PLANT WEST May/June 2012

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ADVANCING CANADIAN MANUFACTURING Volume 7, No. 02 >> Supplement, PLANT >> May/June 2012

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Betting on

ENERGY

Will overhauling environmental assessments attract investment?

HIGHLIGHTS Canadians are pro energy development Nexterra biogases UBC Landmark automates home building Lenmak raises the curtain on innovation

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NEW TECHNOLOGY SECTION

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How To Keep Your Electronics Cool When hot weather causes the electronics inside a control cabinet to fail, there is a panic to get the machinery up and running again. There are several cooling options out there and it’s important to know the facts.

Line up of cooLers that are prone to bad behavior $$$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$ $$$ $$ $ ¢

Opening the panel door and aiming a fan at the circuit boards is a bad idea.

These coolers are prone to failure in dirty, industrial environments when dust and dirt clogs the filter.

• It is an OSHA violation that presents a shock hazard to personnel

• It takes almost a day to install

• The fan blows hot, humid, dirty air at the electronics • The cooling effect is minimal • It is likely to fail again since the environment is still hot

• Vibration from machinery causes refrigerant leaks and component failures • Compressor life expectancy is typically 2.5 years of continuous operation • It requires a floor drain for the condensation

These have serious limitations.

On hot summer days when the temperatures of the room and inside of the enclosure are about equal, there’s not enough difference for effective heat exchange.

• They fail when dust and dirt clogs the filter • The cooling capacity is limited due to ambient conditions

• Average cost to replace a bad compressor is $750

Reliable and mainten

The “plastic box cooler” from a competitor uses an inaccurate mechanical thermostat that’s designed for liquids. This thermostat has a poor ability to react quickly to changes in air temperature. It costs up to 85% more to operate than EXAIR’s ETC Cabinet Cooler ® System with the same SCFM rating and Btu/hr. output.

• Electronics can overheat before it turns on • It runs far longer than necessary before shutting off • Increased cycle time wastes compressed air

ance free!

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fax: (513) 671-3363 • E-mail: techelp@exair.com • www.exair.com www.cienmagazine.com/rsc 101

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Editorial

Dutch disease is the wrong diagnosis COVER PHOTO: TRANSCANADA

W

hat’s the deal with certain politicians from the East and the oil sands? Earlier in the year Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty tried to blame the province’s manufacturing woes on an artificially inflated dollar thanks to soaring commodity prices (glaring and pointing in Alberta’s direction). Now we have NDP leader and Quebecer Tom Mulcair blaming energy exports – particularly those coming from the oil sands – for a dose of Dutch disease that he claims is laying manufacturers low.

Mulcair should stop listening to the alien transmissions he’s receiving through the tinfoil hat he’s talking through.

There are several reasons Canadian manufacturers have been having a tough time, and the loonie’s high value is certainly one of them. It has affected exports, investments and jobs. But a study by the Institute for Research on Public Policy concludes Canada is suffering a “mild case” of the Dutch flu, noting that about 25% of manufacturing output has suffered as a result of the high dollar.

Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reports manufacturing output rose 1.9% in March, and several other surveys indicate plant executives are feeling pretty good about their prospects. Indeed, a recent PwC first quarter poll shows 76% of Canadian manufacturers surveyed are optimistic about the country’s economic prospects over the next 12 months, a 19-point improvement over the previous quarter.

There are plenty of opportunities for hard-pressed manufacturers in the energy patch that they must pursue more aggressively. Jean-Michel Laurin, vice-president of global policy for Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) notes $50 billion in annual resource investment will create demand for products such as piping, valves, pumps, motors and construction materials.

So rather than fretting about what commodities are doing to the dollar, Mulcair should be more concerned about the shortage of skilled labour. Looking ahead just three years, the oil and gas sector will need to fill 9,500 jobs, according to a report by the Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada.

One source of recruits is the Generation Ys born between 1982 and 2004, and PwC says getting their attention requires a change from traditional recruiting methods used to bring Baby Boomers and Generation Xs onboard. Gen Ys are interested in money and benefits, but they’re looking for more mentoring, career-path development and variable pay components, something more than half those surveyed don’t provide.

Improving productivity must also be a priority.

In 2011, Canada’s productivity growth was 1.4%, but the US more than doubled that at 3.8%. Factor in Canada’s aging population and an impending shortage of workers as they retire, plus labour growth of just 0.3% over the next 10 years and you have a kingsize drag on economic prosperity.

The oil and gas sector has a particularly poor record, putting profits and rapid development ahead of cost efficiency and getting more productive bang for its labour buck.

A 2009 analysis by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards shows the industry’s labour productivity fell by 8.23% per year between 2000 and 2007, while capital productivity was down 5.97%.

Commodity prices are high and Canada’s economy, despite the suffering of some manufacturers and Mulcair’s anguish, is benefiting from the energy industry’s output.

Developers need about $75 per barrel to extract the bitumen. If they could lower that threshold, they would be in a far better position to withstand the effects of the external factors that drive down oil prices (like China’s economy adopting a much slower pace), which could prove to be a greater health concern than a mild case of Dutch disease.

Joe Terrett, Editor Comments? E-mail jterrett@plant.ca.

Vol. 7, No. 02, May/June 2012 A supplement to PLANT Executive Publisher: Tim Dimopoulos 416-510-5100 tdimopoulos@bizinfogroup.ca Publisher: Michael King 416-510-5107 mking@plant.ca, mking@cienmagazine.com

District Sales Managers: Amanda Bottomley 416-859-4527 abottomley@canadianmanufacturing.com Catherine Martineau (Quebec) 647-988-5559 cmartineau@bizinfogroup.ca Deborah St. Lawrence 416-510-6844 dstLawrence@canadianmanufacturing.com Derek Morrison 416-510-5224 dmorrison@canadianmanufacturing.com Ilana Fawcett 416-510-5202 ifawcett@canadianmanufacturing.com

Group Editorial Director: Lisa Wichmann 416-510-5101 lwichmann@canadianmanufacturing.com

Market Production: Barb Vowles 416-510-5103 vowlesb@bizinfogroup.ca

Editor: Joe Terrett 416-442-5600 ext. 3219 jterrett@plant.ca

Circulation Manager: Diane Rakoff 416-510-5216 drakoff@bizinfogroup.ca

Assistant Editor: Matt Powell 416-510-5145 mpowell@plant.ca

Editorial Advisory Board: Robert Hattin, Hattin Holdings • Ron Harper, Cogent Power • Greg MacDonald, Wentworth International Services • Roy Verstraete, Anchor Danly

Contributing Editors: Ron Richardson, Steve Gahbauer Art Director: Kathy Smith 416-442-5600 ext. 3215 ksmith@plant.ca

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BIG MAGAZINES LP Vice-President of Canadian Publishing: Alex Papanou President of Business Information Group: Bruce Creighton

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11 Features

>> TRENDS

6 RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT The Harper government is overhauling environmental assessment rules to attract investment. What will that mean for manufacturing?

7 ENVIRONMENT A survey reveals most Canadians think it is possible to respect the environment while increasing oil and gas development.

>> SUSTAINABILITY

10 RENEWABLE ENERGY Nexterra’s one of a kind gasification system turns biomass into biogas.

>> OPERATIONS

11 AUTOMATION The Landmark Group of Builders apply the Landmark Panelized Construction System to build homes on the plant floor.

>> INNOVATIONS

12 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Lenmak Exterior Innovations gets lean and develops a revolutionary curtain-wall technology.

>> TECHNOLOGY

13 PRODUCTS AND EQUIPMENT What’s new in industrial products, machinery and equipment.

PLANTWARE Tracking the supply chain; more network uptime.

