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The importance of indoor air quality has risen greatly with COVID and now the Omicron variant. Demand for higher efficiency air filters has taxed suppliers. Questions relative to expansion are necessarily based on the course of the disease and technology developments. McIlvaine is continually seeking knowledge relative to HVAC filters in order to predict the markets. Sources include conferences, publications and insights from researchers on every continent.

Tyler Smith of Johnson Controls was a speaker at a recent WFI conference where he emphasized rating HVAC performance compared to outdoor air. This performance based evaluation was the reason Bob Burkhead, a filter testing company CEO invested in a recirculating room system which tests performance over time.

Cleanroom experts have a unique perspective. They would say “why not rate performance compared to an ISO 9 cleanroom. This definition is precise in terms of the number of allowable particles of various sizes.

The semiconductor industry has unique insights. They require air 100 times cleaner than a pharmaceutical facility and 500,000 times cleaner than typical ambient air.

There are two magazines and two upcoming exhibitions where substantial insights will be gained. The exhibitions are:

· Filtech slated for Cologne, Germany March 8-10. There are 450 exhibitors making it the largest display for HVAC filters and

· FILTXPO will be held in Miami, FL March 29-30. At previous events McIlvaine has prepared route maps to allow people to arrange

· Filtration and Separation has a very powerful article retrieval system with 163 articles on HVAC.

· International Filtration News (IFN) is a publication of INDA. McIlvaine has written a true cost column in every issue in the last

This guide relies on information from previous issues. There is a link to a summary McIlvaine prepared of past HVAC articles.

This summary has an abstract and a link to each article in IFN. There is also the following takeaway by McIlvaine.

· Lowest total cost of ownership needs to include the total cleanliness effect on the space. It will be cumulative and can involve multiple

· The deterioration in the electrostatic charge over time is a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) factor which is debated based on time and

· Recognizing when a prefilter is required and equally important, when you can go without one, is a key to improving your TCO.

· A database of energy costs in each country and in major regions of the U.S. would be very beneficial. This could be a uniform basis for

· The balance between pressure drops and dust-loading capacities must be considered, assuming the filters are similarly priced.

· Some of the same Lowest Total Cost of Ownership (LTCO) advantages for nanofibers in mobility applications can also be the case for

· Low pressure drop and no fiber shedding. This is important for cleanrooms but how important is fiber shedding in HVAC?

· The Well Health Safety Seal assigns a value to life quality in the total cost of ownership. QELD developed by McIlvaine is a unique metric

· Perceived life quality is improved with HEPA HVAC filters. If the installation costs and energy consumption are low, then the higher first

· In the future greater weight will be placed on the negative costs of air filter ownership (life quality benefits which offset costs).

· Lowest total cost of ownership can be achieved by a filter supplier who provides sensors and a solution for the life of the filter instead of

· Electrostatic charging methods differ. This impacts both the variety of media which can be charged and the effectiveness.

· Improvements in melt blown and other media need to be continually assessed.

Can nanofibers offer superior efficiency while comparing in durability and energy consumption?

As can be seen from these articles there are many factors to consider in filter selection. The best decision today may not be the best one tomorrow as variables such as new virus variations and technology improvements develop.

The magazines and conferences are an invaluable resource for decision making. The challenge is to make the information accessible and utilized.

The main goal for the Mcilvaine Company is to fully understand the TCO factors in each niche in order to make market forecasts. However, unless the end user also relies on the same TCO factors as McIlvaine, the forecasts will be inaccurate.

Therefore McIlvaine will continue to collaborate with the media to establish a common set of TCO factors in each niche. There are 1000s of such air, water, energy niches. Information establishing common TCO factors in a number of niches is shown on the Holistic Marketing Program page at http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/30-general/1658-holistic-content-marketing-program

More information on specific reports is found under “Markets” at the top of www.mcilvainecompany.com

MaxTech Industries has won orders to supply filters for baghouse projects from UltraTech Cement and ACC Ltd in India.

UltraTech Cement is building three new brownfield cement plants in Hirmi, Pali, and Dhar, India. MaxTech Industries will be supplying more than 15,000 Donaldson USA fibreglass filter bags for the raw mill baghouse to the OEM, Intensiv-Filter Himenviro.

