USON appoints director of China operations; RAE Corp. welcomes chief talent officer; K2 Systems opens U.S. division; ECR appoints regional sales manager; Knipex Tools names controller; Rinnai America and Giant Factories form partnership; Jaga Climate Systems names inside sales representative; Dri-Steem appoints president.

Giant Factories Inc. and Rinnai America Corp. announced that they have formed a partnership to market and develop new products. Giant Factories, based in Montreal, manufactures gas, electric, and oil tank-type water heaters. Rinnai manufactures gas appliances including tankless water heaters.

WaterFurnace names senior vice president of Asia Pacific Operations and director of engineering Asian Operations; Luvata names head of Luvata China, head of HTS Division, head of HTS China, and head of Operating System; Cooper-Atkins appoints regional sales manager; Trane honors Financial Statement Services; Greenheck facility attains ISO 9001:2008 certification; Distech Controls and Samsung Techwin announce partnership.

STULZ Air Technology Systems Inc. has announced a new strategic partnership with Eaton Corp. The companies said the partnership will combine STULZ’s mission-critical data center cooling technologies with Eaton’s energy-efficient data center containment systems.

Berkeys Air Conditioning and Plumbing of Southlake, Texas, has announced a partnership with Abacus Plumbing of Houston as part of a management recapitalization and growth equity investment. Berkeys investors, Alpine Investors and Skylight Capital helped finance the investment and partnership.

At the AHR Expo, Unico Inc., which manufactures small-duct, high-velocity central heating and air conditioning systems, announced a partnership with Argoclima, which is based in Milan, Italy.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) have announced a marketing partnership agreement, designed to foster a greater understanding and exchange of ideas between architects and contractors in the construction community.

Delmar, part of Cengage Learning, has announced a partnership with the National Hispanic Construction Association (NHCA).