PLANT May/June 2012

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Volume 71, No. 04 May/June 2012

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COVER IMA

Editorial

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Consider a national industrial strategy

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as Canadian manufacturing just about had it because there are too many factors working against it? The dollar is too high; labour costs are too high; companies based in low-wage, emerging economies are dominating a growing number of market segments; we are too tightly tied to the fortunes and misfortunes of the US; Canada has a lot of smaller companies so the sector lacks the productive and innovative heft of our southern neighbours; there are many branch plants susceptible to the whims of foreign head offices; and there aren’t enough incentives to invest in production here.

Bottom line, this is an expensive place to make stuff.

Yet manufacturers, when surveyed, are confident about their prospects and the economy. Indeed, a recent PwC first quarter poll shows 76% of the companies surveyed are optimistic about the country’s economic prospects over the next 12 months, a 19-point improvement over the previous quarter.

Manufacturing is vital to the economy. It accounts for 13% of Canada’s GDP. But companies have long had to contend with an uneven playing field and there’s a global tilt developing that will make it a difficult surface on which to deploy a team.

Take the automotive industry: Canada as a global power appears to be running out of gas. In 2005, we were eighth in global vehicle production. In 2011, we dropped to eleventh place. In 2007, we were the sixth largest parts exporter. Today we are eleventh, behind the Czech Republic.

Adding to the decay is a post-bankrupt GM that’s planning to close one of its Oshawa, Ont. plants. This could result in the loss of up to 2,000 jobs, many likely ending up in the US. With the value of the loonie close to parity with the US buck and the erosion of other competitive advantages, it’s going to take some convincing to get the GMs of the world to continue building vehicles here.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration is focusing on rebuilding American manufacturing with a plan that supports US jobs, discourages outsourcing and encourages insourcing. It involves various tax breaks, credits, incentives to bring production back to the US, expensing of investments in equipment and machinery, and closing tax loopholes that allow companies to shift profits overseas.

We need a competitive national strategy of our own that has governments, industry and labour working from the same operational manual, aiming to create a structure that ensures the growth of Canadian industry by improving productivity, firing up innovation, expanding markets, attracting investment and creating jobs.

The CAW is campaigning for a national strategy to address automotive issues, efforts are afoot to come up with an energy strategy, the forest industry is rebooting itself to develop a bio-industry to augment traditional markets, and although the Ontario and federal governments have addressed some specific needs, manufacturing could use some longer-term thinking about its place in the economy.

Let’s look at how we can get past the hewing of wood and drawing of water, sending resources elsewhere only to buy them back as finished products. How can we do more of the refining and processing here? What is our appetite for offering incentives like those offered to businesses by US jurisdictions? What are unions prepared to support as companies demand lower labour costs? How can we make financing less onerous and more available, especially to companies that are keen to innovate? What kind of help will companies need to improve their productivity?

There’s a lot of playing field to level. Let the strategizing begin.

Joe Terrett, Editor Comments? E-mail jterrett@plant.ca.

Publisher: Michael King 416-510-5107 mking@plant.ca, mking@cienmagazine.com

District Sales Managers: Amanda Bottomley 416-859-4527 abottomley@canadianmanufacturing.com Catherine Martineau (Quebec) 647-988-5559 cmartineau@bizinfogroup.ca Deborah St. Lawrence 416-510-6844 dstLawrence@canadianmanufacturing.com Derek Morrison 416-510-5224 dmorrison@canadianmanufacturing.com Ilana Fawcett 416-510-5202 ifawcett@canadianmanufacturing.com

Group Editorial Director: Lisa Wichmann 416-510-5101 lwichmann@canadianmanufacturing.com

Market Production: Barb Vowles 416-510-5103 vowlesb@bizinfogroup.ca

Editor: Joe Terrett 416-442-5600 ext. 3219 jterrett@plant.ca

Circulation Manager: Diane Rakoff 416-510-5216 drakoff@bizinfogroup.ca

Assistant Editor: Matt Powell 416-510-5145 mpowell@plant.ca

Editorial Advisory Board: Robert Hattin, Hattin Holdings • Ron Harper, Cogent Power • Greg MacDonald, Wentworth International Services • Roy Verstraete, Anchor Danly

Vol. 71, No. 04, May/June, 2012 Executive Publisher: Tim Dimopoulos 416-510-5100 tdimopoulos@bizinfogroup.ca

Contributing Editors: Ron Richardson, Steve Gahbauer Art Director: Kathy Smith 416-442-5600 ext. 3215 ksmith@plant.ca

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BIG MAGAZINES LP Vice-President of Canadian Publishing: Alex Papanou President of Business Information Group: Bruce Creighton

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COVER IMAGE: THINKSTOCK

Features

>> TRENDS

12 COMPENSATION Conditions are tough for manufacturers but wage gains show they are confident.

>> OPERATIONS

16 LUBRICATION Make the right lubricant and additive choices to ensure your air compression systems operate trouble-free.

17 INSIDE MAINTENANCE Industry needs to put more effort into attracting the interest of high school students.

TECH TIPS A thermal evaluation will tell you a lot about what’s going on inside your electric motors.

18 THINK LEAN Ten steps to a lean transformation.

>> INNOVATION

20 PRODUCTIVITY MTConnect rewrites the dictionary on shop-floor connectivity.

INVESTMENT PwC report says Canadian CEOs lag globally on R&D investment.

>> SUSTAINABILITY

21 RENEWABLE ENERGY Nexterra’s gasification system uses waste wood to power and heat UBC. CLEAN TECH Husky Energy’s $14 million carbon capture and storage investment; W2 Energy’s biofuel win in the EU. 22 GREEN MANUFACTURING How to bring together an energy saving team

>> MANAGEMENT

23 PLANNING When planning strategy, embrace what you fear the most.

M&A Canadian companies are hungry for acquisitions.

24 LEADERSHIP Use your mission statement to rally the troops.

25 SHAREHOLDER AGREEMENTS Set up your company’s operating manual to define how shareholders will make decisions.

>> TECHNOLOGY

27 MATERIALS HANDLING DeStuff-IT machinery lowers the potential for strain injuries when unloading containers.

28 PRODUCT FOCUS Test and measurement instrumentation.

32 PRODUCTS AND EQUIPMENT What’s new in industrial products, machinery and equipment.

36 PLANTWARE Hardware and software for managing plant operations.

Departments

4 Industry View 8 Labour Relations 10 PLANT Pulse

37 Events 38 Postscript

PLANT—established 1941, is published by BIG Magazines LP, a division of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd. Tel: 416-442-5600, Fax: 416-510-5140 80 Valleybrook Dr., Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 PRIVACY NOTICE: From time to time we make our subscription list available to select companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made available, please contact us via one of the following methods: Phone: 1-800-668-2374 Fax: 416-442-2191 E-mail: privacyofficer@businessinformationgroup.ca. Mail to: Privacy Officer, 80 Valleybrook Drive, North York, ON M3B 2S9 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES: To subscribe, renew your subscription or to change your address or information contact us at 1-800-387-0273.

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protected by copyright and must not be reprinted in whole or in part without permission of the publisher. Publications Mail Agreement #40069240. Performance claims for products listed in this issue are made by contributing manufacturers and agencies. No responsibility for the accuracy of these performance claims can be assumed on the part of PLANT or BIG Magazines LP. Contents copyright© 2012 BIG Magazines LP, may not be reprinted without permission.

PLANT receives unsolicited materials including letters to the editor, press releases, promotional items and images from time to time. PLANT, its affiliates and assignees may use, reproduce, publish, re-publish, distribute, store and archive such unsolicited submissions in whole or in part in any form or medium whatsoever, without compensation of any sort. This statement does not apply to materials/pitches submitted by freelance writers, photographers or illustrators in accordance with known industry practices.

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Departments

>> Industry View

>> Bulletins The Coopérative de solidarité Valoribois will get $150,000 of non-repayable funding from Ottawa’s Quebec forest economy program to help with the purchase of manufacturing equipment for the re-launch the Petit-Saguenay sawmill, closed two years ago. The project, driven by local stakeholders, is expected to lead to 10 mill jobs and 30 forest jobs in the region.

Bri-Chem Corp., an Edmontonbased manufacturer of oil and gas drilling fluids and steel pipe, has obtained American Petroleum Institute (API) certification for its large diameter steel pipe plant. The company will operate two production lines on 24-hour shifts four days per week.

PFB Corp., a manufacturer of insulating building products based in Calgary, will acquire NOVA Chemicals Corp.’s performance styrenics business, including the expandable polystyrene (EPS) and ARCEL resin products. NOVA Chemicals will take an equity stake in PFB and hold two seats on its board.

Toronto-based Integran Technologies Inc. is extending by five years the term of Enduro Industries LLC’s exclusive US license for its nanocrystalline cobalt electroplating process (Nanovate CoP). Enduro, based in Hannibal, Mo., manufactures hard chrome steel bars and tubes for the fluid power industry. Integran is a developer of advanced metallurgical nano-technologies.

Crestline, an ambulance manufacturer based in Saskatoon, has opened a new 80,400 square-foot facility that combines the company’s four locations in the city’s Hudson Bay industrial area. Crestline said the new operation will double its production capacity and deliver operational efficiencies.

Newalta Corp. is providing $1.125 million to the University of Western Ontario in London to support R&D efforts into cleaner ways to handle industrial waste. The clean tech company with offices across Canada says the money will be provided over a five-year period to develop green technologies.

Russel Metals Inc. is acquiring Alberta Industrial Metals Ltd., a metals distributor in Red Deer, Alta., for $30 million. The Toronto-based distributor of steel and pipe said its Red Deer operations will be integrated with Alberta Industrial.

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GM shutting Oshawa Impala plant Restructuring will affect 2,000 workers

By MATT POWELL, ASSISTANT EDITOR OSHAWA, Ont.: General Motors is shuttering one of its Oshawa, Ont. assembly plants and cutting as many as 2,000 jobs as part of its post-bankruptcy restructuring.

The older section of the Oshawa car assembly compound, which produces the Chevrolet Impala sedan and Equinox crossover, will close by June 2013.

GM says the closure is part of its plan to scale back operations in Canada after Production of the Chevrolet Impala could end up in Detroit.

PHOTO: GM recovering from bankruptcy protection two Ken Lewenza, president of the Canada Auto Workers union years ago.

(CAW), says the plant closure betrays the employees and the work Impala production could be moved to GM’s Detroit-Hamtramk they put into keeping the company afloat. facility in Michigan, or stay in Oshawa, moving to the facility’s flex“The decision to close this very productive line and put 2,000 line, which already produces the Chevrolet Camaro sportscar and more workers out of a job is ill thought-out and could damage the Buick Regal. That assembly line employs 2,000 people. company in the long run,” he says in a release.

But Steve Rodgers, president of the Automotive Parts ManufacturRodgers says it’s not just the 2,000 GM jobs Canada should be ers’ Association of Canada (APMA), says it’s unlikely Impala proworried about, but the impact on the Oshawa plant’s parts suppliduction will stay in Ontario because of the province’s less competiers. They could decide to move stateside, where US governments tive business environment. have boosted efforts to create more attractive business environ“This is a statement about where they’re going to build the Impala ments amid president Obama’s manufacturing push. and how they’re going to do it without falling back into bankruptcy, “There is no doubt it has an impact on the Canadian economy and and unfortunately, they can’t do that by producing the vehicle in on our suppliers far beyond the 2,000 jobs in Oshawa,” he says. “If two plants because tooling is too expensive and the volumes they’re the Impala is done in Hamtramk, it would create greater incentive producing aren’t enough to make it a viable move,” he says. “They’re for suppliers to be closer to the assembly facility itself which would going to pick the most competitive spot, and right now that spot mean relocating in the US.” isn’t Ontario.”

GM currently employs more than 10,000 people in Canada. That Rodgers blames Canada’s strong dollar, but also notes the United number, however, is half what it was before the 2008 global ecoAuto Workers (UAW) stepped up when GM went into bankruptcy nomic crisis that decimated jobs at the automaker’s Canadian faciliprotection to create more attractive business conditions in the US, a ties in Oshawa, Windsor and St. Catharines, Ont. move that Canada has yet to respond too.

NRB wins two global design awards

Auto21 gets $22M R&D boost

Pennsylvania elementary school gets interior, exterior renovation GRIMSBY, Ont.: NRB Inc. has earned two awards for excellence in marketing and building design at the MBI World of Modular Awards of Distinction in Orlando. It took first place for revamping an elementary school in Pennsylvania, and for the marketing piece “No Limits…Only Possibilities.”

The Modular Building Institute (MBI) recognizes the best projects in commercial modular building design and construction. This year’s contest attracted 147 entries.

NRB’s West Reading Elementary Center in West Reading, Pa., earned first place in the Permanent Modular, Education under 5,000 square-feet category.

Modular buildings are sectional, prefabricated buildings or houses built in a plant, which are then delivered to a development site.

Completed in less than eight months, the 4,795 square-foot school included the interior renovation of an existing 50

year-old facility and a two-story addition. To save time and keep the project on budget, the renovations and foundations were completed while the addition was constructed at the NRB plant in Grimsby, Ont. The addition was designed to match the existing school with the exterior finished in face brick and architectural aluminum panels to match the signage. Throughout the project,

energy and resource conservation methods were applied, including low-flow plumbing fixtures, energy saving ballasts, high efficiency HVAC, and related equipment.

The DVD “No Limits…Only Possibilities,” which aims to transform market perceptions that place boundaries around modular construction, won first place in the Marketing Piece, Multimedia category.

NRB earned award for revamping a 50-year-old elementary school.

WINDSOR, Ont.: AUTO21 has received a $22 million cash injection to boost automotive R&D into passenger safety and electric vehicle technologies.

The funding will support 40 projects over two years at Canadian universities in partnership with more than 100 public and private sector companies.

The federal government contributed $10 million from its Networks of Centres of Excellence program and the remaining $12 million will come from the automotive sector.

Nearly 200 academic researchers will contribute to the 40 projects, which will also provide training opportunities to about 400 graduate students.

Topics include advanced material research, biofuels and clean diesel, children’s vehicle safety in Aboriginal communities, and improvements to manufacturing processes.

AUTO21, based in Windsor, Ont., supports automotive R&D projects.

PHOTO: NRB

May/June 2012

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Industry View << Departments

Wescast sells to Bohong for $195M

Southern Pacific plans $150M SAGD project expansion

Deal awaits debt financing from China Development Bank BRANTFORD, Ont.: A subsidiary of Chinese auto parts firm Sichuan Bohong Industry Co. Ltd. is acquiring Wescast Industries Inc. for $195 million.

Bohong had been negotiating to buy the financially troubled Brantford, Ont. manufacturer of cast iron exhaust manifolds last year but failed to put up a required $2 million deposit.

The company is being sold to Bohong’s Taixing International Investment Ltd. subsidiary and this time the deposit has been paid.

Wescast said in a release Bohong requires debt financing from the China Development Bank to complete the transaction, but if it fails to do so by Aug. 31, it can extend the deadline with another $2 million deposit.

“This is a positive development for Wescast,” said Ed Frackowiak, the company’s chairman and CEO. “Wescast and Bohong continued to pursue this transaction due to

Casting manifolds at Wescast’s Brantford, Ont. plant

the synergies between the two companies. On my most recent visit to Chengdu, China, and my meetings with Bohong representatives, it was apparent that this transaction is of strategic importance to Bohong. We continue to believe that this acquisition will accelerate some of the exciting new technology initiatives underway at Wescast.”

The Bohong Group, established in 1999, is involved in automotive sales, spare parts,

PHOTO: RODNEY DAW

service and manufacturing, plus other interests, with more than 40 wholly owned or holding subsidiaries. Its Sichuan Haosheng Automobile Parts Manufacturing Co. Ltd. facilities are the core of the company’s auto parts casting and machining production.

Wescast reported a $4.6 million loss for the year ended Jan. 1, $1.6 million of it expenses related to a strategic review.

Revenue increased to $277.3 million from $262.2 million.

BRP moving watercraft assembly to Mexico A new plant in Juarez will also add engine production VALCOURT, Que.: Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP) is shifting the assembly of Sea-Doo watercraft from its plant in Valcourt, Que. to a new plant in Mexico as part of a reorganization of its operations.

The private company, 35% owned by the Bombardier family, said starting in 2013, production in Mexico will be

$45M for GESI energy project VANCOUVER: Green Energy Solution Industries (GESI) Inc. is working with a company in the US to put together $45 million of funding for a renewable energy project in Alberta using wood waste.

GESI has a strategic agreement with InREFCo, a Magalia, Calif. developer of thermal waste gasification technology, to deliver a 200 ton-per-day turnkey facility for a large-scale electricity plant or renewable fuel plant.

Feedstock will include railway ties, bridge timbers, poles and lumber treated with creosote.

InREFCo’s virtually emission-free gasification process results in ash and salts that are recycled in the “zero waste” product stream.

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expanded with the transfer of existing engine capacity from its plant in Juarez, where it makes all-terrain and side-byside road vehicles, to the new plant where watercraft products will also be assembled.

BRP will also assign North American distribution of its parts, accessories and clothing to a logistics provider.

The company said the transfer of watercraft assembly will make it more competitive and free space on the main assembly line in Valcourt to increase production of its Can-Am

vehicles and roadsters.

About 500 employees will be affected by the moves over an 18-month to three-year period.

The company said they will be offered other positions or retirement packages.

