At an early February meeting, the FLS Industries board of directors discussed the consequences of the decision by Potagua, the main shareholder, to sell its shares in FLS Industries. The chairman of the board, Ib Christensen, informed the board that he will resign from his post. Accordingly, the board of directors has decided to move up the date for election of a new board to be held at an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for the beginning of March. As previously announced, Michael Arnstedt, Christian Kjaer, and Jens Münter will retire from the board at the general meeting, and a proposal for the election of Jens Stephensen as a new member of the board will be made. Nominees for the remaining places on the new board will be announced later.

In a separate development, FLS miljø Inc. has acquired Fuller Bulk Handling Corp.'s Air Pollution Control activities, effective Jan. 1, 2002. The merger will combine all FLS Industries Air Pollution Control activities within one entity and will facilitate an increased focus on the North American Environmental Systems and Global Aftermarket & Service related markets.

Equipment sales and service will continue in both Houston, Texas, and Bethlehem, Pa. The Houston office will concentrate on the electric utility industry while the Bethlehem office will serve the industrial sector including cement and minerals as well as pulp and paper. Continuing in Bethlehem will be the Ful-Serve Group aftermarket activities encompassing Advanced Filtration Technology, a filter bag manufacturing company located in Evans, Ga.; the stack testing and environmental compliance division, Fuller Air Compliance located in Roanoke, Va., and Philadelphia, Pa.; and, the Electrostatic Precipitator Parts and Service division in Houston.

As part of the acquisition, FLS miljø announces that Jack Hilbert, president and CEO of Fuller Bulk Handling Corp., has accepted the position of president and chief executive officer of FLS miljø Inc. Preben Lausen, previous CEO of FLS miljø Inc., will continue as executive vice president with responsibility for sales until his retirement in mid-2002.

The new FLS miljø Inc. will provide broad-based supply and service support for Air Pollution Control Systems, including new electrostatic precipitators, new reverse-air and jet-pulse fabric filters, APC system rebuilds and upgrades, APC system evaluation and trouble-shooting, environmental testing and consulting, and the supply of all fabric filter and ESP parts and components, including bags and cages.

Bates Abrasive, Inc., a manufacturer of cut-off and grinding wheels, has recently built a new 42,000-sq-ft manufacturing facility to accommodate its continued growth. The state-of-the-art facility will give the company additional manufacturing, engineering, and warehouse capacity. Because the company has outgrown its former plant, according to President Paul Anderson, the new Burlington, Wash., facility “will allow us to continue our steady growth and our commitment to serving our customers.”

Mole Master Services Corp. moved its international headquarters to a new location in Reno, Ohio, a suburb of Marietta. R. John Lehman, president of Alliance Industries, the parent company of Mole Master, purchased the land and building previously owned by Kardex Systems, Inc. Lehman has renamed the Route 7 North facility Reno Industrial Complex. The existing building on the property consists of approximately 600,000 sq ft (55,740 m²) of modern manufacturing, warehouse and office space. The move allows Mole Master to substantially enlarge its machine shop capabilities, providing for significantly increased production. Additionally, an enhanced research and development department has been expanded as a result of the move.