OTTAWA, ON, Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Gastops, a leader in intelligent condition monitoring and predictive maintenance solutions, has been awarded a contract under the Government of Canada’s Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) Testing Stream program.

Through the project, FluidSIGHT™ will be demonstrated and evaluated in collaboration with the Department of National Defence (DND) to support ongoing efforts to advance condition-based and predictive maintenance capabilities within the Royal Canadian Navy.

As part of the project, Gastops will deliver FluidSIGHT™ systems, software, training, installation support, and technical expertise to support testing and evaluation activities. Testing will take place across multiple operational and laboratory environments, including facilities in Ottawa and Montreal, as well as aboard marine vessels operating in Atlantic Canada.

FluidSIGHT™ is a real-time oil condition, contamination, and wear monitoring system that provides continuous visibility into lubricant health. By moving beyond periodic oil sampling and laboratory testing, the system helps operators make more intelligent maintenance decisions based on real-time equipment condition.

The project is an important milestone for FluidSIGHT™ following its launch earlier this year and will support evaluation of the technology across a range of operational and laboratory environments. Testing will assess the system’s ability to accurately monitor lubricant health and provide real-time insight into equipment condition.

“This project represents the next step in FluidSIGHT’s evolution from innovation to real-world application,” said Shaun Horning, President & CEO of Gastops. “For more than four decades, Gastops has helped maintainers make informed decisions through equipment health intelligence. We are proud to work alongside the Government of Canada and the Department of National Defence to demonstrate how real-time condition awareness can contribute to readiness, availability, and more efficient sustainment practices.”

The project aligns with DND’s interest in transitioning from traditional schedule-based maintenance toward more efficient condition-based and predictive maintenance approaches that improve materiel availability, support data-driven decision-making, and enhance operational readiness.

“Maintenance teams have more data available than ever before, but what matters is turning that data into action,” said Brennan West, Vice President, Energy, Marine & Land at Gastops. “FluidSIGHT provides real-time visibility into equipment condition, helping maintainers identify issues earlier, better understand asset health, and make more informed decisions that improve availability and support readiness.”

Gastops will be exhibiting at DEFSEC Atlantic 2026 in Halifax, Nova Scotia from October 6-8. Attendees are invited to visit the team at Booth B107 to learn more about FluidSIGHT™ and other Gastops technologies supporting equipment health intelligence, predictive maintenance, and operational readiness.

About Gastops

Gastops is the world’s leading provider of intelligent condition monitoring solutions used in Aerospace, Defence, Energy, and Industrial applications to optimize the availability, performance, and safety of critical assets. We offer peace of mind to our customers with innovative online monitoring sensors, at-line analysis, complex modeling and simulation, world-class laboratory testing, engineering, design, and MRO services that predict performance to enable proactive operating decisions. We have been providing powerful insights into the condition of critical equipment since 1979. Gastops is the intelligence inside what moves you.

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SOURCE Gastops Ltd.

HOUSTON, Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Over the past several years, GBC (formerly GB Connections) has grown in meaningful ways. The company has expanded its leadership team, strengthened its engineering capabilities and built the systems needed to support long-term growth. Along the way, GBC has become more intentional about who it is, how it creates value and where it is headed next.

Today, GBC is introducing an evolved brand that reflects these intentions. It includes an updated logo, visual identity and story as well as a simpler approach to the company’s name: going forward, GBC will become the primary way the company represents itself.

The name GBC carries forward the company’s history in connections while reflecting how it has evolved. For GBC, the name means Generating Better Connections. That starts with the connection solutions the company engineers but extends beyond its products. It reflects the way GBC connects engineering intent with governed execution, brings together the people, partners and capabilities required to deliver reliably and builds strong relationships with the customers and partners it serves.

“Generating Better Connections reflects what we do at every level of the business,” said Robert L. Kovar, P.E., President and Chief Executive Officer of GBC. “We engineer connection solutions, connect engineering intent with disciplined execution and build strong relationships that help us understand and respond as customer needs evolve. The name is a natural expression of who we are today and how we create value.”

A Brand Designed to Express GBC’s Purpose

Last year, GBC invested in defining its purpose, vision, mission, values and behaviors. The company’s purpose, to energize progress, has become the cornerstone of its brand. Every element of the new brand has been developed to better express that purpose and the role GBC plays in helping customers move forward.

