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CONTRIBUTORS Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey

Founders of the Barefoot Wine brand, authors and business consultants.

Robert Passikoff

Founder and president of Brand Keys, Inc, with 35 years’ experience in strategic brand planning.

lincoln dahl

Lincoln Dahl is managing director of African Energy; suppliers of renewable energy backup equipment.

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issue No.35

6 6 Comment: Marketing

Lucky thirteen

Thirteen critical trends for marketers and brand managers for 2013, from leading customer engagement specialist Robert Passikoff.

10

10 Entrepreneurship

Building a square hole

Innovative ideas and inspiring advice for small business owners, from entrepreneurs who learned by experience.

18 Executive insight

Lincoln Dahl, managing director, African Energy

Lincoln distrusts media hype and IPOs, but believes in creating opportunities for others.

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contents 20 POTRAZ

Zimbabwe talking The national regulator overseeing the development of Zimbabwe’s telecommunications network.

30 Finnet Association Fibre for all

The Finnish telecommunications organisation is piloting a new concept in home computing that could revolutionise the way we operate.

30

38 CAT Telecom

46

Making sense of the future Leading the way in wireless multimedia services in one of Southeast Asia’s most economically dynamic nations.

46 Bentley Systems A source of inspiration

Bentley has all of the top five mining companies as customers for its comprehensive software solutions.

56

56 American Coal Council Power struggles

Finding a way to overcome the challenges facing the coal industry in the United States.

66 PetroSA

Inspiring national pride By embracing change and innovation, PetroSA is opening up new horizons for South Africa’s energy sector.

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Lucky

13 by: Robert Passikoff

comment: Marketing

T

he New Year, 2013, approaches, and as everyone k now s, t he number 13 holds great symbolism. For the religious among us there were the 13 guests at the Last Supper and the 13 tribes of Israel. Scientists know the Universe is governed by 13 fundamental constants of physics, and the relationship between the volume of the Earth and the Sun is 1310. For shoppers there’s the added value of 13 items comprising a ‘baker’s dozen.’

Anthropologists study the 13 skies of the Aztecs, but for marketers and brand managers who want to look beyond the horizon, Brand Keys’ validated, predictive loyalty and engagement metrics have identified 13 critical trends for 2013.

awfully big gap between what brands offer and what customers desire. Accurate measures of real, often hidden, expectations provide significant advantages to brands that understand their value and point to how to delight customers.

1. The expectation economy Over the past decade, customer expectations have increased on average by 28 percent, but brands in all categories overall have kept up by only 8 percent, which anyone at the checkout counter can tell you is an

3. E-tail everywhere Along with consumer expectations, online retailing increases daily. But increases in brand equity, and usage among online retailers, will come with consumers’ desires to be constantly connected to these brands. Brands will have to watch for online retail

2. Me-tail The consumers’ heightened awareness of their actual control, added to the commoditization of brands and products, equals a significant segment of consumers craving customized and personalized products and services (see success of Pinterest).

Customization will become an even more important brand differentiator, with returnson-investments of loyalty and profitability made-to-order for your brand.

pop-up stores, like Amazon, and physical kiosks for brands like Groupon, and think in terms of broader access.

4. Siri-ously soon Voice assistance – or more accurately, voice assistants – will become more the rule than the exception. Such applications will be designed and incorporated into more devices to meet consumers’ increasing expectations for immediate and customized support in all forms of outreach.

5. The known and the branded Real brands will become rarer. Examples of brands that delight consumers have become the yardstick to evaluate all products and services. While we may still call them brands, consumers think of them as category placeholders: stuff that doesn’t stand for anything.

Understanding what will turn consumers into fans will provide a foundation for meaningful differentiation.

6. Story telling tales Br a nd s t h at seek differentiation and wish

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to establish emotional connections that produce consumer engagement will need to get better at storytelling. Understanding where the gaps exist between emotional aspects of the brand’s category ideal and how the brand is seen by consumers, can provide opportunities to identify unique stories, histories and tales that will differentiate, entertain, and engage.

7. It’s not going to get any easier being green P r o du c i n g , selling, and shopping based on

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environmentally ‘green’ production and design, fairtrade and socially conscious consumption is on the rise.

But given ease of consumer outreach and their ability to pull back the brand curtain, watch for significant increases in total sustainability and corporate responsibility in the consumers’ decision process.

8. Social susceptibility Watch for greater influences of engagement and purchase habits via friends and social networks. Brands will have to factor in the reality that

peer-to-peer communications come in three varieties: good, bad, and bland. This makes companies more susceptible to consumer indifference, their conversations and social interactions. Already brands are watching the ‘de-friending,’ or worse – negative news or outright bad evaluations about the brand.

The brands that make it here will know the ‘how’ of this consumer-controlled space.

9. Mobile screen tests Mobile devices will become mainstream, testing retailers on their screens. Brands must

comment: Marketing prepare to accommodate this trend, as consumers will rely more upon screens to engage with brands and guide purchase decisions.

Brands will need to create carefully targeted campaigns for this platform and provide screen-friendly promotional materials and retail sites.

10. App savants Consumers will take greater advantage of applications.

But this year those typically small, specialized programs downloaded into mobile devices will move beyond games, GPS, and media, to more personalized applications that monitor, remind, suggest, learn, and know their users’ profiles and preferences. Brands will need to make greater use of such emotional and intimate connections.

11. Facebook is a given With brand ubiquity on the largest social network, recognition will be the least of a brand’s concerns. The question is not, “should I be on Facebook,” but has now become “what should I do on Facebook?” Brands will have to graduate from posting

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Increase in customer expectations in last ten years pictures, collecting friends, and/or offering coupons. But doing so will depend on the category in which the brand competes and where social networks make themselves strategically felt in the category.

12. Saturation levelling It’s no secret that there are more products and services using more platforms and outreach streams with the marketplace dangerously close to saturation. But just because it’s different, doesn’t mean it’s differentiating.

Brands will have to plan and research engaging pre-launch

activities if they wish to level the playing field and earn a high engagement-to-effort return on their investments.

13.Engagement empowers Non-engaged customers are a brand’s most vulnerable assets—period. Marketers need to engage all along the journey, from engaging plat for ms, prog ra ms, messages, or experiences.

Brands must keep their eye on the prize when using any of these engagement methods, however. It’s all about meeting the ultimate goal of increasing brand engagement.

By the way, the number 13 is also thought by some to be unlucky, and we agree, but only those brands that ignore these trends will risk the failure of their branding, engagement and marketing efforts in 2013.

Robert Passikoff is founder and president of Brand Keys, Inc, with 35 years’ experience in strategic brand planning for B2B and B2C product and service categories. He has pioneered work in loyalty and engagement, creating the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index®, and the Brandweek Loyalty Leaders List. www.brandkeys.com

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Building a square hole Innovative ideas and inspiring advice on business basics for small business owners, from entrepreneurs who learned by experience

written by: Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey

10 | BE Weekly

Entrepreneurship

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E

ver y election brings uncertainty to the business c o m mu n it y.

The latest US Presidential election is no exception. But here’s a word of advice: regardless of who occupies the White House, Downing Street or whatever the government buildings are called in your country, entrepreneurial small business owners will have to rely on who we’ve always relied on to be successful— ourselves, our employees, and our customers.

We’re speaking from experience. We are the founders of Barefoot Cellars, the company that transformed the image of American wine from staid and unimaginative to fun, lighthearted, and hip.

We started the Barefoot Wine brand in our laundry room in 1986, made it a nationwide bestseller, and successfully sold the brand to E&J Gallo

in 2005. Starting with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, we employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles and create new markets.