Departments 4 PLANT Pulse Careers

5 Events 14 Postscript

PLANT—established 1941, is published by BIG Magazines LP, a division of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd. Tel: 416-442-5600, Fax: 416-510-5140 80 Valleybrook Dr., Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 PRIVACY NOTICE: From time to time we make our subscription list available to select companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made available, please contact us via one of the following methods: Phone: 1-800-668-2374 Fax: 416-442-2191 E-mail: privacyofficer@businessinformationgroup.ca. Mail to: Privacy Officer, 80 Valleybrook Drive, North York, ON M3B 2S9 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES: To subscribe, renew your subscription or to change your address or information contact us at 1-800-387-0273.

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protected by copyright and must not be reprinted in whole or in part without permission of the publisher. Publications Mail Agreement #40069240. Performance claims for products listed in this issue are made by contributing manufacturers and agencies. No responsibility for the accuracy of these performance claims can be assumed on the part of PLANT or BIG Magazines LP. Contents copyright© 2012 BIG Magazines LP, may not be reprinted without permission.

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Departments

>> Industry View

>> PLANTWEST PULSE US, EU top Canadian trade choices TORONTO: The US is still the most popular market for Canadian business owners looking to expand internationally by a wide margin, with the EU ranked second, according to a new report from BMO Bank of Montreal.

The Leger Marketing survey results, which compare 500 small business owners’ views from a year ago, appear to reflect a strengthening US economy, with 68% looking to expand in the US. That’s up 12% from 2011.

Similar to last year, about 32% of the respondents are interested in growing their businesses in Europe, despite continuing economic challenges, most notably in Greece.

Other markets include India (15%), Central and South America (15%), China (12%) and Mexico (6%).

The online survey was conducted between March 21 and April 12 with a margin of error of ±4.38%, 19 times out of 20.

Modest profits gains ahead: REPORT OTTAWA: Another business index is showing increased confidence in North America and manufacturing, in particular, is gaining strength.

The Conference Board of Canada’s Leading Indicator of Industry Profitability for April has shown profits moving sideways over the past year, recording small declines in the fall but gains so far this year.

The Ottawa-based research firm indicates in the coming months that corporate profitability will post modest gains.

Business confidence is up in the second quarter thanks to increased optimism among business leaders while in the US consumer confidence is “gradually” improving with stronger job numbers. Manufacturing is showing signs of strength on both sides of the border.

The profit outlook is improving for electrical equipment, furniture, plastic and rubber products, and food and beverage manufacturing, but the index recorded a decline in paper products, clothing and textiles.

“After several months of improvement, the profitability outlook for both the machinery and the motor vehicle manufacturing industries deteriorated in April, but the weakness may prove temporary,” said the report, which also notes profits for commodities doing well.

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Shell and partners plan BC LNG facility Oil giant purchases forest habitat for conservation

CALGARY: Shell, Korea Gas Corp.

(KOGAS), Mitsubishi Corp. and PetroChina Co. Ltd. are developing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility near Kitimat, BC. Shell Canada said the LNG Canada project will help make natural gas available to global markets, “including Asia.” Shell holds a 40% interest with KOGAS, Mitsubishi and PetroChina each holding 20%.

The proposed project features gas liquefaction plant and facilities for storage and exporting, including marine off-loading and shipping.

Initially, there will be two LNG processing units, each able to produce 6 million tonnes of LNG annually, with an option to expand the project in the future.

Engineering work, environmental assessments and consultations with local communities will come first Property will be available for recreational activities such as hiking and bird watching.

PHOTO: SHELL but if the project gets the go-ahead, short term,” says John Abbott, Shell’s executive vice-president of Shell says start-up will be “around the end of the decade.” heavy oil.

On the sustainability side, Shell Canada has purchased a 1,820The forest, located 70 kilometres north of Grand Prairie, Alta. acre tract of land in northern Alberta to conserve boreal forest and less than one kilometre south of Moonshine Provincial Park, habitat near its oil sands operations. contains mixed woodlands, grasslands, wetlands and habitat along The Shell True North Forest, privately owned land previously the Ksituan River. used for cattle grazing and hay production, will conserve an area Shell and the Alberta Conservation Association will manage the almost twice the size of Vancouver’s Stanley Park. area, which will be available for recreational use.

“As oil sands reclamation takes decades to complete, conserving land allows us to address the impacts of our land disturbance in the

$45M for GESI energy project VANCOUVER: Green Energy Solution Industries (GESI) Inc. is working with a company in the US to put together $45 million in funding for a renewable energy project in Alberta using wood waste.

GESI has a strategic agreement with InREFCo, a Magalia, Calif. developer of thermal waste gasification technology, to

deliver a 200 ton-per-day turnkey facility for a large-scale electricity plant or renewable fuel plant.

Feedstock will include railway ties, bridge timbers, poles and lumber treated with creosote.

InREFCo’s virtually emission-free gasification process results in ash and salts that are recycled back to a “zero waste” product stream.

Flax fibre increases capacity VICTORIA: Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc. (NAT) and Barnhardt Manufacturing Co. have partnered to expand the manufacturing capacity of CRAiLAR, a natural fibre made from flax and other bast fibres.

CRAiLAR was developed with help from the Alberta Research Council and National Research Council. The company says it uses a proprietary enzyme treatment process that turns bast fibres, such as flax and hemp, into fibres as durable and comfortable as cotton – at a lower production cost.

NAT recently completed a year-long evaluation and optimization of the CRAiLAR technology, leading to a 40% reduction in its enzymatic process time, thus increasing its facility’s production capacity.

Its first full-scale production facility will be built in Pamplico, SC, where flax is grown as a winter crop. Berhardt will act as a third-party manufacturer for CRAiLAR. Founded in 1929, Charlotte, NC-based Barnhardt is a supplier of cotton for medical, health and beauty aids, and nonwoven fabrics.

NAT currently supplies CRAiLAR flax to HanesBrands, Georgia-Pacific, and Brilliant Global Knitwear for commercial use, and to clothing lines Levi Strauss & Co., Cintas, Carhartt, Ashland, Westex, and retail-giant Target for evaluation and development.

The Victoria-based company develops environmentally sustainable biomass resources from flax, hemp and other bast fibres for the textile, industrial, energy, medical and composite material industries.

>> Careers Yokogawa Electric Corp. has appointed Ian Verhappen managing director of Yokogawa Canada Inc., a supplier of industrial automation and control, test and measurement, and information systems technology based in Calgary. Most recently he has been working as a global engineering consultant, but prior to that he Ian Verhappen was responsible for MTL Instruments’ global business strategy, and spent the first 25 years of his career in the Alberta energy sector.

Empire Industries Ltd. has promoted Micheal Martin from director of finance to CFO of the global attractions manufacturer based in Winnipeg.

Former CFO Campbell McIntyre will focus full time on his role as president of the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Empire Iron Works.

Torquay Oil Corp., a conventional oil drilling company based in Calgary, has added Alex Verge to its board of directors. Verge, a professional engineer, is the interim CEO of Sword Energy Inc., a private junior oil and gas company active in western Canada.

Harvest Gold Corp., a mineral exploration company based in Vancouver with mining interests in the US and Manitoba, has appointed Neil Richardson COO and added him the board. Richardson has 24 years of experience in mineral exploration and the mining of base and precious metal deposits across Canada.

North American Nickel Inc. has appointed Gilbert Clark to its board. The European-based geologist is an investment advisor with The Sentient Group, an independent private equity investment firm specializing in the global resources industry. North American Nickel is a Vancouver-based mineral exploration company with properties in Maniitsoq, Greenland, Sudbury, Ont., and Thompson, Man.

May/June 2012

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Industry View << Departments

New Flyer, ADL partner to develop NA midi bus

>> Events

They’re aiming for lighter transit routes and private shuttle markets WINNIPEG: New Flyer Industries Inc. is teaming up with the UK’s largest bus maker to develop a medium duty transit vehicle for the North American market.