MaxTech Industries will also supply Thermax Ltd with more than 21,000 Homopolymer acrylic filter bags manufactured by Testori Group (Italy) for the bag filters at nine UltraTech Cement mill sites.

Meanwhile, ACC Ltd India is also building a new cement line at Ametha and Maxtech has been selected for the supply of more than 5500 Max-tex™ fibreglass filter bags and filter cages to the kiln baghouse OEM, Clair Engineers Pvt Ltd.

All three orders of 8Mta of clinker production capacity and 6Mta of cement production capacity were concluded via video conference and emails.

Valmet to Supply a Biomass Power Boiler and a Flue Gas Cleaning System to Tahara Biomass Power LLC in Japan

Valmet will supply a biomass power boiler and a flue gas cleaning system to Tahara Biomass Power LLC in Tahara, Japan. The new CFB (circulating fluidized bed) boiler will enable the customer’s power plant to achieve a stable power supply at high thermal efficiency while significantly reducing CO2 emissions. This is already the sixth received order for Valmet's CFB boiler to the Japanese market since 2016.

The order was included in Valmet's orders received of the third quarter 2021. The value of this kind of order is typically around EUR 70 million. The installation work is scheduled to start in 2023, and the plant will start commercial operation during 2025.

The project will be delivered in cooperation with the Japanese company JFE Engineering Corporation. JFE Engineering will be the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contractor for the Tahara Biomass Power Plant.

Valmet's delivery includes a biomass fired 112 MWe Valmet CFB Boiler and a flue gas cleaning system. The annual output of the Tahara Biomass Power Plant will be 770 million kWh, and the main fuel to be used is wood pellets. All the electricity generated will be supplied to the grid companies based on feed-in tariff scheme in Japan.

Tahara Biomass Power LLC is a special purpose company owned by JFE Engineering Corporation, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., Toho Gas Co., Ltd., and Tokyo Century Corporation.

JFE Engineering is part of the JFE Group. The company has its roots in steelmaking and shipbuilding businesses and has expanded its engineering business in the fields of energy and the environment, urban infrastructure and industrial machinery. JFE Engineering Corporation is a 100% subsidiary of JFE Holdings, Inc. that is listed in Tokyo Stock Exchange.

O’Brien Dust Control Ltd. has Over Forty Years’ Experience with Wood Waste

O’Brien Dust Extraction is Ireland's longest established and largest wood waste management and dust control solutions provider.

Their innovative designs can be found throughout the country, north and south. With hundreds of systems commissioned, they have built up an unparalleled industry knowledge base. With over 40 years’ experience in the wood waste and dust control industry, they provide their clients with long lasting, reliable and cost effective solutions.

O’Brien Dust Extraction have been involved with dust extraction, ventilation and fan silencers since 1955. They now supply biomass boilers, wood heating plants, kiln dryers and wood shredders.

O’Brien Dust Extraction have been working with fan systems since 1955. They have commissioned thousands of dust extraction systems, wood heating plants, kiln drying and noise abatement.

They extract dust using high efficiency fans. All the fans are self-cleaning. They are inverter driven and speed controlled. These fans can have 92% efficiency and are ATEX compliant. The fans ramp up and down according to requirements. The fabric filter units are modular and are fitted with automatic regeneration.

Continuous cleaning/regeneration filter units are used when large volumes of dust needs to be filtered or where the system works on a 24/7 basis. A dragline conveyor is used for high-throughput filter units. Clip-on ducting with smooth bore is used for quick installation or alteration. Energy savings of up to 70% can be achieved over conventional dust extraction systems by using a combination of easy-flowing duct design with a larger fan and a generous amount of filter size. Eco-dampers contribute another percentage in energy savings, but all aspects of a dust control system design play a part in energy reduction.

Spectro Alloys, a Midwest based recycler of aluminum, announced approximately $10 million in plant upgrades to be completed in early 2022. The projects include a new warehouse and pollution control equipment, enabling progress towards it’s long term sustainability objectives.

