September 2026 EA - Large Scale Projects!!

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A BARKS PUBLICATION

SEPTEMBER 2026 / $12

A BARKS PUBLICATION

SEPTEMBER 2026 / $12

Electrical Apparatus

Large-scale

projects

Illinois Electric Works

of Granite City, Ill.

paratus

More than Motors

The safe use of lifts

New NEMA design letters

AI-controlled switchgear

Using split-case pumps

More EASA expo photos

Smoky Mountains, TN, USA

865-983-7444

info@iccinternational.com

www.iccinternational.com/quote

ICC International

Improving commutators is our job.

–

Built to your

specifications

Custom Solutions

Every application has its own

demands. Our team works through

the details to build commutators to

your exact specifications, backed

by the experience to solve what

others can’t.

Safety & Health

14 When what goes up must not come down

The safe use of automatic lifts in factories and electrical

repair shops

By Bill O’Leary, EA Contributing Writer

EA Reader Profile

17 Motor dreams and high hopes

While developing innovative electric motors for aircraft and

vehicles, Dr. Dorsa Talebi has found her ‘second birthplace’

By Avery Heeringa, EA Contributing Writer

Conventions & Trade Shows

22 More moments from the 2026 EASA Solutions Expo

This past summer’s convention was almost more than a

single person could take in

By the Electrical Apparatus staff

Service & Sales Companies

27 Handling the big jobs

How Illinois Electric Works of Granite City, Ill., goes big and gets

it done

By Charlie Barks, EA Managing Editor

Motors & Generators

31 The NEMA design alphabet expands

A preview of NEMA MG 1-2026 updates on motor design letters,

applications, and replacements

By John Malinowski, EA Contributing Writer

Finance & The Workplace

35 Avoiding broken transactions

The due diligence gaps that can erode buyer trust and even, if

you’re not careful, sink M&A deals

By William H. Wiersema, CPA, EA Contributing Writer

Electric Avenue

40 Beyond commissioning

Ongoing verification for inverter-based resources

By Maura Keller, EA Contributing Writer

Electrical Manager

42 ‘Data is gold’

A Schneider Electric executive lays out his case for AI-run

switchgear

By Bill O’Leary, EA Contributing Writer

Pump It Up

44 Split decisions

For applications that involve large volumes of water, a split-case

pump is often the best choice

By Kevin Jones, EA Senior Editor

Contents

A BARKS PUBLICATION

VOLUME 79 / NUMBER 09

WWW.BARKS.COM

09/26

— Dorsa Talebi photo

— Electrical Apparatus photo by Charlie Barks

— Jeffrey Scott McHattie / Shutterstock photo

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026 1

04 The editor’s comment

Big ideas about large-scale projects

05 Let’s solve your problem

Answers to questions about motor application and maintenance

06 Business

Siemens is juggling several large-scale projects

10 Calendar

Upcoming events on manufacturing, energy, and contracting

12 Know your industry

ASM International offers enough ‘good material’ to go around

16 Plant happenings

Plant openings in Texas, Alabama, and Florida

21 Associations

Standards developers respond to interest in hydropower

26 Standards

Department of Energy request spurs speculation

37 Names & faces

Personnel changes at Southwire, Eaton, Nidec, and Regal Rexnord

38 Product showcase

New products for power transmission, control, and monitoring

46 Utilities

The rapid expansion of utility-scale batteries

47 Classified advertising

Your monthly marketplace for equipment, businesses, and more

47 Cy’s Super Service

The electrical service industry’s most prominent curmudgeon

COVER PHOTO: By Illinois Electric Works, Granite City, Ill.

Departments

49 EA puzzle

A puzzle based on “Avoiding broken transactions” (page 35)

51 Moe, Genny & friends

The surreal world of an anthropomorphized motor and generator

52 Direct & current

NEMA weighs in on tariffs, Toshiba and Hitachi do high-speed rail

52 Advertising index

Who’s who—and who’s where—in this issue of Electrical Apparatus

— Willians-Huerta / Pexels.com photo

— tegawi / Pixabay photo

— harhar38 / Shutterstock photo

2 ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026

www.toshiba.com/tic

(US) 1-800-231-1412

Toshiba motors are designed with bearing performance as a core priority for

long-term, dependable operation. Our 300 Series bearings deliver consistent

performance in high stress and high temperature environments and are built to

handle significant radial and axial loads in demanding industrial applications.

Engineered for Reliability in Severe Duty Applications.

The Editor’s

Comment

In this month’s cover article (page 27), we feature

another company that excels at performing jobs for large-

scale projects.

Illinois Electric Works, or IEW, based in Granite City,

Ill., is an industrial electrical services provider originally

established in 1931. The 110,000-square-foot facility,

which has been part of the Industrial Service Group since

late 2023, specializes in the maintenance, repair, and

replacement of large-scale industrial equipment, includ-

ing motors, generators, and pumps. It also represents a

reﬂ ection of the growing variable-frequency drive market

for large-scale applications.

Elsewhere in this month’s Electrical Apparatus, we cover

topics ranging from electrical vehicle systems to standards

updates (page 26), with help from some of our regular con-

tributors.

