ALLENDALE, NJ (Aug. 1, 2014) – Leistritz announced the appointment of Jeffery De Vaul as president of Leistritz Advanced Technologies Corp. His responsibilities include the pump, machine tool and turbine component business units based in Allendale, New Jersey.

WILMINGTON, Del. (Aug. 1, 2014) – Ashland Water Technologies has a new name: Solenis. Rooted in “solutions” and “genesis,” the name underscores the company’s mission to be at the source (the genesis) of solutions for its customers. The name change coincides with the acquisition of Ashland Water Technologies by a fund managed by private investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). Prior to the acquisition, Ashland Water Technologies was a commercial business unit of Ashland Inc.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (August 1, 2014) – Danfoss welcomed Florida Congressman Steve Southerland to its facility in Tallahassee, Florida, to discuss how the advancement of energy-efficient technologies and the resulting reduction in energy use can impact industry, the economy, jobs, and local communities.

ZUG, Switzerland (August 1, 2014) – Weatherford International plc closed the sale of the company’s land drilling and workover operations in Russia and Venezuela to Rosneft on July 31, 2014. The consideration was $500 million in cash. With the conclusion of this transaction, Weatherford’s remaining Russian revenue base declined from 7 percent of total company revenue in the first half of 2014 to 3 percent on a pro forma basis.

EXTON, Penn. (July 31, 2014) – NETZSCH Pumps North America, LLC, named Todd Rogers as the regional sales manager in charge of sales and operations for the sales and service center in Odessa, Texas, reporting to the business field oil & gas upstream manager, Lindy Dekle.

JUBAIL, Saudi Arabia (July 31, 2014) – The Dow Chemical Company awarded Fluor Corporation the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for its reverse osmosis (RO) manufacturing facility in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Located in Jubail Industrial City II at the Sadara Chemical Company complex, the facility will locally manufacture high-tech RO elements that purify water for drinking and industrial uses.

KYOTO, Japan (July 31, 2014) – Nidec Corporation announced that one of its consolidated subsidiaries, Nidec Tosok Corporation, completed the purchase of land in the state of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, for a planned construction of NIDEC TOSOK de MEXICO, S.A. de C.V. established in May 2014. The new company slated for construction will mainly undertake the manufacture of automatic transmission control valves targeted at the North American automobile market.

SCHAFFHAUSEN, Switzerland (July 31, 2014) – Xylem Inc. provided dewatering equipment to assist with the relief effort following devastating floods in the Balkans in May. More than 40 people were killed and thousands more displaced during the worst flooding to hit the region in more than a century. The flooding began in mid-May when average rainfall for three months’ fell in just three days, with Serbia and Bosnia being the worst affected areas.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (July 30, 2014) – While oil and gas activity in West Africa is nothing new, it is the activity in East Africa that is creating a stir among exploration companies and their suppliers.