Leaving Town
Rhein Chemie Corporation, 1014 Whitehead Road Extension, Ewing Business Park, Trenton 08638. Ed Klavin, president. 609-771-4122; fax, 609-771-0409.
Rhein Chemie Corporation has announced that, rather than make major improvements to its manufacturing facility at Ewing Business Park, it will close the 25,000 square foot facility by the end of 2006. But the first downsizings will not take place until the first quarter of next year, when the current project begins to wind down, says Jerry Rolfsmeyer, spokesperson.
“Our employees have been resilient professionals,” says Rolfsmeyer, explaining why he believes the workers, many of them Teamsters members, will stay as long as possible and not go jobhunting now. “We think they will want to work with us and make this project succeed.”
Formerly a subsidiary of the Germany-based Bayer company, Rhein Chemie went with the package that spun off from Bayer, and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Pittsburgh-based Lanxess Group. With about 75 hourly and salaried employees at this facility, it manufactures chemical products such as curing agents and dispersion agents that are delivered in polymer-bound slabs or pellets. These products improve the way chemicals are mixed by the rubber, plastics, polyurethane, and lube oil industries, and they are used in such products as test-tube stoppers, shoes, golf balls, and automobile hoses.
The plant was established by Wyrough and Loser in the mid 1950s. Rhein Chemie bought it in 1987 and invested about $4 million in it. Lanxess has already restructured its resins and fine chemical business units in Germany and is in the process of making changes in New Martinsville, West Virginia, and Wellford, South Carolina. Ed Klavin (Carnegie Mellon, class of 1983, with an MBA from the University of Houston) was recently appointed president.
G.R.M., 3 Security Drive, Suite 302, Cranbury 08512. Robert D. Camplin, records center manager. 609-395-0062; fax, 609-395-8012. Home page: www.grmims.com
G.R.M., the record storage and management company, has closed its operations in Cranbury. No forwarding address was provided.
Contracts Awarded: Broadbeam
Broadbeam Corp. (former Nettech Systems), 2540 Route 130, Suite 116, Cranbury 08512-3510. Janet L. Boudris, CEO. 609-655-3737; fax, 609-655-1282. www.broadbeam.com
Mobile solutions provider Broadbeam has announced that its products are now certified by Cingular Wireless. Companies that are using the Cingular network and Cingular-related devices can use the Broadbeam solutions to create new and optimize existing applications for mobile business communications.
“Obtaining Cingular Enterprise Solution Certification offers a major advantage to many of our customers, who can now easily integrate our solutions with their existing Cingular network and devices – which means they can get up and running quickly and easily, without requiring additional infrastructure investments,” said Janet Boudris, CEO of Broadbeam in a prepared statement.
Broadbeam has also announced support for Windows Mobile 2003 Software for the Pocket PC Phone Edition. Broadbeam customers include BellSouth, FedEx Ground, and Hertz, and more.
Contracts Awarded: Princeton Power Systems
Princeton Power Systems Inc., 501 Forrestal Road, Forrestal Campus, Suite 211, Princeton 08540. Darren Hammell, CEO. 609-258-5994; fax, 609-258-7329. www.princetonpower.com
Princeton Power Systems announced early in August that its prototype power converter has been integrated into the solar pumps at Pennington-based WorldWater & Power Corp. The power converter uses Princeton Power’s patented AC-Link technology to convert solar power into usable regulated electricity, which is then used to power a large water pump. This is particularly useful in agricultural applications, which consume a great deal of electricity and require reliable water movement.
“We built an integrated unit that could efficiently and reliably maximize the amount of power drawn from the solar panels, and complement it with power from the utility grid whenever necessary,” said Darren Hammell, president and CEO of Princeton Power Systems in a prepared statement. “Princeton Power’s AC-link makes the solar panels operate as efficiently as possible, which lowers costs by 30 percent.”
WorldWater & Power is finishing a New Jersey Renewable Energy and Economic Development (REED) grant aimed at developing power electronics for controlling interaction between the electric grid, solar power, and an electric motor.
Name Changes
Signature Realty Group, 101 Interchange Plaza, Suite 201, Cranbury 08512. Betty Nicholls, vice president, human resources. 609-395-1000; fax, 609-395-0110.
C&R Realty, a manager of condominium and commercial property, has changed its name to Signature Realty Group. The address and all contact information remains the same.
Deaths
Deborah Rowen 51, on August 22, from injuries suffered in a rock slide at Taughannock Falls State park near Ithaca, New York. She worked at Holt International Children’s Services.
Thomas A. Lies, 76, on August 16. He was a research chemist at American Cyanamid on Clarksville Road.
Berthold Sheffield, 95, on August 17. An electrical engineer at RCA, he developed the world’s first traffic control system using radio for railroad.
Joan Mary McBride, 79, on August 26. A licensed stockbroker, she retired in 2000 from Morgan Stanley on Franklin Corner Road.
Renee M. Perrin, 42, on August 26. She worked at the Hopewell Country Day School and the Hopewell Public Library.
Frances S. Gough, 73, on August 29. She had been a secretary at Educational Testing Service.