In this month’s “Electric Avenue” by Maura Keller (page

40), we cover how electricity demand is rising and the grid

is under more strain than it has faced in decades. At the

same time, inverter-based resources — solar photovol-

taic systems, battery energy storage systems, and similar

assets — are interconnecting at a pace that has outrun the

level of scrutiny applied to them.

In “Electrical Manager” (page 42), Contributing Writer

Bill O’Leary covers how an electrical manager in the ﬁ eld

is using AI to beneﬁ t his work. That manager is Jean Chris-

tophe (J.C.) Moureau, senior vice president of One Solutions

Operations International, a subsidiary of Schneider Electric.

He is responsible for driving customer impact operations

across oil and gas, utilities, data centers, nuclear and other

diverse markets — delivering digital and AI-driven solutions

that align with company ﬁ nancial goals. Bill also contrib-

uted an article on automatic lifts in the workplace for this

month’s “Safety and Health” (page 14).

The “EA Reader Proﬁ le” this month, entitled “Motor

dreams and high hopes,” by EA Contributing Writer Avery

Heeringa (page 17), tells the story of how, while develop-

ing innovative electric motors for aircraft and vehicles, Dr.

Dorsa Talebi has found her “second birthplace.”

Contributing Writer John Malinowski brings us a pre-

view of NEMA MG 1-2026 updates on motor design letters,

applications, and replacements in “The NEMA design

alphabet expands” (page 31). As the article explains,

recent advancements in motor eﬃ ciency standards have

prompted the National Electrical Manufacturers Associa-

tion to introduce new motor designs. Designs BE and CE

address higher locked-rotor currents in Premium and

Super Premium motors, while Design V supports inverter-

only applications. These updates are meant to enhance

safety, clarity, and alignment with international and U.S.

Dept. of Energy requirements.

CHARLIE BARKS

WWW.BARKS.COM

CHARLIE@BARKS.COM

Big ideas about large-scale projects

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

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Avery Heeringa, Maura Keller,

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Bill O’Leary, Kristine Weller

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4 ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026

Have you been stumped recently by an

electromechanical application or repair

problem? Send your question to this depart-

ment, at editor@barks.com, and we’ll see

if we can give you an answer. — Editor

Self-aligning bearings

We are responsible for maintenance at

an automotive manufacturing plant. We

purchased a new surplus 125 hp 1200

RPM 480 V motor for a belt drive applica-

tion in our plant. When this motor came

in, we learned that it’s fitted with a self-

aligning bearing. The old motor did not

have this. What is the intended applica-

tion of a self-aligning bearing, and can we

use this motor as it is?

A self-aligning bearing allows the shaft

to operate with a small amount of angular

misalignment between the shaft and hous-

ing. These bearings are commonly found

on motors driving belt loads, especially

where frame deflection, thermal growth,

or mounting inaccuracies may occur. They

help prevent excessive bearing loading

caused by minor misalignment.

However, many motors are designed with

one locating (fixed) bearing and one floating

or self-aligning bearing. The arrangement

allows the shaft to expand thermally while

maintaining proper rotor position within

the air gap. For a belt-driven application,

the primary concern is the radial load

capacity of the bearing.

If the motor was designed for belt service

and the bearing arrangement matches the

manufacturer’s design, the self-aligning

bearing is generally not a problem. In fact,

it may improve bearing life in applications

where alignment is difficult to maintain.

Before placing the motor in service, verify

the bearing configuration, confirm the

allowable belt pull from the manufacturer,

and check that the shaft extension and

bearing ratings are suitable for the sheave

size and belt tension.

Negative

sequence currents

Can you explain the phenomenon of

negative sequence currents? And what

would be the importance, if any, of this

for motors and controls in an aluminum

manufacturing plant?

Negative-sequence currents are created

whenever a three-phase power system

becomes unbalanced. Common causes

include unequal phase voltages, open fuses,

poor connections, unbalanced loads, or

power-system disturbances.

In a balanced system, the three-phase cur-

rents produce a magnetic field that rotates

in the normal direction. Negative-sequence

currents create a second magnetic field that

rotates in the opposite direction.

In an induction motor, this reverse-

rotating field cuts the rotor at nearly twice

synchronous frequency, inducing high-

frequency rotor currents and significant

heating. The effect can be surprisingly

severe. A relatively small current unbalance

can produce a much larger temperature

rise in the rotor bars, end rings, and stator

winding. For this reason, NEMA MG-1 rec-

ommends limiting voltage unbalance, and

many medium- and large-motor protection

systems include negative-sequence relays.

In an aluminum manufacturing plant,

negative-sequence currents can be particu-

larly important because of the large motors

used on rolling mills, pumps, compres-

sors, exhaust fans, and material-handling

equipment. Plants often have substantial

single-phase and nonlinear loads that

can contribute to system imbalance. Long

feeder runs and heavy process loads can

also aggravate voltage unbalance.

Negative-sequence currents are even

more critical for synchronous motors and

generators, where the reverse-rotating

field induces currents in the rotor body and

retaining rings, creating localized heating

Let’s Solve Your Problem

that may not be detected by normal stator

temperature monitoring.

Squirrel cage

rotor retaining rings

We had a rotor failure in a 700 hp two-

pole motor in a utility plant. The copper

shorting ring of the rotor had deformed

in the radial direction. The post-failure

OD of the ring prevented the rotor from

being removed from the stator. We had

to cut the ring. We noticed that there was

no retaining component installed on the

shorting rings.