We learned the hard way and the best way—by experience. I am convinced that any company that has a good product or service and gets the basics right will thrive—regardless of the outcome of an election. So what exactly are the basics?

Embrace the advantages of being small While small companies, especially start-ups, tend to be undercapitalized, they also have some big advantages over larger competitors. They tend to be more nimble and flexible instead of being mired in bureaucracy. Since they don’t have big siloed departments, they can communicate faster.

They’re less risk-averse.

“small companies tend to be nimble and flexible instead of being mired in bureaucracy” 12 | BE Weekly

Entrepreneurship

“A shortage of cash forces you to discover and employ ideas that the big guys wouldn’t dream of” All of this allows them to turn on a dime in response to market changes and customer demands.

Even a shortage of hard cash can be an advantage.

Why? Because it makes you more innovative. This apparent hardship forces you to discover and employ unorthodox ideas, strategies and tactics that the big guys wouldn’t dream of. They don’t have to. In a small company, cost-saving ideas, customer retention and marketing concepts can come from anywhere. The big guys tend to want ideas to originate from their proper divisions, which can miss or kill some gems in an effort to defend precious turf.

Think creatively about marketing You don’t have to spend a lot of money. Back in 1986 when Barefoot was founded, we pioneered what

they call “worthy cause marketing” (WCM). We partnered with nonprofit organizations (NPOs) that believed in the same causes we believed in—specifically, environmentalism and civil rights. We donated product at fundraising events, we worked festivals, and we got out into the community to talk about causes we were passionate about, as well as Barefoot wine and our NPO partners—all in the same breath.

In this way, we gained access to lots of potential customers and gave them a “social reason” to buy Barefoot wine. And in return, the NPOs received donated product and manpower at events, as well as publicity via Barefoot’s distribution channels.

One of the reasons we wrote our book is to show American businesses that worthy cause marketing

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really works and can actually be more effective than advertising. As the company’s brand grows, so does the nonprofit’s brand.

If Barefoot can be a case study of WCM success, perhaps we can get some of the $100 billion-plus spent

14 | BE Weekly

on conventional advertising in this country redirected to the NPOs like ours.

Find good people.

Make great people Of course you need to hire well. That means finding people who are not only

qualified, but who have foundational qualities you can build upon. Barefoot looked for enthusiasm, confidence, honesty and integrity, a willingness to learn, and a sense of humor. But we didn’t stop there—we made sure to

Entrepreneurship

“With the ideal compensation system, non-producers can’t afford to work for you, and producers can’t afford to leave” provide the environment, encouragement, resources, and flexibility for them to become their best.

We made sure to create a positive culture. We caught people doing things right and told our entire staff about it. We allowed them to make mistakes so as not to squelch their creativity.

We put a lot of energy into mentoring and training. We gave them plenty of vacation time to rest and recharge.

We did everything possible to help them live up to their full potential.

To get the best out of your people, find out what they excel at. Then, redesign their jobs to fit those skills.

Ask others to pick up the aspects of the former job that still need to be done.

You might be surprised at the positive response.

Don’t put the square peg in the round hole. Build a square hole.

Use performancebased compensation Most compensation plans are based on an hourly rate, which is paying for attendance, not production. Consider offering bonuses based on sales, cost reductions, and customer retention. In other words, give them a financial reason to help the team perform.

With the ideal compensation system, non-producers can’t afford to work for you, and producers can’t afford to leave.

We were chastised for “overpaying” salespeople.

True, we had several salespeople who made more

1986 Barefoot Wine began in the authors’ laundry room

than we, the owners, did— yet when we looked at the efficiencies of scale, the value of stability, and the increase in sales, we knew we were doing the right thing.

Sharing the wealth allows you to reduce employee turnover, attract go-getters, and motivate people to produce even more. Best of all, increased profit is “found money”—it really costs you nothing. Just make sure the payment is tied into profitability, and not based solely on “growth.”

You are paying too much for labor when you pay for attendance alone. It’s their production you want, because that is where your profits come from.

Don’t treat information as currency Some companies, especially big corporations, treat information like a coveted commodity. In fact, it’s

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often used as a type of currency to buy a lunch, get a promotion, receive kudos, or t rade for other information. Some information is downright suppressed because it may threaten some supervisor’s concept of job security. Do not let this happen.

Do whatever you can to engage everyone and keep the information freef lowing. Be transparent about challenges and ask the entire staff for solutions. At Barefoot, we made sure all people were getting bonuses on sales, which meant that sharing information and ideas was good for everybody’s paycheck. Respecting the intellect of your human resources, giving them a financial reason to work as a team, and sharing your c ha l lenges ca n avoid hardening of the information arteries.

Listen to your salespeople Without them, there is no company. Run everything by your salespeople that affects your product and its image. Before you allow a change or “improvement” to the product or the package, check with the folks who have to make the sale, overcome the objections, and talk directly to the decision makers and the end users. Top-down thinking, when it comes to product, package design, and even promotion, can undermine what has taken years to establish.

It’s critical that your nonsalespeople appreciate where the money comes from that pays their salaries, bonuses, and benefits. When folks are hired, present them with an info-graphic that follows the money trail backwards from the customer through the distribution system, through

the marketing and sales system, through the supply and production system, and winds up in their pockets.

It may seem obvious, but it can be forgotten as your company gets larger.

“When folks are hired, present them with an info-graphic that follows the money trail backwards from the customer through to their pockets” 16 | BE Weekly

Entrepreneurship

Establish a positive culture Company culture has a direct bearing on the survival and growth of a company. This starts from the top and permeates throughout an organization. Barefoot’s culture was based on two overarching principles: generosity and permission.

Our use of worthy cause marketing gave employees a level of satisfaction that went far beyond making a

sale—they got to make a difference. And by allowing, no, insisting that people use their imagination to experiment, be creative, and even make mistakes, Barefoot gave them permission to be all they could be.

Plus, Barefoot was fun.

The whole approach was fun, from the image of the bare foot to the colorful labels and cartons, to the slogans, puns, and parodies. Barefooters were encouraged to be playful.

Having fun with the “foot” was always a hallmark of Barefoot culture. All of this gave Barefooters a unique level of ownership seldom seen in most companies. It kept Barefoot fresh and its people involved. They looked forward to coming to work because it was exciting.

At the time Barefoot Wine was founded, our business model was considered

radical. We viewed it as more of a “service” than a product. At its “velocity price point,” Barefoot could not survive without becoming “America’s Personal House Wine”—meaning Tuesday night wine, picnic wine, beach wine, the wine you kept on hand because it always delivered quality and value. We would have to sell massive quantities to stay in business—and that meant pulling out all the stops to create a great customer experience.

Business owners need to remember something c r uc ia l.

G over n ment s cannot create. They can make things easier or more difficult, but they cannot build something new and exciting and inspiring.

That’s our job—and we should focus on it instead of worrying about things we can’t control.

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey’s book The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built a Bestselling Wine, chronicles the history and lessons learned building the popular Barefoot Wine brand. They now share their experience and innovative approach to business as consultants, authors, speakers, mentors, and workshop leaders. www.thebarefootspirit.com

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Nobody’s perfect. What quality or ability do you wish you had?

There are lots of things I wish I could do better!

Everything from eye-hand coordination to mathematics – the list is long. I often have a hard time being nice and it seems like I could be more patient with people. The ability to relax would be nice too…

What is the best business book you have ever read, and why?

Probably something by Og Mandino, or The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. They lay out simple concepts that explain a lot of the world. I am a simple person and I can understand and apply simple concepts. I think that if you can’t explain something in a paragraph, you might not understand it or it might not be true.

Someone you would most like to have met, living or dead, and why?

