Electrical Apparatus
The Magazine of Electrical &
Electronic Application & Maintenance

August 2008 Columns and Departments

Back issues
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• Editor's Comment In this issue - Readers do read in summer - and they want EA on time! ...Back to tradition: EASA Show in Print and more ... Mastering clean energy: The French turn attention to the electric automobile ... by Horace B. Barks, Editor and Publisher

• Let's Solve Your Problem The longest-running and one of our most popular features, Let's Solve Your Problem answers real questions posed by people in plants and service shops around the U.S. and abroad. Selected Q&A's from this column are available in our popular Let's Solve Your Problem books.  In this issue - Does rotor VPI increase safe locked rotor time? ...Proper bake temperature following steam cleaning?...Why such long arcs across such short air gaps? ...Who’s responsible for arc flash studies? ...What surface finish is suitable for slip rings? ...What do international grounding codes mean? ...What’s the problem with silicone in d-c machines? ...'Tropicalization': what the treatment involves ...Edited by the EA staff 

You are invited to send questions to this department. Your identity will be kept confidential, but we ask that you include your name, affiliation, postal (not e-mail) address, and telephone number. If you'd like a pre-publication reply, enclose a stamped envelope and we'll try to respond promptly. We cannot provide personal consultation or supply winding data.

• Letters  Comments and questions from readers of Electrical Apparatus.  In this issue - NEMA versus ANSI: Which one applies? From Gerry Engardio, Motors & Drives Specialist, Gexpro, Naperville, Ill.

Electrical Apparatus invites letters, 250 words maximum. All letters, including e-mail, must include name, company, title or position, phone number, city, state or province, and country. We August edit your letter for clarity and space.— Editor

• Calendar Briefs - Upcoming trade shows, symposia, and events. In this issue - events from September 2008 through March 2009 ... Edited by the EA Staff

• Business and financial briefs  News of expansions, relocations, annual reports, and more, about companies serving the electrical mechanical industries  In this issue - Dykman buys Hampton Power Denver ... KJ Electric awarded Dutchi distributorship...Ferraz Shawmut buys stake in China supplier Zhe­jiang Mingrong Electrical Protection ... Lincoln Electric to build China facility in the newly developed Jianjning Science Park... Siemens opening Illinois plant amid job cuts... W.W. Grainger buys Canadian distributor Excel Industriel of Granby, Quebec, and expands its operations in the U.S. Gulf Coast region... Analyst for UBS anticipates ‘green craze’ benefit for Cooper Industries Ltd. and Baldor Electric Co.  Anniversary briefs • Rea Magnet Wire Co. of Fort Wayne, Ind., is observing its seventy-fifth anniversary ... Galvan Industries is observing its fiftieth anniversary... Retirement brief: Idleness not in the cards for industry retiree  Joe “Klim” Klimaszewski (see story and photo, below)  Edited by Kevin Jones

• Joe "Klim" Klimaszewski of Port City Cabinet Works (at left, with company CEO Frank Hvizdos) retired at the end of July but doesn’t plan to sit still for long. He has served the electrical manufacturing industry since 1959, when he held the position of "heavy helper," an instructor of steam clean motors training for GE. He was later coil manufacturing operations manager for ABB Corp. and became corporate sales manager for Houston-based Port City in 1999. Joe plans to consider a position as a consultant but wouldn’t mind becoming a professional blackjack player, as he claims a love for “the casino life.” - By Bill O'Leary

• Trade associations,  professional societies and government activities  News of non-profit  government, and other organizations serving the electrical mechanical industries.  In this issue  -  National Association of Electrical Distributors offers new certification, "Certified Electrical Professional"...  Pump Systems Matter endorses the U.S. Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency’s  "Superior Energy Performance" partnership... Electrical Apparatus Service Association issues guide to specifying form wound coils... IEEE electromagnet honors Werner Wiesbeck with the  2008 IEEE Electromagnetics Award... ASTM International presents its Arnold H. Scott Award for outstanding achievement in the science of electrical insulation to Lawrence Ingram ... Power Transmission Distributors Association receives donations from manufacturers for its Industrial Careers Pathway educational initiative...  ...Edited by the EA staff

Note:  the 2008 EMBR lists contact information for more than 140 associations ... Update or add your listing to the 2009 EMBR.

• Electrical Manager ...A potpourri of news and features, selected and edited for maintenance and service managers. In this issue - Thinking the unthinkable: Could my bank fail? ... The wise use of classified advertising ... Small biz sees no benefit from ‘stimulus’ checks ...

