Phoenix International Holdings

Phoenix International Holdings, Inc. (Phoenix) is an employee owned marine services company that performs complex manned and unmanned underwater operations worldwide. Phoenix was incorporated in 1996 as Phoenix Marine, Inc. and started doing business in 1997. It changed its name in January 2000 to Phoenix International, Inc., and then to Phoenix International Holdings, Inc. in November 2007 when it became an employee owned company.
The company’s core business segments include waterborne ship repairs; underwater inspection, maintenance and repair; deep ocean search and recovery; submarine rescue; and marine engineering. They provide expertise in underwater welding (wet and dry chamber); non-destructive testing; conventional and one-atmosphere manned diving; and side scan sonar, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) operations. The marine engineering services that Phoenix provides include unmanned underwater vehicles, underwater robotics, cofferdams & weight handling fixtures, and diving systems. Its customers include U.S. and foreign navies and government agencies; the oil and gas, subsea mining and entertainment industries; and the archaeological community.
Contracts.
Phoenix currently holds three US Navy contracts that require emergency response. These three contracts are:
Notable projects.
Notable projects in which Phoenix has participated include:
Offices.
Phoenix has eight offices in seven geographic locations:


Mersey Model Co. Ltd.

Mersey Model Co. Ltd. was a company making model steam engines and other toys in Liverpool, UK. Founded by Ernest Claus around 1934, they made a small range of popular, well-made steam engines, many of which have survived to this day, including a range of steam-engine-powered model speed boats. Mersey Models exhibited at the British Industries Fair in 1936.
The company offices were initially at 34 Peter's Lane in Liverpool and later in the Cooper's Building on Church Street. The factory was located across the River Mersey in Wallasey.
Manufacturing stopped at the outbreak of the Second World War, in 1939, when the factory was needed for the war effort. The models remained on sale until 1941. Cooper's Building was damaged by fire after bombing on 6 May, 1941, but Mersey Models had already been wound up by then.
Products.
Mersey Models' products were mainly steam powered models/toys and related accessories. One of the earliest known advertisements featuring a Mersey Models engine shows a Model 51 and was placed by Hamleys in the November 1934 issue of the Meccano Magazine.
Stationary engines.
Stationary models that have been identified are 51, 52, 53, 54 and 55. Models 52, 53, 54, and 55 were available with options designated by suffixes on the model number: G = geared output, R = reversible, and D = dynamo. The R option was available for all 4 models, the G and GR options were only available for models 52 and 53, and the D option was only available with model 54. Model 51 did not have any options available.
Boats.
Two boat models have been identified, although the main difference was just colouring. These were Miss Mersey I and II. The steam engine used in these boats was available separately, advertised as Mersey Steam Boat Engine No.2.
Accessories.
Mersey Models included a small range of machine tool accessories in their catalogue. These included a grindstone, circular saw, power press, drilling machine and a lathe. These accessories are very rare today.
One-off models.
There are some rare and one-off models which have been found and identified as having been made by Mersey, which were prototypes or special commissions. One example of this is an engine with a thermosetting plastic base. All other known Mersey models have wooden bases and the use of plastics in manufacturing was in its infancy at the time. Mersey advertised to the trade their ability to build special commissions to order.


Fulmen Batteries

Fulmen is a lead-acid battery brand now owned by Exide Technologies. It was an independent company until the 1970s.
History.
The 'société de l’accumulateur Fulmen' was founded in 1891 by Albert Brault. In 1892 Fulmen opened its first factory in Clichy. During the following years Fulmen opened other plants all across France (Vierzon, Nanterre, Auxerre, Nîmes, Chasseneuil and Poitiers). In 1894, the first automotive fiacre created by Louis Kreiger used a Fulmen battery located between the two front wheels. Four years later, Fulmen batteries equipped the "Narval" submarine.
Globalization.
1924: The CGE (Compagnie Générale électrique) bought Fulmen France.
1925: Fulmen battery sales in Belgium led the company to create 'La société Belge de l’accumulateur Fulmen' (The Belgian society of Fulmen accumulator).
1974: The merge between Fulmen France and the CGE becomes the CEAC.
1982: Merging of the commercial networks between Fulmen/Tudor/Dinin.
1989: Repurchase of the rights of use of the Fulmen brand in Belgium by the CEAC.
Fulmen brand is now part of Exide Technologies since they bought the CEAC in 1993.
Performance.
In 1895, the double phaéton Jeantaud took part in the Paris-Bordeaux race by changing its Fulmen battery each 40 Kilometers at every relay.
In 1899, "La Jamais Contente" electric car was the first car in the world which exceeds 100 km/h (62 mph) It was equipped with a Fulmen battery.
In 1906, one of the Fulmen battery established a world record without recharge. It travelled 307 km between Paris and Châtellerault.
Others.
Fulmen proposed many services:


John Brimmer Tobacco Warehouse

John Brimmer Tobacco Warehouse is a historic tobacco warehouse located at Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was built about 1901, and is a three-story, rectangular brick building with a stone foundation and flat roof. It is four bays wide and approximately 148 feet deep.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.


Shanan Power House

Shanan Power House (commissioned in 1932 ) is the second hydro-electric power station of India in Megawatt capacity situated 2 km from Jogindernagar in Himachal Pradesh, India. First power house of Himachal Pradesh is Bhuri singh project in Chamba. British Engineer Colonel B.C. Batty and his team in collaboration with the then ruler of Joginder Nagar region, Raja Karan Sen, designed and created it. The Shanan Power house is currently under the control of Punjab State Electricity Board and whole of the revenue goes to Punjab government. It is to be handed over to the Himachal Pradesh Government in 2024 after the completion of a 99-year lease.
Design.
The project utilizes the hydroelectric potential between Uhl river at Barot and Jogindernagar that are separated by a crow fly distance of 7.3 km (4.5 miles) across a mountain range. Barot is at an elevation of 1829 m (6001 ft) while Shanon power house is at an elevation of 1283 m (4212 ft) ft. The water conductor system consists of a diversion dam at Barot, a tunnel and penstocks. The three penstocks include the two original 1.397 m dia and the third added for increased capacity in 1982 which is 1.83 m dia. The water from the power house discharges into Neri Khad in the River Beas catchment area.
Construction.
British Engineer Colonel B.C. Batty wanted to construct 5 hydro-electric power stations by utilizing the water of Uhl river. To bring men and material for work to this place, a railway line was built from Pathankot to Joginder Nagar. To deliver construction material to hill top for making water reservoir at Barot, a funicular trolley way system was created there.
The plan was to use the water for 5 power projects, but could not be completed due to death of Mr. Batty, and it was stopped with only 3 power stations, the other being Bassi Power Station. And a rcently activated plant is Chullah powerstation having reservoir at Machiyal.
The original turbines were 4 x 12 MW. In March 1982, the Punjab Government upgraded the original turbines to 4 x 15 MW and added a 50 MW turbine to a total capacity to 110 MW. Turbines are from Ganz mavag, Hungary.


Phoenix Iron Works (Oakland, California)

The Phoenix Iron Works is a foundry in Oakland, California. Phoenix Iron Works has been a major supplier of manhole covers and street gutter gratings.
History.
Phoenix Iron Works was founded in 1901 by William Russell in Oakland, California.


Mehrum Power Station

Mehrum Power Station is a coal-fired power station in Mehrum, Lower Saxony, Germany. It lies about 20km east of Hannover. It has an output of 750 megawatts. Today the unit 3, commissioned in 1979, is still in use. The power station has 120 employees. The chimney of the power station is high. On 1 November 2017, it was sold by Enercity and BS Energy to Energetický a Průmyslový Holding (EPH).


Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station

National Thermal Power Station in Kokrajhar is under construction power project located at Salakati near Kokrajhar in Kokrajhar district in Indian state of Assam. The power plant is one of the coal based power plants of NTPC.
The coal for the plant will be derived from Makum coal mines at Margherita, Assam and also from Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL).
History.
Kokrajhar Thermal Power Station is a coal based power plant situated in Salakati in the district of Kokrajhar in Assam. It consists of three coal-fired units of 250MW each. These units came into operation during the year 1981 to 1986 in two stages. In the first stage, two units (Unit I & II) were commissioned in 1981 and 1982 respectively. In the second stage, two units (Unit-III & IV) were commissioned in 1985 and 1986 respectively.
Major equipment like boiler, turbine, auxiliaries like BFP, CEP, PA fans, bowl mills etc. were supplied by BHEL. In coal handling plant, major equipment like primary and secondary crusher were supplied by TRF and wagon tippler was supplied by Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC). Since commissioning none of the units could deliver the desired level of generation for various reasons. Some of the main reasons were problems in the boiler, turbine, mill and other unit auxiliaries and also in the coal handling plant. During July 2002, the plant was running at a very low PLF of 4.6%, very high auxiliary power consumption of 22.68% very high specific oil consumption of 59.12 ml/kwhr and height specific coal consumption of 0.85 kg/kwhr with a coal of GCV 3500 Kcal/kg. None of the units could deliver the required level of generation and the maximum PLF of the plant in the last twenty years of operation has been only 24.23%. As a result, the station had to be shut down. It had been found that although it was technically feasible to renovate the existing units of NTPC, Salakati, it would not have been economically viable as the tariff works out to about Rs 3.16 per unit after carrying out R&M at an estimated cost of about Rs 7 billion. Hence, capital grant/viability gap funding of Rs 3.5 billion would have to be provided to bring down the tariff to an acceptable level of Rs 2.50 per unit. The alternative is NTPC's proposal to set up a new 750 MW (3 X 250 MW) Thermal Power Station at the same location, at a total project cost of approximately Rs Rs 44.9624 billion based on third quarter 2006 price level. The power station would be based on Fuel Gas Desulphurization (FGD) technology due to high sulphur content of Assam coal, involving an additional cost of Rs 0.5 crores/MW approximately.
Capacity.
Its planned capacity of 750 MW (3x250 MW).


