd. Located in Hitchin, Herts, PCB Piezotronics Ltd. will provide direct sales and customer support for all PCB Piezotronics and IMI Sensors product lines. It will also offer focused specialty product and program support in the areas of aerospace, defense, test and measurement, and automotive applications.

PCB Piezotronics designs and manufactures force, torque, load, strain, pressure, acoustic and vibration sensors, as well as ICP technology.

Sandvik Tooling in Sandviken, Sweden, has reached an agreement with the American private equity company Littlejohn & Co. LLC to acquire Diamond Innovations Inc., formerly the superabrasives division of General Electric.

Diamond Innovations develops and produces synthetic diamond and cubic boron nitride products for such industrial applications as machining, grinding and wire drawing. The head office is located in Worthington, OH, with other offices in Florida, Ireland and Hong Kong. Sales are equally distributed between the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Exhibitor kits for wire 2008, International Trade Fair for Wire and Cable are available. The international event for the industry will be held in Düsseldorf, Germany, March 31 to April 4, 2008. About 1,100 international exhibitors on over 540,000 square feet of exhibit space and 37,000 visitors are expected to take part. At wire 2008, trade visitors from around the globe will find the latest machinery and equipment for wire production and processing, as well as raw materials.

For an exhibitor kit or visitor information, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America by phone at (312) 781-5180 or e-mail at info@mdna.com.

Overseas Events

April 18-20, 2007: 7th Wire and Cable Expo International Exhibition and Conference, New Delhi, India, Intech Trade Fairs Pvt., +91-22-26861040, www.intechtradefairs.com.

June 7-8, 2007: VDFI Annual Convention, Gelsenkirchen, Germany, VDFI, fax +49 2331 587484, www.vdfi.wsu.de.

June 21-24, 2007: 8th China Int’l Fasteners Spring & Equipment Exhibition, Guangzhou, China, Julang Exhibition Co. Ltd., +86-20-38620782, www.julang.com.cn.

Sept. 26-29, 2007, 5th International Mould & Die Making and Manufacturing Technology Exhibition for Asia, Guangzhou, China, Business and Industrial Trade Fairs Ltd., (852) 2865 2633, www.mould-die.com.

Oct. 16-18, 2007: wire Southeast Asia, Bangkok, Thailand, Messe Düsseldorf, (312) 781-5180, www.messe-dusseldorf.de.

Nov. 2, 2007: JSSE 60th Anniversary International Symposium, Nagoya, Japan, JSSE, +81-3-3251-5235, www.soc.nii.ac.jp/jssr.

March 31-April 4, 2008: wire 2008, International Trade Fair, Düsseldorf, Germany, Messe Düsseldorf North America, (312) 781-5180, info@mdna.com.

North America

Wheelabrator Plus in LaGrange, GA, has announced that Tim McLaughlin has joined the company as territory account manager, with account responsibility for Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. He has more than 31 years of experience in abrasive blast cleaning equipment, peening applications and abrasives, and retired as CEO of McLaughlin Inc., Middletown, OH in 2004. He most recently served as sales manager for Ervin Industries in Ann Arbor, MI. Wheelabrator provides surface preparation and finishing solutions.

Furnace Fixers Inc. has moved to larger headquarters in Streamwood, IL, which will allow the company to build larger machines and to start stocking frequently purchased furnaces. The new address is: 308A Roma Jean Pkwy., Streamwood, IL 60107; telephone (630) 736-0670; fax (630) 736-0680; e-mail info@furnacefixers.com; Web site www.furnacefixers.com.

Sandvik Hard Materials has reached an agreement with Rexam to acquire the beverage can tooling business in Rexam’s North American Equipment Manufacturing Division in Chicago, IL. The operation, including machinery and equipment, will be transferred to Sandvik Hard Materials’ existing can tooling plant in Minneapolis, MN.

John Mitteer, responsible for many innovations and patented designs in the spring industry, has formed a new company, Wire Equipment LLC. The new company will operate out of Portland, OR, with a sales and service office in Michigan.

Mitteer, a former U.S. Baird employee, will be joined by several other U.S. Baird expatriates to provide the latest in imported as well as homegrown product solutions.