Lincoln

Dahl

managing director, African Energy

In relation to business and economics, it would be Benjamin Franklin or Milton Friedman. Both were very practical men who seemed to know the difference between things that were fashionable and those that were sensible.

What do you consider to be your major achievement (in life or business)?

That’s easy, being a successful husband and father (so far) means much more than anything I do at work. It takes a different

executive insi ht Don’t weaken!

If this was easy, everyone would be doing it! set of skills and it can be a lot harder than running a business profitably.

Who or what do you think is overrated?

So many things. Almost anything riding high in the news cycle at the moment. The media seems dissatisfied with mere good things and needs to make them better than they are. In our industry, IPOs and private equity usually disappoint, and get disappointed themselves, due to over-rating on both sides.

Whenever a web site or presentation looks too slick in this industry, we have learned to watch out!

What mistakes have you made (professional or otherwise), and what did you learn from them?

This could be a long list. I guess I have only learned if I changed my behaviour. I have learned to trust my instincts when I find a good deal, but paradoxically I have also learned not to trust people when it really seems easy and convenient to do so. Also, the older I get, the more I realize that we really can have an impact in the world – it just might not be immediately apparent.

Which one piece of wisdom would you pass on to your successor?

Don’t weaken! If this was easy, everyone would be doing it!

Who has been your inspiration professionally?

My dad – we are in totally different industries, but I spent a lot of time working with him as I grew up. Much of how I deal with people and situations is based on how I saw him do it. I hope to be as good as him someday.

How would you like to be remembered after your retirement?

What’s retirement? I’ve heard it is surprising how much a person can accomplish if they don’t care who gets the credit. Even so, I’d like to be remembered as someone who created opportunities for others and encouraged them to grow.

Do you have a quote or motto you live (or work) by?

“Men are that they might have joy.” If you are not enjoying life as you live it, then something is probably wrong.

Lincoln Dahl is managing director of African Energy. www.africanenergy.com

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Zimbabwe ta

POTRAZ: The national regulator overseeing the develo of Zimbabwe’s telecommunications network

written by: John O’Hanlon research by: David Brogan

20 | be weekly

POTRAZ

alking

opment

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POTRAZ

W

Sites built under the Universal Service Fund are generally not on the national power grid, so POTRAZ has opted for environmental friendly solar power

hen it comes to telecoms Zimbabwe faces many of the problems common to African countries.

Though it has a better legacy in terms of fixed infrastructure than many of its neighbours, it covers a large territory and its 12 million population is scattered widely. Inevitably the cities were the best served populations, driven by business and government demand: until quite recently the rural areas saw very little service at all.

This has all started to change rapidly upon ‘dollarisation’ in 2009, when the power-sharing government officially adopted the US dollar for all its transactions. This move had a dramatic effect on Zimbabwe’s telecommunications industry, raising confidence and giving the three main mobile operators, Econet, NetOne and Telecel Zimbabwe, confidence to invest in network expansion. Prior to dollarisation access to telecommunications, especially mobile, was limited to only a privileged few and was seen as a status symbol, with less than 20 percent penetration. Today it has risen to 90 percent, while only three percent of households are connected to the fixed line network, and twelve percent to the internet via broadband or GSM. Overlooking this change is the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), the government body that licences all operators within the country and a key member of the Communication Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa (CRASA). POTRAZ is charged with promoting the development of the industry in an equitable manner.

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Not surprisingly most of the investment is currently going into funding the fast growing and technically dynamic mobile networks.

TelOne, the company formed after the government disbanded the former telecoms utility the Post and Telecommunications Corporation (PTC), still holds a de-facto monopoly on fixed-line services in Zimbabwe, though the government plans to privatise up to 60 percent of both TelOne and its mobile arm NetOne, either through an IPO or a strategic partnership with a foreign investor.

Despite having been granted its operating licence ahead of its two rivals, NetOne is third in terms of subscriber numbers, with Econet the market leader.

As at the end of September 2012, telecommunications in the form of either fixed or mobile services covered nearly 80 percent of the country (excluding national parks and game reserves), a very positive reflection of the work that has been done in recent years, says deputy director general of POTRAZ Alfred Marisa. However there are still significant parts of the country that are underserved because they are not a commercial proposition for the mobile operators, and addressing this is an important part of the regulator’s remit. POTRAZ administers the Universal Service Fund (USF), to which all

telecoms operators are obliged to contribute two percent of their revenues. “I think it was wise of government to put these funds into our hands,” says Marisa. “If it had been left in the hands of the Treasury the government might have ended up doing other things with the money but this way we can ensure it goes to improving the network, especially to remote rural areas.”

POTRAZ identifies sites in consultation with

“Operators are starting to appreciate the encouragement to invest in areas they would have otherwise neglected” 24 | be weekly

POTRAZ

The Universal Service Fund helps improve the network in remote rural areas

the commercial operators. If of 2013. The first phase consisted of sites at Chidodo, they don’t have plans to roll out a service, POTRAZ will Pfungwe, Neuso, Chilo, use its USF resources to build Chiodza, Malipati, Manama base station towers/masts and Dhlamini plus three Access to that it will then assign to the repeater stations. All the first telecommunications existing operators, but only phase sites are already on in Zimbabwe on condition that they share air. “Though the immediate benefit is felt by the people the resource with the others.

Many of the older existing who wouldn’t otherwise have towers were not designed to support shared been connected, it’s in the operators’ interest operation, says Marisa. “They are owned by to be pushed into expanding the network,” one but shared by all. Of course the operator says Marisa. “Some of them object to the that owns the site may charge a fee for levy but we will probably be able to reduce operational and maintenance costs.” that next year. Meanwhile they are starting Under the scheme eleven base stations to appreciate the encouragement to invest in have already been built using USF funds and areas they would have otherwise neglected.” a further 43 will be completed over the course This is not purely a social investment,

90%

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Eleven base stations have already been built using USF funds

Forty three b

“We want to see growth in the ITC sector and play our facilitatory role in encouraging operators to invest” he adds. Greater connectivity will drive business growth and regional prosperity— consequently traffic, and with it the operators’ revenues, will grow in the long term. As a regulator, Marisa realises that this growth will come not so much from voice as from

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data communications, which in an African context really means mobile broadband.

Econet and Telecel have been active in developing their offering in this field, with the government owned NetOne taking up the rear, but POTRAZ is encouraging its

POTRAZ

base stations are planned in 2013

POTRAZ exhibiting at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF)

operators to take the long view. “It is not just about taking the old base stations from town and siting them somewhere else; they need to put the most advanced technology out there.

These areas are still virgin land in terms of those operators!”

POTRAZ has been listening to the operators as well as haranguing them. One of the restrictions on telecoms growth, it recognises, has been the complexity of the licensing landscape with different licences for different services. “We want to get quickly to a point where we can offer technology neutral licences, or converged licences that

will allow an operator to provide any service which they see fit. I think that as a regulator we have done our best to get a culture of professionalism into the sector; we want to see growth in the ITC sector and play our facilitatory role in encouraging operators to invest.” Converged licences should be available in 2013. They will cut red tape and cost since each service currently requires a separate fee and application process. In turn this will draw more services into the market and encourage innovation, he believes.

And POTRAZ is in the process of coming up with a forward-looking costing model called

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USF resourced base station towers and masts must be shared with other operators

POTRAZ

2013 Converged licences should be available in Zimbabwe Long Run Incremental Cost (LRIC) which will be used for tariff determination. “We have already done some consultative workshops with various stakeholders including consumer groups, industry, operators and academia to come up with common positions on how the model should be developed, taking into account the various concerns of these stakeholders.”