BRP’s brands include: SkiDoo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and boats, Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines, Can-Am all-terrain and side-by-side vehicles and roadsters, as well as Rotax engines.

The company currently employs more than 6,000 people worldwide.

ProMetic, Hematech close $10M orphan drug deal LAVAL, Que.: ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. in Laval, Que. has signed a $10-million strategic manufacturing and licensing deal with a drug manufacturer in Taiwan to co-develop and commercialize a pharma product that targets a rare medical condition (orphan).

The global deal (excluding China) with Hematech Biotherapeutics Inc. (HBI) allows it to manufacture the plasma-derived biopharmaceuticals using ProMetic’s proprietary Plasma Protein Purification System (PPPS).

ProMetic said the $10 million from HBI will fund the orphan drug’s development program up to regulatory approval.

The drug will be manufactured by ProMetic at its Laval facility and in HBI’s planned facility in Taiwan.

Prometic’s PPPS system targets and removes high-value proteins from a single plasma sample, but it also provides for the recovery of new biotherapeutics as they are discovered and identified.

ProMetic Life Sciences’s proprietary Mimetic Ligand technology is used in the large-scale purification of biologics and the elimination of pathogens.

CALGARY: Southern Pacific Resource Corp. is expanding its steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) project in Alberta’s Athabasca oil sands region.

The 6,000 bbl/d expansion at the STP-McKay Thermal Project, 45 kilometres northwest of Fort McMurray, will increase bitumen capacity to 18,000 bbl/d.

The Calgary-based energy company says the $150-million Phase 1 project will significantly reduce capital costs and accelerate production growth.

The expansion takes advantage of excess capacity that was incorporated into the original

design and construction of Phase 1, which can treat an additional 50,400 bbl/d of water.

Southern Pacific says additional steam generation will be needed to convert an incremental 16,400 bbl/d (50,400 bbl/d total) of treated water to steam and an additional cogeneration turbine will supplement the demand for power.

The rest of the project will involve piping modifications and small equipment additions.

The company plans to incorporate approval for the expansion into its Phase 2 approval process.

>> Careers yokogawa Electric Corp. has appointed Ian Verhappen managing director of yokogawa Canada Inc., a supplier of industrial automation and control, test and measurement, and information systems technology based in Calgary. Most recently he worked as a global engineering consultant, but prior to that he was responsible for MTL Instruments’ global business strategy. The first 25 years of his career were Ian Verhappen spent in the Alberta energy sector.

Orbite Aluminae Inc. has added Michael Hanley and Jean-Sébastien David to its board. Hanley was a senior vice-president with the National Bank of Canada from 2009 to 2011 and held senior positions with Alcan Michael Hanley Jean-Sébastien David over a 10-year period up to its acquisition by Rio Tinto. David is a member of the Ordre des géologues du Québec and has more than 20 years of experience in geology, sustainable development and the environment. Orbite is converting an existing facility in Cap Chat, Que. into a high-purity alumina plant.

Empire Industries Ltd. has promoted Micheal Martin from director of finance to CFO of the global attractions manufacturer based in Winnipeg.

Former CFO Campbell McIntyre will focus full time on his role as president of the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Empire Iron Works.

Research In Motion has hired two veterans from the mobile computing industry for the key roles of chief operating officer and chief marketing officer. COO Kristian Tear comes to the Waterloo, Ont.-based manufacturer of the Blackberry from Sony Mobile Communications where he was executive vice-president. CMO Frank Boulben is the former executive vice-president of strategy, marketing and sales for LightSquared.

Torquay Oil Corp., a conventional oil drilling company based in Calgary, has added Alex Verge to its board of directors. Verge, a professional engineer, is the interim CEO of Sword Energy Inc., a private junior oil and gas company active in western Canada.

Harvest Gold Corp., a mineral exploration company based in Vancouver with mining interests in the US and Manitoba, has appointed Neil Richardson COO and added him the board. Richards has 24 years of experience in mineral exploration and the mining of base and precious metal deposits across Canada.

North American Nickel Inc. has appointed Gilbert Clark to its board. The European-based geologist is an investment advisor with The Sentient Group, an independent private equity investment firm specializing in the global resources industry. North American Nickel is a Vancouver-based mineral exploration company with properties in Maniitsoq, Greenland, Sudbury, Ont. and Thompson, Man.

PLANT 5

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Departments

>> Industry View

New Flyer, ADL to develop midi

Gildan active wear buys Anvil for $88M

Aiming for light transit, private shuttle markets

WINNIPEG: New Flyer Industries Inc. is teaming up with the UK’s largest bus maker to develop a medium duty transit vehicle for the North American market.

New Flyer, a Winnipeg-based manufacturer of heavy duty transit buses in Canada and the US, will collaborate in a longterm joint venture with Alexander Dennis Ltd. (ADL), based Falkirk, Scotland, to introduce a midi low-floor bus specifically developed and tested for a 10-year operational life.

“With the escalating costs of fuel and maintenance, there are many of our transit customers’ routes that do not require a full sized heavy-duty bus with a 12-year design life. Customers on both sides of the border have asked us to provide a bus that meets their needs for this application,” said Paul Soubry, New Flyer’s president and CEO. The company is also looking at fulfilling the need for midi vehicles from private shuttle operators and forecasts total demand

New Flyer has three manufacturing facilities in Winnipeg, St. Cloud and Crookston, Minn.

PHOTO: NEW FLYER

to be about 1,000 buses annually.

New Flyer will be responsible for sales, marketing, manufacturing and aftermarket support while Alexander Dennis will handle engineering, test and prototype development.

New Flyer said the buses will be fuelled by either clean diesel, electric hybrid or compressed natural gas.

It Works!!!

T

MONTREAL: Gildan Activewear Inc. is acquiring high-quality T-shirt maker Anvil Holdings Inc. for US$88 million and a bigger share of the US market.

Anvil, a supplier of high-value branded niche products within the US, reported sales of $200 million in the fiscal year that ended in January.

Gildan, a Montreal-based manufacturer and distributor of branded apparel, said the acquisition gives it an immediate higher market share in the US distributor channel.

The company intends to pursue additional sales growth in the printwear market leveraging the combined strengths of the two companies.

Gildan does its manufacturing in lowlabour cost countries. It has 30,000 employees worldwide at plants in Central America as well as the Caribbean Basin, and has begun development of a manufacturing hub in Bangladesh to support its planned growth in Asia and Europe.

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Bi-level passenger cars are in the design stage.

PHOTO: BOMBARDIER

Thunder Bay on the GO for Bombardier THUNDER BAY, Ont.: Bombardier has announced it will build 60 new GO Train passenger cars thanks to an investment by the Ontario government.

The Montreal-based transportation giant says the cars are currently in the design stage, but they’ll be delivered by 2015.

Contract value and job numbers were not released.

Bombardier’s Thunder Bay plant is the only one in Canada that produces the bi-level cab cars and passenger coaches that GO has used for its fleets since 1978.

Since 2003, the Ontario government has invested $6 billion into upgrading GO services.

COM DEV wins $1M subsystems contract CAMBRIDGE, Ont.: COM DEV International Ltd. has won a contract valued at more than $8 million to provide hardware for a commercial satellite providing communications coverage across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

The manufacturer of space hardware subsystems said the “authorization to proceed” from an unidentified customer covers engineering design and is valued at approximately US$1 million.

Full value of the contract, to be completed by the end of 2013, is $8 million.

COM DEV will provide Coax and waveguide switches, Ku & Ka band IMUX and OMUX assemblies, input filters and coupler assemblies made at its Cambridge, Ont. plant.

May/June 2012

12-06-08 10:05 AM

SKEC_CIE

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minimal. If the machinery starts functioning again, the likelihood of repeated failure is great

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since the environment is still hot (and threatens permanent damage to the circuit boards). Worse yet, that open panel door is an OSHA violation that presents a shock hazard to personnel.

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The mini NEMA 12, 4 and 4X Cabinet Coolers for small heat loads up to 550 Btu/hr. are ideal for control panels, relay boxes, laser housings, electronic scales.

High Temperature Cabinet Coolers for NEMA 12, 4 and 4X applications are available for heat loads in many capacities up to 5,600 Btu/hr.

NHP Cabinet Coolers keep a slight positive pressure on the enclosure to keep dirt from entering through small holes or conduits. For use in non-hazardous locations.

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want to risk another heat failure. Fans weren’t an option since they would just blow around a lot of hot air. Freon-type air conditioners like those on some of our other machines were a constant maintenance project of their own. We purchased EXAIR’s Model 4330 NEMA 12 Cabinet Cooler Jeff Hauck, Lasercraft Inc. Cincinnati OH

System since it was easy to install and requires no maintenance.” www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 111

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12-06-08 10:05 AM 4/11/12 3:43 PM

Departments

>> Labour Relations

Why we need an automotive strategy

By Ken Lewenza

C

anada’s automotive industry has experienced tremendous turmoil over the past few years, yet it has survived and employs 112,000 Canadians while supporting an additional 375,000 spin-off and indirect jobs. Output and exports have bounced back and Canada’s share of total North American production actually grew.

But there are formidable challenges to be faced from international competition and a soaring loonie that makes Canadian workers appear to be 25% more expensive than

we need to win investments and keep the industry firmly “rooted in Canada, on the cutting edge of technology… ” they actually are.

This is a critical juncture for the industry for several reasons. From the corporate perspective, key plant investment decisions will be made during the coming years. We need to win those investments and keep the industry firmly rooted in Canada and on the cutting edge of technology and productivity.

Government policy was essential to the defence of the sector through the eco-

nomic meltdown and the evidence shows it was a good investment for taxpayers.

Will the federal and provincial governments continue to be active players?

We don’t know how committed the federal government is to an active industrial policy for the auto industry or other important high-tech sectors, while the Ontario government grapples with a big deficit.

A look around the world shows that employment and exports in jurisdictions

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with active automotive strategies have remained vibrant despite global economic uncertainty, changing technology and environmental constraints. Germany, Korea, Japan, Brazil and China are building and expanding their industries. None of them are cutting labour costs; indeed, labour costs in several of these countries are higher than they are in Canada.

This country is one of the only auto-producing jurisdictions in the world without a clear national auto strategy – an important structural weakness that will hurt our efforts to secure future investments.

Even the US, which preaches free market capitalism, is using every possible policy trick to support automotive and other high-tech industries, including investment subsidies, technology support, trade interventions and domestic content rules.

How ironic that the cutting-edge efforts of the innovative Canadian firm Magna International to develop and produce electric vehicle technology are directed mostly to US facilities (such as a new $40-million facility that just opened in Grand Blanc, Mich.). Why? Because the US Department of Energy offered enormous investments for clean car technology, but only if the work is done in America.

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www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 112

1/24/12 10:40 AM

The Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union has released a major policy document link to www.rethinktheeconomy. ca. We surveyed best practices from the policies of 16 auto-producing jurisdictions around the world and we propose a ten-point strategy to ensure Canada retains a vibrant, productive, profitable industry for decades to come.

Policy recommendations include: • Governments purchase vehicles from automakers that have made manufacturing commitments to Canada.

• Bringing the loonie back down to a fair-value level.

• Intervention from the Bank of Canada or the government to prevent foreign takeovers of resource assets.

Market-worshiping commentators have criticized our approach as interventionist, nostalgic, or (gasp) “protectionist.”

In fact, every one of the proposals has already been enacted successfully in at least one auto-producing jurisdiction.

Governments must embrace the idea of active, sector-focused policy making for this industry.

The default stance for those who reject industrial policy is to continue putting all our eggs in the resource extraction and exporting basket. That’s a dangerous and unsustainable position; Canada needs and deserves better.

Ken Lewenza is the president of the Canadian Auto Workers Union, which represents 225,000 workers across the country in 17 different sectors of the economy. E-mail cawcomm@caw.ca.

www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 155

8 PLANT

08-09-PLNT.indd 8

Comments? E-mail jterrett@plant.ca.

May/June 2012

12-06-08 9:27 AM

MECHANICAL DRIVES DECENtRALIzED DRIVE SyStEMS

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Its high-quality networking helps reduce startup time and supports monitoring and maintenance tasks. When combined with a functional user software, drive tasks can be solved as quickly and easily as possible.

In many industries and applications, implementing economical automation concepts means utilizing decentralized systems throughout. Long rows of control cabinets with complex wiring, expansive space requirements and long distances between control cabinet and motors are too rigid and not very economical. Only the combination of flexible, versatile, economic and target-oriented modules will provide an efficient solution. This is the reason why system operators opting for decentralized drive systems from SEW-Eurodrive are always ahead of the game.

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MoVItRAC® Ltx Simple, fast and diverse: as part of the Smart Servo Package, SEW-Eurodrive offers the new Movitrac® LTX servo inverter for universal use. It stands out with advantages such as ease of operation, short startup times as well as optimized costs. Available in two sizes and covers a power range from 750W to 505 kW. The Movitrac® LTX is particularly suitable for use in applications such as secondary packaging, handling, and logistics.

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www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 113

08-09-PLNT.indd 9

12-06-08 9:27 AM

Departments

>> Economy TRANSPORTATION DRIVES UP CPI 12-month % change 4.0 3.5 3.0 CPI excluding energy

2.5

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0

Plant input, output hits eight-month high: RBC PMI Manufacturing is resilient, despite global conditions

Noting the importance of manufacturing to Canada’s economic growth, Wright said RBC expects Canada’s GDP to grow by 2.6% in 2012.

The RBC Canadian Manufacturing PMI Report, conducted in association with Markit, a global financial information services company and the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC), is based on responses from purchasing executives from more than 400 industrial companies.

Consumer price index (CPI) A

J

J

2009

2010

J A 2012

2011

Consumer prices rose 2% in the 12 months leading up to April, primarily because of increases in transportation costs. Energy prices rose just 1.1% in April following a 5.1% rise in March, slowed by smaller gains for gasoline and electricity, plus a 13.9% decline for natural gas.

MORE JOBS IN APRIL

thousands 17,600 17,400 17,200 17,000 16,800

US, EU TOP TRADE CHOICES

T

he US is still the most popular market for Canadian business owners looking to expand internationally by a wide margin, with the EU ranked second, according to a new report from BMO Bank of Montreal.

The Leger Marketing survey results, which compare 500 small business owners’ views from a year ago, appear to reflect a strengthening US economy, with 68% looking to expand in the US, up 12% from 2011.

“Canadian businesses appear to be positioning themselves to take advantage of an expected pick up in the global economy in the later part of this year,” said Benjamin Reitzes, senior economist, BMO Capital Markets. “While the domestic market is important, geographical diversification can be an engine for growth as well.”

Similar to last year, about 32% of the respondents are interested in growing their business in Europe, despite continuing economic challenges, most notably in Greece.

Other markets include India (15%), Central and South America (15%), China (12%) and Mexico (6%).

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16,600

J

J 2009

J 2010

2011

J A 2012

Employment increased by 58,000 mostly full-time jobs in April, up from 1.2% a year earlier or 214,000 jobs. Manufacturing added 24,000 jobs, continuing an upward trend that started in December. The unemployment rate increased 0.1% to 7.3%.

PRODUCTION PAY-OFF $ billions 56 54 Current dollars 52 2002 constant dollars 50 48 46 44 42 40 38 36 34 32 30 M J J 2009 2010

seasonally adjusted

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

B

usiness is picking up for manufacturers. Compared to the past eight months, May showed the greatest improvement in inputs and outputs, say a panel of senior purchasing managers and RBC Economics.

The monthly RBC Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (RBC PMI) shows an improvement of 1.4 from April to 54.7, the strongest result since September’s 54.3.

“The Canadian manufacturing sector has proven to be quite resilient over the past several months against a backdrop of market uncertainty and softening conditions in many other parts of the world,” said Craig Wright, RBC’s senior vice-president and chief economist.

Hiring was up for the fourth consecutive month, with almost 27% of companies adding staff since April.

Manufacturers attributed the improvement in business conditions to greater client demand. Thirty-seven per cent of the purchasing executives reported an increase in work for the month. Panellists reported new export orders also rose, particularly from the US and Asia.

Inputs were up because of increased production. Panellists said they held some of their purchases as stock, with input inventories rising solidly and at the strongest rate in the 20-month series history. Supplier delivery times lengthened further in May, but to a lesser extent than in April.

Companies reported that higher raw material prices and unfavourable exchange rates both contributed to greater cost burdens. The rate of input price inflation remained marked, despite having eased since April. They passed some of the cost increases to customers by raising their selling prices. However, output charges rose only modestly, and at a rate weaker than the series average.

-1.0

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

ECONOMIC DE VELOPMENTS AND TRENDS

-0.5

2011

J M 2012

Manufacturing sales increased 1.9% in March to $49.7 billion, the largest advance since September. Sales rose in 13 of 21 industries, led by petroleum and coal products at 4.5%. Sales of durable goods increased 1.4%, while non-durable goods rose 2.4%.

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Chained (200) dollars Current dollars

34 32

M

J 2009

J 2010

2011

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

46

J M 2012

Wholesale sales rose 0.4% in March to $48.7 billion thanks to increases in three of the seven subsectors. Motor vehicles and parts rose 2.4% to $8 billion. Food, beverages and tobacco grew 1.3%, while equipment and supplies fell 1.4%.

May/June 2012

www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 114 04/10/2007 01:02:59 PM

12-06-08 10:08 AM

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

Finally, your plant can perform at its full potential

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

Introducing PlantStruxure architecture, the collaborative process automation solution that improves efficiency with plant-wide visibility Is your plant operating at its full potential? If you don’t have a collaborative architecture for monitoring and control, that question may be difficult to answer.