Exar Corporation

Exar Corporation is an American semiconductor manufacturer which was acquired by MaxLinear in May 2017 and maintained as a wholly owned subsidiary. It was established in 1971 as a subsidiary of the Japanese firm Rohm.
History.
The Japanese semiconductor company Rohm established Exar as a California-based American subsidiary in 1971. At that time, the integrated circuit boards designed and manufactured by Rohm were developed in the United States, and establishing an American subsidiary provided closer ties to the design process and provided a marketing foothold.
In the early 1980s, when Exar was running sales figures of around annually, only about ⅓ of sales were through its parent, Rohm. Part of the success of Exar and Rohm in the early 1980s stemmed from proprietary technologies developed between the two.
As a result of pressure from the U.S. Government for Japan to reduce its involvement in American industry, in particular in the semiconductor industry, Rohm began slowly divesting itself of Exar. Following Exar's initial public offering in 1985, Rohm's share of ownership had dropped to under 70%.
Exar's acquisition of Exel Microelectronics in the mid-1980s contributed heavily to a financial downturn in the company. Exar purchased Exel for its technology, but also for its chip fabrication facilities; however, unbeknownst to Exar at the time of purchase, those plants were not run-ready and required large amounts of capital investment, which ate into Exar profits through the end of the decade. In response to these problems, Rohm reversed its position on Exar by purchasing outstanding stock, leading to its again fully owning the company. Reacquisition by Rohm freed Exar to fully capitalize assets acquired from Exel and turn up the investment in research and development, leading again to profitability based in large part of new introductions in the EEPROM and ASIC product spaces.
After Rohm had rescued the company and supported its return to profitability, it changed course and began divesting again, leading in 1990 to holding less than 50 percent of Exar. From its inception, Exar's top executive staff and board had been picked by Rohm, and consisted largely of Japanese expatriates. This changed in 1992 when Rohm removed Exar's chief executive officer, Nabuo Hatta, who had served in an executive post since at least 1985, when he was president of the company. Exar's board subsequently hired George Wells, a Scotsman educated at the University of Glasgow, as the company's new chief executive; Wells had previously held positions at General Electric and LSI Logic.
Wells oversaw a reorganization and re-prioritization of product offerings and introduced a culture of quality, leading to major increases in sales and income. Armed with a large cash surplus, and following Rohm's final divestment of Exar assets in 1994, Wells went on an acquisition spree in 1994 and 1995 which led to the purchases of Origin Technology, Micro Power Systems, Startech Semiconductor and Silicon Microstructures; all in all, these purchases enriched the technologies available to Exar. Acquiring so many companies in such a short period had consequences for the company, and Exar lost its profitability by early 1995.
On April 3, 2009, Exar Corporation closed the acquisition of hi/fn, inc., a transaction which included stock and about in cash. On March 22, 2013, Exar acquired the assets of Altior in Eatontown, New Jersey. On July 5, 2013, it acquired Stretch, Inc. On June 3, 2014, it acquired most of Integrated Memory Logic Limited.
On March 29, 2017, MaxLinear Inc. announced it would buy Exar Corporation for about $661.6 million cash. The acquisition of Exar Corp for $687 million was completed in May 2017.
MaxLinear has subsequently discontinued production of Exar's most popular products, including the RS-232 interface chips, and the unique 2206 Function Generator.


Mexborough Power Station

Mexborough Power Station was a coal-fired power station situated on the banks of the River Don, on the border of Mexborough and Denaby, adjoining Doncaster Road, in South Yorkshire, England.
History.
The plant was planned by the "Yorkshire Electric Power Company" in 1939 but construction was delayed by the war. The station became operational in 1945. The site housed four English Electric generating sets of approximately 30 MW each, giving the station a total generating capacity of 120 megawatts (MW). There were four Mitchell stoker-fired boilers and four Richardson Westgarth boilers. There were four substantial chimneys giving this local landmark its distinctive appearance. The boilers had the combined capacity to produce 1,260,000 lb/h (158.8 kg/s) of steam at 600 psi (41.4 bar) and 454°C.
The electricity generating capacity and output of the power station is shown in the table.
The power station closed on 26 October 1981, with a generating capacity of 113 MW. The station was demolished in 1988. The demolition of the station sparked local interest when one of the giant chimneys was toppled accidentally and fell across the site, prematurely demolishing much of it. Contamination at the site was a concern
The site today is the Shimmer housing estate, areas of which are proposed to be demolished to make way for a high viaduct as part of a new railway infrastructure dubbed HS2, which will make commuting times to London faster.


Ivan Margolius

Ivan Margolius (born 27 February 1947) is an author, architect and propagator of Czech culture and technology.
Life.
Margolius was born in Prague, son of JUDr Rudolf Margolius, Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade, and Heda Margolius Kovály, Czech writer and translator, both parents being Holocaust survivors. He attended primary and secondary schools there and started to study architecture at the Czech Technical University in Prague. Margolius left Czechoslovakia in 1966 because of political persecution of his family. He settled in the United Kingdom where he became a naturalized citizen in 1973 and where he completed his architectural studies at the Polytechnic of Central London. He practised architecture at Yorke Rosenberg Mardall, Foster and Partners, Koetter Kim and Associates and Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Margolius co-operated extensively with Jan Kaplický founder of Future Systems. Margolius is an author of numerous articles and books on art, architecture, automobiles, design and history.
In 2016 Margolius suggested to the Prague Council for a street to be named ‘Obětí totality’ (Víctims of totalitarianism) which was realised in February 2018 by naming in such a way the alley adjacent to the Memorial to the Victims of Communism at Újezd, Malá Strana.


Viktor Kozin

Viktor Mikhailovich Kozin () (born February 22, 1953) is a Russian naval engineer, ship designer and inventor of a new method of icebreaking, called the resonance method of ice destruction. He received his assistant professorship in technical sciences (PhD) for his work "Mechanics of deformable solids" in Vladivostok in 1994. He became a full professor in 1996 and was awarded the title Honored Inventor of the Russian Federation in 2000. Since 2008 he has been a member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (RANS).
Kozin was awarded a diploma from the president of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1999) and won grants from the Russian Ministry of Education (2006). He received multiple prizes for his academic and scientific achievements in the theory of watercraft statics and dynamics, design of vessels, hydraulics and hydromechanics, ship and submarine construction. He is the author of two textbooks in naval engineering and twelve works on the methods of education in the area of naval design.
With the direct participation of Victor Kozin construction was completed the towing basin (45x4,2x4m), Komsomolsk-on-Amur State Technical University.
Accomplishments.
Kozin has authored just over 500 publications, including 18 publications of the Higher Attestation Commission of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. He has made 35 presentations at international conferences, published eight monographs, and is the owner of more than 320 patents for inventions.
Prepared.
Ph.D.: Zhyostkaya V.D.; Onischuk A.V.; Baranov E.V.; Morozov V.S.; Zemlyak V.L.; Dzhabrailov M.R.
Basic activities.
"- Research opportunities resonance method of ice destruction, congestion and hanging ice dams."
"- Using fusible substances for automatic balancing of traffic congestion."
"- Development of new technologies and devices for cleaning hard pavements of ice and snow rolling".
"- Using the power expansion of ice for kolibrovki zigovki and thin-walled tubes".
"- Develop technologies to improve the bearing capacity of ice, use-forming as the ice crossings and the load-carrying platforms."
Awarded.


DSP Group

DSP Group, Inc. is a provider of chipsets for VoIP, multimedia, and digital cordless applications. Founded in 1987 with headquarters in San Jose, California, DSP Group employs over 400 people at three US sites and offices in Germany, Scotland, Israel, India, Hong Kong and Japan.
History.
DSP Group was founded in 1987 by Davidi Gilo, who served as the company's CEO and Chairman until 1993.
DSP Group developed the world's first telephony answering device (TAD) speech processor in 1989. The company entered the digital cordless industry with the acquisition of Advanced Micro Devices' (AMD) 900 MHz technology in 1999, and the subsequent development of 900 MHz narrow-band cordless and 2.4 GHz multi-handset chipset solutions.
In 1993 one of the company's co-founder and its CTO Shabtai Adlersberg started a new company AudioCodes, with the initial investment provided by the DSP Group. AudioCodes grew to become a leading provider of VoIP solutions, which had an initial public offering on the NASDAQ in 1999. In 2004 DSP Group sold all its holdings in AudioCodes making a significant profit on its initial investment.
In 1994 the DSP Group had an initial public offering on the NASDAQ.
In 1996 DSP Group spun off its cellular chip design and development division into a new company called DSP Communications (DSPC). DSP Communications had an initial public offering on the NASDAQ the same year. In 1999 Intel bought DSP Communications for US$1.6 billion.
In November 2002, DSP's IP licensing division and the Irish company Parthus Technologies Plc were merged to form a new company called CEVA, Inc..
DSP Group entered into the multimedia communications sector with the acquisition of Teleman Multimedia in 2003. Incorporating VoIP and Wi-Fi technologies obtained through the acquisition of VoicePump and Bermai, DSP Group entered the residential multimedia communications over broadband market with the 2006 development of a chipset integrating DECT and Wi-Fi technologies with an application processor. DSP Group acquired NXP Semiconductors' cordless and VoIP terminals business in 2007.
Products.
DSP Group provides chipsets for residential communications products in three areas:


Sidchrome

Sidchrome is an Australian brand of mechanics' tools. It is a subsidiary of Stanley Black & Decker.
History.
The brand emerged when Royston Siddons' Siddons Drop Forgings Pty Ltd turned to tool making to fill post war shortages after World War II. Original production of Sidchrome tools in Australia was in the area of Brunswick, in the city of Melbourne, Victoria.
Sidchrome was acquired by The Stanley Works (now Stanley Black & Decker) in 1991.
Sidchrome closed the plant and ended all local manufacturing in 1996 and started to move all tool manufacturing to Taiwan, whilst sourcing various items from Proto in the USA (marked as Proto on items) due to supply of left-over Australian-made tools being sold out until all manufacturing was fully established in Taiwan.
Racing.
Sidchrome sponsored several Australian and New Zealand racing drivers in the 1970s, notably New Zealand and Australian saloon champion Jim Richards.
Present.
Sidchrome is still a top selling automotive tool brand in Australia and New Zealand and since 2007, the brand sponsors the "Most Improved Award" in Australia's V8 Supercar Championship Series.


