Print this Page

Appointment of Vice President Sales - USA - 1st August 2006

Effective immediately, Nigel Bartlett succeeds David Parkinson as Vice President Sales for the USA.

Nigel Bartlett has over 14 years experience within the engineering industry, he was previously employed by the Fletchers Group and most recently was employed as Business Development Manager for Westfalia Separator. In the last five years with Westfalia, Nigel was chartered with the strategic market development of Westfalias non-dairy sector activities in New Zealand, where he successfully project managed the sale and commissioning of a number of multimillion dollar projects for Westfalia.

Nigel holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Auckland University and in 2005 completed an MBA from the Waikato University School of Management.

Commenting on the appointment, Emech CEO Marcel van Dijck said "With the previously announced departure of David Parkinson, we are pleased to be able to have a person of Nigels' calibre to service the USA. His experience in engineering equipment sales plus his activity alongside David with Emech in the USA to date, will ensure a smooth transition for Emech sales activity in the USA".

___________________________________________



Change in Personnel Emech Control Limited - 1st August 2006

Emech Control Limited would like to confirm that David Parkinson, VP Sales and Marketing for Emech Control Limited will be stepping down from his position and leaving the business effective the 22nd of August.

David has been with Emech Control for 4 years. In this time he has demonstrated a passion for the customer and their business, making a sizable contribution to our business growth, especially in the USA.

David has developed a young family since joining Emech. It is for this reason that he leaves us of his own accord to pursue another role with an organisation that demands less time away overseas.

Commenting on the changes, Emech CEO Marcel van Dijck said "Since joining Emech Control, David has contributed to many aspects of the businesses formative plans and exhibited an energetic and proactive approach in seeing many of these initiatives completed, we wish David all the best for his future endeavours and thank him for the considerable contributions he has made to Emech throughout his four years with the company".

___________________________________________



Appointment of Sales Manager – Asia Pacific - 2nd May 2006

Effective immediately, Domingo Benitez Junior joins Emech Control Ltd. as Sales Manager for Asia / Pacific.

Domingo has over 27 years experience working within various roles in the engineering sector throughout Asia/Pacific, including 12 years as a Project Manager. Domingo has worked in various sales management positions for the largest Asia/Pacific distributor of USA based Chesterton International. As a direct result of his involvement with over 200 staff across 11 branch networks in the Philippines, he was the recipient of the “Chesterton Presidents Club Award in 1994 for significant contribution to sales increase” where he developed Chesterton sales from US$1million p/a to over $10million p/a.

For the last 12 years, Domingo has held a technical sales management position in Brunei servicing a number of industries in the region with pumps, valves and actuator products, plus undertaking construction project management services to Brunei Shell Marketing, Brunei Public Works Department and others.

Domingo holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Far Eastern University in Manila, Philippines.

Commenting on the appointment, Emech CEO Marcel van Dijck said "We are delighted to have Domingo join our business. His background in technical sales plus a track record in sales performance and business development in the region is ideal for our business. We are excited that Domingo has decided to join us and bring his experience, business development skills and networks in the Asia/Pacific region to Emech".

___________________________________________



Emech Launch RSS Feed - 15th March 2006 -

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a new technology that can be used to have information sent to you, rather than having to go look for it. Emech offers RSS as a way to have the very latest Emech news headlines delivered to you.

RSS newsreaders

To subscribe to an RSS feed you need to have an RSS newsreader. There are many different versions, some of which are accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable applications. All allow you to display and subscribe to the RSS feeds you want.

A popular free online newsreader that you can access using your browser is Bloglines. If you would prefer a software application that you download and install on your machine you could try Awasu or FeedReader, both of which are free.

Subscribing to an RSS feed

Web sites indicate the availability of an RSS feed by placing the following icon on their pages. There are two ways to subscribe to a feed using this icon. By clicking on the icon, you will be taken to the RSS feed page.

You can then copy the URL to your newsreader. Alternatively, if you have downloaded and installed an RSS newsreader application, you can drag and drop the RSS icon into your newsreader.