New Flyer, a Winnipeg-based manufacturer of heavy duty transit buses in Canada and the US, will collaborate in a long-term joint venture with Alexander Dennis Ltd. (ADL) to introduce a North American medium-duty (midi) low-floor bus specifically developed and tested for a 10-year operational life.

“With the escalating costs of fuel and maintenance, there are many of our transit customers’ routes that do not require a full sized heavy duty bus with a 12-year design life. Customers on both sides of the border have asked us to provide a bus New Flyer plants are in Winnipeg, and St. Cloud and Crookston, Minn. that meets their needs for this application,” said

Photo: New Flyer development.

Paul Soubry, New Flyer’s president and CEO. Market launch is planned for early 2013.

The company is also looking at fulfilling the need for New Flyer said the buses will be driven by either “midi” vehicles from private shuttle operators and foreclean diesel, electric hybrid or compressed natural gas. casts total demand to be about 1,000 buses annually.

Alexander Dennis, based in Falkirk, Scotland, has New Flyer will be responsible for sales, marketing, two other manufacturing sites in Scarborough, North manufacturing and aftermarket support while AlexanYorkshire and at Guildford, Surrey. der Dennis will handle engineering, test and prototype

Alberta SMEs set for take-off of aerospace

$150M for thermal project

CALGARY: Southern Pacific Resource Corp. is expanding its

TMK IPSCO breaks ground for Edmonton plant EDMONTON: Pipe-maker TMK IPSCO has broken ground on a new 33,000 square-foot pipe threading and service facility in Edmonton.

Equipment at the facility will thread a full range of the company’s ULTRA Premium connections, from 4.5 to 13 3/8 inches. TMK IPSCO says the site will also offer a full line of accessories, services and repairs and should be operational later this year.

The company is part of OAO TMK, Russia’s largest manufacturer and exporter of steel pipes and among the top three pipe producers worldwide.

TMK IPSCO has been operating in Canada since 2011 selling oil country tubular goods (OCTG), including gas drill pipe, well casing and tubing, line pipe and LD pipe.

It also manufactures connections for oil and natural gas drilling and production.

Energy Efficient

INDUSTRIAL AIR COMPRESSORS

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Best Practices Exchange Mission to Minnesota CME Sept. 23-27, St. Paul and Minneapolis This Innovation Insights event presented by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) gives participants an inside look at best practices presented by manufacturers in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn. Visit www.cme-mec.ca/english/events/ events.html.

Advanced Manufacturing Expo 2012 SME Sept. 25-26, Mississauga, Ont. AmExpo 2012, co-located with AmCon Toronto and presented by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), showcases advanced technology solutions from equipment, service and contract manufacturing providers. Visit www.sme.org.

COM 2012 MetSoc Sept.30-Oct. 3, Niagara Falls, Ont. The 51st Annual Conference of Metallurgists hosted by the Metallurgy & Materials Society of CIM (MetSoc) examines how today’s technology achievements answer society’s aspirations for tomorrow. Visit www.cim.org/COM2012/index.cfm.

CME Trade Summit CME - Manitoba Nov. 20, Winnipeg A trade event for SMEs presented by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), Manitoba division, for the support of international sales and growth plans. Visit www.cme-mec. ca/english/events/events.html.

Investment Symposium CAPP Dec. 10-12, Toronto The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) brings investors together with senior executives from more than 50 oil and gas companies. Visit www.capp.ca.

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EDMONTON: Productivity Alberta has launched a new steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) project in Alberta’s pilot program to help the province’s small and mediumAthabasca oil sands region. size enterprises (SMEs) get involved in the global aeroThe 6,000 bbl/d expansion at the STP-McKay Thermal Projspace and defence supply chain. ect, 45 kilometres northwest of Fort McMurray, will increase bitumen capacity to 18,000 bbl/d.

The Aerospace, Defence Productivity and CompetiThe Calgary-based energy company says the $150-million extiveness Program addresses diversification and econompansion of Phase 1 will significantly reduce capital costs in the ic growth objectives identified in Alberta’s aerospace entire project and accelerate the production growth forecast. and defence industry strategy.

The expansion takes advantage of excess capacity that The program began a pilot phase in May taking five was incorporated into the original design and construction Alberta companies through an assessment program, of Phase 1, which has treatment capability for an additional benchmarking them across 17 core competency areas.

50,400 bbl/d of water.

Future phases will use information from the pilot to Southern Pacific says additional steam generation will be enhance the program and address a larger contingent of needed to convert an incremental 16,400 bbl/d (50,400 bbl/d companies. total) of treated water to steam and an additional cogeneraProductivity Alberta has contracted Synergetics tion turbine will supplement the demand for power.

Group Inc. of Calgary to implement the program’s The rest of the project will involve piping modifications and pilot phase. During the 11-month project, five Alberta small equipment additions. companies will be assessed. Areas of improvement will be identified and connections to services to meet those CIEN ad2 10-06-08 1:01 PM Page 1 needs will be provided.

Productivity Alberta is a not-for-profit company supported by the Government of Alberta and Western Economic Diversification Canada that works with businesses to improve productivity growth and competitiveness.

IMTS AMT Sept. 10-15, Chicago The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) sponsored by the Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT) will feature more than 1,100 exhibitors. Visit www.imts. com/show/info.html.

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Trends

>> Resource Development

Betting on

energy 2012’s federal budget

banks on investment and accessing world markets Will overhauling environmental assessments attract investment to get resource projects up and running sooner?

By Matt Powell, Assistant Editor

I

f there was any question about the Harper government’s support of oil sands development in light of the global harangue targeting the industry’s environmental impact and its role in climate change, the March federal budget provides a definitive answer. The road to economic recovery will be paved in large part by natural resource development, and to ensure conditions are conducive to investment, the budget intends to make Canada’s environmental assessment programs more efficient, thanks to a $165 million overhaul.

Indeed, energy development in the west attracts $50 billion in investments a year according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP).

But will committing $165 million to streamline Canada’s Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) alter the perceptions of foreign investors when it comes to responsible energy development or boost investment thanks to more lenient environmental regulations?

In March’s federal budget, finance minister Jim Flaherty said energy development firms have faced an “increasingly complex web of rules and bureaucratic reviews,” which will now be streamlined to ease investment access to resource development projects. Changes include: • $53.8 million in cuts to Environment Canada over the next three years.

• A 40% cut to the CEAA. • “One project, one assessment” legislation that maxes regulatory reviews to 24 months to move projects along quicker.

• Altering the Fisheries Act to allow some pollution in rivers by all mines, which now includes oil sands and diamond mines.

• Updated language in the CEAA that provides more guidance on how First Nations will be consulted and accommodated.

• Designating a single agency to lead environmental assessments. That power will be placed into the hands of

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the National Energy Board, essentially removing the CEAA from the process. It will also allow provincial governments to lead reviews for projects largely inside provincial borders.

• Fewer requirements for environmental assessments.

• Reducing the number of inspectors and increasing the responsibilities of pipeline inspectors to include fisheries, navigatable waters and migratory birds, instead of having inspectors for each of those responsibilities.

Flaherty has also allocated $8 million to unleash the Canada Revenue Agency on environmental charities to keep them from spending more than 10% of their revenues on political activities.

But some groups suggest the CEAA’s “web of complexities” aren’t actually complex at all, implying that project delays are often caused by companies retracting initial intentions when it comes time to apply for environmental assessments.

“There’s always room for improvement when it comes to environmental assessments,” admits Jennifer Grant, director of the Pembina Institute’s oil sands programs. “But that doesn’t mean undercutting environmental regulations to push projects through the system. The federal and provincial governments need to better their relationships to prevent duplications and speed up the regulatory process, not cut 40% of the country’s environmental regulatory program.”

