Business Focus Magazine - Issue No.112

Issue No.112

SPECIAL FEATURE: TRAVEL INFRASTRUCTURE

ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

RISING

TO NEW HEIGHTS

Exclusive interview with Greater Orlando Aviation Authority CEO Kevin Thibault on one of the busiest airports in the United States & continuing its major expansion project.

Ardent Hire | The future of Plant Hire | Pharmaron | Taking Gene Therapy to the Next Level TenneT | The Future of the Energy Grid | Torque Africa Group | A Record-Breaking Operation

FEATURE YOUR BUSINESS With a global readership of over 340,000, Business Focus Magazine is the perfect platform to place your business in front of our Senior Executive level audience. www.businessfocusmagazine.com

PROJECT MANAGERS

EDITOR’S NOTE

ANDREW BOURKE a.bourke@ceomediagroup.com DEAN BROWN d.brown@ceomediagroup.com CHRIS CONWAY c.conway@ceomediagroup.com DAVID GARNER d.garner@ceomediagroup.com TIMOTHY GARWOOD t.garwood@ceomediagroup.com ANNEMIEK GROENEWEGEN a.groenewegen@ceomediagroup.com DAVID HAYVIS d.hayvis@ceomediagroup.com JOHN HOLLIMAN j.holliman@ceomediagroup.com AMANDA JONES a.jones@ceomediagroup.com DECLAN JONES d.jones@ceomediagroup.com ROBERT NAPIER SMITH r.smith@ceomediagroup.com LIAM PYWELL l.pywell@ceomediagroup.com JAKE REEMAN j.reeman@ceomediagroup.com HAYDEN TURNER h.turner@ceomediagroup.com RASH UDDIN r.uddin@ceomediagroup.com

DESIGN

SCOTT ANDREWS design@ceomediagroup.com RACHAEL CROOK artwork@ceomediagroup.com

ACCOUNTS

MIKE ASHER accounts@ceomediagroup.com

PRODUCTION

KAMILA KAJTOCH production@ceomediagroup.com

EDITORIAL

CHRIS FARNELL cfarnell@ceomediagroup.com

SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR

TREVOR GRETSINGER t.gretsinger@ceomediagroup.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS, PRESS RELEASES AND GENERAL ENQUIRIES: info@ceomediagroup.com

The content of this magazine is copyright of CEO Media Group.

Redistribution or reproduction of any content is prohibited. © Copyright 2023 CEO Media Group.

FOCUS ON

T R AV E L Going anywhere nice for the Summer? It is the favourite question of hairdressers everywhere, and this month it is a question we at Business Focus Magazine have decided to look into. Last month we were looking at how the tourist sector was evolving in the post-pandemic world. This month we have gone a little bit deeper, to look at the infrastructure that underlies international travel and how that is evolving in the air, or on the water.

T

hat is why, in this issue, we have profiled the Caribbean Shipping Association and Orlando International Airport. We have talked to leading figures from each of these institutions to find out how they are growing, developing, and adapting to the challenges facing the sector today.

We have not left road travel behind either, with our profiles of Doran Manufacturing and CarComm Coachworks.

And because at this time of year, you still have at least half a mind on your holidays, we have also got a fascinating interview with Beks Ndlovu, CEO of African Bush Camps.

But this is also a special issue because we are profiling not just an individual company, but an entire business group, with individual profiles covering the work of Fairgrieve Compression Mouldings, Ashlyne Fabrications, Aurora Profiles and Paragon Toolmaking as introduced by entrepreneur and Group owner, Daniel Beaumont.

All of this is accompanied by our usual mix of energy firms such as Tealight, TenneT and

Aqua Horizon Technologies, and companies in the construction sector like Ardent Hire and Donaldson Timber Systems.

As always, this issue represents a collection of insights, stories, and perspectives from every industry sector. These are companies with exciting new developments in the pipeline, big ideas, and strong values. In short, we have features, profiles, and interviews with leaders of businesses that are really going places.

ON THE COVER

Orlando International Airport Go to page 16

Issue No.112

SPECIAL FEATURE: TRAVEL INFRASTRUCTURE

ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

RISING

TO NEW HEIGHTS

Exclusive interview with Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, CEO, Kevin Thibault, on one of the busiest airports in the United States & continuing its major expansion project.

Ardent Hire | The future of Plant Hire | Pharmaron | Taking Gene Therapy to the Next Level TeraLight | Bringing Solar to Israel | Torque Africa Group | A Record-Breaking Operation

EDITOR’S NOTE | 3

IN THIS ISSUE

8

13

16

32

36 44

52 58

EVENT

Aviation Africa Summit & Exhibition 2023 Abuja, Nigeria – 13th & 14th September 2023 A global platform to support SMEs and startups and offer them the services and products they need to run successful businesses.

8

NEWS

Travel Infrastructure Aiding the Journey

LEADING FEATURE

Orlando International Airport Rising to New Heights

16

AGRICULTURE

Swiss Blue Salmon Sustainable Swiss Salmon

AUTOMOTIVE

CarComm Coachworks Beyond the Standard Doran Manufacturing The Right Drive

COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

64

Critical Manufacturing Delivering Industry 4.0

Dubai Technologies Partners for Creating a Smarter World

98

74 80

86

92 98

4 | CONTENTS

Sudlows Never Stop Learning

CONSTRUCTION

Ardent Hire The Future of Plant Hire Donaldson Timber Systems Modern Methods for 50 Years

CONSULTANCY

BDO South Africa Incorporated The Quality Imperative

ENERGY & UTILITIES

Aqua Horizon Technologies Clean Water is the Future TenneT The Future of the Energy Grid

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

ISSUE NO. 112

112

118 122

132 138

144

TeraLight Bringing Solar to Israel

FMCG

Mibelle Group Expertise for Wellbeing Sedamyl UK The Difference That Counts

HEALTHCARE, HOTEL & LEISURE African Bush Camps Telling African Stories

168

Pharmaron Taking Gene Therapy to the Next Level

MANUFACTURING

Daniel Beaumont Seamless Transition

122

146

Ashlyne Fabrications A Reliable Partner

150

Aurora Profiles A Cut Above

154

Fairgrieve Compression Moulding Moulding A New Vision

158

Paragon Toolmaking As Good as Its Tools

162

Weiss-Aug Group Future Stamped in Excellence

168

132

174

184

190

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MINING

AARD Mining Equipment Under New Management

OIL & GAS

Torque Africa Group A Record-Breaking Operation

PACKAGING & PRINT

DRG Technologies Making Companies Look Great

SHIPPING, PORT & MARINE

Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) Giving a Voice to Caribbean Shipping

CONTENTS | 5

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EVENT OF THE MONTH

A 2-DAY SUMMIT & EXHIBITION HOSTED BY THE NIGERIAN CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY.

AVIATION AFRICA ABUJA 2023

SUMMIT & EXHIBITION WHERE: INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE IN ABUJA, NIGERIA WHEN: 13TH - 14TH SEPTEMBER 2023

8 | EVENT OF THE MONTH

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

EVENT OF THE MONTH

The 2023 summit continues the work it has been doing for the past 6 events in building and shaping Africa’s aviation industry. By touring the event around the African continent, it can better serve the African countries’ different requirements for open skies and growth.

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A

frican aviation is at a crossroads.

IATA projects passenger numbers will double by 2040 but will African carriers be ready to play their part?

Will governments support the infrastructure and the environment to change the current situation where Africa accounts for 18% of the global population but provides just over 2% of the global air transport market.

Bringing the Aviation Africa Summit and Exhibition to West Africa for the first time it is the perfect time witness the renaissance of the industry.

With a population of more than 200 million, Nigeria’s long awaited national carrier – Nigeria Air – is finally happening. Elsewhere in West Africa airlines are developing to meet the growing needs.

Aviation Africa will be bring together airlines, airports, regulators, manufacturers, suppliers, financiers and media for the continent’s largest showcase and meeting point.

On the main plenary stage, keynote speakers from

organisations such at IATA, AFCAC, ICAO and AFRAA will set out the key areas of concern, delegates will hear from key players in the industry such as Ethiopian Airlines CEO Ato Girma Wake, Rwandair CEO and chair of IATA’s governing body Yvonne Makolo; Directors general of civil aviation authorities from across the continent; air chiefs; airport CEOs and manufacturers.

The CEO of the new Nigerian flag carrier Nigeria Air, Capt.

Dapo Olumide, will talk about the airline’s future strategy while sustainability takes centre stage as Africa looks at realising a potential to become the world’s leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Meanwhile, separate symposia will focus on aviation finance, business aviation and the whole maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry.

Separate sessions will look at the issue of future workforce and safety – issues that have dogged Africa’s potential for decades. www.aviationafrica.aero

EVENT OF THE MONTH | 9

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TRAVEL INFRASTRUCTURE

WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE PORTS AND AIRPORTS THAT CONNECT GLOBAL TRAVEL INFRASTRUCTURE.

AIDING THE JOURNEY The last few years have been a crash course in the importance of global transport infrastructure. From its role in maintaining supply chains across continents to providing people with the opportunity to travel once lockdown lifted.