And yet, quick and precise information is exactly what you need to achieve optimised business performance.

Produce efficiently with PlantStruxure architecture PlantStruxure™ architecture provides you with a global view of the entire facility, closing the gap between the field and enterprise and delivering real-time information to the users who need it.

Ensuring a safe, sustainable working environment With PlantStruxure architecture, you can finally meet your automation needs and reduce project costs, general operating expenses, and energy usage, without lowering standards or compromising safety.

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

So, if you’re looking for a way to lower expenses and enhance your efficiency, look no further. PlantStruxure architecture is the foundation you need to yield a holistically optimised plant.

PlantStruxure architecture is a collaborative solution that allows industrial and infrastructure companies to meet their automation needs and at the same time deliver on growing energy management requirements. No matter your industry, we have a solution to suit your needs, including:

Software

Vijeo™ Citect and Vijeo Historian deliver critical production-related information to those who need it, while dedicated configuration software such as Unity™ Pro reduces engineering and maintenance time.

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From Modicon™ controllers to RTUs, drives, and motor starters, our hardware is flexible, reliable, and highly efficient.

Networks and communication

Based on Ethernet and with support for standard device and process buses, the networks help to ensure the high availability and transparency of valuable plant data.

Make the most of your energy

SM

Learn more about PlantStruxure architecture!

Download our FREE ‘Getting the Most from your Mine’ White Paper today and be entered to win an Apple iPod! Visit www.SEreply.com Key Code n602v ©2012 Schneider Electric. All Rights Reserved. Schneider Electric, PlantStruxure, Vijeo, Unity, Modicon, and Make the most of your energy are trademarks owned by Schneider Electric Industries SAS or its affiliated companies. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. Schneider Electric, 5985 McLaughlin Rd, Mississauga, On, Canada, L5R 1B8 - Tel 905-366-7474 • 998-3663_C_CA

www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 115

10-PLT.indd 11

12-06-08 10:08 AM

Trends

>> Compensation

MANUFAC PAYS O WHAT ARE YOU WORTH? The 2012 EMC-PLANT salary survey shows management compensation gaining as business conditions improve.

BY JOE TERRETT, EDITOR

12 PLANT

12-15.3-PLNT.indd 12

May/June 2012

12-06-08 12:43 PM

ACTURING S OFF M

anufacturers are facing formidable competitive obstacles

JOB TITLES AND HOURS WORKED

as they strive to grow their businesses. The loonie is over-

1,275 respondents 2012

2011

2010

Hours Worked

% responses

Owner/partner

$162,302

$153,297

$140,613

49

5.1%

CEO/President

$181,609

$176,595

$161,213

51

6.3%

is already at a competitive disadvantage to developing, low-wage

Director

$125,704

$118,009

$112,562

50

6.4%

economies, and more locally, to lower-wage, union-averse states in

Vice-President

$158,718

$148,508

$139,942

52

6.8%

Plant Manager

$102,660

$99,417

$96,430

49

15.2%

Administrative Management

$70,428

$67,853

$65,145

44

7.2%

Engineer

$90,592

$87,779

$83,930

46

6.7%

Maintenance Manager

$89,052

$86,388

$83,435

48

5.4%

Materials Manager

$78,936

$76,843

$76,543

48

2.4%

Purchasing/Supply Manager

$73,368

$69,759

$67,075

45

5.6%

Quality Assurance Manager

$71,717

$67,901

$66,622

44

3.5%

Safety Manager

$71,116

$68,967

$66,920

46

2.5%

Technician/Technologist

$70,457

$69,429

$68,101

43

3.5%

Other

$88,632

$84,768

$81,982

47

23.6%

Total

$103,604

$99,251

$94,687

47.3

100.0%

valued, partly as a result of high commodity prices, and

the US. Indeed, it’s been a rough couple of years yet management-level pay in the sector dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rose 4.4% in 2012 after an more impressive 4.8% increase in 2011, according to the results of the second national salary benchmark survey conducted by the Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC) and PLANT magazine, a Glacier Media Business Information Group publication.

The survey gathered 2,003 responses from executives and managers who shared personal information about salaries and bonuses, and how their businesses are faring.

Surprisingly, despite all the obstacles and the economic uncertainty plaguing global markets, those who occupy ownership or management-level positions are upbeat.

Most (60%) report no change in employment status since the last survey (fall 2010) while 22% note that although they hold the same job and salary, they’ve taken on more responsibility because of reduced staff. Most put work-life balance ahead of all other desired work conditions and 83% are satisfied with it (although they’re working hard, averaging 47.3 hours on the job). But they’re also very happy with their jobs overall (89%), job security (88%), vacation time (84%), benefits (78%) and compensation (77%).

Company revenues increased for 60% of them or stayed the same for 24% last year.

“These are very positive results that go back three years when senior executives were cautiously optimistic, then optimistic and now beyond that,” says Al Diggins, president and general manager of EMC, a not-for-profit consortium of Canadian manufacturers. “I’m delighted to see it. My sense is talking to [companies] that they’re getting busier and busier so this trend should continue.”

Most of the respondents (72%) have a management roles in their companies, while 18% identified themselves as having an ownership stake as partners or minority owners.

Their businesses cover a range of interests from fabricated metals to sophisticated electronics with 16% identifying their organizations as large (more than 500 employees) and the rest falling under the SME category, 71% of them at least partially unionized.

Salary levels are affected by a variety of factors, including company revenue, years of experience, education, and the kind of industries served and whether or not you are a man or a woman (only 17.3% are female). This year’s sample reveals a 46.5% salary gap between them.

The average salary for all manufacturing titles is $103,605, a 4.4% increase over 2011 when the inflation rate was 2.9% (as of April inflation was holding steady at 2%). Statistics Canada pegs the average weekly wage for manufacturing at $962, or $50,024 for the year.

Continued on page 14

www.plant.ca

12-15.3-PLNT.indd 13

SALARY BY EXPERIENCE 1,275 respondents

$116,139

$116,694

10 - 19 years 20 - 29 years 286% 311% % replies

30+ years 224%

120,000 100,000 average salary

it’s cutting into exports. That’s driving up the cost of labour, which

80,000

$93,129 $79,352

$77,799

60,000 40,000 20,000 0 0 - 5 years 64%

6 - 9 years 6%

No Answer 55%

SALARY BY COMPANY REVENUE 1,275 respondents Revenue

2012

2011

2010

% replies

0->$1M

$81,524

$80,105

$76,910.00

1.7%

$1M->$5M

$155,104

$138,896

$118,447

3.4%

$5M->$10M

$84,037

$80,969

$77,535

5.9%

$10M-$30M

$85,295

$82,483

$78,878

15.4%

$30M->$50M

$93,542

$89,835

$84,871

9.8%

$50M->$100M

$101,819

$93,900

$90,307

14%

$100M+

$115,378

$112,060

$107,540

39.8%

No Answer

10%

PLANT 13

12-06-08 12:43 PM

Trends

>> Compensation

Owners, partners earn biggest percentage increases Continued from page 15

Predictably, the big money is going to owners, senior executives and plant managers who tallied more than $100,000 a year. CEOs and presidents are at the top of the salary hierarchy averaging $181,609, followed by owners/partners ($162,302), vice-presidents ($158,718), directors ($125,704) and plant managers ($102,660).

Owners and partners saw the biggest percentage increases in 2011 (8.7%) and 2012 (5.9%), ahead of the overall averages (4.8% and 4.3%), which are nonetheless, higher than the 1.1% Statistics Canada reports unionized labour has earned as of April, year-to-date.

Engineers average $90,592, maintenance managers $89,052, materials managers $78,936 while many of the other categories, including administrative management, purchasing/supply management, quality managers, and technician/technologists earn between $70,000 and $73,400.

About 25% reported at least some of their compensation comes from overtime pay, which averages 5%.

Forty-one per cent have a university degree, 42% have a college or trade/technical school diploma and 14%

1,264 respondents % salary

% replies

$82,851.41

0%

41.2%

$71,642.86

0.1% - 0.9%

0.5%

$71,623.75

1% - 2.9%

6.2%

$85,799.16

3% - 5.9%

10.7%

$99,768.01

6% - 10.9%

11%

$122,576.77

11% - 19.9%

7.9%

$175,738.55

20%+

13.7%

No Answer

1st

2nd

3rd

Analysis

7%

9%

12%

Financial (budgeting, accounting)

7%

6%

7%

Negotiation skills

4%

7%

7%

People skills (interpersonal relationships, management)

38%

20%

14%

Planning (forecasting, demand)

7%

9%

9%

Project management

8%

10%

12%

Sales skills

4%

6%

5%

Technical skills (software, programming)

4%

5%

6%

Industry specific technical skills

12%

11%

11%

Productivity/continuous improvement

9%

15%

17%

Encouraging loyalty Of course, not all manufacturers will be able to offer the kind of wage incentives needed to attract and retain the best and the brightest, says Scott McNeil-Smith, EMC’s director of marketing and development. “This can lead to a lot of jumping around as people follow the money.”

What kind of compensation package will encourage loyalty and employment longevity? This is where he says HR departments come into play, offering non-traditional perks and benefits.

About a third (32%) of the respondents reported a portion of their pay made up of bonuses and incentives,

8.7%

Total

1,455 respondents

have a high school education or less. University grads score the highest wage rate at $121,389, 26% ahead of the next-best paid trade/technical school grads at $96,439.

BONUSES AND INCENTIVES Average salary

TOP THREE SKILLS NEEDED

$103,604.64

100%

with those showing the highest percentage (20% or more) averaging $175,739. Just shy of half (49%) report perks or extras, such as profit sharing (47%), a vehicle of some kind (32%), club memberships for (9%), access to private health care (9%) and stock options (8%).

Almost 58% of the companies pay for educational courses (71%), memberships in professional associations (52%) and professional certification programs (43%).

Looking ahead five years, investing in the business is still manufacturers’ highest priority. Fifty-nine per cent are putting money into new production equipment and processes, 29% are expanding their plants and expanding into new geographic markets, 52% are hiring and 36% are adding lines of business, or acquiring companies and lines of business (24%).

“The growth is there, and some people are having trouble keeping up,” says Diggins. “I think people really woke up during the recession, felt the pain and decided they had to do something about it. It wasn’t just about cutting back on people, they had improve what they were doing.”

Asked about what skills they needed most to do their jobs, 38% of senior executives and managers cited people skills, followed by industry specific technical (12%) and productivity/continuous improvement (9%).

And what additional training do they need? Most cited financial (29%), productivity/continuous improvement (28%) and people skills (24%) and software/programming (24%).

The survey results serve as a reminder that manufacturing is not just short of skilled labour; the workforce is aging, which will exacerbate the problem.

By 2015, 48% of the workforce will be 45 to 65 and by 2020, 17.9% of the population will be 65 or older and the Conference Board of Canada forecasts the country will be short one million workers by 2020.

The survey results show the average age of the typical manager as 48, 65% of them between 46 and 65, which

LEVEL OF EDUCATION 1,275 respondents

WHAT COMPANIES PAY FOR 1,432 respondents

Average Salary

% replies

CEGEP

$80,474

2.8%

Educational courses

College diploma

$91,362

26.3%

Professional certification programs

High school or less

$89,964

14%

Trade/technical diploma

$96,439

14%

University degree

$121,389

39.4%

No Answer

71% 43%

Membership in professional associations

52%

None of these

19% 0

3.6%

10

20

30

Investing in new production equipment/processes Hiring new employees

59% 52% 36% 29%

Analysis

Expanding plant size

29%

People skills

25% 24% 8%

14 PLANT

12-15.3-PLNT.indd 14

24%

Project management

23%

Industry specific technical skills

23% 20% 19% 14% 2%

Other

2% 0

26% 14%

Sales skills

3%

Closing of company

29% 28%

Planning

5%

Downsizing plant size

0 10

80

Negotiation skills

9%

Downsizing lines of business

70

Financial Productivity/ continuous improvement Technical skills

Enter new geographic markets Enter new lines of business Acquiring other companies or lines of business Downsizing employees Merging with another company

60

MORE TRAINING NEEDED 1,411 respondents

CHANGES IN NEXT 5 YEARS 1,766 respondents

Adding lines of business

40 50 per cent

20

30 per cent

40

50

60

5

10

15

20

25

30

per cent

May/June 2012

12-06-08 12:44 PM

GENDER GAP 1,275 respondents

INDUSTRY SERVED BASED ON PRODUCTS 1,275 respondents Organization Type

Salary 2012

% replies

Natural resources

$102,469

6%

Construction

$107,202

3.8%

Manufacturing

$105,174

69.7%

Mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction

$108,181

3.1%

Professional, scientific, technical services*

$104,294

1.3%

Utilities*

$102,100

0.8%

Wholesale trade

$91,014

1.9%

Transportation, warehousing

$89,467

1.9%

Retail trade*

$88,364

0.9%

120,000

$110,104

100,000

average salary

80,000

$75,174

60,000 40,000 20,000

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 1,430 respondents

0 Female 17.3%

* Small sample, review with caution

Male 78.7%

No Answer 4%

>5,000 3%

1,000 - 4,999 6%

to fill vacant positions, which will be more prevalent as higher wage earning people approach retirement,” says McNeil-Smith. “The assumption is you would fill positions with younger, likely less experienced people for less money; but if recruitment is competitive, that may not be the case.”

The impending shortage of management people will be mitigated somewhat by those who stay in the workforce longer. Never mind the Harper government’s efforts to delay the payout of Old Age Security pensions to 67. Many manufacturers saw their portfolios devastated in the aftermath of 9-11, and then they took another hit during the double-dip recession so there are some who can’t afford to retire.

Yet despite all the competitive and structural challenges manufacturers must endure, Diggins sees smoother sailing ahead and the key to keeping the best people will be more than competitive wages, although they’re very important.

Indeed, the survey results bear this out: savvy employers will be paying more attention to making their best people happy by offering comprehensive benefit packages and the right work-life balance.

“We’re not at the point where we need to buy people,” he says. “We’ve just have to provide them with a better place to work.”

suggests plenty of opportunity for promotion to management levels, if there are enough people to fill the positions.

The typical respondent’s age is just shy of 48 with 22 years of experience in the sector.

Most respondents (67%) are in the 36-55 age category, 41% of those are 46 to 55; and 24% are 56 to 65-plus. As noted in the 2010 survey results, a significant number of experienced people will be leaving the sector over the next decade.

Recruiting and compensation How will this impact compensation? In a couple of ways. Manufacturers will typically look to their cost of labour for savings.

“We know that manufacturers when recruiting, will look at lower wages for workers, but on the management side, because of the skill required to perform management functions, wage rates will remain competitive,” says McNeil-Smith.

The skills shortage will also affect compensation. It’s second (38%) behind cost control (55%) on the list of issues that will be of concern over the next year just ahead of upgrading technology (27%).

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers is forecasting a shortfall from retirements in the energy industry alone of 200,000 skilled people by 2018.

“Manufacturers will have to recruit more aggressively

500 - 999 7% <50 33% 250 - 499 12%

50 - 249 39%

WHERE YOU’RE FROM 1,428 respondents Yukon/ Northwest Territories/ Nunavut 1%

Atlantic 7% Quebec 12%

West 23%

Comments? E-mail jterrett@plant.ca.

Ontario 56%

MOST SIGNIFICANT SHORT-TERM ISSUES 1,728 respondents Cost control

55%

Skills shortage

38%

Capacity utilization

AGE OF RESPONDENTS 1,449 respondents

28%

Technology upgrade

27%

Forecasting

>65 < 25 3% 1%

23%

Reorganization

22%

Supplier relationship management

21%

Resource/asset management

26-35 8%

56-65 21%

21%

Risk management

15% 14%

Global market expansion IT issues

13%

Overseas sourcing

12%

Financing for capital acquisitions

12%

Financing for working capital Environment/ corporate social responsibility Transportation Outsourcing

36-45 26%

12% 11% 11% 10%

46-55 41%

4%

Other 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

per cent

www.plant.ca

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PLANT 15

12-06-08 12:44 PM

Operations

>> Lubrication Prolong compressor service life with synthetic hydrocarbons, silicons or polyglycol oils.

PHOTO: JENNY PRODUCTS

Additives – chemically active or inert – impart or reinforce a desirable property of the lubricant. Since they affect how well the oil performs, it’s also important to choose them carefully.

In a recent presentation to the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) in Hamilton, Don Johnston, regional manager for Lubrizol Canada, explained the functions of the nine most common oil additives – detergents, dispersants, anti-wear agents, extreme pressure agents, foam inhibitors, friction modifiers, oxidation inhibitors, corrosion inhibitors and viscosity modifiers.

Detergents clean internal engine parts, neutralize combustion acids while inhibiting corrosion and oxidation. They contain metals that produce ash and they’re based on various substrates. Certain types of detergents react with water or acidic contaminants to cause the oil to thicken and ultimately gel.

Air compression

Make the riGht LuBriCant ChOiCeS

Plants use a lot of air. Select the right lubricants and additives to ensure compressors operate efficiently.

By Steve GahBauer

T

he precision machines that produce compressed air for air tools or gas for refrigerants all require delicate care and proper maintenance to ensure optimum performance, and lubrication is key.

It serves three distinct purposes: lubricating, sealing and cooling. Compressor lubricants are exposed to high temperatures, compression of reactive gases, dilution, condensation and abrasive contaminants. Fluids must be of the proper composition and contain the correct type and amount of specially selected additives to ensure long life and smooth operation.

