August 2009 Vol. 64 No. 8
Business
August Business News: American Augers, Godwin Pumps, Caterpillar and more
American Augers
Godwin Pumps
Caterpillar
Insituform Technologies
Plastic Pipe Institute
U.S. Composite Pipe South
InfrastruX Group
Inland Pipe Rehabilitation
John Deere
Midwest Mole
Vanair Manufacturing
Topcon
3M
AIU Holdings offers large infrastructure project insurance
American Augers
Charlie Cunningham has joined American Augers in the position of Sales Territory Manager for the Northeastern region of the United States.
Cunningham comes to American Augers from Astec Underground, which he joined in 2005. In addition to his responsibilities with the American Augers and American Directional Drill brands, Cunningham will continue to represent the Astec Underground manufactured line of Trencor products and the EarthPro Geothermal drilling equipment.
Cunningham’s sales territory will include: Connecticut, Illinois (South of I-80), Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and West Virginia
Cunningham began his sales career in 1993 where he held various sales, training, and field positions with the Tennessee Farmers CO-OP until 1999. He followed those positions with roles as a sales and marketing manager for Dale Carnegie Training and as a sales consultant for Mercedes Benz USA. 865.607.0455, ccunningham@astecunderground.com.
Godwin Pumps
Godwin Pumps, a worldwide manufacturer and supplier of the Dri-Prime automatic self-priming pump, has been recognized by The Philadelphia Business Journal and the Rowan University — Rohrer College of Business as one of the “25 Fastest Growing Private Companies in South Jersey.”
With a 31.14 percent increase in revenue from 2006 to 2008, Godwin Pumps ranked No. 23 and was the largest company on the list in both employee size and annual revenue.
“I am proud of our growth, not just in the past three years, but over the past 33 years,” said John Paz, Godwin Pumps president. “We built Godwin Pumps here in South Jersey from a group of about 10 core people for a period of several years to a worldwide company with nearly 700 employees and over 400 distributor locations worldwide. My goal is and remains to sustain our growth in the years to come — despite the economic outlook — through swift and smart decisions.” 856.467.3636, www.godwinpumps.com
Caterpillar
The downturn in the global economy could cut Caterpillar’s sales and revenue by more than 30 percent in 2009, but the company told stockholders at its annual shareholder’s meeting in Chicago that the goal of $100 billion in annual sales and revenue by 2020 is still possible.
James Owens, Caterpillar’s chairman and CEO, said that there is an “80 percent chance that in the next five years, we’ll be over $50 billion,” which would bring Caterpillar back to its reported $51.3 billion in sales and revenue in 2008.
As for reaching $100 billion by 2020, Owens told shareholders “the world cannot prosper without the stuff we make. We’re the Coca-Cola of the manufacturing world. We’re No. 1 or No. 2 on virtually every continent.”
The Caterpillar board of directors also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.42 per share of common stock, payable Aug. 20, 2009, to stockholders of record at the close of business July 20. 309.675.1000, www.cat.com
Insituform Technologies
Insituform Technologies has been awarded an additional $7.7 million sewer contract from the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) in Hartford, CT, for the rehabilitation of over 200,000 linear feet of 6- to 30-inch sewer lines using Insituform cured-in-place pipe (CIPP). This award is in addition to the $10.3 million contract MDC signed with Insituform last November.
Crews will install Insituform CIPP using the air inversion steam cure (AISC) method, which uses air to invert the CIPP tube and then steam to cure the resin. Using the AISC method can reduce the amount of water used during installation by nearly 95 percent. The project is expected to be completed by December 2010. 636.530.3329, www.insituform.com
Plastic Pipe Institute
The Plastic Pipe Institute has revised and updated the PE Handbook; the new 2nd edition is now available for download and purchase at www.plasticpipe.org.
The latest edition includes two new chapters on Pipe Bursting and Repairs along with multiple updates to almost every chapter, including Horizontal Directional Drilling, Material Properties, Design of PE Piping Systems, PE Pipe Joining Procedures, Marine Installations, and others. The new PE Handbook also includes design information on PE 4710.
Each book costs only $28 plus handling. Additional shipping charges will be billed separately to orders outside the U.S. The costs for other countries are: Canada $20, European Union $25 and all remaining countries is $50.
To purchase a copy, visit the PPI website at Second Edition Handbook of PE Pipe. 469.499.1044, www.plasticpipe.org
U.S. Composite Pipe South
ISO 9001:2008 certification has recently been earned by U.S. Composite Pipe South of Zachary, LA. The registration covers the manufacture of glass reinforced pipe and fittings and polymer concrete pipe.
“ISO 9001:2008 certification means the management system employed by U.S.
Composite Pipe South concentrates on customer satisfaction in every product we produce and in every service we provide to customers,” stated Garrett J. Doucet, Ph.D., U.S. Composite Pipe South Quality Assurance/Control manager. “The Quality Management System certification also means we are striving to continually improve the processes, facilities and knowledge of the employees so we can satisfy our customers’ needs.”
U.S. Composite Pipe South is the U.S. manufacturer of Flowtite fiberglass pipe products and Meyer polymer concrete pipe. The company is backed by proven, world-class technology for direct bury, slipline, penstock and microtunneling projects, and all products pass rigid quality control procedures to meet or exceed ASTM, AWWA and NSF requirements. 225.658.6166, www.uscpsouth.com
InfrastruX Group
InfrastruX Group Inc. has appointed Lanny H. Michael chief financial officer. Michael has over 25 years experience with a range of companies, including senior leadership roles at global technology leader Intermec Inc. and logistics and transportation enterprise Airborne Express. He also has served with portfolio companies for private equity groups across several industry sectors.
