New Requirements for Actuator Sizing
After decades of confusion, the American Water Works Association has created new standards for actuator sizing that clear up some of the confusion and also provide guidance on where safety factors need to be applied.
#water-wastewater #VMAnews #standards
Annual Meeting Provides Tools to Visualize the Future
Although the format for the 2020 VMA/VRC Annual Meeting was different, the fact the event was virtual allowed considerably more people to participate compared to last year—attendance jumped by 30% over 2019—and the enthusiasm was evident throughout the three-day event.
#VMAnews
Valve Manufacturers Step Up During the Pandemic
Around the nation, companies and businesses have found ways to help with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
#VMAnews #materials
Controlling Our Water Systems, Part I
Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from Cylinder and Vane Actuators and Control—Design and Installation, published by the American Water Works Association in 2015.
#actuators #VMAnews #water-wastewater
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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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
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