As part of an initiative to unify and expand engineering functions at its various facilities around the globe, Cook Compression has announced the consolidation of new product engineering, research and development under the leadership of Kevin Durham. Formerly in charge of valve design and engineering at the company's Stafford, Texas (U.S.) and Ellesmere Port, Cheshire (UK) locations, Mr. Durham has been named Engineering Director for Cook Compression worldwide.

According to Don York, President of Cook Compression, "We have a unique opportunity to leverage vast technical resources throughout our organization. Cook Compression was formed a year ago from five independent Dover Corporation companies, each with extensive engineering capabilities. Kevin's background and leadership qualities make him the ideal candidate to unify those assets and develop synergies from them. Some of the benefits will be internal, such as enhancing the uniformity of design standards and manufacturing procedures. Others will be more visible and exciting to the marketplace, such as expanded research and development and faster entry into the market with new product innovations."

Mr. Durham joined Cook Manley (one of the founding companies of Cook Compression) in 1997 after 10 years of service with Cooper Industries. He has wide-ranging experience in the gas compression industry, including field engineering and process compressor design. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Masters in Materials Engineering from the University of Houston.