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  • Grundfos Technical Institute will conduct two 1/2-day training programs for commercial and industrial pump installation and sales professionals. Training takes place in Grundfos Pumps Corp.'s state-of-the-art laboratory in Olathe, KS, Aug. 8-10 and Nov. 7-9. Tuition is $150. Applicants can register at: www.us.grundfos.com/training; call (913) 227-3400, ext. 3436; or e-mail: training@us.grundfos.com.

  • Rex Martin, chairman, president and chief executive officer of NIBCO INC., announced that the company has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the assets of Consolidated Plumbing Industries. CPI manufactures cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) tubing for the North American water distribution and radiant heating markets at its manufacturing location in Lebanon, OH. CPI's headquarters and distribution center are located in Knoxville, TN. The acquisition of CPI's line of PEX products complements NIBCO's NEXT-Pure™ PEX and residential plumbing product lines.

  • Grundfos Group has agreed to buy American pump manufacturer PACO Pumps. The PACO name will remain as a product brand under a newly established entity called Grundfos CBS Inc.

  • Weil-McLain has acquired Taishan Maeda Boiler Co., located in Taian, China. The company produces commercial boilers for the China market, exports castings to Maeda Boiler Co. in Japan, as well as producing several other assorted iron castings. 2004 revenues exceeded $3 million (U.S.). The new company will be named Weil-McLain Shan Dong.

  • Cooper Industries, Ltd. has acquired Wheelock, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of fire safety and emergency incident communications systems and devices. Based in Long Branch, NJ, Wheelock is a privately held company with 2005 annual revenues of approximately $46 million. Financial terms were not disclosed. Wheelock becomes part of Cooper Menvier, based in the United Kingdom. With the acquisition, Cooper Menvier gains complementary capabilities to enhance its core product offerings in fire safety and security detectors, panels and signaling devices, including strobes, sounders, call points and bells.

  • Selkirk Americas, L.P. (Selkirk) has been purchased by Tomkins PLC, a world-class global engineering and manufacturing group with market and technical leadership across its two business groups-Industrial and Automotive, and Building Products. Selkirk will operate as a separate company within the Building Products Division of Tomkins PLC.

  • Villeroy & Boch AG, the German ceramics company, has made its first-ever acquisition of a North American company. The purchase of the sanitary ware business from Grupo Industrial Saltillo, one of Mexico's leading industrial corporations, included three factories that produce St. Thomas Creations and Vitromex. The purchase price was not disclosed, but the acquired operations posted sales in 2005 of $60 million. According to Goering, St. Thomas and Vitromex will continue to operate independently of Villeroy & Boch with their own management and selling and distribution channels.

  • Ward Manufacturing, Inc. has acquired the assets of Wisconsin Nipple and Fitting Corp. of Milwaukee, WI. This purchase expands Ward's product offering of malleable pipe fittings and unions, cast iron pipe fittings and WARDFLEX corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST). Wisconsin Nipple and Fitting is primarily a manufacturer of carbon welded and seamless pipe nipples for the industrial pipe-valve-fittings (PVF) market. The company also manufactures stainless steel and brass nipples for the sprinkler and plumbing markets.

  • Lochinvar® Corp.'s Hydronic Heating Tour continues to travel throughout the U.S. and Canada demonstrating the Solution and new KNIGHT Heating Boiler. This self-contained tour van provides visitors with a hands-on demonstration of Lochinvar's hot water solutions. Contact your local Lochinvar representative for exact dates and locations. To find your local representative, go to www.Lochinvar.com and click on the rep locator.

  • Tyco Fire & Building Products, a division of Tyco International Ltd., has announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Pursuit Dynamics PLC for its patented PDX technology. Under the terms of this agreement, Tyco has acquired the rights to manufacture and market the PDX FireMist® fire suppression technology worldwide.

  • A.O. Smith Corp. has completed its acquisition of GSW Inc. GSW, a Canadian-based manufacturer of water heaters and building products, with 2005 sales of approximately $520 million (U.S.), was acquired for approximately $340 million in cash.

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