Using synthetic hydrocarbons, silicones or polyglycol oils prolong compressor service life. Their advantages include high oxidation resistance, high natural viscosity index, low pour point, increased film strength, lower volatility and lower carbon-forming tendencies.

Good compressor lubricants depend on the selection of appropriate lubricant base stock and additives, correct application and diligent monitoring, said Inga Kuksis, Petro-Canada Lubricants Inc.’s product and fluids specialist who discussed air compressor fluids at a Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) section meeting in Toronto.

Service life is influenced by composition, operating temperatures, film thickness, viscosity, volatility and shear ability. Mineral oils that meet these requirements are base oils such as polyalphaolefins (PAO), polyalkylene glycol (PAG) industrial gas compression esters, polyol esters, and silicone diesters. Phosphate esters are often added for fire resistance. Bear in mind oxidation stability demands on lubricants increases as plant operations expand because of hotter discharge temperatures and higher cooling requirements, and that high ambient air temperatures reduce the cooling ability of oil.

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Corrosion control and water separation are also important, and oil compatibility is definitely an issue. Many compressor fluids are compatible, said Roy Hoppe, a technical advisor for fuels and lubrication at Shell Canada Products. For instance, mineral oils are compatible with PAO and diester synthetic fluids, but the addition of mineral oil has an adverse effect on the performance of synthetic fluids. Mineral oils and PAO synthetic fluids are not compatible with PAG and silicone-based fluids. Be sure to do a thorough cleaning and before changing oil or adding new lubricant.

There are various laboratory tests to ensure that compressor oils are compatible and meet high standards.

These tests check pour point, shear stability, anti-wear, volatility, flash point and corrosion resistance. Hot room tests and field trials are also available. It’s a good idea to request a list of test results before buying compressor oils.

LubricATiON fuNdAmeNTALs Machine lubricants are available as oils, greases or solids, either natural (petroleum- and vegetable-based) or synthetic. each has specific advantages: petroleum fluids are low cost, vegetable-based lubes are environment-friendly and synthetics are useful for a very wide temperature range. the life of a lubricant is affected by temperature, speed and the general operating environment, such as vacuum, dust and moisture, says Peter Drechsler, a senior tribological specialist with the timken Co. in Canton, Ohio, holder of two uS patents, and publisher of several technical papers on lubrication technology.

Lubricant depletion is caused by evaporation and oxidation. to forestall it, he recommends using a more stable fluid, a more stable thickener or synthetics, and relubing frequently. the most critical consideration when choosing a lubricant is the viscosity of the base oil. every lubricant has unique properties and must be compatible with the application as well as other lubes. Suppliers can help with charts that facilitate proper selection.

Keeping parts clean Dispersants stabilize colloidal dispersions, preventing them from agglomerating and coming out of oil as dirt.

They also help to keep parts clean at lower temperatures, and they protect against contaminant particle growth. But dispersants interact with other additives and affect the viscometrics of the oil, making it difficult to meet certain low temperature criteria.

Anti-wear and extreme pressure agent additives are effective under mixed film and boundary lubrication conditions. They produce an easily sheared boundary film on the metal surface to prevent seizures under conditions of high temperature, heavy loading or extended periods of operation. But because they typically contain phosphorous, sulphur, chlorine and/or boron, they can corrode soft metals such as copper or lead.

Anti-oxidants contain inhibitors and often enhance performance by impeding synergism. Rust and corrosion inhibitors prevent or mitigate ferrous, yellow metal and lead corrosion, as well as decomposing metal conditions in engines and equipment components such as bearings and seals.

Foam inhibitors are compounds of poor oil solubility.

They break foam bubbles by adsorbing on the surface of the bubbles and changing surface tension.

Friction modifiers combat heat and high power consumption, but friction will never be completely eliminated. Modifiers reduce friction and wear and align in regular pattern to reinforce fluid film. They adsorb on the metal surface rather than chemically reacting with the surface as extreme pressure agents do. Their strong anti-compressive behaviour helps to separate contacting surfaces. They also remove heat from metal-to-metal contact regions.

Viscosity modifiers provide thickening at high temperatures and minimum thickening at low temperatures, which allows the formulation of multigrade oils.

Choosing the right compressor fluid is a complex business. Smooth operation of your plant’s air compressors requires making the right decisions about lubes and additives.

Steve Gahbauer is an engineer and Toronto-based freelance writer who is the former engineering editor of PLANT and a regular contributing editor. E-mail gahbauer@rogers.com. Sources for this article include the Toronto and Hamilton Sections of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE), American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and Eco Fluid Center Ltd. Comments? E-mail jterrett@plant.ca.

May/June 2012

12-06-08 11:18 AM

inside Maintenance <<

Addressing the SKiLLS SHOrTAGE inDuStry neeDS tO enGaGe hiGh SChOOL StuDentS

By Steve GahBauer, COntriButinG eDitOr

I

t seems maintenance managers are always looking for a good mechanic or a technician they can trust, and wondering about the state of apprenticeship training. Industry is chronically short of skilled personnel, and the shortage will grow more acute when baby boomers leave the workforce. By some estimates, Canada could face a shortfall of up to one million skilled trades people within 10 years. So where will the next generation of the skilled come from?

Not necessarily from the ranks of up and coming students. A Maclean’s article (Why our teenagers can’t use a hammer) written by Cynthia Reynolds notes 40% to 75% of apprentices drop out of their programs, leaving industry short of recruits to replace the aging workforce.

Yes, registrations for apprenticeship training programs are at an all-time high – about 120,000 are learning a trade today, almost 60,000 more than in 2002-2003, according to a 2011 Ontario government progress report. Problem is, teens are hard to train because they are the least handy, most mechanically deficient generation of young people – ever, says Reynolds. Hand skills are underdeveloped thanks to push-button toys and touch pads that don’t exercise the whole hand leaving us with an entire generation of teenagers who can’t use a screwdriver correctly.

Shop classes are all but a memory in most schools because of liability fears and budget cuts, and although they endure in vocational schools, the skills decline is painfully evident.

This is not helping Canada’s lagging global competitiveness. In a recent report, Ernst & Young rates skilled labour as the second of 10 top risks for oil sands companies. The advisory firm warns we are not capitalizing on available and potential talent, and we’re short-changing our prosperity as a result.

Exacerbating the skilled labour dilemma is a looming shortage of engineers with five years or more experience, says a report conducted for Engineers Canada. It

suggests some engineering schools are failing to train Canadian engineers because they welcome and encourage foreign students and, in some cases, offer financial inducements to non-Canadians. And it’s no secret we lose a lot of engineers to the US. Practice and training are critical to the maintenance of equipment, machinery and plant operations. Being proactive about training is key to maximizing efficiency and productivity. And training must include the passing on of knowledge from older, experienced maintenance pros to the next generation. With some 40% of the workforce set to retire in the next few years, plants must ensure this knowledge is not lost.

Only one reel increases workplace safety and efficiency.

Trade schools Alleviating the shortages requires more active engagement of high school students as they look into career options.

Some trade schools in Quebec are getting students’ attention with an exhibit in the back of a truck trailer that travels from school to school. Groups of students try out different simulation workstations where they complete simulated tasks. They’re scored for accuracy and the time taken to compete the tasks, and they’re asked to score themselves on their level of interest in the activity. Results are passed on to guidance counsellors who direct students with the right aptitude to careers in industrial trades.

But this is not a mission that can be left to school boards. Industry, trade and technical associations must join them to actively engage young people and provide opportunities for apprenticeship, training and knowledge sharing.

Students need to be made aware of the challenges and opportunities offered by manufacturing and maintenance where knowing how to handle a screwdriver properly is as important as handling sophisticated instrumentation.

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Comments? E-mail jterrett@plant.ca.

>> tech tips

total temperature is the insulation class temperature minus 10 degrees C. For service factors of 1.15 or better, the allowable total temperature is the insulation class temperature. For example, if a motor has a Class F insulanfrared is used to thermally evaluate equipment, but tion system, a 1.0 service it requires direct contact of objects and line of sight to factor has a temperature work. Many electric motors have ribs between the frame and stator core that act as air-thermal insulators. that Looking for thermal issues. PHOTO:THINKSTOCK limit of 145 degrees C and a 1.15 service factor has a means that the surface temperature of the motor may be temperature limit of 155 degrees C. radically different from the actual winding temperature. On the the temperature limits are not reflected on the surface/skin of other hand, inner and outer bearing races are in direct contact the electric motor because of air gaps and the design. various with the bearing housing and shaft, providing more accurate designs will generate different levels of heat loss and dissipatemperatures for evaluation and trending. tion. instead, the temperature limits must be related directly to temperature limits are based on the insulation class of the the winding temperature. this requires a direct line of sight to motor and bearing grease limits for the associated compothe windings or core. nents. For instance: So, what can infrared tell us about electric motors? class A = 105 degrees C, based on the original oil and paper • Significant temperature increases identify systems that or tar and paper insulation systems. have already failed. class b = 130 degrees C, commonly found in older standard • For bearings, the shaft and housing temperatures. efficient electric motors.

• Cooling issues are pinpointed. class f = 155 degrees C, commonly found in energy and • Severe faults are revealed. premium efficient electric motors.

• it determines where thermal issues originate. class H = 180 degrees C, often relates to insulation systems for high temperature applications or motor repair.

Source: Motor Diagnostics and Motor Health News, from SUCclass N = 200 degrees C, high temperature applications.

CESS by DESIGN, with permission.

For motors that have service factors of 1.0, the allowable

Thermal evaluation

What infrared scans can tell you about electric motors

I

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12-06-08 11:43 AM

Operations

>> Think Lean

Making the lean

TRANSFORMATION 10 TIPS TO LEAD THE WAY to build the necessary momentum, and from there your journey will last forever. Yes, tools such as kaizens provide very quick and significant improvements, but without taking the time to implement a program that yields sustainable benefits, process improvements gained by applying lean tools will slowly deteriorate and soon you will be back to where you started. The most profitable returns are realized through a two- to five-year plan.

It’s not a part-time job. Don’t expect someone to lead the charge in his/her spare time. You need to assign a dedicated leader or team to take on this challenge. It requires daily attention from leaders who fully understand the scope of the project and who won’t get caught up in today’s distractions. These leaders also require continued support from management throughout the implementation.

You need leaders, not managers. Managing is maintaining current reality. Leadership is moving people towards the ideal state. And you can’t lead people to where they already are. Lean transformation is about leadership, but it’s not a position or rank. Look for people at every level of the enterprise capable of leading. If lean is about transforming how people think, you must be able to teach.

Tools are good, but there’s more to it. Tools focus on physical system changes, but that’s not where the heart of lean beats. Lean thinking must become part of every person in your organization. Sustainable lean change – the kind that builds PH OT O:

K IN TH

OC ST

K

Experience is not what you’ve been through; it’s what you take from it. Every success and failure should yield as much learning as you can wring from it.

BY RICHARD KUNST

M

anufacturers are bombarded with information about lean, yet there is very little practical information on how to implement a transformation and lead the change. Every company’s journey starts under different circumstances, so there is no one recipe or “right way,” but there are many factors to consider before starting the trip.

Based on the successful and not so successful experiences of others, here are 10 lessons that will lead you to a sustainable lean transformation: Rome wasn’t built in a day. Lean is not a one- or two-quarter commitment. It takes one to two years

1.

2.

3.

4.

Delivering Quality Products for your HVAC Needs

momentum – comes from the hearts and minds of all employees.

The journey never ends. There is a tendency for companies to declare, “We’ve done it. We’ve achieved lean.” The truth is, lean is a never-ending process because there will always be a gap between where you are and your ideal state. Even when success has been achieved, don’t stop. Consider Toyota – no matter how much better it is than the competition, the automaker continues to find more opportunities to improve each year.

Be prepared for resistance. When change is proposed, people often feel threatened. Some will think it’s something they did, but most will just be uncomfortable with the unknown. Also, many people think lean means cutting staff, when it’s really about working smarter to preserve heads and even grow the workforce as the market grows. As your company embarks on this journey, you must help people understand why, what and how. Remove the fears – or make NOT moving forward the more fearful choice.

Invest in people and time. People will need to learn new skills. This means experimenting with every process everyday to get it right. There is also a financial investment, mostly in training, but also in process changes. However, the evidence is clear that the payback for this period is in months, not years. You can use focused-improvement tools such as kaizens to get immediate gains and pay for your investment. The potential difference between lean and non-lean companies is not 5% to 10%, it’s 100% to 1,000% differences in quality, cost, delivery and, of course, profit.

More than the shop floor. Taiichi Ohno, one of the fathers of the Toyota Production System, said decades ago it’s not just a production system. If you reduce your lead time in manufacturing by 90% and get product out in hours but order entry takes four weeks, you aren’t really moving forward. You must attack every corner of the business from accounting and human resources to manufacturing.

There’s no recipe, but there is a roadmap.

A recipe tells you exactly how to do something – the amounts, sequence and timing. There is no such recipe for lean success since every company starts with a different set of ingredients. However, there is a roadmap. Guide posts along the way help you determine where you are and how to get there.

Don’t just copy the answers. Many people have tried to succeed at lean by copying the solutions that Toyota or others have found, either through benchmarking or out of a book – like a kid copying someone else’s test only to find out they were taking a different exam. Your company will likely have some unique problems and constraints; you must engrain lean thinking in your organization and find your own answers.

Never stop collecting lessons as you travel the path to lean. It’s a long journey that will require reflection upon each and every one of them.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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Richard Kunst is president and CEO of Kunst Solutions Corp., which publishes the “Lean Thoughts” e-newsletter. E-mail rkunst@kunstartofsolutions. com.

Comments? E-mail jterrett@plant.ca.

May/June 2012

12-06-08 10:10 AM

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12-06-08 10:10 AM

Innovation

>> Productivity

A new industry standard retrieves “unretrievable” data that helps plants improve output and productivity.

A universial protocol should bring down the cost of data software.

PHOTO: MEMEX

By MAtt Powell, AssistAnt editor

C

anadian manufacturers are getting an earful from analysts, economists and government talking heads about needing to be more productive, but there’s a new movement afoot that has developed an industry standard data stream tool to help them do a better job of managing their equipment, and boost productivity by ensuring it’s running on all cylinders.

Dave McPhail, president of Memex Automation Inc., makes money connecting shop floor equipment and machinery to the internet. When he’s not busy with the production of hardware and software products coming out of his Burlington, Ont. plant, McPhail is an active member of the MTConnect movement, which has re-written the dictionary on shop-floor data streaming.

Developed in 2008 by the Association for Manufacturing Technology, the University of California and Georgia Institute for Technology, MTConnect is a manufacturing industry standard that facilitates the retrieval of process information from numerically controlled tools.

Based on XML and HTTP, it’s designed to foster interoperability between control devices and software applications by publishing data through networks using ethernet and internet connections.

A software adapter takes data from proprietary devices, converts it to intermediary formats and sends it to an HTTP server-agent that converts it to the right units at the same time.

MTConnect identifies five players in the shop-floor connectivity system: • Device. A machine tool.

• Adapter. Optional piece of software (or hardware) that links the data source and proprietary data definition in the device to the MTConnect Data definition.

Data game-changer rewriting tHe diCtionAry on sHoP-floor ConneCtivity • Agent. Software that collects, arranges and stores data from the device or adapter.

• Network. The physical connection between the data source (device) and the consumer (application).

• Application. The requestor and consumer of MTConnect data.

The standard’s biggest selling point is the end of repeating data retrieval from individual applications, an action that increases installation times and cost, as well as the long-term costs of maintaining each application.

Since 1992 McPhail has worked on solutions that allow manufacturers to connect the shop floor with the top floor,

but he was hesitant to hop on the MTConnect bandwagon when he first heard about it in 2008.

“We definitely took a hands-off approach between 2008 and 2010. We’d seen several standard groups come and go and we didn’t want to invest a lot of time if it fell through the cracks.”

McPhail opted to wait until 2010 when he saw the technology in action at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago. The MTConnect team convinced him to let them connect a 24-year-old controller to the standard’s software.

“Within two hours of their guys working with our guys, we were streaming

>> investment

Our CEOs lag globally on R&D plans: PwC More focus on long-term change and cost reduction

C

anadian Ceos are missing the boat when it comes to research and development (r&d) and innovation, from new products and services to finding cost reductions in existing practices, according to a global survey by PwC. only 63% of them expect to make changes to their companies’ r&d and innovation capacity over the next 12 months, compared to 72% of their global counterparts. “there appears to be a general perception that because of our focus and reliance on the natural resources sector, Canada has lagged behind other countries in terms of its investment and support to r&d. we are often seen as a ‘fast follower’ to other countries because that has traditionally been ‘okay’ in our market,” says tracey riley, PwC’s national consulting and deals leader. r&d and innovation are more of a driving force for future changes in BriC countries. eighty-two per cent of their Ceos anticipate changes in capacity in the next year. riley suggests proximity may have something to do with Canada’s

level of investment.

“Canada is more distant from most of the emerging markets and lowcost markets that often contribute to, or are the target markets for, innovation,” he said, noting other reasons as business culture, geography and the political environment.

He says Canada is seen as more conservative in business, more isolated and contained geographically, nor has it undergone the same turmoil and volatility felt in other countries that are under pressure to develop. the scale and aggression of competitors is also ostensibly less intense in Canada.

