News

Richardson, Texas – September 13, 2026 -- Trey Thomas-Piazza, the first-ever franchisee of Service Experts, has been named a 2026 Franchisee of the Year by the International Franchise Association (IFA), marking a milestone for the residential HVAC company's year-old franchise system.

Service Experts launched franchising in 2025 after three decades as a corporate-owned business

Thomas-Piazza, who previously served as General Manager of the company's Tulsa market after years in maintenance, installation and operations leadership, became the system's inaugural franchisee when the program launched. His transition gave Service Experts an early test case for refining franchise infrastructure while maintaining continuity for employees, customers and vendor partners in the market he already managed.

Stockholm – September 13, 2026 -- Saab has secured a new order worth approximately SEK 2.9 billion from Sweden's Defence Material Administration (FMV) to continue concept work on the country's future fighter system.

Contract runs through 2028 with extension options

The agreement covers the period 2026-2028, with FMV holding options to extend the work into 2029 and 2030. It builds directly on prior contracts Saab signed with FMV in 2024 and 2025, extending a multi-year technology development pipeline.

Scope covers manned and unmanned system demonstrators

The contract funds flying and ground-based demonstrators, advanced studies, and development of future system concepts spanning both manned and unmanned platforms. Saab's mandate includes work on systems integration, autonomy, signature adaptation, propulsion, digital development, and future production capabilities.

Israel – September 13, 2026 -- Elmo Motion Control has completed Functional Safety certification across its entire Titanium servo-drive line, embedding 20 certified Safety Functions directly into the drive architecture and supporting safety levels up to SIL 3 (EN 61508), PL e, CAT4 (EN ISO 13849), and FSoE (IEC 61784-3).

Certification Covers Both Industrial and Harsh-Environment Servo Drives

The certified portfolio spans four product families. The Titanium Castanet and Solo Castanet deliver up to 1.2 kW per axis (2.4 kW total) at 2 x 15A continuous, 30A peak, up to 100V, while the Titanium Harmonica scales to 2.5 kW per axis (5 kW total) at 2 x 25A continuous, 50A peak, up to 100V, or 2 x 15A continuous, 20A peak, up to 200V. For extreme operating conditions, the Titanium Lizard, Solo Lizard, and Titanium Falcon replicate these power specifications in ruggedized designs built for temperature extremes and demanding industrial settings.

Newport Beach, Calif. – September 13, 2026 -- Maksim Markevich, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of PVFARM, has been named a finalist in the Rising Star Individual category of the 2026 Platts Global Energy Awards, organized by S&P Global Energy. Winners of the 28th annual awards will be announced on December 3, 2026, following review by an independent panel of international energy experts.

Markevich is one of finalists selected from 36 countries, with more than 57% originating outside the United States. Other nations represented among finalists include Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Turkey and China, across 19 award categories spanning the global energy and chemicals value chain.

Pittsburgh – September 13, 2026 -- MSA Safety has launched the A1X, a vacuum anchor weighing 7 kg, 35% lighter than its predecessor, designed to speed up fall-protection deployment during aircraft maintenance checks.

Smaller footprint opens access to more aircraft types

The A1X reduces its pad diameter to 350 mm from 480 mm, allowing use on executive jets, private aircraft and smaller commercial planes previously outside the range of MSA's WinGrip technology. The system is approved by Airbus and Boeing, giving maintenance teams clearance to adopt it into standard procedures.

Pittsburgh – September 13, 2026 -- MSA Safety has launched the WinGrip A1X vacuum anchor, a fall-protection device for aircraft maintenance that weighs 7kg, 35% lighter than its predecessor, and shrinks its pad diameter from 480mm to 350mm.

Smaller footprint opens new aircraft segments to WinGrip technology

The reduced pad diameter allows the A1X to be deployed on business jets and private aviation aircraft that previously fell outside the scope of MSA's WinGrip system, alongside commercial airliners. The device is approved for use by Airbus and Boeing, positioning it for adoption as standard equipment across major maintenance operations.

Research Triangle Park, N.C. – September 13, 2026 -- RTI International has secured $5.5 million in combined federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy for two projects converting common minerals and used cardboard into high-value industrial materials.

DOE funds dual technology tracks at expanded pilot facility

Both projects will run at the RTI Pilot Xcelerator, a pilot-scale testing platform on RTI's campus. The institute is set to open a $14 million facility expansion on Sept. 10, doubling its infrastructure for testing energy and industrial process innovations before they reach commercial scale.

St. Louis – September 13, 2026 -- Island Roadhouse Data Centers has detailed design plans for an atomic-powered, low-water data center campus in Missouri offering up to 154 MW of sellable IT load in its first phase, targeting commercial operation in 2034.

Campus design generates its own power behind the meter using advanced atomic reactors

The facility is planned to run on advanced atomic reactors in an N+1 configuration for reactor-level redundancy, with heat converted to electricity via an indirect closed supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle. The campus is not designed to export power to the grid; all generation is intended to serve the on-site compute load directly.

Chicago – September 13, 2026 -- Connectbase has signed a strategic advisory agreement with IG Group, the affiliate advisory firm of InterGlobix, to pursue high-value prospects in data centers, cloud services, AI neoclouds, hyperscalers, and subsea infrastructure.

Advisory deal targets executive access across digital infrastructure sectors

Under the agreement, IG Group will identify and engage prospects, facilitate executive introductions and meetings, and support deals from initial contact through contract finalization and project execution. IG Group specializes in strategic advisory across connectivity, data centers, digital infrastructure, and economic development.

Barnard, Vt. – September 13, 2026 -- MIB Agents began accepting letters of intent on September 9 for its 2027 OutSmarting Osteosarcoma research grant cycle, offering a combined $150,000 to fund translational studies on the pediatric bone cancer.

Two grants totaling $150,000 target established and emerging researchers

The 2027 cycle includes a $100,000 Hero Grant and a $50,000 Hope Young Investigator Grant. Since launching in 2017, the program has distributed more than $2.9 million across 37 investigators studying osteosarcoma, an aggressive primary bone cancer diagnosed in roughly 1,000 people annually in the United States, nearly half of them children, adolescents and young adults.