NEWS | 13

TRAVEL INFRASTRUCTURE

But as demand has grown, the transport sector has also faced new challenges and opportunities to evolve. From the air travel sector to oceangoing vessels, from tourism to heavy freight, the entire transport industry is changing.

A GREENER TOURIST

It is no surprise that sustainability is a key issue across every form of transportation. First and foremost, it has become visible in the tourist sector.

Orlando International Airport is a tourist gateway to Florida, home to destinations such as Disney World. In our profile of Orlando International Airport, Kevin Thibault, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA), tells us about the long list of design strategies the facility has deployed to help the airport’s Terminal C be as sustainable as possible.

This includes lower water consumption and irrigation systems, temperature control systems, solar panels, responsive lighting, non-toxic adhesives, and non-painted natural materials.

The airport’s efforts have been recognised in the US Green Building Council’s Leadership Awards, which showed plaudits on its automated people mover and intermodal terminal facility. The exceptional and innovative technology the airport has deployed to improve its buildings’ sustainable design and operations has won another award for its South Terminal C project.

“We strive to keep sustainability at the forefront,” Thibault says.

“The awards reflect things that we control as an airport exclusively. But we also work with many partners, airlines as well as organisations, to continue to move the needle in sustainability in the right direction.”

14 | NEWS

The need for more sustainable travel is being reflected across the tourism sector, as we find in our interview with Beks Ndlovu, the CEO of African Bush Camps. African Bush Camps offer sustainable, low-impact safari that actively supports local communities. It is a model inspired by Ndlovu’s earliest experiences as a guide.

“Guiding in southern Africa and parts of East Africa inspired me to see if I could increase my impact and reach,” Ndlovu says. “I was exposed to some incredible parts of Africa, but what bothered me was seeing the abject poverty, the injustice of apartheid.

I wanted to make a big difference in local communities and an impact in conservation circles.”

It is why the company’s semipermanent camps are made of canvas and built on stilts, so they appear to be floating on wooden decking.

These off-grid, solarpowered facilities, with a recycled water system, truly reflect what the modern tourist is looking for.

GREENER SEA MILES

But while tourism has been extremely in demand in the post-lockdown world, this period has also given people a new appreciation for the shipping sector, as we have come to truly understand the impact disruptions to the supply chain can have.

And just as tourists are looking for greener holidays, consumers buying imported products want to be assured they have the lowest possible carbon footprint.

The shipping industry has taken steps to provide that assurance, as we hear talking to Milaika

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

TRAVEL INFRASTRUCTURE

Capella Ras, General Manager of the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA). She has been taking major steps towards creating a less carbon-intensive, greener, and more sustainable industry.

“CSA has been actively engaged in efforts to decarbonise the shipping industry,” Capella Ras insists. “Right now, the industry needs to evolve. We understand our carbon footprint has grown and we need to implement more sustainable practices so that we can be ready for the future.”

By partnering with organisations such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Caribbean Shipping Association is driving decarbonisation across the Caribbean region.

“We started our partnership with IDB during our mid-year conference last May,” Capella Ras says during our interview. “Our focus is on reducing fossil fuel usage and we aim to adopt faster decarbonisation methods.

We are capacity building and raising awareness in the industry. We believe it’s a very long journey, but we need to take those first steps and the money will follow automatically once people see the way that the industry is going.”

These developments are not just taking place across ports and airports, but also within city transport infrastructure. Global mobility technologies company, Dubai Technologies, tells us in a feature in this issue about its AI & IoT-based sustainable urban mobility and smart city solutions which it has deployed across a number of sectors in the MENA region. The company’s core business is making urban living more comfortable.

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“Rapid urbanisation calls for smart city solutions. By 2050, 70% of the world’s population is expected to have moved to urban areas,” explains company CEO Ali Moidu. “It is still possible to avoid the chaos caused by this movement by creating a city lifestyle which is easy, accessible, manageable, and informative. Dubai Technologies has been creating programmes which enable this kind of city transformation. Contributing to the creation of ‘smart cities’ is our goal.”

The core pillar of the smart city goal is, as ever, transportation.

That is what keeps people connected and makes the city accessible and comfortable.

“Gone are the days when you had to hail a taxi down, today it is available at your fingertips, using technology, it comes to your home without any interaction,” Moidu says.

To this end, Dubai Technologies has deployed an integrated Smart Automated Vehicles Management Platform for all transport modes. This platform includes several integrated subsystems that form a unified system for monitoring, tracking, and managing all types of vehicles for the public and private sectors in smart cities. It specialises in waste management, public transport, school bus management, rental cars, taxis, freight transport, road accidents and incident management to create a unified model for city living.

Together each of these facilities, across the international sea and air travel and intracity transport, demonstrates that a range of approaches is being deployed to make our global transport infrastructure greener.

This is crucial, climate change is a challenge that requires a truly global response, for truly global stakes.

NEWS | 15

ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, ONE OF THE BUSIEST AIRPORTS IN THE UNITED STATES, IS CONTINUING ITS MAJOR EXPANSION PROJECT, TO BEST ACCOMMODATE INCREASING PASSENGER NUMBERS.

RISING TO NEW HEIGHTS PROJECT MANAGED BY: RASH UDDIN

Orlando International Airport (MCO), the gateway to Central Florida with its theme parks including the Walt Disney World Resort, spectacular beaches and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, has not only returned to pre-pandemic traffic levels but is experiencing a surge in passenger numbers that is expected to further increase.

16 | LEADING FEATURE

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ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

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LEADING FEATURE | 17

Congratulations Greater Orlando Aviation Authority

Congratulations to the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority on your success over the years! What an amazing journey from the humble beginnings of a converted Air Force Base in the late 1960s to the Award Winning International Airport today.

We are honored to have been part of this journey in going beyond The Orlando Experience®.

We wish Kevin Thibault, the GOAA Board and GOAA staff even more success in 2023 and beyond!

ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (MCO) TERMINAL C

AIRPORTS COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL • Green Airport Award AIR TRANSPORT ACTION GROUP • Sustainable Airports Award for its leadership in sustainable aviation AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF AIRPORT EXECUTIVES • Environmental Excellence Award for its innovative environmental programs

ON TARGET TO BE FLORIDA’S FIRST

AIRPORTS COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL • Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) Level 3+ (Orlando International Airport was the first airport in the United States to achieve Level 3+ of the ACI ACA, the highest level of airport carbon certification.)

CERTIFIED

ENGINEERING NEWS RECORD SOUTHEAST • Airside 4 Renovation & Wing Expansion, Award of Merit, Airport/Transit

L E E D® V . 4

INTERNATIONAL AIRP O RT C A M P U S US GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL’S (USGBC) LEADERSHIP AWARDS • Marquee Green Building Legacy Award for the automated people mover/intermodal terminal facility (APM/ITF) • Sustainable Technology Award for the Terminal C project

USA TODAY 10 BEST • Best Large Airport Readers’ Choice Travel Award ORLANDO BUSINESS JOURNAL • Best Places to Work award ORLANDO SENTINEL • Readers’ Choice Award for Best Airport J.D. POWER • Highest in Customer Satisfaction for Mega Airports CAPA – CENTRE FOR AVIATION • Large Airport of the Year AIRPORTS COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL-NORTH AMERICA’S • Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award for Best Large Airport in North America

ASSOCIATED BUILDERS & CONTRACTORS • Airside 4 Renovation & Expansion Excellence in Construction Awards Specialty Contractors Eagle Award Winner

ENGINEERING NEWS RECORD SOUTHEAST • Terminal C Airside, Award of Merit, Airport/Transit • Intermodal Facility, Award of Merit, Airport/Transit AIRPORT BUSINESS MAGAZINE • Project of the Year Terminal “C”

OIA BRIGHTLINE TRANSFER STATION

MCO TERMINAL C INTERMODAL TRANSFER FACILITY

MCO AIRSIDE 4 FIS & CPB RENOVATION

AT TH

EN G IN

Soar G AIRPO RT RIN E S E

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MCO MAIN TICKET LOBBY RENOVATION

NC

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MCO TERMINAL C APM COMPLEX

MATERN: ENGINEERING BUILDING SYSTEMS THAT WORK FOR YOU! Working with different teams over the course of the many years at the airport has been an incredible experience for the Matern Aviation team. Doug Matern is honored to have been connected to the airport for the past 40+ years and have the opportunity to develop the efficient and sustainable infrastructure that helps serve the millions of travelers that come through Orlando.

Some of our most notable projects include: • North Terminal Generator Plant (12 MW) • South Terminal Generator Plant (28 MW) • Power Distribution System Study (for emergency and standby availability in the event of a power outage) • North Terminal Central Energy Plant Improvements • South Terminal Automated People Mover and Intermodal Transfer Facility Complex & Central Energy Plant • Main Ticket Lobby Renovation • Airside 4 International Wing Renovation – Federal Inspection Station (FIS) & Customs Border Patrol (CBP) Wing Renovation • Terminal “C” Airside & Landside • Power coordination with Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) for Electric Vehicle (EV) power availability • Brightline Transfer Station and Brightline Vehicle Maintenance Facility • GOAA Continuing Contract since 2009 • In progress: Electric Vehicle Charging Study (MW) for over two dozen locations at MCO. Matern is a full service mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, low voltage, technology, energy and commissioning engineering firm based in Central Florida. Established in 1984, we have offices in Maitland, Fort Myers, Jacksonville & Tampa. We are licensed in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. We also hold a Small Business GSA Contract for Energy & Commissioning.