Founded in 1973, Spectro turns what’s used into what’s new by recycling aluminum for regional die casters and foundries. The recycled material is then made into new products.

Spectro Alloys broke ground on a new 70,000 sq.ft. building in Rosemount, Minnesota in September. The modern warehouse will significantly reduce truck traffic while streamlining the production, shipping and receiving processes for safety and efficiency.

The building, which will be completed in the spring of 2022, will be optimized for solar power and will utilize process heat to reduce energy consumption. The project will also include trees and native prairie landscaping around the facility.

Completed in August, over $3 million in equipment and baghouse upgrades have enhanced Spectro’s process automation and controls and expanded the company’s environmental benefits. Baghouses are traditionally attached to furnaces within plant environments to capture and clean emissions. While these air filtration systems are standard for the recycling process, Spectro’s new equipment improves emissions control well beyond industry standards.

Alabama Department of Environmental Management and Ashville Secondary Aluminum Processing Facility Enter into Consent Order

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (“ADEM”) and Grooms Aluminum Processors (“GAP”) entered into a September 9th Consent Order (CO) addressing alleged violations of an air permit.

The CO provides that GAP operates a secondary aluminum processing facility in Ashville, Alabama.

The Facility is stated to include the operation of an aluminum metal melting rotary furnace. The furnace is operated pursuant to the authority of a Synthetic Minor Operating Permit.

Emissions from the furnace are stated to be controlled by lime-injected fabric filters.

ADEM personnel are stated to have conducted an inspection of the Facility on September 29, 2020. Inspection personnel are stated to have observed constant visible emissions from the furnace Baghouse while on site. Further, Paragraph 8 of the CAO states that:

Between 4:46 and 4:58 PM, Department personnel observed two 6-minute periods via EPA Method 9 where emission opacity from the baghouse was greater than 20%; during one of these 6-minute periods, opacity was greater than 40%, in violation of Proviso Nos. 7 and 17 of the Permit.

In response to a Notice of Violation issued by ADEM, GAP stated that the current Baghouse is undersized which caused excess emissions. The bag leak detection system is alleged to have not detected the excess emissions observed by ADEM personnel and did not sound an alarm to the operators, in violation of Proviso No. 34 of the Permit.

During a January 5, 2020, meeting between ADEM and GAP the company is stated to have reiterated that the current baghouse is undersized and indicated they could not comply with the requirements of the Permit. However, GAP is also stated to have indicated they could not shut down operations without suffering economically. As a result, ADEM is stated to have asked GAP to provide a detailed plan to bring the Facility into compliance, including a schedule for the installation of any new equipment.

A civil penalty of $12,000 is assessed. Further, GAP agrees to make necessary changes, replacements, modifications, or repairs of the Facility such that the Facility is in compliance with applicable state and federal regulations.

Donaldson Company, Inc. reported first quarter 2022 net earnings of $77.1 million, an increase of 24.4% from $61.9 million in 2021. Earnings per share (EPS)1 for the first quarter 2022 increased 26.1% to $0.61 compared with $0.48 in 2021.

“We achieved record first quarter sales and earnings, as strong demand combined with expense leverage provided an offset to anticipated gross margin pressure,” said Tod Carpenter, chairman, president and chief executive officer. “I am proud of the dedication of our employees as they navigated through supply chain constraints and inflationary headwinds, while also executing on our strategic priorities.

“Based on our strong first quarter results and sales momentum in both segments, we are raising our fiscal 2022 sales and earnings outlook; however, the macro-economic headwinds are creating a different path to achieving our results than we previously anticipated. Gross margin is under additional pressure as raw material, freight, and labor costs have climbed beyond our original expectations. We are able to partially mitigate this pressure by raising prices in most markets and are in ongoing discussions with a small number of remaining large original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers. Stronger than expected sales growth should provide us with necessary operating leverage to preserve our overall operating margin. We also remain focused on our long-term growth initiatives and are investing for the future. The recently announced acquisition of Solaris Biotech marked an important step in our journey to further expand into the life sciences market. We are broadening our portfolio of advanced technology products and I am excited about our growth opportunities in this strategically important area.”