Piney Point phosphate plant

Piney Point phosphate plant is an industrial site in Manatee County, Florida, formerly the location of a fertilizer plant and currently owned by HRK Holdings, which leases portions of the land to industrial tenants under the name Eastport. In March 2021, a phosphogypsum stack, the dam to the reservoir storing wastewater from phosphate tailings created by from the former plant's operations, began to fail, prompting evacuations on April 1 followed by the governor of Florida issuing a state of emergency on April 3. Contaminated water was discharged into Tampa Bay in an effort to prevent the reservoir's collapse.
Background.
Borden Chemical opened an industrial plant on the site in September 1966 to process phosphate, a key ingredient in fertilizer. By 1970, it had been discovered that the plant was dumping waste into Bishop Harbor, resulting in fish kills. The plant changed hands multiple times in the 1980s, beginning with Borden transferring the property to AMAX Phosphate in 1980. AMAX in turn sold the plant in 1986 to FCS Energy, which was absorbed into Consolidated Minerals, Inc.
By 1988, the plant had changed hands once again to Royster Phosphates. In 1989, a leaking storage tank released of sulfate that prompted evacuations of the area. Two incidents in 1991 released sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide into the air, killing three workers and creating an acid cloud that caused 30 people to become ill. The FBI seized company records in 1992.
Mulberry Corporation purchased the plant in 1993, when Royster Phosphates declared bankruptcy. Mulberry abruptly ceased operations at the plant in 1999 due to a lack of funds. In 2001, Mulberry abandoned the property just 48 hours after notifying the government that it could no longer afford to assure environmental security, and days before declaring bankruptcy. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency briefly stepped in to oversee the plant, with the property later passing to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection through a court-appointed receivership. In 2004, a hurricane caused a hole in a dike, releasing of contaminated water.
The site was purchased from the government by HRK Holdings, LLC in 2006 for $4.3 million and with the requirement that they maintain the phosphogypsum stacks and contaminated wastewater left from the former operations of the plant. In 2011, another spill dumped of contaminated water into Bishop Harbor and Tampa Bay. Bishop Harbor has stricter environmental protections given its Outstanding Florida Water designation.
HRK Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012 citing expenses from the leak the previous year, when HRK had allowed the Manatee County Port Authority to store materials from the dredging of Port Manatee's Berth 12 expansion in reservoirs on the property. Portions of the property were sold to Port Manatee, Thatcher Chemical of Florida, Manatee Bulk Storage, and an affiliate of Mayo Fertilizer and Farm Supply as part of bankruptcy restructuring for HRK. The remaining property is leased by HRK as an industrial park under the name Eastport, with access to Port Manatee, multiple highways, and a rail yard connected directly to the CSX mainline.
In September 2020, WMNF reported on increasing concerns about rising water levels at the site due to rains and the potential of reaching capacity with just one hurricane. In October, Florida environmental advocacy group ManaSota-88 called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the site, calling out "increased the risks of a catastrophic failure of their earthen impoundments".
In February 2021, national and regional environmental groups petitioned the E.P.A., now under the Biden administration, to raise environmental protections from phosphogypsum stacks in at least 12 states under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act; well-known groups included Center for Biological Diversity, Waterkeeper Alliance, and Sierra Club.
2021 incident.
On March 25, 2021, leaks were discovered in the containment wall of a holding pool located in a stack of radioactive phosphogypsum, storing nearly of wastewater containing nitrogen, phosphorus, ammonia, and small amounts of radium and uranium from the former operations at the plant, as well as seawater from the dredging of Berth 12 at Port Manatee. The leak was reported to authorities on March 26 and worsened over the following days. Residents in the area were ordered to evacuate on April 1. Efforts to repair the leaks on April 2 and April 3 were unsuccessful, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for the entire county and wider evacuations were conducted on April 3. Contaminated water was being pumped from the reservoir and discharged into Tampa Bay at the rate of per minute in an effort to prevent the collapse of the reservoir, which threatened to flood the surrounding area and destabilize two adjacent pools storing more hazardous wastewater.
DeSantis toured the site on April 4 and in a press conference stated that the wastewater discharged into Tampa Bay was not considered radioactive, but that it contained phosphorus and nitrogen. The worst-case scenario he described in the press conference was a high wave of contaminated water flooding the surrounding area and potentially destabilizing gypsum stacks which contain radioactive material. Officials said that once the situation has been resolved, they intend to close the site permanently, with the reservoirs drained, filled, and capped. If the contaminated water drains through leaks in the radioactive soil of which the stacks are made, however, that radioactive soil could be carried along with the water and issues arose regarding the condition of the plastic liners used in the stacks.
The commissioners of Manatee County then voted to allow the contaminated water still held in the stacks to be injected into deep wells, which had been banned when proposed previously by an owner of the property. Deep-well injection with contaminated water is a controversial procedure that could adversely affect the aquifer used for agricultural irrigation and drinking water, forever contaminating the water source. Debate among scientists and environmentalists and public concern ensued.
Among those discussions is an interview by editor, Dennis Maley, that was posted by The Bradenton Times of Joe McClash, a former county commissioner and now, the publisher of the local news publication. McClash provided an insight into the history of the site, county interaction with owners, and containment planning.
Florida lawmakers have secured $100 million to permanently close Piney Point and fully clean the site.


Eggebek Solar Park

The Eggebek Solar Park was Germany's largest photovoltaic power station when completed in August 2011, and one of the largest in the world. It is built on a plot of land near the Eggebek municipality in Schleswig-Holstein state, Germany near the border with Denmark. The solar park has a power generation capacity of 83.6 MW and uses roughly 360,000 multicrystalline solar modules of the TSM-PC05 series produced by the Chinese company Trina Solar.
The solar park is built on the site of a former German Navy military base where the Naval Aviation Wing 2 was stationed until 2005.


Jno. Williams, Inc.

Jno. Williams, Inc. was a prominent American foundry. Located in New York City, it was established in 1875, incorporated in 1905, and dissolved in 1956.
History.
The foundry's founder, John Williams, was a former employee of Tiffany & Company. The foundry operated (and perhaps rented out) buildings located at 536, 537, 547 and 549 West 26th Street, which were designed by the architect Charles H. Caldwell. Some of these were built in 1900 while others date from between 1912 and 1914. In the 1990s one of the buildings served as a studio for photographer Annie Leibovitz.
It was often the foundry of choice for sculptors including Daniel Chester French, Karl Bitter, Louis Amateis, R. Tait McKenzie, Allen George Newman, Augustus Lukeman, Roland Hinton Perry, J. Massey Rhind, Olin Levi Warner, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Edward Kemeys, Frederick MacMonnies, Charles Niehaus, J.Q.A. Ward, Carl Augustus Heber, Charles Keck, Andrew O'Connor, Alexander Phimister Proctor, Anton Schaaf, Francois Tonetti, Gaetan Trentanove, Samuel Kilpatrick (Connellsville, Pennsylvania Artist) and Albert Weinert.
Their architectural work, mostly bronze doors, includes commissions for the
Boston Public Library,
Library of Congress,
U.S. Capitol,
Quadriga at Minnesota State Capitol,
St. Bartholomew's Church, NYC,
Tigers at Nassau Hall, Princeton University, and the
Flagpole at Missouri State Capitol.


Nemiscau Airport

Nemiscau Airport is located southeast of Nemaska, Quebec, Canada, along Route du Nord at km 294. It was built and is operated by Hydro-Québec to serve their large electrical substations of Nemiscau and Albanel. Air Creebec has scheduled flights to and from this airport at the discretion of Hydro-Québec.
The airport has one of the better gravel runways in the region. Lights are controlled by a ground radio operator, and thus the radio operator must be present for night operations (they typically go home while it is still daylight). Permission is required prior to landing private aircraft via telephone, however it is given without hassle.


James Wedlock

James Wedlock (22 March 1842 – 30 October 1898) was an ironmaster in the early days of Adelaide, South Australia.
History.
Wedlock was born in Helston, Cornwall, and served an apprenticeship as a moulder. He emigrated to South Australia in the "Lincoln", arriving in Adelaide in December 1865, and found employment at Wallaroo, then at the Victoria Foundry in Hindley Street around 1873, serving as manager under F. C. Belcher, then in 1878 became the owner, renaming it the Cornwall Foundry. He never lost his interest in the workers' welfare; his men were all employed on the eight hours principle; he started the first Labor League in Adelaide, which merged into the Eight Hours Union.
He was for 15 years a member of Adelaide's Fire Brigade, first as a fireman, then in charge of No. 2 reel, and for a time was deputy superintendent. Before he resigned in 1885 he had distinguished himself at several large fires, notably at James Marshall & Co.'s, the East-End Market, the Academy of Music, and Burford & Sons in 1886.
In 1892 he stood, unsuccessfully, for councillor for the Goodwood ward of the Unley Corporation but was defeated by two votes. Then in 1895 he was elected councillor for Gawler ward in the Adelaide City Corporation, and was still on the council when he died.
He was for many years a supporter of the South Adelaide Football Club, a member of the West Adelaide Electorate Cricket Club and the Norwood Cycling Club.
He was a member, and church steward, of the Pirie Street Wesleyan Methodist Church, and helped out with the Sunday-School. He and his brother Edwin Wedlock were among the first members of the Cornish Society.
He died of cancer after a severe illness lasting about four months.
Family.
He was married; they had one son, James Percy Wedlock (an employee of J. Colton & Co.) and two daughters, Miss S. Wedlock and Mrs. H. Bellhouse. Another three sons and four daughters predeceased him.