130 Candace Drive Maitland, FL 32751 407.740.5020 EShay@matern.net

CONNECT WITH US! www.matern.net

SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS WITH DOUGLAS P. MATERN, PE FORTY YEARS BUILDING ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT – TRIBUTE TO LEADERS OF THE PAST AND BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD Engineering has always been in the air around Doug Matern - his brother, father, and grandfather are all electrical engineers.

Doug is the founder and inspiration behind Matern Professional Engineering.

In his younger years, Doug seemed an unlikely engineer; his love for music, long hair, and hippy attitude never fit the traditional mold. But after earning an engineering degree from the University of Central Florida, Doug applied for a job at Lockheed Martin, formerly Martin Marietta, surrounded by others in white shirts and pocket protectors with hopes of working on something new in the technology world - lasers. When he applied, he learned he needed a Doctorate. Based on this, he planned to return to UCF and earn one. However, in the meantime, he needed a job. While Doug was not keen on the suggested business attire, his inquisitive nature and intellect allowed him to soar! As he was working and earning fees for going back to college, he learned about the consulting engineering field and ended up working in this field on many different types of projects.

One of his earliest and most enduring projects is the Orlando International Airport (MCO). In the late 1970s, Doug was a part of the Greiner Team, who had a contract with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority to build a new airport facility. Before the current OIA footprint, the location was a former U.S. Airforce Installation, McCoy Air force Base (1940-1947, 1951 - 1975), which was turned over to the City of Orlando in 1975. As part of the Greiner Team, Doug was involved with designing and constructing what would become the current international airport, one of the largest commercial airports in the U.S. that spans more than 12,000 acres. The original design included the western half of the Landside building, two parking garages, a 12 MW Emergency Generator system/plant and two Airside buildings. In 1978, construction started on the Landside building and both Airsides 1 and 3. This original electrical design included a main electrical central plant, which utilized multiple paralleled generators. Eventually, the airport added the Hyatt, food court and two more Airsides. Doug continued to work on the electrical systems for these additions and various other components of the airport infrastructure in the North Terminal Complex.

With experience, business acumen, and an entrepreneurial spirit, Doug founded Matern Professional Engineering Inc. in 1984. Within the firm, he created a dedicated Aviation Division.

He was fortunate to continue his work with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and the airport facilities’ growing footprint.

In 2015, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) approved the construction of Terminal C. Matern was selected to handle the engineering of the electrical systems, fire alarm and paging

low voltage system(s) for the new STC landside and airside buildings including a new 28MW Emergency Power Generator Building, which was completed and opened in 2023. In 2017, the Orlando International Airport Intermodal Transfer Facility and the Automated People Mover (APM) facility opened. Matern Professional Engineering was instrumental in the mechanical engineering of those facilities as well as the engineering of the Brightline high-speed rail facility in the APM and its remote train maintenance facility. As the airport’s technology has advanced, so has the expertise and efforts of Matern Professional Engineering.

As with all multi-phase long-term projects, this new terminal has been a collaboration of many teams, including engineering, aviation, architectural, and city and federal governments. A key driver in the success of the project has been the partnership with aviation industry leaders such as Kevin Thibault, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, which operates and manages the Orlando International Airport, and former Orlando Airport CEO, Phil Brown, and many others. With a facility continuously evolving with new technology and highquality features, the leadership has been able to develop a solid foundation that incorporates strategic solutions that best fit the function of every space, as well as adaptability to the evolution of the space, customers and future stakeholders.

Working with different teams over the course of the many years at the airport has been an incredible experience for Doug. It has been an honor to be connected to the airport for the past 40+ years and have the opportunity to develop an efficient and sustainable infrastructure that helps serve the millions of travelers that come through Orlando each year. Whether with improved technology for passengers trying to get to their gates or for the public to enjoy the various food courts and retail shops, all have been impactful, valuable projects for the region.

A growth mentality has been a key element in the success and sustainability of Matern Professional Engineering and for Doug during his 48+ year career. Along with the technical advancements that the firm has kept pace with, Matern Professional Engineering has grown into a respected firm that provides engineer-consulting services throughout Florida, Alabama, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia; Doug has created a culture where every team member embodies his can-do attitude, being the first to say “let me see what I can do” to every customer’s request.

In his free time, Doug enjoys his early love of playing music as well as writing, boating, refurbishing MGs and Austin Healy’s, traveling, and spending time with his family. www.matern.net

ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

J

ust prior to the pandemic, our rolling 12-month passenger count through February of 2020 was over 51 million passengers. At the end of February this year, it was over 52 million, actually exceeding the highest number ever reached at this airport,” said Kevin Thibault, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) that operates and manages the airport.

Kevin Thibault, CEO, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA)

ELEVATED ORLANDO EXPERIENCE

He acknowledged that Orlando International and the community continue to grow.

“Our challenge is to stay ahead of it, and make sure we provide a seamless experience at both arrivals and departures, as well as the amenities that people expect.”

Windows on Orlando©, is a 100-foot-long, 32-foottall display comprised of three adjacent, panoramic screens. Central Florida sequences were filmed on location and highlight various scenes such as a NASA rocket launch at the Kennedy Space Center.

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With this mission, the airport embarked on a journey of enhancement well before the pandemic. In September 2022, MCO opened a new, state-ofthe-art $2.8 billion Terminal C, a next-level facility that can accommodate an additional 10 to 12 million annual passengers of capacity and elevate the customer experience. The 1.8 million-square-foot Terminal C is the largest (by size) terminal project completed in the United States in recent years.

A new train station at the airport was also recently unveiled by Brightline, the only provider of modern, eco-friendly, intercity rail in America, that will provide highspeed passenger rail service between Orlando International Airport and South Florida, connecting the two of the fastest growing regions in the state.

LEADING FEATURE | 21

ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

“ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL WILL BE THE ONLY AIRPORT IN THE NATION WITH AN INTERCITY HIGH-SPEED PASSENGER RAIL STATION BUILT INTO AN AIRPORT.

recently won two sustainability awards at the US Green Building Council’s Leadership Awards – one for its automated people mover/intermodal terminal facility and the other for its Terminal C project. The latter was awarded for implementing an exceptional and innovative technology that improves a building’s sustainable design and operations.

“We strive to keep sustainability at the forefront.

The awards reflect things

that we control as an airport exclusively. But we also work with many partners, airlines as well as organisations, to continue to move the needle in sustainability in the right direction.”

Moving on, Mr Thibault affirmed that the first stage of Terminal C has been a highly successful venture, much needed to handle the current amount of volume of passengers, but it does not stop there - MCO has recently

The Intermodal Train Facility welcomes high-speed passenger rail service to the Orlando International Airport complex. When service begins in Summer 2023, Orlando International will be the only U.S. airport to have intercity high-speed rail service.

“Orlando International will be the only airport in the nation with an intercity high-speed passenger rail station built into an airport. A true game changer with regard to mobility options for the Central Florida region.

We’re excited to be partners with Brightline for this transformative moment in transportation,” acknowledged Mr Thibault.

SUSTAINABLE PROGRESS

The intermodal project, using a resiliency and sustainability management plan, meets GOAA’s goals to reduce its carbon footprint and environmental impact.

The train station adheres to LEED sustainable practices in both its design as well as its implementation and development.

Some of the design strategies included site and building modeling analysis, next-generation refrigerants, responsive lighting systems and selected materials that favor a reduction in embodied carbon and emissions.

The efforts towards sustainable development were duly recognised, as MCO just

22 | LEADING FEATURE

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Jetway® Passenger Boarding Bridges For the Perfect Turn

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ELEVATING BRIDGES TO THE NEXT LEVEL: JetDock Automated Bridge Docking iOPS telematics and monitoring AmpTek load sharing to help electrify the apron

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JBT AeroTech is a world leading supplier of aviation gate equipment, ground support equipment, defense-related flight line support equipment, and facility services. Many of our products are designed to reduce aviation’s carbon footprint while saving our customers thousands of dollars in reduced aircraft fuel burn. For more than 60 years JBT has been supplying robust, world-class aviation support products with thousands sold around the globe.

In addition to our family of Gate Equipment, JBT AeroTech designs and manufactures ground support equipment. Our product family includes the Commander and Ranger cargo loaders, Tempest i deicers, aircraft pushback tractors, mobile stairs and cargo transporters. Many of these models are available in diesel as well as green, all-electric versions. Supporting these products, JBT has offers its telematics, fleet management, equipment monitoring and use software system – iOPS. This provides managers, technicians, and other stake holders real-time, actionable information on the status, use, and operations of its gate and mobile equipment. iOPS is a key element in helping achieve the perfect aircraft turn. With iOPS from JBT, parked aircraft are serviced faster and aircraft APU fuel burns are minimized helping MCO become a more environmentally friendly airport.

Augmenting JBT’s hardware and software products is its service arm.

JBT supplies full service for gate equipment maintenance and operations, facilities maintenance, and baggage handling system service, maintenance, upgrades, and operations.