According to the survey Canadian leaders are focusing on sustainable, long-term change and cost reduction. “two-thirds of them expect to change their business strategy over the next 12 months, driven by factors such as customer demand, the economy, competition and talent,” says riley. link to www.pwc.com/ca/ceosurvey for a copy of the report.

data from our booth to theirs,” he says.

“That proved the process was pretty simple.”

So simple in fact, Memex recently released its line of MTConnect adapters, universal connectors that tap digital signals from almost all shop-floor machinery. Customers connect the adapter to the MTConnect agent (software) by sending signals through an I/O ribbon cable and a 50-pin Honda connector that embeds and maps selected signals to the MTConnect dictionary. Two versions of the adapter – the Ax650-MTC and Ax750MTC – are available, the latter developed to work with Fanuc robotics through link bus cable.

How to use the standard Both adapters accept up to 96 digital inputs, 3-30 VDC in six groups from legacy controls. All inputs are optically isolated and an on-board IDC connector allows in-line connections to ribbon cables.

Multiple adapters daisy-chain together to allow 96 monitored outputs per machine.

“We’ve spent eight months and more than $100,000 developing the adapter to fill that market space as MTConnect continues to catch on,” he says.

McPhail has also co-chaired the MTConnect Connectivity white paper, a guide for manufacturers that outlines uses for the standard and to determine whether or not it would would work with their operations. (Download a copy at http:// mtconnectonline.com/getting-started/ whitepapers/manufacturers.apsx.)

The white paper took a year to complete, which categorizes different types of machines and how they connect to the standard.

“The purpose was to develop a data dictionary that conceptualizes data across the shop floor,” he says.

The white paper also outlines potential applications. For example, a shop owner with an equipment and shop floor control system can use MTConnect to determine the time it takes to make a part from start to finish, or check operating speeds. It also sends alerts or alarms if the standard recognizes inefficiencies along the supply chain.

McPhail calls it “a game-changer.”

The standard eliminates the proprietary nature of communication, replacing it with a universal protocol. The price of data capture implementation should come down because the engineering is already done.

“You should be able to buy an MTConnect compliant application for less money than a homegrown solution,” he says.

“There’s a huge industry demand for this because there has yet to be a way to get data out of machines using the internet through an industry standard data language. Now there’s a dictionary that tells shop owners what everything means.” …And a standard that brings shopfloor connectivity into the 21st century.

Comments? E-mail mpowell@plant.ca.

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May/June 2012

12-06-08 9:00 AM

Renewable Energy << Sustainability

>> Clean Tech

$14.5M ENERGY CCS PROJECT OTTAWA: Husky Energy has received a $14.5 million investment from the federal government for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at an ethanol plant in Lloydminster, Sask.

The project, which is to create 15 jobs, involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO2), purifying, dehydrating and compressing the gas, then transporting it to nearby Lashburn and Tangleflags heavy oil reservoirs. The CO2 will then be injected into the reservoir to extract the oil.

This project, intended to develop new knowledge and methods for oil recovery while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, is designed to capture up to 100,000 tonnes of CO2 per year from the plant. It produces about 130 million litres of ethanol per year from more than 350,000 tonnes of non-food quality grain and corn.

The federal government is providing the project funding through the ecoENERGY Technology Initiative. So far $151 million has been distributed through the program.

An overview of UBC’s bioenergy demonstration plant.

W2 ENERGY POWERS $4M DEAL GUELPH, Ont.: W2 Energy Inc. and its joint venture partner WH2 of Luxembourg have signed a $4-million agreement to manufacture, sell and distribute W2 Energy’s products in the EU. W2, a renewable energy developer with a 30,000 square-foot plant in Guelph, Ont., said an initial purchase order for $300,000 is Phase I of a program from WH2 that calls for five combustion-powered rotary engines that will convert several palm oil power plants in Germany.

Future purchase orders will include the development of a 10-ton per day demo power plant that will convert bio-fuels into electricity using W2 Energy’s NT Plasmatron and rotary combustion engine.

It converts any hydrocarbon feedstock into syngas, which is a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Feedstocks include municipal solid waste, coal, natural gas, tires, sewage, animal waste and agricultural waste.

PHOTOS: NEXTERRA

UBC gets BIOGASIFIED

NEXTERRA HEDGES ITS BETS ON FLEDGLING SYNGAS One of a kind system turns waste wood into renewable fuel.

BY MATT POWELL, ASSISTANT EDITOR

R

enewable biomass may be the least familiar renewable energy source, but at least one company is confident gasification of bio-scrap is set to take-off, despite its relative newness.

Nexterra, a Vancouver-based developer of biomass gasification energy systems, is set to open a $27 million combined heat and power co-generation plant at the University of British Columbia (UBC). The university will use one of

Nexterra’s bio-gasification and synthetic gas (syngas) conditioning systems to power a General Electric (GE) Jenbacher engine, which generates up to two megawatts of electricity and heat using locally sourced “wood residuals.”

The project is being funded with more than $20 million in federal and provincial incentives from the likes of Natural Resources Canada, the BC Bioenergy Network, the Innovative Clean Energy Fund and Sustainable Development Technology Canada.

Another $350,000 comes from FPInnovations, which is partnering with paper-producer Domtar on a $36 million demonstration plant in Quebec to produce a biomass-strengthening agent called nanocrystaline cellulose.

Nexterra’s system is a North American first and the company expects it to reduce the university’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 4,500 tonnes a year – the equivalent of taking 1,100 cars off the road. It will also reduce the university’s reliance on natural gas by 12%.

“One of the major benefits, compared to conventional biomass applications, is Continued on page 22

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PLANT 21

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Sustainability

>> Renewable Energy

Producing syngas Continued from page 21

the higher efficiencies it achieves,” says Darcy Quinn, Nexterra’s director of business development. “It uses much less water because it’s not steam-based, which is becoming increasingly important in a number of jurisdictions.”

The closed-loop gas filterization process at UBC uses wood for fuel, and was developed over four years of intense R&D at Nexterra’s home base in Vancouver.

“The heat is actually recaptured and recirculated back into the process,” explains Quinn.

But the syngas must first make a bit of a journey.

To achieve desired capacities, the project needs 12,500 bone-dry tonnes a year of waste wood, tree bark, wood chips and construction debris.

The “wet” wood material goes into a dryer to achieve a moisture content of 25% for the proper melt. Residue is then sent to a storage facility until it’s needed and then conveyed to the gasifier for partial oxidization. Pyrolosis and gasification occur at between 815 to 982 degrees C (1,500 to 1,800 degrees F). The syngas is then sent through a conditioning system where thermal cracking removes tars as it breaks the gas molecules down into shorter chains, before they go through another set of filters. Next stop is the Jenbacher internal combustion

A reservoir tank.

engine that powers the generator and keeps the university’s lights on.

“Thermal-cracking is crucial to this project,” says Quinn. “Without it, tars within the gas molecules would essentially turn into glue and ruin the engine, which would shut things down pretty quickly.”

Handling the heat The system also includes a thermal application, which produces up to 9,600 lb. of steam per hour to power the school’s HVAC system. Syngas is fed into an oxidizer, where it combusts. The resulting flue gas is diverted through an electrostatic precipitator filtration system that cleans out almost all particulate matter.

The syngas then proceeds to a boiler that produces steam – enough to power 25% of the university’s heat.

The GE Jenbacher engine.

UBC is looking at a potentially massive payoff by having the facility on site because it gives the school the ability to micro-manage its power consumption, says Brent Sauder, director strategic partnerships.

“Up until now, we were like everyone else. If we needed more energy, we’d take it off the grid. But now we have a facility that creates heat and power, giving us the ability to subsidize excess energy use with this new bioenergy system.”

He says the school will also use its Bioenergy Demonstration Facility as a laboratory, which will eventually house other biogas projects. The university is even looking into developing a pipelinegrade natural gas and a UBC blend of biogas that it could commercialize for use in other operations.

Quinn says the partnership with UBC

compliments its goal of integrating technological development and sustainability within campus planning.

“This was an opportunity for both of our organizations to leverage the R&D side and the sustainability side while integrating those into overall campus operations,” he says. “We were able to prove that this wasn’t just a science project, but actually a viable, useful technology. That was a huge reason why this partnership happened.”

Despite Canada’s preoccupation with the development of oil sands resources in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Nexterra intends to bring biomass gasification to the forefront by continuing to develop fuel that can be delivered through pipelines as a greener alternative to fossil fuel.

E-mail mpowell@plant.ca.

>> Green Manufacturing

Energizing teamwork

How to bring people together to manage the process

By BREtt Wills

E

nergy is critical to the operation of any organization and with prices on the rise, optimizing its use is critical to protecting eroding margins, the bottom line and its impact on the environment.

Maximizing energy savings requires the collaborative efforts of many stakeholders. Here are four steps to deploying an effective management team: 1. Secure senior level support. Communicate the enhanced benefits that a team will realize versus an individual effort. include higher cost savings, enhanced energy security and greater buy-in across the organization.

2. Sign up team members. the number of members depends on the size of the organization. the priority should be on getting the right mix. Consider a representative from each operational area that significantly affects energy use, such as production, facilities, logistics and the front office. A member from finance can calculate and communicate financial savings, while a member from senior management will help secure required resources.

3. Create a charter. it guides decisions, keeps the team focused and eliminates confusion.

• Develop a vision that will focus and guide the team. Examples are “reducing energy consumption from a particular line” or a higher level vision such as “reducing energy consumption throughout the organization.”

• Define the objectives that will drive the team closer to achieving its vision. Brainstorm challenges and steps required to overcome them.

• Assign roles and responsibilities. Common roles include: a secretary to document and administer team meetings; a technical expert to provide engineering support; a treasurer to calculate and quantify costs, savings and ROi; and a leader to ensure the team stays focused and on track.

• Schedule meeting dates and locations. Pre-scheduling secures attendance at team meetings, especially if they are on a regular day at the same time and location.

4. Take action. For each objective, assign a champion and due date, review the status of each one at team meetings and develop solutions to any problems that arise. Communicate progress to senior leaders and celebrate successes.

Brett Wills is the director of the Green Enterprise Movement and a senior consultant with High Performance Solutions in Cambridge, Ont. E-mail bwills@hpsinc.ca.

Comments? E-mail jterrett@plant.ca.

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May/June 2012

12-06-08 9:06 AM

eMBRaCe

the wobble

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

planning << Management

wHen plAnning StrAtegy, get A grip on tHe riSkS Address them directly to benefit from unexpected opportunities and competitive advantages.

By glenn FrASer AnD iAn SMitH

W

hat keeps you awake at night: apprehension about the value of the Canadian dollar? Supply chain risks? Product safety? How about regulatory burden?

If you are worrying about your manufacturing business rather than counting sheep at night, you might want to bring these concerns to the strategic planning table.

Leaders in many business sectors are discovering that taking hold of worrisome risks and addressing them directly within the context of strategic planning introduces unexpected opportunities and a competitive advantage.

One manufacturer who conducted annual strategic planning sessions with senior management and the board found discussions tended to be repetitive and mundane, usually focused on familiar blue sky themes. “Where do we want to be in three years? What are our objectives?

What strategies must be in place to achieve them?”

This year, when the discussion turned to what made them toss and turn at night, the group became energized. The executives and directors quickly itemized more than 30 concerns they felt presented signifi cant risks to the business. These included the potential end of supply management, a product recall, the long-term sustainability of the company’s business model, a new competitor, and so on.

When the facilitator guided the group to prioritize and address ways to mitigate these risks, the team produced a strategic plan that revealed new global expansion opportunities framed within a practical plan of action.

Essentially, this management team discovered how to “embrace the wobble.” Just like learning to ride a bike, they found that struggling through uncertainty enabled them to fi nd a balance – and the confi dence to move forward toward a new adventure.

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Given the growing complexity of conducting business in the manufacturing and processing industries today, every management team should be integrating strategic risk identifi cation and mitigation into their planning processes. This is not intended to replace, but rather complement, other models and tools for developing strategy. Adding this component enables management to build or strengthen strategies in a way that is congruent with addressing relevant risks.

Reality check A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis is a common component of many planning sessions. Typically, participants tend to focus on the most exciting aspects: strengths and opportunities. Weaknesses and threats tend to be afterthoughts.

While it is important to dream about the upside, expectations should be rooted in reality. Management

must also anticipate and manage the downside. Effective risk management involves addressing four elements: 1. Identifying risks; 2. Assessing the likelihood of each risk; 3. Assessing the impact of each risk; and 4. Developing strategies to mitigate relevant risks.

Although risks are sometimes considered when assessing threats in a SWOT analysis, hazards and operations tend to be addressed rather than strategic risks.

Exploring the question, “what business worries keep you awake at night?” can help the team think strategically about risks – about concerns and constraints facing the organization and the industry. This approach often piques participants’ interest and gets them thinking in new ways.

It’s important to determine which items on the list of concerns are strategic – those that could prevent the company from achieving its strategic objectives or impact its overall value. Explore them and think about how they should be dealt with.

What if the Canadian dollar goes to 10 cents above the US dollar?

Consider scenarios about what that might mean: • How might your input costs change?

• What effect might that have on your exports?

• How would you manage a recall involving your most important products?

• If your customers dropped the products, which ones could replace the lost volume?

• What new products are in the pipeline?

Once you have a comprehensive list of risks, you need to evaluate each one, reducing and consolidating the list to the most important strategic risks facing the company. Looking at priority risks and their implications gets the team thinking about strategy differently, leading to new insights and opportunities. For example, a key customer wants the same product next year at fi ve cents per unit less. How can you reduce costs by fi ve cents?

By building the planning process on a foundation of strategic risks you can transform corporate problems into assets. Every day brings new challenges; hug the uncertainty. Think consciously about risks, manage them better than your competitors and you will have a powerful advantage.

Go ahead: embrace the wobble.

Glenn Fraser (glenn.fraser@mnp.ca) is a partner and leader of MNP’s GTA region Food & Ag processing team. Partner Ian Smith (ian.smith@mnp.ca) leads MNP’s GTA and Southern Ontario Consulting practice.

Comments? E-mail jterrett@plant.ca.

>> M&A

Canadians are hungry for acquisitions

ernst & young survey says 48% are looking, ahead of global results

M

ore canadian companies intend to pursue acquisitions, bucking the global trend, according to a survey by global advisory firm ernst & young. of the canadian executives responding to the global capital confidence Barometer survey, 48% are looking at pursuing acquisitions, up from 32% from April 2011 and ahead of both the global results (31%) and the uS (34%), both of which dropped from october 2011 results. confidence in the canadian economy has more than doubled, says tony ianni, a partner in ernst & young’s transaction Advisory Services practice. “while there is still volatility and corporate executives are still cautious, their outlook is more positive than many global respondents who operate in a more challenging environment.” of the canadian participants surveyed: • 31% of canadian businesses are looking to divest, up from 23% in october 2011.

• 80% believe the number of deal opportunities is increasing, and more than three-quarters believe the likelihood of closing deals is greater than it was six months ago.

• 75% view credit availability as stable or improving.

• 72% believe the eurozone crisis has affected their businesses. top investment destinations include the uS, china, Hong kong, Singapore and india. Favoured acquisitions are in financial services, life sciences (including healthcare), consumer products, oil and gas, and technology.

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Management

>> Shareholder Agreements

Looking ahead How to Set up your coMpAny’S operAting MAnuAl Define how decisions are going to be made and under what circumstances shareholders are permitted to exit.

A shareholder agreement looks ahead to when it's time to part company.

By MArk BorkowSki

s my grandmother used to say, “Everything in life has a beginning, middle and an end, so you should try and plan for the end when you’re still

A

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

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in the beginning.”

Grandma’s words are so true, particularly when it comes to shareholder agreements. They come in all shapes and sizes and should be tailored to everyone’s needs. Some are complex and go on for 40 pages or more, while others are basic and short. But they all function as an operating manual for your company and deal with two very simple concepts. Eighty per cent of the content deals with how corporate decisions are made (control); and under what circumstances shareholders are permitted to exit (liquidity).

Corporate lawyer Jordan Dolgin notes there’s no “one size fits all” agreement. The key is to avoid making it up as you go or relying on corporate law statutory default rules, both of which may contribute to an expensive and messy divorce. He offers the following observations: • A shareholder agreement will not save a bad partnership: it will only help reduce the time and cost of an eventual shareholder dispute or breakup.

• Work to “forecasting the probable.”

Understand the most common control and liquidity issues and determine how they apply. The best time to deal with an agreement is during the “honeymoon” when values are low and bargaining power within the shareholder group is relatively equal.

• If you don’t have the time, patience or money to implement a comprehensive agreement, there are other options. See your lawyer first, but one option is to have all shareholders sign a basic “shotgun” agreement. Although not comprehensive, it will come in handy if irreconcilable differences arise and you need rules to part company without waging a war.

• Once the scope of relevant issues are decided, ask your lawyer for a fixed price to prepare the first draft of a comprehensive agreement. This will help with budgeting and the management of legal costs.

• In a large shareholder group (three or more), appoint a quarterback who is the lawyer’s single point of contact.

Thinking ahead will keep the creation and implementation of a shareholder agreement simple and ready to apply if and when the end comes.

Mark Borkowski is president of Toronto-based Mercantile Mergers & Acquisitions Corp., which specializes in the sale of privately held companies.

E-mail mercantilemergersacquisitions. com. Jordan Dolgin is the CEO of Dolgin Professional Corp., a business law firm. E-mail jdolgin@dpclaw.ca.