Norbar Torque

Norbar Torque Tools Ltd specialises in the manufacture and worldwide distribution of torque tools for torque tightening, measurement and calibration. The primary office and factory location is in Banbury, United Kingdom and there are also Norbar sales, service and calibration facilities in Australia, United States, New Zealand, Singapore, China and India.
History.
Norbar Torque Tools was owned and run by the descendants of the founder, William (Bill) Brodey until acquired by Snap-on Inc. in May 2017.
1940s.
In 1942, at the height of World War II, Bill Brodey was engaged in selling various tools and machines including Joseph Sunnen honing machines used for honing cylinder bores of engines. Torque wrenches were being imported and sold alongside of the honing machines because it was known that uneven torque tightening of engine cylinder head bolts would distort the cylinder bore. Bill and his friend Ernest Thornitt applied to the UK Ministry of Supply requesting permission to manufacture torque wrenches in the UK. Torque wrenches were much in demand for the manufacture of Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engines and the UK Government was keen to manufacture in the UK wherever possible to reduce pressure on the Atlantic supply convoys. Consequently, permission was granted to 'The North Bar Tool Company' to start manufacturing torque wrenches in 'North Bar Place', Banbury in the United Kingdom. The address 'North Bar' gave the company its name and this was later contracted to 'Norbar'.
At the end of World War II the market for the Merlin aero engine dried up, along with all of the tools used in its manufacture. The North Bar Tool Company switched its attention to the manufacture of simple household goods like tables and trays. As industry recovered, 'North Bar Tools' went back its roots in the aerospace industry, manufacturing a range of specialist fitting tools, along with torque wrenches.
1950s.
In 1952, Bill Brodey's eldest son Ian joined the company. Ian was a graduate in mechanical engineering from Loughborough College of Technology and brought a new level of professionalism to the company's engineering activity, producing drawings for all components for the first time and expanding the product range. In 1957, Bill's younger son John joined the North Bar Tool company as the first full-time salesman.
In 1953 a project for the engineering company and bolt manufacturer GKN took the North Bar Tool Company in a new product direction. GKN had designed a bolt that had a splined section above the nut. By gripping the splined section of the bolt and counter rotating the nut, the fastener could be tightened without the need for any external reaction device. In a further development, a shear groove was placed below the spline, so designed that the bolt would fail at the groove when the pre-determined torque had been achieved. This bolting method was known as 'Torshear'. GKN required an air-driven tool capable of high torque output to sell with their 'Torshear' bolts. Probably Britain's best-known gearbox designer of the time was Dr. Henry Edward Merritt and so Dr. Merritt was contracted to design a suitable range of air-driven gearboxes for the Torshear application.
The Torshear bolting method was not a commercial success, so 'North Bar' added reaction arms to their gearboxes and called them 'Pneutorque' in the case of the air-driven versions, and the hand-operated versions were named 'Handtorque'. Evolutions of these products still form part of the company's range today. Dr. Merritt's book 'Gears' remains a reference for gearbox designers.
1960s.
Another Dr. Merritt design was the 'Slimline' torque wrench mechanism. Prior to the 'Slimline', all Norbar torque wrenches used an external, break-back mechanism. The 'Slimline' was the first Norbar design to completely contain the mechanism within the body tube of the wrench, hence the 'Slim' reference. The 'Slimline' torque wrench was launched in 1963 and some models remain in production today. Variations in this mechanism underpin most of Norbar's current torque wrenches.
Norbar has manufactured torque testers for almost as long as they have manufactured wrenches. The earliest types employed a simple spring balance attached to a pivoted bar. The next evolution was to utilise a hydraulic cell and hydraulically activated gauge. The 'Static Torque Meter' was much more compact than the earlier versions and were easier to use because this system avoided the needle fluctuations of the spring balance type. This product enjoyed a near 50 year life span before finally being rendered obsolete by electronic measurement methods.
The first reference to a Norbar electronic torque analyser is dated 1967. The display unit, incorporating an analogue gauge similar to a Voltmeter, was attached by a cable to a separate, strain gauged torque transducer. Forty five years later, this essentially remains the method of measuring torque although the electronics are now based on single-board computer technology with such features as colour display and touch sensitive screen.
Norbar premises in Banbury.
1969 saw the company's first address change bringing with it the official change in name from 'The North Bar Tool Company' to 'Norbar' (which had previously been used as a telegraphic address). The new premises on Swan Close, Banbury, were originally 9,000 sq.ft but were extended twice before being outgrown and Norbar moved again to Beaumont Road, Banbury in 1984. A major extension to this site in 1989 took the floor area to 45,000 sq.ft and further extensions and mezzanine work give a total of 52,000 sq.ft of production and office space. In March 2012 Norbar exchanged contracts with Hella Ltd to purchase its 170,000 sq ft Wildmere Road site in a move that saw Norbar relocate completely in July 2016 and Hella move to new premises in the Banbury area.
Calibration laboratory.
In November 1989, Norbar became the first torque tool manufacturer in the United Kingdom to have a torque laboratory accredited by the governmental, third party body National Measurement Accreditation Service (NAMAS). In 1995 the non-profit distributing private company United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) was formed and took over this accreditation role. Norbar's laboratory, number 0256, has an accredited calibration scope from 0.005 Nּm to 108,500 Nּm.
Global offices and calibration laboratories.
Since 1996 Norbar has been establishing overseas offices for the purpose of product distribution and service. Norbar Torque Tools Pty. Ltd in Australia was the first and was then followed by the United States, New Zealand, Singapore and China. On 1 January 2012, Norbar's wholly owned trading and service company opened for business in Mumbai, India. The companies in Australia, USA, Singapore and China each have a calibration laboratory with a similar scope of ability to the UKAS accredited laboratory in the United Kingdom. Each of these laboratories has accreditation by a local third party body; NATA in the case of Australia, NVLAP for USA, SAC-SINGLAS for Singapore and TAF for China.
Directors.
The directors include a grandchild of the founder, Bill Brodey. Neill Brodey joined Norbar in 1987 following a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Loughborough University and having worked at Coles Cranes and Harris Graphics.


ROF Kirkby

ROF Kirkby, (Filling Factory No. 7) was a large World War II Royal Ordnance Factory filling munitions. The factory was based in the rural area of Kirkby, on the outskirts of Liverpool, Merseyside. The rural location was to reduce the potential damage from any accidental explosions. Munitions were produced from September 1940 to March 1946.
History.
Original planning for the site began at Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, with Sir Alex Gibson acting as consultant and Holloway Brothers the contractors. When completed the factory consisted of more than 1,000 buildings, of roads and of railway lines along with a station and had cost £8,500,000 (approx. £1,800 million inflation adjusted as share of GDP). As a way to minimise the risk of damage in the event of an explosion taking place the buildings were widely spaced and some were mounded up to the eaves.
In July 1940 Lawrence Gale from the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, was appointed the Superintendent, taking 9 staff with him and when the first shells rolled off the assembly line in September 1940 there were only between 50 and 100 employees. By the summer of 1941 this had risen to 10,000 before rising to a peak of around 23,000 employees, most of whom were women. Medical treatment rooms were built onsite in order to cater to such a large workforce. When the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich was bombed, it had to be closed down and many workers and a large amount of material were transferred to ROF Kirkby. In order to house these employees 200 houses for key workers were built in the area and a YWCA hostel was built to house 1000 women. The factory employed a three shift system so that production was continuous, combining with the transport system so that as it dropped off one shift of employees it would take home another shift.
The ROF was eventually closed in March 1946, having been designated a "War Duration Only" ROF and it had produced around ten per cent of all the ammunition used in World War II by Britain. Afterwards the site was developed by Liverpool Corporation as an industrial estate and played a large part in the growth of Kirkby from a population of barely over 3,000 in 1951 to over 52,000 by 1961.
Accidents.
There were two explosions at Kirkby ROF, one in February 1944 and one on 15 September 1944. Two people were killed in the first accident and 14 killed and 11 injured in the second. It took three months of work to clear 4,000 bombs which were buried in the rubble after the second accident, and there was a total of 37 awards for bravery and distinguished conduct made by the King.


Indian Orchard Station

Indian Orchard Station, is a power plant located in Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, USA. It uses primarily pipeline natural gas and, as a secondary, fuel diesel oil. It's currently registered with the EPA under the name MASSPOWER (facility ID 10726).


Saclay Nuclear Research Centre

The Saclay Nuclear Research Centre is one of nine laboratories belonging to the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA), which hosts the administrative headquarters of the CEA and a major national laboratory. It is the heart of French nuclear research since Frederic Joliot-Curie founded it after the Second World War. Its campus was designed by the architect Auguste Perret.
It is now part of a confederation with University of Paris-Saclay, along with CentraleSupélec, CNRS, Ecole polytechnique, HEC Paris, IHES, etc.
Saclay Nuclear Research Centre research.
The complex employs 5,000 scientists and is located in the Essonne department of northern France, south of Paris on the Saclay plateau.
The research carried out ranges from fundamental research to applied research and, thanks to the Orpheus research reactor, lasers and magnetic resonance research into the State of Matter.
Research at Saclay is focussed on different topics:
Institut national des sciences et techniques nucléaires (INSTN).
The centre also houses the Institut national des sciences et techniques nucléaires (National Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology) which is dedicated to the academic and professional training in the field of atomic energy.


Siebe Gorman

Siebe Gorman & Company Ltd was a British company that developed diving equipment and breathing equipment and worked on commercial diving and marine salvage projects. The company advertised itself as 'Submarine Engineers'. It was founded by Augustus Siebe , a German-born British engineer chiefly known for his contributions to diving equipment.
Siebe plc started in the 1970s as a continuation of Siebe Gorman when Siebe Gorman started to take over other firms, to mean the new conglomerate to distinguish it from Siebe Gorman's original breathing apparatus and diving gear core business. Siebe plc was once one of the United Kingdom's largest engineering businesses. It was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but in 1999 it merged with BTR plc to form Invensys. Invensys was taken over by the French multinational Schneider Electric for £3.4 billion in January 2014.
Operations.
The Company was notable for developing the "closed" diving helmet of the standard diving dress and associated equipment. As the helmet was sealed to the diving suit, it was watertight, unlike the previous "open" helmet systems. The new equipment was safer and more efficient and revolutionised underwater work from the 1830s.
Colonel Charles Pasley, leader of the Royal Navy team that used Siebe's suit on the wreck of suggested the helmet should be detachable from the corselet, giving rise to the typical standard diving dress which revolutionised underwater civil engineering, underwater salvage, commercial diving and naval diving.
Standard diving suit equipment was their main manufacturing operation, producing diving helmets in copper and brass. They also made frogman's equipment for the British armed forces during World War 2, and later, sport scuba gear. See makes of rebreather.
Siebe Gorman and Co manufactured 12 bolt, 8 bolt, 6 bolt, 3 bolt, 2 bolt, no bolt, flange, and 12 bolt square corselet standard diving helmets.
Heinke Ltd in London also made diving gear and had connections with Siebe Gorman.
Siebe Gorman product list.
Rebreather equipment.
This is a partial list of some of their rebreather equipment covering military and civilian, diving and non-diving. Taken from Oxygen Rebreather Database, and afterwards edited.


