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MPM forecasting needs to be pursued robustly and continuously. It starts with top management setting gross profit goals

Market forecasts should be prepared in such detail that they shape the specific initiatives relative to products, processes, industries and even individual large owners. Most combust, flow and treat products and services are purchased by less than 20,000 companies around the world. More than half the coal fired power plant, refinery, oil and gas, mining, and steel purchases are made by a very small number of companies.

The forecast should determine the gross profit which is achievable with the TCO of present products. This should be prepared for all the major purchasers.

Company	Product	Function	Units	Margin	Gross Profit
BASF	Gate Valve	Isolation
BASF	Gate Valve	Control
BASF	Globe Valve	Isolation
BASF	Globe Valve	Control

These forecasts should be prepared for each product for a company such as BASF and then for the individual plants. R&D and engineering design decisions should be made on the basis of potential gross margin and profit and not just on the total market. If the gross profit forecast is reduced because of a better competitors design, then the magnitude of the problem should be quantified. Decisions can then be made as to whether the investment in a new design is warranted. The knowledge of the LTCO for each process in chemical plants such as operated by BASF also needs to be taken into account. BASF is in a number of industries. It makes chlorine increasingly with the membrane processes but is phasing out its mercury process based chlor alkali facilities. Valve requirements are different for each process.

The starting point is the Total Available Market. McIlvaine already has forecasts for TAM for many thousands of CFT products and services in many industries and in each individual country. The background information needed to determine unit margins and gross profit has been systematically gathered by McIlvaine over the last 45 years. Some of this data appears in the many market reports and databases. Other information has not been published but is available to McIlvaine consultants.

One course of action is to purchase the report or reports with TAM and then add the MPM on a continuing basis with McIlvaine support.

EPA Enforcement Shift Will Allow Coal Plants to Pollute More, Former Air Official Say

The Trump administration's shift away from enforcing air quality standards for major stationary sources will allow coal-fired power plants and other facilities to emit more harmful pollution, a former Environmental Protection Agency enforcement official told Congress this week.

This month, the EPA decided it will no longer prioritize enforcing its New Source Review rules on coal-fired power plants, factories and refineries, saying those sources had significantly reduced pollution. That could allow plants to make upgrades without emissions oversight, said Bruce Buckheit, former director of the Air Enforcement Division at EPA.

Current EPA enforcement chief, Susan Bodine said the agency is "looking at other areas" to prioritize enforcement, like mobile sources. The agency also announced it would keep standards for sulfur dioxide at levels set by the Obama administration, rather than strengthening them as public health advocates wanted.

Testimony at the House Energy and Commerce Committee recently highlighted fears among clean air advocates and some former EPA employees that the agency is giving polluters — including coal plants — a pass on emissions.

During the hearing, Democrats pressed Bodine, the assistant administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assistance, about recently released numbers showing that enforcement actions have fallen to their lowest level in decades.

"A strong enforcement program does not mean that we have to collect a particular dollar amount of penalties or take a particular number of formal actions," Bodine responded, saying that some enforcement actions taken by states after EPA pressure are not included in the numbers.

On New Source Review, Bodine reiterated EPA's justification for de-prioritizing enforcement, saying other sectors could yield more meaningful emissions reductions.

Critics like Buckheit, however, say that coal-fired power plants and other generators continue to upgrade their facilities, potentially increasing their pollution. Under NSR, facilities must go through a permitting process if they make meaningful expansions to their plants that could boost emissions.

"We know they're doing lots of projects," he told reporters after the hearing. "We also know there are no permits for those projects."

While Bodine touted emissions reductions from coal-fired power plants, EPA's own Air Enforcement webpage notes that "investigations of this sector have identified a high rate of noncompliance with [New Source Review] when old plants are renovated or upgraded.

Buckheit said that reflected his experience working for EPA during the Clinton administration, when his team identified a 70 percent noncompliance rate among U.S. coal-fired power plants, according to his prepared testimony.

