energy - ESCO Corporation

Transcription

THE
Solutions from ESCO
AUGUST 2007
IN THIS ISSUE
ENERGY
ESCO MISSION
To be the premier provider of highly engineered, technically rich metal components and solutions for industrial applications.
The EDGE: Solutions from ESCO
The Magazine of ESCO Corporation
August 2007 Volume 4 Issue 2
ESCO Corporation, founded in 1913 in Portland, Oregon, USA, is a global group
of companies that manufactures engineered metal parts and components
for industrial applications. ESCO is comprised of two operating groups:
Editor
John Howard
Engineered Products Group
Innovation leader for metal wear parts, components and
earthmoving products used in global mining, construction,
dredging and other challenging industrial applications.
Designer
Natalie Maciukenas
Director of Marketing Communications
Jodi Walder-Biesanz
Turbine Technologies Group
Responsive manufacturing partner for precision
investment cast components in aerospace and
industrial gas turbine applications.
The EDGE staff would like to thank the following
individuals for their help on this issue:
Nilton Albino Filho, Edson Alves Morais,
StephenBabson,CleberBitencour,JamesColeman,Vincente
de Sales Fonesca, Claudio José de Silva,
José dos Santos Sobinho, Tim Elbel,
Philippe Faidherbe, Bill Fewless, Pat Fonner,
Bryan Haynes, Glen Jarvis, Jeff Kershaw,
Peter Lehnhoff, John Lines, Roger Long,
Ana Paula Machado, Jason Muck,
Leonardo Munck, Carmen Myers, Tim Myers,
Raphael Neves, Joe Novasio, Carl Openshaw,
Jon Owens, Mike Passen, Álvaro Paulose,
Dirceu Ramos, Laurent Reminiac, Ulrich Rissler,
Rodrigo Sanchez, Romeu Scarioli, Jr.,
Romeu Scarioli, Sr., Ermanno Simonutti,
Mike Smith, Bill Struthers, Masaaki Tanaka,
Marcos Vieira, Max Villanueva, Shane Williams,
José Wilson Batista, Maurício Zuquim Macedo
TO THE EDITOR
John,
I just received my latest [April 2007] edition of the ESCO EDGE, opened
it and read your editorial. I must say you are truly blessed as a writer and
photographer! What an extremely interesting account of your 17-year-old
world travels. Fantastic! In all the years we have known each other and
worked together, I never knew you had that wonderful experience.
Great articles and great pictures, as always.
Roger Long
Senior District Manager
Atlanta, Georgia
The EDGE is published
in April, August and December.
Readers’ comments and suggestions
are always welcome.
EDGE Magazine
ESCO Corporation
2141 NW 25th Avenue
Portland, Oregon USA 97210
email: [email protected]
EDGE MISSION
• Show the strengths and problem-solving
capabilities of ESCO’s business groups
• Spotlight ESCO’s successes in the diverse
markets it serves
• Communicate the values and traditions that
make ESCO unique
• Help build lasting and mutually beneficial
relationships with customers
´
´
´
John,
I left ESCO in 2001, but whenever I see copies of the ESCO EDGE, I read it
cover-to-cover—always have. I felt that the April 2007 issue was especially
well-written. Your reflections on The World is Getting Smaller were great,
as was the rest of the issue. I think that you have an aptitude for presenting
information in theme with a given issue and for making ESCO seem like
a family within the pages. I just wanted to offer my appreciation for your
writing. Yet another person out there in the world that enjoys reading it.
Best,
Jeff Summerson
Camas, Washington
Printed in the USA on 100%
recycled / 100% post consumer
waste paper.
© 2007 ESCO Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
Editor: My thanks to Jeff Summerson, an account manager with ESCO
who worked hard to promote ESCO’s hydraulic impact hammer line with
equipment rental firms throughout the west until the company decided to
get out of the hammer business about six years ago.
FROM THE EDITOR
CONTENTS
OIL SANDS BOOM
My first trip to Fort McMurray and the Alberta oil sands was an
eye-opener. The flight was packed with mine workers returning from
holidays in warm, sunny places. Situated on the banks of the Athabasca
River 270 miles northwest of Edmonton, Fort McMurray is the
unofficial capital of the oil sands. Mud-encrusted pickup trucks prowl
its crowded streets. It has the look of a fast-built, bustling, modern day
boom town, like Dawson Creek during the Klondike Gold Rush.
4
ENERGY
HELP WANTED signs are all over town. Wages are high and prices are
even higher. Fast food clerks and janitors earn $17 per hour, and gas
station attendants get $600 signing bonuses. Equipment operators and
mechanics can earn over $100,000 a year at the mines. Tiny apartments
rent for $1,200 per month and very modest two-bedroom homes sell
for $500,000 or more—if you can find one. Because of the housing
crunch in town, the big mines offer extensive on-site housing.
With a population of about 69,000, Fort McMurray has doubled in
size over the last 20 years. Thousands have emigrated from Canada’s
Maritime Provinces and elsewhere to take high-paying jobs in “Fort
McMoney” and the oil sands operations nearby. Virtually every
mining and processing vendor in the industry has a presence in Fort
McMurray to serve the mines and participate in the oil sands boom.
The mines themselves (profiled in the article beginning on page 6)
are located in the flat boreal forest a few miles north of town, their
processing stacks towering over spruce and birch trees. All the surface
mines now use power shovels and haul trucks to dig and transport the
chocolate-brown oil sand from the pits to the processing facilities.
6
ALBERTA OIL SANDS
10
BAUMA 2007
ESCO has supplied earthmoving wear parts to oil sands mining
customers for decades. Our engineers and metallurgists have worked
shoulder-to-shoulder with mine operations personnel there to address
the biggest challenge of oil sands mining: extreme abrasiveness. Even
when overlaid with tungsten carbide, mining teeth, adapters and
blades wear out quickly when working in the Athabasca oil sands.
When you add brutally cold winter weather to the challenge of
unusually high abrasion, the oil sands present one of the toughest
mining environments imaginable. Machine operators and maintenance
supervisors told us how much they appreciate the durability of ESCO
mining lip and tooth systems, and especially their reliable and easyto-change designs. In the gloom of winter when it is 30 or 40 degrees
below zero, nobody wants tooth changes to take a long time!
As the worldwide demand for energy rises and the “easy” sources
of crude oil begin to diminish, the Athabasca oil sands represent an
important and politically stable resource—especially for consumers
in North America. In this issue of the EDGE we not only discuss the
booming oil sands, but a variety of energy resources that utilize ESCO
products to mine and process.
— John Howard, editor
16
ESCO SOLDERING
ROSEBUD COAL MINE
12
CVRD
18
MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL
19
SUGARCANE
20
ETHANOL
21
TT CUSTOMER: WOOD GROUP
22
OSCAR MEIER 40TH ANNIVERSARY
24
ESCO NEWS
24
INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR STEPHEN BABSON
26
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES
28
SERVICE ANNIVERSARIES
29
Cover: Flames boil upwards when scrap steel is dropped into
an electric melting furnace. Photo by John Howard.
E
nergy is in us and all around us. Each of us must have
energy in the form of food and light to survive. We
need energy for transportation; to heat and light our
homes; to grow, harvest, cook and refrigerate foods; and to
manufacture every product imaginable. Look around you:
everything you see required energy to create and transport.
Some of what you see or hear is consuming even more
energy, such as the clock, computer, light fixtures and air
conditioning.
The most abundant source of energy is solar, the rays of
heat and light that reach us from the sun. Plants and certain
sea life are able to directly consume and store solar energy,
which is passed up the food chain. In most cases, humans
tap solar energy indirectly in the food we eat and fuel we
burn.
ENERGY!
The most widely used form of energy is fossil fuel—oil, coal
and natural gas. Formed when vast underground deposits
of ancient organic matter were compressed and transformed
over eons, fossil fuels account for over 80 percent of the
energy consumed by man worldwide.
World Energy Consumption By Type
Bio-diesel & ethanol;
wind power 9.5%
Solar <1%
Hydroelectric 2.5%
Article and photos by John Howard
Nuclear 7%
Fossil Fuels
80%
Oil is the leading fossil fuel. The world consumes about 85
million barrels of oil per day (bpd) or 3.6 billion gallons.
The world economy has a ravenous thirst for oil for
transportation, heating, lubricating, and petrochemicals.
Paints, plastics, synthetic fibers, tires, roofing, asphalt
— they are all made from oil.
Most crude oil is drawn in liquid form from underground
or undersea deposits. Some crude oil is extracted from oilbearing sand deposits, as described in the article beginning
on page 6.
THE EDGE  AUGUST 2007
Coal is the second most widely consumed fossil fuel. In
some parts of the world, it is burned directly for cooking
and heating. It is also burned in industrial boilers to run
factories. The most voluminous use of coal is in large power
plants that burn it to turn turbines that generate electricity.
China, North America and Europe rely heavily on coal for
electrical power.
Natural gas is another important fossil fuel used to heat
homes and generate electricity. Industrial gas turbines
convert the energy in natural gas to electrical energy. ESCO’s
Turbine Technologies business is deeply involved in making
sophisticated parts for gas turbines. Natural gas and coal each
account for about 20 percent of world energy consumption.
Nuclear energy, created by splitting the atom, is the world’s
fourth largest energy source. Although it generates harmful
and incredibly long-lived radioactive waste, it produces
very little air pollution or greenhouse gases. Nuclear
energy accounts for about seven percent of world energy
consumption. Europe relies more heavily on nuclear power
than other regions.
Hydroelectric energy, generated by river water turning
turbines at dams, represents only about 2.5 percent of world
energy consumption. Considered a clean energy source
because it does not generate greenhouse gases, hydropower
requires huge capital investment and carries environmental
costs including degraded fisheries. As many of the world’s
major rivers have already been dammed, there is only limited
growth potential for this energy source.
