VMA elects new leadership

The Valve Manufacturers Association of America elected the 2021-2022 board of directors, following the announcement of the slate of candidates at its Annual Meeting, which took place in October. VMA’s chairman of the board for the 2021-2022 year is Ron Warren, president/COO of Bray International, based out of Houston.

Warren is president and COO of Bray International. With more than 45 years of international experience in the flow control industry, Warren has served in a senior executive position at Bray International for the last 10 years.

“Our job is to work together to grow the industry and, as VMA members, we must be more inclusive in growing our membership and be more effective in how we use our united industry voice," Warren said. "Bryan Burns of DeZURIK served during the challenging first part of the pandemic as chairman and Arie Bregman of DFT has done a great job during the remainder of the pandemic. Nathan Burnell of Baker Hughes worked closely with our VMA president and members of the strategic planning committee to write a detailed, three-year strategic plan. Because of the work of these members and our board of directors, I believe the organization is stronger, better organized and on the precipice of great growth going forward. Our responsibility for the coming should be to enact the new adopted strategic plan.”

Matt Theil, president, AUMA Actuators, will serve as the 2021-2022 vice chairman of the board and treasurer. Other members of the VMA Executive Committee include:

Nathan Brunell, product line general manager, Baker Hughes, Andy Duffy, vice president sales, Emerson/ASCO; and Arie Bregman, vice president and general manager of DFT, who serves as immediate past chair.

In addition to the executive committee, the following VMA members are returning as board members:

• Alejandro (Alex) Alcala, Senior Vice-President, Crane Co.;
• Mark Claffey, President, Trillium Valves USA;
• Andrew Duffy, Vice President Sales, ASCO;
• Seth Guterman, CEO, American Valve;
• David Loula, Director, Global Products and Markets, ITT Engineered Valves;
• Kevin McKown, General Manager, Curtiss-Wright Nuclear;
• Kevin J. Tinsley, SVP Global Operations, Neles;
• Rob Velan, Executive Vice-President, MRO & Aftermarket and Vice Chairman of the Board, Velan Valve Corp.;
• Kirk Wilson, President, Flowserve, Flow Control Division; and
• Brian Wright, President/CEO, A-T Controls.

The board of directors also approved Danilo Garcia, president, RF Valves, to the board, serving a three-year term. Garcia has more than 20 years of management, sales and engineering experience in the valve and industrial markets, with a focus on mining, industrial, municipal, chemical and power. Garcia became president of RF Valves in 2013, after serving in sales roles for three years. Prior to that he was with General Electric, Dresser-Masoneilan, Synqor and Maritech.

Distribution NOW announces
third-quarter financial results

NOW Inc. announced results for its third quarter, including revenues of $439 million for that time period.

Net income was $5 million and non-GAAP net income excluding other costs was $6 million for the third quarter. Diluted earnings per share was $0.05 and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share excluding other costs was $0.05 for the third quarter. Non-GAAP EBITDA excluding other costs for the third quarter was $15 million. Cash and cash equivalents was $312 million and long-term debt was zero at Sept. 30. Free cash flow for the third quarter was $22 million.

“I am delighted to report this quarter that the company once again achieved solid results with better-than-expected sequential revenue growth of 10%, a third consecutive quarter of record-breaking gross margins and EBITDA excluding other costs of $15 million, well above expectations,” NOW Inc. President and CEO David Cherechinsky said. “Our strategic execution accelerated these results and generated $22 million in free cash flow in a period where we would have historically consumed cash.

“Despite facing the pervasive effects of the continued worldwide pandemic, particularly global supply chain disruptions, product scarcity, industry labor shortages and elevated transportation costs, our global DNOW team delivered as a reliable source of critical products and services for our customers amid growing demand.

Looking ahead to full-year 2021 results, we expect revenue to be largely unchanged from full-year 2020. However, with stronger gross margins and a now much leaner cost structure, we anticipate full-year 2021 EBITDA improvement over full-year 2020 to be near $90 million, representing a fundamental shift in the capabilities of the company and its earnings potential, laying the groundwork for a strong 2022.”

IPEX debuts new distribution center

IPEX announced its newest distribution center in Charlotte, North Carolina is now fully operational.

Located at Creekside Commerce Center on John Price Road in southwest Charlotte and at more 200,000 square feet, the new facility nearly doubles the company’s warehouse space in the region. The DC will serve IPEX’s customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky.

All new IPEX facilities will incorporate industry-leading health and safety best practices and technologies, it noted. Scanning and material handling equipment, and forklift and pedestrian safety equipment are all being evaluated for installation in the new year.

“At IPEX we place the customer at the center of all of our decisions, and expansion in key markets to bring products closer to them is one of the ways we continue to deliver an exceptional experience,” said Alex Mestres, IPEX’s CEO. “Our new facility will be equipped with industry-leading technology to help us better serve our customers and ensure the health and safety of our employees.”

This new distribution center follows the company’s other openings in Garland, Texas in the U.S., and in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in Canada, and the announcement of a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant to be built in Pineville, North Carolina. IPEX’s future growth plans include additional DCs in the southern and western U.S., it said.