Mte Corp. Sold To Sl Industries

Power-protection company is sold

MTE Corp., a company that makes power-protection products used in industrial equipment ranging from elevators to municipal water pumps has been sold to a New Jersey, USA, company for $15.5 million.

MTE Corp. will remain in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin USA, where it has about 100 employees at two factories, said Norbert Miller, company president and chief executive officer.

The company has been sold to SL Industries of Mount Laurel, New Jersey USA.

SL Industries has roughly 1,300 employees and is publicly traded. Like MTE, it makes power quality products used in a variety of industries, including aerospace.

MTE had about $17 million in sales last year. Under the acquisition, it is to be operated as an SL Industries company but run separate from SL Industries' other companies.

"We have just added people, and there is no intention to reduce personnel. Our product line is totally unique within the SL group," Miller said.

MTE products, used to protect electrical equipment from power surges, harmonic distortion, etc., are sold worldwide through more than 250 distributors. (MTE products, including Line Reactors, dV/dt Filters, Harmonic Mitigation Filters, Sine-Wave Filters, etc., are marketed Globally and are represented in Australia by Westek Electronics Pty Ltd)

The company also has found some unique niches, such as providing street lamp ballasts for Los Angeles, the largest street lamp market in the nation.

MTE was formed in 1982 for the purpose of merging four independent magnetics and electronics companies.

Miller, one of the majority shareholders, said he spent nearly a year negotiating the sale to SL Industries.

"I am at the age where my family has indicated that they would really prefer I take my retirement. My former business partner died last December, and this seemed like a convenient time to sell," he said.
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Excerpted from the Nov. 7, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Baldor To Acquire The Power Systems Business Of Rockwell Automation, Inc.

November 7, 2006

Baldor To Acquire the Power Systems Business of Rockwell Automation, Inc.


Baldor Electric Company (NYSE:BEZ) markets, designs, and manufactures industrial electric motors, drives and generators and is based in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Today Baldor announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Reliance Electric Company and certain of its affiliated companies (the “Power Systems business”) of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK).

Baldor will purchase 100% of the equity interest in the Power Systems business for $1.8 billion, comprised of $1.75 billion in cash and approximately 1.6 million shares of Baldor common stock, with a market value of $50 million, based on Baldor’s volume weighted average stock price over the prior ten trading days. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2007 and is subject to customary closing conditions and necessary regulatory approvals.

The combined company will be one of the leading North American manufacturers of industrial electric motors and power transmission products. The Power Systems business, which markets its products under the Reliance Electric® and Dodge® brand names, complements Baldor’s business in industrial electric motors, drives and generators.

“The Reliance and Dodge businesses are a great fit with our existing businesses,” said John McFarland, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Baldor. “The Power Systems business will complement and add strength to Baldor’s product line. The Power Systems business, like Baldor, provides the best industrial products available in the marketplace and sells them to value-minded customers.

“Dodge products have been available for over 125 years, Reliance motors for over 100 years and Baldor motors for over 85 years. These companies have a long history of customer preference and good profitability. Baldor, Dodge and Reliance have strong reputations in the industrial marketplace. This is a unique opportunity to build a stronger company for our customers, our employees and our shareholders.”

Keith D. Nosbusch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rockwell Automation said, “Baldor is a great company with an outstanding management team. I believe there is a compelling cultural and strategic fit between Baldor and our Reliance and Dodge businesses. Both organizations have similar operating philosophies and are committed to treating employees with respect, delivering high quality products and providing exceptional service to our customers. Power Systems will benefit significantly from ownership that is dedicated to investing on a global basis to create a leading motors and power transmission business.”

This transaction has a number of benefits and opportunities for Baldor customers, Baldor shareholders, and the employees of both companies:


Adds approximately $1 billion dollars in sales with margins higher than Baldor’s.
Provides a manufacturing base in China for the Asian markets.
Extends our product line into power transmission products and larger motors.
Enables Baldor to provide a broader product offering and services to customers.
Provides strong opportunities for synergies and cost savings in the combined businesses.
Addition of the Power Systems management team increases the strength of our management group.
Increases our manufacturing capability and flexibility.
Broadens investor interest in Baldor.

As part of Rockwell Automation, the Power Systems segment generated approximately $1.0 billion in revenue for the 12 months ending September 30, 2006. Baldor expects to realize annual pre-tax synergies of approximately $30 million within three years mainly from the benefits of combined purchasing, working capital management, reduced overhead and increased productivity. The transaction is expected to be approximately $0.10 accretive to Baldor’s earnings in the first full year.

Baldor has received a financing commitment from BNP Paribas to support the transaction and expects to finance the $1.75 billion dollar cash consideration through a combination of debt and approximately $350 million of equity or equity-linked securities.