Wire Equipment LLC supplies CNC coilers, CNC benders, CNC wire formers, strip forming equipment and custom equipment with wire ranges up to 20 mm. These machines can offer domestic controls with off-the-shelf replacement and worldwide support. Also available is support equipment, including de-reelers, ovens and gauging systems. Service retrofits and parts for a variety of machines, including U.S. Baird, JM Systems, Minyu, Wafios, OMCG, Torin and Aim, are available. Wire Equipment is the newly appointed distributor and exclusive supplier of Minyu products and parts in North America. New to Minyu is a patented wire-rotate mechanism for its 1240 machine. Also, specialized control retrofits are available for existing Minyu machines, replacing the old controls with worldwide-supported Parker controls.

Wire Equipment LLC’s phone number is (503) 793-7287, and the fax number is (503) 692-4575.

Tak Enterprises Inc. of Bristol, CT, achieved several milestones as it completed its 25th year of business. Business partnership arrangements were formalized that allow Tak Enterprises to offer turnkey system solutions for contact welding, assembly, CNC wire forming and stamping as part of its ISO 9001:2000-certified contract production service. Tak also introduced a new servo feed system; incorporated Allen Bradley PLC hardware in its standard feed and cutoff systems; added direct and indirect sales personnel in California, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Florida; added a new line of medium-duty wire payoffs; developed an interactive Web site; and more during its 25th year. Tak’s partnerships not only span the country, with companies like Spectral Systems of California and Wire Equipment LLC of Oregon, but also cross the ocean to companies like Stanzbiegetechnik of Austria. Established in 1981 by Thomas A. Kunkler and Rienehart Hermann, Tak Enterprises has conducted business out of Bristol since its inception, starting in a 1,000-square-foot-building and eventually expanding to its current 30,000-square-foot-facility.

The Chicago Association of Spring Manufacturers (CASMI) board of directors was elected by a vote of its membership, and the board subsequently elected its officers. They are as follows: Dan Bishop, president; Joe Sirovatka, vice president; Rick Ross, secretary/treasurer; Stanley J. Banas, immediate past president and show chairman; Robert Henneberry, past president/director; Rick Richter, past president/director; and Dan Pesaresi Jr., director. All were installed for their two-year terms at the dinner dance held in February.

The event provided CASMI members and suppliers an opportunity to get to know CASMI’s new executive director, Tom Renk.

CASMI’s new contact information is: 1801 N. Mill St., Suite R, Naperville, IL 60563; phone (630) 369-3466; fax (630) 369-3773; e-mail tom@casmi.org.

InterWire Products (IWP) has opened a new 30,000-square-foot facility in Fort Mill, SC, to service the wire markets in Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. “We initiated this expansion in direct response to our growth and success in the marketplace,” says Frank Cardile Jr., president.

This follows IWP’s recent expansion into Michigan, with an 80,000-square-foot facility. The two new facilities, plus the existing locations, give IWP a total of 430,000 square feet of warehousing throughout the United States. IWP South Carolina is located at 4217 Pleasant Rd., Fort Mill, SC 29715, (803) 802-0010.

Newcomb Spring Corp. has announced the relocation of two of its plants. Newcomb Spring of Carolina and Resortes Newcomb have expanded to new, state-of-the-art facilities. Newcomb Spring of Carolina’s address now is 4128 Barringer Dr., Charlotte NC 28217. Resortes Newcomb’s new address is 3700 Durazno St., El Paso, TX 79905. The e-mail, phone and fax numbers for these locations remain the same.

The Wire Association International (WAI) has introduced “how-to” production solutions demonstrations as part of Interwire 2007, May 5-10, 2007 in Cleveland, OH. Sessions will be held Tuesday, May 7 and repeat on Thursday, May 9. Topics include: Ferrous Wire Breaks, Nonferrous/Electrical Wire Breaks, How to Improve System Life, Die Inspection, Boost Lubricity in Aging Systems, and Cold Pressure Welding.

JD Norman Industries acquired the assets of KL Industries in December 2006. The manufacturing facilities of KL in Addison, IL, and Marion, SC, will continue operations under JD Norman Metal Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of JD Norman Industries.

The addition of the KL Industries facilities expands JD Norman’s manufacturing capabilities, including increased fourslide capacity, expanded tonnage in the press business, and a wider wire size range in the coiled product segment.

North American Events

May 5-10, 2007: Interwire 2007, Cleveland, OH, WAI, (203) 453-2777, www.wirenet.org.