Emech's RSS feed URL : http://www.emechcontrol.com/RSS.xml

___________________________________________



Appointment of Sales Manager – Australia / New Zealand - 16th January 2006

Effective immediately, Mark Biddington rejoins Emech Control Ltd. as Sales Manager for Australia / New Zealand.

Mark has over 20 years experience working within various roles in the engineering sector. Having started work as a Site Engineer within the Pulp and Paper industry, Mark then spent a number of years in technical sales within the Hydraulics industry running the South Island territory in New Zealand before a geographic shift to the North Island of New Zealand.

Mark undertook a fixed term employment contract as technical sales engineer for the Industrial Research Limited/ Carter Holt Harvey Fibre-Gen Joint venture and in 2004 he was employed by Emech Control. Mark spearheaded our business into Australia before leaving in 2005 to take up a position in Dubai.

Commenting on the appointment, Emech CEO Marcel van Dijck said "With his familiarity for our product, the sales processes and track record in developing customers and channels in Australia, we are pleased to be able to have Mark back on board. Marks practical approach has seen a steady presence develop for Emech in this market and we are pleased to have him again driving our program across Australasia".

___________________________________________



Flow-on benefits for company using clever valve - Dec 2005

When New Zealand glucose producer, Penford NZ Limited, replaced processing valves to alleviate noise problems, the company not only appeased its staff but achieved unexpected production gains and additional cost savings.

Penford, a subsidiary of Penford Australia, was using an in-house configured steam and water mixer at its Auckland plant to control a critical part of production. Company Engineer, Rod Willis, said Penford considered several options before selecting a steam water mixer from Emech Control Ltd.

"Our existing steam mixing valve was excessively noisy, staff were complaining and the vibration was beginning to fracture welds, causing leakages," said Mr Willis. In fact, the vibration was so bad that the positioner on the steam control valve fell to pieces. Temperature control was poor, and maintenance and reliability issues made a system upgrade a priority.

Emech’s precision temperature mixing and flow control valve was selected for its simplicity and performance. Penford manufactures food grade glucose, primarily for the confectionary market. Temperature control is critical as long chains of corn flour are initially sheared by steam and then enzyme action is used to control the amount of conversion. Once the desired dextrose equivalent (DE) has been reached, the enzyme is killed off by high temperature. The syrup is passed through a plate heat exchanger and the temperature increased from 65°C to 85°C in a single pass to ensure there is no further enzyme activity.

The Emech F5 steam water mixer incorporates a closed loop control electric actuator that eliminates temperature variance caused by pressure fluctuations. The intelligence is integrated into the valve, using simple electronics and just one moving part, reducing maintenance.

For Penford, the deciding factors were the one system solution which combined the Emech valve, actuator, probe and control software in one tidy package. It was quiet, easy to install and easy to operate without requiring input of additional equipment.

"It has eliminated the maintenance hassles and costs that we were having. This particular valve is used several times a week, often at night, and problems with the previous equipment were resulting in overnight call-outs, which also meant staff would be idle until repairs were made.

"A breakdown could affect a 20 tonne batch of glucose which would have to be downgraded to a lesser value product. The Emech valve gives us peace of mind," says Mr Willis.

Safety had also become an issue.

"When you are heating water to around 100°C, any leak is serious and staff could be burned. The Emech valve has eliminated the vibration so there is no risk of the welds cracking and water bursting out," he said.

Penford has also gained some additional production time because the glucose syrup can be heated faster. Mr Willis says temperature control has improved. Proper configuration of the cascade control loops gives excellent control of the outlet syrup temperature and the new system responds well to changes in load. Staff are happier using the equipment because it is safer, quieter and more reliable than the previous system.

___________________________________________



Water Temperature Control for Meat and Poultry Processors - Sept 2005

Article courtesy The National Provisioner USA - Sept 2005 Issue.

A fundamental concern when complying with today's HACCP requirements is the continuous supply of temperature-controlled water. Meat plant operations have very specific water temperature requirements that must be met to remain in compliance. At the high side of this list is the 180ºF or higher water used for cleaning and sanitation.

Temperatures range from 140° to 180° for other applications. Precisely maintaining these water temperatures is critical to HACCP compliance, product acceptability and utility management.