Solar energy — getting electricity and/or warm water directly
from the rays of the sun—has great promise as an energy
source, but to date accounts for less than one percent of total
world energy use. Photovoltaic cell technology which converts
sunlight directly into electricity is expensive compared
to fossil fuel-generated electricity, but it is growing more
attractive as a clean alternative energy source as the cost of
fossil fuels climbs.
Bio-diesel and ethanol derived from processing sugarcane,
grain, wood chips or other organic matter is being used as a
substitute to fossil fuel. Brazil, for example, is a world leader in
converting sugarcane into clean-burning ethanol for use
in specially designed automobile engines, as described on
page 21.
Wind power, created by tower-mounted turbines turning in
the wind, is another promising and growing clean energy
source. Windmill farms are being installed at a growing pace
throughout the world, but their cumulative impact remains
very small compared to fossil fuels, nuclear or hydroelectric
energy.
ESCO’s Engineered Products and Turbine Technologies
businesses are deeply involved in assisting energy production
around the globe. Much of the earthmoving required for a
number of the world’s hydroelectric dams was done with
ESCO products. Our mining products are widely used
to extract coal, oil sands and uranium. Our cast turbine
components are used in industrial gas turbines and other
energy-producing technologies. In the pages that follow are
examples of ESCO’s role in energy production. ´
1788. The first attempts to commercially exploit the oil sands
occurred in the early 1900s, but the cost and difficulty of
mining the gritty substance, separating bitumen from sand
with hot water, then upgrading the bitumen to crude oil drove
all of the early entrepreneurs into bankruptcy.
The modern era of oil sands development began in the late
1960s when the Great Canadian Oil Sands project (now
Suncor Energy) brought in enormous bucketwheel excavators
to move massive amounts of the black sand. Long, elaborate
conveyors carried the material to the processing plants.
photo courtesy of Suncor Energy
ALBERTA’S
OIL SANDS
When Syncrude commenced operations to the west of Suncor
in the late 1970s, it used huge draglines in combination
with bucketwheels. The use of draglines and bucketwheel
reclaimers continued for about 25 years before the last of
these behemoths was parked in 2005. Today, all the surface
mines have opted for the more versatile “truck and shovel”
mining method where huge electric power cable shovels
(P&H or Bucyrus) and hydraulic face shovels (Hitachi, O&K
or Komatsu) load mammoth haul trucks capable of carrying
240 to 400 tons per load of oil sand to the sizers or crushers.
Normally, two tons of oil sand are necessary to produce one
barrel (42 gallons) of crude oil.
A vast energy resource in Canada
containing nearly as much oil as
Saudi Arabia is being developed with
sophisticated mining technologies
U
by John Howard
p in the northwest corner of Alberta, Canada
lies one of the world’s largest oil reserves. This
is not your classic subterranean pool of crude
oil that gushes from wells, however. Instead, this is a vast
underground deposit of oil-bearing bitumen bonded with
sand. In summer, it is like a cakey mix of coarse sand and tar.
In winter, it is like hard-frozen chocolate ice cream. In any
season, it is challenging to mine and process oil sand, but in a
world of rising energy costs and dwindling crude oil supplies,
the oil sands are being developed at a fever pitch.
Covering some 87,000 square miles (140,000 km2), the Alberta
oil sands deposits contain an estimated two trillion barrels of
bitumen—enough to supply the entire world’s energy needs
for 15 years or more. Only in a relatively small area north of
Fort McMurray, however, are the oil sands close enough to
the surface to be mined by open pit methods. Elsewhere, the
bitumen is being tapped by underground steam injection
techniques, called in situ.
Men have been intrigued by the oil sands for centuries.
Aboriginal peoples used the gooey bitumen to waterproof
their canoes and make torches. Explorer Alexander
MacKenzie noted a region of “bituminous fountains” here in
Reliable, abrasion-resistant ESCO products have been used by
mining companies in the oil sands for decades. ESCOSUPPLY
Ltd., a joint venture of ESCO Corporation and Equipment
Sales & Service, opened a store in Fort McMurray early in
2007 to provide an even higher level of responsiveness and
customer service. (Please see sidebar article at right about
ESCOSUPPLY Ltd.)
Tens of billions of dollars have been invested in the oil sands
to date and much more is expected to be spent over the next
decade. ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips,
ChevronTexaco, Petro-Canada and a number of other global
oil companies are heavily invested here.
Currently there are three major surface mining operations
in the Athabasca oil sands north of Fort McMurray, and a
number of other projects under development. Suncor Energy,
Syncrude Canada, and Albian Sands Energy have largescale producing surface mines. Canadian Natural Resources
(CNRL) is soon to begin production at its Horizon Mine,
and a fifth surface mine at Petro-Canada’s Fort Hills site
is also scheduled to open in the near future. Together, the
surface and in situ subsurface mining operations are today
producing about 1.1 million barrels per day of crude oil. Total
production is expected to double by 2012 and possibly reach
four or five million barrels per day by 2025.
Suncor Energy, Inc.
The first commercially successful oil sands mining
operation was pioneered by Suncor in 1967. In its early
surface operations Suncor used a system of huge bucketwheel
excavators and conveyors to transport the sand to the
extraction plant where raw bitumen was separated from
the sand and clay with a hot water process, and the bitumen
was upgraded to synthetic crude oil. The company eventually
switched to truck and shovel techniques in its surface mining,
and has also begun in situ mining where the oil sand lies
too deep.
ESCOSUPPLY™ LTD.
Wear Parts Supermarket for the Oil Sands
L
ast fall, ESCO Corporation and Equipment Sales and
Service, Ltd. (ES&S) announced a joint venture to
better serve customers in the Alberta oil sands. The
new ESCO/ES&S “wear parts supermarket” located in Fort
McMurray is called ESCOSUPPLY Ltd., part of ESCO’s
growing worldwide network of retail stores serving the
mining and construction industries.
ESCO, founded in 1913, has over 90 years’ experience
in metallurgy and wear parts products design and
manufacturing. ES&S has over 60 years’ experience in the
distribution and field application of wear product solutions.
Both have served customers in the oil sands for decades.
Together, as ESCOSUPPLY Ltd., they are focused on
providing unequaled service to the mining community.
“ESCO and ES&S have targeted the oil sands because of
the strong growth projections for this market and its heavy
consumption of mining wear parts,” noted Tim Elbel,
ESCO’s general sales manager for mining. “This store is
making it easier for mining customers to access our full
array of products and services.”
The entire line of ESCO brands is available through the
store: ESCO, Bucyrus Blades, and the former QSF line
(now part of ESCO). ESCO’s SV2® hammerless mining
tooth system, Super V® and Posilok® tooth systems, plus
the Grizzly™ and Simplex™ systems are stocked at the Fort
McMurray store for quick delivery to the mines. Special
AR wear plate and overlay solutions are also available from
ESCOSUPPLY Ltd., which is closely supported by ESCO’s
oil sand products manufacturing facilities in nearby Nisku
and Edmonton, Alberta.
“We are also interested in adding additional product lines
and services outside of the ESCO family where they fit with
our strategic direction,” added Mike Smith, vice president
and general manager of Equipment Sales and Service.
Photos of coke processing plant (opposite)
and power shovel (above) courtesy of Suncor Energy.
Glen Jarvis and Shane Williams, product specialists, are
the original members of the ESCOSUPPLY Ltd. Fort
McMurray team, supported by parts manager Josh Smith
of ES&S. Additional management and staff members
are expected to be added to the ESCOSUPPLY team as
business activity demands. ´
Separator that separates sand from bitumen.
Photo courtesy of Albion Sands.
In 2006, Suncor passed the milestone of having produced one
billion barrels of oil from the Alberta oil sands. It now produces
about 260,000 barrels per day, and is currently increasing its
production capacity to reach approximately 350,000 barrels per
day in 2008.
For many years Syncrude used draglines to dig and pile the oil
sand in windrows, which was then moved by bucketwheel and
conveyor to the extraction plant. In 2006, the last dragline/
bucketwheel/conveyor system was retired in favor of more
economical and versatile power shovels and haul trucks.
Suncor uses 12 electric power shovels and three hydraulic
shovels in its surface mine. To date, shovel managers there favor
ESCO’s hammerless Grizzly™ tooth system and vertical pin
Simplex™ tooth system on their mining shovel buckets. Both are
manufactured at ESCO Nisku, outside Edmonton. Based on a
successful trial run earlier this year, Suncor has ordered ESCO’s
SV2® hammerless tooth system on a 58 yard bucket for one of
its P&H 4100 shovels. ESCOSUPPLY’s Shane Williams handles
the account, working closely with Suncor’s Erik Jones to supply
the mine’s ground engaging tool needs.
Today, Syncrude uses 14 cable shovels and four hydraulic
shovels in its surface mining operations. Under the direction
of Mark Brannan, leader of the Mine Operations Support
Team, Syncrude uses ESCO® tooth equipment on half of its
cable shovels and a competitor’s product on the other half.
Currently, performance and unit costs are being closely
tracked to determine which tooth system will “win” the
comparison and earn future business.
“The Grizzly tooth system is a reliable, proven product with
proven performance numbers,” said Erik Jones, an operational
engineer and materials planner with Suncor. “We’re expecting
even better productivity, reliability and safety out of ESCO’s
SV2 system.”
Syncrude Canada, Inc.
The Syncrude joint venture was formed in 1964, but it wasn’t
until 1978 that the sprawling facility was completed and the
first barrels of synthetic crude were produced. Twenty years
later, in 1998, Syncrude sent its billionth barrel down the
pipeline, five years ahead of schedule. Current productive
capacity is 350,0000 barrels per day (bpd) with future plans to
expand to 500,000 in the future.
“We’re always looking for high performance from our
equipment working in the oil sands,” said Mark. “The
operators love shovel teeth that are easy to work with.
When it’s 3 a.m. and 40 degrees below zero, they don’t want
changing teeth to be a chore.”
