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Amid disagreements between Congress and President Donald Trump regarding federal funding for a wall along the border between the U.S. and Mexico, the government enacted a partial shutdown on December 22, 2018. As of January 14, the shutdown had entered its 24th day, making this the longest government shutdown in U.S. History.

For more than 30 years, Steve Tourigny has been involved in the design, development and management of many products, processes, plants and businesses. Through his experience, he gained expertise with startups, helping companies get key projects off the ground. With extensive engineering, operations and partnering experience, he now works has an independent consultant servicing a variety of industries in an advisory capacity.

Then to Now: Valve packings have been employed for hundreds of years, and though modern high tech, low emissions gland packings bear little resemblance to the leather or jute gland seals of olden days, they do not alter the fundamental problem: Once a valve reaches the end user, the manufacturer cannot control the environment it will be subjected to – dirt, grit, salt, corrosion, and caustic working fluids all take their toll. By Ned Davis – Plexis Engineering

Power Generation is perhaps under even more scrutiny than other industries to clean up its act, due to our historical reliance on CO2 producing Coal Fired power stations which are frequently cited as a major factor that has led to Global Warming. The burning of fossil fuels to generate power is likely, however, to remain a core part of electricity generation for the foreseeable future.

If you had just bought a new high performance sports car, you would likely protect your investment by following the manufacturer’s instructions for breaking in the engine. You would also probably leave the spare tire in the trunk so that a flat would not leave you stranded on the side of the road.

A customer-oriented approach combined with experience in a variety of industries has helped Tolsa Arslan become an expert in maintaining and servicing a variety of pumps and valves and other hydraulic equipment. By Michelle Segrest - Contributing Editor

Water is an indispensable natural resource as it is directly linked to the preservation of life, the generation of energy, and economic development. With the expansion of the world’s population and the increase of droughts or flooding in certain regions, the need for clean water will continue to escalate. This development will not only impact the water production industry, but will also have a major impact on the waste water treatment infrastructure.

George Gabriel discusses his experience designing the basic and detailed processes of mega methanol plants. As a senior process engineer, he provided interesting insight into the various valves that are used in methanol plants and highlighted the importance of working on a project from its inception to its completion. The years of experience as a process chemical engineer prepared Gabriel for his current dynamic role as Engineering Manager, overseeing the production of methanol from natural gas.

With over 30 years of experience in the industry, Dan Devine began his career in 1987 working for the Union Carbide Corporation after graduating from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. He joined a major chemical company in 2001 through the acquisition of Union Carbide. Dan recently retired and is now working in a valve and piping consulting engineer role as an independent contractor through Midland Engineering, Ltd.By Sarah Bradley & Stephanie Matas

Aging infrastructure in the waterworks sector is an ongoing problem. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) provides a four-year report card on the state of our infrastructure, and the water sector in the United States received a grade of “D” on the 2017 Infrastructure Report Card. Clearly, much work is needed to bring our water systems up to par. An Interview with John Lamica - Cobb County- Marietta Water Authority & Cody Snell - Mueller Water Products