One of the most efficient methods of heating water is the injection of steam. Emech Control Ltd. is taking the lead in providing critical control point water to the food industry using this technique. Their patented Steam/Water Mixing Valve is a three port valve that mixes steam, up to 10 bar, into the water stream to achieve a precise water output temperature.

Emech uses a unique shear-action disc and temperature probe in the valve that mixes and senses inflow components. In combination with their fast and precise electronic actuator, it provides unsurpassed temperature accuracy to within +/- 0.5ºC. It is designed to respond swiftly to fluctuations in input pressures and temperatures.

Many plants typically overheat water resulting in a waste of thermal resources, primarily natural gas. Reducing the cost of producing heated water has become an achievable goal.

Hourly monitoring of process temperature is generally part of every HACCP protocol. "We were having hot water problems," said Roy McCabe, Plant Engineer at Booker Packing Company, a boxed beef plant in the Texas panhandle. Booker previously used steam injection to heat water but; "The clean up crew would not monitor the system and it would overheat and mess up the flow and take longer to clean the plant."

Booker estimates a savings of 40,000 cu. ft. of gas per month. This is in addition to the savings in man-hours. "We no longer have to babysit the system," says McCabe.

The Booker rendering facility installed an Emech Steam/Water Mixing Valve three months ago and the packing facility added their second valve in mid August. They replaced a water line heater commonly used in the industry. "We were so happy with the first one, we bought the second one." said McCabe. "We installed it ourselves with no problems. It's been great ever since."

An efficient way to accomplish the delivery of hot water throughout a plant is a ring main or closed loop system. Most plants probably have one in place already. "We just keep looping the water until it hits 180°," McCabe says. Mixing chambers are then used for Booker's daily hot water needs, producing moderately hot water at 140° C to 160° C for other applications.

Tripe and other edible offal are particularly sensitive to an out-of spec water temperature. "Our tripe is consistent and a lot better looking than before." said McCabe. "Precise temperature control is critical to keep it from cooking or under-cleaning. We now have consistent batches of washed tripe using 165° water. We've eliminated other problems as well."

At Swift & Company's Miller Beef Facility in northern Utah Darren Olsen, Slaughter Division Manager, has installed three Emech valves to feed their tripe washers and their omasum (Bible tripe) washer and refiner.

"We have two tripe wash machines and one omasum washer to wash tripe and to remove the paunch contents. The settings for each machine are critical, but our program in the omasum refiner is a very critical process. It requires temperature settings that must be maintained plus or minus 3°F to produce a product that meets customer expectations."

"After a trial with one valve on a tripe washer we were pleased with the results. We then ordered three more valves ­ one for another tripe wash machine and two for our omasum operation."

"We tried another brand of mixing valve when we first purchased our tripe equipment and did not have good luck with them mechanically. We then switched to using ball valves which required the operator to be present to manually adjust the valve." said Olsen. "The Emech valve has performed great. The valve controls water temperatures with accuracy and is user friendly allowing the operator more efficient use of his time. The net result has been improved product yield and consistency."

Trevor Dandy, Automation Supervisor and acting Utilities Supervisor at Cargill's High River, Alberta plant is very satisfied with the way Emech valves have improved several systems in his larger operation.

An Emech valve is used on a closed loop system with the circulated water returning to the hot side of the valve. "This really saves BTUs," according to Dandy.

Hot water is also needed for a pre-evisceration carcass wash system that was fabricated in-plant. "This equipment has a high-volume, high-temperature requirement," said Dandy. "We're using an Emech 3 inch valve. Control is a staggering 1° or 2°."

High River's third application is a lactic acid carcass spray cabinet to retard microbial growth prior to entering the fabrication side of the plant. "Lactic has a tight temperature range requirement that we have no trouble meeting with the Emech valve," said Dandy.

Cargill does a formal pre-purchase calculation on savings and rate of return to help make decisions for all capital purchases. Trevor says that while his pre-installation estimates were slightly higher than the actual numbers, the return on investment has definitely been worth the cost.