“We want everything to be as reliable and user-friendly
as possible in the field,” agreed Tony Fifield, a Syncrude
expeditor responsible for stocking and delivering the teeth,
adapters and shrouds to the shovels when they are needed.
ESCO’s Ken Remple, Glen Jarvis, Dean Heaney, Ermanno
Simonutti and others have worked closely with Mark, Tony
and other Syncrude personnel to resolve issues at their
monthly “GET IT” meeting. Product performance data are
reviewed and action steps are revisited. Concepts like value
stream mapping have been introduced to better understand
and improve the process.
“ESCO, like many suppliers, has done a lot of positive work
for us over the last few years and has helped us reduce unit
cost,” Mark added, including some adapter redesign work to
improve digability and wear life. “This oil sands environment
is unique. Its abrasiveness and the wear patterns it creates on
equipment are unlike any other mining in the world.”
Albian Sands Energy, Inc.
Production commenced in December 2002 at Albian Sands’
Muskeg River Mine and Scotford Upgrader. This operation is
a joint venture of Shell Canada, Chevron Canada and Western
Oil Sands, Inc. Located a few miles north of the other surface
mines, Albian’s Muskeg River Mine is believed to contain
more than five billion barrels of mineable bitumen. Albian
is currently producing about 155,000 barrels per day, and
a major expansion is underway to bring production up to
255,000 bpd in the near term and 750,000 bpd in the
long term.
Albian uses five Bucyrus 495HF cable shovels and one
Hitachi EX8000 hydraulic shovel in its Muskeg Mine. All
are fitted with ESCO tooth equipment. A separate pit called
the Jackpine Mine is scheduled to come online in 2010 and
produce an additional 100,000 barrels per day. Eight more
shovels will be needed for that surface mine.
Bob Rogers, Albian Sands’ Shovel and Mine Electrical
manager, worked with ESCO for several years to develop a
2° off centerline tooth design to help machine operators do a
more efficient job of cleaning the bottom of the cut.
“That new design works well,” he said. “We don’t lose any
hardware at all and there’s very little wear on those ESCO
noses.” Bob is looking forward to a trial this summer of
ESCO’s completely hammerless tooth and adapter system.
Albian will be the first oil sands customer to use ESCO’s SV2®
and Whisler Plus® system, which offers benefits in both safety
and performance.
***
Together, the three oil sands mines described above
provide direct jobs to over 10,000 people plus thousands of
contractors and indirect jobs. In addition to the billions of
dollars spent annually on salaries, goods and services, the
mines also pay sizable royalties and taxes to the provincial
and federal governments. Moreover, all are committed to
sustainable development practices including land reclamation
and safeguarding air and water quality. Sensitive to climate
change issues, all are working to minimize the release of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
ESCO’s Glen Jarvis discusses Posilok tooth installation
in the bucket maintenance shop at Syncrude.
billions of additional dollars are expected to be invested.
Every mine has expansion plans underway. We’ll want to
maintain our strong position in ground engaging tools
on the mining side, and we’ll want to take advantage of
opportunities in the processing side, as well.” The number
of applications is almost limitless where ESCO wear plate,
Kwik-Lok® wear runners, and/or abrasion-resistant overlay
capabilities coming out of our Edmonton plant can solve wear
issues in oil sands extracting and upgrading.
The Alberta oil sands represent a secure and growing supply
of crude oil needed by Canada and the US to reduce our
reliance on imported oil from more politically volatile
regions of the world. We are proud that ESCO’s expertise in
metallurgy, abrasion resistance, and product design is useful
to many of the customers that mine this gritty oil-bearing
substance and transform it into sorely needed fuel. 
“ESCO is focused on serving our customers in this growing
market,” concluded Ermanno Simonutti, ESCO’s product
manager for oil sands products. “Over the next ten years,
BAUMA 2007
AUMA 2007
by Jodi Walder-Biesanz
H
alf a million visitors from 170 countries jammed
the halls and outside display areas at BAUMA
2007 in Munich, Germany. Billed as the world’s
largest trade fair for the construction and mining industries,
BAUMA offered a feast for the senses and tons of
impressive displays. Unusually summer-like
weather for April boosted attendance and
contributed to the festive atmosphere.
ESCO was extremely well represented. The new
ESCO two story booth was sleek and dramatic.
Dealers, OEDs and end use customers flocked to
the stand to sit at café tables, enjoy refreshments
and chat with knowledgeable ESCO sales and service
people. A customer appreciation party included great food
and jazz music and drew hundreds.
The impressive ESCO stand displayed a full range of wear
products for mining, construction and quarries. Highlights
10
were a full size display of the new EverSharp™ lip system for
underground mining and the SV2® tooth system with the
65SV2 size working model displayed. The SV2® model was
quite popular, as it allowed visitors to remove the tooth and
discover for themselves the benefits of the hammerless system.
Exposure of ESCO products was high throughout the fair.
Countless displays from OEMs, bucket manufacturers
and ESCO distributors sported ESCO products.
Manufacturers featuring ESCO products on their
equipment included Hitachi, Lehnhoff, Liebherr,
Terex, Volvo, CASE, JCB, Doosan and CAT.
Engineered Products Vice President of Global
Sales and Marketing, Pat Fonner commented, “The
market is good and the customers were upbeat. The
stand was full; at any given time we had people from Africa,
Asia, Europe, Australia, the Commonwealth of Independent
States (including Russia) and North America – it was truly a
global show. The ESCO European staff was fabulous. This was
undoubtedly the best ESCO show ever!”´
H
itachi made quite a splash at BAUMA with its
dramatic display of the EX5500-5 excavator.
Twelve units of this mammoth machine had
been sold by Spanish dealer Serex to Unión Minera del
Norte, a coal mining operation in Spain. All of these giant
excavators are effectively fitted with ESCO cast lips and
Posilok® teeth, and ESCO’s Spanish dealer BYG provides
aftermarket service. These machines are truly impressive
with an operating weight of 518,000 kg (1,142,000 lbs), a
bucket capacity of 29 m3 (38 yd3), and a bucket digging
force of 1370 kN (308,000 lbs). ESCO’s Brian Haynes
works with Miller, which supplies the buckets for these
machines, and Max Villanueva calls on Unión Minera del
Norte. John Lines, Managing Director for Miller UK says,
“The combination of ESCO service and product quality
coupled with Miller design and manufacturing excellence
has proved a winning formula.”
ESCO staff in the Miller bucket with an ESCO cast lip and Posilok teeth.
This bucket, on the Hitachi EX5005-5 was the biggest attraction at the fair
for photo opportunities.
L
Ulrich Rissland, Pat Fonner, Peter Lehnhoff,
Mike Passen and Jeff Kershaw.
ehnhoff is the #1 bucket manufacturer in Germany
and one of the biggest in Europe. They have a world
renowned reputation based on quality and product
innovation. In January 2006, Peter Lehnhoff made the
decision to sunset their in-house tooth system and put
ESCO teeth as standard on all their original equipment.
ESCO’s Bruno Pesch, Ulrich Rissland and Mike Passen
helped make this transition a smooth one. Lehnhoff
buckets with ESCO teeth hit the market in April 2006.
Peter Lehnhoff explained, “The best buckets deserve the
best teeth.”
T
he Liebherr 9350 was on display at BAUMA and
is the new version of their 994. Liebherr wanted
an upgrade in both power and capacity. For
ten years the former model used ESCO V81 teeth. For
the new model they decided to trial the SV285. Philippe
Faidherbe and a team of ESCO engineers worked with
Liebherr engineers and operators on concurrent design
and the SV2 was trialed on the Liebherr 9350 in France.
The ultimate tooth system design was adapted based on
those experiences, and these new machines have SV2 as
standard equipment.
11
12
Rosebud Coal Mine Uses
ESCO Dragline Bucket & Teeth
by John Howard
C
olstrip, Montana —
Western Energy Company’s
Rosebud Mine is one of the
top-producing coal mines in
the United States. The mine
produces about 12.5 million tons
of low-sulfur coal per year for
electric power generation. Ñ
13
> About 80 percent of the mine’s production is burned in
four power plants located just outside the mine property in
Colstrip. The remaining 2 million tons or so are shipped by
rail to industrial and municipal power consumers elsewhere.
The town of Colstrip was founded in 1923 and the Rosebud
Mine began production in 1924. For the first 35 years, the
coal was used almost entirely to fuel the boilers in steam
locomotives. When diesel locomotives replaced the old steam
engines, mining ceased at Rosebud in 1958.
Western Energy reopened the mine in 1968. When the
Colstrip power plants were built in the mid-1970s (Units 1 &
2) and the mid-1980s (Units 3 & 4), the Rosebud Mine was
contracted to supply all the coal. A 4.2 mile long overland
conveyor was built to move coal from the mine to Units 3 & 4
at a rate of 36,000 tons per day. A steady stream of haul trucks
supplies coal to Units 1 & 2.
The four power plants are owned and operated by PPL
Montana, plus a consortium of other companies including
Puget Sound Energy, Portland General Electric, Avista
Corporation, Pacificorp, and NorthWestern Energy. The four
plants generate about 2,100 megawatts of electricity.
Westmoreland Mining purchased Western Energy and
the Rosebud Mine in 2001. Westmoreland Mining and its
affiliate Westmoreland Resources together own five surface
coal or lignite mines located in Montana, North Dakota and
Texas. Their parent company, Westmoreland Coal Company
of Colorado Springs, Colorado, is one of the top eight coal
producers in the country, producing over 30 million tons
per year.
Overburden Removed With Draglines
The Rosebud coal seam is generally 24 feet thick and in most
places lies about 100 feet below the surface. After the topsoil
is carefully removed and stockpiled, the mine uses four
enormous draglines to set the overburden aside in spoil piles
and replace it after the coal has been extracted. Front end
loaders and power shovels are used to dig the coal itself and
load it onto the mine’s fleet of 18 haul trucks.
The largest of the draglines is a Marion 8200, which weighs
8.5 million pounds, and took 1 1/2 years to assemble on site.