What is the rule for when these retain-

ing rings should be installed?

There is no universal horsepower or size

rule requiring retaining rings on squirrel-

cage rotor end rings. The need is determined

by rotor speed, end-ring diameter, material

strength, and mechanical stress.

As speed increases, the hoop stress in the

copper end ring increases with the square

of rotational speed.

For this reason, many large two-pole

motors use steel or nonmagnetic retaining

rings to support the end rings and rotor

bars against centrifugal loading and fault

forces.

The absence of a retaining ring does not

necessarily indicate a design deficiency.

Many manufacturers design the end ring

with sufficient cross-section and bar sup-

port to operate without one.

However, after a severe fault, locked-rotor

event, or rotor-bar failure, the end ring can

distort plastically, as occurred in your case.

Retaining rings are typically applied

when the calculated centrifugal and elec-

tromagnetic forces exceed the structural

capability of the end-ring assembly alone.

Large, high-speed two-pole motors are the

most likely candidates, and the decision is

based on mechanical stress analysis rather

than horsepower alone. — Chase Fell

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026 5

Siemens is juggling

several large-scale projects

Sometimes, apparently, it helps to be big to go big.

Take the German industrial giant Siemens AG, which

posted revenue of 78.9 billion euros in fiscal 2025,

ranking it among the world’s largest industrial manu-

facturers. Scale of that kind, paired with a global reach

spanning industry, mobility, infrastructure, and health

care, has helped the German technology company land

several projects since spring 2026 that qualify, by any

measure, as large in scale.

First came an announcement April 20 in which Sie-

mens and Vulcan Energy said they had signed an

agreement for the Lionheart lithium and renewable

energy project in Germany’s Upper Rhine Valley — a

partnership that Cris Moreno, Vulcan’s managing direc-

tor and chief executive, called “an important step in

unlocking future opportunities for growth as we prog-

ress toward our goal of decarbonizing Europe’s battery

supply chain.”

Under the agreement, Lionheart expects to produce

24,000 tons of lithium hydroxide monohydrate per year,

enough for about 500,000 electric vehicle batteries,

along with 275 GWh of renewable power and 560 GWh

of heat annually for nearby customers.

Siemens and Vulcan also signed a memorandum of

understanding naming Siemens the preferred supplier

of automation and digitalization technology for Vulcan

through 2035, an arrangement extending past Lion-

heart into future phases of development. Siemens Financial Services will

become a minority investor once the transaction closes. The company will

thereby join a consortium that includes Hochtief and Demea Sustainable

Investment. Lionheart has been classified as a Strategic Project under the

Business

— ChatGPT Images illustration

Please turn to page 8

6 ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026

European Union’s Critical Raw Materials

Act.

Then, on April 27, word came from New

York that Siemens Mobility and electri-

cal contractor L.K. Comstock had won

a nearly $390 million contract from the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority

to modernize the Fulton-Liberty subway

corridor with Trainguard MT, Siemens’s

communications-based train control sys-

tem.

The work covers 23 stations across 65

track kilometers in Brooklyn and Queens.

Once completed, it will let trains run at

intervals as close as 90 seconds apart,

replacing signaling infrastructure that in

some cases is more than a century old.

“Together, we are helping build a more

resilient, higher-capacity transit system

for the future,” said Ben D’Alessandro,

president of L.K. Comstock, whose com-

pany’s share of the job includes installing

more than 1,200 kilometers of cable,

building four new train control rooms,

and replacing 94 switch machines.

Siemens Mobility will integrate nine

subway interlockings across the two lines,

swapping outdated track circuits for axle

counter technology. The A express train

relies on the corridor for much of its route

through Brooklyn and Queens, while the

C train uses the Fulton Line for its entire

route in Brooklyn. Once the system is up

and running, Siemens Mobility will take

on a 25-year maintenance contract.

Next, on April 30, Swiss Federal Rail-

ways, known as SBB, signed a contract

with Siemens Mobility Switzerland for

116 six-car Desiro DoSto double-deck

trains, with an option for as many as 84

more. The order is worth about 2 billion

Swiss francs.

The trains, bound for the Zurich S-Bahn

network and lines in western Switzerland

starting in 2031, will contain about 540

seats each and offer roughly 30% more

standing room and 10% more seating

than the generation of trains they replace.

Car bodies made entirely of CO2-reduced

aluminum will be built at a Siemens plant

in Krefeld, Germany, while testing, com-

missioning, and warranty maintenance

will take place in Switzerland.

This rail order is an outgrowth of a

decade-long relationship; more than

180 Siemens Vectron locomotives have

anchored freight rail service in Switzer-

land and beyond, and Siemens Mobility

Switzerland, based in Wallisellen, has

operated in the country for more than

100 years.

Finally, an announcement on May 4,

rather than opening a single new project,

tied a bow on a five-year run. Siemens

said on that date that it had reached $1

billion in U.S. manufacturing investment,

spread across facilities in the Carolinas,

Fort Worth, and Pomona, Calif., plus a

new passenger rail plant in Lexington,

N.C. These sites, along with others in Illi-

nois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and New

York, are expected to add more than 2,200

jobs by 2028 and integrate Siemens’ own

software — including Tecnomatix digital

twins and the Insights Hub monitoring

platform — to run their factory floors.