Opportunities missed Grant suggests that annual investments of $50 billion prove current legislation isn’t pushing foreign investors away.

“This process will hurt the country and the industry,” she says. “This is not how you help develop the oil sands. You help by developing it responsibly; by catching up with environmental assessment processes without creating the risk of irreversible harm to climate conditions.”

In a federal budget wrap-up released

by Pembina, executive director Ed Whittingham said the Harper government missed an opportunity to clean up Canada’s non-renewable energy sources, reduce environmental impact and compete.

“The budget takes Canada further from environmental responsibility when it comes to developing its natural

resources and undercuts progress made in renewable energy and efficiency,” he says in a statement.

Travis Davies, manager of media relations at the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) disagrees.

He suggests the revamp will boost competitiveness and increase investment.

“Competitiveness is the bottom line here,” he says. “We have 50% of the world’s oil reserves accessible for private sector investment. We need to remember that capital is mobile – it moves quickly – and regulatory roadblocks play a role in Canada’s competitiveness.”

He says the source of Canada’s environmental regulatory issues lies in the duplication of provincial and federal assessment programs that have slowed major projects, such as Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline, which has been tangled up in review for 50 months.

(Joe Oliver, the natural resources

minister, has confirmed that the Northern Gateway will be included in the new provisions and expects the project to be approved by 2013.)

Flaherty also references the Joslyn oil sands mine, owned by Total S.A., a French multi-national oil and gas firm.

The company expects the Joslyn mine to generate up to $9 billion in revenue a year, but it languished in regulatory purgatory for almost five years before earning final approval in January 2011.

Capping the length of regulatory reviews at 24 months will help companies prepare for project approval.

“If companies know how long the process is going to be, they can plan for capital expenditure and labour mobility; it removes these five- to seven-year approval processes that are often lost when market windows close,” adds Davies.

The budget also tackles updates to Employment Insurance legislation, forc-

May/June 2012

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>> Environment Industrial innovation is key to resource development.

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

Boosting competitiveness is the bottom line, and Davies says streamlining regulatory roadblocks would do so.

These changes should also be good for manufacturing. The $50 billion in annual resource investment creates demand for finished products, such as tubular pipe, valves and pumps, motors and even construction materials for mobile worksites.

But Jean-Michel Laurin, vice-president of global policy at Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), says the budget misses the boat with its limits to the SR&ED tax credit.

Although the budget increases funding for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and refocuses the National Research Council on providing more direct support to projects rather than offering indirect tax incentives, it also reduces the tax limit to 20% from 35%, which could encourage larger companies to invest in R&D elsewhere.

Not much for manufacturers

ing the sporadically employed to accept any kind of work or make do with lower benefits; and it adjusts the immigration system to better deal with labour shortages and improve relationships with aboriginals affected by production – updates clearly directed towards ensuring Alberta’s oil sands producers are sufficiently staffed in the future.

The budget proposes: • $387 million over two years to align the calculation of the value of EI benefits.

• $13.5 million over two years for increased pipeline safety programs.

• $35.7 million to improve tanker safety and inspections, emergency preparedness for oil spills and updated shipping routes (ensuring fuel travelling through the Northern Gateway pipeline gets to ships bound for Asia).

• Creating an accelerated and flexible immigration system to meet Canada’s labour needs.

“Companies are going to have to innovate and compete with a growing number of players. Capital is needed to innovate, and changes to the SR&ED credit will affect the ability of some companies to compete, which is something the government clearly overlooked in this budget.”

Industrial innovation will become increasingly important to natural resources development, he adds, because more materials and finished goods will be necessary as demand grows.

“This budget really doesn’t do much for manufacturers trying to get into that supply chain,” he says. “You’re talking about tens of millions of dollars here – the government can’t argue that these SR&ED changes won’t have an impact on manufacturing, because they will.”

He concedes there is a benefit for manufacturing: the potential to attract new manufacturers to Canada that will produce finished products for those projects, the creation of jobs and a muchneeded boost to the sector.

He says it’s time to look at how manufacturing can capitalize on natural resource development and he says changes to the environmental assessment regime would help with that.

“There’s starting to be a real sense in this country that we can’t get anything done because every time someone comes forward with a project, like an international bridge or pipeline project, we run into opposition and everything blows up,” he says. “But at the end of the day somebody has to make decisions, understanding that we can’t make everyone happy.”

If it’s the federal budget’s goal to eliminate any doubt about the importance of natural resources – particularly energy development – it does so. Canadians now have clearer idea how the Harper government intends to proceed, although it isn’t to everyone’s liking.

Survey respondents say development of the oil sands outweighs the negatives.

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

Canadians are pro oil sands development

And they want to see new export markets for oil and gas

M

ost Canadians believe it is possible to respect the environment while ramping up oil and gas production, according to a Canadian Chamber of Commerce survey.

The Ipsos Reid poll found 65% of Canadians agree, including 25% who strongly agree, that it’s possible to increase oil and gas production while protecting the environment at the same time.

Agreement is higher among Albertans (80%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba residents (73%), 70% in BC, 68% in Atlantic Canada and 64% in Ontario, and lowest among Quebec residents (55%).

Respondents are more pro than con about the development of the oil sands. Nearly twice as many Canadians agree (57%) as disagree (29%) that development of the oil sands outweighs the negatives.

Eighty per cent agree (48% strongly) that domestic refineries use Canadian oil ahead of imported oil even if it means shipping it across the country to be refined. Most (75%) also think it’s important to diversify the export markets for Canadian oil and gas away from the US. There were 2,008 respondents to the survey conducted between April 23 and 26. Margin of error is ±2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Comments? E-mail mpowell@plant.ca. www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 104

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ADVERTORIAL

Case study - dairy ProduCts ProduCer

Cooling system expands to meet Current and growing needs the ProjeCt

solution: equipment supplied

A major Canadian manufacturer of dairy and food products with more than a century of brand heritage decided the time had come to replace some antiquated cooling equipment that was running inefficiently – and proving to be unreliable – at one of the many facilities it operates across the country.

Given the company’s high operating standards, its equipment challenges needed to be assessed and a plan put in place to replace and upgrade as required.

The existing chiller system had 2 Falling Film Chillers with an Evaporative Condenser with poor operating controls that caused short cycling. Three Ice Builders that were almost 3 decades old needed to be replaced because they were leaking and continuously breaking down. These Ice Builders were originally selected to provide cooling to process for a short period in any 24-hour day.

During the rest of the day, the Ice Builders were to build ice for use when there was a load. In doing so, they’d be storing cooling capacity. Things began to go awry when the Ice Builders were called upon to operate 24-hours a day instead of the original 8-12 hours. This left little time to build ice and left the large cooling tower underutilized.

The equipment supplied includes 3 dual screw water cooled chiller modules each with matching heat exchanger skid and three chilled water pumps and a central control panel with an Allen Bradley PLC. Berg installed the new equipment and removed the existing ancient ice builders. The PLC was called upon to coordinate the operation of the three chillers and the two falling film chillers. The chillers have a capacity of 130 tons when cooling propylene glycol from 43 degrees F to 33 degrees F. (the glycol cools water from the central chilled water tank from 45 degrees F to 35 degrees F).

The success of this particular project would not have been possible without Berg’s installation team. Tightly scheduled, the team was able to work around the plant’s downtime. This job required the involvement of many and necessitated herculean organizational skills to co-ordinate a successful outcome.

All of the new equipment was produced by Berg at their own manufacturing facility using proven, well-known components.

Their equipment has a reputation for superior quality – the level of which often commands a high re-sale value. Because their solutions and systems are modular in style, they don’t have to be replaced as a company’s needs change and grow.