Tactical diameter

The tactical diameter of a ship is the distance:
The ratio of the tactical diameter divided by the ship's length between perpendiculars gives a dimensionless parameter which can be used to compare ships maneuverability.


Bergen Generating Station

Bergen Generating Station is a gas-fired power plant owned and operated by Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G). It located on the banks of Overpeck Creek near its confluence with the Hackensack River in Ridgefield in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. Within the New Jersey Meadowlands, it is adjacent to the Little Ferry Yard.
The plant supplies electricity to New Jersey and, via the Hudson Project, to New York City.
In 2012, the plant was the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the state.
The cooling tower make-up water is furnished by BCUA Bergen County Utilities Authority, eliminating the need for utilizing potable water.


Patratu Super Thermal Power Project

Patratu Super Thermal Power Project is under-construction. It is 4000 MW (800 MW × 5), situated in Patratu, Ramgarh district , Jharkhand. It will use 1500 acres out of 6300 acres available with the existing Patratu Thermal Power Station.


John Milne (politician)

John Milne (January 22, 1839 – March 4, 1922) was a Canadian iron moulder, businessman and Senator.
Milne was president and managing director of Burrow, Stewart and Milne, a Hamilton, Ontario foundry company that manufactured stoves and was also president or director of several other Hamilton area concerns. He was also involved with municipal governance as one of the city's first hydro commissioners and also served as an appointee on various other municipal boards.
He was appointed to the Senate in 1915 by Sir Robert Borden and sat as a Conservative.
Background.
Milne was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. He left school at the age of 14 to apprentice as an iron moulder. In 1854, he immigrated with his family to Ontario and Milne joined Gurneys and Carpenter where he continued his training.
After attempting to establish his own business, he joined Hamilton Malleable Iron Works in 1867 as a moulder and became partner in 1872 in what became Burrow, Stewart, and Milne. In the early years the company made castings for harness equipment and saddlery gear such as curry-combs, but soon shifted focus shifted to scales and stoves producing the Jewel and Victory lines of stoves and ranges which were sold across Canada.
In order to support his business, he became involved with the steel industry and is credited with bringing about the merger of several steel companies to found the Steel Company of Canada (Stelco).
Milne also supported the construction of public libraries in Hamilton serving on the library board from 1903 to 1921 and as chairman of the building and finance committee from 1911 to 1912.
Milne was a supporter of Sir John A. Macdonald's National Policy, believing in protectionism for Canadian industries, and joined the Conservative Party in 1876 and served as president of Hamilton's Conservative Association for 23 years.
During his seven years in the Senate, Milne spoke on the issues of manufacturing, supported tariffs against foreign imports, and spoke against trade unionism.


Low emission vehicle

A low-emission vehicle is a motor vehicle that emits relatively low levels of motor vehicle emissions. The term may be used in a general sense, but in some countries it is defined in air quality statutes.
Different groups of people ("go greens", "go with the flow" and "no greens") show different interest in low emission vehicles


Tinker Dam

The Tinker Dam is a hydroelectric dam built in Tinker on the Aroostook River in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, and operated jointly by WPS Energy and NB Power. Its power house has a capacity of 34 megawatts.
The dam and power house are collectively known as the Tinker Generating Station. The dam is located in Aroostook Junction, New Brunswick, immediately downstream of Fort Fairfield, Maine, and less than 1 km east of the Canada–United States border. The reservoir floods the Aroostook River valley into a portion of northeastern Maine. The dam was built in 1923 and the power house contains 5 hydroelectric units (1-5) which were placed in service between 1923 and 1965.
The Tinker Generating Station benefits from flow regulation upstream in Maine on Millinocket Lake and on the Aroostook River in Squa Pan. There are also control facilities and a power house canal located on the Maine side of the border.
The Tinker Generating Station was constructed as a joint project of the New Brunswick Electric Power Commission and the Maine Public Service. In 1999, the Maine Public Service sold its share of the plant to WPS Power Development, LLC of De Pere, Wisconsin. WPS Power Development operates in Canada under its subsidiary WPS Canada Generation, Inc.
The dam spans the river between Andover Parish on the south side, and Grand Falls Parish on the north side, both in Victoria County.


Barauni Thermal Power Station

Barauni Thermal Power Station is an existing 470 megawatt coal-fired power station earlier owned by Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB). The power station is located at Barauni in Begusarai district, Bihar, India. Barauni thermal power station in Bihar came into existence in association with the Russian collaboration and came into operation in the year 1962. Bihar Government was mulling over the idea to hand over Barauni Thermal Power Station to NTPC Limited. On 17 April 2018, Bihar state cabinet , headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar, gave its nod to handing over of Barauni Thermal Power Station to National Thermal Power Corporation. On 15 May 2018, Bihar Government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to hand over the thermal plant to National Thermal Power Corporation for a 33- years lease. East Central Railway will provide uninterrupted supply of coal to thermal power station. NTPC completed the acquisition of 720 MW Barauni thermal power plant with effect from 15 December 2018. The units of Barauni power station will be progressively put under commercial operation.
History.
Unit No. 1, 2 & 3 of 15MW units at the plant, which were commissioned in the early to mid-1960s have been decommissioned. Barauni Thermal power station was set up in 86.85 acres, ash yard was set up in 340 acres and Residential colony was set up in 139.25 acres.
Unit No. 4 & 5 of 50 MW each, which are Polish made, were shut down in 1995 and 1996 "due to pollution problem." BSEB states that it proposed recommissioning the units but the Central Electricity Authority "declared revival/R&M of these units not Techno-economically viable." Thus these units stand retired.
Unit No. 6 which was supplied by BHEL was renovated & modernized.
Unit No. 7 which too was supplied by Bharat Heavy Electricals was also renovated. Commercial generation of 110 MW electricity started from Unit 7 on 4 November 2016. The unit started generation after NTPC takeover from 23.05.2019. The tariff of Barauni Thermal power station will be determined by CERC.
Commercial generation of 250 MW electricity started from Unit 8 in January 2018.
Unit 9 is in advanced stages of construction as of January 2018.


High Flux Beam Reactor

High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) was a research reactor which was located at Brookhaven National Laboratory, a United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, New York, on Long Island, approximately 60 miles east of New York City. A successor to the Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor, the HFBR operated from 1965 until 1996 and has been partially decommissioned.
History.
The primary purpose of the HFBR was to produce neutrons for multiple scientific uses. The reactor provided a source of neutrons for multidisciplinary scientific research in materials science, chemistry, biology, and physics. The reactor was used in the formulation of Nobel Prize-winning theories of cooperative ordering in large collections of atoms .
The reactor first reached criticality on Halloween, October 31, 1965. About twice as large as the preceding BGRR, HFBR initially operated at a thermal power level of 40 megawatts. Following an equipment upgrade in 1982, the reactor was operated at up to 60 megawatts thermal; a safety reanalysis resulted in HFBR being shutdown in 1989 and being limited to 30 megawatts thermal upon restart in 1991.
The HFBR shut down in December 1996 for routine maintenance and refueling. While shutdown, a leak of tritiated water was identified by routine sampling of ground water from wells located adjacent to the reactor's spent fuel pool. Upon further investigation a leak was discovered in the spent fuel pool that released tritium-contaminated water into the ground. The reactor remained shut down for three years for safety and environmental reviews. In January 1998, all the spent fuel was removed and shipped off site to allow for the insertion of a stainless steel liner in the spent fuel pool for the restart of the reactor. However, in November 1999, the Department of Energy decided to permanently shut down HFBR.
Design.
The HFBR was a heavy water cooled and moderated, enriched uranium fueled research reactor. The reactor core consisted of 28 individual fuel assemblies arranged in a close-packed array. The fuel material was enriched uranium alloyed in aluminum and clad with aluminum in curved plates. Heavy water (D2O) served as the moderator/neutron reflector and primary coolant. The reactor vessel was fabricated from an aluminum alloy and contained the active core, reflector, and control rods. The vessel consists of an 82-inch diameter spherical section welded to a 46-inch diameter cylinder. The overall height of the vessel assembly was 24.75 feet. There were nine horizontal beam entry tubes that are integral parts of the vessel's spherical section. The core region provided space and access for 16 experimental facilities.
The reactor was housed within a confinement structure topped by a semi-hemispherical dome. The reactor sat inside a confinement building constructed of welded steel plates supported by an I-beam framework that rests on a cylindrical base. The inside diameter of the hemisphere at its base is 176 feet 8 inches. The cylindrical base is 22 feet 4 inches high and rests on a bed plate that is bolted to the reinforced concrete foundation ring. The foundation of the confinement building is a 5 ft. thick reinforced concrete mat bearing on the soil beneath the building. The interior of the confinement building contained the reactor and biological shield and was divided into equipment, experimental, balcony,and operations levels. The operations level contained the control room,instrument and maintenance shops, labs and offices. The equipment level contained the spent fuel pool water purification system, pumps and heat exchangers, cooling systems, and the spent fuel pool. The experimental level was for scientific users. The reactor biological shield, which surrounded the reactor, occupied the central portion of this level. A large open space surrounding the biological shield housed experimental equipment and there were labs and offices along the perimeter wall. Offices, locker rooms, toilets, and HVAC equipment were located on the balcony. The confinement building has four access points:a personnel airlock; a forklift airlock; and two tractor trailer airlocks,one located on the experimental level and one on the equipment level.
Nine neutron beam lines extended from the HFBR in a radial spoke pattern. Up to 15 experiments could be run concurrently on the nine beam lines. Two reactor operators and two supervisors crewed the HFBR control room around the clock. In addition to the beam lines, seven sample irradiation thimbles for neutron activation experiments were provided which extended from the spherical reactor vessel towards the nuclear fuel.
As a research reactor, HFBR never had a power conversion system to generate electricity. Heat from the nuclear reactions was transferred from the circulating heavy water moderator and coolant to a secondary cooling loop of ordinary water which flowed through cooling towers located west of the HFBR confinement.
Notably, the reactor produced its greatest neutron flux outside of the core, rather than within, which allowed for greatest options in the design of experiments.
During 1993, the HFBR underwent safety upgrades as well as installation of new scientific instruments.
External to the reactor building, and shared with the previously constructed BGRR, was the Reactor Bypass Filter Facility (RBFF). This facility provided improved air cleaning prior to exhaust to the atmosphere in the unlikely event of a fuel element failure at either the BGRR or the HFBR. It also provided sufficient air cleaning to allow the use of air cooling as a method of combating a graphite fire at the BGRR. The facility was placed into operation in 1965.
1994 TRISTAN Experiment Fire.
On March 31, 1994, a small fire broke out in one of the beam line experiments being conducted on the experimental floor outside of the reactor and biological shield. The reactor, associated reactor operations systems, and safety systems were not involved in the fire.
The experiment studying the decay of lanthanum-148, named TRISTAN, which burned contained a cylindrical capsule of 5 grams of uranium approximately 1 inch in diameter and 1 ½ inches tall. The capsule had been exposed to neutrons from a reactor beam line. Solid and gaseous fission products, including gaseous iodine-131, had been produced during the experiment and were released in the fire. Smoke from the fire was identified by on-duty personnel approximately 2:20 a.m.; the reactor was shut down at 2:45 a.m. and the HFBR confinement evacuated at 3:47 a.m. At 4:51 a.m. BNL officials declared an Alert emergency, the second lowest of four emergency classifications. The fire self-extinguished after the electrical power supply to the experiment was turned off.
Seven laboratory personnel were minimally contaminated by radionuclides entrained in the smoke from the fire. All seven were decontaminated at showers at the lab and released to return home.
At the time of the fire, a minute amount of radiation was released to the atmosphere from the vent stack serving BGRR and HFBR. The amount of radiation released was compared to a few seconds to typical background radiation. BNL officials and New York state health officials agreed that there was no danger posed to the public from the release.
HFBR was shut down for multiple investigations until June 1994, then restarted. The TRISTAN experiment was permanently discontinued.
Decommissioning.
The decontamination and decommissioning of the HFBR complex, consisting of multiple structures and systems to operate and maintain the reactor, was completed from 1999 until 2009. The control rod blades were removed and shipped offsite in 2009. The emptied and cleaned HFBR dome, which still contains the irradiated reactor vessel is maintained under surveillance. Final decommissioning of the HFBR confinement is to be performed at the end of a radionuclide decay period not exceeding 65 years.
The red and white, 320-foot-tall exhaust stack constructed for the BGRR in 1949 and later shared with the HFBR was a distinctive landmark for the area until its demolition in 2020.