Michael will be based out of the company’s corporate headquarters in Seattle, WA. 206.494.4010, www.infrastrux.com
Inland Pipe Rehabilitation
Terry C. Bellora has been named executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of Inland Pipe Rehabilitation, a leading provider of underground rehabilitation solutions with offices throughout the U.S. In his new role, Bellora will be overseeing financial operations, including planning, reporting and risk management for the company and its 400 employees nationwide.
Prior to joining Inland, Bellora served three years at United Site Services Inc. (USSI), as CFO and later CEO. He brings over 20 years of experience in both private and public sectors.
Bellora received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in Accounting from Pittsburg State University. 713.634.0439, www.inlandpiperehab.com
John Deere
John Deere has posted the latest video on www.skidsteersmackdown.com, which depicts real-life contractors using competitor units to challenge a Deere compact track loader (CTL) in a “Power Lift” competition.
The Power Lift, part of Episode Two’s “Battle in Bowling Green,” was filmed live in front of 1,000 fans during The Ultimate Skid Steer Smackdown’s Season Two “Prove It Tour.”
Deere is taking these unique head-to-head battles on the road to visit job sites, tradeshow lots and dealerships throughout the country, testing the skills of on-the-job skid steer operators in various events inspired by the tasks and conditions real operators face.
For the Power Lift event, contractors had to use brands of CTLs from the same size class to lift a heavy concrete block above a bar positioned four feet in the air – without the tracks coming off the ground.
New episodes involving Deere skid steers and compact track loaders, and their competitors, will be posted on the site as the “Prove It Tour” rolls on. View all the action at www.skidsteersmackdown.com.
Midwest Mole
Midwest Mole Inc. is ranked as one of the “Best Places to Work in Indiana” in the small- to medium-sized companies.
Companies setting the standard with their workplace practices were honored May 5, at the Indiana Roof Ballroom as the Indiana Chamber unveiled rankings for the 70 companies from throughout the state that made the 2009 Best Places to Work in Indiana list.
The 2009 Best Places honors the top companies in the state, as determined through employer reports and comprehensive employee surveys. Winners were selected from two categories: small- to medium-sized companies of between 25 and 249 employees, and large-sized companies consisting of 250 or more employees. All companies that participated in the 2009 Best Places to Work program receive an in-depth evaluation identifying strengths and weaknesses according to their employees. In turn, this report can be used in developing or enhancing employee retention and recruitment programs. 800.274-MOLE, www.midwestmole.com
Vanair Manufacturing
Vanair Manufacturing is in plans to acquire Air N Arc Inc., which will relocate to Vanair’s new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Michigan City, IN, from their current facility in Hiawatha, KS.
To assure a seamless transition President Vince Eck, Sales Manager Dean Strathman, and Production Manager Donnie Stone will be joining Vanair as part of the acquisition. Along with these key personnel, Vanair will maintain the current Air N Arc product line and dealer network. This will ensure that customers, dealers and distributors will experience no disruption in the support and service of Air N Arc products.
Air N Arc Mfg. has a complete line of welder/generator/air compressor/DC booster combination packages that are specially tailored for the work truck industry. All of their All-In-One Power Systems are designed to mount into standard service bodies without body modification and allow the user easy access to controls and utilities. The systems include gasoline, diesel and hydraulically driven systems.
Vanair manufactures vehicle-mounted air compressors, generators and multi-drive systems. 800.526.8817, www.vanair.com
Topcon
Ray O’Connor, executive officer of Topcon Corporation and president and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS), announced the formation of a new business unit created to focus exclusively on the construction market.
Topcon’s survey instrument division also becomes a separate business unit. O’Connor said, “We are taking the two premier brands in the survey global marketplace – Topcon and Sokkia – and building an organization to maximize our opportunities in every segment of the survey business.”
Jamie Williamson, senior vice president and general manager, will head up the TPS Construction Business Unit. Murray Lodge will continue as vice president of construction sales in the new business unit. Mark Contino has been named vice president of product marketing for construction and Topcon’s other four business units. He will report to O’Connor. 925.245.8300, www.topconpositioning.com
3M
3M Co. has eliminated 1,000 jobs in its second quarter. Most of the losses were in Western Europe and Asia and doesn’t take into account the 700 U.S. employees who accepted early retirement packages this spring.
More cuts are planned, including the elimination of 100 information technology jobs at its Maplewood headquarters over the next 12 months.
3M has gone through several rounds of job cuts since the economy slid into a deep recession last fall. Its total number of layoffs now stands at 2,200 for the first half of the year and 2,400 in 2008. The company employs nearly 80,000 workers around the world.
With the recession taking a toll on customer demand, the manufacturer has taken a heavy battering, with first-quarter 2009 income falling more than 47 percent. 888.364.3577, www.solutions.3m.com
AIU Holdings offers large infrastructure project insurance
AIU Holdings is introducing ReBuild — a suite of products and services designed to provide comprehensive insurance protection for states and municipalities receiving American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds for use in large infrastructure projects.
ReBuild covers project owners and construction firms engaged in public and private infrastructure construction that can include roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, sewers, water systems, power facilities and other similar projects. ReBuild offers clients one point of entry and economies of scale to create customized insurance solutions for these projects. Coverage can include primary and excess casualty, workers’ compensation, builders’ risk, surety and environmental insurance.
In addition, ReBuild can provide clients with up to $25 million in professional liability coverage for architects and engineers and as much as $100 million capacity for builders risk for infrastructure coverage. The AIU Holdings companies will underwrite and issue policies for clients using ReBuild. The policies will be serviced by a dedicated claims team.
For more information about ReBuild, contact Thomas Boudreau at 212.458.1470 or tom.boudreau@aiuholdings.com, or visit www.aiuholdings.com.
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