People & Places

OUT IN THE FIELD

Annual customer appreciation BBQ returns at Noble

Noble’s annual customer appreciation BBQ event had a successful turnout this past June, with hundreds of guests attending. The BBQ was held on June 12, at Noble’s head office in Concord, Ontario.

Held on a beautiful sunny day, participants were welcomed with a DJ playing music, an all-you-can-eat BBQ lunch, an ice cream truck, a free t-shirt, prizes, and access to more than a dozen exhibiting vendor tents. Some exhibitors at the BBQ included American Standard, Milwaukee Tool, Rheem, Moen, Zurn, and many more.

Former Toronto Maple Leaf, Shayne Corson was even on-site and provided pictures and autographs for attendees.

In addition to the festivities outside, guests could also tour Noble’s warehouse facility and AutoStore, an automated storage and retrieval system that incorporates robots for 24/7 order fulfillment within a cubic layout.

Wolseley ONE Show

Wolseley held its annual Wolseley ONE trade show at the Universal Event Space in Toronto on June 8.

The show ran from 2 p.m. till 7 p.m. and offered attendees the ability to network, test the latest products, and participate in live technical training.

Some of the available sessions included “Design Envelope Compass R: ECM Circulators for Multiple Applications with Armstrong” by Peter Wolff, global manager of ecosystems and performance upgrades at Armstrong Fluid Technology, “Pro Plumbing and Mechanical Core Trades Tools Training” by Brett Lewis and Gurjot Sahni, strategic account managers with Milwaukee, and “System 636 Flue Gas Training and Certification” by Doug Purdy, technical sales representative with IPEX.

On the show floor, there were more than 60 exhibitors for attendees to interact with and learn from. The next Wolseley ONE event will be held at the Sheraton Laval in Quebec on Nov. 1.

Milwaukee Tools Pipeline event

One of the best parts about the world starting to open up again after locking down is the return of in-person events. At the 2022 Milwaukee Tool Pipeline event, social media influencers and trades people were invited to get their hands on the latest product offerings at their flagship Milwaukee, Wisconsin head office. A team of Canadian tradespeople and media personnel attended the event from June 27-29.

Over the three-days, attendees were able to test some of the latest products, which were broken down into three categories of products —drilling and driving, carpentry and remodelling, and automotive.

After receiving demonstrations on how to use each new product by a Milwaukee Tools team member, everyone was able to test out the products themselves. The room was filled with social media influencers testing out the latest drill, rachet, or power saw, all while taking videos of the process for their many followers. At the end of the demonstration period, members of Milwaukee’s executive team gave a presentation on the direction of the company, which was followed by a question-and-answer period with attendees.

A tour of the company’s head office was also given, where attendees were able to see how the company’s battery technology is developed, how prototypes are created, and test out their virtual reality system on product concepts.

MCE Milan 2022

A Canadian delegation of contractors, engineers, and wholesalers attended the 2022 MCE ExpoComfort as guests of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) and Plumbing & HVAC magazine.

From June 28 to July 1, over 90,000 visitors hit the show floor, where they were able to interact with an array of products at one of the biggest industry shows in the world.

“This was an initiative by the ITA to promote Italian manufacturers and products to Canadians. The delegation included a mix of contractors, engineers, and wholesalers. It was an incredible event, and we are excited to continue this partnership with the ITA in 2024,” explained Mark Vreugdenhil, publisher of Plumbing & HVAC magazine.

The next MCE ExpoComfort will run March 12-15, 2024. For more information, visit www.mceexpocomfort.it.

People The

Daikin Applied Americas announced that its president and CEO Mike Schwartz is set to retire at the end of August. Acting as president and CEO since September 2011, Schwartz increased manufacturing capacity by 75 per cent and doubled its employee. Lixil has promoted Cosimo Coffa as the new general manager of trade sales and marketing and will be responsible for American Standard, DXV, and Grohe brands. Coffa has over 27 years of experience in senior sales and marketing roles, and before his promotion, Coffa led Lixil’s trade and project sales for Canada.

Additionally, Lixil has promoted Marlon Thompson, who will now be Lixil’s vice president of marketing. In his new role, Thompson will be responsible Cosimo for the Canadian integrated marketing Coffa team of product, channel, digital, and pricing. Thompson has worked with Lixil since 2019 and has more than 18 years of experience in brand and product marketing.

Mike Schwartz Marlon Thompson

Uponor Corp. has named Andres Caballero

Andres Caballero

president of its building solutions – North America division and a member of the executive committee at Uponor. Caballero has extensive leadership experience, including more than a decade at Honeywell International Inc. He will now be based in Apple Valley, Minnesota.

The Companies

Zurn Water Solutions and Elkay Manufacturing have completed its merger and are joining forces to create Zurn Elkay Water Solutions. With its combined product portfolio, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions will serve several markets, including education and healthcare. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions currently employs more than 2,600 people, primarily in the United States.

Navac has partnered with DRM Repair Centre, Toronto, Ont. to provide Canadian customers with out-of-warranty repairs for its vacuum pumps, recovery units and other HVAC/R tools. DRM Repair Centre specializes in the service and repair of recovery machines and vacuum pumps for air conditioning and refrigeration, and works in line with Navac’s customer service approach, offering emergency services, loans of critical equipment during repairs and rentals with nominal surcharges.

Saniflo Canada, a division of Group SFA, achieved platinum status with the Green Business Bureau, a national membership organization that uses an online assessment to certify green businesses.

Wolseley Canada has opened its latest branch in Vernon, B.C. The location will offer the full assortment of Wolseley Canada’s plumbing and HVAC products. This marks the second branch Wolseley has opened in the province in recent months, with Richmond unveiling its branch in April.

FabricAir Inc. is refreshing its brand identity with a new logo, tagline and redesigned website that reinforces its nearly 50 years of HVAC industry experience. Its new logo features a peacock blue, Verdana font with contoured letters, and its redesigned website will feature newly-created case studies, blogs, application example photos and a selection matrix aid for specification.

Armstrong Fluid Technology announces the availability of a new Parts Kits Brochure for more than two dozen pumps and circulators. The Parts Kits brochure details the replacement parts and related hardware required to complete specific service and maintenance tasks and is designed to help bring assets back into service.

Emerson announces it has achieved 200 million Copeland compressor installations worldwide. The milestone comes after the company concluded its 100th anniversary celebration of the Copeland brand.