JBT AeroTech is a total solutions provider of gate equipment, telematics, maintenance and ground support equipment for airlines and airports around the world. www.jbtc.com/aerotech/

LEADING FEATURE | 23

Connecting What’s Needed with What’s Next™

IDEAS IN MOTION

Get your guests moving with Oceaneering’s innovative transportation solutions for indoor and outdoor environments.

Connect with what’s next at oceaneering.com/oes Copyright © 2023 Oceaneering International, Inc. All rights reserved.

OCEANEERING INTERNATIONAL: A CONCEPT TAKES FLIGHT Solving customer challenges is at the center of Oceaneering’s core values. When the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) approached us looking for a solution for their newly constructed Terminal C facility, a concept took flight.

As one of the busiest airports in the United States, Orlando International Airport (MCO) is a world-class, global gateway to the most visited destination in the country. To support the continued increase in passengers, MCO launched construction of Terminal C, the largest expansion project in its history. Phase I of the project encompasses 300 acres and 15 gates, accommodating both domestic and international flights. Passenger experience, including landside and airside mobility at the new terminal, is of utmost importance for GOAA at MCO. NEW FACILITIES INTRODUCE NEW CHALLENGES Recognizing the north concourse at Terminal C could present a lengthy walk for some passengers, GOAA looked to Oceaneering for a solution. Golf carts, commonly used in other airports, did not fit the innovative vision of GOAA’s leadership nor match with the intended guest experience. The desired solution needed to operate safely in a mixedtraffic environment and deliver ample capacity for transportation of guests and their belongings.

THE OCEANEERING SOLUTION Building on our experience, we developed a purpose-built electric vehicle featuring zeroturning performance, obstacle detection technology, and the capability to accommodate six passengers with carry-on luggage. Uniquely, passengers are seated in a booth-style arrangement with the vehicle attendant standing at the rear. This provides a social environment for guests and enables direct interaction with the attendant. Working closely with GOAA, we developed our solution from a concept sketch to functioning prototype within six months.

Vehicle bodies were manufactured using 3D printing technology, featuring a combination of recycled plastic and carbon fiber materials. The core technology under the hood is based on Oceaneering’s proven ride systems technology, responsible for safely moving more than 100 million guests each year worldwide.

Today, six vehicles are operational at Terminal C, serving both domestic and international gates. While the vehicles are currently manually operated, they have the option to be fully automated in the future.

ELEVATING GUEST EXPERIENCE Building on our DNA from the entertainment industry, our approach to guest experience was at the forefront of our design. The rider experience must be comfortable, convenient, and accessible for all. The look and feel of the vehicle had to be unique, innovative, and friendly while simultaneously immersing itself within Terminal C’s environment.

TECHNICAL KNOW HOW This project is not a first for Oceaneering. For more than 50 years, we have designed, built, and installed some of the most complex equipment for the harshest environments worldwide. From robotics operating at thousands of feet subsea, to space flight hardware for NASA, Oceaneering thrives by creating industry-changing, technically creative solutions for our customers.

GLOBAL BRAND, LOCAL TO FLORIDA Oceaneering’s 10,000 personnel are based at 70 operational facilities in 24 countries worldwide. Our Entertainment Systems facilities in Orlando & Manufactured Products site in Panama City have provided us with opportunities to serve diverse markets, both locally and globally. To learn more about our products & services, visit oceaneering.com

At Quality Cable Contractors we strive to achieve service excellence with every client we serve.

With more than 37 years of experience in low voltage, we take great care in listening to our customers’ needs, then help them design and implement scalable network solutions that meet their current and future business needs. We have a team of professionals that love what they do and who are committed to exceeding customer expectations with every opportunity provided to them. We serve both the private and public sectors with a portfolio of small business clients in Central and South Florida, as well as long standing relationships with Orange County Public Schools, Orange County Government, and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.

We are proud to have been a part of the new south terminal complex at Orlando International Airport and look forward to working with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and its partners on a successful delivery for the next phase of expansion.

STRUCTURED CABLING DESIGN INSTALLATION & SERVICE DATA | FIBER OPTICS | ACCESS CONTROL | VIDEO SURVEILLANCE | SECURITY SYSTEMS | AUDIO VIDEO | FIRE

info@qcciflorida.com | +1 (407) 246-0606 | www.qcciflorida.com

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LEADING FEATURE | 25

ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Orlando International’s commitment to sustainability is a longstanding mission. It was one of the first international airports to begin using eye-level standardised labels on recycling bins.

been awarded $69 million in federal funds for two Terminal C expansion projects.

These will include four additional Multiple Aircraft Ramp System (MARS) gates capable of serving either four wide-body or eight narrow-body aircraft, and the completion of an enclosed pedestrian connector bridge, which will provide direct access between the Train Station and Terminal C.

26 | LEADING FEATURE

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ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

The Moment Vault, in Palm Court at Terminal C, at Orlando International Airport offers passengers an immersive and interactive media experience in Florida.

“AS ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL CONTINUES TO HANDLE RECORD-SETTING PASSENGER TOTALS, IT IS VITAL THAT AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS KEEP PACE WITH OUR TRAFFIC.” “As Orlando International continues to handle recordsetting passenger totals, it is vital that airport improvement efforts keep pace with our traffic,” noted Mr Thibault.

“Terminal C is the future of transportation in Central Florida and its multimodal connectivity will increase our capacity to accommodate projected future demand.”

CENTRAL FLORIDA’S MULTI-MODAL HUB The Palm Court area at Orlando International Airport’s Terminal C, where several food and retail concessions options are featured.

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The growth of Orlando International Airport will also significantly support the development of the region.

As Mr Thibault pointed out, new statistics released by the Florida Department of Transportation show that MCO

generates more than $41 billion of direct and indirect economic activity annually for Central Florida. That represents the highest amount of any airport in the state of Florida.

Orlando International Airport supports the area’s thriving tourism industry and facilitates business travel and air cargo with more non-stop domestic air service than any other Florida airport while serving more than 50 non-stop international destinations.

“We recognise our role for the development of the local community and will continue to support economic development as an airport, but also in partnerships with local organisations,” said Mr Thibault, adding that Orlando Airport is

LEADING FEATURE | 27

Global partner for future-proof airport automation Vanderlande is a market-leading, global partner for future-proof logistic process automation in the warehousing, airports and parcel sectors.

Its extensive portfolio of integrated solutions – innovative systems, intelligent software and life-cycle services – results in the realization of fast, reliable and efficient automation technology.

Vanderlande’s market-leading baggage handling systems and related passenger solutions are capable of moving over 4 billion pieces of baggage around the world per year. These are active in more than 600 airports, including 12 of the world’s top 20. In addition, over 380 of Vanderlande’s security lanes are installed at checkpoints worldwide.

For more information about Vanderlande, its products and technology, as well as career opportunities, please visit our website. > vanderlande.com Learn more:

VANDERLANDE TEAMWORK DELIVERS UNIQUE BAGGAGE SOLUTION AT ORLANDO AIRPORT The new Terminal C at Orlando International Airport opened on 20 September 2022, and has the capacity to handle up to 12 million passengers every year. Vanderlande played a major role in its development by delivering a state-of-the-art baggage handling solution, as well as passenger security checkpoints and supplying life-cycle services with an onsite team.

AN INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE SOLUTION Orlando is primarily a destination airport, which means many travellers want to check in with irregular luggage such as golf clubs. To meet this demand, Vanderlande applied a new mid-size tub, to run on its TUBTRAX Individual Carrier System (ICS). Each luggage item is transported in its own tote equipped with RFID technology, allowing it to be tracked and located throughout the entire baggage handling process, from check-in to aircraft.

Terminal C’s state-of-the-art baggage handling system is now able to convey 98% of all passenger luggage.

The resulting system is state-of-the-art and recently was an integral part of the airport winning the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Sustainability Award for Terminal C. It includes Vanderlande’s early bag storage system, BAGSTORE and the VIBES software controls all the terminal’s baggage handling operations, from check-in to final reconciliation.

WORKING AS ONE TEAM A close working relationship underscored delivery of the BHS, and helped the project through challenging times, particularly during the pandemic. In fact, Vanderlande worked as “one team” with airport staff, with whom a special relationship was formed.

PROUD TO REPRESENT THE GREATER ORLANDO AVIATION AUTHORITY IN WASHINGTON, DC BIPARTISAN - TRANSPORTATION APPROPRIATIONS - INTERNATIONAL BGR Group helps its clients navigate Washington at the intersection of business and government Contact Us: bgrdc.com/contact | 202-333-4936

The foundation for this was Vanderlande’s direct contact with the airport owner, GOAA, to find out what it really needed and resolving any issues along the way. By solving problems together, and delivering the right strategic management, not a single day’s work was lost during the peak of the pandemic.

BEYOND INSTALLATION That positive relationship will continue in the long-term as Vanderlande’s onsite highly qualified personnel deliver life-cycle services.

The end result is that passengers from all over the world will enjoy a fussfree check in and baggage reclaim. They will be reunited with their holiday luggage quickly and efficiently, so they can go on to relax and enjoy The Orlando Experience®.