Comments? E-mail jterrett@plant.ca.

24 PLANT

May/June 2012

12-06-08 10:28 AM

Leading with a

MISSION

Four tipS to inSpire teAMS unleash their potential by leading them to success.

By cHriS BArt

I

magine you just earned your fi rst leadership assignment in a plant environment. You get to know your employees but after a while you realize the people who report to you aren’t following the company’s new mission statement: “Amaze and delight each and every customer, internal and external.”

You try to be inventive and you encourage them to change, but they don’t.

Sound familiar?

The following four essential acts form the basis for strong leadership. Apply them to capture the hearts and minds of the people you lead.

Give specific direction. To make effective contributions, employees need to know what they have to do. Clear direction ensures a sense of purpose. Translate the words in the mission statement so employees see specifi cally how their job connects with it.

Practice open, frequent and focused communications. Social scientists estimate the typical person receives 17,000 messages per day. To make the messages in your company’s mission stand out, relentlessly repeat and reinforce.

Speak from the heart. When a leader speaks about the organization’s mission statement and what it means, employees will judge whether there is real commitment

leadership <<

and understanding from the top. Interspersing key words and phrases from the mission into everyday conversations proves it’s not just a fl avour-of-the-month program.

Lead by example. Look for ways to reinforce the priorities through your own behaviour. Herb Kelleher, the PHOTO: THINKSTOCK legendary founder and CEO of Southwest Airlines, would routinely fl y his airline while performing the duties of a fl ight attendant. He wanted his crews to see fi rst hand what the boss meant by “the company’s stated mission of providing ‘the highest quality customer service.” Employees are also looking for leadership that inspires them.

Ensure your behaviour sends the right message to reinforce the strategic direction.

Measure success and give rewards on the basis of the mission.

What gets rewarded gets done, but many organizations that claim to be “mission driven” don’t measure their progress and fail to reward employees for helping to realize objectives. Align all systems and processes with the statement, including hiring, fi ring, promotions, bonuses and salary adjustments.

Following these four essential acts will unleash the incredible potential that exists in almost every person who works for you and capture the competitively essential, but often elusive, mission mystique.

Chris Bart is the author of the mission implementation and leadership book, “A Tale of two employees and the person who wanted to lead them,” one of the top 10 best selling business books in Canada for nine consecutive years. Visit www.corporatemissionsinc.com.

Comments? E-mail jterrett@plant.ca.

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Materials Handling << Technology

>> Supply Line Thermadyne holdings corp. has changed its name to victor Technologies Group inc. and the name of its wholly owned subsidiary Thermadyne industries inc. to victor Technologies international inc. The St. Louis manufacturer of cutting, welding and gas control equipment is repositioning itself in the marketplace with a focus on its most popular “Victor” brand.

Pi usa, the Auburn, Mass. operation of piezo and nanopositioning systems manufacturer Physik instrumente Gmbh, will now handle sales, distribution and service of micos Gmbh products for the US, Mexico and Canada. micos usa will be renamed microNiX usa.

Unloading a container using Destuff-IT machinery.

PHOTO: ELS

EASING manual unloading HANDLING MACHINERY LOWERS INJURY RISKS As the volume of inbound deliveries increase, so too does the potential for injury during manual unloading. ESL’s DestuffIT machinery increases unloading efficiency and lowers the potential for strain injuries and mishaps.

E

ach year millions of intercontinental freight containers arrive in North America and the World Shipping Council is predicting there will be many more as freight volume doubles by 2020.

As container traffic increases so does the demand for warehousing capacity and the need to alleviate bottlenecks on the receiving dock. This will lead to more manual unloading, which impacts worker safety and increases the likelihood of injuries and added costs.

Engineered Lifting Systems & Equipment Inc. (ELS) has a solution. The Elmira, Ont. manufacturer of overhead material lifting systems and equipment has developed a destuffing platform that makes unloading more efficient while reducing worker fatigue and the potential for injury.

Often workers will unload onto skids for transfer by forklift truck to warehouse facilities or by lifting and carrying product to a host telescopic or flexible

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conveyor system. Manual handling is required for expensive, breakable items, mixed SKUs that need to be sorted during unloading and during cross docking.

But this creates ergonomic and safety issues that lead to injuries.

Eliminates overhead lifting A 2010 Ohio State University research project identified overhead reaching and lifting; repetitious bending, lifting, twisting, and carrying for a distance; and muscular fatigue over the duration of a shift as key concerns.

And a workplace safety index prepared by business insurers Liberty Mutual in 2010 ranked overexertion first among the top five causes for injury resulting from lifting, pushing, pulling, holding, carrying, or throwing (leading to $13.4 billion in direct costs in 2008).

ELS’s Destuff-IT machinery has an adjustable personnel platform that workers stand on and they use controls to change

vertical height to correctly position themselves in relation to the changing level of the product being unloaded, thus eliminating overhead lifting.

A pivoting conveyor belt acts as a moveable end-of-conveyor loading point for product and operators grasp the handle bar to release a positioning brake that allows them to float the conveyor head into position (left, right, up and down) adjacent to the box wall. This articulation minimizes lifting functions such as bending, twisting, and reaching. Instead of lifting, turning and carrying, the product slides onto the pivoting conveyor belt.

Operators then drive the Destuff-IT into the container or trailer as unloading progresses, smoothly integrating with host telescopic and flexible conveyors.

Making receiving more efficient is not just good for the health of workers, it also reduces insurance premiums and compensation claims, while cutting handling costs.

For more information visit www. destuffit.com.

This article is an edited version of material submitted by Engineered Lifting Systems & Equipment Inc.

endress+hauser has become a principal member of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based odva, one of the world’s largest consortiums advancing open, industrial networking standards. Endress+Hauser, a global supplier of measurement and automation equipment, joins bosch rexroth, cisco systems, rockwell automation, omron and schneider electric in the leveraging of EtherNet/IP as a means to simplify the end user’s network architecture.

The cascades Tissue Group, a manufacturer of paper made from recycled fibre based in Candiac, Que., handed out achievement awards to 17 US and 10 Canadian distributors for encouraging their commercial and industrial customers to use green products. Cascades estimates they saved 255,700 trees and avoided a year’s worth of greenhouse gas emissions from the equivalent of 12,785 cars. strongco corp., a mobile equipment dealer based in Mississauga, Ont., is now the exclusive dealer Terex usa’s Terex Finlay mobile crushing and screening equipment in Ontario and Alberta. The tracked mobile jaw, cone and impact crushers with twoand three-deck inclined and horizontal screens reduce and size aggregates for construction materials, as well as recycle construction waste. chatsworth Products, a global manufacturer of IT infrastructure equipment based in Westlake Village, Calif., has expanded its North American reach with its first Canadian sales office and product showroom in Vaughan, Ont. flir systems inc., a sensor manufacturer based in Portland, Ore., has won a $17.9 million order from the US Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) for its SeaFLIR maritime imaging systems. They’ll be deployed on US Navy Patrol Boats.

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21 FLIR

cieN

Technology

>> Product Focus

Test and measurement instruments GeT hiGhly accuraTe readiNGs Mitutoyo Canada Inc.’s 0.1μm micrometer handles highly accurate measurements such as the calibration of pin or plug gauges.

Proclaiming it the first of its kind in the world, the manufacturer of test and measurement instruments says the hand-held device is equipped with its innovative 0.1μm resolution ABS rotary sensor and high-accuracy screw machining technology to reduce error to ±0.5 μm.

A highly rigid frame and high-performance, constant-force mechanism stabilize measurement, while the clicks indicate measurement is proceeding normally.

A removable heat shield reduces body heat transfer while taking handheld measurements, minimizing the error caused by thermal expansion of the frame.

And you can measure at start up. The Absolute rotary sensor eliminates the need to perform origin setting each time the power is turned on.

The micrometor is available World’s first with 0-25 mm measuring range 0.1 μm micrometer. and switchable resolution (0.0001/0.0005 mm), plus a function lock and preset.

Mitutoyo Canada has offices in Mississauga, Ont. and Montreal. www.mitutoyo.ca www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 11

GauGe formaldehyde levels

daTa loG airflow Weighing in scrap aluminum.

scale haNdles TouGh weiGhiNG jobs The Alliance RoughDeck floor scale from Rice Lake withstands tough industrial and commercial applications such as weighing scrap metal.

It’s constructed with 6-in. steel channel frames welded to tread plate decks for optimum rigidity and minimum deflection under severe loading from forklifts and pallet jacks.

A fully interactive, easy to read indicator is encased in a rugged all stainless steel NAMA 4X/IP66 enclosure, making the unit tough enough for industrial applications such as weighing scrap.

Alliance Scale Inc., a value-adding distributor of industrial and commercial scales based in Canton, Ma., says accuracy is factory calibrated to 0.01%FS and can be configured for imperial or metric measurement.

Indicators provide three-stage digital filtering, drive eight 350 Ohm load cells, and can have two communications ports.

The scales come in sizes from 30-in. square to 8 x 10 ft., with capacities from 1,000 to 30,000 lb. www.alliancescale.com

Measure the speed, volume and temperature of slow-moving air with the CIH20DL data logging hot wire anemometer/IR thermometer from General Tools & Instruments.

The supplier of precision specialty hand tools based in New York says the handheld device performs minimally invasive duct flow testing and energy audits, converts air speed readings to airflow volume measurements in units of cfm or cmm, and determines air and surface temperatures – including identifying overheated system components – all with a capacity of 20,000 data points.

It measures air movement as slow as 2 ft./min. to 7,874 ft./min. (20 mm/sec. to 40 m/sec.). Air speed Measures readings display in five different units: ft./min., m/ air speed. sec., mph, km/hr and knots.

The CIH20DL also calculates airflow volumes up to 2.5 million cfm (72,000 cmm). Air temperatures from 32 to 158 degrees F (0 to 70 degrees C) are measured by a thermistor at the end of a telescoping probe that extends to 6 ft. (1.8 m). Surface temperatures of -25 to 999 degrees F (-32 to 537 degrees C) are measured by an integral infrared thermometer with an 8:1 distance-to-spot ratio.

A large backlit display provides three simultaneous readouts: air speed or airflow volume; surface temperature and air temperature. The readouts default to real-time values, but users can opt to display maximum, minimum or average measurements. The unit stores and recalls up to nine sets of these three readings in chronological order. It data logs – over long periods of time – up to 20,000 measurements/calculations of air speed, airflow volume, air temperature and surface temperature at a user-selected sampling interval of five seconds to one hour.

These data logs can be uploaded to a Windows PC and displayed in Excel or converted to graphs or tables to easily identify trends or deviations in readings. Software also provides a dashboard display that features a chart function for quickly viewing recent trends in air speed, air temperature and surface temperature values captured by the probe. www.generaltools.com

Obtaining accurate gas standards can be particularly difficult because formaldehyde vapour condenses to a solid polymer at temperatures below 80 degrees C, resulting in unstable concentrations in stored mixtures. KIN-TEK Laboratories Inc.’s Trace Source Permeation Tubes dynamically blend trace concentrations of formaldehyde in air. Mixtures range from low ppb to over 500 ppm.

Alpha-polyoxymethylene, a high purity formaldehyde polymer, decomposes in the tubes to maintain a stable vapour pressure of formaldehyde and consequently a stable emission rate. Formaldehyde emitted from the tube is mixed with a known flow of zero air to form the trace concentration gas standard.

Emission flow measurements are traceable to NIST through fundamental measurements (weight change, temperature).

Applications include: formaldehyde in air; calibration for HAPs monitors; industrial hygiene monitoring; building material evaluation; and product safety testing.

KIN-TEK Laboratories Inc., based in La Marque, Tex., specializes in trace concentration gas calibration. www.kin-tek.com

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lisTeN for Trouble before breakdowNs The MDE-2000 Marksman II from Spectronics Corp. converts and amplifies inaudible ultrasonic sound into audible natural sound.

Spectronics, a New Cassel, NY manufacturer of ultraviolet equipment and fluorescent materials, says the technician hears even the smallest compressed air, natural gas, propane tank, vacuum, steam or other pressurized leaks before they lead to major breakdowns.

The receiver uses heterodyne circuitry to convert the inaudible into audible. Sound Signature Technology then fine-tunes the audible sound into the natural sound emitted by the leak itself. A 5-LED signal intensity indicator and audible alarm pinpoint the exact source An ultrasonic diagnostic tool

28 PlaNT

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of the problem and an internal noise control safeguards against ambient noise.

The Marksman II comes with an ultrasonic receiver, full-sized headphones, a hollow air probe, a solid contact probe and an ultrasonic emitter that helps locate faulty seals, gaskets and weather-stripping in doors, windows, ductwork and other non-pressurized enclosures. All components are packed in a carrying case.

A MDE-2000NC model is equipped with heavy duty, noise-cancelling headphones for extremely noisy environments. www.spectroline.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 10

Provides gas standards.

May/June 2012

12-06-08 10:20 AM

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CIEN MAP CHALLENGING MATERIAL SURFACES

LOOK FOR LIGHTING TROUBLE Milwaukee Tool Corp.’s 2210-20 Fluorescent Lighting Tester saves time testing and troubleshooting an industrial site.

A 30-in., fully retractable antenna easily reaches all lighting fixtures and tests fluorescent gas, checks pin connections and tests ballasts. A removable antenna adaptor increases “flicker” response, audible and visual indicators provide easy readings. A built in LED work light illuminates dark spaces, and a rugged over-mould grip makes the device more durable.

Use it to test all T5, T8, T12 fluorescent lamps. It’s optimized for T8 electronic ballasts and checks pin connections on all T5, T8, T12 lamps.

Milwaukee Tool is a manufacturer of test and measurement instrumentation and tools based in Brookfield, Wis. www.milwaukeetool.com Tests fluorescent tubes.

www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 14

The 3DLevelScanner HE from BinMaster maps material surfaces in storage silos containing challenging materials such as clinker, alumina and fly ash.

With an operating temperature range of up to 120 degrees C, it scans material in the cement, aluminum and power industries that has been heated in the production process where there are multiple challenges such as dust or high humidity.

Depending on the diameter and height of the silo and the desired level of volume accuracy, 3DLevelScanners are mounted on top in strategic locations determined by advanced proprietary software. Each dust-penetrating, non-contact sensor sends pulses in a 70-degree beam angle, taking multiple

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3DLevelScanner HE mounts on a silo.

KIN-TEK’s Span Pac “I” industrial gas standards generator produces precise, accurate calibration gas mixtures with concentration traceable to NIST using Trace Source permeation tubes.

Concentrations from low ppb to more than 1,000 ppm Generating gas standards. are dynamically blended from the pure component compounds.

Single- and dual-channel models are housed in NEMA 4 cabinets. Optional Z or X purge systems allow service in Div II or Div I hazardous atmospheres.

Applications include ppb COS and total sulphur in propylene, HAPs in workplace atmospheres, trace contaminants such as arsine in process gases, and ppb BTX in air. The tubes are available for 500 key vapours, including most industrial toxicants.

KIN-TEK Laboratories Inc. based in La Marque, Tex. specializes in trace concentration gas calibration. www.kin-tek.com

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measurements from the material surface and continually mapping the material surface to detect changes in level, account for uneven surface topography, and calculate a highly accurate volume estimate for the contents of the silo.

The software reports the lowest and highest points and the average level based upon a weighted average of all of the measurements detected in the bin.

The MV and the MVL models each have a colourful graphical representation that indicates where the high and low spots exist.

BinMaster is a manufacturer of sensor devices based in Lincoln, Neb. www.binmaster.com

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Gentec Electro-Optics Inc.’s M-LINK meter uses a unique noise suppression algorithm for precise low energy measurements, down to the femtojoule level.

It’s compatible with every type of head (thermopiles, pyroelectrics and photo detectors) in both power and energy modes.

This PC-based universal laser power and energy meter is USB port-powered and controlled via a unique LabView interface with many displays and measurement features.

It also has an external trigger to synchronize it with a pulsed laser.

Power ranges from 4 pW to 30 kW with an energy range of 30 fJ to 30 kJ and maximum repetition rate of 1,000 Hz with time stamp.

Gentec Electro-Optics, based in Quebec City, is a supplier of laser measurement technology. www.gentec-eo.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 17

May/June 2012

12-06-08 10:22 AM

Product Focus << Technology KIT CHECKS MOTOR SHAFT VOLTAGE

ing equipment. It contains highdensity conductive microfibres that ensure continuous contact Whether they drive the fans and with a rotating motor shaft. EST pumps of commercial HVAC sysmanufactures the tip and extension tems or the conveyors of industrial rod that may be held or used with production lines, motors controlled an optional magnetic base, while by variable frequency drives (VFDs) Fluke makes the 10:1 probe and are vulnerable to electrical bearing the Fluke 190 Series ScopeMeter damage. The AEGIS Shaft Voltage Test Kit measures and documents Gauges the vulnerability of VFD-controlled motors. portable oscilloscope that displays the voltage waveform and saves damaging VFD-induced voltages the image for reporting. while there is still time to head off bearing damage and EST is a Mechanic Falls, Me. manufacturer of static equipment downtime. control devices. Fluke Electronics Canada LP is a supThe kit, the result of collaboration between Electro plier of test and measurement instrumentation based in Static Technology (EST) and Fluke Corp., is available Mississauga, Ont. from both companies. www.est-aegis.com It includes a special replaceable probe tip designed

by EST for highly accurate voltage readings on rotatwww.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 18

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Omega’s autorange HHM8229 has it all: temperature, RH, sound, light and digital multimeter features.