"When it comes to maintenance I know I never have to touch it," added Dandy. "It's the most accurate and consistent mixing valve I've ever seen."

All of these issues reported in these USA facilities are similar to those experienced in New Zealand meat processing and food facilities. Emech Control Limited is a New Zealand company which has secured patents worldwide. This technology has grown its acceptance in global markets and applications and is offering real production improvements.

Emech Control innovation has been recognized in the USA with the prestigious Frost and Sullivan Process Control Technology Innovation of the Year Award and recent winner of New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards.


___________________________________________



Temperature valve on export roll - 12th Aug 2005

Article written by Glenn Baker, Editor - Demm Magazine. June 2005 Issue.

Applications for process improvements keep rolling in for Emech Control’s three-port water temperature mixing system. The control system’s rise to fame has been well documented – and it’s a story known to many in the processing industry.

Offshore acceptance of this valve and actuator system, particularly in USA and Australia, has been largely the result of the company’s experience and understanding of processes within New Zealand industries.
"We have now celebrated our 50th USA plant installation for the Emech system," says David Parkinson, Emech Control Marketing Manager. "We have penetrated international markets across beef, hog, and poultry processors, as well as leading breweries and snack plants."

That’s an impressive record, considering that the first unit was only supplied to the North American market (a beef processor) as recently as late 2003. The star of all this attention is a revolutionary water temperature mixing valve that features world-beating rotary technology.

"Simplicity is the key word here," says Parkinson. "There is only one moving part in the valve, with the action being rotary rather than linear. Combined with our standard actuator and internal temperature sensor, the result is a rotary action control valve that can offer superior speed and temperature control accuracy with very low maintenance."


Improving Abattoir processes in Australia

Nolan Meats is one Australian abattoir that has been benefiting from the installation of Emech mixing valves. The company has deployed the technology in the processing of tripe.
The key issues with processing tripe are to have water temperature, chemicals and time working together. "Water temperature is the key factor in this process" says Peter Rushton, Engineering Team Leader for Nolan Meats Australia.

"Temperature variation drastically affects our quality and yield output". Before installing the Emech valve, Nolan Meats had used a PID controlled modulating valve to produce consistent water temperature.

This valve governed the cold water entering into a stream of hot water, supplying warm water to the process via suction pump. However, this method had its issues – such as the speed of the PID and surges on the warm water line.

Nolan’s engineering team has been impressed with the simple concepts of the Emech mixing valve. "We will use the valve in other processes. It performed extremely well under the unstable processing conditions. It is a valuable asset".

This plant has also observed a number of other benefits from installing the system. From an environmental perspective there is a significant reduction in water usage. This is due to minimal delay between temperature changes, whereby the process is not held up trying to reach the desired temperature.

Nolan Meats joins the list of global Emech installations including Australia Meat Holdings, Unilever, Anheuser-Busch, Heinz Watties and Frit-o-lay (PepsiCo group).


___________________________________________



Heinz-Wattie adopts new steam-water mixing technology - 12th Aug 2005

This Emech system has been operating for over 18 months in our yellow fats-blending operation and we now enjoy increased productivity. This site experienced water and steam pressure fluctuations and had difficulties achieving accurate and stable water temperatures required for the water-jacket blender.

The engineering team were facing a large capital expense for installing a boiler system dedicated to this application which would have been inefficient and costly to operate.

Greg Crofskey, Project Engineer at Heinz Watties Limited contacted Emech Control Limited to supply a solution.

"We experienced steam and water pressure fluctuations which led to temperature variation on our water-jacket blender. The Emech Steam-Water heater provided a simple solution whereby we can set our process to specific operating temperatures, yet maintain tight temperature accuracy"

"This Emech system has been operating for over 18 months in our yellow fats-blending operation and we now enjoy increased productivity"


Steam-Water Technology

The design is based on Emech's shear action mixing disc and in-valve temperature probe. These features combined with Emech's fast and precise actuator provide a water heater system that will deliver unsurpassed accuracy for temperature control.

"The development of this steam-water mixer now brings our water mixing technology to a different level, whereby we can heat existing water with steam to provide a precise temperature quickly and accurately" said VP Sales & Marketing David Parkinson.