In December 2006, the huge machine was fitted with a new
ESCO 78 cubic yard Production Master® dragline bucket. The
bucket features an S130 straight lip with S-Series Posilok®
tooth system, Toplok® lip shrouds, Kwik-Lok® wing shrouds,
and a Vidaplate® wear liner package. The bucket moves up
to 90 tons of overburden material with each pass. Together,
the machine and bucket make an awesome and efficient
earthmoving tandem.
After getting used to the new bucket, “the operators love it,”
according to the mine’s maintenance planner Bill Struthers, a
35-year mining veteran. “The [ESCO] bucket digs well, chops
well and handles well.”
14
Dragline operator Bob Cole agreed that the bucket is wellbuilt and fills well. He especially likes the S-Posilok tooth
system. “That top-pin design is a good set-up,” he said. “It only
takes about half an hour to change the teeth. Those old sidepin teeth were awful to remove.”
The mine also has a 60-yard ESCO dragline bucket that has
moved over 100 million tons of abrasive overburden during its
lifetime. A new ESCO replacement bucket is on order. Veteran
salesman Bill Fewless, who also manages the ESCOSUPPLY
store in Billings, sees that the mine’s bucket and wear parts
needs are met. (Please see sidebar at right on ESCOSUPPLY).
Environmental Responsibility
In addition to providing good-paying jobs to 400 employees
and contributing over $22 million in state and county
taxes per year, the Rosebud Mine has an award-winning
environmental protection program. The office walls are hung
with a number of award certificates from the Department of
the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining (OSM) for measures
the mine has taken to protect the air, land, water and wildlife.
The mine has also taken pains to preserve cultural and
historic sites found on the 17-mile-long property. Ancient
petroglyphs and rustic homestead buildings from the 1800s
have been preserved and respected.
“I’m a native Montanan, and if we couldn’t operate this mine
without preserving the environment, I wouldn’t work here,”
said Joe Novasio, the mine’s Maintenance manager.
“I’m a native
Montanan, and
if we couldn’t
operate this
mine without
preserving the environment,
I wouldn’t work here.”
–Joe Novasio
Maintenance manager,
Rosebud Coal Mine
ESCOSUPPLY - Billings
E
SCO’s Billings, Montana store is one of 12 retail
stores in the ESCOSUPPLY network directly
serving customers in mining and construction.
The former High Desert Supply branch, located at 6547
Elysian Road, offers ESCO buckets, teeth, attachments,
wear plate, and crusher wear parts; Bucyrus Blades™
ground engaging products; Excel crusher parts products;
Terex light plants and generators; Luff Industries conveyor
components; crusher screen and other products in
demand by mines and contractors.
Bill Struthers, maintenance planner, and ESCO’s
Bill Fewless examine wear pattern on the new 78-yard
dragline bucket at the Rosebud Mine.
Joe started working at Rosebud 33 years ago and has seen
the mine produce over 350 million tons of low-sulfur coal
over that time span. During the same period, over 7,000
acres of disturbed land have been returned to the original
contours, dressed with topsoil and replanted with trees,
shrubs and native grasses. Land is reclaimed at the same
pace that it is mined. If 300 acres are disturbed in a given
year, 300 acres are reclaimed. Some reclaimed sections
are leased to local farmers and ranchers. Reclaimed areas
of the mine now support healthy populations of deer, elk,
pronghorns, turkeys and other species. “We even had a
moose in here once, wading in one of the reclamation
ponds,” Joe recalled.
ESCO is pleased to be a supplier to such an efficient,
profitable and environmentally responsible operation as
the Rosebud Mine in Colstrip, Montana. It is no surprise
that highly engineered ESCO dragline buckets and mining
tooth systems are performing so reliably for one of the
nation’s leading producers of low-sulfur sub-bituminous
coal for electric power generation. ´
The store opened early in 2001. Bill Fewless, with over
25 years experience in the industry, is branch manager
as well as salesman in charge of mining accounts. Five
surface coal mines are served by the store including
Absaloka, Decker Coal, Rosebud (see adjacent article),
Savage, and Spring Creek. ESCO buckets, tooth systems
and other wear parts are used at all five mines. About
two-thirds of the Billings store’s sales come from the
mining sector.
Construction has been booming in Montana over the last
five years, and the Billings store has grown busy supplying
contractors. Carl Openshaw is the store’s outside salesman
for construction and Jason Muck handles inside sales,
receiving, shipping, consignment inventories, etc.
“Our construction business is still in the baby stage,” said
Carl. “There is a lot of potential for us there. Where we’ve
gotten ahead of our competitors is on service. We make
the effort to get to know the people and what they need.”
Manager Bill Fewless is very proud of the growth and
commitment he’s seen from Carl and Jason. The Billings
store, supported by the entire ESCOSUPPLY network, has
increased sales three-fold since its doors opened six years
ago. A high level of local construction activity plus steady
growth in mining have helped increase sales, but excellent
product lines backed by conscientious service have been
the real keys to ESCOSUPPLY Billings’ success.
15
ESCO SOLDERING
Brazilian Joint Venture
Soldering’s current customers an expanded array of wear
solutions, which will help Soldering continue to grow.
In addition, Soldering becomes part of the global ESCO
organization. For ESCO, the venture provides superior
distribution in the growing Brazilian market and a strong
manufacturing presence for premium wear products in
Latin America.
I
n May 2007 ESCO Corporation launched a joint venture
with Brazil-based Soldering, a leading manufacturer of
wear-resistant steel wear products and solutions
for the mining, industry, sugar, heavy construction and
cement markets.
The joint venture combines the two growing companies’
competitive advantages – Soldering’s strong reputation in
Brazil, and ESCO’s global reputation for superior products
and technical capabilities.
Soldering was founded in 1969 by Romeu Scarioli, Sr., and is
headquartered in the city of Betim, Minas Gerais, which is
home to large mining operations. The company sells its wear
solutions to equipment manufacturers and end-use customers
– as well as to dealers who represent such companies as
Caterpillar and Komatsu. Soldering has approximately 450
employees, fifteen of whom work in design engineering, and
the company is headed by General Manager Romeu Scarioli,
Jr., son of the company’s founder.
The advantages to Soldering include access to ESCO’s
metallurgical, R&D and engineering expertise, plus the
right to sell ESCO products throughout Brazil. This provides
16
Steve Pratt, ESCO chairman and CEO, says: “This joint
venture brings together two outstanding companies that
share a great deal in common. Each company has a rich,
proud history. Each company is genuinely committed to
providing superior products and customer service. And
each company has a family of employees who are willing
to take on customers’ greatest wear challenges and find
solutions.”
Romeu Scarioli, Sr. commented, “ESCO and Soldering go
beyond customers’ expectations, not only by developing
customized solutions but also by providing a differential
in terms of agility. We invest in talented people. Our
markets are convergent. Our products complete each
other, even physically. We make a strong commitment
to building our future. Our “foot-on-the-ground”
conservatism is the same. Our daring search for better
results has the same intensity.”
Romeu Scarioli, Jr., Romeu Scarioli, Sr. and Steve Pratt.
The joint venture company has been named ESCO Soldering,
to indicate that both ESCO and Soldering products are now
available in Brazil from one reliable source.
As a young man Romeu Scarioli, Sr. saw an open competitive
niche and sold his vehicle to raise capital to start Soldering. The
original concept of providing tailor-made solutions for each
customer and for each application is still the cornerstone of
today’s business model. Soldering is known throughout Brazil
for its “in-the-dirt” collaboration with customers. Application
engineers work in tandem with sales, visiting customers and
brainstorming solutions to their toughest wear problems.
Soldering made its reputation by offering custom fabrication
and repair of large buckets. Their ISO 9001:2000 certified,
environmentally friendly fabrication facility produces buckets
up to 60 tons for excavators, front end loaders, shovel dippers
and bulldozers. In addition ESCO Soldering extends product
life by adding optional wear liners, overlays and offering the
biggest variety of wear resistant steels in Brazil. These most
advanced wear technologies are provided by partnering with
USIMINAS, Lincoln Electric and the Arcelor Group. ´
Top: Truck bed wear liner fabricated by
ESCO Soldering, which makes liners for large machines like
the CAT 793 and Komatsu 830.
Middle: Employees Sebastião Ferreira Santos,
Emerson Antônio Louzada, Alair Mota Cezar,
Adeira Vieira da Silva, Célio Belmont Mendes
and João Leandro da Silva.
Bottom: Bucket wheel transports blended iron ore
for pelletization. All buckets on the wheel
are fabricated by ESCO Soldering.
17
Jose dos Santos Sobrinho (Tamandua
Maintenance Supervisor), José Wilson
Batista (ESCO Soldering sales) and
Marcos Vieira (ESCO Soldering
Application Engineer).
potash and other minerals. CVRD
is a large logistics player in Brazil,
owning and operating railroads,
maritime terminals and a shipping
company. In May 2007 CVRD
increased its ownership share
of MBR (Mineracão Brasileiras
Reunidas) to 100%. Together they
produce over 300 million tons of
iron ore per year.
CVRD – COMPANHIA
VALE DO RIO DOCE
B
razil is the one of the world’s largest iron ore producers
and exporters. Iron ore has traditionally been the
country’s largest export product, accounting for 5%
of the total value of mineral exports. China, Japan, Germany
and South Korea are the main importers of Brazilian iron ore.
CVRD is a global mining company. It is a producer and
exporter of iron ore and pellets. CVRD is involved also in the
exploration, mining and beneficiation of bauxite, gold, kaolin,
Iron ore from Tamandua and Capitoa do Mato travels on the longest conveyor
in South America (29 km) for processing at Vargem Grande.
18
ESCO Soldering provides the
CVRD Tamandua and Capitao do
Mato mines outside Belo Horizonte
with cutting edges, end bits, truck
beds and liners for all buckets
and shovel dippers, including the
Komatsu PC 4000, H285 DEMAG,
CAT 994D and the Marathon
Le Tourneau L-1100. ESCO Soldering made the complete
DEMAG H-285 dipper and wear liner and it lasted for
approximately 10,000 hours of hard use – a 30% improvement
over the prior configuration.