"U.S. coal-fired power plants are very old," he said, "and to extend their useful life out requires big capital projects that when we were doing this in the old days we found triggered the NSR rules, so we found they had to put on controls."

Buckheit said he is concerned the decision to de-prioritize NSR will mean that EPA staffers are directed to abandon NSR enforcement altogether, as he said happened during the second Bush administration.

Wyoming has passed legislation requiring utilities to make a “good faith” effort to sell old coal plants rather than retiring them and compel any buyers, if found, to buy back power from the plants even if it is more expensive than alternative sources. The bill is particularly aimed at pre-empting the preference for Rocky Mountain Power, a subsidiary of PacificCorp, to retire the two remaining coal units at 448-MW Naughton plant, which could save customers US$175 million. The Powder River Basin Resource Council flagged its concern that the bill could force Wyoming’s remaining plants to be sold to smaller, less financially secure companies that could eventually collapse and leave rehabilitation costs to be carried by the government

A push to defer the introduction of new air pollution emission limits has been dropped after all political parties in Turkey’s parliament opposed the move. The campaign opposing the proposed changes, which would have affected at least 10 proposed coal-fired power plants, attracted 65,000 signatures on a petition to the parliament. Legislation passed in 2013 allowed power plants until the end of 2019 to install pollution control equipment to meet air quality standards.

While the Energy Community Treaty between the EU and its neighbors set a December 2018 deadline for upgrading pollution controls on the plants, work has mostly been deferred. A further 2700 MW of new coal-fired power plants, mostly backed by Chinese banks, are proposed despite not meeting EU pollution standards.

Videos posted by residents of the coal mining Kuzbass region to social media have revealed streets lined with coal-covered snow. “It’s harder to find white snow than black snow during the winter,” said Vladimir Slivyak from Ecodefense. About half of Russia’s total coal production comes from the Kuzbass coal basin. After the imposition of economic sanctions after the invasion of Crimea, the Russian Government has pursued increasing coal exports especially into the European and Asian markets. In 2018, 191 million tons of the 432 million tons produced was exported.

The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GCSB) has requested that all coal handling operations by a subsidiary of the Jindal Group be suspended due to air pollution affecting the suburbs around Mormugao port in Goa. Videos of coal dust being blown into residential areas have been widely shared on social media prompting a local NGO to file complaints with the police against the Mormugao Port Trust and subsidiaries of Adani and the Jindal Group. In January 2018, the GCSB temporarily suspended coal import operations after it was revealed that the port had handled well in excess of its permitted volume. In July 2018, the terminals were allowed to resume operation though at a far lower level.

Aceros Arequipa Orders Steel Mill and Continuous Billet Caster from SMS Group

Corporación Aceros Arequipa S.A. (CAASA), based in Arequipa, Peru, has awarded SMS group an order covering the supply of mechatronic equipment for a new steel mill and a billet caster with six strands for its Pisco site. The plant is designed for an annual capacity of 1,200,000 tons and will produce billets with sections of 130, 160 and 180 millimeters. Commissioning is scheduled for early 2020

In terms of the steel mill, SMS group will supply a 120-ton AC electric arc furnace equipped with innovative technology to secure high productivity levels. A CONDOOR automated slag door will reduce downtimes and thus make the process more efficient. The CONSO injection system, in combination with the AEREG electrode controller, will permit over 180 tons of steel to be produced every hour in a steady and continuous process. SMS group’s scope of supply also includes a ladle furnace meeting all requirements with regard to the respective steel composition.

The steel mill will be equipped with a gas cleaning plant capable of processing over 2,200,000 cubic meters of process gas per hour, with the frustum exhaust hood from SMS group permitting the gases produced during furnace charging and tapping to be captured and extracted more effectively. The gas cleaning plant will comply with the strictest environmental regulations.

SMS group’s scope of supply includes basic and detail engineering, supply of all mechanical and electrical components, the entire electrical and automation system including an integrated process control system (level 2) which monitors the steel quality from the scrap yard to the billet storage area, as well as the supervision of erection and commissioning.