"What this means is that for specific applications within a plant, the simple Emech stand alone unit can offer tight controls to processes where this was previously difficult. This directly offers higher yield and a better use of limited resources"


Offering solutions to market

The temperature critical water-jacket market is one application where the Emech steam-water heater provides a simple solution.

Another application requiring accurate steam-water heating is gut table sterilization in the US beef and hog industries. Plants throughout New Zealand and North America have now adopted this technology.

Emech currently have a 1" and 1½" steam water system that can accommodate up to 145 psig saturated steam. A 2" x 2 1/2" system will be launched in the coming months.


___________________________________________



Emech Control Ltd Wins Hi-Tech Awards - 15th Nov 2004

An Auckland based process flow control company has achieved further recognition for its growth and innovation within New Zealand and International markets.

Emech Control Limited was a finalist in three categories in the 2004 Westpac New Zealand
Hi-Tech Awards on the 13 th November. This annual event celebrates excellence of New Zealand's Hi-Tech Industries in the software, electronics and bio-technology fields.

Emech Control Limited achieved recognition in every category submission:

	Winner: Prolificx Marketer of the Year
	Highly commended: Navman Emerging Company of the Year Award
	Highly commended: Most Innovative Product of the Year Award

Receiving the Hi-Tech Award in Wellington, David Parkinson, VP Sales & Marketing,  Emech Control (left); Tim Rattray, GM Prolificx, Award sponsor; Marcel van Dijck, CEO, Emech Control.

Judges Comments:

This was a very well-targeted, focused and executed marketing strategy for US market entry. They reinvented both product and company to meet the needs of the US market, which required a very clear company vision for the product for both US and global markets.

Emech has developed an industrial product that has evolved from a domestic shower flow control device into an innovative precision valve that instantly mixes hot and cold water to a preset temperature and maintains it regardless of fluctuations in inlet pressure.

Its innovation has already been recognised in the US with a recent prestigious Frost and Sullivan Award, the 2004 Process Control Technology Innovation of the Year Award. Emech certainly knew what they were trying to do and the direction in which they were going when they identified the New Zealand meat industry as a first-target market sector.


Details are available on www.hitech.org.nz/2004Winners.html
Printed details of the awards and finalists are available on www.hitech.org.nz/finalwinners.pdf



___________________________________________



Frost & Sullivan interview Cargill Meat Solutions & Emech Control.

Article published Frost & Sullivan Inc. USA - 5th Nov 2004

In the recently concluded Best Practices award banquet at Palm Springs, Emech Control received the Technology Innovation Award in the process control space. Award recipient companies in this category have demonstrated technology leadership by excelling in all stages of the technology life cycle - incubation, adaptation, take-up and maturity- to ensure a continuous flow of improvements.

By innovating leading-edge concepts the company has pioneered client applications, which have the potential to emerge as best practices across several industries. Marcel van Dijck, CEO of Emech Control, New Zealand took time along with one of their customers Daren Box, Engineering Manager of Cargill Meat Solutions, Kansas at the banquet to talk to Frost and Sullivan.

Frost & Sullivan: Congratulations on the technology innovation awards. What has been your organizations response to this award?

Marcel van Dijck: The response has been overwhelming from our team, board of directors and investors. Getting our business to this stage is the culmination of 3 years of R&D, exhaustive market research, and business development of customer advocacy across many industries on a global scale.

We were grateful to be nominated for the Frost & Sullivan Award , and to now be a recipient of this award after independent review, is a very satisfying validation for our technology and business.

Left to Right: James Bilyard VP Eng, Emech Control, David Parkinson VP Sales & Mktg., Emech Control, Daren Box Engineering Manager, Cargill Meat Solutions, Marcel van Dijck CEO, Emech Control and Krishna Srinivasan President, Frost and Sullivan.

Frost & Sullivan: What are some of the major challenges in the industry today in terms of customer acceptance of your technology and how do you plan to overcome them?