ESCO Posilok® and SV2® teeth are also currently used in
the mine on the Komatsu machine. The maintenance team
considers ESCO tooth systems safer and easier to change,
resulting in a lower operating cost per hour.
Claudio Jose Silva, Maintenance Coordinator at Tamandua
commented, “Our biggest challenge is to keep good
availability of our equipment and ensure employee safety.
ESCO Soldering helps us do both.” ´
M
MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL
inas Gerais (or simply Minas, as it is more
commonly known) is one of 26 states in the
Brazilian federation and is the second most
populous. The state was principally formed by European
colonists searching for veins of gold and gems, and later
diamonds. The name literally means general mines, a
shortening from Minas dos Matos Gerais.
The state has a distinctly more native flavor than cosmopolitan
São Paulo and a more traditional slant than flashy Rio de
Janeiro. The state is more Portuguese than São Paulo in
southern Brazil, which has large populations of Italians and
Central Europeans. Minas is also more Portuguese than
northern Brazil – with its indigenous peoples – and more than
the Northeast – with its heavy Afro-Brazilian influence.
Minas is nationally known for its cuisine, and many dishes
are prepared using locally produced vegetables and meats,
especially chicken and pork. Traditional cooking is done using
coal- or wood-fired ovens and cast iron pans, making for a
particularly tasty flavor. The best-known dish from Minas is
“pão de queijo,” a small baked roll (known internationally as
“Brazilian cheese rolls”) made with cheese and cassava flour
and served hot as an appetizer or for breakfast.
Minas Gerais is a major producer of milk, coffee and other
agricultural commodities – as well as minerals. The state also
produces electronics, and automakers Fiat and Mercedes-Benz
have factories in Minas. Tourism is an important activity
for Minas, and historical cities like Ouro Preto, Mariana,
Sabará, Congonhas, Diamantina, Tiradentes, and Sao João
del Rey are major attractions for visitors interested in colonial
architecture.
The central region of the state (where the capital is located)
has large reserves of iron (and to a lesser extent, gold), which
are still actively mined. The western region is less densely
populated than the rest of the state and is currently a focus of
biotechnology investment, which includes leading research in
cattle, soy and corn culture. ´
Above: Near the center of Minas Gerais is the city of Belo
Horizonte – Portuguese for “beautiful horizon.” Here is the
location of Soldering’s headquarters. Belo Horizonte is home
to ESCO’s joint venture partner Soldering, and the city is an
excellent example of Brazil’s mid-20th century planned cities and
was constructed to serve as the state capital. Photo courtesy of
Jodi Walder-Biesanz.
19
SUGARCANE
T
by
Ana Paula Machado and Leonardo Munck
he sugar and ethanol sector in Brazil is currently the
most efficient in the world, as the cost of converting
sugarcane to ethanol is significantly lower than
converting from most other sources. Brazil is already the
second largest ethanol producer in world, and has great
growth potential due to its favorable climate, which is ideal for
sugarcane cultivation, and still has enormous areas available
in which to expand plantations. It is estimated that 420
million tons of sugarcane will be processed each year through
2015. Sugarcane, an extremely abrasive and acidic product, is
quick to wear metals with which it comes in contact, making
the sugarcane industry ideal for innovative wear solutions.
The São Martinho group is one of the biggest sugar and
ethanol producers in the world. It processed roughly 9.7
millions of ton of sugarcane in 2006, resulting in production
of 597,000 tons of sugar and 440,000 liters of ethanol. They
have many processing facilities throughout Brazil, and are
world renowned for efficient sugar and ethanol processes and
productivity, the quality of the sugarcane in their fields, and
social and environmental responsibility.
On June 13th and 14th, ESCO Soldering’s Tim Myers (General
Manager Latin America), Romeu Scarioli, Jr. (General
Manager ESCO Soldering), Ana Paula Machado (Sugar
and Ethanol Manager) and Leonardo Munck (Application
Engineer) visited the Iracema and São Martinho sugar and
ethanol mills, owned by the São Martinho group. Nilton
Albino Filho and Cleber Bitencour were their hosts at
Iracema, and the tour of São Martinho was conducted by
Dirceu Ramos and Álvaro Paulose.
Sugarcane processed with ESCO Soldering wear parts.
20
In its pursuit of continuous improvements leading to
increased industrial efficiency, the São Martinho group has
worked closely with ESCO Soldering for more than ten years.
Together they have developed and implemented new wear
solutions, such as rails for the supplying tables, sugarcane
feed table and conveyor belt wear bars, sugarcane feed table
covering, mill guides, a lateral sugarcane shredder, and rotor
vanes. This joint creativity and development has significantly
reduced maintenance down time, resulting in greater
productivity and reduced costs.
Face to face communication about the ESCO Soldering joint
venture elicited an extremely positive response from Dirceu
Ramos, Extraction Coordinator at São Martinho. “Soldering
has always been considered a partner of São Martinho – the
relationship is much more than simply being a supplier. São
Martinho constantly searches for productivity growth. In
order to achieve this we rely on Soldering expertise in wear
technology to succeed. The joint venture of two competent
companies such as Soldering and ESCO brings added value to
our interactions. Our need for new and constant development
is sure, and ESCO Soldering will be a great resource.”
As more biofuels are converted to ethanol worldwide, the
pressure on exiting producers grows. “We are facing a strong
investment and productivity process era. Our partnership
with ESCO Soldering will result in new technologies that help
us achieve cost reduction goals,” explained Nilton Albino
Filho, Industrial Manager at Usina Iracema. ´
Leonardo César Bolato, Romeu Scarioli, Jr.,
Dirceu Ramos, Jr. and Tim Myers.
Ethanol – Dominant Alternate
Fuel in Brazil
Photo courtesy of Bruno Takahashi Carvalhas de Oliveira
A
by John Howard
s the price of gasoline has soared in recent years, the
quest for alternate fuels has accelerated. Ethanol,
a type of ethyl alcohol derived from organic plant
material, is one of the more promising substitutes for gasoline.
Although a gallon of ethanol yields only about two-thirds of
the energy of a gallon of gasoline, ethanol has the advantages
of burning cleaner and, since it is derived from plants, it is a
renewable energy source.
Today, Brazil is the second biggest ethanol producer in the
world. About 70 percent of all new cars sold in Brazil can run
on either gasoline, ethanol or a mixture of the two. Sugarcane
plantations are being expanded and ethanol production and
distribution facilities are growing rapidly. Currently, over six
million hectares (14.8 million acres) representing 60 percent
of the country’s sugarcane crop is earmarked for ethanol
conversion. Some 325 plants across Brazil process over 500
million tons of sugarcane annually, yielding nearly 4.7 billion
gallons (17.7 billion liters) of ethanol. Additional conversion
plants are being built and new technologies are being
introduced to further improve the efficiency of converting
cane to ethanol. Brazilian ethanol producers maintain that
they have a cost advantage over gasoline as long as oil prices
stay above $30 per barrel.
Ethanol in the US
When US President George W. Bush visited Brazil earlier
this year, he was impressed by the Brazilian use of ethanol
and their freedom from dependence on imported oil. He
advocated greater use of ethanol in the US, where it currently
accounts for only three percent of total fuel consumption.
Brazil is a world leader in the production and use of ethanol.
Beginning in the 1970s when the first world “energy crisis”
happened, Brazil began an aggressive state-sponsored
program to produce ethanol on a massive scale and induce
drivers to switch to ethanol-burning engines.
Although relatively little sugarcane is grown in North
America, the United States is the world’s largest corn
producer. Most of the ethanol produced in the US is
derived from corn. Over 4 billion gallons of ethanol are
produced annually from corn in the US. It is blended with
gasoline, usually 10 to 15 percent. Domestically-produced
ethanol enhances octane, reduces carbon monoxide and
carbon dioxide emissions, and reduces the nation’s overall
dependence on foreign oil.
Brazil’s source of ethanol is sugarcane, which grows
abundantly in large areas of the country. When fermented,
sugarcane yields more energy-rich ethanol than almost
any other plant material. For each energy unit expended to
convert cane, over eight times as much energy is created in the
form of ethanol.
However, corn is far inferior to sugarcane as an energy source.
Whereas the energy created to energy spent ratio for cane is
over eight to one, the ratio for corn is only 1.3 to one. In other
words, it takes the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline
to create 1.3 gallons of ethanol from corn—not a terrific
return, but still a 30 percent net gain.
The conversion program was not an overnight success,
however. Brazilians who switched to ethanol-powered engines
felt chagrined when the price of gasoline dropped and the
price of ethanol rose due to a surge in world sugar prices in
the 1980s. For a while ethanol was more costly than gas. But
ethanol use really took off in Brazil over the last four years as
gasoline prices skyrocketed and auto manufacturers began
offering “flex fuel” engines, capable of running on either fuel.
As nations respond to increasingly costly imports of fossil
fuels and seek to develop sources of renewable energy, ethanol
production surely is an option that cannot be ignored.
Wherever there is a surplus of grain, cane, wood chips or
other “biomass”, there is the potential to convert it to ethanol,
a clean-burning, renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Brazil
is a shining example of country that has shed the yoke of
dependency on imported oil by producing ethanol on an
enormous scale. ´
21
WOOD GROUP: WORLDWIDE
ENERGY SERVICES COMPANY
Article by John Howard
Photos courtesy of Wood Group
22
T
he Wood Group, headquartered in Aberdeen,
Scotland, is a leading international energy services
company which employs over 20,000 people in 44
countries. Its primary customers include the oil, gas, and
power generation industries. Its services include engineering,
project management, maintenance and repair for a wide
variety of energy-related applications. The Wood Group is a
market leader in deepwater engineering, offshore pipelines,
submersible pumping, enhancement of mature oil and gas
fields, and the repair and overhaul of industrial gas turbines.