Alfred Marisa’s priority is the end consumer, however. One of POTRAZ’ key functions is to monitor quality and make sure operators are offering acceptable and value for money services—and services that match the needs of the consumers whether in business or individually. “The regulatory environment we have created promotes innovation by our operators, always improving the service offering and encouraging them to introduce new services to the market. That is why we are encouraging our mobile operators to go into mobile broadband, expecting them to optimise their internet data offerings. The truth is that voice is already on the decline.

So for our operators to continue to cling on to that voice platform is not sustainable.”

For more information about POTRAZ visit: www.potraz.gov.zw

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Fibre for all The Finnish telecommunications organisation Finnet is piloting a new concept in home computing that could revolutionise the way we operate

written by: Gay Sutton research by: David Brogan

30 | be weekly

Finnet Association

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Inside the data centre

Finnet Association

F

inland is in many ways unique. in partnership with some of the biggest It is, for example, the European names in the world of ICT—IBM, HP, Cisco, Union’s most sparsely populated Juniper, Intel and Microsoft—it may well country with just 5.4 million herald the shape of home computing and inhabitants in an area larger than communications for years to come. The vision the UK, which by contrast is home to over is that householders will be able to replace 62 million people. It also has a challenging expensive PCs and laptops with what is climate and terrain. Frozen for part of the known as a thin client: a box that connects year, the countryside is largely low lying and via fast fibre cable to a remote data centre rocky, and characterised by dense forests and where all the computing operations and data a multitude of lakes formed in the last ice age. storage take place.

It’s not an easy terrain in which to create It is essentially a cloud-based computing a cable-based telecommunications system. model similar to the one that is expanding rapidly among small and In spite of the significant medium sized companies. challenges involved, the Finnish telecoms organisation Supermatrix, however, will Finnet is about to launch be extending the model to householders. As individuals a new and market leading we are already using cloudservice for householders in Monthly price of Finland called Supermatrix. based computing without Supermatrix service “This is the biggest step we being aware of it. We are have taken since we began storing emails, music, photos replacing our old copper network with fibre and books online through the likes of Google, in 2000,” said Jarmo Matilainen, managing Facebook, Flickr, Spotify, Amazon and so on.

This simply takes the concept to its ultimate director of Finnet Association.

Finnet is a group of 27 regional companies and individually personalised conclusion. providing telecoms services for over 40 “We are piloting Supermatrix in three of percent of the country and employing some our member companies, with a total of 300 2500 staff. While the regional companies customers,” Matilainen said. “And they are directly sell, supply and manage the currently helping us to define and improve services, Finnet Association provides the the service.” Finnet then plans to launch the member companies with a wide range service through all 27 regional companies in of support services, including strategy spring 2013, and hopes to have around 10,000 and project development, marketing, users by the end of the year. The benefits of government lobbying and negotiating the system are compelling. Finnet will supply volume procurement for the entire group. a thin client box, mice and keyboards to Supermatrix is a visionary project that has participating homes enabling them to run up been four years in preparation. Developed to four PC-equivalent outlets per household.

€15

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“We are piloting Supermatrix in three of our member companies, with a total of 300 customers�

Digging for the fibre cable

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Finnet Association “Our thinking is that this will not completely replace PCs, laptops and Macs. They will always have their place for certain applications,” Matilainen continued. “But Supermatrix will be ideal for the majority of customers who need simple office applications, want access to the web for YouTube and downloads, or want to archive documents and images.”

Initially, the service will come with applications such as photo manipulation and drawing, and a basic office package from Libreoffice that includes word processing, Difficult weather conditions spreadsheet and presentation The Supermatrix service has only become tools. “The reason we believe this will be successful is that people are moving away possible because the Finnet group of companies from old Windows-based PCs. Some are has been making a continuous long-term migrating to tablets, smart phones and investment in infrastructure, under the laptops, but many don’t want the expense of strategic management of Finnet Association. purchasing such equipment. We are pricing In 2000, the 27 regional companies began this service at €15 per month, replacing the existing and this includes everything copper telecoms cables with except the screen,” Matilainen the latest fibre optic cable. explained. Home owners can Initially, this began in areas then connect the Supermatrix of higher population density, box to existing screens or to but the aim is to connect their TV screens by HDMI. every household in the Finnet marketplace to the fibre “What this gives you is the equivalent of 4 PCs in your network. Since 2007 over Cost of connecting fibre home with all the software €250 million has been spent optic cable to every household on installing fibre, and by the and processing power you need for just €15 a month.” time the project is completed

€400 million

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in 2020 the final bill is expected to have risen to €400 million. The greatest challenge now is extending coverage to individual homes located in remote outlying areas. “The terrain is our greatest challenge,” Matilainen said.

“Finland has a lot of rocks and a lot of lakes.

The cable has to be laid over very large distances, and this requires a high level of investment.”

Alongside this long-term investment in

fibre network coverage, Finnet has also been constructing a series of data centres strategically located in different areas of Finland. “We currently have 12 data centres and another under construction at Kajaani, a remote location in central Finland.” This newest data centre is being constructed in partnership with IBM and an old paper mill has been chosen for its location. With plenty of space, a good power supply and water for

“People are migrating to tablets, smart phones and laptops, but many don’t want the expense of purchasing such equipment”

Supematrix service

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Finnet Association

Supermatrix devices

cooling, it has excellent connections through the fibre network, and should go into operation next year. “Almost all our data centres will ultimately be able to offer the Supermatrix service,” he continued. “However when we launch the service next year we will begin by operating it from just one.”

So far, around €3 million has been invested in the Supermatrix project. Much of the purchasing and strategic management has been done through Finnet Association, while each of the 27 regional companies has contributed towards the costs, spreading the financial burden throughout the group and making it more manageable. “We also expect to invest up to €30 million in data

centres which will be used for private and public sector customer IT services, and for the telecommunications and cable TV businesses.

Looking to the future, if Supermatrix proves to be the success Finnet hopes, Matilainen believes there may be opportunities to take the concept beyond Finland. Sweden and Norway, for example, have good fibre networks. There is no doubt that many telecoms companies will be watching the outcome of this project very closely.

For more information about Finnet Association visit: www.finnet.fi

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CAT Telecom

Making sense of the future CAT Telecom is striving to lead the way in providing wireless multimedia services in one of Southeast Asia’s most economically dynamic nations

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CAT Tower at Bangrak, Bangkok, with telecommunication facilities suitable for network and service providers

CAT Telecom

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ith a GDP worth $602 on transforming itself in order to effectively billion, Thailand is support all services and respond quicker the second largest to changing customer needs. While every economy in Southeast step of development has been carried Asia. Having enjoyed out simultaneously, including network the world’s highest growth rate from 1985 development, the company has also to 1996, during which time it averaged 12.4 launched the Asia-America Gateway (AAG) percent growth annually, the country is today project. A modern international submarine considered to be a newly industrialised, cable system with a capacity of 1.92 terabits emerging economy. per second, this project has greatly helped The world’s 51st-largest country in terms advance the potential of the company’s own of total area, Thailand boasts an advanced CAT Internet Gateway. telecommunications industry that operates Much of the company’s domestic success through an extensive network of telephone derives from its provision of internet services. lines covering the 513,000 As a result of its links with the previous government of square kilometres of the Thailand and its advanced Indochina nation. In recent i n f r a s t r uc t u r e , C AT years, mobile cellular Telecom holds a competitive telephone ownership has grown at a much faster rate advantage over its rivals. This CAT Telecom established advantage is further buoyed than landline ownership.

