January 29, 2008: AutoUkraine 2008, Kiev, Ukraine, WBR Ltd., www.wbr.co.uk/autoukraine.
March 9-12, 2008: International Hardware Fair, Cologne, Germany, Koelnmesse, (773) 326-9925, d.stern@koelnmessenafta.com.
March 31-April 4, 2008: wire 2008 and Metav 2008, Düsseldorf, Germany, Messe Düsseldorf, (312) 781-5180, www.messe-dusseldorf.de. April 3-5, 2008: Mec-Spe 2008, Parma, Italy, Senaf, e-mail info@senaf.it, www.senaf.it.
September 23-26, 2008: wire China, Shanghai, China, Messe Düsseldorf China, (312) 781-5180, www.messe-dusseldorf.de.
November 20-22, 2008: Wire & Cable India 2008, Mumbai, India, Cheryl Fernandes, Business Fairs, Confederation of Indian Industry, 91-22-24931790, ext. 470, www.ciionline.org.
North America
Titan Spring & Wire Products Inc. has moved from North Hollywood, CA to 11679 North Warren St., Hayden, ID 83835; telephone (818) 255-1120, fax (818) 982-4251, e-mail sales@titanspring.com. The 16,000-square-foot facility is just north of Coeur d’ Alene. Titan Spring, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007, manufactures custom springs, stampings, wire forms and value-added assemblies for the aerospace, medical, telecommunications and electronics industries.
Tak Enterprises Inc., Bristol, CT, has announced its appointment as the exclusive North American distributor of Colombi in-line spring coiling and delivery systems. Based in Sweden, Tekno-Detaljer AB is the manufacturer of the Colombi product line.
The chairman of the Select Committee on International Trade (California), Assemblyman Van Tran toured the custom metal manufacturer Bazz Houston Co. in Garden Grove, CA, in conjunction with the California Metal Coalition.
Tran spoke to the employees about how important their business is to California. “Small manufacturing businesses such as the Bazz Houston Co. are the foundation of much of the economic strength of the state of California,” he said. “Bazz Houston knows first-hand that continuing educational programs certainly help to keep U.S. manufacturers competitive in the global marketplace.”
The tour of Bazz Houston was part of Tran’s efforts to collaborate with California’s business community in expanding import-export opportunities. Tran presented Javier Castro, Bazz Houston president/CEO, a certificate of recognition for the company’s 45 years of manufacturing in California.
Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals Inc., North Haven, CT, has opened a trading company/service center in Hong Kong. Ulbrich Asia Metals Ltd., located in Kwai Chung, is Ulbrich’s second Asian facility; the first was a representative office in Shanghai. The 3,281-square-foot facility in Hong Kong enhances Ulbrich’s ability to supply titanium, nickel and cobalt alloys, as well as stainless steels, to its Asian customer base. The facility has finishing capabilities and room for expansion. Family-owned Ulbrich Stainless Steels and Special Metals Inc. has five production facilities – four in the United States and one in Ireland; and seven service centers – two in Canada, three in the U.S., and one each in Mexico and Hong Kong.
The year 2007 marked the 40th anniversary of Vulcan Spring and Manufacturing Co. in Telford, PA. From its humble beginnings in the basement of an entrepreneur’s home to its prominent position in the industrial and point-of-purchase marketplaces, Vulcan Spring has grown by constantly inventing new technologies, and new uses for springs and retracting tethers.
In 1967, Vulcan’s first commercial application gave voice to the iconic “Talking G.I. Joe” action figure. In 1973, Vulcan Spring provided the precision necessary to create the surgical stapler that has become a standard medical device in operating rooms around the world. In 1981, the PullboxR retractable tether was an innovative solution for product positioning and theft deterrence. In 1990, Vulcan Spring invented the variable force spring for point-of-purchase displays. In 2003, the company supplied the springs that opened the solar panels on NASA’s exploration rover when it landed on Mars.
In Vulcan’s 40 years, it has manufactured over 6,000 individual products for more than 2,000 customers. It employs QC/QA and SPC programs that allow Vulcan to meet the strictest tolerances, documented within 99.9999% of specification.
The Interwire Group, Armonk, NY, has appointed Dan Sinclair as general manager of its Michigan distribution center in Kentwood, MI. He has 15 years of experience in the metal and wire business as a sales representative for Rolled Metal Products, Ulbrich Stainless Steel and Specialty Metals Inc., and Carpenter Technology. While at Ulbrich, he achieved the President’s Award for Overall Sales Performance in 1997 and 1998 and won the Divisional Sales Award for Ulbrich Shaped Wire in 1999. The 80,000-square-foot Kentwood facility services the wire markets in Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Canada.
At the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, chairman of the board Richard Rubenstein passed the reigns to outgoing president I. Bradley Hoffman. In addition to the change of leadership, the book, “Honoring the Past: Building the Future: The History of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford” was “unveiled” at the meeting. The book chronicles the agency’s activities during the past 60 years. Rubenstein conceived and commissioned its publication in memory of his parents, community leaders Florence and Charles Rubenstein.