The new plant will allow Aceros Arequipa to expand its presence on the local market and in South America and to offer higher-quality products.

Tenova LOI Thermprocess Will Supply a Large Aluminum Recycling Furnace to an Italian Recycling and Melting Enterprise

Tenova LOI Thermprocess, supplier for custom-made heat treatment lines and furnaces and specialist for recycling plants for contaminated aluminum scrap, has received an important order from Fonderie Pandolfo, Italy, for the delivery and installation of a Twin-Chamber Melting Furnace TCF^®.

Fonderie Pandolfo is the recycling and melting enterprise within the Panalco Holding, specialized in processing of aluminium, mainly for extrusions. The casted billets are mainly extruded in the extrusion shops of the main European extruders.

The TCF^®, with a capacity of 65,000 tons/year, is designed for aluminum scrap recycling. In order to cover a broad range of scrap and contamination degree, the TCF^® combines pre-treatment and melting in one furnace.

The beneficial TCF^®-process relies on the efficient melting by limiting dross formation due to pre-treatment, while the evolving Volatile Organic Contents (VOCs) are combusted completely in the furnace to decrease the overall energy consumption and fulfill the most restrictive environmental regulations.

By combining regenerative air heating (CCR) and optimized thermal treatment of the organic scrap components, this proven furnace technology reaches an unmatched grade of energy and metal efficiency. A sophisticated automation technology, applied by Tenova LOI Thermprocess with the aim to streamline a fully automatic charging machine, increases efficiency further.

The scope of supply contains the turnkey-installation, including a state-of-the-art flue gas treatment plant.

Ecopure CCF Provides Partial-Flow Exhaust Air Purification for Cost-efficient, Complete Compliance with Clean Gas Values

Gerresheimer has commissioned the world’s first partial-flow exhaust air purification system. This will ensure that the glass manufacturer’s existing system complies with the much more stringent clean gas values that apply after a glass tank replacement – and all for half the investment cost of conventional methods. The cost-efficient solution is based on the new Ecopure^® CCF developed by Dürr.

The Gerresheimer Group, one of the leading international manufacturers of glass and plastic primary packagings for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, uses two melting tanks at its site in Essen. The planned modernization of one of the furnace and the higher production capacity associated with this means that the existing exhaust air purification system may no longer be able to achieve the clean gas values for dust and nitrogen oxide (NO_x). In order to efficiently and cost-effectively prepare the existing system for the future increase in output, Luft- und Thermotechnik Bayreuth (LTB), a subsidiary of Dürr, developed an innovative concept with this special Ecopure^®CCF.

The high--melting temperatures required during glass production result in large quantities of pollutants. Gerresheimer merges the contaminated exhaust air from the two glass furnaces into one exhaust air purification system. In the future, half of the exhaust air will be treated in an Ecopure^® CCF. This technology combines the three individual processes of exhaust air purification, enabling one system to precipitate dust, absorb sulfur, and reduce nitrogen oxides from the exhaust air. This is done using catalytic candle filters, whose ceramic fibers can withstand temperatures of up to 900°C. The exhaust air, treated in the Ecopure^® CCF, is then returned to the existing system, where it mixes with the exhaust air purified there. The Ecopure^® CCF ensures that the exhaust air as a whole complies with all required clean gas values. The investment costs for partial-flow treatment are therefore half of typical alternatives. This would have involved replacing the existing system completely with a new one or upgrading the existing system with a downstream system

CTP Team has been awarded a turnkey project for air pollution control in Malaysia. The project consists of the conversion of an existing Pl1 raw mill electrostatic precipitator (ESP) to a fabric filter and the upgrade of an existing exhaust fan. The company has signed the turnkey project with YTL Cement for the Perak-Hanjoong Simen cement plant in Pedang Rengas

The project consists of a full turnkey solution for the conversion of the existing ESP into a more efficient bag filter. The existing ESP into a more efficient of filter. The existing ESP in a 740,000 m³/hour unit, installed downstream of the kiln and draw mills on line one. The conversion will fit within the current footprint, with the minimum impact of steel structures, ducting and the dust transport system.

