• Taco Comfort Solutions announced the appointment of Ken Watson to the new position of marketing and brand manager for the company. Watson brings 20-plus years of advertising and marketing experience to Taco. He was marketing manager at Textron in Providence, R.I., prior to joining Taco.

• John V. Ballun is the new president and CEO of Val-Matic Valve & Manufacturing Corp. Ballun joined the company in 1995 as vice president of engineering.

• Bosch Thermotechnology Regional President Vitor Gregorio has been appointed as director-at-large on the board of the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute.

• The Plastic Pipe Institute recently announced its award winners at its meeting on Hilton Head Island, S.C. Viega was honored as PPI Building and Construction Division Project of the Year, while Victaulic earned the PPI Energy Piping Systems Division Project of the Year honor. Viega’s Gary Morgan earned a PPI Member of the Year award for leadership and service as division chairman and member of the Codes & Standards Committee.

• Sloan and Falcon Waterfree Technologies partnered to donate the value of $25,000 in products to the Orthopaedic Institute for Children in Los Angeles. Sloan products will be installed in every restroom (40 low-flow faucets, 16 high-efficiency toilets and 15 waterfree urinals).