Merger forms HaydonKerk Motion Solutions
Haydon Switch and Instrument Inc., a company involved with motor miniaturization, announces a merger with Kerk Motion Products, a manufacturer of non-ball leadscrews, linear rails, and actuator systems. The two companies will become HaydonKerk Motion Solutions, retaining both the Kerk and Haydon product lines. Located on 10 acres in Waterbury, Conn., the Haydon facility will continue to produce canstack and hybrid stepper-motor actuators, rotary steppers, and LRS motorized rails. Kerk leadscrews, linear rails, and non-motorized actuators will continue to be manufactured at the Hollis, N.H. facility.
HaydonKerk will present its first technical webcast on November 13 at 2 p.m., Introduction to Linear Actuators. Engineering managers will explain the ins and outs of linear actuators and how they are used to achieve precision linear motion. The webcast is designed for electrical, mechanical, and electromechanical design and application engineers, as well as OEMs that desire an integrated solution for conversion of rotary to linear motion. For more information, visit http://machinedesign.com/pages/webevents.aspx or www.haydonkerk.com.
Gore joins Ethernet Alliance
W. L. Gore & Associates Inc., Landenberg, Pa., a manufacturer of cable assemblies, has joined the Ethernet Alliance, an industry group dedicated to the promotion of Ethernet technologies. Gore will play a key role in the advancement of Ethernet copper cable interconnect technologies, according to company sources. The Ethernet Alliance was created to promote industry awareness and advancement of technology and products based on existing and emerging IEEE 802 Ethernet standards. For more information, visit www.ethernetalliance.org.
Danfoss names new CEO
Effective October 1, Danfoss Group, Loves Park, Ill., announced that its president and CEO, Jorgen M. Clausen, has retired and that his successor, Niels B. Christiansen, has assumed these leadership roles. Clausen will formally become the company's chairman after the organization's annual meeting in spring 2009. Christiansen joined the company in 2004 as its chief operating officer and a member of its executive committee. In May 2007, he was promoted to vice CEO.
Jorgen Clausen is the eldest son of Danfoss founder Mads Clausen, an engineer who established the company in 1933 in his parent's attic in Nordborg, Denmark. Clausen will now concentrate on his directorships, including chairmanship of Sauer-Danfoss, and board membership of the Bitten and Mads Clausen Foundation, a charitable organization established by his father. Danfoss, a manufacturer of mechanical and electronic components and systems, celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. For more information, visit www.danfoss.com.
Omron assists hurricane relief efforts
In response to the ongoing needs of communities damaged by Hurricane Ike, Omron Foundation Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., approved the donation of $50,000 to the Greater Houston Community Foundation to assist with relief efforts. Hurricane Ike, which struck the Houston area on September 12, devastated a large part of coastal Texas, causing damage estimated at $20 billion. The Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund was established by Houston Mayor Bill White to help fill unmet humanitarian needs for hurricane victims in Houston, Harris and Galveston counties, and other affected areas. For more information, visit www.omron.com.
NSK receives sustainability award
NSK Precision America, Franklin, Ind., has earned recognition as one of the “2008 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World,” a list compiled and released annually at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. NSK's sustainability initiatives emphasize recycling, green procurement, and environmental education. The company pursues environmental innovation through technologies such as hybrid solar cogeneration systems that use excess heat from electricity generation to warm production facilities. NSK Precision America produces precision ballscrews, linear guides, and linear actuators. For more information, visit www.nskprecision.com.
Interroll adds West Coast service center
Interroll Corp., Wilmington, N.C., recently opened a new service center in Tulare, Calif. The new facility will include application support, customer support, and warranty service, enabling the company to better serve equipment manufacturers and regional end users that employ the company's drum motors. These ac motors are typically used on belt conveyors in material handling applications. Service center personnel also provide application support for the company's 24-Vdc RollerDrives, Intelligent DriveControls, conveyor rollers, and other conveyor components. For more information, visit www.interroll.com.