Qualitrol

Last updated
Qualitrol LLC
Type Subsidiary of Fortive
Industry
Founded1945
Headquarters Fairport, New York, U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Andrew McCauley
(President)
Products
Parent Fortive
Subsidiaries
  • Iris Power
  • Neoptix
  • Serveron
Website www.qualitrolcorp.com

Qualitrol is a condition monitoring technology company headquartered in Fairport, New York. Qualitrol manufacturers and distributes partial discharge monitoring, asset protection equipment and information products for the electrical generation, transmission and distribution industries. [1]

Contents

The company also offers customer training and field services, such as on-site start-up and testing, customized maintenance, product upgrades, troubleshooting, and repair services. It serves customers in Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and North America.

Qualitrol is a subsidiary of the Fortive industrial conglomerate.

History

George Ford

George Ford, the founder of Qualitrol, was born in 1907 in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, the son of Thomas Henry Ford and Rachel Mary Jones. His family moved to Rochester, New York when he was a child, where he completed his secondary education and then graduated as an engineer from the University of Rochester. [2]

Ford became aware of a major deficiency in the manufacture of heavy electronic transformers and generators of diesel engines. He identified the risks of unexpected accidents while using gas and flame without protective devices. At the age of 38, Ford left his position as Vice President of Engineering at the Rochester Manufacturing Company to establish a new company [2] using seed money from his brother-in-law, Mort Watters, and from his mother-in-law, Rose Gavin. [3]

Founding and expansion

In 1945 Ford founded Qualitrol Corporation in Fairport, New York, and began to provide the electric utility industry with protective devices and monitoring systems. Ford opened a branch of Qualitrol in Waynesboro, Tennessee to manufacture valves. Later, Mr. Ford bought Microcontrol in St. Louis, Missouri, a manufacturer of thermostats, and the Dynapar Corporation [4] in Gurney, Illinois a manufacturer of digital controls.

In the late 1960s, Ford sold all of his business interests to devote more time to his love of sports.

Acquisition by Danaher

Within two years of Danaher Corporation's founding in 1984, it acquired twelve companies as part of a strategy to enter manufacturing. In 1986, Danaher Corporation acquired Qualitrol, establishing Qualitrol LLC. [5] Qualitrol became part of Danaher's instrumentation unit, which included Gilbarco Veeder-Root's underground fuel storage sensors, Dynapar's motion sensors, [6] and Qualitrol's pressure and temperature measurement instruments used on the electrical transformer industry. [7] Danaher spun off several subsidiaries, including Qualitrol, in 2016 to create Fortive. [8]

Acquisition by Fortive

Qualitrol became part of Fortive in July, 2016.

Corporate affairs

At the end of 2007, Qualitrol started to collaborate with Quebec City-based Neoptix Inc., a manufacturer of fiber optic temperature sensors. [9] Initially, Qualitrol and Neoptix worked together on the integration of data collected simultaneously from traditional methods of temperature measurement and from optical direct hot-spot sensors. [10] Subsequently, Neoptix became a sole subsidiary of Qualitrol. [11]

In 2010, Qualitrol acquired Mississauga, Ontario-based Iris Power, a supplier of on-line partial discharge testing of stator winding insulation in large motors and generators, from subsidiaries of Koch Chemical Technology Group, LLC, a Wichita-based multinational. Qualitrol thereby acquired a fleet of portable and continuous instruments and monitoring systems that are integrated into a power plant's Distributed Control System (DCS) or a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. [12]

Qualitrol HQ Expansion 2012 Phase 1 Qualitrol HQ Expansion 2012.jpg
Qualitrol HQ Expansion 2012 Phase 1

At the end of 2011, Qualitrol began the expansion of its current production facility in Fairport, New York to 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2). [13]

Subsidiaries

Executive management

Divisions

Products

Asset protection

Transmission and distribution

Condition monitoring

Global operations

Qualitrol also has manufacturing facilities in Belfast, and Mississauga. The Belfast facility focuses on Qualitrol instruments and the Glasgow facility is now defunct and dissolved, merged with Belfast. The Quebec City unit operates as Neoptix [14] and the Mississauga unit operates under Iris Power. [15] [16] Though each location specializes, projects are worked on by teams in multiple locations.