Siemens also said its U.S. manufactur-

ing operations now draw on a network

of more than 16,000 American suppli-

ers, many of them small and mid-sized

businesses. And for what it’s worth, the

company also said it remains committed

to becoming a “net-zero carbon com-

pany” by 2030.

Siemens USA now counts 25 manufac-

turing sites across the U.S. and more than

50,000 employees serving customers in

all 50 states and Puerto Rico — all of which

surely qualifies Siemens as a company

that’s prepared to take on the big jobs. —

Kevin Jones

BUSINESS continued from page 6

8 ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026

Update your calendar with these upcoming

events. Please note that events are some-

times rescheduled, so make sure to conﬁ rm

dates. Do you know of an event that we

should bring to the attention of EA readers?

E-mail us about it at editor@barks.com.

• September 10, 2026 — BPMA Golf

Day 2026, Breadsall Priory Country Club,

Derbyshire, U.K. British Pump Manufac-

turers Association, https://bit.ly/4cDnANj.

• September 14-19, 2026 — Interna-

tional Manufacturing Technology Show,

McCormick Place, Chicago. Association

for Manufacturing Technology, www.imts.

com/index.cfm.

• September 16-18, 2026 — AEE

World Energy Conference & Expo, Orange

County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.

Association of Energy Engineers, https://

aeeworld.org.

• September 23-24, 2026 — Coiltech

Italia 2026, Pordenone Fiere, Pordenone,

Italy. QUiCKFairs, www.coiltech.it.

• September 24, 2026 — AEMT Con-

ference, Concorde Conference Centre,

Manchester, U.K. The Association of

Electrical and Mechanical Trades, www.

theaemt.com/ems-event-calendar/aemt-

conference.html.

• September 28-30, 2026 — 48th

Annual EOS/ESD Symposium and Exhib-

its, Embassy Suites by Hilton Dallas

Frisco Hotel & Convention Center, Frisco,

Tex. Electrostatic Discharge Association,

www.esda.org/events/48th-annual-eosesd-

symposium-and-exhibits.

• October 4-7, 2026 — NECA 2026 Las

Vegas Convention and Trade Show, Man-

dalay Bay Convention Center. National

Electrical Contractors Association, www.

necaconvention.org.

• October 12-15, 2026 — ASNT 2026,

Greater Columbus Convention Center,

Columbus, Ohio. American Society for

Nondestructive Testing https://www.asnt.

org/events/asnt-2026.

• October 21-23, 2026 — Fabtech USA,

Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas,

Nev. Fabricators & Manufacturers Associa-

tion International, Society of Manufacturing

Engineers, American Welding Society, Pre-

cision

Metalforming

Association,

and

Chemical Coaters Association Interna-

tional, https://bit.ly/4bg7jhW.

• November 3-4, 2026 — National

Facilities Management & Technology

Conference & Expo West, Horseshoe

Event Center, Las Vegas, Nev. National

Facilities Management and Technology,

www.nfmt.com/west/2026.

• November 10-12, 2026 — 2026

NEMA Annual Meeting, Vinoy Resort &

Golf Club, St. Petersburg, Fla. National

Electrical

Manufacturers

Association,

https://bit.ly/4u4U36E.

• November 16-20, 2026 — 90th IEC

General Meeting, Congress Center Ham-

burg, Hamburg, Germany. International

Electrotechnical Commission, http://bit.

ly/4plWDlS.

• November 18-20, 2026 — IFMA

World Workplace, Anaheim Conven-

tion Center, Anaheim, Calif. International

Facility Management Association, https://

worldworkplace.ifma.org.

• January

23-27,

2027

—

2027

ASHRAE Winter Conference, McCor-

mick

Place,

Chicago,

Ill.

American

Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-

Conditioning Engineers, www.ashrae.org/

conferences/2027-winter-conference.

• January 25-27, 2027 — AHR Expo

2027, McCormick Place, Chicago. Inter-

national Exposition Co., www.ahrexpo.com.

• January 31-February 3, 2027 —

NEMRA

Annual

Conference,

Hilton

Anatole, Dallas, Tex. National Electrical

Manufacturers Representatives Associa-

tion, www.nemra.org/about-the-conference.

• February 14-18, 2027 — Hydrau-

lic Institute 2027 Annual Conference,

JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort &

Calendar

Spa, Tucson, Ariz. The Hydraulic Institute,

www.pumps.org/event/2027-annual-con

ference.

• March 8-12, 2027 — PowerTest 27,

Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando, Fla. Inter-

National Electrical Testing Association,

https://bit.ly/4mMdKNZ.

• March 31-April 2, 2027 — National

Facilities Management & Technology

Conference & Expo East, Baltimore Con-

vention Center, Baltimore, Md. National

Facilities Management and Technology,

www.nfmt.com/east/2027.

• April 5-8, 2027 — Hannover Messe,

Hannover Exhibition Grounds, Hannover,

Germany. Deutsche Messe AG, www.han-

novermesse.de/en.

• April 27-29, 2027 — Facility Fusion,

Hilton New Orleans Riverside, New

Orleans, La. International Facility Man-

agement Association, https://facilityfusion.

ifma.org.