The Barnes Group Inc., Bristol, CT, has renamed its Associated Spring business segment “Barnes Industrial.” The Barnes Industrial business segment consists of six strategic business units (SBUs): precision forming, retention rings, nitrogen gas products, precision valves, engineered springs and plastics. The Associated Spring brand remains within the engineered springs SBU. The name change is designed to more accurately identify the end markets and customers of the individual businesses within Barnes Industrial. Furthermore, the “Barnes Industrial” name is congruous with the names of Barnes Group Inc.’s other two business segments, “Barnes Aerospace” and “Barnes Distribution.” Barnes Group, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2007, has over 6,600 employees at more than 65 locations worldwide.
Gibbs Wire & Steel has opened a new sales office in Mexico, staffed by Gibbs representative Carlos Navarro, phone ++52 (442) 341-8436, e-mail cnavarro@gibbswire.com.
Kerry Buck has been appointed to the sales department of Central Wire Industries, Erin, Ontario, Canada. She is responsible for internal and field sales for the company’s families of fine wire, spring wire, lashing wire, wire line, EPQ and cold heading wires. Her territory is the greater Toronto area. Previously she held a sales position at Roechling Engineered Plastics. She has a degree in business administration from Wilfrid Laurier University.
JN Machinery, Bensenville, IL, would like to clarify some confusion in the marketplace about the country of origin of its machinery and coatings products. “All JN ovens are made in the U.S.A. and have been produced in Chicago since 1990. Prior to 1990, they were made in Schaumburg, IL,” explains Daniel Pierre. “When JN moved its head office and R&D facility to Bensenville in 2003, some final assembly work and customization had been carried out in Bensenville. To the best of our knowledge, Chicago and Bensenville are still in the United States and thus, we proudly mark our ovens as ‘made in the U.S.A.’ JN welcomes any customer to visit either of our facilities in Chicago or Bensenville. Aqua-TRC is produced in Conyers, GA, and sometimes stored locally in Bensenville. Every container of Aqua-TRC is clearly marked with the place of manufacture, too.”
Frederick Pasiak has assumed the position of chief operating officer of Numamerica in Davenport, IA. He is responsible for all day-to-day operations, sales and personnel. Bill Shockey, pictured right, has assumed a newly created marketing/sales position. Wes Wassell, pictured bottom right, continues in his current position of sales manager.
Pasiak has more than eight years of experience within the Numalliance organization. He holds degrees in organizational management and quality control, and directed the company’s ISO certification process. He also served as interim plant manager of the Numalliance-Latour site in Bazeilles, France.
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has appointed Thomas M. Barlow president. Formerly of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Barlow is a fellow of ASME and was a member of the ASME board of governors from 2003-2006. He is currently a member of the external advisory board of the Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department of Washington State University.
Wire Rope Corp. of America (WRCA) has changed its name to WireCo World Group. CEO Ira Glazer states, “As our manufacturing flexibility, geographic scope and market reach have expanded over the past few years, we determined that our corporate name needed to better reflect the essence of our business. WireCo WorldGroup represents our heritage while highlighting our corporate strength, global availability.” Over the past four years, the company has evolved from a U.S.-based company into a global manufacturer of wire rope, electromechanical cable and engineered cable structures. It has expanded its manufacturing and distribution facilities from the U.S. into Mexico, Canada, China and Germany.
Bohne Spring Industries Ltd. in Toronto, Canada, has acquired all of the shares and assets of Hamond Industries Ltd. of Concord, Ontario, Canada. Hamond Industries specialized in slide forming. Both companies build on long traditions of family ownership and employee loyalty. Bohne Spring has welcomed all of the former Hamond employees into the company and will serve Hamond’s customers.
This acquisition increases and enhances Bohne Spring’s tooling and production facilities, allowing for future growth. Bohne Spring is an ISO/TS16949 registered company. In addition to slide forms, Bohne Spring manufactures compression, extension and torsion springs, prototypes and wire forms.
North American Events
March 8-11, 2008: SMI Annual Convention and 75th Anniversary Reunion Celebration, Palm Desert, CA, SMI, (630) 495-8588, www.smihq.org.
June 7-11, 2008: Wire Expo 2008, Pittsburgh, PA, WAI, (203) 453-2777, www.wirenet.org.
Oct. 15-17, 2008: Spring World 2008, Rosemont, IL, CASMI, (630) 369-3772, www.springworld.org.
It is with deep regret that Springs announces the passing of Mike “Murf” Murphy of Muskegon, MI in August 2007 from a massive heart attack. His spring industry career spanned more than 35 years, from springmaker to machine and process designer, builder and engineer. He spent the majority of his career at Michigan Spring Co., Automatic Spring Co., JM Systems, U.S. Baird and American Coil Spring Co. He had relocated to Texas with his family in July 2007 with the plan to finish out his career and eventually retire there. He is survived by his wife, Dawn; son, Christopher; daughter, Kelli Murphy; and grandchildren Kailey and Michael Murphy, Kaitlyn Alspach and Chelsie Rush.
