#VMANEWS

Manufacturing

Virtual Market Outlook Event Exceeds Expectations

By: Judy Tibbs, Editorial Consultant, VALVE Magazine

During the 2020 Market Outlook Workshop August 6 and 7, more than 140 people from across the U.S. and Canada gathered together via laptops and electronic devices to learn what economic experts predict may happen in the short and long term and how that could affect the valves and pumps industries, and to discuss what they were hearing. “The feedback to our first virtual event and overall participation was even better than we expected,” said Heather Rhoderick, CAE, president of Valve Manufacturers Association (VMA), which produced the event with the Hydraulic Institute (HI).
#VMAnews

Technical

Check Valves: The Most Important Valves in Your Process System

Check valves, as critical as they are for flow system performance, often don’t receive the respect they are due, said Arie Bregman, vice president and general manager, DFT, Inc., in a recent VMA presentation.
#gate-globe-check #VMAnews #automation

Insights

VMA’s New Leaders

The association gained two new leaders last fall: Heather Rhoderick, who is VMA’s new president, and Bryan Burns, chairman of the board.
#VMAnews

Education

2020 Can Be a Year of Education and Networking

The new year presents several exciting opportunities for those who manufacture and work with valves, actuators and related products.
#actuators #VMAnews

Insights

Heather Rhoderick Takes Over as VMA President

After an exhaustive search by the Executive Search Committee, Heather Rhoderick, CAE, was named president of the Valve Manufacturers Association (VMA). “I’m honored to join the team at VMA as their president.”
#VMAnews

Manufacturing

2020 Market Outlook: Doing Business in an Unpredictable World

Swinging market conditions, political tensions and trade battles were top-of-mind for the economists and industry experts speaking at this year’s VMA Market Outlook Workshop, Aug. 8-9, 2019 in San Diego.
#VMAnews

Manufacturing

Annual Meeting: Sandler Celebrated, New VMA Leaders Announced

Bill Sandler spent much of the 81st VMA/VRC annual meeting being surprised and honored for his 42 years of service to the association and the valve industry.
#maintenance-repair #VMAnews

Insights

Ten Years and Counting: VMA’s Valve Basics Celebrates the Power of Change

One of the founding members of VMA’s Education & Training (E&T) Committee, Ed Holtgraver (QTRCO), remembers the excitement created by the first Valve Basics Seminar held in Houston a decade ago.
#VMAnews #basics

Manufacturing

Speakers Share Market Outlook for the Rest of 2019, 2020 and Beyond

Members attending the VMA Market Outlook Workshop, August 8-9 in San Diego, received good news and bad news about markets important to the valve industry, as well as recent overall economic conditions domestic and worldwide.
#VMAnews

Insights

Process Instrumentation and Automation Market to Grow at 4.4%

The process instrumentation and automation market in the United States, currently valued at $13.9 billion, is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.4% and reach a total of $17.3 billion in 2023, according to a market forecast published by the Measurement, Control & Automation Association (MCAA). The percentage increase over the five years is projected to be about 24%. The reported market value slightly exceeded the $13.6 billion projected for 2018 in the 2014 MCAA Market report.
#VMAnews #automation

Insights

Exploring a New Area of Knowledge at This Year’s Forum

Attendees at this year’s Valve Industry Knowledge Forum received a fresh dose of education on a subject not previously covered at VMA meetings: marketing and management.
#VMAnews

Education

Speakers Share Expertise at 2019 Knowledge Forum

Technology has been advancing at a pace that may be faster than our ability to protect it, according to Pat Toth, cybersecurity program manager with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Toth was keynote speaker at the second VMA Valve Industry Knowledge Forum, April 9-11 in Birmingham, AL.
#iiot #VMAnews #standards

Insights

Highlights from VMA’s 2019 Leadership Forum

Valve industry executives gathered in Toronto last month to network, exchange ideas and learn about diverse topics relating to their leadership, including economic issues, digitization of enterprises and how to adapt as a leader in a changing organization.
#basics #VMAnews

Insights

VMA President Bill Sandler Announces Retirement

After more than four decades as a VMA staff member and more than two as its leader, VMA President Bill Sandler announced he will retire at the end of 2019.
#VMAnews

Education

Solenoid Valves: Direct Acting vs. Pilot-Operated

While presenting in a recent VMA Valve Basics 101 Course in Houston, I found myself in a familiar role: explaining solenoid valves (SOVs) to attendees. (I work with solenoids so much that one VMA member at that conference joked that I needed to be wearing an I Heart Solenoids t-shirt). During the hands-on “petting zoo” portion of the program, which involves smaller groups of attendees, one of the most frequently asked questions I get from people came up: What’s the difference between direct-acting and pilot-operated SOVs, and how do we make a choice?
#basics #solenoids #automation

Insights

National Compassion Fund and Mueller Create Aurora/Pratt Survivors’ Fund

On Feb. 25, 2019, the National Compassion Fund and Mueller Water Products announced creation of the Aurora/Pratt Survivors’ Fund to aid families of victims and employees physically injured or traumatized by their presence at the February 15 shooting in Aurora, IL, at Henry Pratt Company, a Mueller subsidiary.
#water-wastewater #VMAnews

Education

2019 VMA Knowledge Forum Tackles Broad Range of Issues

When VMA first combined three meetings into one—the Valve Industry Knowledge Forum—it did so with the idea that attendees would have a much more varied range of topics from which to choose as well as an opportunity to mingle and exchange information with peers in positions that are different from their day-to-day jobs.
#VMAnews

Insights

John Spears: Advisor to the “Oil Patch”

Many people in the valve industry recognize the name John Spears because he has been a featured speaker at VMA’s Market Outlook for many years.
#VMAnews

Insights

Looking Toward 2019 at Power Gen and Valve World

Two recent events over the last month brought together valve manufacturers and end users, and VMA members and staff were there to learn all that’s new in the industry.
#VMAnews

Insights

VMA’s New Chair Cites Deep Need for Technical Know-How

Ask David Hughes, the new chairman of the Valve Manufacturers Association of America (VMA), what he sees as the most significant pressure the valve industry of today faces and he’ll point to the need to find new ways to offer and create expertise.
#pressure-relief #VMAnews