The Weir Group's first quarter input was 15% higher than the prior year period with good sequential growth primarily driven by increased activity levels in North American Oil & Gas and strong aftermarket orders in Minerals. Group-wide aftermarket orders were 21% higher than the prior year period with original equipment orders up 5%.

Revenues, on a constant currency basis, were in line with expectations and slightly higher than the first quarter of 2016. The Weir Group generated a positive book to bill ratio of 1.14 over the three-month period supporting the sequential growth expected during the balance of the year. 

Metso will supply 400 Neles emergency shutdown (ESD) valves for an ethylene cracker as part of the new Liwa Plastics Industrial Complex (LPIC) Project in Sohar, Oman. The new complex will process light ends produced in Orpic's Sohar Refinery and its aromatics plant as well as optimize natural gas liquids extracted from currently available natural gas supplies.

The order is included in the first-quarter 2017 orders received by Metso. The value of the order will not be disclosed. Metso's valves will be delivered in the beginning of 2018. Earlier, Metso had been selected to supply ESD and control valves to Orpic's Sohar Refinery Improvement Project in Oman in 2015. 

A Curtiss-Wright facility located in Chanhassen, MN, received a Governor’s Safety Award for superior performance in workplace safety and health as part of the Minnesota Governor’s Safety Awards. The Chanhassen site produces Exlar electric actuators and earned this award by reporting better than industry average recordable rates and scored between 50 and 74 on a 100-point safety program evaluation scale.

Applicants are judged on several years of injury data as it compares with their industry’s national statistics, and on their progress in implementing a comprehensive safety program. Coordinated by the Minnesota Safety Council, Curtiss-Wright will be honored at the Minnesota Safety and Health Conference on Thursday, May 18 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Curtiss-Wright is one of 266 employers to be honored through the awards program. 

Key Bellevilles, widely considered to be the largest manufacturer of bellevilles in the world, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review recently sat down with founder and president Robert J. Key, and others, for a feature article on the company.

“Key Bellevilles Inc. has built its 50-year history on one product used in many things — from the mechanical shark in ‘Jaws’ to space shuttles,” the article begins.

According to Key, “[t]here currently are 77 employees, and, while that number is down slightly from a few years ago because of automation, the company hasn't had a layoff in 45 years.”