• April 27-29, 2027 — CWIEME Berlin,

Messe Berlin, Berlin, Germany. Coil Wind-

ing, Insulation & Electrical Manufacturing

Exhibition,

https://berlin.cwiemeevents.

com/home.

• June 7-9, 2027 — Safety 2027,

Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New

Orleans, La. American Society of Safety Pro-

fessionals, https://safety.assp.org.

• June 12-15, 2027 — EASA 2027,

Ernest N. Morial Convention Center &

Hilton Riverside, New Orleans, La. Electri-

cal Apparatus Service Association, https://

easa.com/convention.

• June 16-17, 2027 — Coiltech North

America, Vibe Credit Union Showplace,

Novi, Mich. QUICKFairs, www.coiltech.us.

• June 24-27, 2028 — EASA 2028,

Pennsylvania Convention Center & Phila-

delphia Marriott Downtown, Philadelphia,

Pa. Electrical Apparatus Service Association,

https://easa.com/convention/future-easa-

conventions. — Edited by Kevin Jones

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10 ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026

Co-Sponsored by

Don’t just keep up —

get ahead at AHR Expo.

Enough ‘good

material’ to go around

ASM International

Founded: 1913

Headquarters: 9639 Kinsman Rd.,

Materials Park, Ohio 44073-0002

Annual Dues: Varies

Website: www.asminternational.org

At the start of the 20th century, materi-

als like steel were sought after as America

entered a new era post-industrial revolu-

tion. With the expanding role of produc-

tion mills and automobile manufactur-

ers, the need for information exchange

among independent craftsmen working

with these materials increased. Out of

this need, ASM International was born.

Now in its 113th year, the organization

is the world’s largest association of engi-

neers and scientists focused on materials

of all kinds.

With around 16,000 members globally,

made up of both industry professionals

and students, ASM International aims

to “gather, process, and disseminate

materials information globally, through

education, networking, and professional

development for members, organizations

served by our members, and the materi-

als community,” according to the asso-

ciation. This mission serves the organi-

zation’s vision to be the leading global

resource for materials information.

Across industries, aerospace profes-

sionals account for the majority of ASM

International’s

audience.

Fabricated

metal products, education, automotive,

and heat treating industry professionals

follow closely. Through its broad network

of members, ASM International helps

connect professionals with both the re-

sources and industry peers they need

to solve problems, improve materials

performance, and support professional

development, according to the organiza-

tion.

Membership with ASM International is

available on several tiers, including in-

dividual, corporate, chapter-sustaining,

and more. Across the varying levels of

membership, access to continuing edu-

cation courses, workshops, webinars, the

ASM career center, an online community

for exchanging ideas, conferences and

events, and ASM’s Advanced Materials

& Process magazine are included. Ad-

ditionally, ASM’s peer-reviewed journal,

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions

A&B, is also included with membership,

with journal A taking a more holistic look

at physical metallurgy and materials sci-

ence, and journal B focusing more on the

processing and engineering of both met-

als and materials.

ASM International is connected with

six aﬃ liate societies: the Electronic De-

vice Failure Analysis Society, the Interna-

tional Metallographic Society, the Failure

Analysis Society, Shape Memory & Super-

elastic Technologies, the Heat Treating

Society, and the Thermal Spray Society.

Being connected with this network of

other organizations allows for further

collaboration across industries.

Each year, ASM International hosts

several conferences across the globe for

members and professionals to interact

and exchange ideas. These events span

industries and ASM International’s af-

ﬁ liated societies, capturing topics like

failure analysis, thermal spray and pro-

cessing, and more. The association’s

conference on Advances in Materials,

Manufacturing & Repair for Power Plants

will take place next June in Tucson, Ariz.,

and will cover advanced manufacturing,

codes and standards, and high-tempera-

ture materials. Other events and confer-

ences aﬃ liated with ASM International

are scheduled out as far as fall 2028.

ASM International has more than 80

professional chapters globally for mem-

bers to get involved with. Operated inde-

pendently by local volunteers, chapters

Know Your Industry

ASM International claims to be the world’s largest association of engineers and scientists

focused on materials of all kinds.

— Willians-Huerta / Pexels.com photo

12 ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026

oﬀ er opportunities to network and gather

with nearby peers. Chapter locations are

determined by the number of members

in a given area.

Members are also encouraged to get

involved with ASM International’s many

committees and councils, which take

membership a step further to “identify

emerging trends in member needs and

transform them into actionable devel-

opment opportunities,” according to the

organization. “These groups drive inno-

vation by providing thought leadership,

establishing industry best practices, and

developing educational and technical re-

sources that serve both ASM members

and the wider materials science commu-

nity.”

Committees like AeroMat Organizing,

Emerging Professionals, International

Materials Reviews, Materials Informatics

Technical, and Membership Engagement

are just a few among ASM International’s

expansive roster.

Given the nonproﬁ t nature of ASM In-

ternational, volunteers are a core part of

what makes the wheels turn. Volunteers

have an active hand in supporting ASM

International’s conferences, educational

eﬀ orts, publication production, and the

organization’s network of local chapter

communities. Direct volunteer oppor-

tunities are listed on the organization’s

website. They include writing articles for

Advanced Materials & Processes, roles

in various committees, and long-term

teaching opportunities.

