Company & Association News

<p><strong>Association News </strong></p> <p>Ralph A. LaRossa was elected chairman of the board of directors of the American Gas Association for 2016. LaRossa is president and COO of Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) in New Jersey.</p> <strong>Personnel Changes </strong></p> <p>Kevin Smith was named president of HammerHead® Trenchless Equipment, a Charles Machine Works company. Smith had been serving as president of MTI® Equipment, a Charles Machine Works company – as is Ditch Witch®, where he was director of product definition and research, product planning manager, business manager and salesman.</p> <p><strong>Company News, Mergers & Acquisitions</strong></p> <p>The ROSEN Group of Switzerland was recipient of the 2015 Global Pipeline Award for an innovative device that uses a sensor to determine material specifications in petroleum pipelines. The Pipeline Systems Division of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) presented the award at the Rio Pipeline Conference held in September in Brazil. ROSEN won for RoMat PGS-ILI solution for Pipe Grade Determination. The ILI tool uses especially adapted electro-magnetic sensor technology to determine yield strength and ultimate tensile strength in pipe joints.</p> <p><strong>Obituary</strong></p> <p>Harold Lloyd Chapman, 83, passed away on October 31, 2015 at home with his family by his side.</p>