Marcel van Dijck: With respect to the challenges of customer acceptance:

	Breaking into an established market containing a number of established brands with a large installed base and the reluctance within some quarters to change.
	Breaking through barriers where existing customer/supplier relationships are strong usually over generations.
	Investment in legacy systems that have performed over many years - so there is a reluctance to change or undertake asset writedowns.

We work to overcome these challenges in a number of ways:

	By simply keeping our solution set pitched with a strong value proposition at the end customer. Our solution set is a relatively low cost and low risk option with high value by maximizing the gain for the customers/companies that adopt our product set, without burying them in complexity. Allowing for: i) Implementation timeframes that are short. ii) Reduced implementation costs for our option against others. iii) Limited fundamental process change. iv) Tangible and measurable improvements and savings.
	Allow the customers to prove the performance for themselves, they calculate the resulting production improvements, utility savings and maintenance improvements to deliver the return on investment.
	Building strong personal relationships on our platform of uncompromising leadership in service performance in support of the customer. Continuing to make it easy for the customer to purchase and deal with us as we expand our sales network in its entirety, building upon our base of early adopters and reference sites internationally.

Frost & Sullivan: What are the things that Emech Control has done to make this product find ready acceptance in the industry?

Marcel van Dijck: We have invested research in understanding industry applications and understanding the customer needs, their processes and KPI’s. The innovation we created is one of the first to exploit the market trend of putting intelligence at the point of control, and bringing value to the customers process by, improving profitability and performance, while reducing ongoing maintenance and repair costs.

We then leverage the customer verification of "proving added value" to other customers and other industries on a global scale.

Frost & Sullivan: What are some of the trends that you see in terms of product acceptance by customers?

Marcel van Dijck: All customers are seeking cost reduction, production improvement and a smarter way to operate their plant.

There is a definite trend towards improving valve performance. Improved accuracy and performance being one of the most critical steps one can take to improve profitability. Reducing process variability lies at the heart of maximizing profitability. Our ‘stand-alone closed loop control systems’ maintain process variables at the setpoints thereby allowing manufacturers to run their plants under tighter constraints, thereby increasing production and reducing waste.

The second definite trend is towards electric actuation. This trend has always been hindered by what has been a general slow speed of response, however with the software based intelligence allowing the ability to control and manage our high speed precision stepper motor control we see simplicity coming into this area of process control.

Frost & Sullivan: How would you differentiate the buying habits of customers across the three geographies of the Americas, Europe and Asia?

Marcel van Dijck: Different buying habits sometimes reflect different drivers between different cultures. Some cultures are focused on the up-front cost of adopting new technology, whereas other cultures see new technology as an investment for process improvements and competitive edge and with this investment they run strict ROI parameters.

In our global marketing strategy, we have noted that processing issues in a broad sense are very similar worldwide, so therefore the production needs are the same, however the mode and shape of the final transaction can be quite different.

Frost & Sullivan: What are some of the unique strategies that you hope to evolve for achieving a dominant position in the global markets?

Marcel van Dijck: Our objective is to continue to create products that set a new industry standard in flow control that are simple and superior to existing standards. Customers seek to purchase the patented Emech systems combination of ceramic disc valve technology and intelligent electronic actuation because of the value they bring to their business. The end result is a smart package that we will continue to expand and evolve to "disrupt" the market via this customer demand.

The strategy is to leverage through customer verification of the performance achieved and to drive this globally. The customer purchases equipment for specific functions and we will ensure we remain close to our customers to ensure our products, both current and evolving perform these identified functions better than others.

We have worked intensively and vigorously to establish our business in a specific market segment. We have proven our technological edge and business viability. Moving forward, we will expand our platform rapidly and this will see Emech developing new product extensions around the core technology, and forming more expansive partnerships with established participants across both new geographies and industry segments.

Frost & Sullivan: What are some of the key technology and testing issues for end-users in the industry today and how does Emech Control address those issues?

Marcel van Dijck: The key issue to testing any new technology is to have this tested and rated to industry and international standards. This has involved ongoing R&D and testing as well as replicating continuous production usage in our own testing facility. In this way we have an understanding of customer installation and performance issues and address these before the product is launched into the field.