Challenge: setting the stage for the new solution The company wanted to partner with a proven, experienced resource who shared their passion for quality and innovation. Given their substantial portfolio and enthusiasm for the project at hand, Berg Chilling was selected and invited to put their considerable expertise to work. The process began with taking stock of the current situation, assessing the possible short and long term solutions and determining options and possible scenarios. Since time was identified as a factor, the team responded with their customary urgency. Ever responsive, the Berg team threw themselves into detailing the equipment, the units that were operating inefficiently as they cycled on and off and identifying which pieces could be saved. The exhaustive report completed by Berg Chilling clearly outlined the project and the steps necessary to get the plant running efficiently now and into the future.

Additional cooling capacity was required for the summer but the new equipment wasn’t going to be ready until the fall. A rental chiller was supplied to handle the additional load until the new equipment was ready to come on board. Berg was challenged with the task of locating a chiller for this short period of time.

The new equipment had to fit through a snug opening available in the basement where it was to be installed and it had to be installed with a minimum of downtime. The physical plant posed some challenges. Not only was the basement old, it had low ceilings in many places making the equipment selection interesting. Getting any equipment down to the basement was going to require a specialized set of skills.

Berg’s pro-active and co-operative approach was well-received.

Wherever possible, every effort was made to incorporate existing pieces of equipment into the solution instead of just scrapping them.

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controls provided with the chillers enabled the chillers to operate at lower condensing temperatures during the winter which results in energy savings.

results: running optimally The scope of considerations was wide which is usual for Berg Chilling. The aggressive completion schedule was met thanks to the depth of expertise on the team. This is a shining example of what’s possible when the right people come together for a common purpose – the team approach at its best.

The key in choosing the physical infrastructure is not to just identify current requirements, but to look ahead for several years and take into account a system’s total cost of ownership.

Factoring in service and maintenance costs over the lifetime of the system is vital to making the right choice.

As a result of Berg Chilling’s involvement, the customer’s needs were met with reduced capital and operating costs while still providing systems that will meet the production needs, without excess capacity or wasted energy. The results will pay operating cost dividends for years.

environmental Considerations Berg was able to make good use of the cooling tower system which, up until now, was underutilized. The water cooled chillers selected for this expansion could use the tower capacity to reject the heat. That way, the equipment used less energy than the air cooled units. In addition, the floating head pressure

12-06-01 11:44 AM

L

ADVERTORIAL

Case study -Custom Water-Cooled PaCkaged Chiller solution

Berg Chilling’s Cost effective, energy efficient industrial applications A US multi-national recycler of spent petroleum catalysts and producer of ferroalloys acquired two chillers from Berg Chilling Systems Inc. that pre-cools a wet SO2 gas stream to remove condensed moisture, before liquefying the gas for storage.

Compressor High Side | Refrigeration Contractors Toronto | Tower Cooling System | Counter Flow Cooling Tower | Heat Pipes Heat Exchangers | Cooling Tower Filter | Side Stream Water Filtration | Propeller Pump Drive | Pumping Systems | Process Chiller | Saltwater Ice Machines | Industrial Dehumidifier Portable meeting the need “We’re willing and more than able to deliver solutions that push us. Over our almost 40 years, we’ve been the architect of solutions where none were thought to exist,” the company says. “We confidently approach jobs we know our competition won’t touch. In fact, we’ve served clients in over 50 countries.””

the ProjeCt

For the first stage, Berg supplied a water-cooled packaged chiller with moisture separator and reheater. Saturated SO2 gas is cooled which causes the water vapour to condense. Moisture is then removed in the moisture separator and the SO2 gas is reheated to re-evaporate any remaining moisture using heat rejected from the compressor. The gas then flows through a desiccant drier before being liquefied in a separate chiller.

Since the desiccant drier adds heat, the SO2 has to be cooled again so it can be stored as liquid. In the second stage, the cooling system comprises of an air-cooled packaged chiller designed to cool the SO2 for long-term storage and transportation. There are two operating modes: condensing SO2 gas from process and sub-cooling SO2 liquid recirculated from the storage tank.

“For this client, SO2 is a by-product of their process. In the past it may have been vented to the atmosphere but now it is recoverable and can be put into a form that can be sold,” the company says. “Once the SO2 is liquefied, it can be sold for use in many industrial processes.

As you can imagine, there is a huge demand for SO2 and for this process in particular. Our clients have the added assurance that every Berg solution is rigorously tested against the toughest quality control standards in the industry.”

about Berg Chilling systems inc.: From their Toronto based manufacturing facility, their product range is as diverse as the industries they serve. Products include: Portable, Packaged and Central Chillers; Pumping Packages and systems; Cooling Towers; Industrial Icemakers; Environmental Test Chambers; and Marine Refrigeration, all of which are available in various sizes and configurations to meet specific application requirements including classified (Explosion Proof) and unclassified environments.

gloBal Petroleum shoW Booth 7524 hall d & e www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 105

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Sustainability

>> Renewable Energy

UBC gets biogasified

Nexterra is hedging its bets on fledgling syngas

One of a kind biomass energy system turns waste wood into renewable fuel.

By Matt Powell, Assistant Editor

R

enewable biomass may be the least familiar renewable energy source, but at least one company is confident gasification of bio-scrap is set to take-off, despite its relative newness.

Nexterra, a Vancouver-based developer of biomass gasification energy systems, is set to open a $27 million combined heat and power co-generation plant at the University of British Columbia (UBC). The university will use one of Nexterra’s bio-gasification and synthetic gas (syngas) conditioning systems to

power a General Electric (GE) Jenbacher engine, which generates up to two megawatts of electricity and heat using locally sourced “wood residuals.”

The project is being funded with more than $20 million in federal and provincial incentives from the likes of Natural Resources Canada, the BC Bioenergy Network, the Innovative Clean Energy Fund and Sustainable Development Technology Canada.

Another $350,000 comes from FPInnovations, which is partnering with paper-producer Domtar on a $36 million demonstration plant in Quebec to produce a biomass-strengthening agent called nanocrystaline cellulose.

Nexterra’s system is a North American first and the company expects it to reduce the university’s greenhouse gas

A reservoir tank at UBC's bioenergy demonstration plant.

(GHG) emissions by 4,500 tonnes a year – the equivalent of taking 1,100 cars off the road. It will also reduce the university’s reliance on natural gas by 12%.

“One of the major benefits, compared to conventional biomass applications, is the higher efficiencies it achieves,” says Darcy Quinn, Nexterra’s director of business development. “It uses much less water because it’s not steam-based, which is becoming increasingly important in a number of jurisdictions.”

The closed-loop process, developed over four years of intense R&D at Nexterra’s home base in Vancouver, makes this system one of a kind.

“The heat is actually recaptured and recirculated back into the process,” explains Quinn.

But first the syngas makes a bit of a journey.

Handling the heat To achieve desired capacities, the project needs 12,500 bone-dry tonnes a year of waste wood, tree bark, wood chips and construction debris.

The “wet” wood material goes into a dryer to achieve a moisture content of 25% for the proper melt. Residue is then sent to a storage facility until it’s needed and then conveyed to the gasifier for partial oxidization. Pyrolosis and gasification occur at between 815 to 982 degrees C (1,500 to 1,800 degrees F). The syngas is then sent through a conditioning system where thermal cracking removes tars as it breaks the gas molecules down into shorter chains, before they go through another set of filters. Next stop is the Jenbacher internal combustion engine that powers the generator and keeps the university’s lights on.

“Thermal-cracking is crucial to this project,” says Quinn. “Without it, tars within the gas molecules would essentially turn into glue and ruin the engine, which would shut things down pretty quickly.”

