Rockwell Automation is continuing its support and participation in the Center for Intelligent Maintenance Systems (IMS) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) in order to help manufacturers improve operational efficiency and plant uptime through integrated maintenance programs. The company's Global Manufacturing Solutions is working closely with the Center to achieve near-zero breakdown in manufacturing equipment and systems by advancing the use of predictive intelligence.

The Center for IMS is a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center jointly developed by UWM and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Led by Dr. Jay Lee, a renowned global authority on e-manufacturing and e-maintenance research and development, the Center brings together leading manufacturing companies seeking to refine and improve manufacturing, maintenance and service operations. Working with Rockwell Automation, Dr. Lee is growing the Center into the “mecca” for e-manufacturing and e-maintenance research and implementation.

As a founding partner of the Center, Rockwell Automation donated $150,000 to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) in October 1999 to establish the Rockwell Automation professorship and the Center for Intelligent Maintenance Systems.

Additionally, the Center has support from more than 40 companies including Ford, Harley-Davidson, General Motors, Intel, Johnson Controls, Toshiba, Xerox, and United Technologies. Since its inception, IMS has worked with partner companies in the development of a Web-enabled platform for e-maintenance and e-manufacturing. These development tools are currently being integrated into a test bed at the Citation Custom Products plant in Milwaukee — a Tier 1 supplier to Ford Motor Co.

Pennsylvania Crusher will be represented in Latin America by Ventura Process Equipment Co., which is based in Pittsburgh, Pa., and maintains offices in Chile, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Pennsylvania manufactures a large selection of crushers, including granulators (ring hammermills), reversible hammermills, rod mills, cage mills, clinker crushers, Bradford breakers and other equipment. In addition, Pennsylvania offers application engineering, test crushing and complete technical support for the life of the crusher.

Aumund and B&W Mechanical Handling recently signed an agreement for international sales and marketing cooperation, allowing Aumund to market B&W's full range of products, including the Samson feeder, Shiploader, Stormajor, and Link conveyors. In addition to expanding product range, integration of B&W's equipment into Aumund's worldwide sales program will maximize the Group's opportunities for participation in semi-turnkey projects and encourage customers and users on the international market to take advantage of the combined resources. Both Aumund and B&W have roots in the bulk material handling business, thus, the combined expertise of both is a suitable platform to promote maximum use of their individual equipment from a single source.

Loesche America Inc. announced a change of address, as follows: 20170 Pines Blvd., Suite 301, Pembroke Pines, Fla. 33029; tel.: (+1) 954-602-1424 or (+1) 800-989-9155; fax: (+1) 965-602-1423; web: www.loescheamerica.com

Schenck Weighing Systems has a new web site address: www.schenckamericas.com. The site provides existing and potential customers with information using “product,” “industry,” and “application” routes.

Malvern Instruments Ltd. entered into license and long-term research agreements with The Texas A&M University System for the further development and ultimate commercialization of frequency domain photon migration (FDPM) technology for particle characterization. FDPM was developed at Purdue University in work supported over the past decade by the National Science Foundation, DuPont, Dow, Eli Lilly, and consortia of more than 40 chemical and pharmaceutical companies. FDPM is an optical technology adapted from fluorescence spectroscopy for application to dense, opaque, and multiply-scattering systems for particle characterization. Detecting changes in “photon density wave” or intensity modulated light as it propagates through dense particulate suspensions or powder beds, FDPM measure two independent parameters: a scattering coefficient and an absorption coefficient.