With the multitude of systems and interfaces, we see a greater need for flexibility in the plant operations communications standards and the eventual links into the larger business ERP standards. I see a convergence or linkage between the manufacturing systems and the broader business IT management platforms driving through the business to the points of process control. Its all about maximizing the use of scarce resources and those that measure and produce control in the processes will be the winners.

Frost & Sullivan: Could you illustrate some typical applications that your products have found ready accepted in the industry and the return-on-investment that customers have seen?

Marcel van Dijck: There are many examples but I will cover off just a couple from the

Meat Processing Industry:

In the processing of tripe and casings, water temperature is critical to produce a high yield market ready product. In almost all processing plants, water pressure fluctuation has resulted in unstable water temperature. If the temperature is too cold, the tripe or casing has not been properly cleaned from protein and fat wastes. If the temperature is too hot, then the tripe and casings can be "cooked" making the product worthless.

As a result of Emech installations, customers have reported an increase in tripe quality and color, which has resulted in higher pricing in export markets. In the casing flushing process, customers have reported higher product yield.

In all of these applications, customers have reported reduced maintenance and utility costs.

Tanning Industry:

The first stage of treating skins and hides is extremely critical in the tanning industry. Too hot and the hides are scalded resulting in pelt shrinkage, burn marks and overall poor quality. If the water temperature is too cold water, the hide is not preserved in the appropriate manner.

In reference utilities costs, the tanning process requires high volume water mixed within tight temperature specifications. In one installation the Emech system saved 28,000 gallon divert water per week, saved 80 hours p.a. in mixing time and saved $US1600 p.a. in maintenance. In this application customers have reported payback in less than 3 months.

There are a number of applications across the Brewing, Bakery, Pharmaceuticals, Dairy, Building services industries, and it is fair to say we uncover new opportunities regularly where customers face variable outputs in terms of flow and temperature. The fast and accurate Emech valve and actuator systems aggressively control their processes and keep their production operations in specification. Customer advocacy is proof of this performance in Best Practices and the Frost and Sullivan Award recognizes this success.

Frost & Sullivan: What are the critical drivers in the food and beverages industry that prompt you to value a solution like the one provided by Emech Control?

Daren Box: A couple of primary factors are food safety and cost. As in most industries today providing a superior product at a competitive price attracts and retains customers. The Emech mixing valve is a control solution, which brings superior process control to several areas of the business.

Frost & Sullivan: As a corporate engineering representative in the Food and Beverages segment, you have clear visibility into the challenges that the processing plant faces. What in your opinion are these challenges and what are the key actions that need to be taken to address them?

Daren Box: The ability to generate more finished product from existing assets through process optimization and waste minimization requires all areas of a facility to operate consistently within set parameters. As improved data collection systems are implemented and the data is analyzed during, the identification of various process fluctuations can be reviewed and solutions developed. The Emech temperature control system is a solution, which can be implemented to reduce process fluctuations.

Frost & Sullivan: Cargill Foods has been one of the early adopters of Emech Control's solution in the industry. What is your assessment of the potential of this technology to emerge as "Best Practices" in the Food and Beverages industry?

Daren Box: Throughout the food and beverage industry there are many examples where temperature control is vital to the end product. Processes such as pasteurization, facility cleaning, product washing or energy management all require various control systems.

The Emech valve is a piece of equipment, which can be universally applied in each of these scenarios with the ability to tune them to operate at the desired process control parameters. The flexibility to apply the mixing valve across these various applications and its ability to tightly control the final temperature with fluctuating supply pressures and temperatures without adding additional components such as pressure regulators certainly earns my vote as a "Best Practice" solution.


___________________________________________



Emech Control Receives Frost & Sullivan’s 2004 Process Control Technology Innovation of the Year Award.

Palo Alto, Calif - October 20, 2004

Frost & Sullivan has recognized Emech Control Ltd., a pioneer in the design and manufacture of fluid control valves, with the 2004 Process Control Technology Innovation of the Year Award. Customers using a range of Emech Control’s applications have testified to improved end-product quality, savings in water utilization, reduction in energy costs, and less down time.