ASM International is also home to the

largest global collection of materials sci-

ence data, which encompasses a cen-

tury’s worth of data and published lit-

erature on crystal structures and phase

diagrams. The archive of resources is

curated by 30 professional scientiﬁ c ex-

perts and is regularly updated to reﬂ ect

the most accurate industry advance-

ments. Access to these resources is avail-

able at four diﬀ erent tiers, including

MPDS Phase Diagrams, MPDS Crystal

Structures, MPDS All Access, and MPDS

API-Access.

From its initial roots of transferring and

exchanging knowledge about steel and

automotive production, ASM Interna-

tional has worked to deﬁ ne itself as the

global leader of information, resources,

and learning for all things materials-

related. With a rich history of industry

expertise and enough professional re-

sources to ﬁ ll a steel mill twice over, ASM

International is keeping professionals in

the know in every corner of the industry.

— Avery Heeringa

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026 13

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When what goes up must not

come down

The safe use of automatic lifts in factories and electrical repair shops

By Bill O’Leary, EA Contributing Writer

To maximize space, managers looked upward. With inventories and

machinery crowding the ground floor, vertical space offered untapped

potential. Inventories and machinery littered the ground floor, but

there were opportunities to utilize every inch of a location.

What goes up must come down, and it is in those dual actions where

the automatic lift comes in. For purposes of this article, “automatic

lifts” includes such equipment as scissor lifts, powered work platforms,

vehicle lifts, lift tables, hydraulic lifts, and material-handling platforms.

And while these various products provide versatility and conve-

nience with regards to managing tasks at different heights, there are a

variety of hazards to be mindful of as well. There are falls from elevated

platforms or improperly secured loads, being “crushed” or “caught

between” when the platform moves or descends, or a load collapse or

falling objects caused by overloading or poor positioning.

Then there are the more mechanical dangers, such as the unexpected

start-up or movement during repair or cleaning, the electrical shock

or arc-flash hazards from motors, power supplies, control panels, and

wiring, and the hydraulic or pneumatic energy released from pressur-

ized systems.

In addition to falls and mechanical dangers, there

are also pinch points and shearing around scissors,

rollers, chains, hinges, and moving mechanisms; col-

lision hazards involving forklifts, vehicles, carts, and

nearby machinery; and structural failures caused by

corrosion, improper installation, inadequate main-

tenance, and damaged components.

So much to be prepared for, but there are require-

ments and best-use practices to avoid or mitigate

these various dangers. The U.S. Occupational Safety

& Health Administration has machine-guarding

requirements for protections against point-of-

operation hazards, and other dangerous moving

components.

According to OSHA, “The purpose of machine

guarding is to protect the machine operator and

other employees in the work area from hazards

created by ingoing nip points, rotating parts, fly-

ing chips, and sparks. Some examples of this are

Feature | Safety & Health

— alinabuphoto / Shutterstock

14 ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026

barrier guards, light curtains, two-

hand operating devices, etc.” General

requirements from 29 CFR 1910.212

include the stipulation that guards

must not create potential hazards and

must be attached to the machine where

possible. And if guards cannot be

attached to the machine, they should

be attached elsewhere.

Other safety measures include a pre-

use inspection list before operating

the lift. Before each shift or operating

period, the user should check:

> Emergency-stop buttons

> Normal controls and switches

> Hydraulic cylinders, hoses, and

ﬁ ttings

> Platforms, deck, arms, chains,

labels, and structural members

> Unusual leaks, noises, vibration, or

jerky movements

> Mechanical safety locks and

blocking devices

> Warning labels and capacity

markings

Operators should also check the

area above, below, and around the lift

for obstructions. A paper checklist

attached to the lift can serve as a handy

reminder that quickly makes good

safety behaviors habitual.

If a defect is spotted during a routine

check and could aﬀ ect safe operation,

the lift should be removed from ser-

vice until it is evaluated and repaired.

On this same front, OSHA requires

walking and working surfaces and

related areas to be maintained in safe

condition, with hazardous conditions

corrected or guarded before use if they

cannot be immediately repaired.

Other mitigation measures include

proper loading of the lift. This means

that users should not exceed the

rated capacity and should account for

the total weight of the load, complex

attachments or ﬁ xtures, and uneven or

concentrated loads. The loads should

be centered and stable, and operators

should not assume that a lift rated for

a particular weight can safely handle

that weight when it is positioned at the

edge of the platform. Unstable loads

should be secured with restraints such

as clamps, tie-downs, and pallet stops,

and loads that shift, roll, slide, or fall

should not be raised by the lift.

Finally, operators should keep people

clear of the area where raising and low-

ering is occurring. Before taking these

actions, operators need to inspect the

area and warn nearby workers to make

sure that no one is beneath the lift.

Employees should never work beneath

a raised lift unless the equipment’s

manufacturer-approved

mechanical

safety devices, locks, or blocking sys-

VFD-Induced Shaft Voltage

Destroys Motor Bearings!

Electrical bearing damage causes

unplanned downtime

Variable frequency drives (VFDs) are widely

used to control HVAC systems. But VFDs create

a motor shaft voltage that discharges through

the bearings, blasting millions of pits in

bearing surfaces. Both motor and equipment

bearings are at risk. Over time, damage from

these discharges accumulates and causes

premature failure and the twin expenses of

replacement and unplanned downtime.

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tems are properly engaged. Required

PPE should be used in addition to those

safeguards.