The company’s visual identity carries the same intention. The logo’s arrow motif symbolizes forward momentum, while subtle references to thread forms honor the products and engineering heritage that have defined the business for more than three decades. Bold typography, vibrant colors and dynamic graphics reinforce a sense of energy, clarity and progress.

GBC’s story has evolved as well. It now more clearly reflects how the company creates value: bringing engineering expertise, governed execution and agility together to help remove the constraints that slow advancement and helping customers move forward with greater clarity, confidence and capability.

Looking Ahead

Over the coming months, the evolved GBC identity and story will appear across the company’s technical literature, marketing materials and communications. Later this year, GBC will launch a redesigned website that more fully brings the new brand to life.

The way GBC represents itself is evolving, but the standards, relationships and commitments behind the company remain firmly rooted in who it is.

The evolved GBC brand provides a stronger foundation for the company’s continued growth while giving clearer expression to the purpose, capabilities and commitments that have long defined the business. As the new identity rolls out, GBC will continue applying that same focus to the solutions it develops, the partnerships it builds and the ways it helps customers move forward.

About GBC

GBC is an independent engineering authority specializing in OCTG connection solutions for demanding drilling and production environments. GBC designs, qualifies and oversees manufacturing through trusted partners, helping operators, engineers and distributors identify right-fit solutions supported by disciplined engineering, governed execution and responsive partnership. As technical, operational and commercial conditions evolve, GBC helps customers move forward with greater clarity, confidence and capability.

Learn more at www.gbconnections.com 

Contact
Chad Gorball press@gbconnections.com (713) 465-3585

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SOURCE GB Connections LLC

Optima Academy Online (OAO) announced that its students exceeded i-Ready’s national Typical Growth benchmarks in both reading and math for the 2025–26 school year. School-wide median progress reached 120% of Typical Growth in reading and 104% in math, with additional students meeting i-Ready’s more ambitious Stretch Growth targets. The results build on OAO’s prior-year performance and reflect continued academic growth across kindergarten through eighth grade.

NAPLES, Fla., Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Optima Academy Online (OAO), a fully virtual, Cognia-accredited school, today announced its assessed students exceeded i-Ready’s annual Typical Growth benchmark at the school-wide median in both reading and math for 2025–26. Median progress reached 120% of the growth target in reading and 104% in math, placing OAO above the 100% benchmark in both subjects.

i-Ready’s Typical Growth measure provides a national research-based reference for average annual academic growth among students who begin at similar levels of proficiency. Developed by Curriculum Associates using multiyear research on millions of i-Ready users, the growth model accounts for students’ starting performance. It gives families a way to understand academic progress in relation to an established benchmark beyond the school itself.

At 120% of Typical Growth, OAO’s median reading progress was 20% above the annual target. In math, median progress was 4% above the target. These results show that the school-wide median surpassed the full annual Typical Growth target in both core subjects.

“Seeing our students exceed i-Ready’s growth benchmarks in both reading and math is exciting, and we couldn’t be prouder of their progress,” said Adam Mangana, CEO of Optima. “Our approach brings a classical foundation in knowledge and virtue together with the science of how children learn. Caring, certified teachers bring that foundation to life through immersive experiences, using VR and AI to help students explore ideas and connect with one another. These results are an encouraging milestone in our commitment to making learning engaging, purposeful, and academically strong.”

These results also show students reaching i-Ready’s more ambitious Stretch Growth targets, which are designed to support progress toward grade-level proficiency. In 2025–26, 38% of assessed students met Stretch Growth in reading and 35% did so in math.

Benchmark results build on improvements from the prior school year, when OAO’s median progress reached 100% of Typical Growth in both subjects.

Findings come from OAO’s most recent 2026 i-Ready Diagnostic summary for kindergarten through eighth grade, using the latest 2025–26 assessment available in that report.

About Optima Academy Online

Optima Academy Online is a fully virtual, classically aligned, and Cognia-accredited school offering teacher-led and self-guided instruction. Its parent company, Optima, blends a liberal arts foundation with immersive VR and AI-powered technology to help students learn more deeply and educators teach more effectively. Optima partners with independent schools, public school districts, microschools, and home learners nationwide. For more information, visit optimaxr.ai and optimaacademy.online.

Media Contact

Bridgette Jensen, Optima, 1 2394498599, marketing@optimaed.com, optimaxr.ai

Twitter, LinkedIn

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SOURCE Optima