The former Ipsen Ceramics’ facility in Pecatonica, Ill., is being repurposed for vacuum furnace hot-zone assembly. The plant is currently undergoing major refurbishments, including new lighting, HVAC, roofing, and other interior and exterior upgrades. The factory is less than 30 miles from Ipsen’s Vacuum Technology Excellence Center in Cherry Valley and will initially employ up to eight material assemblers. Incorporating the Pecatonica location into Ipsen’s vacuum furnace production and aftermarket process will provide added benefits to customers. In the future, Ipsen is considering other manufacturing activities in Pecatonica to supplement the needs of the Vacuum Technology Excellence Center.

Busch Vacuum Solutions U.S. acquired VESCO-McLaughlin Inc. (VESCO), an industrial service company specializing in the heat-treatment and metallurgy industries. East Windsor, Conn.-based VESCO was formerly part of McLaughlin Furnace Group (MFG), a supplier of engineered vacuum solutions for thermal-processing and surface-preparation applications. MFG’s major customers operate in the aerospace, automotive, defense, energy and semiconductor fabrication industries. The addition of VESCO expands Busch Vacuum Solutions’ business by adding complementary services to its current offering.

Pfeiffer Vacuum opened a 40,000-square-foot facility in Indianapolis, Ind., that will serve North American customers in all technological questions around leak detection and high-vacuum technology, focusing on the automotive industry, semiconductor applications, medical devices and consumer electronics. The Leak Detection Center of Excellence includes a CNC machine shop and modular assembly bays to support air and helium leak detection as well as custom-engineered vacuum systems. Customers will be able to have parts tested on Pfeiffer Vacuum leak-detection technologies – such as air, helium and hydrogen test methods – and determine which is best for their application.