This last business—the maintenance, repair and overhaul of
industrial gas turbines—is where ESCO Turbine Technologies
and the Wood Group’s Gas Turbine Services division have
common interests. ESCO is one of a select number of
worldwide suppliers of high quality cast components that
Wood Group technicians use to repair and overhaul heavy
industrial turbines used to generate electric power.
“We’re the world’s largest independent provider of gas
turbine maintenance, repair and overhaul services,” said Bill
Weisbrod, vice president of Operations, Wood Group Gas
Turbine Services. “We have a high level of capability on all
the major turbine makes—ABB, GE, Alstom, Pratt-Whitney,
Rolls-Royce and Solar. Customers have come to think of us as
an alternative OEM.”
ESCOTurbineTechnologiesemployees,below,makepartsforWood
Group Gas Turbine Services at its plants in New York, Ohio, Arizona
and Belgium. In some cases the specifications call for castings
with directionally solidified single crystal (DS/SC) composition.
Few foundries in the world have ESCO’s technical capability and
experience producing sophisticated DS/SC investment castings.
ESCO manufactures heavy industrial turbine blades, vane
segments, and heat shields at its Syracuse, Cleveland, Tempe
and Belgium plants for the Wood Group’s engineered new
replacement parts business.
The recent sharp rise in energy prices has spurred a
tremendous amount of capital investment on the part of
oil, gas and electric power producers. This surge in energy
spending has presented opportunities as well as challenges to
the Wood Group and its key parts suppliers like ESCO.
“We’re anticipating over 30 percent annual growth in our
advanced parts manufacture (APM®) business over the
next few years,” said Bill, “which is a huge change from the
single digit growth that we saw in past years. To continue to
satisfy our customers in terms of quality, cost, delivery and
responsiveness during a period of such dramatic demand will
challenge both our organizations.”
“Customers choose Wood Group Gas Turbine Services over
the competition for a few key reasons,” he noted. “The variety
of products we service, the comprehensive variety of services
we offer, and our flexibility in tailoring our services and
contracts to the specific needs of the customer.”
He complimented ESCO on its technical capability, and
described the two companies as “like-minded” in terms of
tactical imperatives and strategic business objectives. “ESCO
has the size, experience and capability to grow with us as
we aggressively go after new MRO business in the heavy
industrial turbine market. I’m optimistic that ESCO can play
a key strategic role in our future.”
23
Oscar Meier 40th Anniversary
O
scar Meier
AG/SA is the
ESCO dealer for
Switzerland. In April
2007 ESCO and
Oscar Meier AG/SA
celebrated the 40th
anniversary of their
dealership agreement
at the world
renowned Bayerische
Hof in Munich.
The company was
founded in 1959 by
Oscar Meier. His
son, Rolf, joined the
company in 1972 and
his granddaughter,
Switzerland’s famous
Daniela joined the
Matterhorn (4475 meters).
business in 1997 and is
currently the General Manager. Rolf, Daniela and their team have been consistent top
performers for ESCO and have a very high market share.
Their approach to the Swiss market has been extremely
innovative, especially in their use of OED bucket
manufacturers to extend their presence. Principals from
Manfred Kaiser (bucket manufacturer), Probst-Maveg
AG (Hitachi dealer), Robert Aebi AG (Volvo dealer) and
Akimat (JCB dealer) were in Munich to join the festivities,
as were ESCO sales representatives Andrea Weckop,
Bruno Pesch and Mike Passen and commercial manager
Laurent Reminiac.
ESCO Turbine Technologies
Deploys Oracle E-business
Suite at All Facilities
C
by Tim Mayfield
ustomers don’t generally know or care what sort of
back-end information technology is used to run a
business, however the efficiency of that technology
affects customers every day. In 2004, ESCO Turbine
Technologies (TT) implemented the Oracle e-Business Suite
in Cleveland, Ohio, and in 2006 it was extended to Syracuse,
New York and Guaymas, Mexico. In May of 2007 ESCO TT
Belgium “went live” on Oracle, bringing all TT locations to a
common platform. The TT implementations were performed
with ESCO people – no consultants were employed. This was
possible because ESCO employees from Frameries, Portland,
and Tempe had experience with Oracle implementations for
the Engineered Products group. They joined TT employees
from each location to implement the software. Despite
different countries, time zones, work groups, cultures and
languages, all employees worked together to accomplish a
huge task successfully, quickly and cost-effectively.
Now that the implementations are complete, great
opportunities exist to leverage Oracle across ESCO Turbine
Technologies. With this common systems infrastructure,
ESCO’s lean commitment to Quality, Value and Speed will
be applied to Oracle-enabled processes. The result
will be improved process efficiency and better service to
its customers.
Some of the implementation team members from
ESCO TT Belgium braved the cold in Syracuse to see and
understand the software.
Laurent Reminiac, Rolf Meier
and Daniela Meier-Ueltschi.
24
From left: Pascal Herck, Philippe Grojean,
Olivier Cornet, Frederic Jerome, Xavier Balhan, Christian
Crasson, Yurgo Sarissavas, and Tim Mayfield.
European Mining Team
Workshop
A
team of ESCO employees from Europe came to
Portland in March to meet key people, see the
facilities and learn about the latest ESCO mining
products. After a tour of the plant, offices and metallurgical
lab, the group settled in for the two-day workshop. Philippe
Faidherbe presented a market update for Europe, the Middle
East and Africa, followed by Bodie Cooper and Ermanno
Simonutti who spoke about ESCO’s full line of mining
expendables.
Top: Dan Pizzuto discusses locking pin technology.
Bottom: European participants, from left, Tessa Dussart, Bryan
Johnson,PhilippeFaidherbe,UlrichRissland,NikolayVishnevskiy,
Jerome Carlier, and Connie Svaerke.
The following day, Gordon Strutz presented hydraulic
machine products, Michael Meidow and Jim Hall spoke
about capital products, and Moises Martinez and Ermanno
Simonutti presented value-added wear products. Other
topics included warranty returns and the role of the
Technical Services Group. During and following each topic
there was lively discussion on the part of the presenters and
the European participants—a valuable learning experience
for all involved.
Freeport-McMoRan Visitors
R
epresentatives of Freeport-McMoRan Copper &
Gold, Inc. visited ESCO Portland in June to tour the
facilities, meet with key personnel, and build upon
our long-standing mine-supplier relationship. It was the
first time Mike McAdam, purchasing team leader, and Jason
Bowsher, global commodity manager, had personally seen
ESCO’s headquarters, foundry, metallurgical labratory and
R&D facilities. The visitors were accompanied by ESCO’s Bill
Fewless and Dow Waite who are very familiar with FreeportMcMoRan mining operations in Indonesia, South America
and the United States.
Last March, Freeport-McMoRan acquired Phelps Dodge
Corporation to create the world’s largest publicly traded
copper company. The firm now has 12 producing mines
around the world, with two more coming online in 2008.
Top: In 3-D glasses, ESCO’s John Dillon (left) and Eric Hupp (seated)
show the three-dimensional capabilities of ESCO’s scanning electron
microscope to the visitors from Freeport- McMoRan Inc.
Bottom: Mike McAdam, Jason Bowsher, Bill Fewless
and Dow Waite.
25
INTERVIEW
Stephen Babson
ESCO Corporation Director
S
tephen Babson is a partner with Endeavour Capital,
the oldest and largest private equity firm in the
Pacific Northwest. He has been a member of ESCO
Corporation’s board of directors since 2003. Continuing our
series of interviews with the company’s directors, Stephen met
with EDGE editor John Howard at the downtown Portland
offices of Endeavour Capital in early April.
Please tell us a little about your upbringing, Stephen.
I was born and raised here in Portland, Oregon and did
my undergraduate studies at Stanford University. Novelist
Wallace Stegner was on the faculty there, and for a while I
thought I might become a writer. I eventually continued on
to graduate school, where I earned my JD degree from the
Stanford Law School and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate
School of Business.
Did you join a law firm immediately after graduate school?
Yes, but I worked between college and graduate school. I
worked for a time for Portland Mayor Neil Goldschmidt
and for Commissioner Mildred Schwab before returning to
graduate school.
ESCO went through a period in the late 1980s and 1990s
when it acquired a number of firms and broadened its
scope. Did you have a role in that?
Yes, the Stoel Rives firm advised and consulted with ESCO
regarding several acquisitions, especially those in the late
1990s.
What were the circumstances when you were invited to join
ESCO’s board of directors?
In 2002, I left Stoel Rives to join my long-time client,
Endeavour Capital. I had a real interest in staying involved
with ESCO and I talked with Hank and Steve about ways I
might continue to serve ESCO. I was asked to join ESCO’s
board in 2003.
ESCO divested itself of its Integrated Manufacturing (IM)
and Engineered Metals (EM) businesses at the end of 2006.
What did you think of those changes?
I supported those decisions. Selling those businesses allows
ESCO to focus on what it knows best. Mining, construction
and turbine components are more in ESCO’s “power alley.”
The sale also provided some cash for the Employee Stock
Ownership Plan (ESOP).
Did you have a specialty at the law firm?
I worked mostly on mergers, acquisitions, raising capital, and
public and private securities. I eventually became chairman of
the firm, responsible for strategy.
How did you get acquainted with ESCO?
Actually, I met Hank and his father Ernie Swigert many years
ago through tennis. Hank was a very good racquet man. I
recall that he and his dad beat my father and me in doubles.
They were good at sports, but very competitive—especially
Ernie. I got reintroduced to the Swigert family and ESCO
years later when Stoel Rives did legal work for the company.
I got to work with Hank Swigert and Steve Pratt and saw
that ESCO was a company to be admired—committed to its
employees and ethical in its business practices. Right from the
start, it struck me as a company that I would like a long-term
relationship with.
26
“[ESCO] is a company
deep in talent and
commitment. It has a
powerful culture and a
remarkable commitment
to common enterprise.”
