D.M. Manufacturing completes world’s largest plate press

The world’s largest plate press for filtering coal dust in mining applications kicked into service this month, and though it is in place in a coal mine in southern Illinois, the fabricating work was completed at D.M. Mfg. in Beloit.

“The machine is really the first of its kind in terms of design and size,” says Doug Eddy, general manager of D.M. Mfg. “This machine really breaks new ground.”

Coal mines rely on plate presses to filter out coal cakes from slurry, the solid and liquid by-product of the mining process. The machine manufactured by D.M. Mfg. is unique in size as well as capacity.

Engineering for this project was completed in Salt Lake City with manufacturing and testing completed at D.M. Mfg.’s facilities in Beloit. At completion, the plate press was 12-feet tall, 12-feet wide and 100-feet long, weighing a total of 408,000 pounds. Eddy notes that the project required 11,000 hours to complete, and after testing, was disassembled and shipped to Marion, Ill.

“Once the project is field tested, we are likely to build two more for this particular client,” he says.

Founded in 1981, D.M. Manufacturing provides specialized fabricating, machining, construction, and freight services. The company has two locations, one in Beloit and one just south of the state line in South Beloit, Ill.

MOVERS

>> Quarra Stone has announced the appointment of Nicholas Schultz as production engineer and product designer.

>> First Business Bank has promoted Erik Gretebeck to commercial banking officer.

>> Dennis Shields has been selected the next chancellor of UW-Platteville.

>> Wisconsin Community Bank has named Paul Holzem as assistant vice president at its Madison office.

>> TCI Architects/Engineers/Contractor Inc. of La Crosse recently promoted Chris Walters to director of project management.

>> Echometrix has appointed Samuel W. Adams, formerly of GE Healthcare, to the position of CEO, succeeding Barbara Israel, founder and former CEO who will remain as chair of the board.

>> Matt Smith has joined Discover Mediaworks Inc. as online sales manager for the television series, Discover Wisconsin.

>> Lindsay, Stone & Briggs has added Tom Kuplic as a public relations account supervisor and Meghan Rollins as a traffic manager.

>> DeWitt Ross & Stevens has added Scott M. Paler to the Employment Relations and Litigation groups in the firm’s Madison office.

>> Days Hotel & Conference Center in La Crosse has appointed Tony Lawler as general manager.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

MADISON: East Town Mall has continued its program of green initiatives by installing seven Mariah Windspire Wind Turbines at the mall’s front entrance, which will deliver low-cost power to the mall. Mall owner Cabot Investment Properties, LLC developed the clean, renewable wind power program in conjunction with Cabot’s Project Management Team led by Bruce Hall, Kahler Slater Architects of Milwaukee, and Gaia Power Systems and Priest Engineering, Denver, Colo. The installation was performed by local Green Bay contractors Bayland Buildings Inc. and Suburban Electrical Engineers/Contractors Inc. >> MasterGraphics, a leading Midwest supplier of wide format and design data solutions for the building, manufacturing and civil engineering industries, has been recognized by Xerox as a Platinum Certified and Exclusive dealer of wide format imaging solutions.

ARCADIA: Supreme Graphics received an award for outstanding achievement in Printing & Graphic Design in the 10th Annual Graphics Excellence Awards, a statewide printing competition hosted by the Printing Industries of Wisconsin, the state’s trade association for printing and the graphic arts.

ROCK COUNTY: Thrive recently partnered with the Wisconsin Grocers’ Association, the Wisconsin Department of Trade and Consumer Protection and the UW Agriculture Innovation Center on the WGA’s Grocers Buy Local project in Rock County. Working with four stores in the region, the initiative provided the opportunity for consumers to sample items from 12 regional food and beverage purveyors, including 100-percent organic Blue Farm Chips, produced by A-Maize-Ing Corn Products of Janesville.