What goes up and what must come

down seem like simple actions that we

have been performing in our everyday

lives from a very young age, but large

objects and even larger lifts to move

those objects deﬁ nitely change that

calculus. By following the above guid-

ance, you can make sure that the “must

come down” isn’t you.

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026 15

New Texas power plant

Houston-based NRG Energy opened a 456 MW power plant in

May 2026 — the ﬁ rst new facility for the company in ten years.

The plant was funded through the Texas

Energy Fund, a joint state legislation and

voter-approved addition to the state consti-

tution, as a way to improve grid reliability.

Located in Houston, the Wharton Generating

Station can power hundreds of thousands of

Texas homes during high-demand times with its power genera-

tion units fueled by natural gas.

Automotive leather plant to open in Alabama

The ﬁ rst U.S. plant for Italian manufacturer Vulcaﬂ ex S.p.A.

will be in Auburn, Ala., and will create 130

jobs.

Vulcaﬂ ex

manufactures

synthetic

leather for the automotive industry. “The

North American market is of great impor-

tance to our company,” said Roberto Bozzi,

Vulcaﬂ ex’s CEO. “The combination of our

unique Italian design and local production in the U.S. will allow

us to grow our market alongside globally known automotive

manufacturers with assembly plants in North America.”

A grand opening near Jacksonville, Fla.

IKO Industries celebrated its 75th anniversary with the open-

ing June 17 of a new 300,000-square-foot facility in Clay County,

Fla. The Canadian company manufactures asphalt shingles and

related rooﬁ ng products for residential and

commercial construction. The new plant

brings 100 jobs to the area and has space for

future expansion. This is the ﬁ rst IKO facil-

ity in Florida, but the company operates 35

plants globally.

Long-running dairy plant closing

The dairy capital of Vermont lost a long-time dairy process-

ing facility with the closure of the St. Albans

creamery and milk processing plant by Dairy

Farmers of America as more dairy produc-

tion sites shutter across the state. Operations

for producing cream and condensed and

powdered milk ceased in August, with 80

employees aﬀ ected. While the company

released a statement saying that the plant will be “idling,” there

is no indication that the processing plant will reopen.

North Carolina bedding plant closes

A bedding manufacturer in Monroe, N.C. closed its doors

on Aug. 14, aﬀ ecting more than a hundred

employees. Downlite International produces

down, synthetic, and feather mattress pads

and pillows. The company has not com-

mented on the reason for the closure, but

the Downlite home and hospitality divisions

were sold earlier in the year. A WARN statement about the clo-

sure was issued in June. — Kristine Weller

Plant Happenings

16 ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026

Motor dreams and high hopes

While developing innovative electric motors for aircraft and vehicles, Dr. Dorsa

Talebi has found her ‘second birthplace’ in Texas

By Avery Heeringa, EA Contributing Writer

Since moving to the U.S. eight years ago, Dorsa Talebi

has become a leading electrical engineer and

researcher at Texas A&M University. As a research

assistant and now a postdoctoral researcher, she has

led design work on two motors: an axial flux machine

built for aircraft propulsion, and a wound-rotor

motor that eliminates rare-earth magnets, brushes,

and slip rings entirely.

The aircraft motor’s power density, 12 kW per

kilogram, puts it among a small group of designs

light enough to make electric propulsion feasible

for commercial aircraft, where every kilogram cuts

into payload and range. The second motor addresses

a different limitation. Wound-rotor synchronous

motors have always avoided rare-earth magnets, but

they typically need brushes or slip rings to energize

the rotor — parts that wear and require upkeep. Dr.

Talebi’s design excites the rotor wirelessly through

the stator winding instead, removing that hardware

while retaining the magnet-free architecture.

Born in Arak, Iran, and raised in the capital city

Tehran, Dr. Talebi has come a long way — about

7,400 miles from home, to be exact — to design

cutting-edge electric motors. She completed her

undergraduate degree at Iran’s Sharif University of

Technology before interning with

leading motor companies like

Lucid Motors and Tesla. Her exper-

tise in electric motors brought

her across the world and landed

her in Texas, where her research

has focused on electric motors

designed for aerospace applica-

tions and brushless wound-rotor

motor technologies.

Aerospace dreams

Work on Dr. Talebi’s axial flux

motor began around 2020. She

and her team submitted a pro-

posal for the project and were one

of the groups selected to receive funding for the research and develop-

ment of the motor — a feat that was especially significant for Dr. Talebi

and her team since they were among other major aerospace companies

also awarded the funding.

“We didn’t have those highly experienced engineers on our team

or extra funding,” she says. “But there were a lot of motivations to do

something to be impactful for this movement that’s going on, to electrify

airplanes [and] aerospace.”

Feature | EA Reader Profile

Dr. Dorsa Talebi

Please turn to next page

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026 17

Across multiple teams collaborating on the motor’s

development, Dr. Talebi’s role expanded from being

the initial electric machine designer to somewhat of

a project manager who brought the teams together,

oversaw the prototype development, coordinated with suppliers, and

more. “It was something that only started growing and getting bigger

and more real over time,” she explains. “It was a huge turning point in

my career.”

The ﬁ rst prototype of the aerospace motor was completed last year.

