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American Standard America, Crane Plumbing and Eljer announce intent to merge
AS America, Inc. (American Standard America), Crane Plumbing LLC and Eljer, Inc. announced their intent to merge. The merger closing is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2008, and integration of the companies’ operations is expected to occur within a 12- to 24-month period.
Once the merger is complete, Donald C. Devine, president and CEO of American Standard America, will lead the new company and Kevin Oak, CEO of Crane Plumbing, will become coo. Jim Harris, ceo of Eljer, will be part of the integration steering committee. The new organization will have operations in the United States, Mexico and Canada, and its headquarters will be in Piscataway.
While leaders of all three companies are excited about the opportunity and have formed integration teams and plans for the merger, the three companies will continue to conduct business as usual and operate as independent companies until the closing.
American Standard America, Crane Plumbing and Eljer are affiliated portfolio companies of Sun Capital Partners, Inc., a leading private investment firm specializing in leveraged buyouts and investments in market-leading companies. Bain Capital Partners, Inc. is a minority partner in American Standard America and will remain a minority partner in the new consolidated entity.
With an operating history of over 130 years, American Standard America is one of the largest North American manufacturers of bath and kitchen products. The company participates in all key product categories such as bathroom and kitchen faucets, fixtures and furniture with leading positions in toilets and in bathroom fixtures. Products are marketed under such brand names as American Standard, Porcher and Jado. American Standard delivers products to a wide range of customers in both residential and commercial markets and for new construction and replacement remodeling. The network includes wholesalers (including showrooms), retailers (including do-it-yourself centers) and specialty merchants. For more information, please visit www.americanstandard-us.com.
Crane Plumbing is one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of plumbing fixtures and specialty plumbing products in the United States and Canada. Crane’s products are marketed under the Crane Plumbing, Fiat, Showerite, Universal-Rundle and Sanymetal brand names. For more information, please visit www.craneplumbing.com.
Eljer is a leading branded plumbing fixture company serving the residential, commercial construction, remodeling and repair markets in both the United States and Canada. Eljer manufactures and markets vitreous china fixtures, cast iron sinks, whirlpool tubs, and other related plumbing products for the kitchen and bathroom markets, and distributes its products through a network of wholesale distributors, hardware stores and do-it-yourself home centers. For more information, please visit www.eljer.com.
Watts announces ‘Golden Regulator’ Rep of the Year Award
Watts Regulator Company announced the recipient of its 2007 “Golden Regulator” Representative of the Year Award, Disney-McLane and Associates of Cincinnati. The award was presented by Dave Johnson, Sr. vice president of sales at Watts’ 2008 national sales meeting held in Palm Springs, Calif.
Disney-McLane has represented the Watts family of products in Southern and Central Ohio and Kentucky for over 25 years and recently assumed responsibility for the state of Indiana. The company has grown from five employees to its current staff of 25 and maintains a 12,000-sq.-ft. warehouse and office facility in Cincinnati. The Watts “Golden Regulator” award is presented annually to the manufacturers representative that has achieved significant sales growth while providing superior customer support at all levels. For more information on Watts Regulator Co., visit www.watts.com.
Competing products all make great claims and seek endorsements that will, they hope, attract consumers. And in today’s era of increasing environmental consciousness, being known as a “green” product is quickly becoming the highest accolade of all.
Recently, one high-efficiency home heating and cooling system earned an endorsement of sorts from perhaps the best-known environmentalist on the planet -- Al Gore. Although the former U.S. vice president, a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for his environmental activism, has not publicly lauded his new hvac equipment, he voted his approval of an innovative ground-source heat pump system by installing one in his own Nashville home and office headquarters.
According to an assistant, Kalee Kreider, Gore was intent on a geothermal system from the start, and a number of options were researched. “He made the final decision on this heat pump technology,” Kreider said. “He lives there with Mrs. Gore, and he works out of the house.”
The new HVAC equipment, manufactured by Earth To Air Systems of nearby Franklin, Tennessee, replaced an older heating and cooling system that had a federal Energy Star rating for efficient operation, Kreider said. “But when you look at overall energy use, this new system is far more efficient.”
Installation of the Earth To Air unit included drilling seven small-diameter, 300-foot-deep wells on the Gore property to tap into the earth’s constant underground temperatures. Continuous loops of copper tubing were placed in the wells, which were then sealed with a special grout to create a permanent in-ground “radiator” that circulates a liquid heat-exchanging refrigerant.