First quarter 2022 sales increased 19.5% to $760.9 million from $636.6 million in 2021, including a modest benefit of 0.5% from currency translation.

	Three Months Ended
	October 31, 2021
	Reported % Change		Constant Currency % Change
Engine Products segment
Off-Road	44.9	%	45.1	%
On-Road	(1.4	)	(1.2	)
Aftermarket	18.1		17.2
Aerospace and Defense	22.9		23.1
Total Engine Products segment	20.9		20.3

Industrial Products segment
Industrial Filtration Solutions	22.0		21.2
Gas Turbine Systems	(27.8	)	(27.9	)
Special Applications	23.3		24.6
Total Industrial Products segment	16.6		16.3
Total Company	19.5	%	19.0	%

First quarter Industrial Products segment (Industrial) sales increased 16.6%, mainly due to a 22.0% year-over-year increase in Industrial Filtration Solutions (IFS). IFS benefited from robust sales related to industrial dust collection as demand for new equipment and replacement parts improved. Also within IFS, Process Filtration sales grew due to continued share gains in the food and beverage market. Sales of Gas Turbine Systems (GTS) declined 27.8% versus the prior year, driven mostly by order timing delays. Special Applications sales increased 23.3% compared with 2021, with growth across the product portfolio.

First quarter 2022 operating income as a percentage of sales (operating margin) increased 0.4 percentage points to 14.1% from 13.7% in 2021, reflecting strong expense leverage that was partially offset by gross margin pressure. Gross margin decreased to 33.8% from 35.0% in the prior year, reflecting higher costs for raw materials, labor and freight, partially offset by leverage on higher sales and pricing realization. First quarter 2022 operating expenses as a percentage of sales were 19.7%, an improvement from 21.3% in 2021 as the Company benefitted from leverage on higher sales and effective cost management.

First quarter 2022 interest expense was $3.4 million, compared with $3.5 million in the prior year. Other expense, net was favorable by $1.5 million versus the prior year, primarily driven by a pension curtailment charge in the first quarter of 2021. First quarter 2022 effective tax rate increased to 25.9% from 24.7% in 2021, mainly due to a reduction in net discrete tax benefits.

Donaldson paid first quarter 2022 dividends of $27.4 million and repurchased approximately 1.3% of its outstanding shares for $102.9 million.

Donaldson is increasing its fiscal 2022 sales and EPS guidance to reflect better than expected sales in the first quarter, combined with the anticipated incremental impact of additional price increases planned for the remainder of the year. Net sales are projected to increase between 8% and 12% year-over-year, up from previous guidance of an increase of between 5% and 10%. Currency translation is expected to be a nominal headwind. Sales growth during the first half of the year is expected to outpace the second half of the year as sequential year-over-year comparisons become more difficult. Fiscal 2022 GAAP EPS is now expected to be between $2.57 and $2.73, versus a previous range of between $2.50 and $2.66. GAAP and adjusted EPS1 in 2021 were $2.24 and $2.32, respectively.

Industrial sales are projected to increase between 7% and 11%, compared with fiscal 2021, and versus previous guidance of between 6% and 11%. IFS sales, led by continued growth in industrial dust collection and Process Filtration, are expected to drive overall results. An improved outlook for Special Application sales, due to robust first quarter performance in disk drive and membranes, will also contribute. GTS sales are projected to be in line with previous guidance as first quarter weakness, driven by timing delays, will be offset by performance through the balance of the year.

Fiscal 2022 gross margin is expected to be down between 0.5 and 1.0 percentage point compared with 2021 and versus the previous flat to slightly down expectation as the timing and degree of cost inflation has changed.

Donaldson is maintaining its fiscal 2022 operating margin guidance of between 14.1% and 14.7%, compared with GAAP and adjusted operating margin of 13.5% and 14.0%, respectively, in 2021. The year-over-year improvement is expected to be the result of leverage on increased sales and tight expense management.

The Company is reiterating its fiscal 2022 interest expense expectation of approximately $14.0 million, and other income continues to be forecasted between $7.0 million and $11.0 million. Donaldson expects a fiscal 2022 effective income tax rate of between 24% and 26%.