Within the new filter, emissions limits will be reduced to below 10 mg/m³by June 2019. The target is to meet the government requirement for the control of dust emissions in a short period of time, in order to drive the cement plant to a safe and competitive position.

The aim is to reduce dust emissions well below the limits imposed by the local regulation. The unit will be equipped with CTP Team’s advanced cleaning system with low pressure air: SWAP technology. the system reduces pressure with minimum consumption of compressed air and further benefit to OPEX for the operator

Donaldson Company, Inc. reported record 2^nd quarter net earnings of $60.1 million, compared with a loss of $52.9 million in 2018. The current- and prior-year periods included tax expense of $0.4 million and $109.7 million, respectively, related to the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Excluding these impacts, 2^nd quarter 2019 adjusted EPS³ increased 9.3 percent to $0.47 from $0.43 in 2018.

The 2^nd quarter 2019 sales increased 5.9 percent to $703.7 million from $664.7 million in 2^nd quarter 2018. Included within the year-over-year change are the following items:

Currency translation negatively impacted sales by approximately 2.7 percentage points.

· The acquisition of BOFA International LTD (BOFA), which was completed during first quarter 2019, added approximately 1.4 percentage points,

· Adoption of the revenue recognition accounting standard added approximately 0.3 percentage points.

The 2^nd quarter 2019 sales of Engine Products (Engine) increased 6.0 percent from last year, or 8.6 percent in constant currency. The revenue recognition accounting change added approximately 0.5 percent to Engine’s growth rate. Engine results reflect broad geographic strength in Aftermarket, combined with strong On-Road growth in the U.S./CA and APAC regions. Sales of Aerospace and Defense benefitted from ground defense orders. Off-Road sales performance varied by geography, with strong year-over-year growth in EMEA offset by declines in the U.S./CA and LATAM regions.

The 2^nd quarter 2019 sales of Industrial Products (Industrial) increased 5.6 percent from last year, or 8.4 percent in constant currency. Sales of Industrial Filtration Solutions (IFS) increased 13.5 percent, reflecting growth in all major regions and including a benefit of approximately 6.5 percent from BOFA. Sales of Gas Turbine Systems (GTS) declined, due in large part to declining volume of large turbine projects, while Special Applications (SA) sales were down, due primarily to declining sales of Disk Drive filters.

The 2^nd quarter gross margin of 32.0 percent was below the prior year by 0.9 percentage points, or 0.7 percentage points when adjusting for the impact from the revenue recognition accounting change. The 2^nd quarter 2019 gross margin was negatively impacted by higher raw materials and supply chain costs, combined with an unfavorable mix of sales, partially offset by price increases. Operating expense as a percent of sales improved 1.0 percentage points to 19.9 percent from 20.9 percent in 2018, reflecting lower incentive compensation expense and leverage on increasing sales, partially offset by higher salary expense.

During 2^nd quarter 2019, Donaldson repurchased 450 thousand shares, or 0.3 percent, of its common stock at an average price of $46.87 for a total investment of $21.1 million. Donaldson paid dividends during the 2^nd quarter of $24.3 million. Year to date, the company paid $102.0 million to repurchase shares and $48.7 million of dividends.

Donaldson now expects full-year 2019 EPS between $2.27 and $2.41, compared with prior guidance of $2.31 to $2.45. The company is now projecting fiscal 2019 sales to increase between 5 and 9 percent, including a currency headwind of approximately 3 percent and sales contribution from BOFA of approximately 1 percent. The revised 2019 sales forecast is 2 percentage points below prior guidance, with incremental currency headwinds and business performance each accounting for approximately half of the change.