It has a large backlight LCD display, auto power off, and an audible and visual illuminated warning for correct input jack connections.

It measures AC/DC voltage and current, resistance, frequency, duty, capacitance, as well as continuity and diode testing.

Use it for measurement and troubleshooting.

Omega Canada is a manufacturer of measurement and control instrumentation based in Laval, Que. www.omega.ca

Yokogawa’s FLXA2 two-wire liquid transmitters provide continuous w w w. c r e f o r m . c o m • 8 0 0 - 8 3 9 - 8 8 2 3 on-line single or redundant measurements in industrial installations.

A modular design makes it flexible enough to assemble a variety of www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 134 systems for applications measuring pH/ORP, contacting conductivity CRE-393 3.375x4.875.indd 1 3/27/12 (SC), inductive conductivity (ISC) or dissolved oxygen (DO).

On the redundant side, it supports up to two sensors of the same type: pH/ORP and pH/ ORP, SC and SC, and DO and DO, thus reducing installation costs and saving panel space.

Ellsworth Adhesives is a full-service distributor This configuration also provides and value-added supplier of disposable a reliable backup system. And dispensing components. adding a HART interface module • Syringes/Barrels • Bottles device allows programming of • Tips/Needles • Cups • Nozzles additional functions. Used as a redundant system, the main output parameter is automatically switched over to the second sensor output in case the main Incorporates essential temperature one fails. compensation and calibration.

Housed in a robust NEMA 4X IP66 mountable enclosure, the FLXA2 features a unique touch screen Adhesives ● Sealants ● Coatings ● Encapsulants ● Tapes ● Dispensing Equipment HMI and intuitive menu structure. Any of 12 languages can be selected with advanced features and functions such as sensor self-diagnosis and maintenance time estimation.

Yokogawa Corp. of America is a manufacturer of test and measurement instruments based in Sugar Land, Tex. Yokogawa Canada Inc. is 1-800-888-0698 based in Calgary. www.ellsworth.com Ask The Glue Doctor™ Contact us directly to request a free catalog. www.yokogawa.com/us Live Chats Online.

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12-06-08 10:22 AM

cieN aUTOMaTION

Handles large amounts of app info.

Beckhoff, a German developer of automation products, says the AM8800 is based on its AM8000 series, but has been enhanced with a stainless-steel housing and motor shaft.

The motors are available in three sizes, each with three overall lengths. The motor flanges are implemented in B5 form, which simplifies converting existing plants and machinery.

www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 21

cAbLe feedbAcK LoWerS coSTS AM8800 stainless steel servo motors from Beckhoff Automation for harsh and corrosive environments in food and chemical operations eliminate the feedback cable because encoder information is transmitted digitally via the two cores of the motor cable. This saves materials and reduces installation and engineering costs.

For food and chemical industries.

All AM8000 servomotors have a sensor that monitors temperature. Equipped with IP 67 protection (optional IP 69K), the motors power high-pressure cleaners commonly used in the food and chemical industries. www.beckhoffautomation.com/ am8800

Zero-backlash for smooth operation.

www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 23

couPLiNgS eNSure ShAfT eNgAgemeNT

TWo heAdS for rfid dATA Pepperl+Fuchs has made it easier to read and write large amounts of application information to the RFID system with its IC-KP2-2HB18-2V1D IDENTControl compact RFID Controllers featuring CCLink communication, a common upperlevel bus system used almost exclusively

by Mitsubishi PLCs. The manufacturer of factory and process automation products based in Twinsburg, Ohio says the two-head controller communicates to both read/write heads simultaneously. It also incorporates a new advanced RFID protocol that provides positive feedback to the user when a new tag has arrived, and allows for large read/write data blocks that are limited only by the read/write head’s internal memory size.

These IP67 controllers are fully compatible with any Pepperl+Fuchs RFID read head for low frequency (125 kHz), high frequency (13.56 MHz) or ultra high frequency (915 MHz) operation. www.pepperl-fuchs.us

2-, 5- or 10-m lengths. Custom wire sizes, lengths and materials are also available.

Each cordset has eight gold-plated contacts and have a rated current of 1.5 A per contact and an overall rated voltage of 30 V. All versions are IP 67 rated when fully mated to their connecting parts. www.binder-usa.com

A1C CD couplings from Zero-Max are torsionally stiff and have a high dynamic load capacity for servo motor and motion control applications.

Zero-Max, a developer of servo motion control products based in Plymouth, Minn., says the zero-backlash couplings reverse loads and ensure smooth operation at high speeds.

They’re compact with improved clamp style hubs to handle larger shafts and higher torque and ISO grade 7075-T6 aluminum ensures superior shaft engagement.

Couplings are available in six sizes with torque capacities ranging from 40 to 564 Nm and speed ratings from 6,700 to 15,000 rpm. www.zero-max.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 24

>> New Facility

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CONNeCTORS/COUPLINGS SmALLer coNNecTioNS or AuTomATioN APPS Binder-USA has updated its M8 sensor connectors for automation applications include eight-pin cordsets.

The company, a manufacturer of circular connectors and cordsets for industrial environments based in Camarillo, Calif., says the M8 is a response to higher demand for smaller connectors with maximum transmission capabilities. exPANSioN iN SASKATooN Up to eight signals are transmitted acklands-Grainger Inc., a distributor of industrial, safety and fastener products, has opened from a connector with a 9.7 mm diama new 122,000 square-foot facility in Saskatoon that employs 90 people. It includes a 102,000 eter. square-foot warehouse, branch showroom and regional support centre. The distribution centre Ver FNL equipment, Docket Client stores Date products, MA038-479 IMAGEWEAR Apr 8, 2012including welding They are equipped with open cable more than 50,000 industrial, safety and fastener Job Magazine Specs Double-Truck: Ad: Clothes Spreadhand and power tools and electrical, cleaning x 4.875" end, which has a cross-section of 0.25 and safety14" supplies.

PHOTO: ACKLANDS-GRAINGER mm (24 AWG) and is offered in standard Pub/Printer Material Deadline April 9, 2012 Canadian Plant Magazine

STORaGe

Whatever your people do, wherever they need

Alternative to an R cabinet.

88 L-SmArT STorAge cAPAciTy Rousseau Metal Inc.’s smart compact mobile L cabinet is a flexible alternative to the R cabinet.

This modular unit provides 100-lb. capacity per drawer, each opening easily and consistently thanks to precision ball slides.

The single, double or triple cabinets come in 18-, 21- and 27-in. depths and heights of 24, 28, 34 and 40 in.

Rousseau Metal is a manufacturer of industrial storage products based in St-Jean-Port-Joli, Que. www.rousseaumetal.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 25 IMW_CndPlant_DBLTRK-14x4.875_Spring_FNL.indd 1

32 PLANT

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May/June 2012

12-06-08 11:00 AM

t

d

Products and equipment << Technology CONTROLS

Auto calibration ensures accuracy.

STAbiLizeS vALve STreAmS The 195 series of smart positioners from Dwyer Instruments take a 4 to 20 mA input signal to control the valve stroke of linear valves.

An analogue feedback signal is outputted to stabilize valve streams, while an auto calibration function ensures accuracy. Low air consumption reduces operating cost, but does not sacrifice performance. The handheld unit makes it easy to use with any size actuator in applications where a larger positioner may not fit. Inspection of the positioner condition is easy with the LCD screen while in the field.

Dwyer Instruments is a manufacturer of control and instrumentation products for industrial applications based in Michigan City, Ind. www.dwyer-inst.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 26

garages or any application requiring ASME A17.1 compliance.

This system features a factory-installed oil water switch with four probes (start level, stop level, high water level and reference for ground) and a mechanical high oil alarm float. As water and oil enter the tank, the oil rises to create a floating layer on top of the water. The water level rises to reach the start probe, activating the pump to remove water (not the oil) from the tank. It continues pumping until the water level falls below the stop probe, deactivating the pump.

If the water level continues to rise and reaches the high water probe, the red high water LED indicator illuminates and auxiliary contacts close (activating an optional Tank Alert alarm or other remote device).

If the oil level rises to activate the mechanical high oil float, the red high oil LED indicator illuminates and auxiliary contacts close (activating and alert).

The panel enclosure is NEMA 1 rated for indoor use and features a receptacle to accept a 120 V, 15 A pump plug.

LED indicators on the front door of the panel illuminate for high water, high oil, pump run and power on. Auxiliary contacts are included to connect remote alarms (high water and high oil), auto dialler or building automation system.

SJE-Rhombus is a Detroit Lakes, Minn. supplier of quality control instruments for water and wastewater applications. www.sjerhombus.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 27

Activates alert.

WArNiNg! WATer or oiL LeveLS riSiNg SJE-Rhombus’s Oil Spotter control panel provides pump and alarm notification of potentially threatening water and oil levels in simplex pumping applications, including elevator sump basins, transformer vaults, leachate well applications,

MOTION CONTROL AcTuATorS for hAzArdouS coNdiTioNS Exlar Corp.’s Tritex II DC actuators are ready to go to work in hazardous locations with CSA Class I, Division 2 Groups A, B, C and D certification.

The actuators integrate a servo drive, digital position controller, brushless motor and a linear or rotary actuator. Linear

Eliminates deadband.

actuators employ an inverted roller screw mechanism, which converts rotary motion into highly-robust linear motion for sliding stem control valve applications.

Tritex II DC actuators offer 100% continuous duty with life counts in the hundreds of millions of cycles, response times in milliseconds and accuracy of 0.10%.

Capable of reaching speeds up to 25 in./ sec. and forces to 1,000 lb., they eliminate deadband and prevent valve stem stiction, which causes operating malfunctions, even in continuous duty applications.

Exlar is a manufacturer of linear and rotary motion products based in Chanhassen, Minn. www.exlar.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 28

Torque capacity boosted.

geArboxeS mAximize Torque deNSiTy Pittman G30A planetary gearboxes turn up the torque density and durability of five different series of Pittman motors.

The mounting profile is 30.5 mm (1.20in.) in diameter, or 38.0 mm (1.50-in.) square when the optional mounting flange is used. Gearbox lengths vary depending on the gear reduction and range from 33.7 mm (1.33-in.) to 51.2 mm (2.02-in.).

Fourteen standard reduction ratios are available ranging from 4:1 to 1,296:1 and allow a maximum output load of 2.47 Nm

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32-35-PLNT.indd 33

TOOL aNd dIe reduce hArmfuL vibrATioN Falcon Tool Co. Inc.’s protective finger sleeve for the Di-Profiler reciprocating hand piece reduces the potential for harmful vibration by isolating the operator’s fingers from moving tools.

The Di-Profiler tool is used to deburr, file, polish or stone moulds and dies.

The finger sleeves attach to the DiProfiler hand-held reciprocating tool to improve the system’s ergonomics by allowing fingers to guide the polishing and filing tool over the workpiece. Each finger sleeve comes with an extension rod for longer tools and the standard rod. Rubber cushion grips surrounding the body of the tool to further absorb vibration.

Falcon, a Cleveland-based supplier of tools for die and mould makers, says the sleeves are available for either the Classic Di-Profiler, (1/8-in. tool holder), or the Heavy Duty Classic Di-Profiler, Improves system (1/4-in. tool holder). ergonomics. www.falcontool.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 30

Servo PumP iNcreASeS PLASTicS ouTPuT

Only Imagewear has the knowledge, experience and people to keep your organization looking its best.

That’s why we’re trusted to source more corporate apparel, workwear, uniforms, footwear and promotional programs for more organizations than any other supplier in Canada.

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www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 129

INJeCTION MOULdING

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(350 oz.-in.) to 8.83 Nm (1,250 oz.-in.).

Sintered steel planet gears to promote high torque capacity and low audible noise in a compact package. Single piece carrier plates with integral gear posts and sun gear can be arranged to achieve many different reduction ratios.

The gearbox output is through a 416 stainless steel shaft and a sintered metal output bearing. Optional ball bearings are available for high radial loads.

Pittman, part of AMETEK’s Precision Motion Control division based in Harleysville, Pa., manufactures high tech motion products. www.pittman-motors.com

Siemens Industry Inc.’s Sinamics servo pump for hydraulic injection moulding machines increases machine output and reduces energy consumption and cuts costs by up to 50%.

Reduces energy consumption.

It’s built on standard components such as the Sinamics S120 drive platform and distributed I/O and is designed for efficient and easy installation and handling.

Highlights include: • reduced noise when compared to a variable capacity pump or control valve; • smaller oil tank volume; • reduced dependency on oil temperature; and • it can replace the variable capacity pump.

Siemens Industry Sector based in atlanta is a supplier of industrial products. www.usa.siemens.com/motioncontrol www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 31

12-04-09 8:22 AM

PLANT 33

12-06-08 11:00 AM

cieN BRaKeS

ReLaYS TeSTS SySTemS ANd mATrice APPLicATioNS UMS micro single-in-line (SIL) reed relays from MedeR electronic Inc. require less PCB space to test systems and closely tacked matrice applications. as a drop-in replacement at 9.5 x 3.6 x 6.85 mm, they’re about half the size of the standard MS series, but offer the same electrical Micro reed relay. characteristics.

In addition to an internal magnetic shield, the relays contain an internal diode used to protect the integrated reed switch.

The series reaches a contact rating of up to 10 W, with a maximum switching voltage of 170 V. They carry a maximum current of 1 a.

MedeR, a manufacturer of switches, sensors and relays, is based in Singen, Germany. www.meder.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 32

SWITCHeS

AN ALTerNATive To eLecTric brAKeS Posistop X-Class air brakes from Force Control Industries Inc. for air motors, winches and air hoists are an alternative to traditional electric brakes in hazardous, combustible and explosive environments.

They assure constant torque, but require no adjustment or maintenance, making them suitable for use in hazardous conditions.

Force Control Industries, a Fairfield, Ohio-based manufacturer of clutches and clutch brakes, says the brake is actuated without a sacrificial wear surface, so it lasts up to 10 times longer than a dry friction brake.

For hazardous operations.

A split clamped quill and locking collar improve quill to shaft connection, which reduces damage. Teflon liners under piston O-ring seals keep them static, which eliminates wear and cracking.

Heavy duty epoxy coated housings maintain seal integrity, keeping out dirt, dust and moisture.

Multiple discs and springs minimize diameters, reducing brake inertia for higher cycle rates and better efficiency. www.forcecontrol.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 33

Minimized back-panel depth saves space.

a secondary mast on the fork carriage that allows the operator to raise and lower the pallet to comfortable heights while stacking and retrieving, without bending. Dual control pods allow simultaneous drive and lift/lower functions.

The two models offer a choice of nine mast heights and capacities up to 2,200 lb.

SToP SWiTcheS reAd AcTuATioN STATuSeS The Series 51 stop switch from EAO Corp.’s monoblock design minimizes back panel depth to save space in applications requiring exacting ergonomics, realibility and durability.

It’s sealed to IP65 specs, uses an industry standard 16-mm mounting hole, and meets international CE, EN 61058-1, and RoHS environmental requirements.

Low-level and snap-action switch element technology make it suitable for applications across a wide variety of current and voltage ranges. Solder, quick connect, and PCB terminals, along with a variation of NO and NC contact configurations, add versatility.

EAO Corp. is a producer of human machine interface systems and components based in Olten, Switzerland. www.eao-hmi.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 34

MaTeRIaLS HaNdLING order PicKer KeePS oPerATorS SAfe Nissan Forklift Corp.’s Platinum OP order pickers reduce the stress on the operator’s back while increasing overall productivity.

An Ergolift design incorporates

Reduces back stress.

Safety features include an operator presence system, an anti-fatigue cushioned platform, a plexiglass mast guard and a cantilevered overhead guard. And the enclosed operator platform eliminates uncomfortable belts and harnesses while still keeping operators safe.

Optional lift limits are also available for operations with lower ceiling clearance.

Nissan Forklift Corp. with its US headquarters in Marengo, Ill., manufactures material handling equipment. www.nissanforklift.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 35

>> Robotics

Keeping an eye on ford Suv assembly

Robots take some of the strain out of making an escape

R

obots equipped with laser eyes and suction cup hands are helping humans reduce physical strain and save energy, while boosting the quality of the new Ford escape. each escape is in part built by robots, which employ laser-guided and camera-enabled technology. The machines are programmed to recognize any tiny deviation from specification such as gaps between door panels or the windshield and the vehicle body.

Robotic arms and other automated machines simultaneously reduce the exertion level of workers and improve accuracy.

“Some of the robots work in concert with our line workers to build the escape more More than 700 robots at Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant assist in the building of the efficiently,” said Marty Smets, an ergonomics Escape’s body and interior.

PHOTO: FORD engineer. “We also have a variety of semiautonomous robots, which do tasks that aren’t safe for humans to do repetitively.”

For example, robots place the instrument panels, glass, paint and fenders on escapes at Louisville assembly Plant in Kentucky. door panels fit more tightly to reduce wind noise, upping the quality of each vehicle that rolls off the line. a robotic arm applies the windshield’s adhesive in a consistent, repeatable application and the glass is placed mechanically with suction cups.

In the paint shop, 88 new robots reduce energy costs by applying paint and sealer inside the body and to the exterior of the vehicle more efficiently. Keeping humans out of the painting zones reduces airflow and climate control requirements, which saves energy and reduces carbon emissions.

www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 136

34 PLANT

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May/June 2012

12-06-08 11:00 AM

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A/C Colour RAL 7035 Light Grey

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CIEN PLANTWARE

support any baud rate.