Valvoline

Valvoline Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of Valvoline-brand automotive oil, additives, and lubricants. It also owns the Valvoline Instant Oil Change and Valvoline Express Care chains of car repair centers. , it is the second largest oil change service provider in the United States with 10% market share and 1,050 locations.
History.
Dr. John Ellis, the inventor of a petroleum lubricant for steam engines, founded Valvoline on September 6, 1866, in Binghamton, New York, as the Continuous Oil Refining Company. In 1868, Ellis renamed his Binghamton Cylinder Oil to the more memorable Valvoline. The next year, he moved the Continuous Oil Refining Company to Brooklyn. With his son and son-in-law, Ellis renamed the company to Ellis & Leonard and relocated to Shadyside, New Jersey. By the 1890s, Valvoline oil was associated with winning race cars. During the early 20th century, Valvoline was the recommended motor oil for the Ford Model T.
In 1949, Ashland Inc. purchased the Freedom-Valvoline Company. By 2016, Ashland's Valvoline subsidiary accounted for about 37% of the parent company's annual revenue. Valvoline completed an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange on September 22, 2016, ahead of Ashland spinning off Valvoline as an independent company on May 5, 2017.
Sponsorships.
Valvoline has sponsored a number of auto races to market its motor oil, including the SCCA National Championship Runoffs and Bommarito Automotive Group 500. Valvoline has also sponsored NASCAR Cup Series driver Mark Martin (1992-2000), CART driver Al Unser Jr. (1988-1993), and NASCAR teams RahMoc Enterprises, and Ginn Racing and Hendrick Motorsports (since 2014).
In Australia, Valvoline owns naming rights to the Sydney Speedway and sponsors the Australian Sprintcar Grand Prix. It also sponsored the 1994 Australian Manufacturers' Championship.
Valvoline was also the official lubricant supplier for Marussia F1 Team in 2014 (later Manor Marussia F1 Team in 2015), but the team didn't show the Valvoline logo branding on Marussia F1 cars despite utilizing Ferrari engines.
Since June 2020, Valvoline sponsors La Liga association club Sevilla FC as a global partner, with their logo appearing on the sleeves of match kits.


Ayumi Tanimoto

 born August 4, 1981 in Anjo, Aichi, is a Japanese female judoka. She was coached by Toshihiko Koga, who is a gold medalist at the Barcelona
Olympics and a silver medalist at the Atlanta Olympics Men's Judo.
Tanimoto won the Women's -63 kg category gold medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
On September 2005, she won the silver medal at the World judo championship games in Cairo, Egypt.
Retirement.
Tanimoto retired from competitive judo in September 2010. In 2015, she became the assistant manager of Komatsu's judo club. For the Rio 2016 Olympics, she was a coach for the women's judo team. She is completing a postgraduate degree at Hirosaki University, and listed as a women's junior coach for the All Japan Judo Federation. Additionally, she is a board member of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee.


Nissly-Stauffer Tobacco Warehouses

Nissly-Stauffer Tobacco Warehouses are two historic tobacco warehouses located at Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Nissly Warehouse was built about 1912, and is a three-story, rectangular brick building on a limestone foundation. It is seven bays by six bays. The Stauffer Warehouse was built about 1913, and is a five-story, rectangular brick building on a limestone foundation. It is four bays by eight bays.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.


Tony Lupton

Anthony Gerard "Tony" Lupton (born 10 January 1957), Australian politician, was the Labor Party member for Prahran in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 2002 to 2010.
Early life.
Lupton was born in Melbourne and educated at Christian Brothers College, St Kilda. After leaving school he became an apprentice motor mechanic. In 1978 he returned to school at Caulfield Institute of Technology, successfully completed the Higher School Certificate and gained entrance to an Arts/Law degree course at Monash University.
After graduating he worked as a barrister, specialising in personal injuries cases for injured workers.
Lupton was elected to the Victorian Parliament at the 2002 state election, when he defeated the sitting Liberal member for Prahran, Leonie Burke.
At the 2006 state election he was elected for a second term defeating a high-profile Liberal candidate, Clem Newton-Brown. After the election he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation. In August 2007 he was appointed Cabinet Secretary in the new Brumby Labor Government.
At the 2010 state election, Newton-Brown returned as the Liberal Party candidate and defeated Lupton with a swing of 7.8%.
Personal life.
Following his service in the Victorian Parliament, Lupton was a professorial fellow at Monash University.
In 2016 he was appointed a sessional member of the Victorian Mental Health Tribunal and the Firearms Appeals Committee.
In March 2017 he was appointed as full-time senior legal member of the Mental Health Tribunal.
He has written widely on historic and classic cars, including a regular column for RoyalAuto until 2017 and articles for Fairfax, Retroautos and other publications. Since 2015 he has been secretary of Automotive Historians Australia.
Tony owns a 1967 Ford Mustang and a 1970 MGB GT. He is a member of the Mustang Owners Club, the MG Car Club and the Victorian Historic Racing Register and enjoys competing in club motorsport in his MG.
He is the partner of Julie Szego, journalist and author.
Lupton is a supporter of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.


Purdue University Reactor Number One

The Purdue University Reactor Number One (PUR-1) is a research reactor in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States. It is used primarily for teaching purposes in Purdue University's School of Nuclear Engineering. Built in 1962, the PUR-1 is the only nuclear reactor operating in the US state of Indiana. It was the second reactor installed in Indiana, and was the first critical reactor, after a sub-critical reactor was installed at Valparaiso University in 1958.
Design.
In April 1961, Purdue University selected Lockheed Corporation to build its research reactor after twelve companies submitted bids. It was installed underground, three stories beneath the Duncan Annex of Purdue's Electrical Engineering Building. The reactor first achieved criticality on August 30, 1962, and a dedication ceremony was held on September 27 of that year. The construction cost was $125,000.
The PUR-1 was the second nuclear reactor and first critical reactor in Indiana. A third reactor was later installed at the planned Marble Hill Nuclear Power Plant in Jefferson County but was removed when construction of the plant halted in 1984. The reactor at Valparaiso University was dismantled in 2000. As a result, the PUR-1 is currently the only reactor in the state.
The Purdue reactor was among the first to be designed mainly for student use. It is licensed to produce up to one kilowatt of thermal power, comparable to the energy demand of a hair dryer or a toaster. This low power makes it safer and less expensive than reactors designed for research or electricity generation. The reactor's core is in volume and sits at the bottom of a cooling pool of water that measures in diameter. This allows the core to be safely viewed while it is operating.
Use.
The reactor's primary purpose is for training students in the principles of reactor physics. The university also uses it as a source for neutrons for research in nuclear engineering, health science, chemistry, pharmacy, agriculture, biology, and nanotechnology.
Purdue's reactor is also used for outreach. The School of Nuclear Engineering regularly gives tours of its facilities to local high school students and the general public. As of 2012, it was estimated that between 1,600 and 1,800 visitors see the reactor facilities annually.
Safety.
In 2005, journalism interns produced a report for ABC News about the possibility of terrorist attacks on research reactors in the United States. When they arrived at Purdue University, the interns were surprised at how easy it was for the general public to obtain a tour of the reactor facilities. They also noted a lack of background checks, guards, and metal detectors.
In response, the university said that the ABC report had misrepresented the nature of research reactors and that the interns were not qualified to make such safety evaluations. Unlike power plants, that produce electricity by running steam turbines, research reactors operate well below boiling conditions. Because of its low power range and its underground location, Purdue says that any attack on its reactor facilities would be unlikely to affect anything outside of that room. The way in which the reactor is installed means that theft of its fuel would require "a major construction project" that "could not be done covertly."
The PUR-1 originally used highly enriched, or "weapons-grade", uranium as fuel. In 1982, the government announced plans to convert civilian reactors to low-enriched uranium. Conversion of the Purdue reactor was completed in September 2007.