“I remember that day, the moment that we were able to rotate the shaft

and we saw rotation on the rotors, I had tears in my eyes,” Dr. Talebi

says. “We felt like we made something in history.” Since then, a second

prototype has been under testing, and the team has been gauging inter-

est from aerospace companies in commercializing the technology and

applying it in airplanes.

A brushless wound-rotor motor

The second “baby” of hers, as Dr. Talebi jokingly refers to it, is the

brushless wound-rotor motor that does away with magnets and the

brushes and slip rings a wound rotor normally needs. During her time

as an intern at both Lucid Motors and Tesla, Dr. Talebi pitched her idea

for the motor to both management and other engineers, but her fresh

concept went largely unheard.

Now fully realized in the prototype stage, the motor itself does not

use any separate power system, instead using the existing motor wind-

ing and stator to transfer the recoiled power to the rotor wirelessly. Dr.

Talebi won $500,000 in funding for the project to support commercial-

ization of the research and prototype, which is part of why she decided

to stay at Texas A&M and continue the work. There is a wide array of

opportunities for the motor’s application, spanning automotive, non-

passenger vehicles, and mobility on both land and sea. “It’s been very

rewarding work. Right now we have multiple students working on this

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Continued from previous page

Since the ﬁ rst axial ﬂ ux motor prototype was ﬁ nished, a

second one has been under testing and the team has been

gauging interest from aerospace companies for commer-

cialization.

18 ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026

project, building better prototypes that [are] opti-

mized,” she says. “I still have high hopes for it.”

Both the aerospace motor and the brushless

wound-rotor motor projects are currently aﬃ liated

with Texas A&M and have each been issued a U.S.

patent. But Dr. Talebi’s sights are set far beyond the

walls of academia. She hopes to open and operate

a startup so she can further develop the brushless

wound-rotor motor in particular, which would bring

it closer to commercialization and market applica-

tion. Much to her delight, she recently found out that

she was selected for the Activate Fellowship pro-

gram, which will help bring this vision to life.

Life in the Lone Star State

Over the last eight years in the U.S. and at Texas A&M

University, Dr. Talebi has learned far more than just

how to take a motor from the design stage to a ﬁ n-

ished prototype. “I didn’t know much about Texas,

nothing about the culture. I thought that everybody

in the United States was the same. Then I got here

and I saw a lot of things [were] not as I expected,” she

says. “But right now, I see Texas as my second birth-

place. It gave me a lot of opportunities to [be] reborn

from who I was before coming here.”

The person she was before moving to the U.S. was

just as passionate and ambitious, even if she didn’t

know exactly where she’d end up. Dr. Talebi says that

Iranian students are often given three paths for their futures: medical

sciences, math and engineering, or social sciences. “Math was always

my passion, there was nothing that I enjoyed more during all of my edu-

cation,” she says. “I knew that I had to do it [professionally].” Given her

preternatural skills in math, she was encouraged to explore the possi-

bility of engineering by those around her.

“The good thing about electrical engineering is that there [is] so much

to do in it,” she says. “You can always ﬁ nd something that’s aligned with

your own purposes or goals or passion. I really liked energy delivery,

especially renewable energies. I was always mesmerized seeing wind

The brushless wound-rotor motor uses the existing motor winding and stator to

transfer the recoiled power to the rotor wirelessly and does so without magnets

and the brushes and slip rings a wound rotor normally needs.

Please turn to next page

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026 19

Continued from previous page

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turbines moving by a wind power plant; it was just

amazing that these giant, unusual things are creating

electricity for us.”

Despite her knack for engineering and math, she

says that pursuing her educational and professional

goals wasn’t always easy. “It was difficult at the

beginning because I was a young girl in a new envi-

ronment, a new country, I didn’t know much about research. I was so

lost,” she says. “The biggest thing for me is just people — my people, my

family, my old friends. I have a lot here, but I don’t have them. Which is

really tough, I miss that a lot. I think [that] having a community is one

of the most important things in your life, and that’s what I’m missing a

lot being here.”

Going above and beyond

Past the research lab walls and prototype designing, Dr. Talebi is often

in pursuit of something much greater: new experiences and strengthen-

ing the community she’s built for herself. Whether it be going to techno

music parties, spending time with friends at concerts, contemporary

dancing, or even horseback riding, she often pursues these experiences

with a curious fervor. As for horseback riding, “As long as I am in Texas,

it’s one of the best things that I could do,” she jokes.

Developing a community wherever she goes has been something she

has long believed to be important. “I was really fortunate in my life to

meet and work with a lot of inspiring people,” she says. “That’s how

excellence was defined for me, by the people around me.”

As for what’s next, Dr. Talebi is excitedly pursuing her startup ambi-

tions for her motors. “I want the experience in my life of owning a

business and working for it and trying to nurture it and grow it,” she

says. Her goal across all of her work is simple: to give people “the feeling

that you are doing something for a better future.”

Knowing how far she’s come and all that she’s done, she’s hopeful

that her work will serve as an inspiration to others. “I’m really, really

fortunate to be here,” she says. “I hope I can be an example for other

people to do more and go above and beyond.”

“As long as I am in Texas, it’s one of the best things that I

could do,” Dr. Talebi says of horseback riding.

20 ELECTRICAL APPARATUS | SEPTEMBER 2026

— Dorsa Talebi photos