Partly as a result of the by its unique access to the mobile communications price war that country’s fibre optic network. erupted in 2004, which led to prices falling Partnerships with key local and as low as 0.25 Baht per minute, there are international partners have also proved now approximately five times as many mobile invaluable for the company. One such cellular telephones than landlines in use. relationship exists between CAT Telecom Based on the most recent data available, and Hong Kong-based company PCCW more than half of the Thai population owns Limited. In providing PCCW with access to a mobile telephone, with more numbers the Thai telecoms market, CAT Telecom in allocated than number of population. turn receives access to the lucrative Hong Established in August 2003, under the Kong market where PCCW holds interests name of the Communications Authority of in telecommunications, media, IT solutions, Thailand, CAT Telecom exists to provide all property development and investment. categories and forms of telecommunication Not only has the company worked to services, as well as other related solutions, to improve its existing services in line with the customers domestically and internationally. requirements of its customers, and the rapid In recent times CAT Telecom has focused changes in communications technology, but it

2003

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CAT CAT TELECOM Telecom CAT Telecom feature text

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has also strived to create new same time CAT Telecom is to go here......Lorem ipsum et dolore magna aliqua. Ut solutions that bring added increasing the capacity of its dolor sit amet, consectetur enim ad minim veniam, value to the voice, broadband telephone exchange system to adipisicing elit, sed do quis nostrud exercitation and wireless products that its support a growing subscriber ullamco laboris nisi ut eiusmod tempor incididunt users already enjoy. base. aliquip ex ea commodo ut labore et dolore magna In the company’s 2010 In the last two years the consequat. Duis aute irure aliqua. Ut enim ad minim annual report, great detail company has commenced dolor in reprehenderit in veniam, quis nostrud was given regarding a series work on phase two of its voluptate velit esse cillum exercitation ullamco laboris of projects that will help drive Universal Service Obligation dolore eu fugiat nulla nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo business in the months and (USO) project. Phase one pariatur. Excepteur sint consequat. Duis aute irure years to follow. At the top of Opening ceremony of the annual saw it install both fixed line dolor in reprehenderit in This is a caption this is a caption occaecat cupidatat non its agenda was the building CAT Network Showcase 2012 and public telephones in proident, sunt in culpa qui voluptate velit esse cillum of a digital trunked radio some of the more remote dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. system (DTRS) mobile network. This will villages found in Thailand to low income sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur replace the old analog network and further households, schools and health stations, as in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor extend services to areas such as Bangkok’s well as providing phone cards to people with est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. industrial zones, the eastern seaboard of disabilities. consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud To implement the second stage of this the country and its central region. At the

TRUE CORPORATION PLC True Corporation Plc, one of Thailand’s strongest and most recognizable brands, is the country’s only fully-integrated telecommunications operator. True’s strength is its ability to offer the convergence benefits of its networks, products and services.

True operates three core businesses: TrueOnline, the largest broadband and fixed-line phone provider in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area, as well as the leading Wi-Fi service provider; TrueMove, Thailand’s third-largest mobile operator, and TrueMove H, which provides nationwide commercial 3G services via HSPA technology on 850 MHz in conjunction with CAT Telecom Public Company Limited (CAT); and TrueVisions, the dominant nationwide pay-TV operator. Other

businesses include TrueMoney which offers payment and booking solutions, and TrueLife which comprises digital content and lifestyle convergence services.

True’s mobile business arm was the first to officially launch the iPhone 3 in Thailand, and has quickly over the past five years become the market leader in smartphones covering many operating systems. This leadership is further strengthened by True’s convergence platform and

by TrueMove H, the group’s flagship carrier and a reseller of CAT, in rolling out 3G+ services on a 3G (850 MHz) network that delivers the fastest speeds and has the largest nationwide coverage across all 77 provinces in Thailand. www.truemove-h.com

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project CAT Telecom will establish a combined telephone and internet service within the aforementioned communities. Furthermore, it will promote and support technology development in terms of equipment and telecommunications services to facilitate the telecommunication requirements of children, the elderly and the disabled in society.

Broadband internet is the central theme behind the majority of the company’s on-going and forthcoming investment plans, particular its CAT-TeleHouse plan, fibre to the

x (FTTx) project, Gulf of Thailand submarine cable network project and its IP core network development programme. The CAT-TeleHouse service is designed to support the growth of ICT business in those telecommunication organisations that own massive amounts of data and wish to have access to a reliable data centre system. Said telecommunication or service providers also want to have the ability to link their main network to either national or international gateways.

The FTTx project is a large scale

“CAT Telecom is increasing the capacity of its telephone exchange system to support a growing subscriber base�

CAT Network Showcase 2012, an annual event to show IT & telecoms technology innovation

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CAT Telecom

CAT and Laos service provider, Lao Telecom (LTC), hosted the International Network showcase 2012

telecommunication network development being undertaken by Thailand. For its part, CAT Telecom will build the Lastmile network, an optical fibre network linking providers and clients, giving them access to ultra-high speed broadband internet and other new applications that will be developed in the years ahead. The target areas for this project include Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi and Phathum Thani.

The Gulf of Thailand submarine cable network project meanwhile aims to increase the number of connecting business groups across the Thai Gulf region, providing them with all forms of telecommunication services, from multimedia to broadband internet services.

Utilising DWDM technology, the submarine cable will link Chonburi and Songkhla.

Lastly, CAT Telecom’s IP core network development project has been established to improve the efficiency of the network in order

to support high-speed data transmissions, as well as expanding the network to cover more zones. The 100 Gbps, IP core network project, the largest of its kind in Thailand, will provide increased benefits for residential clients as well as organisations, educational institutes and multinational companies.

Playing a crucial role in the development of Thailand’s telecommunications sector, CAT Telecom is also a provider of 3G mobile services. The company provides a 3G HSPA service, enabling its customers to experience speeds of up to 42 Mbps. This service represents a new milestone for high speed internet that Thai customers can now experience through their mobile phones.

For more information about CAT Telecom visit: www.cattelecom.com

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A source of inspiration

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Bentley Systems

From buildings and bridges to clean energy and clean water, Bentley Systems has been sustaining some of the world’s most significant infrastructure projects for close to 30 years

written by: Will Daynes research by: Will Kirby

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Bentley Systems

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Finsch mine project, courtesy of Petra Diamonds Limited, Lime Acres, South Africa

hen we think of infrastructure we tend to think about the hardware involved, be it the materials used or the equipment and tools to bring structures and buildings to life. What we tend to take for granted are the software solutions involved and how crucial they are to the entire process.

A global leader in its field, Bentley is dedicated to providing architects, engineers, constructors, geospatial professionals and owner-operators with comprehensive solutions for sustaining infrastructure.

Founded in 1984, the company has grown to the point where it now employs almost 3000 people in more than 45 countries.

At its core, Bentley’s mission is to give its clients the ability to leverage information modelling through integrated projects for high-performing intelligent infrastructure.

Since 2003, the company has invested more than $1 billion in research, development and acquisitions in order to grow both organically and through successful takeovers.

The solutions offered by the company encompass its MicroStation platform for infrastructure design and modelling, its ProjectWise platform for infrastructure project team collaboration and work sharing, and its AssetWise platform for infrastructure asset operations. These platforms support a broad portfolio of interoperable applications and are complemented by global professional services.

Bentley’s expertise and capabilities have seen it extend its reach into all manner of industry sectors, from power generation and

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rail to utilities and communications. One area of particular significance is the mining and metals industry. It is here that the company has been striving to deliver solutions that will allow its clients to meet the unprecedented level of demand for raw materials from both the manufacturing and construction sectors.

