Endress+Hauser will acquire US company Kaiser Optical Systems. Regulatory authorities in the United States have approved the former parent company, Rockwell Collins, to complete the transaction already announced in August. The acquisition is effective from 22 November 2013.

Kaiser Optical Systems is a world leader in spectrographic instrumentation and applied holographic technology. Principal products include Raman sensors and instrumentation, advanced holographic components for spectroscopy, telecommunications, astronomy and ultra-fast sciences, and display systems for aircraft.

The company employs a staff of 76 in its headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Seven employees in an office in Lyon, France, coordinate European sales activities. Rockwell Collins and Endress+Hauser agreed to not disclose the terms of the transaction.

Kaiser Optical Systems' core competencies are in the field of Raman spectroscopy. This technology is based on the interaction of an inclined beam of light with the material analyzed: single photons transmit energy on molecules, and reciprocally also molecules transfer energy on single photons. The resulting light diffusion creates a specific pattern for every material – comparable to a fingerprint – and thus provides information on composition and consistency.

Lloyd`s Register EMEA has certified HIMA HIMax, HIQuad und Planar4 safety system families for use in marine and offshore applications in the relevant environment categories ENV1, ENV2 and ENV3. HIMA HIMatrix modules received Lloyd’s Register certification in 2006, which was extended in 2011.

All HIMA safety systems are now certified by Lloyd’s Register EMEA. In addition to comprehensive, routine system inspections, the HIMA safety systems have passed extended temperature tests, vibration and shock tests, as well as the EMC tests. Proof that HIMA safety systems contain no traces of asbestos has also been furnished.

The Lloyd’s Register certification is required primarily for safety-critical applications at ship-loading complexes, burner controls on ships, oil and gas platforms and FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) vessels.

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Yokogawa Electric Corporation announced today that it has been selected as the Main Automation Contractor for Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP's (Chevron Phillips Chemical) USGC Petrochemicals Project. The project was first announced in March 2011 and will include a 1.5 million metric tons/year (3.3 billion pounds/year) ethane cracker and two new polyethylene facilities, each with an annual capacity of 500,000 metric tons (1.1 billion pounds).

The ethane cracker will be built at Chevron Phillips Chemical's Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, TX, and two polyethylene units will be built at a site in Old Ocean, TX near Chevron Phillips Chemical's Sweeny plant. The USGC Petrochemicals Project is expected to commence construction in early 2014 and create approximately 400 long-term direct jobs and 10,000 engineering and construction jobs.

"We are proud to be part of one of the first grass roots ethylene and polyethylene plants to be built in the U.S. in a very long time," says Chet Mroz, President and CEO of Yokogawa Corporation of America.

As the Main Automation Contractor for the project, Yokogawa will supply the control systems, safety systems, remote instrument enclosures, and the analyzer shelters and analytical systems. The control system platform will be based on Yokogawa's highly reliable CENTUM® VP integrated production control system. While CENTUM VP is classified as a distributed control system (DCS), it goes beyond a traditional DCS by offering a more intuitive human machine interface and a large-capacity field control station to process data faster while maintaining exceedingly high reliability. The dual-redundant configuration of processor cards combined with pairing each processor card with two CPUs (pair & spare configuration) ensures uninterrupted operations and high availability.

Foster Wheeler has announced that a subsidiary of its Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded a contract by Axion Energy Argentina S.A. (“Axion”), a subsidiary of Bridas Corporation, to provide engineering and procurement services for a new delayed coking unit based on Foster Wheeler’s SYDEC(SM) delayed coking technology, to be installed at the Campana Refinery in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

The Foster Wheeler contract value was not disclosed and was included in the company’s third-quarter 2013 bookings.

“Foster Wheeler brings to this project extensive experience in the design and delivery of delayed coker projects, a strong track record in executing projects in South America and impressive technical expertise in heavy crude processing,” said Umberto della Sala, Chief Operating Officer, Foster Wheeler AG.