CECO Reports Significant Improvement in Fourth Quarter Financial Performance

CECO Environmental Corp. reported its financial results for the 4^th quarter and full year of 2018.

Revenue in the 4^th quarter of 2018 was $93.9 million, up 27.8 percent from $73.5 million in the prior-year period, and up 6.3 percent from $88.3 million in the 3^rd quarter of 2018. Revenue in the 4^th quarter of 2017 included $8.5 million attributable to our divested businesses, Keystone, Strobic and Zhongli.

Operating Income was $5.7 million for the 4^th quarter of 2018 (6.1 percent margin), compared with an $(8.2) million loss in the prior-year period. Non-GAAP operating income was $8.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2018 (9.0 percent margin), compared with $3.5 million in the prior-year period (4.8 percent margin).

Net income was $0.9 million for the 4^th quarter of 2018, compared with a $(11.6) million net loss in the prior-year period. Net income on a non-GAAP basis was $3.0 million for the 4^th quarter of 2018, compared with a $(1.7) million net loss in the prior-year period.

Revenue was $337.3 million for the twelve months in 2018, down 2.2 percent from $345.1 million in the prior-year period. Revenue in 2017 included $34.6 million attributable to our divested businesses, Keystone, Strobic, and Zhongli compared with $9.3 million for the year of 2018

Operating income was $10.0 million in 2018 (3.0 percent margin), compared with $8.0 million in the prior-year period (2.3 percent margin). Operating income on a non-GAAP basis was $24.1 million in 2018 (7.1 percent margin), compared with $28.3 million in the prior-year period (8.2 percent margin).

Net loss was $(7.1) million for 2018, compared with a net loss of $(3.0) million in the prior-year period. Net income on a non-GAAP basis was $10.2 million for the year of 2018, compared with $9.5 million in the prior-year period.

CECO's Chief Executive Officer Dennis Sadlowski commented, "I am very pleased with our financial results for the 4^th quarter and want to thank the entire CECO team for delivering big improvements in our performance. We achieved 44 percent year-over-year organic revenue growth, over 100 percent growth in EBITDA, and incredible free cash flow generation of $17 million. We view cash earnings as integral to generating top-tier returns for our shareholders and believe this to be a fundamental strength of CECO's asset light business model."

Mr. Sadlowski added, "In 2018, we executed on our operating strategy, delivered growth with a 20 percent year-over-year increase in bookings and are well underway to transforming how we do business with a more customer focused and solutions-based mindset. Our 4^th quarter bookings were below our expectations as capital markets volatility and U.S. political tensions created delays in customer decisions. We expect this to be more of a timing issue as our overall sales pipeline remains very strong and robust. We are headed into a new year with an impressive backlog of $182 million, which is up $32 million organically from the prior year. Our end markets are large and generally healthy going into 2019 which provide us confidence in our aggressive financial targets for 2021."

Advanced Emissions Solutions Completes Successful Acquisition of ADA Carbon Solutions

Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc. filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K and reported financial results for the 4^th quarter and full year ended December 31, 2018, including information about its equity investment in Tinuum Group, LLC and Tinuum Services, LLC which ADES owns 42.5 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

· Completed the successful acquisition of ADA Carbon Solutions, LLC ("Carbon Solutions") on December 7, 2018 for the total purchase price of $75 million, complementing the Company's product suite and building out its newly named Power Generation & Industrials ("PGI") segment

· Recognized consolidated revenue of $10.6 million during the 4^th quarter and $23.9 million for full year 2018, both of which included 25 days of contribution from Carbon Solutions

· General and administrative operating costs (i.e., non-cost of revenue expenses) were $9.7 million for the 4^th quarter and $24.1 million for full year 2018

· Entered into $70.0 million face value term loan, which contributed $0.5 million of interest expense during the fourth quarter

· Consolidated net income was $7.0 million for the 4^th quarter and $35.5 million for full year 2018; pretax income was $12.3 million for the fourth quarter and $45.9 million for full year 2018

