News briefs on industrial process cooling equipment suppliers

Airgas Inc., Radnor, Pa., has signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire Atlanta-based Industrial Products Division of LaRoche Industries, a distributor of anhydrous ammonia and related services in the United States. The acquisition would include a nationwide distribution system of 24 locations and more than 100 delivery vehicles. The business to be acquired generated about $65 million in revenues in 2004 and employs more than 130 people.

Northrop Grumman Newport News has awarded a contract to supply self-cleaning filters for the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier program to Amiad Filtration Systems, Oxnard, Calif. Amiad has 40 years' experience in filtration and system designs.

Trane, La Crosse, Wis., now offers a complete line of refrigerant-cooled, unit-mounted adaptive frequency drives (AFDs) for its CenTraVac centrifugal water chillers. AFDs control the voltage and speed of a chiller compressor based on a building's cooling needs, saving energy when the chiller operates at part-load or in off-design conditions. The feed-forward adaptive control system foresees load changes and quickly adapts to the chiller's operating ranges and its specific characteristics before the leaving temperature of the chiller is affected. The result is better efficiency and stability at reduced or variable flow.

Des Champs Technologies, Natural Bridge Station, Va., has developed its third generation Wringer 2000 indoor pool dehumidification units, and produced a catalog and application manual for the product.

Norway's Ormen Lange gas processing plant at Nyhamna has awarded an order for Fisher control valves from Emerson Process Management, Austin, Texas. The $2 million order includes all of the plant's control valves with severe aerodynamic noise challenges, including export metering and gas to flare, in various sizes up to 20” and pressure ratings up to ANSI 2500. Delivery is scheduled for September 2005.

Danfoss, Milwaukee, has partnered with Schwab, Vollhaber, Lubratt Inc., St. Paul, to be the exclusive sales representative of Danfoss variable frequency drives to the water/wastewater and HVAC industries in Minnesota and the Dakotas.

Applied Process Technology Inc., Pleasant Hill, Calif., a supplier of advanced water treatment technologies, has received its first international order for a HiPOx advanced oxidation water treatment system that will remove 1,4-dioxane from industrial wastewater in South Korea. The system will operate at a flow of 180 to 200 gal/min, reducing 1,4-dioxane concentrations as high as 65 ppm down to required discharge levels. The system is reported to be capable of meeting very low discharge limits that may be required in the future.