Upon completion of the transaction, total debt is expected be approximately $1.5 billion. Leverage ratios are expected to decline significantly over the next three years to be in line with our peers as cash flow is generated and synergies are realized.

UBS Investment Bank is acting as the sole financial advisor to Baldor in the transaction.

About Rockwell Automation Power Systems Power Systems is a leading provider of Dodge power transmission products, including mounted bearings and enclosed gearing, and Reliance Electric industrial motors, including large AC and custom, variable speed and specialty, and small and medium AC motors. Power Systems has approximately 4,300 employees worldwide and 14 manufacturing facilities.

About Baldor Electric Baldor Electric Company is a leading manufacturer of industrial electric motors, drives and generators. Baldor is headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas and had 2005 revenues of $721 million. Since its founding in 1920, Baldor has had a strategy of providing the highest value in the marketplace. Baldor has approximately 3,900 employees worldwide, 14 manufacturing facilities and the highest customer preference in the industry.

Baldor will host a conference call to discuss this acquisition on Tuesday, November 7, 2006 at 11:00 Eastern Standard time. A live webcast of the conference call and accompanying slide presentation will be available on Baldor’s website at www.baldor.com/investors/presentations.asp in the investor relations’ news and events section. The webcast will be available for 30 days. All interested parties are invited to call into 866-558-6901 in the United States and 913-643-4197 for international callers. An audio replay of the conference call will be available from 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard time on Tuesday, November 7, 2006 through Tuesday, November 14th, 2006 by calling 888-203-1112 in the United States and 719-457-0820 for international callers. The password for the replay is 3062245.

Performance Data Of Abb 4-pole, 50 Hz Squirrel Cage Induction Motors

Performance Data of ABB 4-Pole, 50 Hz Squirrel Cage Induction Motors


See : 4-Pole Motor Performance Data

Soft Switching For Pwm Inverters

For those not familiar with Soft Switching of the Inverter Bridge IGBTs ..... which effectively reduces the dv/dt (dU/dt) at the motor terminals, the below papers will introduce you to the concept / benefit .

see Saftronics paper on Soft Switching Technology

and also the below paper which is a more technical treatise on Soft Switching

"A Comparison Of Voltage-Mode Soft-Switching Methods for PWM Converters"

News Release: Abb's New Pump Control Software

DISCLAIMER

THE BELOW IS AN FYI ONLY AND IN NO WAY IS IT INTENDED AS AN ENDORSEMENT FOR THE MANUFACTURER's PRODUCT(s)
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Software puts drives in control of pumping

Intelligent Pump Control (IPC) software eliminates the need for an external PLC
and can help to save energy, reduce downtime and prevent pump jamming and pipeline blocking.


A new pump control software module for drives has been launched by ABB. Featuring six pump control functions, the new Intelligent Pump Control (IPC) software eliminates the need for an external PLC and can help to save energy, reduce downtime and prevent pump jamming and pipeline blocking. The IPC is a software add-on for ABB industrial drives, which cover a power range from 0.55 to 5600kW.

It contains all the common functions needed by water and waste utilities, industrial plants and other pump users.

Where several pumps are operated together and the required flow rate is variable, IPC uses multi-pump control.

Each pump is controlled by its own drive, with one being speed adjusted and the rest running at constant speed, giving a smooth control with no pressure peaks.

Level control Level control is typically used to control the filling or emptying of waste water storage tanks and can be used with a single pump, or two to three pumps with AC drives in parallel.

This function can prevent sediment build-up on the tank walls by randomly varying the surface level, while fast-ramp starting creates a flush effect to keep pipelines clear.

Preventive maintenance is important for all industrial equipment and the IPC achieves this through its anti-jam function.

When the function is triggered, the pump is run at high speed and either reversed or stopped in a number of user-defined cleaning cycles, clearing built up particles and avoiding corrosion.

IPC eliminates the need for flow meters with its flow calculation function, used to control a single-pump installation.

Sensorless flow measurement is possible; alternatively, data can be supplied by pressure transmitters.

The package also offers a sleep boost function.

This runs the pumps to boost the pressure or water level prior to shutdown, extending the pump's sleep time and so saving energy.

It also avoids unnecessary starting and stopping, and helps to flush the pipelines.

Pump priority control is used to balance the operating time of all the pumps in the system.

This facility helps pump operators plan their maintenance and can boost energy efficiency by operating pumps near their best efficiency point.

For instance, in a system where the consumption rate is greater during the day, the drive can be programmed to operate higher capacity pumps during daytime and smaller units at night.


The software also incorporates ABB's adaptive programming utility, enabling users to customise drives for specific applications.

Note: A free brochure or catalogue is available from ABB Automation Tech (Drives and Motors) on the products in this news release. June 2006

COMMENT:

Seems that it promises to do everything except fix breakfast and make a pot of tea.


jΩ