  "Electrical Manager" is a copyrighted feature of Electrical Apparatus.  Any kind of reproduction, including electronic transmission, without permission of Barks Publications is illegal and is prohibited. 

• Say It Right ... The popular column about language in the workplace.  In this issue - How often is ‘frequently’?  ...  by Richard L. Nailen, P.E., EA Engineering Editor

• Utility Briefs  News of the utility industry. In this issue -  Maryland utilities surpass minority goals... Air pollution rule struck down by U.S. Court of Appeals... Electric Power Supply Association spends $220,000 on lobbying activities... Environmentalists seek to block nuclear plants... SoCal Edison customers install more than one million energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps, saving nearly $27 million...  Edited by Kevin Jones

• Standards briefs  Updates of standards and related information. In this issue -  NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) and the Electrical Equipment Manufacturers Association of Canada unite on wire packaging... The International Electrotechnical Commission approves Electro­magnetic Compatibility (EMC) and Uninterruptible Power Systems (UPS) standards... Public comments solicited by the American National Standards Institute... Edited by the Electrical Apparatus staff. 

• EA reader profile  Spotlighting members of the electromechanical industry. In this issue - Ken Guido, president of Pwrco, Castlegar, British Columbia
   

Send your suggestions for Profiles to Electrical Apparatus, 400 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 900, Chicago, III. 60611; (312) 321-9440; Fax (312) 321-1288; e-mail eamagazine@barks.com .

• Training Briefs Announcements of workshops, seminars and instructional materials.  In this issue - Fire systems, from Fire Lite Alarms, www.firelite.com ... Ultrasonics, from Herrmann Ultrasonics, Inc., www.herrmannultrasonics.com ... Relays and substation, from Megger, www.megger.com/us ...Welding, from The Lincoln Electric Welding School , www.lincolnelectric.com ... Plant maintenance, from All Test Pro LLC, www.alltestpro.com ... Corrosion prevention and testing, from Corrosion College, www.corrosioncollege.com , and from ASTM International (formerly the American Society of Testing and Materials), www.astm.org  Edited by Bill O'Leary

  Producers of workshops, seminars, and instructional materials are encouraged to mail announcements to Training Briefs Editor, Electrical Apparatus. There is no charge.

• New Books Recently published books, reviewed by our editors.  In this issue - Electrical Power System Essentials. By P. Schavemaker & L. van der Sluis. John Wiley & Sons, 111 River St., Hoboken, N.J. 07030. $80 (hardbound). 325 pages.

  See our Book Review webpage, and also Books for the Plant and Shop from Barks Books, including titles from the editors of Electrical Apparatus, including our latest new book, Let's Solve Your Problem - Volume III.

• Safety and health in the workplace How companies and their employees can guard and enhance their health and safety.  In this issue - Leg cramps may signal poor blood circulation   Never dismiss leg pain as 'something that just happens' ...  By Richard B. Elsberry, EA Contributing Editor

• Accounting for management  Business financial planning, tips, information and best accounting practices.  In this issue - Corporate tax breaks for the little guy  It’s not just the large manufacturers who stand to benefit ...By William H. Wiersema, CPA, EA Contributing Editor and author of the recently published book, Steps to a Successful Service Shop.

• Names and Faces ... News and photos of industry people on the move and in the news. In this issue -  From A.O. Smith Electrical Products Co., Daniel Drexler,  Steve O’Brien, Douglas Johnson, Michael Metzler, James Mosman, Erik Nordquist, Randal Oyster, Troy Rybicki, and Richard Zajchowski ... from Leviton, Rob Ende(pictured, above left)  ... from The U.S. National Committee to the IEC, Dr. Brent Segal ... Brian Perry of Ansell(pictured, above center) ... Dan Throne of the Bosch Rexroth Corporation (pictured, above right)  ...Edited by Bill O'Leary

• Automation High-tech products of use to the industry. In this issue - Device monitor, from Cooper Bussmann... Vibration transmitter, from Balmac, Inc... Industrial router, from Insys Microelectronics... Limit controller, from Omega Engineering... Proximity switch, from Contrinex... Optical encoder, from Posital of Germany ... By David P. Tryling

• Cy's Super Service, Motorhead and Generatorhead Comic strips featuring characters from our favorite cartoonists. 

• Classified Advertising Equipment, jobs, businesses, business opportunities and services.

• Direct and Current Breaking news of interest to the industry.  In this issue - Electrical distributor profits remain strong, as broader industry indices remain in the red... Power transmission and motion control sales slip...  U.S. small wind turbine market continues to grow ..  from The Editors of Electrical Apparatus.