GLOBAL PARTNER FOR FUTURE-PROOF AIRPORT AUTOMATION Vanderlande is a market-leading, global partner for future-proof logistic process automation in the warehousing, airports and parcel sectors.

Its extensive portfolio of integrated solutions – innovative systems, intelligent software and life-cycle services – results in the realization of fast, reliable and efficient automation technology.

Everything we do is designed to deliver a better world.

Vanderlande’s market-leading baggage handling systems and related passenger solutions are capable of moving over 4 billion pieces of baggage around the world per year. These are active in more than 600 airports, including 12 of the world’s top 20. In addition, over 380 of Vanderlande’s security lanes are installed at checkpoints worldwide.

For more information about Vanderlande, its products and technology, as well as career opportunities, please visit www.vanderlande.com

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LEADING FEATURE | 29

ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

30 | LEADING FEATURE

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ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

A balcony overview from Level 6 at Terminal C, a 1.8 million-squarefoot facility that opened in September 2022. Level 6 is the international passengers arrival, where passengers are immediately met with sunlight.

The Prowl is a distinctive architectural feature of Terminal C at Orlando International and allows ambient natural light into the ticketing area.

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also well placed to accommodate the emerging trend of so-called “bleisure travel”, the combination of business and holiday travel, enabled by the latest technology in recent years.

“We are fortunate here in Central Florida because we have the right environment for bleisure travel to occur. We have all the necessary convention facilities for business and as leisure travel picks up and merges with business travel, we will be one of the benefactors of that.”

Speaking about the future, he pointed out that GOAA is now in the process of updating its strategic plan for the next ten years to organize and articulate a vision for its future. As an economic generator for the Central Florida region, public involvement is also requested to help shape the Aviation Authority’s dynamic role in the community.

“One thing is for sure - this region continues to grow. This is a very positive development that gives us a lot of energy to further enhance what we now consider to be Central Florida’s multi-modal hub - Orlando International. It’s an exciting time.”

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SWISS BLUE SALMON

BY LAUNCHING SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION OF PREMIUM-QUALITY FARMED SALMON IN THE SWISS ALPS, SWISS BLUE SALMON AG IS BLAZING THE TRAIL TO PROMOTE FRESH WATER FISH FARMING - A YOUNG INDUSTRY WITH SIGNIFICANT GROWTH POTENTIAL.

SUSTAINABLE

SWISS SALMON PROJECT MANAGED BY: DECLAN JONES

Swiss Blue Salmon (SBS), founded by Ruedi Ryf, a Swiss entrepreneur and passionate fly fisherman, leads the way in promoting a new industry - land-based freshwater salmon farming in Europe.

A

s the company states, Swiss Blue Salmon represents the socially responsible choice for consumer health, the environment and the economy.

The company’s land-based farm, located at the foot of Swiss Alps, will use innovative Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) technology that sees the fish reared in the purest Swiss alpine water free from antibiotics, pesticides, hormones and micro-plastics.

The new state-of-theart facility will be vertically integrated from the hatchery and grow-out to processing to ensure the highest level of animal welfare, bio-security and product quality. The sustainable local production model is set to guarantee the freshest and healthiest salmon available on the market, grown close to the consumer in an environmentally friendly manner that protects the ecosystem and reduces the carbon footprint.

32 | AGRICULTURE & FARMING

RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PEOPLE

The company started with the founder’s conviction that fish farming, increasingly needed to feed the world’s growing population, must be more sustainable, smarter, and local, with a minimal environmental footprint. In 2015 he was involved in a pioneering freshwater aquaculture project in Switzerland, and immediately saw the potential.

“It just made sense, with the increasing need for protein sourced smartly and ecologically,” he reflects, pointing out that aquaculture is currently one of the fastestgrowing food production systems in the world, and will continue to play a critical role in protecting wild fish populations as demand for seafood continues to rise.

Starting at the onset of the global pandemic, the company was officially registered in 2020 and - despite the initial Covid-19 related limitations

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SWISS BLUE SALMON

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AGRICULTURE & FARMING | 33

Transforming the future of aquaculture billundaquaculture.com

- progress has been fast, pushed by the stern determination and commitment of the founder and his team.

After conducting feasibility studies for several sites across Switzerland, SBS secured a 27,000 m2 site in the alpine canton of Glarus, at the Walen lake, for its land-based salmon farm.

“Unlike most companies in the aquaculture industry with a strong financial backing, we are a very small, privatelyowned business with just a handful of people. However, we have a great team of specialists covering all aspects of the business – facility design, execution, aquaculture as well as fish nutrition and health. To have people with the right experience and competence in this young industry is rare and a great achievement.”

External partners have been just as important, he says, mentioning the

34 | AGRICULTURE & FARMING

Swiss engineering company Holinger, whose team of 500 highly skilled engineers bring essential expertise in water quality, wastewater treatment, heating and cooling systems, and Switzerland’s leading construction company, Erne, who comes with expertise in building.

DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY

SBS’s facility will be using the RAS technology, the most advanced, sustainable aquaculture method, that is set to reshape the world’s fish farming industry.

The system recycles water through cutting-edge filtration technology and oxygenation systems, reducing water consumption to a minimum, and uses filtered-out residues as valued by-products within a circular waste management approach.

SBS’s focus is on upcycling of side streams from processing, reduced transportation, and low energy consumption.

“We are able to use passive cooling with 6-8°C lake water while an efficient heat recovery system will be used especially in wintertime,” says Ryf. “We aim to install solar panels on the roof, which will cover 15-25% of our power consumption. We are also working with researchers and Zurich University students to see how our energy system can be integrated into the national grid to make it more stable, using our flexibility to store any energy that is not immediately used.”

Digitisation is another focus. Together with other technological partners the company aims to build the smartest farm in the world using technologies such as advanced camera and sensor technology, image recognition, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, big data and analytics.

Ryf affirms that SBS is keen for its operations to

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SWISS BLUE SALMON

“WE STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT SMART FARMING WILL PREPARE THE GROUND FOR A SUSTAINABLE AND EFFICIENT WAY TO PRODUCE HEALTHY FISH.” be transparent and plans to open a visitors’ centre at the facility, contributing to knowledge creation, promoting awareness of water, fish and sustainability in general, and increasing interest in buying and consuming more fish - the healthy protein with the smallest environmental footprint.

“We strongly believe that smart farming will prepare the ground for a sustainable and efficient way to produce healthy fish. We are set to focus on innovation to improve the environmental performance

of RAS, and are also looking at the sustainable use of resources for fish feed, which is one of several key pillars of a sustainable RAS project.”

He further points out that the growth potential of land-based fish farming is further accentuated by the lack of available sea-based locations in Europe’s cold ocean waters, of which most are now taken or protected. In this respect, SBS is blazing the trail for future fresh water fish farms.

“The aquaculture industry needs to get smarter. We are looking to bring in learnings from other industries while incorporating revolutionary AI and ML technologies already in the market, such as an autonomous feeding system and biomass monitoring,” Ryf says. “The data that will be generated in our facility can help others to start in this industry, as it opens up new opportunities.

Opportunities not only for businesses but primarily for a more sustainable living environment.”

LEADING THE WAY

The project is now in the design and permitting phase and the plan is to hand in the permit application towards end of the year. The facility’s planned capacity is 3,400 tonnes of Atlantic salmon per annum, says Ryf, adding that the output will go solely to the Swiss market.

As 98% of the salmon currently consumed in Switzerland is imported, he believes in the potential for locally produced fish, reflecting the Swiss’s preference for, and financial promotion of, ‘local’, as well as the ever-increasing focus on sustainability.

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AGRICULTURE & FARMING | 35

CARCOMM COACHWORKS

CARCOMM COACHWORKS, THE AWARD-WINNING COMMERCIAL VEHICLE REPAIR CENTRE THAT SPECIALISES IN CRASH REPAIRS, RESPRAYS, REFURBISHMENT AND INSURANCE WORK, STANDS OUT WITH THE QUALITY OF ITS WORK, SPEED OF RESPONSE AND FLEXIBILITY.

BEYOND

THE STANDARD PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

CarComm Coachworks has established an outstanding reputation in the market. The company was taken over in 1999 by Jason Mole, the current Managing Director, who has grown the business from just 9 employees to 80 members of staff and the workshop from 3,500 square feet to 55,000 square feet today.

T

oday, CarComm is one of the largest independent single-site commercial vehicle repair specialists in London and the surrounding counties, based at an excellent location between two major motorways and close to Heathrow Airport.

Its bespoke workshop in Ashford, Middlesex is a fully equipped commercial accident repair centre. The previously smaller premises were significantly expanded in 2021, now offering two brand new Stanner Quick Jigs for vans, alongside its existing HGV Josam Cab and Chassis Alignment Jig, as well as a much larger area to store new parts and maintain a stock of fast-moving parts, and a large additional secure storage compound for safe vehicle storage.

“We continuously invest in equipment and facility

36 | AUTOMOTIVE

enhancement, with a view to installing technology that uses less energy, increases productivity and is time-efficient,” affirmed Jason Mole.

The company can repair all types of commercial vehicles – vans, lorries, coaches, tankers, waste removal trucks, mixers, tippers, sweepers and many more.

