Members of the Fluid Sealing Association® are coming together this week in Atlanta, Georgia, for their Spring Meeting. Empowering Pumps spoke with a few members of the FSA, who shared news about some of the activity currently under-way within this vital international trade association.

Mike Shorts, Vice President and General Manager, Triangle Fluid Controls, Ltd., FSA President

“I’m looking forward to receiving updates on technical activities within the various Divisions of the FSA. As the FSA President, I am actively involved in several committees and have recently been appointed to lead the Strategic Partnerships initiative to identify and establish working relationships with other organizations for mutually beneficial relationships. The FSA is actively working on the fit of sealing and containment device technologies within the various methane emissions conversations that are occurring around North America. This is something that individual members are not able to do as effectively on their own and it ultimately raises the global profile of the importance that fluid sealing and containment devices play in emissions control. It is very exciting to be part of that conversation.”

Chris Swonger, Senior Vice President, Government Relations at Smiths Group, FSA Government Affairs Committee

“As the Chair of the FSA Government Affairs Working Group, we are working to ensure sealing device technology is included in the World Trade Organization “environmental goods” trade agreement; which would eliminate the import and export tariffs for sealing device technology around the world. Additionally, as the US EPA and states like California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Colorado are engaged on regulating methane emissions in the oil and gas sector, the FSA is showcasing the important role sealing device technology plays to prevent leaks and emissions. We are trying to serve as a technical resource for government regulators while also positioning the FSA to support member companies, end users, and organizations like API (American Petroleum Institute). We are working with API to raise awareness for the FSA, making the case that the API standards committees adopt an extension to the API 682 standard for mechanical seals to address mechanical seals for pipelines. Alongside Henri Azibert, FSA’s Technical Director, together we made a presentation last week at the API / AOPL Pipeline Conference to make the case for mechanical seal standard for pipelines and to show the value of FSA seal installation and application training.”

Ian Baynes, Director of Global Marketing, A.W. Chesterton Company, FSA Chair of Marketing and Strategic Planning Committees

“I support strategic activities that help the FSA to be recognized as an industry leading association that clearly advocates for change. I see the FSA, specifically its member companies, helping the EPA and API find reliable long-term solutions for the growing environmental compliance issues relating to methane emissions, energy conservation, and water conservation. In conjunction with this, I also see the FSA providing the supporting training programs to help customers overcome the significant decline in a skilled work force. As the current workforce ages and retires, industry is challenged with replacing that knowledge and skill. I think the FSA is poised to help provide that knowledge through training programs and technical content (i.e. handbooks, guides, on-line tools, etc.) that is available and accessible by people from a wide range of industries.” 

Rob Coffee, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Proco Products Inc., FSA Board Member

“I have been working on the Piping System Handbook with my fellow Rubber Expansion Joint Division Members. The 8.0 full revision update will bring our manual into the digital age. It has new designs for engineers to review and will help engineers and end users design and maintain their piping systems. We hope to have it completed by years’ end. In addition to the Piping System Handbook, we are working to educate the industrial communities we serve by being a collective voice that discusses how to curb emissions with sealing devices. These sealing devices include mechanical seals, pump & valve packing, gaskets, and expansion joints.”

Phil Mahoney, Design Engineering Manager, A.W. Chesterton Company, FSA Vice President

“I’m looking forward to socializing with all the FSA members to get a sense of what is happening in their world. As the VP of the Association, I’m very active in several areas. The Government Affairs committee has been really active providing technical information to various entities that are focused on methane emissions rule-making. The Marketing committee has been really active in a variety of areas, promoting training and engaging industry professionals in webinars that cover a variety of interesting subjects. In addition to being the VP of the Association and Chair of the Membership Committee, I am also active in the Compression Packing Division (contributing to the Handbook update and participating in FSA webinars with Ron Frisard, Global Trainer for A.W. Chesterton), the Gasketing Division and the Government Affairs committee (I regularly meet with the EPA and help draft responses from the FSA on proposed rules). Many of these activities are focused on promoting the FSA, helping it to establish a voice and larger presence in our related industries.”

For more information about the Fluid Sealing Association®, visit www.fluidsealing.com.