May 5-10, 2007: International Fastener Exposition, Cleveland, OH, co-locating with Interwire 2007, IFSM (800) 688-1698, e-mail: rzirkle@bsales.com.

May 15-17, 2007: The Successful Measurement of Dynamic Force, Pressure and Acceleration, Buffalo, NY, PCB Piezotronics, (800) 828-8840 Ext. 2465, www.pcb.com/events.

May 22-24, 2007: Six Sigma in Sales and Marketing, Chicago, IL, WCBF, (800) 959-6549, www.wcbf.com/quality/5074.

Sept. 24-27, 2007: National Manufacturing Week, co-locating with Assembly Technology Expo, Quality Expo, Electronics Assembly Show and Plastec Midwest, Rosemont, IL, Canon Communications, (310) 445-4200; e-mail www.canontradeshows.com.

March 8-11, 2008, SMI Annual Convention and 75th Anniversary Reunion Celebration, Palm Desert, CA, SMI, (630) 495-8588, www.smihq.org.

Oct. 15-17, 2008: Spring World 2008, Rosemont, IL, CASMI, (630) 369-3772, www.springworld.org.

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It is with deep regret that Springs announces the passing of August “Gus” Kollom, Stanley R. Bilik, Sr., William J. Bohnen, Margaret “Marge” Mell, Betty Gwendoline Wallbank and Ronald Arthur “Ron” Richter.

August “Gus” Kollom was CEO and owner of Northwest Fourslide Inc. in Sherwood, OR. He founded the company in 1979 and had been a long-time member of SMI. He will be missed by his wife and family, employees, business partners, and customers.

William J. Bohnen died in November, 2006 after a long illness. He was president and owner of Guardian Metal Sales Inc. in Morton Grove, IL He is survived by his wife, Linda; his children Laurie, Joshua and Leslie (Kevin) Murphy; and his grandson, William Murphy. His daughter Marcia preceded him in death. Survivors also include his sisters, Gail (James) Cummings and Ann (Jay) Mommsen; brothers, James and Stephen (Jana) Bohnen; and nieces and nephews.

Margaret “Marge” Mell died December 3, 2006 of a rare brain disease. While she was best known as the wife of Chicago Alderman, Dick Mell, and the mother-in-law of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, she also was a successful businesswoman managing the R.F. Mell Spring and Manufacturing Co. in Chicago, a past member of SMI and CASMI. She is survived by her husband, Dick; her children, Patti (Rod) Blagojevich, Deborah Mell and Richard D. (Angi) Mell; and grandchildren, Amy, Anne and Justin.

Stanley R. Bilik Sr. died January 6, 2007. He was a founder of All-Rite Spring Co. in Spring Grove, IL, and a member of SMI. He is survived by his wife, Maria; daughters, Gwen Jacobs and Dorothy (Virgil) Knowland; and sons, Robert (Lori), Edward (Mary) and Stanley (Natalie) Bilik. He was grandfather of 14, great-grandfather of 20 and great-great-grandfather of three. He was brother of Sophie Verba, Edward (Philomena) Bilik and Walter (Bernice) Bilik. He was the husband of the late Frances and father of the late Sharon Bilik.

Betty Gwendoline Wallbank, age 77, died February 11, 2007 after a battle with cancer. Born in Redditch, Worcestershire, England, she and her husband, Phil, moved to Canada in 1953 with their first two sons. In 1954, Phil, with Betty’s assistance, started a spring manufacturing business near Washington, Ontario. P.J. Wallbank Manufacturing Co. has grown to over 100 employees, and Betty was active in the company until a few weeks before her death. Members of SMI, Betty and Phil “danced up a storm” at many conventions. She is survived by Phil, her husband of 58 years; three sons, Tony (Linda), Mel (Mariette) and Keith (Lisa); and nine grandchildren.

Ronald Arthur “Ron” Richter died in February 2007, after a battle with Parkinson’s Disease. An active member of SMI and CASMI, he was the president of R-R Spring Corp. in Addison, IL. He is survived by his wife, Ruth; his sons, Ronald “Rick” (Wendy) and Randall “Randy” (Bette) Richter; six grandchildren; his sister, Lynne (John) Legrady; brother-in-law, Ray (Annette) Thomas; and several nieces and nephews.