“Whether it’s a single vehicle accident repair, a rebrand or the refurbishment of an entire fleet, we can offer complete body repair, vehicle colour change, specialist decal, air conditioning, windscreen replacement, curtain repair and replacement, shot-blasting and tail-lift works. Our aim is to return any vehicle back to its original factory condition and back on the road without any sign of damage,” said Jason Mole.

Jason Mole, Managing Director, CarComm Coachworks.

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CARCOMM COACHWORKS

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AUTOMOTIVE | 37

Looking for a trusted partner to handle your freight and supply chain needs?

Look no further than Immediate Transport!

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT PEOPLE With over 100 years of industry experience, we are a leading provider of global freight forwarding and supply chain management services. With our team of highly skilled professionals, you can trust us to provide cost-effective, efficient, and reliable transportation services.

+44 (0)1753 653 777 stephenmantel@itcoltd.com michaelmantel@itcoltd.com www.immediatetransport.com

38 | AUTOMOTIVE

Although affected by supply chain disruptions and spare parts shortages, the company strives to maintain levels of quality and reliability. “We are always trying to get around this challenge, trying to find different suppliers or even fabricating the missing part ourselves. We order well in advance and strive to have all parts and components on-site before a vehicle arrives for repair.”

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CARCOMM COACHWORKS

"WE CONTINUOUSLY INVEST IN EQUIPMENT AND FACILITY ENHANCEMENT, WITH A VIEW TO INSTALLING TECHNOLOGY THAT USES LESS ENERGY, INCREASES PRODUCTIVITY AND IS TIME-EFFICIENT."

CarComm has recently won important recognition for its quality of work – in 2022 the company became only the second commercial body repair workshop in the country to achieve VBRA (Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association) Elite Truck & Van Body Repair standard (structural with Cab and Chassis) that was launched to ensure the bodyshop has the correct certified repair equipment and correctly trained technicians in the repair sector.

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AUTOMOTIVE | 39

CARCOMM COACHWORKS

Jason Mole, who in May 2023 joined the VBRA board as Chairman, commented: “Our technicians all complete rigorous specialist training and the work that we do is audited regularly to ensure we maintain the highest standard of repair possible. For example, we have maintained the ‘Mercedes Benz approved’ status for 18 years now – quite an achievement, demonstrating the quality of our work.”

He points out that CarComm strives to have all the required skills in-house, so that all tasks from scratch to finish can be accomplished in-house, with full control of the quality of work.

“We have a highly skilled team, and provide regular training to all our employees, including training in hybrid electric vehicle maintenance and repairs – skills that will be much more important in the near future as the number of electric vehicles increases.”

40 | AUTOMOTIVE

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CARCOMM COACHWORKS

Speaking about labour shortages in the industry, Mr Mole noted that the company supports the development of young technicians in the automotive industry through its partnership with AutoRaise, the leading organisation for promoting technical apprenticeships.

There are currently 6 apprentices working at CarComm.

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“Losing much of the skilled workforce due to Brexit and Covid, employers have an obligation to provide appropriate training opportunities and to train up the younger generation so that they can be empowered to hold the fort in the future.”

Investing in people, adopting apprenticeship schemes and encouraging employee

wellbeing are just some of the ways CarComm Coachworks look after their people and the low staff turnover rates are a testament to their efforts. But the company also supports the wider community, actively supporting a Berkshire-based charity, The Cowshed, that has been providing support to people who are going through a time of crisis.

AUTOMOTIVE | 41

CARCOMM COACHWORKS

“WE HAVE A HIGHLY SKILLED TEAM, AND PROVIDE REGULAR TRAINING TO ALL OUR EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING TRAINING IN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS.” GREENER FUTURE

As for most companies across all sectors, sustainability is a key topic for CarComm. The company installed 600 solar panels in its facility as early as 2015, way before others, switched to LED

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lightbulbs and introduced electric vehicle charging points, uses water-based and extra-high solid paint. CarComm also recycles as much paint as possible, along with all other waste – including card, aerosol cans, sealer tubes and metal. Even its tyres are recycled into play equipment and football pitches by a local firm!

The company also encourages the use of environmentallyfriendly and affordable green vehicle parts (undamaged and reusable parts of end-of-life and written-off vehicles) to reduce its carbon footprint and to help save money for its customers.

As a recognition of its sustainability efforts, in March the company achieved a major milestone - the BSI’s PAS2060 Carbon Neutrality status, as verified by ECA Business Energy. This means

that CarComm is recognised for its contributions to global decarbonisation by reducing its emissions & supporting high quality environmental projects.

Jason Mole acknowledged that this recognition is a significant achievement for the company and the commercial vehicle repair industry, and affirmed that CarComm plans to invest in greener energy supply contracts and continue its commitment to reducing emissions.

“Actively reducing our carbon footprint has been and is our priority. Our efforts received recognition last year at the Greener Bodyshop Awards, organised by the National Body Repair Association (NBRA), & becoming Carbon Neutral earlier this year means we are moving in the right direction,” he concluded.

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ACCIDENT REPAIR

BODYWORK & PAINTING

CAB & CHASSIS ALIGNMENT

FLEET REFURBISHMENT

WINDSCREEN REPLACEMENT

COLOUR CHANGE & REPAINT

TAIL-LIFT WORKS

VEHICLE BODY BUILDING

Our friendly staff are proud to offer you a personal service with high-quality workmanship and attention to detail.

Contact us for a quote:

01784 241 041 info@carcommcoachworks.co.uk carcommcoachworks.co.uk Units 1, 1A, 2, 4 & 6, Challenge Road, Ashford, Middlesex TW15 1AX

DORAN MANUFACTURING

DORAN MANUFACTURING

DORAN MANUFACTURING, THE CINCINNATI-BASED PROVIDER OF SAFETY AND MAINTENANCE MONITORING TECHNOLOGY FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLES, IS CELEBRATING ITS 70TH ANNIVERSARY IN STYLE - IN NEW PREMISES AND WITH NEW OWNERS, THE COMPANY IS POISED FOR FURTHER GROWTH.

THE RIGHT DRIVE PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

Doran, a business founded in 1953 as a manufacturer of terminal boards for small appliances, has come a long way – today, the company supplies its innovative products and technology, designed to keep commercial vehicles in service while improving safety and reducing operational costs, to fleets and major vehicle OEMs in global markets.

T

he company President Jim Samocki explains that the company currently focuses on two primary product categories: tire monitoring systems for truck/trailer fleets, off-the-road vehicles and agricultural equipment and safety products for school buses, for which Doran supplies light monitors and Sleeping Child Check® monitors.

“The two key benefits of our monitoring systems are safety and cost-efficiency,” said Mr Samocki, adding that the company pursues a highly customised approach. “We treat

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our customers’ problems as if they’re our own. Using our core technology to create tailored solutions that match the specific needs of an organisation is one of our strengths.”

He emphasised that trust is a core value of the company.

“Our team creates solutions that can be trusted in rugged environments. Our products, like our people, are reliable and do as they promise, which is critically important for the applications our monitoring systems are used for, and much appreciated by our customers.

We also focus on building longterm partner relationships with like-minded service providers and suppliers.”

SEVEN DECADES OF DEVELOPMENT

This customer-centric approach has been part of the company’s mentality and culture throughout its history. The business, founded by Edward Bauer and Robert Mayer who named the company after their wives, Dorothy, and Ann, was sold in the mid-1950s to the Stegman family and remained in family hands for three generations until 2022.

Mr Samocki explained that Doran entered the commercial vehicle and transportation market in the 1970s, making customised fuse panels for truck, bus, RV and golf cart manufacturers, and a decade

AUTOMOTIVE | 45

DORAN MANUFACTURING

later expanded into school bus safety products by designing and manufacturing exterior light monitors, followed by the Sleeping Child Check® monitor.

In 2001, the company expanded its portfolio yet again, entering tire monitoring systems for trucks and RVs. Seven years later, they launched the proprietary Doran 360™ tire monitoring systems which have been continuously innovated, enhanced and hold a number of patents. The products

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have also received wideranging recognition, including being named amongst the Top 20 Products Awards by Heavy Duty Trucking magazine with the YardCheck 360™ wireless gate reader tire monitoring system, a web-based dashboard that allows fleet managers and tire service providers to easily access current and historical tire pressure and temperature data and TPMS alarms for all tires in the fleet.

Mr Samocki summarised the key benefits of Doran products: “Our tire monitoring systems help to reduce tire-related repair and maintenance costs, by reducing labour costs for tire checks, extending tread life, protecting casings and minimizing roadside tire replacements. They can be integrated with any telematics provider, and are available for all types of equipment, with simple and fast installation and minimal maintenance.”

“As they also help extend the life of tires and improve fuel economy, they promote sustainability, an increasingly important aspect now required by global OEMs and customers around the world,” he affirmed, pointing out that

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DORAN MANUFACTURING

the company is a proud holder of certifications for ISO Quality Management and Environmental Management Systems. In 2022, Doran also earned an EcoVadis silver rating for its commitment to sustainability processes and procedures, just one point from gold.

NEW SHAPE AND FORM

Last year, the company reached a significant milestone, as the members of the third generation of the owners, Jeff, and Todd Stegman, decided to step back after many years of ownership, and sell the business to the company management, Mr Samocki and two of his peer managers, Lee Demis, Vice President of Business Development and Dave Robinson, Controller.