Driven by the high commodity prices that have occurred as a result of this demand, the

industry’s priority, at least in the short-term, is to obtain the necessary capacity required to bring as much raw material to market as quickly as possible. While it is doing so the company also incorporates the longer term view of overall sustainability of the industry and the environment as the resources get extracted and assets need decommissioning.

Bentley’s mining and metals solution is

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Bentley Systems

Vale Cristalino Project, courtesy of SEI Engenharia Ltda, Canaa dos Carajas, Brazil

compelling in that it offers both short and long-term benefits to help increase the efficiency of capital projects associated with the design, procurement and construction of mines and processing plants, as well as solutions for supporting the operations and maintenance of the built assets, and their subsequent decommissioning.

Addressing both the areas of mining and transportation, and ore processing and refining, what Bentley has found is key to bringing value is a combination of consistent, accurate and available engineering data across the lifecycle, coupled with the most comprehensive set of interoperable design and analysis tools. With these at a users’ disposal they have a far greater chance of

their assets reaching optimum potential.

Bentley’s mining and metals products expand across a wide spectrum of disciplines, from plant design, engineering and operation, land development to geospatial information management, water modelling and structural analysis. A major supplier to both owner organisations and EPC companies that serve this industry, Bentley can boast having ten of the top 20 mining companies, as measured by market capitalisation, as customers, including all of the top five.

Bentley’s success across the mining and metals sector over the last several years has been well documented through the innovative uses of its products by its users submitting to the Be Inspired Awards programme.

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Recognising the world’s most outstanding infrastructure projects, submissions are judged by a jury of independent experts who determine which examples best exemplify innovation, superior vision and a commitment to quality and productivity.

In the category of Mining and Metals, projects in Australia included, in 2011, the $630 million crushing plant at Fortescue in Western Australia where modeling in

3D resulted in 30 percent time savings and overall cost savings of 20 percent. In 2012, AMEC fast-tracked project delivery at FMG’s Cloudbreak ore-handling plant in Western Australia with rapid deployment of MicroStation, Structural Modeler, and Bentley PlantSpace to reduce steelwork drafting time by 31 percent. In 2009, the award went to the Hatch Africa, QMM Ilmenite Project in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar. The primary goal

“Bentley users have achieved both short and long-term benefits that improve the performance of engineering and construction capital projects”

Vale Cristalino Project, courtesy of SEI Engenharia Ltda, Canaa dos Carajas, Brazil

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Bentley Systems

Finsch mine project, courtesy of Petra Diamonds Limited, Lime Acres, South Africa

of this project involved the Project in Canaa dos Carajas, development of a productive Brazil. The goal of this ilmenite mine consisting of project is to build a $2.6 billion copper plant that will a mining extraction pond, produce 16 million tonnes per dredger, wet plant and a Invested in research, mineral separation plant. annum with average annual development and In order to improve production of 340,000 tonnes acquisitions since 2003 workflows and reduce costs, of copper concentrate. As Hatch deployed 3D plant part of this undertaking, Vale design using MicroStation as the CAD platform contracted SEI Engenharia to perform frontand software including Bentley Structural, end loading and deliver a 3D model.

TriForma, PlantSpace and Bentley Navigator.

This 3D model was used to advance the The 3D models used reduced the number of concept studies during the detailed design 2D drawing deliverables and streamlined the phase, which helped achieve the goal of steel fabrication and construction processes. accelerating project execution. In order to This enabled the steel fabrication contract to do this, SEI trained its design team to use be placed earlier than anticipated, improving Bentley software such as MicroStation, Bentley the critical path of the construction schedule. Architecture and Bentley Navigator to carry The winning project in 2011 was from SEI out the modelling of infrastructure, concrete Engenharia, working on Vale’s Cristalino and steel structures, substations and industrial

$1 Billion

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QMM Ilmenite Mine, Fort Dauphin, Madagascar, courtesy of Hatch Africa

Bentley Systems installations. Ultimately, the integrated workflow that Bentley’s solutions helped create saved approximately 5100 man hours and reduced front-end loading costs by $400,000.

In 2012, Petra Diamonds Limited, Finsch GIS, in Lime Acres, South Africa won the Be Inspired Award for Mining and Metals.

Located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, the Finsch mine is operated by majority owner Petra Diamonds, which developed a 700,000 South African rand integrated spatial data management system to manage geospatial data for five departments that were functioning in isolation. The company also co-manages the mining town of Lime Acres, for which the GIS-based system captures data and bills residents for water and electricity usage. Survey and plan data are captured and digitized in MicroStation, with Bentley Map links features representing the mining lifecycle, town layout, and residential setup, and Bentley Geo Web Publisher makes the geospatial mining and town information accessible to the whole mining group.

Engineering professionals strive to shorten project schedules and lower operating costs through improved access to mission-critical information. Bentley users have achieved both short-term and long-term benefits that not only improve the performance of engineering and construction capital projects, but also increase the efficiency of operations for mines and metals processing and refining plants.

For more information about Bentley Systems visit: www.bentley.com

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Power st

This is a difficult time for the States. Janet Gellici, CEO of talks about finding a way

written by: Ma research by: Ric

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American Coal Council

truggles

e coal industry in the United f the American Coal Council, y to overcome the challenges

Martin Ashcroft chard Halfhide

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T

he coal industry provides over 40 percent of the United States’ electricity, but it seems to be under attack from all quarters.

Just because you’re paranoid, the saying goes, it doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.

“It is challenging,” says Janet Gellici, CEO of the American Coal Council, with some understatement. “I’ve been in the business for thirty years. It’s been more challenging recently than I’ve known it before, but these things ebb and flow. We’re running into some headwind, but we’ll find a way or we’ll make one – I think Hannibal said that about driving his elephants across the Pyrenees.” He got there, remember.

The American Coal Council is an industry body with a broad remit. “We represent companies from the hole in the ground to the plug in the wall,” says Gellici. While The National Mining Association is focused exclusively on coal and mineral suppliers, the American Coal Council is also concerned with power generation and industrial users of coal, railroads, ports, barge transporters and energy traders. “We have about 180 member companies so we represent a significant portion of the US coal industry,” she says.

The power generation market is currently a major concern, with coal under severe pressure from all sides. “There are a number of factors impacting where we are today with coal fired power generation,” says Gellici. “Top of my list would be the transition away from coal to natural gas. This is partly propelled by policy, but also because natural gas is so abundant and cheap.”

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American Coal Council

The United States has about five to ten gigawatts of new coal generation coming online between now and 2014, but it’s going to lose between 30-80 gigawatts of coal fired power by 2030 as older plants are shuttered— mostly due to replacement by natural gas but also to some extent by renewables.

The Obama administration is keen to encourage the transition to natural gas, which it does through subsidies, tariffs, tax exemptions and other financial measures. It is up to the individual states, however, to set their own policy and regulations concerning energy generation, and most states have set mandatory renewable energy targets in the form of a “renewable portfolio standard” (RPS) or “alternative energy portfolio standard” (AEPS) which require a certain percentage of a utility’s power plant capacity or generation to come from renewable or alternative energy sources by a given date. Colorado is the highest at 30 percent. “They vary from state to state,” says Gellici. “Some of the states count hydro, too, and some count energy efficiency or conservation measures into that percentage.”

Natural gas and renewables are a threat to coal simply by being alternatives, but you would expect an industry like coal to be able to respond to competition, given a level playing field. The field is skewed in this case, however, by the campaigns being mounted by environmental groups, targeted specifically at coal. You might think that restrictions on the use of coal in the United States would open the door to exports, bringing many benefits to an economy with high unemployment that is struggling for growth, but it’s nowhere near as straightforward as that.

