ITT Fluid Handling "Upgrades" Little Red Schoolhouse And Goes "Online"

Morton Grove, IL -- February 1997 -- To help HVAC professionals better prepare for the technical and market demands of the 21st Century, ITT Fluid Handling has extensively modernized its popular teaching facility, the Little Red Schoolhouse.

Located adjacent to ITT Fluid Handling's plant in Morton Grove, IL, the renovated Little Red Schoolhouse now offers a variety of new state-of-the-art training facilities and information services to ensure that HVAC professionals can keep abreast of the rapid advances in heating, cooling and steam heating technologies.

"We've added innovative technology demonstrations, a new computer-based color projection system, and laptop computers to allow students to solve hydronic design problems using the latest software. In addition, we just added a new Internet program to the Little Red Schoolhouse's professional training menu," said Roy Ahlgren, Director of Training Education. "For nearly a half century, ITT has been an industry leader when it comes to professional education. The updating of the Schoolhouse furthers that commitment to our industry."

One key addition to the Schoolhouse is a steam system demonstrator that includes a full variety of working components, including traps and regulators. The system also has a special glass heat exchanger, piping, and traps that fully illustrate how these components actually operate.

Another new Schoolhouse feature is an operational variable speed pumping demonstrator with several different ITT Bell & Gossett PowerSãv controllers as well as a new cabinet-mounted variable speed system. The demonstrator also has multiple automatic control valves that allow students to change system conditions and observe how the pumps and drives react within variable speed system. Linked with ITT Fluid Handling's new Gateway communications system, the demonstrator also illustrates how variable speed systems are connected to, and work with, building management systems.

Additionally, students visiting the Schoolhouse can tap into ITT Fluid Handling's new "Online University for Hydronic and Steam HVAC Design and Application," an invaluable source of information offering ITT publications, technical information, product specifications and services. The "Online University" also can be accessed from any personal computer via the World Wide Web at http://fhs.ittind.com and features easy-to-use, graphic-user interface (GUI) navigation.

More than 45,000 students, encompassing three generations of HVAC professionals, have attended programs or courses at, or sponsored by, the Little Red Schoolhouse since the facility opened in 1954. Information on the Schoolhouse's programs, courses and facilities is available through any of ITT Fluid Handling's representatives.

Bell & Gossett, a unit of ITT Fluid Technology Corporation, is a leading manufacturer of centrifugal pumps, hydronic specialties, heat exchangers, condensate handling equipment, and packaged systems for variable and constant speed pumping, heat transfer and pressure boosting. For more information, contact ITT Bell & Gossett, 8200 N. Austin Avenue, Morton Grove, IL 60053; phone 847/966-3700.