Qualitrol adheres to the standards of international organizations, including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association (IEEE-SA) [17] and the International Council on Large Electric Systems (CIGRE). [18]

Offices

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circuit breaker</span> Automatic circuit protection device

A circuit breaker is an electrical safety device designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overcurrent. Its basic function is to interrupt current flow to protect equipment and to prevent the risk of fire. Unlike a fuse, which operates once and then must be replaced, a circuit breaker can be reset to resume normal operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corning Inc.</span> American manufacturer of glass & ceramics

Corning Incorporated is an American multinational technology company that specializes in specialty glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies including advanced optics, primarily for industrial and scientific applications. The company was named Corning Glass Works until 1989. Corning divested its consumer product lines in 1998 by selling the Corning Consumer Products Company subsidiary to Borden.

Amphenol Corporation is a major producer of electronic and fiber optic connectors, cable and interconnect systems such as coaxial cables. Amphenol is a portmanteau from the corporation's original name, American Phenolic Corp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beckman Coulter</span> American corporation

Beckman Coulter, Inc. is a Danaher Corporation company that develops, manufactures, and markets products that simplify, automate and innovate complex biomedical testing. It operates in two industries: Diagnostics and Life Sciences. For more than 80 years, Beckman Coulter Inc. has helped healthcare and laboratory professionals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities, medical schools, and research institutions worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Switchgear</span> Control gear of an electric power system

In an electric power system, a switchgear is composed of electrical disconnect switches, fuses or circuit breakers used to control, protect and isolate electrical equipment. Switchgear is used both to de-energize equipment to allow work to be done and to clear faults downstream. This type of equipment is directly linked to the reliability of the electricity supply.

Power-system automation is the act of automatically controlling the power system via instrumentation and control devices. Substation automation refers to using data from Intelligent electronic devices (IED), control and automation capabilities within the substation, and control commands from remote users to control power-system devices.

Danaher Corporation is an American globally diversified conglomerate founded by brothers Steven and Mitchell Rales in 1984. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the company designs, manufactures, and markets medical, industrial, and commercial products and services. It has primarily grown by acquisitions, and historically has tried to maintain a very low public profile. Danaher was one of the first companies in North America to adopt the Kaizen principles to manufacturing, which is a lean manufacturing Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement and elimination of waste.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optical fiber</span> Light-conducting fiber

An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths than electrical cables. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along them with less loss; in addition, fibers are immune to electromagnetic interference, a problem from which metal wires suffer. Fibers are also used for illumination and imaging, and are often wrapped in bundles so they may be used to carry light into, or images out of confined spaces, as in the case of a fiberscope. Specially designed fibers are also used for a variety of other applications, such as fiber optic sensors and fiber lasers.

Maxim Integrated, a subsidiary of Analog Devices, designs, manufactures, and sells analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for the automotive, industrial, communications, consumer, and computing markets. Maxim's product portfolio includes power and battery management ICs, sensors, analog ICs, interface ICs, communications solutions, digital ICs, embedded security, and microcontrollers. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California, and has design centers, manufacturing facilities, and sales offices worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perle Systems</span> Manufacturer of device networking hardware

Perle Systems is a technology company that develops and manufactures serial to Ethernet, fiber to Ethernet, I/O connectivity, and device networking equipment. These types of products are commonly used to establish network connectivity across multiple locations, securely transmit sensitive information across a LAN, and remotely monitor and control networked devices via out-of-band management.

Luna Innovations is an American developer and manufacturer of fiber-optics- and terahertz-based technology products for the aerospace, automotive, communications, defense, energy, infrastructure, security, and silicon photonics industries. It is headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia. Luna's products are used to test, measure, analyze, monitor, protect and improve products and processes to enhance the safety, security, and connectivity of people.

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. is a manufacturer of electric wire and optical fiber cables. Its headquarters are in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The company's shares are listed in the first section of the Tokyo, Nagoya Stock Exchanges, and the Fukuoka Stock Exchange. In the period ending March 2021, the company reported consolidated sales of US$26,5 billion.

