AIMS Cos. acquires Southern Hydro Vac
AIMS Cos. announced it acquired Southern Hydro Vac, a soft-dig hydroexcavation company in Georgia. The company will do business as Southern Hydro Vac under the AIMS umbrella. All 50 Southern Hydro Vac employees will work with the combined organization moving forward. AIMS now employs over 500 professionals nationwide and is averaging two new regional locations per year with additional growth plans.

RIDGID names Mitch Barton marketing director of Global Press Connection
RIDGID announced the addition of Mitch Barton to the Global Press Connection team, where he will serve as marketing director. In this new position, Barton will manage product development, partner relations and new business opportunities for the growing line of RIDGID press tools. He brings several decades of marketing and product development experience to his new role. He previously served as director, global project management for Performance Health in Akron, Ohio.

Vacuworx announces new hires and promotions
Vacuworx announced the promotion of two employees and three new hires as it expands the marketing and strategy teams in support of global growth. Alan Odgers has been promoted to senior vice president of strategy from vice president of marketing. William Bomprezzi was hired as director of business analytics and will focus on making continuous improvements within the organization and supporting global initiatives. Paula Bell was promoted to director of marketing from marketing manager, managing the development, implementation and evaluation of integrated marketing strategies to increase both brand awareness and sales revenue. Vacuworx has also hired Brandon Martin and Denise Warner as marketing coordinators.

WJTA Conference and Expo dates announced
The 2019 WaterJet Technology Association Conference and Expo will be held Nov. 11-13 in New Orleans at the Morial Convention Center. A daylong preconference short course will be held on Nov. 11, and the conference sessions and expo activities will take place on Nov. 12 and 13. New to the program this year is a dedicated session track for asset owners and a panel discussion on collaboration between asset owners, contractors and original equipment manufacturers. For more information on the expo, visit www.wjtaimcaexpo.com.