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Coal-fired steam plant near Page, Arizona

“There are significant export opportunities for coal,” says Gellici, “especially out of the West, but we’re running into opposition there from the environmental community. There are one and a half billion people in the world without access to electricity and here we sit on the world’s largest coal reserves, but we can’t sell it to them.” The environmental groups are opposed to coal being burned anywhere in the world, she explains, not just in the United States, so they are trying to curtail the development of ports, particularly on the west coast, so that coal can’t be shipped out for export. Legislation has been proposed in

California, for example, which would mean that coal could not be exported to countries that don’t have equally stringent regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.

“There are a number of barriers being thrown up in opposition to export,” continues Gellici. “People are objecting to the number of trains used to transport coal in their communities, they are trying to stop coal trains coming through, and allowing only cargo trains. They’re all focusing on coal.”

The coal industry has made tremendous progress in emission reductions in recent years, but gets no credit for it whatsoever.

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“We’ve decreased our emissions of NOx, SO2 and mercury significantly, at the same time as the use of coal has been increasing,” says Gellici. “Billions of dollars have been spent in the development of clean coal technology, but we’re not even being permitted to build new cleaner coal facilities.”

The great hope for the future of the coal industry is carbon capture and storage technology (CCS), but although much progress has been made, it’s not commercially available yet. That does not inhibit the Environmental Protection Agency from introducing requirements for new power plants that cannot possibly be met without it, however.

“Everyone I speak to says that eliminating coal is not going to get us where we need to be in

Power plant on Lake Michigan

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terms of greenhouse gas emissions, so we need that carbon capture and storage technology to be perfected,” says Gellici, “but it’s not ready yet, and the regulations are written in such a way that it will be impossible for any utility company to consider building a coal power plant at this point. So after 2014-2015 there will be no new coal power plants being built.”

It makes you wonder, as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid did while being tracked, who are these guys? Whoever they are, they are certainly in pursuit of coal. “There’s one regulation that illustrates this well,” says Gellici, “the Stream Buffer Zone Rule, which bans mountaintop mining. The EPA came out with some water quality guidelines which were specifically applied to six Appalachian States in

American Coal Council

“Every time a piece of legislation gets passed in the House, it pretty much dies in the Senate” the US, and only to coal mining.” Mountaintop removal may offend the green lobbies in San Francisco, New York and Washington, but it’s an integral part of the economy in West Virginia, Kentucky and the Carolinas.

The recent US elections have not done the coal industry any favors, either.

Although a Republican dominated House of Representatives has proposals that would

benefit the coal industry, says Gellici, “every time a piece of legislation gets passed in the House, it pretty much dies in the Senate, which will be Democratically controlled again for the next session of Congress.”

The legislative process is gridlocked by court actions anyway, as Gellici explains. “We will not have any new legislation on energy and environmental policy issues,” she says. “What we will have are court cases.” When regulations are proposed by the administration, the EPA, the Department of the Interior, et al, they are immediately challenged in the courts. “That means that the courts will be the deciding factor,” she says. “They will be dictating policy for the next two to four years.”

This deadlock means that new environmental safeguards cannot be put in place. “There are New Source Review (NSR) regulations in the US that preclude us from making changes or improvements to existing power plants,” says Gellici, “so companies are not willing to upgrade their turbines or improve their boiler performance, in case they are hit by lawsuits.

“Another thing that is really objectionable to us as an industry,” she continues, “is that we’re starting to see very incremental benefits with these regulations. Balancing the costs of the regulations with the economic value we’re receiving from them has become very lopsided.

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Coal power station

American Coal Council The Mercury Air Standard Toxic Rule (MATS), for instance, is currently in the courts. EPA is projecting that it will cost something from $10 to $11 billion for our industry to comply with this regulation, but the health benefits are less than one percent.”

Despite all the obstacles, Gellici still believes in the ebb and flow principle. “As power costs rise I would expect there to be some push back from citizens,” she says, and of course, it’s votes that count.

The communications industry is already voting with its feet, as it were. “We’re seeing hugely increasing power demand from companies like Google, Facebook and Apple,” says Gellici. “Greenpeace brought out a study earlier this year that said if the cloud were a country it would be fifth largest electricity user in the world.” It’s a trend that’s likely to continue for the foreseeable future as more people download audio and video files, and companies use the cloud for data storage. “As these companies rely on a secure source of power, they’re locating their power facilities in places where there is cheap and reliable coal and nuclear power available. They’re not depending on wind or solar.”

The coal industry may have to endure another four years of siege, but if carbon capture and storage technology continues to be advanced and supported by government and industry, we may see the pendulum swing back the other way.

For more information about American Coal Council visit: www.americancoalcouncil.org

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Inspiring national prid By embracing change and innovation, PetroSA is opening up new horizons for South Africa’s energy sector

written by: Will Daynes research by: Robert Hodgson

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PetroSA

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PetroSA

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s the leading economic power in Africa, it’s no surprise that South Africa is a key player in the African oil industry.

Liquid fuels are an important component of its energy sector, with the 2012 BP Statistical Energy Survey revealing that, in 2011, South Africa consumed an average of 547,250 barrels of oil per day.

The history of the oil industry in South Africa can be traced back to 1884, when the first oil company was established in Cape Town with the purpose of importing refined products.

In the years since, the industry has evolved greatly to the point where today the country is responsible for processing approximately 20 million tonnes of crude oil per annum.

Formed in 2002, upon the merger of Soekor E and P Limited, Mossgas Limited and parts of the Strategic Fuel Fund, the Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (PetroSA) is the national oil company. A subsidiary of the state-owned Central Energy Fund, the company holds various assets that span the petroleum value chain.

In addition to operating the FA-EM, South Coast gas fields, and the Oribi and Oryx oil fields, PetroSA is also responsible for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas from the ORCA oil rig and the production of synthetic fuels from offshore gas at what is one of the world’s largest gas-to-liquid (GTL) refineries in Mossel Bay. PetroSA’s GTL refinery produces ultraclean, low-sulphur, low-aromatic synthetic fuels and other high-value products that are converted from natural methane-rich gas.

This gas then condensates via the use of the

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PETRO SA PetroSA GIJIMA Gijima is a proudly empowered South African Information Technology (IT) company listed on the JSE. It has gained recognition as the complete IT partner to a considerable client base of large technology users in both the public and private sectors. As one of the leading IT companies in southern Africa its intellectual capacity, business model and extended geographic footprint is unparalleled in the local market and provides clients with sophisticated and diverse service delivery options in the infrastructure, solutions, system integration and networking arenas.

The ethos by which it operates is to constantly seek to set the pace when it comes to industry thought leadership. Gijima’s eagerness to learn and commitment to make a difference allows its clients to unequivocally regard them as their partner of choice. Their innovative and entrepreneurial abilities enable them to consistently develop solutions to business problems – shifting boundaries that have established them as a leader in their chosen markets.

At the recent Microsoft Partner Network awards, Gijima walked away with no fewer than six top achiever awards in separate categories.

These awards are a testament to the skill and vision of their people in customising various vendor technologies to the benefit of their clients.

These awards coupled with the release of mobileIT, Gijima’s homegrown integrated all-in-one platform for the development, implementation and full life cycle management of mobile applications, mobile users and mobile devices, positions them as the preferred partner to their clients.

Gijima strives to be a magnet for talent, enthusiastic, loyal and energised staff; always developing, always growing, reaping the rewards

of the company they helped create. Gijima strives to deliver a blend of sophistication, passion and a graciousness of spirit for one another, and for PetroSA in support of their vision to become a fully integrated, commercially competitive national oil company, supplying at least 25 percent of South Africa’s liquid fuel needs by 2020 - a legacy that they can both be proud of. info@gijima.com www.gijima.com

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Steeltest was formed in 1989 and is involved exclusively in hi tech non-destructive testing.

