• The first biennial international conference on Building Enclosure Science and Technology will be held June 10-12, 2008, at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis. Future conferences will be hosted by other Building Enclosure Councils in the United States and will be held on alternating years to the Canadian National Building Envelope Council (NBEC) conferences, to allow collaboration between the United States and Canada. For more information, visit www.thebestconference.org.

• The 12th Canadian Conference on Building Science and Technology, being held May 6-8, 2009, at the Montreal Convention Center in Montreal, is calling for abstracts. Submissions are due by May 8, 2008. For more information, visit www.cebq.org/NBEC.htm.

• Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd., Hamilton, Bermuda, purchased Trane Inc., Piscataway, N.J., in a deal worth about $10.1 billion U.S. in cash and stock. The deal has been approved by both companies’ boards and is intended to close late in the first quarter of 2008 or early in the second quarter following shareholder and regulatory approvals.

• Johnson Controls Inc., Milwaukee, acquired Skymark International, Ontario, Canada, in the fourth quarter of 2007. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or www.skymarkinternational.com.

• Members of the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) and the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association (GAMA) voted to approve the merger of the two trade associations to represent the interest of 370 heating, cooling, and commercial refrigeration equipment manufacturer companies. The merged association is now known as the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) and is headquartered in Arlington, Va. For more information, visit www.ahrinet.org.

• The Canadian GeoExchange Coalition (CGC) has signed an agreement with TD Canada Trust for a consumer loan-financing program. TD Canada Trust will adjudicate all loans in less than two hours of submission through a network of eligible dealers that are accredited by the CGC. All loans are unsecured and can be paid out at any time without penalty. For more information, contact Ted Kantrowitz at 514-807-7559 ext. 34.

Publication date: 01/28/2008