A fiber-optic sensor is a sensor that uses optical fiber either as the sensing element, or as a means of relaying signals from a remote sensor to the electronics that process the signals. Fibers have many uses in remote sensing. Depending on the application, fiber may be used because of its small size, or because no electrical power is needed at the remote location, or because many sensors can be multiplexed along the length of a fiber by using light wavelength shift for each sensor, or by sensing the time delay as light passes along the fiber through each sensor. Time delay can be determined using a device such as an optical time-domain reflectometer and wavelength shift can be calculated using an instrument implementing optical frequency domain reflectometry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxsensis</span> British engineering company

Oxsensis Ltd. is a British-based engineering business specialising in energy and aerospace equipment.

SPX Corporation is a supplier of highly engineered infrastructure equipment and technologies. The company operates within four markets: heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), detection and measurement, power transmission and generation, and engineered solutions. Examples of SPX’s products include cooling towers and boilers, underground pipe and cable locators, power transformers, and heat exchangers. Brands include Waukesha, Dielectric, Fahrenheat, Radiodetection, and Pearpoint. SPX operates in 17 countries with a sales presence in 100 countries. In 2019, the company earned approximately $1.5 billion in annual revenue. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, SPX employs over 6,000 employees. Eugene Joseph Lowe is the CEO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xylem Inc.</span> American water technology provider company

Xylem Inc. is a large American water technology provider, in public utility, residential, commercial, agricultural and industrial settings. The company does business in more than 150 countries. Launched in 2011 as the spinoff of the water-related businesses of ITT Corporation, Xylem is headquartered in Washington, DC, with 2018 revenues of $5.2 billion and 17,000 employees worldwide.

ACCC is a registered trade mark for a type of "high-temperature low-sag" (HTLS) overhead power line conductor manufactured by 34 international conductor manufacturers.

Senstar Corporation develops and manufactures perimeter intrusion detection systems, video management software, security lighting, personal duress systems, and access control software for the physical security and video surveillance industries. Its headquarters are located in Ottawa, Ontario. Senstar products protect facilities around the world, including critical infrastructure sites, military bases, nuclear power plants, airports, personal estates, borders, and correctional facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trafag AG</span>

Trafag AG is an electronics manufacturing company founded in 1942 in Switzerland. The company develops, produces, and sells sensors and monitoring devices for pressure, temperature, and gas density internationally. Trafag is headquartered in Bubikon, Zürich, Switzerland.

References

  1. "About the Company". Qualitrol. 2012. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  2. 1 2 "George Edward Ford Obituary". The New York Times. 28 December 2004. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  3. Ford, Louis (2001). Weezie: A Palm Beach Story. Media Creations, Incorporated, 2011. p. 168. ISBN   9781605946962.
  4. "Dynapar Industrial Encoders & Resolvers". dynapar.com. 2016. Archived from the original on 2012-05-27.
  5. Carr, Bruce (7 January 2009). "Meyer Named Thomson President". eBearing.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-25. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  6. "Dynapar Motion Control Sensor Rotary Encoders & Resolvers". Dynapar. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-08-09.
  7. Dubovoj, Sina; Ingram, Frederick (2006). "Danaher Corporation". Resource Library CBS Interactive. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  8. Zacks Equity Research (5 July 2016). "Danaher Completes Fortive Spin-Off, Trading to Begin Today". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  9. "Qualitrol and Neoptix to Collaborate on Fiber Optic Monitoring Solutions". Neoptix. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  10. "Qualitrol, Neoptix to collaborate on Fiber Optic Monitoring Products". Transmission & Distribution World. 7 December 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  11. "About Neoptix Canada LP". Neoptix. 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  12. "Qualitrol Acquires Iris Power" (PDF). Iris Power. 26 April 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-09-20. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  13. Cannon, Joan (18 October 2011). "Minutes of the Town of Perinton Conservation Board Meeting" (PDF). Retrieved 13 June 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  14. "Neoptix".
  15. "Iris Power".
  16. "Contact Us". Qualitrol. 2012. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  17. "IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting". IEEE. 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  18. "CIGRE Technical Exhibition". CIGRE. 2012. Archived from the original on 6 July 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.