Fiscal 2022 capital expenditures are projected to be between $90.0 million and $110.0 million, below the previous forecast of between $100.0 million and $120.0 million based on updated project timing. Free cash flow conversion is expected to be between 70% and 80%, down from between 80% and 90% previously. The decrease in the Company’s free cash flow conversion projection is primarily due to additional investments in inventory to support supply chain needs. Donaldson is expecting to repurchase approximately 2% of its outstanding shares during fiscal 2022.

GE will become separate, publicly traded companies for its aviation, healthcare, and energy businesses. The company said it hopes to spin off the healthcare business to shareholders in early 2023 and that the separation of its renewable energy and power business will occur in early 2024.

"By creating three industry-leading, global public companies, each can benefit from greater focus, tailored capital allocation, and strategic flexibility to drive long-term growth and value for customers, investors and employees," said CEO Larry Culp in a press release.

"We are putting our technology expertise, leadership, and global reach to work to better serve our customers," he added.

Since Culp took over GE in 2018, he has sold off assets and restructured the business in order to cut costs and lower GE's massive debt pile. In 2016 it sold its appliance business to Chinese household goods manufacturer Haier for $5.4 billion.

The company's GE Capital made it a corporate powerhouse, providing financing for businesses large and small. In March of this year it closed the books on GE Capital as a standalone unit with the sale of its aircraft leasing arm.

The company expects one-time costs associated with the split, including separation pay, of about $2 billion. After the spinoffs, the aviation-focused company will keep the GE name. The new, smaller GE will retain a 19.9% stake in the healthcare company.

CNN explains GE has struggled since the 2008 financial crisis proved to be a body blow to GE Capital, and after the company made a disastrous bet on the fossil fuel industry when the world was turning toward renewable and cleaner energy solutions. The company has been selling off assets to clear its enormous debt load. But it often found itself selling those assets for a fraction of what it had paid for them.

In December GE agreed to pay $200 million to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had misled shareholders about the deterioration of its insurance and power businesses in the years before its stock price imploded.

Although GE's shares have gained ground so far this year, they have essentially matched the improvement in the broad US stock market through Monday's close. And the stock is far below the strength it once had in its glory days.

At its height in early 2001, its stock was worth more than $500 billion, which made GE one of the most valuable companies on the planet at that time. Now what is left of the company is worth $119 billion, or only 23% of that former value. Just a few months before Culp joined the company, GE was kicked out of the Dow. And in July, it completed a reverse 1-for-8 stock split to support its sagging price.

By splitting into three companies it believes it will be able to maximize value without a bygone conglomerate structure.

− New bookings of $194 million in third quarter 2021; anticipated fourth quarter 2021

bookings of $250 million to $300 million and full-year 2021 bookings at the highest level of

"Our better-than-anticipated results in the third quarter of 2021, combined with recent and anticipated bookings, have positioned us for a robust fourth quarter and an even stronger 2022," said Kenneth Young, B&W's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Despite the continued adverse effects of COVID-19 on our customers and global supply chain challenges, we are doing what we said we'd do—booking Renewable waste-to-energy projects, growing our Environmental business, investing in our ClimateBrightTM decarbonization platform and expanding our clean energy offerings through strategic acquisitions."

"During the third quarter, we booked two renewable new-build projects, including a $35 million contract to supply waste-to-energy technologies for new-build facilities in Greenland and a $38 million technology award for new-build waste-to-energy facilities in East Asia, and we've made significant progress toward booking another two or three renewable new-build projects in 2021," Young continued. "In addition, our ongoing international expansion helped drive the award of two environmental emissions contracts in the Asia-Pacific region during the third quarter, while interest in our decarbonization technologies is expanding, as demonstrated by our recent agreement to jointly develop an innovative biomass-to-hydrogen clean energy project in Australia utilizing our BrightLoopTM hydrogen production technology."