PHOTO: NEXTERRA

The system also includes a thermal application, which produces up to 9,600 lb. of steam per hour to power the school’s HVAC system. Syngas is fed into an oxidizer where it combusts. The resulting flue gas is diverted through an electrostatic precipitator filtration system that cleans out almost all particulate matter.

The syngas then proceeds to a boiler that produces steam – enough to power 25% of the university’s heat.

UBC is looking at a potentially massive payoff by having the facility on site because it gives the school the ability to micro-manage its power consumption, says Brent Sauder, director strategic partnerships.

“Up until now, we were like everyone else. If we needed more energy, we’d take it off the grid. But now we have a facility that creates heat and power, giving us the ability to subsidize excess energy use with this new bioenergy system.”

The Bioenergy Demonstration Facility will also be used as a laboratory, which will eventually house other biogas projects. The university is even looking into developing a UBC blend of biogas that it could commercialize for use in other operations.

“This was an opportunity for both of our organizations to leverage the R&D side and the sustainability side while integrating those into overall campus operations,” says Quinn. “We were able to prove that this wasn’t just a science project, but actually a viable, useful technology. That was a huge reason why this partnership happened.”

Despite Canada’s preoccupation with the development of oil sands resources in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Nexterra intends to bring biomass gasification to the forefront by continuing to develop fuel that can be delivered through pipelines as a greener alternative to fossil fuel.

Comments? E-mail mpowell@plant.

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12-05-31 2:08 PM

Automation << Operations

Automated house

building

Manufacturing with the LPCS system

Landmark Group of Builders brings automation and plant production to home construction.

By Nordahl Flakstad

I

magine a car dealer dumping a truckload of auto parts in the mud on your front lawn, leaving you with the option of assembling the vehicle yourself or finding a trained mechanic to put it together. Strange, perhaps, but not much stranger than the way houses are being built in North America. It begs the question: “Isn’t there a better way?”

Alberta-based Landmark Group of Builders has an answer. It comes in the form of the computerized and fully automated Landmark Panelized Construction System (LPCS). Landmark sees LPCS bringing a fully automated, integrated production approach to home construction that’s relatively new to North America.

This rigorous and carefully thought out technology is being applied at a recently inaugurated plant in southeast Edmonton. Landmark president Curt Beyer, who heads the company’s building solutions division, says planning for the $15-million plant has been under way for three years. However, CEO Reza Nasseri has envisioned factory based home construction for a much longer time. His company has been a significant player in Alberta house construction for more than 30 years, having built some 8,300plus homes in Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer subdivisions. Like competing Alberta builders, Landmark has framed, roofed and clad houses the traditional way – on-site, one house at a time.

Meanwhile, builders in Germany, Japan and some other countries have outpaced their North American counterparts by shifting home construction to a factory setting. When the time finally came to implement Nasseri’s vision for factory built timber-frame buildings, Landmark turned to Weinmann Holzbausystemtechnik GmbH. The German-based firm first developed such assembly systems in the 1980s.

Using Weinmann’s turnkey solution, wall, floor and roof components are formed into panels (and where appropriate, insulated with polyurethane) on an assembly line backed by a computerbased Building Information Modelling (BIM) system. Akin to what’s used in aircraft, auto and other manufacturing plants, BIM proves to be a useful tool in the construction of large, architectur-

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ally complex buildings. Combined with Weinmann’s technology, BIM turns the plans and customized features negotiated by homebuyers and Landmark sales staff into homes.

“Once, we knew what the (manufacturing) facility needed to look like, we built a building around it,” explains Beyer.

“It’s different from what often happens in North America where you’d find a building and then cram a factory into it.”

In Landmark’s case, the result is a 100,000-square-foot (including offices), custom-built plant. On the production floor, 40 to 45 employees manufacture up to four houses a day. With current staffing levels, Landmark projects production of 1,200 homes a year. Most will be single-unit, detached homes but the plant also turns out components for multipleunit housing. More workers will be added, eventually boosting plant output to about 3,000 homes a year.

Once panels leave the production floor, they’re strapped on specially designed trailers for delivery to the building site.

Three trailer-loads are needed per house.

However, relative to the back and forth of vehicles, people and products that occurs on a traditional home-building lot, Landmark’s approach means less fuel is used.

Beyer estimates the bulk of ready-to-go deliveries eliminate up to 400 truck and van trips that otherwise would be made to a site during construction. Overall, Landmark has calculated that, through its various energy saving measures, a home built using the LPCS system reduces greenhouse emissions by more than 6.21 tonnes per house or 55% relative to comparable conventional construction.

Beyer bristles at any mention of “modularization” when discussing Landmark buildings. What Landmark offers, he

Landmark's 100,000 square-foot facility produces up to four homes a day.

PHOTOS: LANDMARK GROUP

insists, differs hugely from the nearly completed prefab structures often trucked to camps or mobile-home parks for hook-up with several similar units.

“We are,” Beyer emphasizes, “a component builder. We can build any type of house – large, small, whatever. We build components complete with the wall panels, floors, roofs and bathtub surrounds, and we crane everything into place.”

It’s all about the details Before the bulk of the Landmark panels arrive at a building site, the basement is poured, and then capped with a factory built, ground-level floor. The latter, along with the staircase, is craned into place.

This provides rigidity to permit safe backfilling. Over the next five to 10 days, service work, such as utilities hook-ups, takes place.

Then Landmark brings in its trailers with the remaining components, including the roof, which in the course of one day is assembled and waterproofed on top of the already positioned first floor. The roof is lifted off and other panels – walls, flooring and bathroom tub-surrounds – are raised by noon. It

Wall, floor and roof components are formed into panels on an assembly line.

all happens a bit slower than time-lapse photography – but not that much slower.

Finally, the roof is lifted by crane to top off the house.

“When we make the roof on the ground and we lift it up, nobody is ever up on that roof,” says Beyer.

Landmark is currently working on a closed-panel system that will allow conduits to be enclosed in the wall to further reduce the amount of on-site work.

With the roof, walls and floors positioned, the house is now ready for arrival of subtrades, including electricians, plumbers and painters. The resulting home typically has entailed a four-to-sixmonth start-to-finish building cycle – including homebuyer negotiations, design, manufacturing, transport, assembly and finishing. However, Beyer remains confident this timeline can be reduced to three months by streamlining the upfront design and selection processes involving customers.

Bringing much of the building process into a factory setting faces up to the ongoing reality of the building-trades shortage in Alberta. While personnel on Landmark’s shop floor include experienced hands with building backgrounds (Beyer himself is a mason by trade), many of the tasks within the plant have more of a manufacturing feel. That, in turn, lends itself to hiring and training of a workforce, including CNC operators, with somewhat different skill sets. Typically they are younger, computer-savvy workers with the dexterity that has come with being raised playing video games.

“I’m not looking for people who are slinging sledgehammers, but those who have fine motor skills and are better at paying attention to details,” says Beyer.

“We’re not taking any jobs away. We’re actually adding a different labour force to this equation.”

A key advantage now benefiting Landmark is that much of the construction is Continued on page 12

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Innovation

Building components

Lean and green Cleaner tech for the building materials industry

Continued from page 11

done indoors in a climate-controlled environment, allowing for enhanced quality control and accuracy. Carrying out work at ground level improves workers’ safety and productivity.

BIM computerization allows more to be produced with less by minimizing the amount of trimmed-off waste. Precision cutting enables not only better-fitting (Landmark aims for tolerances of one millimetre) products but significantly reduces in-plant waste as well as eliminating rubbish that otherwise would have to be removed from the construction site. Rather than weighing waste hauled away per house by the tonne, it’s now measured in kilos.