What are your thoughts about the ESOP, by the way?
We at Endeavour have worked with a lot with ESOPs and
we like them. An ESOP is like an employee retirement
account with contributions in the form of company stock.
It doesn’t jeopardize the 401K or pension programs. Shares
are released annually to employee accounts, which can be
cashed-in when they retire. An ESOP works wonderfully in
a quality company like ESCO whose owners are committed
to the long-term welfare of employees. In this case, the
ESOP bought a percentage of the company stock and was
able to reward the family investors—some of whom had held
ESCO stock for 90 years. This was a win-win for employees
and long-term stock holders.
ESCO Recognized by
Vulcan Materials
With the divestiture of the IM and EM businesses, should
we conclude that ESCO has cooled on growth though
acquisition?
No, I wouldn’t conclude that at all. In the medium to long
term, the company is very well equipped to grow through
acquisition. The sales give ESCO more legs to surge in its
core heavy equipment wear parts business.
What is your overall impression of ESCO, Stephen?
It is a company deep in talent and commitment. It has a
powerful culture and a remarkable commitment to common
enterprise. There is less grandstanding in ESCO than almost
any other organization I know. The people are extremely
qualified. When they commit to something, you better get
out of their way. It is the same message from the top down
and from the bottom up. I admire ESCO and am very
optimistic about its future.
Tell us a little about yourself personally. What are your
hobbies and interests?
Well, I work too hard. My travel schedule is very difficult.
My wife Melissa and I have two sons, ages 24 and 20. I like
to ski and I used to play tennis. I am miserable at golf. And
I still have politics in my blood. I’m a big supporter of Mitt
Romney, who did a remarkable job running the Salt Lake
City Olympics. He has great ability to reach across the aisle,
organize and recruit talent – so I am serving as chairman of
his Oregon finance committee.
Thank you, Stephen, for your service on the board of
directors and for sharing your thoughts with readers of
the ESCO EDGE. ´
Left to right: Dave Poer,ESCO Eastern sales manager; Mac
Badgett, Vulcan senior vice president; and Roger Long,
ESCO senior district manager.
V
ulcan Materials Company, headquartered in
Birmingham, Alabama, is the nation’s leading
producer of crushed stone, sand and gravel.
The materials are used in the construction of highways,
railroad beds, roads, bridges, airports, etc. The firm
operates 287 sites in 21 states, and ships over 250
million tons of aggregates per year.
In 1998, ESCO and Vulcan signed an Alliance Charter
Agreement. Under the agreement, our company
provides ESCO ground engaging tool products,
Bucyrus Blades ™ products, and crusher wear parts,
including jaws, cones, gyratories and impact parts to
Vulcan’s quarries, gravel pits and processing plants
around the country.
For the last eight years, Vulcan has surveyed its plant
managers and rated suppliers in terms of product,
service, support, transactional, value and overall. And
every year ESCO has qualified for a gold, silver or
bronze award.
This year at Vulcan’s annual awards banquet held on
March 5th in St. Petersburg, Florida, ESCO’s Roger
Long and Dave Poer were honored to receive a gold
award from Vulcan on behalf of the entire ESCO
organization. ESCO is proud to add this award to its
collection, and proud that its products and services
continue to receive high marks from Vulcan Materials
Company.
27
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES
Pat Fonner Named Group Vice
President, Engineered Products
– Global Sales and Marketing
Kevin Thomas Named General
Counsel and Secretary
Cal Collins Named Group Vice
President, Engineered Products
– North American Operations
Toby Weber Named Engineered
Products Group Controller
Jon Owens Named Vice President,
Mining and Construction Products
Eric Blackburn Named
Assistant Treasurer
Mark Mallory Named Vice
President, North American Sales
Ray Sykes Named Vice President,
Industrial Products
Tim Myers Named Managing
Director, Latin America
Doug MacGowan Named Vice
President, Foundry Operations
Percy Chang Named
Managing Director, Asia Pacific
John Thomas Named Vice
President, Bucyrus Blades
and Attachments
Ray Verlinich Named
Corporate Controller
28
Steven Bebb
35 • EP Portland
Bruce Boundy
35 • EP Port Hope
James “Wally” Duncan
35 • EP Portland
Antonio Gutierrez
35 • EP Portland
Larry Huget
35 • Corporate
Tyler Lewis
35 • EP Newton
Steve was born in
Portland and graduated
from Marshall High
School. He is a chill man
(“V” process pattern
service, Portland Tech.
Center). His first ESCO
job was in the Doghouse,
and he has also worked
in the Scrap Yard and
in Heat Makeup. Steve
and his wife Debi live
in Milwaukie and have
two children – Sami and
Rocky. In his free time,
Steve likes cliff diving
and bungee jumping.
Bruce was born in Port
Hope, Ontario and
graduated from Port
Hope High School. He
works in Stores and
Receiving and started
at ESCO as a grinder.
Bruce has also worked
in Shipping and Heat
Treat. What he likes best
about working at ESCO
is the steady work. Bruce
and his wife Mary live
in Harwood; and in his
free time, Bruce enjoys
golfing and “hanging
around my property.”
Wally was born in
from Benson High
School. Before ESCO,
he served in the U.S.
Army and worked at the
Benson Hotel. Wally is a
coremaker in the Main
Plant and started as a
coreroom helper. What
he likes best about ESCO
is the job security. He
and his wife Margaret
live in Gresham and
have five children and
11 grandchildren.
Tony was born in
Quiroga, Michuacan,
Mexico and graduated
from Lindsay High
School. Before joining
ESCO Portland in 1972,
Tony worked for the post
office. He is currently
Manufacturing
Manager, Main Plant
Mold and Pour and
has also held jobs as a
flogger, molder and team
leader. Tony’s son works
at ESCO in pouring.
Tony and his wife Irene
live in Portland’s St.
Johns neighborhood
and have two children
and two grandchildren
– with whom Tony
likes to fish. Tony also
enjoys playing golf in
his free time.
Larry was born in
Portland and received
his BS and MBA degrees
from Portland State
University. He joined
ESCO as a mining
equipment product
supervisor and has held
several management and
officer-level positions.
He served as president
and CEO of Bucyrus
Blades, Inc., was
president of Engineered
Metals in 1997-98.
Between 1998 and
2005, Larry served as
president of Engineered
Products. Today, he is
ESCO president and
COO. Larry and his wife
Irene live in West Linn
and they have two sons
– Pete (who also works at
ESCO) and Matt.
Tyler was raised in
Newton, Mississippi
and graduated from
N.H. Pilate High
School and East Central
Community College.
He served in the Army
Reserve and retired as
Master Sergeant. Tyler
started at Newton as
a bucket builder and
has also worked as a
team leader, grinder,
repair welder and robot
operator. He currently
works in Inspection.
Tyler’s cousin and
nephew also work at
ESCO. Tyler and his wife
Paula live in Forest and
have eight children and
eight grandchildren.
Tyler enjoys fishing,
hunting and playing
football and basketball.
Paul McGinness
35 • EP Portland
Archie Moore
35 • EP Newton
Robert Parker
35 • EP Bucyrus
William Prather
35 • EP Portland
Hermon Rogers
35 • EP Newton
Phillip Walker
35 • EP Newton
Paul was born in
Lindenwold, New Jersey
and graduated from John
Marshall High School.
He joined ESCO in 1972
and has worked as a heat
makeup scale operator
and as a maintenance
mechanic. Paul is
currently an instrument
technician and enjoys
the challenges of his
job. Paul and his wife
Barbara live in SE
Portland and have
two children and two
grandchildren. Paul
enjoys motorcycling,
traveling, classic cars (he
owns a 1939 Chevrolet),
and spending time with
family and friends.
Archie was born in
Newton, Mississippi. He
began at ESCO Newton
in 1972 as a flogger and
has worked as a bench
grind fitter and as an
arc air furnace operator.
Today, Archie is a team
leader in Finishing.
Archie enjoys the “good
people” he has worked
with through the years.
He and his wife Mattie
live in Newton and have
two children and seven
grandchildren. Archie
enjoys fishing, playing
with his truck, and
spending time with his
grandchildren.
Robert (“George”)
was born in Bucyrus,
Ohio and graduated
from Wynford High
School. He works in the
Shipping department
and has also worked as a
welder and in Receiving.
He says: “I can’t describe
what I like best, but
something made me
come to work every
day for 35 years, and I
have never called in sick
or wanted to look for
another place to work.”
George and his wife
Carol live in Bucyrus
and have three children
– Robin, Ted and Tim
– and one grandchild,
Logan. George’s brother
Gary works in customer
service.
Bill was born in
Vancouver, Washington,
graduated from Battle
Ground High School
and received his
Mechanical Engineering
degree from Oregon
Institute of Technology.
Bill is the Continuous
Improvement
Manager for Logistics
and Commercial
Operations and started
as an engineering
draftsperson. Bill and
his wife Janet live east
of Woodland and have
three children and “5.5”
grandchildren. In his
free time, Bill works
with Janet on their tree
farm and trains their
three horses.
Hermon was born in
Newton, Mississippi
and began working
at Newton in 1972.
He started as a bench
grinder and today
works in Inspection.
Hermon’s brother Mike
Harris works in melting.
Hermon and his wife
Eva have three children
– Antonio, Pheoba and
Jamoal – and three
grandchildren – Kia,
Jaylin and Jaymarks.
Phillip was born in
Newton, Mississippi. He
graduated from N.H.
Pilate High School and
served in the U.S. Army
before joining ESCO
Newton in 1972 as a
welder. Phillip lives in
Newton and has three
children – Craig, Phillip,
Jr. and Alana – and
eight grandchildren. In
his free time, he enjoys
fishing.