· Ended 2018 with a cash balance, inclusive of restricted cash, of $23.8 million, a decrease of $8.1 million since September 30, 2018, driven by cash expenses incurred as a result of the acquisition of Carbon Solutions

· Announced share repurchase program for up to an additional $20.0 million of the company's common stock in the open market

· Returned $45.5 million to share holders in 2018 through capital allocation initiatives

L. Heath Sampson, President and CEO of ADES commented, he acquisition of Carbon Solutions met each and every one of our explicit acquisition criteria. This acquisition immediately makes us the lowest-cost producer of Powder Activated Carbon and market leader within the North American mercury control space, complementing our existing technologies and offering attractive operating synergies. It also opens the door to adjacent, growing markets that are ripe for evaluation and pursuit such as municipal water, the broader commercial and consumer water markets.”

GEA now offers a ceramic catalytic 6 meter long element. To date, the 3 meter element has been the longest available choice. The big advantage of combining DSI with catalytic filtration is that only one vessel is needed for particulate, acid gas and NO_x reduction. These systems have been extensively used in the glass industry and other applications with modest gas flows. Now with twice the capacity per element there is the opportunity to pursue larger applications

One of the big potential advantages of catalytic filtration and DSI is to produce a clean gas at temperatures above 600°F. Dürr is one company pursuing the use of efficient heat exchangers and energy recovery

Camfil APC’s New Quad Pulse Package 2 Dust Collector for Chemical Processing Facilities Increases Filtration Capacity with Two Main Cartridges

Chemical processing facilities that produce high concentrations of fine, hazardous, combustible, and nuisance dust need an industrial dust collector that is cost effective to operate and easy to maintain on the plant floor. The Quad Pulse Package 2 (QPP2) dust collector from Camfil Air Pollution Control (APC) has two main filter cartridges designed for 590-1765 cu ft/min air volumes to increase filtration capacity.

The QPP2 also features a cleanable filter system that allows manufacturers to run continuous production processes and avoid frequent, expensive filter replacements.

The QPP2 is ideal for chemical processing applications including weighing, batching, blending, mixing, drying, calcining, screening, packaging, sack tipping, conveying, sieving, salting, coating, and paint pigment processing.

The QPP2 cleans filters in four segments, one at a time, so that they are continually cleaned without interrupting airflow. The primary filters provide excellent filtration efficiency and remove the majority of collected dust. This design prolongs the service life of the second-stage HEPA filter, which provides 99.995 percent filtration efficiency to capture the finest, most hazardous dust particles. The HEPA filter is also a tested flame and contamination barrier.

The QPP2 provides explosion protection in accordance with NFPA and ATEX standards. The pressure shock resistant housing maintains its integrity with no damage during an explosion event. The QPP2 can safely contain an explosion event without the need for additional safety devices, and it can be safely installed indoors close to the processing area.

The QPP2 uses a bag-in/bag-out (BIBO) system to protect workers and prevent cross-contamination. The BIBO system provides full dust containment to ensure safe change-out at the primary filter, HEPA filter and dust discharge stages. Because the compact QPP2 can be installed indoors, it reduces the need for long duct runs and enables easy access to the unit.

The new Vertical Cartridge Filter from Schenck Process Holding GmbH, removes industrial dust while incorporating a unique design for handling medium-to-high air volumes. The dust collector comes equipped with many time- and cost-saving features. An easy-to-use cartridge clamp system simplifies replacement of the filter media, thereby minimizing maintenance time and lowering overall cost of operation. The filter is also equipped with a smart timer, which includes an onboard sensor that reads the pressure drop across the filtering elements for on-demand cleaning. This results in reduced compressed-air consumption and longer cartridge life. A standard radial inlet allows for excellent material separation during moderate air-volume applications, while the optional high-entry inlet with a pre-separation chamber is designed for optimal performance in high-volume systems. The chamber separates the largest powder particles, safeguarding the media from excess loads of pollutants and guaranteeing longer media life.