Cost control Besides obvious environmental pluses, less waste yields economic benefits. Economies of scale and faster building cycles (Landmark claims up to be three times faster than traditional methods) yield returns to the builder but also benefit buyers through reduced housing costs. Computerized systems allow for better cost and inventory control, and with the high volume channelled through a factory, suppliers are more accommodating. That includes pricing. For instance, it may be easier to buy directly from sawmills and have them supply customized products such as the 10 x 4-foot floor sheets (versus the standard 8 x 4), which Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd. has agreed to deliver to Landmark.

Beyond its current offerings, Landmark plans to add pre-cast basements to the construction mix and has already delivered 15 of them this year.

As for imitators, Beyer isn’t concerned and, if anything, welcomes the prospect. He fully expects other homebuilders to follow in Landmark’s footsteps, with the result “that in perhaps a five-year timeframe, I see plants like this building for perhaps three or four builders, who really no longer will be house builders but marketing companies.”

Nordahl Flakstad is an Edmonton-based freelance writer. Contact him at nordahl@flakstad.edmonton.ab.ca.

Comments? E-mail jterrett@ plant.ca.

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>> Product Development

By making things better Lenmak Exterior Innovations is making better things.

By Kim Laudrum

R

ay Turner likes to make himself “uncomfortable” by attending trade shows for industries outside his domain so he can “learn and think.”

Specifically, he’s looking to improve his plant’s efficiency and expand his product offerings.

He’s president of Lenmak Exterior Innovations Inc., an Edmonton-based custom fabricator with 40 employees. Since 1996 Lenmak has specialized in light-gauge metal products, such as roof flashings and wall cladding for commercial, residential and EnvaThem curtain walls are 80% lighter.

PHOTO: LENMAK EXTERIOR INNOVATIONS agricultural buildings. Now he looks for opportunities to develop products that he says are “under engineered.” He’s also on the hunt for new ways to adapt equipment BDC examined Lenmak’s existing manufacturing capabilities and designed for use in industries outside of metal fabricating. looked for ways to improve its productivity. It also offered Lenmak’s It’s this kind of synergistic thinking that led Turner to patent an workers new equipment training and encouraged them to bring innovative manufacturing process, which resulted in a new product: forward their own ideas for quality improvements.

Lenmak’s EnvaTherm curtain-wall technology.

“We continuously worked with them to innovate new ideas to By incorporating a spray-foam insulation cell into an automated commercialize some products that he wanted to develop,” says metal fabricating line, he brought a game-changing, clean technolGreenwood. ogy to the building materials industry.

That stroke of brilliance earned the company a nomination for An automation boost 2011 Innovator of the Year in Alberta. He hopes it will also help An FMS (flexible manufacturing solution) line was added to Lendouble the firm’s annual revenues of about $10 million. mak’s 40,000-square-foot plant, including Finn Power’s Shear Compared to existing curtain-wall technology, EnvaTherm offers Genius, an automated combination turret-punch press with rightan air-sealed back pan that is pre-insulated, which saves time and angle shearing capability, and Express Bender. Robotic work piece money during installation because no stick pins are required. It also removal and material nesting also boosted production speed. saves expensive rework to repair unhealthy buildings affected by “We also chose to include 3D imaging to make ourselves more sucmould-contaminated fibreglass or other insulations. The Icynene cessful. We went with Solidworks,” says Turner. “Before that most spray-foam insulation is not a source of food for mould, and since it of our equipment was one dimensional. Even having the integrated is PVD-free, there is no off gassing. shear would put us at a level above everyone else and I’d have equipOverall, the panel’s R-values are higher, fire-prevention benefits ment that could be integrated with other things in the future.” are improved, noise is reduced and they’re 80% lighter than convenBDC also helped to incorporate new information and technology tional curtain walls. That and the fact the EnvaTherm back pans communication (ICT) programs, which help track orders, schedule come in a greater variety of colours and depths give Turner’s clients parts and provide a range of other functions. greater creative freedom.

The efforts paid off: Lenmak makes a panel every 30 seconds.

Architecture specification writers for LEED buildings are raving “I’m going to get so lean that, with our automation, I’m not going that Ray Turner has fixed a 50-year problem for the building industry. to start an order until the truck is at the door. How cocky is that?”

But getting to this point wasn’t easy.

Lenmak also realized cost savings of 30%, doubling its business Turner became a lean manufacturing devotee more than 10 years yet staying within the same footprint, with the same people. ago following consultation with the Business Development Bank of “But here’s where it’s different. When making flashings, roofing or Canada (BDC). my conventional products, I can only put so much value per square His consultant, Dave Greenwood, pointed out that the company’s foot of material. I can do it really well. I’ve got lots of cutting capamachinery was outdated, increasing exposure to competitive presbilities, lots of bending capabilities, and a 21-foot uptown folder, sures. Computerized automation, lean manufacturing exercises and which is still unique to Canada,” says Turner. just-in-time inventory controls were recommended.

The FMS line and the combination of foam in behind allows “I drank the Kool Aid,” Turner says. “Prior to that I did everything Turner to take one square foot of material and put in several times wrong.” more value than conventional products.

But it wasn’t until Turner saw revenues drop 35% in January 2009 Although he hesitates to say how much, Lenmak has benefited that he sought BDC to bring more automation to his firm. Funding from working with BDC. from the chartered banks was tight following the financial crisis, but “We’ve been clients for over 10 year,” he says. “They’ve perpetuimport-buying power was increasing thanks to a stronger Canadian ated my business 10 years ahead of where I would have been. We fit dollar and the government’s accelerated depreciation rate for malike a glove. I employ people. I buy equipment and I try to expand chinery expenditures. our product line. They see value in that and they allow me the confiGreenwood quickly points out that “Ray is one very innovative dence to pursue world-class efficiencies.” individual.” Bursting with ideas for new products for his customers, That’s the upside to making yourself uncomfortable.

Turner sought BDC’s advice on how to make it happen from both the manufacturing and financing ends of the business.

Kim Laudrum is a business writer based in Toronto. E-mail klau“We helped set up his manufacturing system both financially and drum@rogers.com. physically to help him realize his dream. The ideas were his. We set up circumstances that would get him there,” says Greenwood.

Comments? E-mail jterrett@plant.ca.

May/June 2012

12-05-31 2:09 PM

Products and Equipment << Technology

Brighter detection.

LIGHT UP REFRIGERANT LEAKS

The package includes the timing belt, integrated servo motor and drive, controls and mounting for the gearmotor.

The 3200 handles loads up to 750 lb. and features +/- 0.20-in. accuracy, while the 2200 handles up to 200 lb. and is accurate to +/- 0.40-in. with single belt widths up to 18 in. The attachment method for mounting has an accuracy of +/- .005 in. between them.

Dorner is a Hartland, Wis. manufacturer of conveyors and related equipment. www.dornerconveyors.com

A flashlight from Spectronics Corp. helps technicians detect refrigerant leaks.

The Spectroline OPTIMAX 3000, a super-hi-flux LED technology, delivers 15 times brighter leak detection light than regular LED lamps. It’s equal to a 150-W lamp that must be plugged into an AC power source, and it has an inspection range of more than 6.1 m.

The unit, powered by a rechargeable NiMH battery, has a 50,000-hour LED life.

It comes with fluorescence-enhancing glasses and an AC and DC battery charger.

Spectronics is a manufacturer of ultraviolet technology based in Westbury, NY. www.spectroline.com

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SURFACE CLEANER AN ACETONE ALTERNATIVE

Low-profile conveyor.

PRECISION FOR TIMING, BELTING AND DRIVING Precision Move is the latest advancement from Dorner Manufacturing in timing, belting and drive technology for 2200 and 3200 low profile belt conveyors used in assembly, manufacturing and packaging. They require extremely accurate movement of product at specific times, distances and intervals.

Replaces solvents.

The AF-Clean cleaner and degreaser from Walter Surface Technologies replaces toxic solvents used to prep and clean metallic surfaces prior to treatment.

