July - AMMJ

Maintenance News 55
1-Million Pounds award to new centre of excellence
for asset maintenance to benefit many industries
The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust (The LRET) has awarded
Holland’s University of Twente £1 million over the next five years
to establish The LRET Maintenance Research and Education
Programme, which will be at the core of the university’s new
Centre of Excellence in Maintenance Engineering.
Maintenance is a technical field which plays a key role in assuring
the health of industry and public services such as transportation.
The University of Twente estimates that there is as much as
€400bn presently invested in public and private sector assets in
The Netherlands alone, requiring €18bn to be spent each year
on maintenance, and creating jobs for about 150,000 people.
Funding from The LRET will be used to set up three elements of
the programme: a Master of Science in Maintenance Engineering;
an International Master of Science in Maintenance Management
(involving two other Dutch universities, the Technical University
of Eindhoven and the Technical University of Delft); and research
on the fundamental principles of maintenance, which will be
aligned with the post-graduate teaching programme.
“Maintenance is a key discipline for anyone who aspires to
deliver sustainable industrial services to society. To guarantee
safe, clean, reliable and affordable operations, capital assets
require state-of-the-art strategies for their maintenance, repair
and overhaul. Those strategies increasingly underpin the
effective identification and management of any risks to safety,
health and the environment,” said Director of The LRET, Michael
Franklin. “This sponsorship therefore fulfils our mission to
support advances in transportation, science, engineering and
technology-related education.”
ABB acquires Mincom to expand enterprise
software business
ABB, the global power and automation technology group, has
agreed to acquire Mincom to broaden its software portfolio and
establish the Group as a leader in enterprise asset management
(EAM) software and services.
Mincom brings expertise and experience in a range of industries,
and a comprehensive set of solutions for applications such as
EAM, mining operations and mobile workforce management.
Mincom has nearly 1,000 employees and annual revenues of
approximately $200 million. With a distribution network in 19
countries, the company is a leading software player in the Asia-
Pacific and Latin America regions, with customers including 17
of the top 20 global mining groups, as well as businesses in the
energy sector, defense and other asset-intensive industries.
“The acquisition of Mincom is part of our strategy to continuously
broaden our software offering, “ said Joe Hogan, CEO of ABB.
“Mincom helps us to increase the depth of our enterprise asset
management offering, building our position as a leader in the
key growth sectors of natural resources and energy. For our
customers this means extending the life of their infrastructure,
optimizing asset management and reducing the overall cost of
ownership.”
“Joining forces with ABB is a logical next step in the development
of our company and a strong validation of the business, our
people and our products,” said Greg Clark, CEO of Mincom. “It
will expand our global reach and service capabilities, enabling
us to continue building on the business we have fostered over
the past three decades.”
ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies. The
ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and
employs about 124,000 people.
www.abb.com
New best-in-class T-Series models from FLIR.
More choice for professional thermographers.
Newly released T-Series models
from FLIR Systems will result in
greater choice for professional
thermographers with T620/T640
cameras boasting the highest
307,200 (640 x 480) infrared
pixel resolution available and
a host of new features at an
industry-leading price. These
advanced models give expert
thermographers the tools they
need to work quickly, accurately, and efficiently in industrial,
utility, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and
building diagnostics settings.
The new leading-edge T-Series cameras combine high resolution
imaging with flexible ergonomics, a large 4.3” touch-screen and
viewfinder, Wi-Fi connectivity to iPhone® and iPad®, 8x digital
zoom, a 5 MP visible light digital camera and all of the advanced
analytics features FLIR’s professional customers have come to
expect. FLIR has also given its T335/365 and T425 cameras new
high infrared resolution options up to 76,800 pixels (320 x 240) for
increased accuracy over greater distances. Among many other
new features these cameras also now get Wi-Fi connectivity,
3.5” touch-screen, advanced rotating lens ergonomics, P-i-P
and thermal fusion overlays.
“The release of these new T620/640-Series cameras
demonstrates FLIR’s unwavering commitment to our customer
base, where we continually provide the best technology, most
innovative features, and quality cameras at an affordable
price,” said FLIR Systems Australia Managing Director, Roger
Christiansz.
The new FLIR T640/620 cameras give professional
thermographers the highest thermal resolution and sensitivity
for the best-looking images and most accurate temperature
measurements. Coupled with the 5 megapixel digital camera
and LED lamp, you’ll get the sharpest visible light and thermal
images you need to create the most effective documentation.
See the results jump off the screen.The imagers offer 2%
accuracy,