And their IEEE 1394b connector and Gigabit SAVE COMPUTING POWER LAN with a motion card Advantech’s two new embedded also allow both units to machine automation computers save act as machine vision power in busy plant environments. computing platforms.

The UNO-3072A and UNO-3074A, Advantech Corp.’s each with an Intel Atom D510 proces- Intel Atom D510 Industrial Automation sor onboard and 2 GB of DDR2 RAM, processor onboard.

Group based in Cincinnati work in temperatures ranging from -10 is a supplier of e-automation technology. to 60 degrees C and have shock/vibration www.advantech.com/ea absorbers to ensure data storage security.

They have an integrated RAID 0/1 conwww.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 36 troller for two 2.5-in. SATA HDDs and an external SATA port for additional storage.

NEW INDUSTRIAL The units feature 2 x Intel gigabit COMPUTING PLATFORMS ethernet ports that fulfill EtherCAT and GE Intelligent Platforms brings more Real-Time OS requirements; 4 x external processing power, graphics capability USB 2.0 ports and 1 x internal USB port, and I/O bandwidth to industrial applicaVGA display, I/O programmable LED tions with three new rugged single board indicators, isolated DI/DO, and 2/4 x PCI computers based on third generation slots for peripherals.

Intel Core processors.

Their 2 x RS-232/422/485 serial ports The SBC625, XVR15 and XCR15

More computing horsepower.

include command/control, ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance), radar/sonar and signal processing.

GE says the new platforms – which are 100% compatible with their predecessors – deliver up to 15% more computational horsepower, and up to 50% improved 3D graphics performance.

The boards support USB 3.0 and provide up to 10 x the data transfer throughput of USB 2.0.

They’re designed for 6U VPX, CompactPCI and VME systems respectively and come in five build levels, from benign (air cooled) to fully rugged (conduction cooled).

GE Intelligent Platforms, in Huntsville, Ala., manufactures technology for the industrial market. www.ge.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 38

CONVERTERS CUT THROUGH INTERFERENCE

POWER INJECTING MOVES OUTDOORS

Weidmuller’s industrial ethernet media converters deliver reliable, robust data exchange between copper and fibre optic media.

Fibre optic systems are already established in the process industry, plant engineering, energy distribution and factory automation. Fibre-optic cables are not affected by lightning or voltage surges so they’re recommended for applications where high interference or long transmission distances are common, Robust data exchange. These media converters integrate glass fibres into a network while remaining transparent to other network devices. Ethernet is converted via an RJ45 port to an optical port with SC or ST glass fibre connections.

Link fault pass-through (LFP) technology employs mechanical relay outputs to raise an alarm when there’s a power failure and port breakages on either fibre or ethernet ports. This feature retains the collision domain between the two ethernet participants creating resulting in a status transparency between the two ethernet interfaces.

The redundant power inputs allow for more secure connections. Media converters easily integrate into the turbo ring or turbo chain layouts without any extra steps.

Mean time between failure is more than 401,000 hours.

Multimode glass fibres allow distances of up to 5,000 meters to be bridged without intermediate repeaters. Singlemode glass fibres can be used over distances of up to 40 kilometres.

Weidmuller is a Richmond, Va. supplier of technology for the transmission of power, data and control signals. www.weidmuller.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 37

Phihong USA has redesigned its IEEE802.3at-compliant single-port power injector for outdoor applications to include access points and security cameras with pan/tilt/zoom. The POE33U-1AT midspan with 33.6-W output expands security and wireless networks in harsh environments, indoors and outdoors, operating at temperatures ranging from -40 to 65 degrees C. Its output at 56 V compensates for up to 7.65 W in wire drops to devices that may be up to 100 m away from the network switch. And the power injector has an ingress protection rating of 67 making it waterproof.

The POE33U1AT is equipped with over-voltage, overExpands wireless current and short-circuit networks.

CIEN ad2 10-06-08 1:01 PM Page 1

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OPTOCOUPLE HIGH-SPEED VISION APPS WAGO Corp.’s DINrail mount 859940 high-speed optocoupler serves high-speed machine vision applications and Provides isolated data quality testing with transmission. voltage conversion and isolation, plus signal and level amplification.

Frequency input ranges up to 1.5 MHz with industry-standard input voltages of 5 to 10 VDC or 10 to 24 VDC. This optocoupler isolates data transmission and enables PLCs (typically 24-V inputs) to read devices with 5- to 10-V outputs.

The 859-940 mimics a frequency counter for testing input modules, or simulates an encoder.

Features include Cage Clamp spring pressure connections for vibration-proof terminations, 75 mA output drive, input status LED indicator and a temperature range of -10 to 45 degrees C. WAGO is a manufacturer of spring pressure connection technology based in Germantown, Wis. www.wago.us/custom.htm www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 40

Rely on Reelcraft Made in USA

Series 7000

New!

Compact dual pedestal hose reels

Triple tap receptacle

p Series L4000

Heavy duty power and light cord reels

Series DP5000 and DP7000

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INDUSTRIAL AIR COMPRESSORS

built better

Energy Efficient

protections standard and operates at gigabit Base-T data rates. The midspan operates at a minimum average efficiency rate of 70% with safety approval markings from CE and UL. Phihong, a developer of power-overethernet technology based in Fremont, Calif., says three ports on the front of the unit connect to standard ¾ NPT conduit piping or there are wire glands for full waterproof operation.

The midspan measures 300 x 184 x 82 mm with the mounting bracket in place and weighs 2.83 kg. www.midpans.com

www.reelcraft.com | 800-444-3134 www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 139

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May/June 2012

12-06-08 10:52 AM

Industrial Literature Reviews CIEN NEW EXPANDED lINE oF TANK ClEANING EQuIPmENT Additions to the TankJet® line from Spraying Systems Co. include several high-impact tank cleaners for removal of stubborn residues, motorized units that provide a targeted directional spray and compact nozzles for cleaning small containers. Request Catalogue 15 and get complete details on dozens of tank cleaning solutions for tanks up 100’ (30m) in dia. www.tankjet.com Spraying Systems Co. www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 141

CANADIAN DISTRIbuToR WANTED FoR ImADA FoRCE AND ToRQuE INSTRumENTS Products include: mechanical and digital force gauges, manual and motorized test stands, special attachments, digital torque screwdrivers, wrenches, testers and calibrators, hardness testers for rubber and plastic, LED stroboscopes and handheld tachometer. www.imada.com Imada Force and Torque Instruments www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 142

INDuSTRIAl VACuum ClEANING SYSTEmS FRom VAC-u-mAX VAC-U-MAX is a premier manufacturer of industrial vacuum cleaning systems for production lines and other dust-intensive areas. With a VAC-U-MAX heavy-duty industrial vacuum cleaning system on site, both your capital equipment and your employees will be safer and cleaner. www.vac-u-max.com VAC-U-MAX www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 143

>> Events IMTS AMT Sept. 10-15, Chicago International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) sponsored by the Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT) will feature more than 1,100 exhibitors. Visit www. imts.com/show/info.html.

Best Practices Exchange Mission to Minnesota CME Sept. 23-27, St. Paul and Minneapolis This Innovation Insights event presented by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) provides participants with an inside look at best practices presented by manufacturers in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn. Visit www. cme-mec.ca/english/events/events.html.

Advanced Manufacturing Expo 2012 SME Sept. 25-26, Mississauga, Ont. AmExpo 2012, co-located with AmCon Toronto and presented by the Society of manufacturing Engineers (SME), showcases advanced technology solutions from both capital equipment and service suppliers

www.plant.ca

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AIR KNIFE DRYING PACKAGES

1/4 ToN oF REFRIGERATIoN

Windjet® Air Knives powered by energyefficient refrigerative blowers provide excellent performance in drying and blow-off operations and eliminate the need for costly compressed air. Annual cost reductions can range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars in applications such as dust elimination, blow-off debris and scraps and removal of excess water. Request Bulletin 543W. www.spray.com Spraying Systems Co. www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 144

EXAIR Vortex Tubes produce up to 10,200 Btu/hr. with no moving parts. Stainless Steel Vortex Tubes convert an ordinary supply of compressed air into two streams; one hot and one cold. Temperatures are adjustable from -50° to +250°F. Applications include cooling hot melts, cutting tools, welding horns, electronic controls, soldered parts and gas samples. www.exair.com/16/130.htm EXAIR Corporation www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 147

DuST CollECToRS Full lINE lITERATuRE GuIDE

moST PoPulAR VACuum CuPS

This impressive guide outlines dozens of N.R. Murphy dust collectors, installations, capacities, styles and models. A must for any reference library.

N.R. Murphy Limited has been in business over 65 years and has thousands of satisfied customers. “Dust Collectors are all we do; so get it done right the first time.

Just Ask the Experts.” www. nrmurphy.com N.R. Murphy Ltd. www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 145

Vi-Cas Manufacturing’s new 16-page, full colour brochure details the company’s most popular vacuum cups.

In addition to dimensional information (including lip diameter, height and mounting holes), the new literature shows photos of each cup to guarantee accuracy. Vacuum cups and accessories are used extensively in all types of packaging and labeling operations. www.vi-cas.com Vi-Cas Manufacturing www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 148

AFFoRDAblE ThERmAl ImAGING

VARIAbElE SPEED, QuIET AND EFFICIENT

The FLIR i-Series Pointand-Shoot Thermal Imaging Cameras brochure introduces the newly redesigned i3, i5, and i7. The brochure covers affordable entry-level infrared cameras ideal for equipping front-line plant technicians. www.flir.ca Flir www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 146

THE H50 ALGONQUIN Variable Speed Air Compressor by DV Systems is fully engineered from the ground up as a quiet, efficient and reliable package integrating variable speed technology throughout the entire unit. www.dvsystems.ca DV Systems www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 149

alongside contract manufacturing providers.

Visit www.sme.org.

Index of Advertisers RS# ..... Advertiser ... Page #

RS# ..... Advertiser ... Page #

122 ....... ATX Design ..............24

112 ....... LPS ......................... 8

124 ....... BrecoFlex ................25

130 ....... Masterbond .............31

118 ....... Canadian Linen ........19

131 ....... McCann ..................31

125 ....... Carr Lane ................26

132 ....... NR Murphy ..............31

110 ....... Chem-Eco ................ 6

109 ....... Omega ................... IFC

128 ....... Coxreels ..................30

120 ....... Pentair ....................21

155 ....... CPB ......................... 8

154 ....... Petro Canada........ OBC

134 ....... Creform ..................31

139 ....... Reelcraft .................36

AME Chicago 2012 AME Oct. 15-19, Chicago The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) presents its international lean conference. Visit www.ameconference.org.

138 ....... DV Systems .............36

137 ....... Rittal.......................35

133 ....... Ellsworth .................31

114 ....... Rosta ......................10

150 ....... EMC .......................38

115 ....... Schneider................11

111 ....... Exair ........................ 7

113 ....... Sew Eurodrive .......... 9

127 ....... Flir .........................29

129 ....... SME .......................30

FABTECH 2012 SME Nov. 12-14, Las Vegas, Nev. The society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) showcases metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing technologies. Visit www.fabtechexpo.com.

121 ....... Gorbel.....................22

151-153 Spraying Systems .... IBC

117 ....... Gordon R. Williams ...18

123 ....... Stone Tucker ...........25

116 ....... Hannay Reels ..........17

136 ....... UE Systems .............34

135 ....... Imagewear ........32&33

140 ....... Vi-Cas ....................36

COM 2012 MetSoc Sept.30-Oct. 3, Niagara Falls, Ont. The 51st Annual Conference of Metallurgists hosted by the Metallurgy & Materials Society of CIM (MetSoc) examines how today’s technology achievements answer society’s future aspirations. Symposiums and technical papers will be presented. Visit www.cim.org/ COM2012/index.cfm.

119 ....... Kunst ......................21 PLANT 37

12-06-08 12:52 PM

Departments

>> Postscript

Canadian manufacturing isn’t competitive

BY JOCK FINLAYSON

T

he state of manufacturing is attracting a great deal of interest. In the US, President Barack Obama made manufacturing’s revival a central theme of his 2012 state of the union address. On this side of the border, there is renewed concern about the viability of our manufacturing sector.

Canada has suffered significant job losses since the 2008 recession, with employment falling to 1.76 million last year, down from more than 2 million in 2007. Today,

Since 2005, unit labour costs have been increasing much “faster than comparable US costs… ” output in Ontario is 20% below the peak recorded in 2000, although it’s growing again after a sharp contraction in 2009, but job gains have been few and far between.

Yet there are reasons to be optimistic about the outlook for North American manufacturing, particularly in the US. In the past two years, the US has added 430,000 factory jobs and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve reports gains in new orders, shipments, capacity utilization,

exports and job growth.

Looking beyond the near-term, several developments point to a sustained resurgence of manufacturing in the US. Business costs have fallen for many companies. High unemployment and weak unions have kept a lid on labourrelated costs and in the aftermath of the Great Recession, land and construction costs have declined across much of the country. This has strengthened the eco-

nomic case for new plants and factories in some US locations. General Electric, for example, has just announced it’s “re-shoring” the production of certain appliance products and shifting employment from plants in China and Mexico to a soon-to-be expanded facility in Kentucky.

Slumping natural gas prices – coupled with the expectation that prices will stay depressed – is also good news. According to a PwC report, the explosion of the North American shale gas supply translates into billions of dollars in annual savings from reduced feedstock and energy costs, which is important given manufacturing’s out-sized reliance on natural gas for energy.

Rising business costs in China and some other emerging economies with export-oriented factory sectors are also a boon. China is experiencing double-digit wage increases with escalating land, power and shipping costs. Meanwhile, the renminbi has appreciated by approximately 30% against the US dollar since the start of 2005, erasing a small part of Chinese producers’ cost advantage.

Improved competitiveness Strong US productivity growth is also part of the evolving manufacturing equation. Gains have been well ahead of wage hikes over the past decade. As a result, unit labour costs have fallen, resulting in a significant improvement in industrial competitiveness.

Finally, continued high global oil prices will spur some US manufacturers to consider re-shoring production by investing more at home.

Add it all up and the outlook for manufacturing stateside is very positive.

A recent study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) predicts that by 2015 manufacturing a growing array of product categories in parts of the US will be as economical as doing so in China.

Canada, on the other hand, will struggle to reap benefits from any resurgence because our competitive position in relation to the US has deteriorated.

Since 2005, unit labour costs have been increasing much faster than comparable US costs, and any advantage we had has evaporated. We can blame this erosion on the stronger loonie, slower productivity growth, greater flexibility in US labour arrangements and lower investment in machinery, equipment and innovation.

This doesn’t augur very well for the future expansion of manufacturing activity – even if broader global trends point to a brighter future for our neighbours to the south.

Have you heard?

We’re here to help.

EMC is Canada’s largest and most active manufacturing consortium. We are a unique not-for-profit organization of manufacturers, dedicated to helping our members become more competitive at home and around the world.

We can help you: • Grow your business • Reduce your costs • Improve your safety • Network, benchmark and share best practices • Train your workforce, and much more

Jock Finlayson is executive vice-president of the Business Council of British Columbia. This column is distributed

by Troy Media in Calgary. Visit www. troymedia.com.

Visit our website today to learn more.

Check us out today: www.emccanada.org www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 150

38-40PLNT.indd 38

Comments? E-mail jterrett@plant.ca.

38 PLANT

May/June 2012

12-06-08 11:47 AM

WINdJeT ® AIR KNIveS PRovIde effICIeNT, effeCTIve dRyINg ANd BloW-off A unique leading edge design enables WindJet Air Knives to produce a uniform, high volume, constant air stream along the entire length of the knife and eliminate common spotting and blotching problems.

The air knives, powered by blower air instead of costly compressed air, are available in different lengths and slot sizes. spray.com/airknives

www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 151

foR ComPleTe dRyINg IN INdeNTATIoNS ANd HoleS, USe WINdJeT AIR CANNoNS

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The cannons provide a high velocity air stream – ideal for drying crevices and holes.

Choose from a variety of orifice sizes. spray.com/aircannons

To reduce costly compressed air in drying and blow-off applications, a manufacturer changed from air nozzles and open pipes to WindJet® Air Knife packages. The WindJet® packages use low-maintenance regenerative blowers www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 152

that provide low noise operation and uniform, high-velocity air streams. Four systems are in use to prevent steel sheets from sticking together and for cooling

loW mAINTeNANCe RegeNeRATIve BloWeRS Our blowers recycle a portion of the air flow which enables them to provide performance comparable to many multi-stage or positive displacement blowers. Producing a continuous, non-pulsating, oil-free heated air flow, our blowers provide dependable operation with minimal maintenance. spray.com/blowers

www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 153

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and drying products.

The results: • Compressed air use reduced by nearly 3800 scfm • Annual energy savings of more than $500,000 • System payback of less than one month

Learn more about this application and dozens more at spray.com/results

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Advanced Science.

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At Petro-Canada we designed our line of PRECISION Greases to deliver 3-in-1 TM

Protection. With Precision Greases you get longer life, less water wash-out and better surface protection. Petro-Canada grease crafters combine our ultra pure base oils together with other selected oils and specific performance additives. Then we process them using the advanced science of our distinctive two stage manufacturing process. The results speak for themselves: less wear on equipment and improved productivity for your operation.

Put the Advanced Science of PRECISION to work in your plant.

Contact 1-866-335-3369 or lubricants.petro-canada.ca

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