The company is based in South Africa, but operates throughout Africa, The Middle East and South-East Asia.With the introduction of innovative technology and the continuous improvement of service delivery and our policy on training our aim is to become the premier supplier of specialised non- destructive testing globally.

TUBE INSPECTION of Ferrous and Non-Ferrous tubing in heat exchangers using the following methods: Eddy Current, Remote Field, IRIS, Laser Internal inspection & Visual.

EMAT FOR PIPELINES A very reliable method for: 100% rapid scanning of pipelines (up to 1km / day). Highly sensitive system particularly suited for evaluating corrosion under supports.

Scans in both longitudinal & circumferential directions.

SPECIALIZED REQUIERMENTS FOR ECONOMIZERS & BOILERS using IRIS to produce visual computerized 3D models of your unit, for more informative representation of inspection data.

Can be cross cut in all axes, printed & with data filters customizable to clients requierments.

GUIDED WAVE PIPE SCREENING also known as Long Range Ultrasonic Testing. The Guided Wave technology screens 100% of the volume of the piping inspected for metal loss features such as corrosion and erosion at distances up to 100m in either direction from a single location. In the case of insulated lines only 300mm of insulation needs to be removed to inspect long lengths of pipe. Can be used on pipe racks, insulated pipe, road crossings, submerged pipes, buried pipes & restricted access pipelines.

TUBE MICRO BLASTING This is a particularly effective means of cleaning tubes and is used especially in the case of IRIS and laser inspections where the tubes need to be cleaned down to bare metal.

EMAT (Electomagnetic Acoustic Testing) For Boiler Walls provides rapid screening of ferrous tubing (up to 1km / 12 hour shift.) The temateÂŽ TG-IS(B) is designed for detecting wall loss, hydrogen damage and caustic gauging in boiler tubes.

Ultrasonic EMAT technique provides accurate thickness readings with minimum preparation of tube surface.

HANDY SCAN By combining state of the art laser scanner technology with existing NDT techniques it is now possible to provide accurate and detailed 3D images of equipment using advanced 3D modelling software.

Features such as pitting and corrosion can be accurately mapped, analysed and saved for comparison during follow-up inspections. Applications include wear of moving components, tip errosion of turbine blades, external corrosion on pipelines etc.

STEELTEST INSPECTION SPECIALISTS – OUR PREFORMANCE IS YOUR STRENGTH Phone: +27 16 422 4930 Fax: +27 16 422 4933 Web: www.steeltest.co.za Email: Steeltest@cyberserv.co.za

PETRO SA PetroSA

STEEL TEST

TUBE INSPECTION

PIPELINE INSPECTION

TANK INSPECTION

3D CORROSION

TUBE CLEANING

POSITIVE MATERIAL IDENTIFICATION

Based in South Africa but operating throughout Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia, Steel Test provides its customers with global expertise combined with localised personal service.

Steel Test has a dedicated professional staff of 74 people committed to satisfying the demanding requirements of its diverse client base. Our clients are largely in oil, gas and power generation but we also carry out inspections in the sugar, pulp and paper, chemical and mining industries. With an initial emphasis on tube inspection, more recently we have extended our services to both tanks and pipelines.

Using a combination of cutting edge technology, Steel Test offers a number of inspection techniques, including pipe, tube and tank inspections, shut down based inspections, in-service evaluation, acid management and condition assessment.

Steel Test prides itself on its technical capabilities, and aspires to become the preferred specialised global non-destructive testing company. www.steeltest.co.za

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OTI EasyFuel Homebase Solution The OTI EasyFuel Homebase Solution is a complete automated refuelling system that controls and manages the dispensing of fuel at homebase sites. Technology and systems that have been available to fully fledged service stations and fuelling points is now available to homebase depots - along with our commitment to ensure you derive the full benefits and savings the solution has to offer. Reduce operating costs, fraud and theft with this affordable offer from OTI Africa !

OTI Africa is pleased to announce that our complete EasyFuel Homebase Solution has been commissioned for PetroSA at their strategic refinery in Mossel Bay and OTI Africa is providing a wide range of monitoring, reporting and account management services to PetroSA. www.otiglobal.com

Charlotte Hambly-Nuss or Mark Levin can be contacted for more information on +27 21 526 9100 or info@oti-africa.co.za

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Seen www.bus-ex.com

PetroSA

heavily in new processes refinery’s unique GTL Fischer TrÜpsch technology. and technologies, signing PetroSA is recognised in a sponsorship agreement the industry as a pioneer when in 2010 with the University it comes to petrochemical of the Western Cape research and development.

(UWC). This agreement With the support of external led to the establishment Oil consumed by South partners from around the of the PetroSA Synthetic Africa per day in 2011 world, its specialists have Fuels Research Centre at built a reputation based on the UWC. It also resulted their innovative thinking, technical expertise in the company relocating its conversion and proven ability to execute development of olefins to distillates (COD) pilot plant projects. Upon its opening in 1992, the Mossel from Mossel Bay to the university where it Bay refinery was the first in the world to use stands today in a custom-built laboratory.

COD technology is beginning to attract GTL technology on a commercial scale and since then, only seven other GTL refineries significant attention within the industry for its have been commissioned in the world. ability to produce some of the cleanest fuels The company continues to invest available, using an environmentally friendly

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process. As the profile of this technology rises, so too does that of PetroSA by being the operator of the only COD plant in the world.

The actual COD process involves synthesising petrol and diesel by adding short-chain, unsaturated carbons in order to form longer chain hydrocarbons in the petrol and diesel boiling range. This is carried out at relatively high temperatures and pressures over a catalyst.

Today, COD is recognised as being a rapidly emerging fuel technology of the future. This comes at a time during which rising oil prices are intensifying the demand for cheaper raw materials and more efficient, cost-effective processes. At the same time, global trends show an accelerating demand for high quality diesel and diesel produced using COD technology is regarded as being of exceptional quality.

Among its many important strengths, COD produces relatively pure fuels that are low in sulphur and aromatics, while at the same time meeting the most stringent of international specifications. These fuels possess much better exhaust emission properties than conventionally produced equivalents and this makes them particularly suitable as blend materials for conventional and bioderived fuels. Furthermore, COD fuels have excellent cold flow properties, making them

highly effective when used in countries that experience cold winters.

With the future in mind, PetroSA has reached an agreement with the UWC that will allow it to achieve two key objectives.

The first is to further develop COD and its associated technologies, while the second is to help develop South Africa’s human capital.

Among the core strategic functions of the company are to make it possible for

“PetroSA’s GTL refinery produces ultra-clean, high-value products that are converted from natural methane-rich gas” 76 | be weekly

PetroSA

the government of South to achieve this. These include Africa to improve the supply sustaining the Mossel Bay of fuel, oil and gas to the GTL refinery as a profitable country, mitigate the impact operation and using it as of oil price variations, drive a platform to sustain the PetroSA established transformation initiatives, company. In addition, the manage the country’s company will continue to ensure all of its operations and contingency crude reserves and strategic petroleum assets, and access activities are carried out in line with the highest upstream petroleum assets. health, safety, quality and environmental In addition to these functions, the company standards as it grows its business into a also boasts a strategic objective it calls Our significant industry player that can guarantee Vision 2020. The ultimate aim of this is to the security of South Africa’s energy supply. become a fully integrated, commercially competitive national oil company, supplying For more information about at least 25 percent of South Africa’s liquid PetroSA visit: fuel needs by 2020. www.petrosa.co.za There are several ways that PetroSA plans

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