ESCO SERVICE ANNIVERSARIES
29
30
Timothy Adams
30 • EP Portland
David Bishop
30 • TT Syracuse
Jeannine Bufo
30 • EP Belgium
Victoria Cain
30 • TT Syracuse
Jimmy Coker
30 • EP Newton
Peter Fair
30 • EP Port Hope
Tim was born in
from Benson High
School. He is a Main
Plant maintenance
team leader (3rd
shift mechanical
maintenance). His first
ESCO job was an LFA
grinder, and he has also
been a welder, crane
operator, burner, and air
arc mechanic. Tim says
he especially likes the
steady employment. His
son works in the mail
room, his father-in-law
is a retired ESCO-ite,
and his brother-in-law
Steve Fessler works in
the V-Bay. Tim and his
wife Sue live in North
Portland and have three
children – Sara, Jennifer
and Daniel.
Dave was born in
Syracuse and graduated
from Chittenango High
School. He worked in
agriculture, landscaping
and refrigeration before
joining ESCO. Dave
started in the foundry,
working as a caster, team
leader, process engineer,
and today works as a
manufacturing engineer.
Dave’s favorite thing
about ESCO is that “you
can always see or hear
something that will get
you to laugh at least once
a day.” He and his wife
Mary have two children
and live in Chittenango.
Dave volunteers
extensively with various
regional conservation
organizations.
Jeannine was born in
Baudour, Belgium and
graduated from
Notre-Dame in
Jemappes. She is an
order release analyst and
started as a purchasing
and sales administrator.
Before ESCO, Jeannine
worked as a secretary
for a pharmaceutical
firm. What she likes best
about ESCO is “the job
itself – the contacts with
my colleagues and other
people.” Jeannine and
her husband Raffaele live
in Flénu and have two
daughters – Sabrina and
Jessica. In her free time,
Jeannine enjoys reading,
walking and spending
time with family.
Vicki was born in
Syracuse and graduated
from Henninger High
School. Her first job was
as a wax injector, and she
also worked as a floor
leader and inspector.
Today, Vicki is a wax
scheduler. What she
likes best about working
at ESCO is the friends
she has made. Vicki
lives in Chittenango, has
three children – James,
Dawn and Robyn – and
five grandchildren
– Celina, Briana, Austin,
Jacob and Caitlynn.
In her free time, she
enjoys spending time
with family and friends,
reading and traveling.
Jimmy was born in
Meridian, Mississippi
and graduated from
Meridian High
School. He is a mobile
equipment operator in
the Core department
and started as a bench
grinder. He has also
been a wheelabrator
and a flogger. Before
ESCO, Jimmy worked
for Winn-Dixie. He
and his wife Linda
live in Hickory and
have five children and
five grandchildren. In
his free time, Jimmy
enjoys hunting, fishing
and raising American
Kennel Club-registered
beagles.
Peter was born in
Peterborough, Ontario,
graduated from Port
Hope High School
and received his
Building Construction
Technician degree from
Sir Sandford Fleming
College. He is assistant
quality team leader,
and his first job at Port
Hope was as an overhead
crane operator. He has
also worked in Melting
and Molding. Before
coming to ESCO, Peter
worked for Lasco Steel.
He and his wife Darlene
live in Bewdley and have
two children – Russ
and Leslie. Peter enjoys
hunting, woodworking
and four-wheeling.
Mark Green
30 • EP Port Hope
James Hall
30 • EP Portland
Robert Johnston
30 • EP Newton
Bill Tendam
30 • EP Port Hope
Janet Miller
30 • EP Portland
Thierry Million
30 • EP Paris
Mark was born in
Bowmanville, Ontario,
attended Port Hope High
School, and graduated
from the three-year
welder fitter course at
Durham College. He
started as an arc air
welder and has also
worked in grinding and
heat treat. Today, Mark is
a finishing team leader.
He likes “the people I
work with and the daily
challenges.” Mark’s
brother Randy is ESCO
Nisku’s site manager.
Mark and his wife
Valerie live in Baltimore,
Ontario, and Mark enjoys
decorating, painting,
BBQ-ing and “having a
couple cold ones.”
Jim was born in
McMinnville, Oregon,
graduated from Fillmore
High School (Fillmore,
California), and received
a BA from Portland
State University. He is
the marketing manager,
EP Mining Group. Jim’s
first ESCO job was
the assistant product
supervisor. He has also
been product supervisor,
Capital Products;
district manager, Forest
Products; and Inside
Sales, Forest Products.
Before ESCO, Jim was
an underground miner.
All four of Jim’s sons
have worked at ESCO at
one time or another. Jim
and his wife Leslie live in
Gresham.
Robert was born in
Kosciusko, Mississippi
and graduated from
Union High School.
He worked at Laird
Hospital before joining
ESCO Newton. Robert
started as a flogger and
today works in molding.
He likes the many
friends he has made at
ESCO throughout the
years. Robert and his
wife Linda have one
child, Chris, and two
grandchildren, Christian
and Garret.
Bill was born in Holland
and attended Clarke
High School. Before
ESCO, Bill worked for
General Motors. He
started in grinding and
also worked in heat treat
and painting. Today,
Bill is an inspection trial
inspector. What he likes
best about working at
Port Hope is “the people
I work with every day.”
Bill and his wife Karen
live in Cobourg and
have two children – Will
and Annette – and one
grandchild, Meagan. In
his free time, Bill enjoys
golfing, playing darts
and spending time with
family.
Jan was born in Rupert,
Idaho and graduated
from Minico High
School. Her first ESCO
job was in Production
Control doing daily
tonnage reports for
Danville, Newton
and Portland. Jan
also worked for the
Engineered Metals
group for 23 years.
Today, Jan is an
administrative assistant
and switchboard
operator in Portland.
She has one daughter,
Vicki, and one
granchild, Ian. In her
free time, Jan enjoys
baking, reading,
walking, country
dancing and time with
her family and friends.
Thierry was born in
Lyon, France and
graduated from the
Institut Supérieur du
Commerce de Paris.
He started at ESCO in
inside sales and today is
senior district manager,
Middle East, North
Africa and the Balkans.
Thierry also served as
district manager for
western France, Greece,
Cyprus and Israel. He
was also an inside sales
manager for dredge and
non-dredge customers,
as well as a stock and
logistics manager.
Thierry and his wife
Armelle live in Lanmeur,
Brittany, and have three
children – Julien, Sybille
and Alix.
Kenneth Neese
30 • EP Newton
Skyler Pixton
30 • EP West Jordan
Edward Ray Strebeck
30 • EP Newton
Wendy Crandall
30 • TT Syracuse
Donald Collins
25 • EP Phoenix
Scott Spengler
25 • EP Bucyrus
Kenny was born
in Philadelphia,
Mississippi, and
graduated from
Hickory High School.
He worked at a paint
company before
starting at Newton as a
flogger. Kenny has also
worked in Shakeout,
Core Utility, Grinding,
Pouring and on the
paint line. Today, he
works as a pattern repair
person. Kenny’s brotherin-law Keith Comans
also works at ESCO as
a team leader. Kenny
lives in Hickory and has
two children and one
grandchild. He enjoys
hunting, fishing,
golfing and riding his
four-wheeler.
Skyler was born in
Murray, Utah, graduated
from Cyprus High
School and received
an AS Electrical
degree from Salt Lake
Community College.
He is a Maintenance
Supervisor, started
as a helper on the
straightener press
and then moved
on to second-shift
maintenance. Skyler
especially likes the
“opportunities to learn
and develop new skills.”
Before ESCO, Skyler
worked for Chromalloy
and Paper Calmenson
and Company. He and
his wife Pam live in
Magna and have six
children.
Ray was born in Newton
and began at ESCO
Newton in 1977 as a
stand grinder. He has
also held a number of
various jobs at ESCO
through the years. He
is currently an order
clerk in Shipping. Ray’s
cousin Jackie Strebeck
also works at ESCO in
maintenance. Ray lives
in Hickory with his
wife Sara. They have
two children and two
grandchildren. In his
leisure time, Ray enjoys
going to dirt track
races, hunting, working
around his house
and playing with his
grandchildren.
Wendy (friends call
her Harriett) was born
in Albany, New York
and graduated from
Lafayette High School.
She was a homemaker
before joining the
Visual Inspection team
at ESCO Syracuse in
1977. Wendy has held
numerous ESCO jobs,
including straightener,
part maker, supervisor
and final inspector.
Her son also works at
ESCO in Maintenance.
Wendy lives in Oneida
and has one child and
three grandchildren. In
her free time, she enjoys
camping, NASCAR
racing and taking road
trips.
Donny was born in
San Diego, California
and graduated from
Apollo High School.
Before ESCO, he worked
in stainless steel sink
fabrication. Donny
began at ESCO Phoenix
as a grinder and has also
worked as a machine
operator. Today, Donny
is a team leader. His
favorite thing about
working at ESCO is
“working with my fellow
team members.” Donny
and his wife Tanya live
in Phoenix and have
two children – Taylor
and Shaela – and one
grandchild. Donny
enjoys quad riding,
hunting and fishing in
his free time.
Scott was born in
Van Wert, Ohio and
graduated from Wynford
High School. He is a
team leader and a mold
board press operator
(Scott’s first ESCO job).
Before ESCO, he worked
for Pacal Blades. Scott
and his wife Judy live in
Nevada, Ohio and have
two sons, two stepsons
and one stepdaughter.
In his free time, Scott
enjoys hunting and
being outdoors.
Motorcycle stunts were a big draw at BAUMA 2007. Pictured
THE EDGE
 AUGUST
2007
here are CASE excavators, with ESCO
teeth.
This show
drew
31
huge crowds at the fair.
Your next issue of the EDGE Magazine will focus on “green” topics: recycling, energy
conservation, mine reclamation measures, and other examples of environmental responsibility.
ESCO is committed to operating in a responsible and sustainable manner. This photo by
John Howard was taken at the ESCO Portland Golf Tournament in Welches, Oregon.
ESCO CORPORATION
2141 NW 25th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97210-2578
United States of America
PRESORTED STANDARD
US POSTAGE
PAID
Portland, Oregon
Permit No. 382

energy - ESCO Corporation

Transcription

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