This non-flammable alternative to acetone is applied prior to painting, priming, coating, gluing and corrosion protection, but it’s also used for cleaning plastic-injection moulds.

It’s non-flammable, VOC-reduced, biodegradable and less volatile than toxic solvent compounds.

Walter Surface Technologies, a Montreal-based manufacturer of surface treatment products, notes that since acetone evaporates up to 90% of its volume before it actually cleans. Less AF-CLEAN

CASE FOR CARDIAC SAFETY Allegro Industries’ defibrillator wall cases ensure emergency cardiac assistance is easily accessible in the workplace.

The plastic or metal white cases feature prominent defibrillator graphics.

Large or small metal cases are constructed with corrosionresistant steel and feature a door-front window and latch handle. They’re equipped with a battery operated audio alarm and a waterproof strobe feature is available on the small model.

The ABS plastic models come with three optional slide-in shelves and come with an alarm or an alarm and water-proof strobe.

Allegro, a Piedmont, SC supplier of safety products, also carries a bag for the transport and storage of any size defibrillator. www.allegrosafety.com For trained responders only. www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 2

liquid is needed to clean a surface.

Aluminum bottles are filled from Walter’s Air Force automatic refilling station, which is propelled by compressed air. www.walter.com

>> Plantware

TRACK SUPPLY CHAINS ACCURATELY

AutomationDirect industrial-grade managed ethernet switches include redundant power inputs with surge and spike protection, and auto-crossover.

All models are housed in aluminum casing and have an operating temperature range of -40 to 75 degrees C. The automation company based in Cumming, Ga. says its Real-Time Ring technology provides fast recovery of all redundancy options on the switch.

Most models feature multiple 10/100BaseT RJ45 ethernet ports; additional models include ST or SC type fibre optic connections.

Gigabit managed switches are also available with 10/100/1000BaseT RJ45 ports that accept noise-immune fibre optic links. www.automationdirect.com/managed-switches

The RFID/NFC module for the Waspmote sensor platform from Libelium allows sensor data to Location based be used in location based services (LBS), such as services. asset tracking, supply chain monitoring or access management.

Product management software relays real-time information related to remaining stock, storage and transportation conditions, expiration dates and consumer profiles.

Security applications, including access control, are covered by the RFID standard, Mifare to maximize privacy.

The RFID/NFC radio covers ZigBee, Wifi, Bluetooth and 3G/GPRS connectivity.

The module is available in both 125 KHz and 13.56 MHz bands that are compatible with previous RFID deployments.

Libelium manufactures hardware technology for wireless sensor networks in Zaragoza, Spain. www.libelium.com

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SWITCHES MANAGE POWER

Rugged cables.

OPTICS FOR MORE NETWORK UP-TIME

Fits any piping system.

SMALLER, LIGHTER STATIC INJECTION MIXER Westfall Manufacturing Co. has gone smaller and lighter with its 2800 static injection mixer for water treatment, desalination and water purification systems.

The 316SS wafer-style fixed plate with integral gaskets and a pre-drilled flange fits into the mating flange bolt circle of any piping system to speed up mixing.

The Bristol, RI manufacturer of custom components for pipelines says the 2800 achieves better than 98% injected fluid dispersion.

They accommodate one or more fluids, which are mixed by a combination of alternated vortex shedding and intense shear zone turbulence. www.westfallmfg.com

Ten-gigabit multimode fibre optic cables from Optical Cable Corp. withstand harsh environments found in manufacturing plants, steel mills, petrochemical refineries and chemical plants.

They’re bend-, crush-, impact- and chemical-resistant and cover a broad thermal operating range, speeding up installation, reducing attenuation loss and maximizing network up-time.

The primary fibre coating has a secondary buffer that reaches “heavy weight” proportions.

The cables withstand environmental insults such as caustic and volatile chemicals, excessive moisture and fungus, UV exposure, and operating temperatures ranging anywhere from -55 to 124 degrees C. Optical Cable is a manufacturer of fibre optic cables and data connectivity technologies based in Roanoke, Va. www.occfiber.com www.plantmagazine.ca/rsc/ 8

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www.plant.ca

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Departments

>> Postscript

Oil pricing: It’s Snakes and Ladders

By Todd Hirsch

O

ne of the classic board games of all time is Snakes and Ladders.

It’s great fun for the whole family because no one player has any advantage over the others. You roll the dice and hope for the best.

Alberta finds itself in a perpetual game of snakes and ladders with commodity prices: we’re a price taker. What drives oil prices higher and lower depends on a complex series of international factors – the ladders and snakes – over which we

what’s behind the sagging oil price? The one big snake on “theSo,game board at the moment is Europe… ” have no control.

Currently the snakes are gaining the upper hand. The price of the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) closed recently at US$89.90 per barrel – the lowest price since October 2011. Alberta obviously has a lot at stake.

The provincial government based its recent budget on oil prices averaging $99.25

per barrel. As well, some of the large oil sands producers – which are driving much of the investment and activity in the province – have assumed prices will average above $100 per barrel.

So, what’s behind the sagging oil price?

The one big snake on the game board at the moment is Europe. With the ongoing government debt crisis going from bad to worse in countries such as Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal, the future of

Change

is in the Air…

the entire Euro region is in question.

Greece is of particular concern. If it pulls out of its austerity agreements with Germany, the countries that have been providing bailout money may decide the party is over. If that happens, a Greek government default could be inevitable, which would bring into question the future of the global economy. European banks are exposed to a lot of Greek, Spanish and Italian government debt. A collapse of confidence in Europe’s banks would quickly spread into a general credit market crisis around the world and banks everywhere will be reluctant to lend lest they end up on the wrong end of a deal gone bad. This seizure in credit markets is precisely what happened in 2008, except then it was the collapse of American banks.

Of course, that’s the worst-case scenario. A major credit market crisis and another global recession are still unlikely, but if the European and US economies slow down, drivers and industries will be buying much less fuel, which would lead to a bidding down of crude oil prices.

Ladders on the board Another snake dragging down oil prices is China. It has been propping up the global economy lately with its nearly insatiable appetite for commodities such as oil, base metals and agricultural products. However, it’s also showing signs of an economic slowdown. If we lose China to a downturn, all bets are off for commodity prices.

There are still some ladders on the board that could help move oil prices higher. The Middle East is a significant source of fuel for the global economy and tensions there could threaten its supply.

This was the most important factor in pushing the European benchmark price for oil well above US$125 earlier this year.

Despite the snakes, there is probably a limit to how far prices will fall. The cost to producers of extracting the last barrel of oil coming out of the ground is estimated to be around $75/95. They start losing money if prices fall much below that so they would move to limit production to add some price support. So barring a complete collapse to the global economy, it’s hard to imagine oil prices falling much below that $75 price floor for too long.

Much hangs in the balance for Alberta.

Another repeat of 2008 – which saw oil prices plunge to $33 per barrel momentarily – would jeopardize the provincial economy and wipe out the government’s hope to balance the budget. But in this game of Snakes and Ladders, the probability of that happening remains slim.

PLANT WEST is evolving with a new look and enhanced editorial.

PLANT WEST and the CIEN technology section provide you with more comprehensive coverage of what’s new in technology, products and equipment.

Powered by CIEN, which has been providing product news to Canadian industry since 1940, this exclusive New Technology section features product news, application stories and case histories that will improve the production efficiency and competitiveness of Canada’s manufacturing and process industries.

Todd Hirsch is a senior economist with ATB Financial in Edmonton and a business columnist with Calgary-based Troy Media. Visit www.troymedia.com.

Serving you better with the most in-depth manufacturing editorial and now the latest in product technology!

Comments? E-mail jterrett@plant.ca.

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May/June 2012

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