Valley Generating Station

The Valley Generating Station is a natural gas-fired power station located in Sun Valley, Los Angeles, California.
Description.
The Valley Steam Plant was constructed in 1953 by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to provide electricity for Greater Los Angeles. Built on in Sun Valley at cost of $80,000,000, it was powered by dual fuel gas or oil boilers and had four steam turbines generating a total of 512 MW.
Between 2001 and 2004, the power station was modernized with the construction of two GE Frame 7FA combustion turbines, two Alstom heat recovery steam generators, and a single GE steam turbine. It was renamed the Valley Generating Station. Modernization of the then 50-year old power station was a major component of the LADWP's Integrated Resource Plan, which had been approved by the Los Angeles City Council in 2000. The project was completed on April 30, 2004.
The site still contains the original power plant with its four tall stacks which are now decommissioned, the new power plant with two smaller stacks is located directly north of the old one.
Methane Leak.
On August 26, 2020, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) learned of an ongoing methane leak at the Valley Generating Station. An inspector was dispatched to the site that evening and again the next day as well as on September 2. Methane emissions were detected coming from the vents of two natural gas compressors.
In response to the leak, on August 27, compressor A, which had been leaking the most, was taken offline entirely after increasing the supply pressure and keeping compressor B on standby, reducing the methane leak by 60% as of August 28. Compressor A was disassembled and its packing seals were replaced; after repairs were completed on August 31, the rate of leakage from compressor A was significantly reduced from about 90 kg/hour to 3 to 6 kg/hour; the leak was reduced by 95% as of Tuesday September 1. Repairs to compressor B were completed on September 5 with a reduction from 60 kg/hour to 12 kg/hour.Inspectors returned to the facility on a weekly basis and verified that the LADWP had repaired the leaking equipment.
On January 7, 2021, the SCAQMD issued a Notice of Violation of Rule 3002 Section E to the LADWP for failure to maintain compressors for natural gas fueled turbines. The LADWP currently has an emissions monitoring system at the facility and the SCAQMD is working with the LADWP to provide technical support on an additional air monitoring system to detect methane.
It would later be revealed that the facility had been leaking methane gas for at least two years. City council president Nury Martinez who represents the district where the surrounding community lies said she was "furious" at the news of the leak and in November, 2020, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to create a timeline to shut down the plant. In December, the Parris Law Firm, which was behind a suit related to the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas leak, filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of local residents against the LADWP seeking financial damages and remedies.


Park Tool

Park Tool Company is an American designer, manufacturer and marketer of bicycle tools and equipment for both professional and home bicycle mechanics. It manufactures over 300 products that range from wheel truing stands to hex wrenches.
History.
In 1963, Howard C. Hawkins and Art Engstrom were the owners of Park Schwinn, a bicycle shop in the Hazel Park area of Saint Paul, Minnesota. They noticed that there were no tools available to repair the increasingly complex bicycles of the 1960s, so they began creating their own tools. The first was a stand that held the bike off the ground allowing convenient access to any part of the bike. Other area bike shops and Schwinn Bicycle Company liked the stands and requested a production model. Soon after, the company expanded to include wheel truing stands, then expanded further into consumer wrenches and gauges. By the early 1980s, Hawkins and Engstrom were a perennial top ten Schwinn dealer with three stores but sold their bicycle shops to focus their efforts on the tool business. Today, both Art Engstrom and Howard Hawkins are retired. Park Tool is owned and operated by Eric Hawkins, Howard Hawkins' son, and now offers more than 300 bicycle repair tools in its line.
Patents.
The founders of Park Tool along with James E. Johnson developed a clamping device on their original bike repair stand, for which they received a United States Patent in 1976. The company has applied for and has been granted many patents since then, including a pizza cutter shaped like a penny-farthing. and several patents for bicycle specific repair tools.
Color.
Park Tool products typically incorporate blue into their design. Handles are frequently colored blue although some tools are colored differently so as to avoid mechanics confusing different tools of otherwise similar appearance, as in the case with the square-taper crank puller (CCP-22, blue) and the splined crank puller (CCP-44, black). The color blue is a registered trademark and trade dress of the company.


Pratt, Read and Company Factory Complex

The Pratt, Read and Company Factory Complex is an historic industrial facility located in Deep River, Connecticut. Established in 1863 and significantly enlarged in 1914, it was one of the principal sites of ivory processing in Connecticut, production combs, buttons, and piano keys. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 30, 1984. It has been converted to residences.
Description and history.
The former Pratt, Read factory consists of two clusters of mainly brick buildings lining the Deep River north of the town center, west of Main Street and bounded on the north by Spring Street and on the south by Bridge Street. The main building of the complex is set close to Main Street, rising five stories, with an architecturally elaborate entry tower near its center. Wings extend from this building toward the river. The second complex stands across the river, and is dominated by a four-story concrete building.
The eastern half of the complex was developed by the Pratt-Read Company beginning in 1863, although no buildings survive that predate 1881. George Read first began processing ivory in this area in 1809, which were taken over by Pratt, Read in 1863. The older buildings were all destroyed by fire in 1881, with the present main structure built immediately after the fire. These facilities were used to process ivory, notably for combs, buttons, and piano keys, and eventually entire piano keyboard actions. In 1914 the company expanded on the western bank of the river, developing the complex that stands off Bridge Street. It was one of the works of a pioneer of the use of reinforced concrete in factory construction, Ernest J. Ransome.


Linear Integrated Systems

Linear Integrated Systems, Inc. (LIS) is an American full-service designer and manufacturer of small-signal, discrete semiconductors. The company produces over 2,000 different discrete semiconductors, including dual and single junction field effect transistors (JFETs), bipolar transistors, BiFETs, lateral DMOS analog switch and switch arrays, and picoamp dual and single diodes.
History
LIS was founded in 1987 by Silicon Valley pioneer John H. Hall after his departure from Micro Power Systems.
At LIS, Hall continued his research into refractory metal semiconductors and also designed custom integrated circuits (ICs) while developing a line of standard products. Featured among the standard products were improved versions of semiconductors Hall had invented during his years at Union Carbide, Intersil and Micro Power Systems.
By the 2000s, LIS had moved away from custom IC work to focus on small-signal, discrete components for use in the test/measurement, medical, high-end audio and sensor applications. In 2006, LIS announced the release of the LSK389 ultra-low-noise dual JFET.
LIS announced in 2013 the LSK489, a dual JFET that combines low capacitance with low noise similar to the LSK389.
Following Hall's death in late 2014, Timothy S. McCune was named president and a member of the board of directors of the company.


Lijiaxia Dam

The Lijiaxia Dam () is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Yellow River in Jainca County, Qinghai Province, China. The dam houses a hydroelectric power station with 5 x 400 MW generators for a total installed capacity of 2,000 MW. Construction began in April 1988 and the reservoir began to fill on December 26, 1996. On January 26, 1997, the initial reservoir operating level was reached and the first generator was commissioned in February.


Reliance Foundry

Reliance Foundry Co. Ltd. is a private company based in Vancouver, Canada. The company was founded in 1925, and constitutes one of Canada’s oldest metal casting supplier firms.
History.
Reliance Foundry was founded in 1925 in Vancouver, Canada, by Mike and Gerry Engelbeen, H. G. Ireland and Ray McDougal. The company constituted the first foundry in British Columbia to produce malleable iron, and in 1925 it received a contract to produce 225 cast iron streetlamp standards for the city of Vancouver.
In 1927, Fred Done was hired to construct a one-ton electrical furnace, which led to the Done family's involvement with the company. Gerry Engelbeen died in 1928 and left controlling interest of the foundry to the three remaining partners. In 1936, Fred Done purchased H. G. Ireland's and Ray McDougall's shares, entering a two-man partnership with Mike Engelbeen.
In 1938 the company worked with the Canadian Merchant Navy's Park Ships assembled at the West Coast Shipbuilders Ltd. (Allied Shipbuilders) Shipyard. In 1943 Fred Done became the sole owner of the company. In 1955, Done's sons, Brian and Barry, began working at Reliance Foundry, eventually succeeding Fred in 1963.
Reliance Foundry’s workers formed an official union on February 17, 1965 when they gained official certification with the United Steel Workers of America, Local No. 2952. In 1966, a fire forced the company to relocate from 149 West 4th Avenue to Surrey, British Columbia.
In 1996, Reliance Foundry launched its first website, and in 1997 began outsourcing production to Asia. In 2003 all in-house casting operations ceased. A year later, Reliance Foundry sold their first Surrey location and transferred to its current location at 148th Street in Surrey, British Columbia. By 2012, Reliance Foundry was supplying to businesses and communities throughout North America, and the company was awarded the Surrey Board of Trade’s Business Excellence Award for its economic performance.
In 2014 Reliance Foundry purchased Bike Box Canada, launching its bike locker product line. In September 2016, the company made the Profit 500 list, a ranking of Canada's fastest growing businesses. In 2016, Reliance Foundry was named as a finalist in the Grant Thornton and Canadian Chamber of Commerce Private Business Growth Awards.
In 2019, Reliance Foundry launched a new hardscape product line, including detectable warning plates, tree grates, and trench grates. All hardscape products are made from high-quality cast iron and withstand rigorous conditions with limited maintenance. Reliance Foundry hardscape products are designed and manufactured in the USA, in compliance with the Buy American Act.


