CHICAGO — Airthings, global manufacturer of IAQ solutions and energy-saving technology, formed a strategic agreement with Edwards, a manufacturer of fire detection and alarm solutions and a part of Carrier Global Corp., a provider of healthy, safe, sustainable, and intelligent building solutions. The agreement commercializes Airthings’ business solution through more than 500 Edwards channel partners in the fire and security segment.

Extending the distribution of Airthings technology represents tremendous progress toward making air quality monitoring a critical component of commercial buildings and as ubiquitous as the everyday smoke detector.

“Edwards and Airthings share a mutual commitment to improving indoor environments,” said Angie Gomez, president, Edwards. “Expanding our comprehensive fire and life safety offering to include indoor air quality monitoring will further enable our customers to create safer, healthier indoor environments.”

As part of the strategic agreement, Edwards will commercialize the Airthings for Business solution through its channel partners in the U.S. and Canada.

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — Arcline Investment Management, a growth-oriented private equity firm, acquired a controlling stake in Dwyer Instruments from the Clark family and management.

Dwyer Instruments is a designer and manufacturer of sensor and instrumentation solutions for the worldwide process automation, HVAC, and building automation markets. The company holds 93 active and pending patents and offers a broad suite of over 40,000 configurable SKUs, enabling it to service nearly all customer-required applications. Dwyer serves more than 20,000 active OEM, distribution, and end-user customers through its offices in the U.S., U.K., Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore.

“The Clark family and the Dwyer team have built a strong brand with market-leading sensor and instrumentation solutions for process automation markets,” said representatives from Arcline. “We believe the company’s differentiated products position it well to serve the growing trend toward greater process automation, connected devices, and improved IAQ and energy efficiency. We are excited to partner with management to steward the business in its next phase of growth.”

“From early in the process, it was clear that Arcline understood our business and would be a tremendous fit to carry on the Dwyer legacy,” said Steve Clark, chairman of Dwyer. “I could not be happier with the outcome and look forward to following the growth of the business in the future.”

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Environmental engineering and construction firm Brown and Caldwell announced Tracy Ekola joined the company as vice president and senior director of client services for the Midwest region. The strategic hire highlights the firm’s continued expansion to better serve clients in the Midwest’s municipal and private water, wastewater, and stormwater sector.

Ekola brings a 28-year environmental engineering and construction background with a record of effective business growth and project team leadership in the upper Midwest. She has held executive/regional leadership roles and served as a design-build board member in past organizations. Using her design, project management, environmental permitting, planning, and construction inspection and administration expertise, Ekola has led numerous high-profile environmental projects at municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment facilities.

Outside of project responsibilities, her significant professional association involvement has seen her undertake several roles at both state and national levels, including serving as an executive committee member of the Minnesota Environmental Science and Economic Review Board for the past decade.

Based in Saint Paul, Ekola will have operational responsibilities for Brown and Caldwell’s Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois operations. She will align municipal and private clients with the firm’s innovative, cost-effective technical solutions to solve the region’s most complex water-related and environmental challenges.

CHICAGO — SmithGroup, one of the nation’s leading integrated design firms, hired Susanne “Charli” Buchberger to serve as director of business development at its Chicago office.

Possessing nearly 25 years of experience, Buchberger will draw upon her expertise to expand the office’s already substantial portfolio of work across the higher education, health, science and technology, urban design, workplace, and waterfront markets. Notable clients in these arenas include Advocate Aurora Health, Alibaba, Chamberlain Group - A Duchossois Family Co., Chicago Park District, Northwestern University, Promega Corp., and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and others.

Buchberger comes to SmithGroup from Booth Hansen, where she served as director of business development. Her professional background also includes 21 years working with notable global firms, including Arthur Andersen, Marsh, and Deloitte.

As an undergraduate, Buchberger attended University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned bachelor’s degrees in the fields of civil engineering and education. She went on to obtain a master’s degree in environmental engineering with a focus on hydrology studies from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“Charli possesses a unique blend of expertise and training, which enables her to understand the challenges impacting our clients,” said Tim Tracey, AIA, director of SmithGroup’s Chicago office. “As a passionate steward of the environment, Charli will partner with teammates and business leaders to develop strategic solutions across the full spectrum of integrated design services.”

TORONTO — Armstrong Fluid Technology announced Simone Walzel has joined the company as global head of data centers.  

An experienced industry professional with extensive knowledge of data center services and solutions, Walzel has invested more than 20 years in the mission critical industry. After launching her career with Honeywell, she has worked in progressively senior roles with Schneider Electric, Emerson Network Power, Stream Data Centers, and Vertiv.

In her new role, Walzel will lead a global team of sales professionals serving customers directly and through an established partner network.

“We’re extremely proud that Simone has joined us,” said Joachim Schulz, commercial director, global building business. “She is an experienced data center professional and the perfect leader to take on this opportunity.”

RAPID CITY, S.D. — Former South Dakota state representative Scyller Borglum has joined WSP USA, an engineering and professional services consultancy, as the national underground storage market sector leader for the firm’s energy business.

In her new role, Borglum will pursue work and build relationships with current and emerging clients, develop strategies to grow the firm’s business in the underground storage market, manage underground storage pursuits across the U.S., and promote underground storage as a cost-effective, safe, and long-term solution for storing industrial quantities of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons.

“Scyller brings a strong combination of technical skills and diverse work experience to WSP,” said Roger Blair, WSP national energy business line leader. “She shares our vision and philosophy to help our clients meet today’s challenges in maintaining and storing reliable energy supplies, reducing the environmental impact of operations and improving overall resiliency.”

Prior to joining WSP, Borglum served South Dakota District 32 as a member of the state House of Representatives from August 2018 to December 2020, serving on the Health and Human Services, Judiciary, and Military and Veterans Affairs committees.