"We also further expanded our clean and renewable energy businesses by announcing two acquisitions in the third quarter," Young added. "We closed the acquisition of a controlling stake in a leading solar installation and services firm, Fosler Construction Company Inc., at the end of September, and we're excited about the substantial opportunities we see for solar installation and construction services in the U.S. and the support we can provide to further accelerate Fosler's growth. We also signed an agreement to acquire VODA A/S in Denmark, which in conjunction with our existing aftermarket services business, will form B&W Renewable Service to create a platform for our expanding renewable service business in Europe. We are continuing to explore additional acquisition opportunities in both emerging technologies and mature markets and aggressively pursuing opportunities to further increase shareholder value."

"Our continued pursuit of an overall pipeline of more than $6.5 billion of identified project opportunities through 2024 has led to accelerating bookings momentum with bookings of approximately $90 million in October 2021 alone. Additionally, for the full-year 2021, we are anticipating the highest level of annual bookings since 2017 and we expect to end the year with significantly higher backlog compared to the end of 2020. More than 60% of our pipeline is related to Renewable and Environmental opportunities, which will directly reflect the performance of our long-term strategy," Young stated. "Based on current expectations, including the impact of the COVID-19 Delta variant on our customers and our supply chain disruptions, we are targeting at least $70 million of adjusted EBITDA for full year 2021, which represents a significant operational improvement compared to 2020. We are also raising our 2022 adjusted EBITDA target to $110 million to $120 million as we anticipate the continued momentum of our ongoing growth strategies, strong backlog, accelerating bookings, and acquisition strategy."

Babcock & Wilcox Environmental segment revenues were $38.2 million in the third quarter of 2021, an increase of 51.4% compared to $25.3 million in the third quarter of 2020. The increase was primarily driven by increased volume in our Allen-Sherman-Hoff project business as well as higher overall project activity in the current quarter as compared to the prior-year period which was impacted by the postponement of new projects as a result of COVID-19. Adjusted EBITDA was $3.5 million, compared to $2.2 million in the same period last year, primarily driven by the higher volume partially offset by an increase in allocated cost for shared resources. Adjusted gross profit was $7.9 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to $6.9 million in the prior-year period.

Lead Product Manufacturer Improves Air & Water Quality using Nederman FibreDrain® Oil Mist Filtration System

Glacier Technology needed to provide a solution for a customer regarding contamination issues resulting from their metal fabrication process for lead products and components.

This parts manufacturer had multiple die casting machines using cooling oil mists to help release the lead parts. Lead has a significant level of toxicity, which increases as it is melted, so toxic gases were also being emitted during the lead melting process at each machine. This company needed sufficient filtering machines that met pollution control requirements.

A Nederman FibreDrain Oil Mist Collection system was recommended to this customer by Glacier Technology, a local Nederman Dealer to improve their filtration of toxic oil mists. Included in the installation was a custom hood and duct system.

FibreDrain® oil mist and oil smoke collectors are designed with the unique FibreDrain® filter technology to guarantee high filtration efficiency and long filter life also at high oil mist concentrations in continuous operation. The FibreDrain® oil mist collectors are modular which extends the possible air flow capacity over the maximum size in standard range. All units are prepared with sampling ports that can be used for Nederman Insight solutions, other control systems or measurements during operation. A wide range of accessories available to meet most application requirements. All standard units incorporate fans in compliance with ErP 2015 directive.

In just two months, the metal manufacturer achieved dramatically lower contamination levels. Initially readings were 46.8 parts per million and after using Nederman FibreDrain®, readings were down to a level of .16 parts per million. This helped the customer achieve levels well under the local pollution control codes, improving air quality and eliminating any groundwater contamination problems.

Nederman's FibreDrain® System improved air and groundwater quality while being in compliance with local pollution codes. For the customer, this created a safer and healthier work environment while reducing environmental impact.

Donaldson Fiscal 2022 Full Year Sales Guidance Ranges
Industrial Products Segment	Current Guidance (December 1, 2021)	Previous Guidance (September 2, 2021)
Industrial Filtration Solutions	+ low double-digits	+ low double-digits
Gas Turbine Systems	+ high single-digits	+ high single-digits
Special Applications	+ low single-digits	- low single-digits
Total Industrial Products segment	+ 7% to 11%	+ 6% to 11%