Federation of Hides, Leather, and Kindred Trades

The Federation of Hides, Leather, and Kindred Trades () was a trade union representing workers in various related industries, including shoemaking, in France.
The union was established on 11 April 1948, at a meeting in Paris. Its members split from the National Federation of Hides and Leather, unhappy with the influence of the French Communist Party in that union, and it affiliated to Workers' Force. It was initially led by André Derdos, who since February had been the secretary of the General Union of Hides and Skins of the Paris Region.
By 1960, the union claimed 3,500 members. In 1962, it merged with the Clothing and Hat Federation, to form the General Federation of Hides and Skins and Clothing. Despite this, membership declined, in line with job losses in the industry, and in 1978, it merged with the National Federation of Textiles, to form the Federation of Textiles, Hides and Skins and Clothing.


Cornwell Tools

Cornwell Quality Tools , a privately held company, manufactures tools for the automotive and aviation industries. The company is based in Wadsworth, Ohio. Cornwell remains as one of two remaining mobile tool companies that still produce their own handtools in house at their Albion, Pennsylvania foundry and Mogadore, Ohio machining plants. USA sourced steel is used at these locations to create a more consistent, better quality product than that of overseas manufacturers. They also carry a lifetime warranty on all hand tools and use Taiwan and China manufacturing to round out its product offerings. Cornwell recently acquired Kennedy Manufacturing, Van Wert, Ohio. Kennedy produces their own Kennedy branded line of tool storage products. Cornwell also carries various air, cordless electric, diagnostic, and hand tools from other manufacturers. This is the same practice as Mac Tools, Snap-on, and Matco Tools, who together make up the four major flags of the mobile tool business.
The company was founded in 1919 by Eugene Cornwell, a blacksmith from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
Cornwell Tools are sold by local tool distributors who own a territory by means of a franchise. The franchise owner drives to the work locations of potential customers, and typically offers financing to individuals buying their tools. Cornwell trucks are typically white with large blue and black Cornwell Ironman logos on their sides.
Cornwell was sued for fraud in a class action lawsuit by 8 former Cornwell Dealers in Bacharach v. Cornwell Quality Tool Co.
The US Small Business Administration lists the Franchise operators of Cornwell Tool, Matco, and MAC having SBA loan failures in excess of 30% as of Dec, 2014.
Ratings and reviews.
The Better Business Bureau of Akron Ohio where Cornwell Quality Tool Co. is headquartered gives the company an A- Grade (as of Jan 2015).
References.
 Cornwell Quality Tools Website
 Cornwell Tools Franchise Website
 Cornwell'S Expansion
 BBB rating


Helix Semiconductors

Helix Semiconductors, formerly Semitrex, is an Irvine, California-based fabless semiconductor company that designs chips for improved power management. The company's patented capacitive voltage reduction technology uses cascading capacitors to store power and convert voltages on chips, reducing the energy consumption of electronic devices.
The company also has offices throughout the United States and in Europe.
History.
Semitrex was founded in 2012 in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Michael H. Freeman, an Emmy Award-winning designer of mobile video technology that became the basis for the 802.11n wireless standard. The company's technology development efforts started with a search for improving the battery life of mobile phones, which led to power saving technology discoveries using capacitor-based circuits.
The company relocated to Laguna Beach, CA, and in February 2015 exited stealth mode and announced its technology. By that time, the company had filed 46 patents for its capacitive voltage reduction technology, which it called Muxcapacitor.
In March 2015, the company's integrated circuit (IC) was reportedly on its third generation, which the company announced was the last prototype before sample chips would be released to the market.
In July 2015, Semitrex hired Washington DC lawfirm Hogan Lovells to lobby for energy efficiency issues.
In February 2016, the company opened a design center in Irvine, California's "Technology Corridor", and an office in Milan, Italy, for better access to local engineering talent. The Milan office, also a design center, was reportedly focusing on mixed-signal analog chips, including digital power control designs. The Irvine design center became the company’s new headquarters.
In June 2016, the company opened its London Integrated Design Center and formed a UK subsidiary, Semitrex Integrated Semiconductors, Limited. The UK expansion would reportedly allow the company to modify its Muxcapacitor technology to create power inverters to support the European Union's 2009 Renewable Energy Directive.
In March 2017, the company rebranded as Helix Semiconductors, and Harold Blomquist was announced as the company's new CEO and President.
Products/Technology.
Muxcapacitor.
The company's core semiconductor product is used for energy efficient power supplies. Its patented gate switch technology, called Muxcapacitor, is pre-regulation capacitive voltage reduction technology which uses cascading capacitors to more efficiently store power on a chip. Some capacitor banks are shut down when not in use, conserving power. The device also reduces the primary voltage through a transformer before the energy is processed for voltage and current adjustment and isolation. This reduces the size of the transformer and limits the need for secondary parts. Also, by using capacitive rather than inductive reductions, the need for magnets is eliminated, and very efficient high voltage conversions are achieved across a range of electrical loads.
Tronium PSSoC.
Muxcapacitor technology is used on the company's Tronium brand of Power Supply System on a Chip (PSSoC), to manage power and reduce energy consumption for electronic devices. The Tronium PSSoC includes a dial-a-voltage feature which allows the chip to be programmed for a range of outputs from 1.8 to 48 volts, eliminating the need for additional country-specific power supplies. It also includes primary side regulation technology that eliminates the need for the opto-couplers which are traditionally required to maintain constant voltage and transfer electrical signals in the presence of high voltages. This reduces part count, allowing cost and size reductions of electrical equipment. The company sells a transformer-free Tronium variation called pwIoT (p-watt) designed for Internet of Things-type connected devices, which are often required to be compact to support a particular application. It takes AC line voltage and reduces it to the level of voltage the sensor requires. Products designed to work with minimal standby power requirements conserve energy and help solve the problem of vampire power drain, so-called because it drains while a machine or device is inactive. The pwIoT can be controlled remotely and wirelessly.
Inverter Supply System on a Chip.
In June 2016, the company announced it was working in London on the reverse of the power supply process, with the Inverter Supply System on a Chip (ISSoC). While the core Tronium technology is designed to reduce energy consumption with high to low voltage power converters, the company began exploring the feasibility of designing an inverter to take low voltage DC, which typically comes from renewable energy sources, and boost it to high voltage AC. A so-called micro-inverter would help countries meet the EU's renewable energy application requirements.
Awards and recognition.
In 2015, while still operating as Semitrex, the company received the 2015 Frost & Sullivan “New Product Innovation for Powering the Internet of Things” Award. Their technology was also recognized at APEC 2016 (Applied Power Electronics Conference) as one of the “Top Ten Must-Have Innovations”.
Patents.
The company holds 22 patents for its power supply technologies, including for its switched capacitor-based Muxcapacitor technique and quasi-resonant transformer-based power converter technology.
Locations.
In addition to its Irvine headquarters and design center, the company has US offices in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Laguna Beach, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, Silicon Valley, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. International locations include a design center in Milan, Italy, and the London Integrated Design Center in London.


Charles A. Morris

Charles A. Morris (1853 - March 8, 1914) was a Bloomfield, New Jersey engineer who owned his own dredging firm in New Jersey in the 1880s. Born in 1853, Morris came from a family of engineers and inventors. He invented a sliding bucket used for loading ships and other shipping devices. He helped the pioneering inventor John Philip Holland gain acceptance of his craft within the United States naval community. Mr. Morris was a good friend of the inventor and helped him out during a time when Holland was in financial trouble prior to the acceptance of The United States Navy's first commissioned submarine, . Morris served as the shipyard superintending engineer on the submarine project from 1896 to 1897. The pioneering submarine was purchased by the United States Government on 11 April 1900.


Bold Power Station

Bold Power Station refers to a series of two coal-fired power stations in Bold near St Helens, Merseyside, North West England. They are now closed.
History.
Bold A and B Power Stations were coal fired, with a direct coal conveyor belt link from a washery at the colliery. This fed either directly to coal bunkers in both stations or to a stocking area. The extensive rail sidings were utilised for coal delivery, either from Bold Colliery or from other collieries via the main Liverpool to Manchester Lines. The coal from Bold Colliery was deep mined and therefore costly to recover. In later years, due to commercial reasons, the main coal supply became mostly by road from either Yorkshire or Scotland.
The 'A' power station had an installed capacity of 120 MW. It consisted of four 30 MW two-cylinder turbines/alternators manufactured by Metropolitan-Vickers and Associated Electrical Industries (AEI). No.3 M/C was installed with the first direct water-cooled alternator. Steam was supplied from four Yarrow & Co. coal-fired boilers with tangentially fired tilting pulverized fuel burners, with 3no type LM13 table mills made by International Combustion of Derby.
The 'B' power station was installed with three 60 MW machines (equalling 180 MW total capacity). It used a central unit control system with the turbine/hydrogen cooled alternators manufactured by the General Electric Company (GEC). As with 'A' power station, no.3 alternator was a prototype direct water-cooled machine. The coolant water was fed via glass tubes on the three-phase connections. Each unit had boilers manufactured by John Thompson of Wolverhampton, each using two suction ball mills each with two exhausters, these feeding to twelve front wall pulverized fuel burners. The boilers were rated at 69 kg/s and fed steam at 900 psi/900 degrees Fahrenheit (62.06 bar and 482 °C) directly to each turbine/alternator.
The electricity output from Bold A was as follows:
The electricity output from Bold B was as follows:
The Bold area was the site of Bold Colliery, with Bold A and B Power Stations on adjacent land. These power stations had a total electricity generating capacity of 300 megawatts (MW). At the time of completion, between 1958 and 1960, they were the largest such generating facility in the north west. Bold "A" Station closed on 26 October 1981. Bold "B" continued to run until the late 80's after it was privatised from the Central Electricity Generating Board to National Power. The colliery and power stations are now closed, with the latter site redeveloped for housing and the creation of public open spaces. Other industry in the area included a large engineering works which is now an industrial estate.