Ground-source heat pumps work by boosting below-ground temperatures, which average 50 to 60 degrees year-round, to a higher level adequate for home heating. The systems also cool homes during warm weather by returning ambient indoor heat to the ground.
In general, ground-source heat pumps are more efficient than systems that depend on above-ground air temperatures, which vary widely, as their heating source. During very cold weather, air-source systems struggle to close the gap between their thermal starting point and the desired indoor-air temperature. Direct exchange ground-source systems that use copper tubing, like the Gore unit, are also more efficient and considered superior to systems that circulate water through plastic in-ground tubing.
Company vice president David Wiggs says Earth To Air is the first heat pump system engineered to operate with the new, environmentally compatible R-410A refrigerant as a heat-exchange medium. Other systems rely on ozone-depleting R-22 (Freon) refrigerant, which is being phased out and will be banned by the EPA from new installations after 2010.
Andy Kireta Jr., national building construction manager for the Copper Development Association (CDA), consulted on the project to explain the environmental benefits of in-ground copper tubing systems. “Once people see the advantages of copper direct-exchange systems, like this one, they usually go for them,” Kireta said. “We’re just thrilled that Al Gore wanted one for his own home.”
AHR Expo shatters show records
A new all-time attendance record of 39,298 registered visitors (excluding exhibitors) was one of several new milestones achieved by the recently concluded 2008 AHR EXPO, January 22-24, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.
Until this year, the highest “visitor” attendance was achieved at the 2003 Show in Chicago, with a total of 38,224. When compared with past shows held in the Northeast, the 2008 AHR Expo also set new records for number of exhibitors and square feet of exhibit space.
A new all-time record was also established in New York for the number of registered international attendees (6,778), who came to the show from 132 different countries.
“We are thrilled to surpass so many major milestones at this year’s event,” said Clay Stevens, president of IEC, show producers and managers of AHR Expo. “As it has been 17 years since the Show was last held in New York, HVAC/R professionals took full advantage of the city’s accessibility to visit the world’s largest HVAC/R event and see the thousands of new products and technologies on display.”
Several exhibitors echoed Stevens’ sentiments. “This show is a home run. We exhibit at many shows, including several previous ahr Expos, and the traffic so far has been 10 times better than any other show I’ve been to,” said Mike Ruff, coo and senior vice president of Intellidyne. “The interest in our new products has been great.”
Peter Harper, vp strategic marketing for General Tools and Instruments also found great success at the 2008 AHR Expo. “I haven’t seen this type of traffic in several years at any show. We are seeing all the people we want to meet -- contractors, distributors, end-users and students.”
Burnham picks N. H. Yates as rep
Burnham Hydronics announced that the N.H. Yates & Company, Inc. is a new manufacturer’s representative for Burnham Hydronics full line of boilers and hydronic heating equipment effective January 1, 2008.
As Burnham’s representative, Yates will cover the Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Delaware, Southeast Pennsylvania, and the Washington, DC areas. They also will handle Burnham Commercial Cast Iron and New Yorker boiler products.
Since 1949 N.H. Yates & Co., Inc. has been providing the highest quality products and services to the HVAC and plumbing industry. In addition to the headquarters location in Cockeysville, Maryland, they also maintain offices throughout the territories they cover and have fully staffed offices in Richmond, Virginia and Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Yates operates warehouses in both the Cockeysville and Pottstown locations. Also, as a key element of the partnership, three veteran Burnham Hydronics sales representatives will be joining the Yates organization. Jason Richards, Gary Markle and Bob Fisch will bring a wealth of Burnham product knowledge, experience and continuity to the relationship.
Charlotte Pipe launches training center
Charlotte Pipe and Foundry announced the opening of a new, state-of-the-art 9,000-sq.-ft. training facility in Charlotte. Located around the corner from the Company’s cast iron foundry, the facility will be used to host training classes for sales representatives, wholesale customers, plumbing and mechanical contractors and engineers. Charlotte Pipe’s technical services department staff will conduct training sessions throughout the year, some of which may qualify for continuing education credits.
“Plumbing trade skills and continuing education training is desperately needed in our industry,” said Brian Connor, training manager for Charlotte Pipe. “We are delighted to be able to offer this facility and our expertise to customers who wish to learn more about our products, about codes and standards and about the industry in general.”
For more information, www.charlottepipe.com.