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AUTOMOTIVE | 47

DORAN MANUFACTURING

“The Stegman brothers wished to transfer the business to people they trusted, to keep the legacy of the company going. Even under their ownership, they allowed us to run the business and expand and grow. Together we achieved a successful transition which has been a key part of the success and celebration of the company’s 70th anniversary.”

Since then, the business has achieved new heights. The facility was moved to new, flexspace premises (operational within just two days!), a new ERP was implemented, and the business hit several record months in orders and shipments, with more new customer opportunities than ever before, says Mr Samocki.

In this context, he highlighted the key factor – the people.

“Our team has been amazing, and our people are the real core of the business, without whom

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no success would be possible.

We foster a spirit of continuous improvement. As an example, every one of our team members is LEAN yellow belt certified.”

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DORAN MANUFACTURING

“We continuously seek ways how to improve the business, the products, as well as ourselves. Through a proper life-work balance, we empower individuals to actively contribute and grow by investing in their careers while serving our customers. The company mentality and culture are reflected in our tagline – ‘Our drive keeps you moving!’, and each of us has a personal drive to succeed.”

POSITIVE OUTLOOK

He reflected that Doran has not experienced issues with recruiting the right team members and considers the

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company as a talent magnet.

“Our average tenure is more than 10 years, which is quite telling and remarkable. The next challenge will be to continue on this path during a period of growth; we want to continue to make Doran an extraordinary place to work and have a career, a place where people can learn and develop, to become the best versions of themselves.

Because if that happens, then the company can be the best version of itself.”

In the right premises and with the right people, Doran is now looking ahead with ambition.

The company today supplies its monitoring systems to 46

countries around the world, with a customer base that includes international OEMs and fleets of all shapes and sizes.

“We bought the business with a growth mindset,” acknowledged Jim Samocki.

“The intention is to double the business in the next three years, which we believe is realistic. To this end, we plan to increase the size of our team. We will focus on further enhancing our current technology, and work on related technology in the safety and maintenance monitoring space for commercial vehicles.

To summarise, we have a long-term outlook that is very positive.”

AUTOMOTIVE | 49

Safety and Maintenance Monitoring Technology for Commercial Vehicles PEOPLE

Our culture is firmly founded on creating an extraordinary place to work and have a career • The average tenure of the people on our team is more than 10 years We empower individuals to actively contribute and take care of our customers’ problems as if they are our own • Standard orders are shipped complete and on-time to our customers in less than two days more than 98% of the time We are committed to becoming the best version of ourselves through a shared spirit of continuous improvement • 100% of our team is LEAN Yellow Belt certified

866-816-7233 | www.doranmfg.com

TRUST

Our people and our products do what we say they are going to do • We have a historical warranty return rate of less than 0.25% Tire Monitoring Systems • We design and provide innovative, customized and reliable tire monitoring systems for commercial vehicle OEMs, distributors and fleet customers around the world to help them reduce tire repair and maintenance costs and improve safety School Bus Safety Products • We design and produce products that help protect children, the world’s most precious asset

FUTURE We believe in the future with a commitment to quality and the environment • We hold ISO certifications for Quality Management Systems and Environmental Management Systems and have earned an Ecovadis Silver rating

4362 Glendale Milford Road Cincinnati, Ohio, USA 45242

CRITICAL MANUFACTURING

CRITICAL MANUFACTURING IS CREATING THE ARCHITECTURE FOR THE DIGITAL FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING.

DELIVERING INDUSTRY 4.0 PROJECT MANAGED BY: AMANDA JONES

Critical Manufacturing was founded in 2009 and is dedicated to building Manufacturing Execution Solutions that manage the digitalisation of factories, encompassing the execution of production information, materials, and equipment across several key verticals.

As well as creating these systems, Critical Manufacturing also provides its clients with the means to gather and control information via automation, monitoring equipment and gathering data.

T

hen the final layer we apply is analytics and intelligence that derive insights to improve overall perspectives on these verticals,” explains Francisco Almada Lobo, Critical Manufacturing’s CEO. “Our verticals are semiconductor manufacturing, electronics, medical devices and industrial equipment, and we have made good progress this year across these sectors.”

Critical Manufacturing’s solutions help manufacturers compete effectively through digitalisation, allowing them to easily adapt to changes in demand, opportunity, and requirements, anywhere, at any time. Their solutions are fully integrated and modular, built by a team of seasoned hightech industry manufacturing IT professionals.

The company’s solutions go beyond error-proof operations management,

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offering advanced Internet of Things data management and analytics, Augmented Reality, a manufacturing Digital Twin and modern, intuitive interfaces that will empower the next generation of workers.

Today Critical Manufacturing is considered the leader in its sector through assessment by independent analysts. The company is seeing 40 to 50% growth year-on-year, employs over 550 people and boasts a geographic footprint that stretches across Europe, North America, and Asia, particularly China and Southeast Asia. The company has been named a Leader in the 2023 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Manufacturing Execution Systems for the third year running, receiving the best score for complex discrete in Gartner Critical Capabilities 2022.

“They have seen the innovation we have brought to bear,” Almada Lobo tells us.

Francisco Almada Lobo, CEO, Critical Manufacturing.

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CRITICAL MANUFACTURING

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CRITICAL MANUFACTURING

A PLATFORM FOR DIGITAL

The crux of that innovation is Critical Manufacturing’s unique digitalisation platform for manufacturing, with the ability to map complex processes that happen inside manufacturing facilities.

“Systems like ours are not just for collecting data but essentially allow users to monitor processes in real-time, control those processes and derive strategies for performance and quality improvement,” Almada Lobo says. “We have created real value, and on top of that, we have a solution that can be deployed in many ways. It can either be based on the client’s premises, or we can deploy cloud-based versions for customers who want a lower Capex investment. Or we can develop a hybrid solution with some components running on-premises and some running in the cloud. We support digitalisation from a modular perspective.”

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By “a modular perspective,” Almada Lobo means that Critical Manufacturing does not just provide a one-point solution, but solutions that can grow along with our businesses, evolving, as he says, for “centuries to come.”

But with growth comes challenges, and Almada Lobo is the first to point out that Critical Manufacturing’s greatest challenges have been to do with scale.

“The highest growth year we had was the post-pandemic when we grew by 70%. As we sell our solutions to larger and larger companies, we will sell to firms with 20, 30 or 40 manufacturing plants,” Almada Lobo explains. “To a certain extent, we were almost victims of our own success.

To respond to that demand, we have started hiring more and building on our relationships.

We are asking who can take over some of these deployments, allowing us to deploy across a wider range of plants.”

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CRITICAL MANUFACTURING

INSPIRED BY PEOPLE

Critical Manufacturing’s solutions are constantly developing, with the company investing heavily in innovation, but innovation can mean a lot of different things.

“There are different aspects to innovation,” Almada Lobo says. “One of our main sources of innovation is our own customers. We have regular customer group meetings where customers explain how they use our solutions and what they would like to see developed next. We have ideas and always want to add more functionality.”

This is made possible thanks to Critical Manufacturing’s modular solutions.

The company offers a base product, and on top of that product, Critical Manufacturing can add a lot of different features.

“The options are almost infinite, so we need to channel ideas through our team and our partners, generating ideas and developing them into products,” says Almada Lobo.

Of course, turning ideas into actionable products and solutions take talent, and Critical Manufacturing invests heavily in recruiting and developing new people.

“It is becoming a challenge.

Essentially, we have two types of high-level recruits- software engineers and industrial managers. In both cases, we have broad competition for talent, but the market is not saturated yet,” Almada Lobo says. “On one side we have done a lot of work with different universities to become a place where people want to work, and this is something we have been doing for many years now.

We have opened internships to attract new talent. We also work in retention, ensuring we have competitive pay, benefits

56 | COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

and most importantly offer different types of work, so people do not stagnate and have the possibility of moving up in their career.”

As well as recruiting people one by one, Critical Manufacturing is also on the lookout for companies that it can bring into the fold.

“We are also acquiring some companies. In the beginning of 2023, we expanded our operations into Southeast Asia.

The latest was a firm in Mexico, strengthening our presence in Latin America”, Almada Lobo says.

But while Critical Manufacturing is on the lookout for businesses to acquire, Almada Lobo currently has no interest in taking the company beyond its existing market sectors.

“At this point, we do not want to expand into different verticals because there is so much work to win here in the electronics and medical devices space,” he insists.

“We will continue to evolve

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CRITICAL MANUFACTURING

alongside our partners, adding more products more features, and creating additional options.

We are committing to some non-organic growth with companies that have features that can be complementary to our own solutions for our target customers.”

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In finding and developing those solutions, Almada Lobo believes that Critical Manufacturing teaches us an important lesson.

“We are headquartered and founded in Portugal, competing globally and considered to be ahead of

the game compared to some giant companies,” Almada Lobo points out. “We have deals with top manufacturing companies worldwide. We show that innovation can come from anywhere.”

COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY | 57

DUBAI TECHNOLOGIES

58 | COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

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DUBAI TECHNOLOGIES

DUBAI TECHNOLOGIES IS A LEADING PROVIDER OF INTEGRATED TELEMATICS AND ITS SOLUTIONS, DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED IN-HOUSE AND DEPLOYED TO CUSTOMERS ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST AND BEYOND.

PARTNERS FOR CREATING A SMARTER WORLD PROJECT MANAGED BY: TREVOR GRETSINGER

Dubai Technologies is a global mobility technology company, providing AI & IoT-based sustainable urban mobility and smart city solutions across different sectors in the MENA region, supported by cutting-edge information technology.

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COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY | 59

THE TOTAL SOLUTION FOR YOUR TAXI! violations Special reports on overspeeding, other other violations and extended driving behaviour analysis.

Easy to link to a payment terminal for credit and debit card transactions.

Reads out CAN data and provides insight into all vehicle data and battery status. status

CABMAN: YOUR PARTNER IN TAXI SOLUTIONS Getting passengers from A to B easily, safely and efficiently. That’s what we’re here to help you do at Cabman. With our all-in-one smart meter, the Cabman MDT, we support up to 1,200 entrepreneurs around the world.

From our home market in The Netherlands to Finland, from Switzerland to the United Arab Emirates, you’ll find our equipment.

STRONGER TOGETHER In the United Arab Emirates, we have teamed up with Dubai Technology.

Together, we have equipped more than 2500 taxis with our intelligent mobile data terminal, and the number is growing.

CABMAN MDT: ALL-IN-ONE SOLUTION Cabman MDT is our core business. This innovative solution for the taxi industry features a fully integrated OIML compliant taximeter. It can also be easily linked to a mobile PIN terminal for PIN payments and a thermal printer for printing receipts. The MDT is also equipped with an NFC reader and a Bluetooth antenna and can be linked to various applications, such as a driver app. We also offer the ability to extract various CAN bus signals from the vehicle. These include driver behaviour data, sensor information such as seat sensors, battery status, fuel consumption and maintenance information such as brake pad wear.

OUR ORGANISATION Cabman is part of the Dutch company Euphoria Mobility. At Euphoria Mobility we develop the mobility solutions of the future. By combining experience, knowledge and expertise, we create a wide range of excellent hardware and software applications for the mobility industry.

More information about our intelligent equipment? Contact us! www.cabman.eu

60 | COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

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DUBAI TECHNOLOGIES

T

Ali Moidu, CEO, Dubai Technologies.

he company is at the forefront of innovation, driving digital transformation in the region as well as further afield.

“As a leading technology company based in the vibrant city of Dubai since 1994, we are committed to delivering cutting-edge solutions and services that empower businesses, governments, and individuals to thrive in the digital era,” says company CEO Ali Moidu.

He points out that over the years, Dubai Technologies has developed from a system integrator into an engineering solutions development company, a business that is respected, informed and in tune with its clients’ needs. Today, the company employs around 250 people based in UAE but also experts who work remotely in different parts of the world.

Mr Moidu participated in the restructuring of the business to turn it into a product-based company. “We serve clients with a range of smart city enablement programs, and that is our prime focus. We call ourselves partners to create a smarter world.”

He affirms that Dubai Technologies strongly believes in the power of partnerships.

The company collaborates with leading technology providers, academic institutions, research centres, and industry experts to foster innovation, exchange knowledge, and collectively shape the future of technology.

“Through strategic alliances and joint ventures, we are expanding

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our capabilities and creating a collaborative ecosystem that drives innovation and accelerates digital transformation.”

SMART CITY SOLUTIONS

Making urban living comfortable and smoother is the company’s core business.

“Rapid urbanisation calls for smart city solutions. By 2050, 70% of the world’s population is expected to have moved to urban areas.

It is still possible to avoid the chaos caused by this movement by creating a city lifestyle which is easy, accessible, manageable, and informative.

Dubai Technologies has been creating programmes which enable this kind of city transformation.

Contributing to the creation of ‘smart cities’ is our goal.”

With its smart city solutions, Dubai Technologies leverages big data analytics, sensor technologies, and GPS-based technology to help companies quickly and cost-effectively manage and monitor their resources. The company’s smart city solutions are designed

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DUBAI TECHNOLOGIES

keeping in mind the growing importance of intelligent transport systems (ITS).

“The smart city concept has multiple pillars, with the core pillar being mobility or transport, since that is what keeps people connected, accessible, and enables comfortable living in a city. Gone are the days when you had to hail a taxi down, today it is available at your fingertips, using technology, it comes to your home without any interaction.”

The company’s integrated Smart Automated Vehicles Management Platform for all transport modes is one of the key components in building smart cities. This platform includes several subsystems that are integrated to form a unified system for monitoring, tracking, and managing all types of vehicles for the public and private sectors in smart cities.

The platform combines all the tracking, monitoring, and management functions of transport fleets. It specialises in waste management, public transport, school bus management, rental cars, taxis, freight transport, road accidents and incident management.

SUSTAINABLE CITIES

Mr Moidu highlights the importance of waste management and mentions SUS10, a system

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that the company has designed as an all-encompassing waste management system prioritising efficiency, environmental consciousness, and the circular economy.

At the heart of SUS10 lies state-of-the-art technology that revolutionizes waste management practices. With advanced sorting systems, automated collection processes, and smart waste monitoring, it is possible to optimize waste disposal, streamline recycling operations, and improve overall efficiency.

Mr Moidu affirms that sustainability lies at the very core of the company’s systems. “Our entire business is sustainable.

How we optimise every resource is the foundation of sustainability and that is reflected in our offering – how do we optimise energy resources? How do we reduce the number of cars? How do we reduce the number of manual routines? The SUS10 system mentioned above is based on sustainability, on environmental and sustainability management.”

“Similaly, we always look at a carbon footprint and how to minimise it by reducing fuel consumption or extra undesired routes being taken, as well as situations related to the causes of accidents or environmental hazards.”

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DUBAI TECHNOLOGIES

“Sustainability is also ingrained in the internal processes of our organisation, be it packaging, water, electricity, and all types of resource optimization at an organisational level. These are all connected to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals defined by the UN and have been put in the DNA of our products.”

GLOBAL REACH

Post Covid, demand for these systems is increasing at both governmental and business levels and to meet this demand, Dubai Technologies is continuously investing in R&D to further develop and enhance its offering, says Mr Moidu.

Externally, the company is now focusing on setting up global partnerships, to expand its great success story in UAE to other regions of the world. Right now, its solutions for smart cities and environmental management are being implemented in Peru, several African countries, and Oman as well as India.

“We are looking at working with focused strategic investors or partners to expand our capability in the global market.

We are now specifically considering potential partnerships in Europe, a large, stable and financially strong market, with an ever-increasing focus on sustainability.”

“We believe in harnessing the capability of technology to improve human life; that is the biggest value we see in technology; a value that we strive to bring on a smaller scale, to secure urban living comfort.

Therefore, we promote a citywide or governmental platform connecting all stakeholders in the simplest way, and providing visibility to ensure everything performs as designed and as regulated, for the benefit of the communities.

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SUDLOWS

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SUDLOWS

A LOT OF COMPANIES TALK ABOUT CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND INNOVATION, BUT EVEN AFTER 111 YEARS, SUDLOWS IS PRACTISING IT AT EVERY LEVEL OF THE COMPANY.

NEVER STOP LEARNING BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

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SUDLOWS

Sudlows’ history goes back to 1912 when it was founded as an electrical contractor owned and operated by its founder, Albert Sudlow. Times change, and by the 1980s the company had moved into the data cabling sector, predominantly driven

by BT severing its ties from the Post Office, and so Sudlows began to specialise in telecommunication.

PROJECT MANAGED BY: DECLAN JONES

T

he company’s journey continued into 2006 when Sudlows underwent a management buyout led by John Collins and Christopher Dummett. One of their initial hires was Andy Hirst to head the electrical division within Sudlows and he later become the company’s Managing Director of Critical Infrastructure.

“When I came on board it was clear the focus needed to concentrate on data centres and mission-critical environments,” Hirst says.

It marked the beginning of a period of dramatic growth for the company. Hirst joined a firm that had around 40 employees and turned over around £2 million. Today he helps to lead a company that employs

250 people in the UK alone, with around 500 employees worldwide, and a turnover in the region of £70 million plus. This year, the number is expected to grow beyond £100 million.

Sudlows’ success in the UK attracted attention from further afield.

“In 2015 companies around the world were asking for our services,” Hirst recalls. “We delivered one-off projects in countries including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and we got to the stage where we decided to look at what opportunities there were outside the UK. I spent time in the Middle East investigating this option and there was enough business to justify opening an office there.

That region now has around

Infrastructure, Telecoms & IT Services

Establish in 2017, Critical Data Centre Solutions is a company which focuses on all electrical aspects of work within the Data Centre Industry.

Our team has a vast understanding in containment and cabling requirements whilst working in live or construction environments.

iCobus is a proud Partner of Sudlows, with local Installation Teams across all EMEA Countries.

• Network Cabling

• Data Centres

• Managed Services

• WiFi Installations

• Commercial Offices

• Project Delivery

• Switch Installations

• Distribution Centres

• Contract Labour

• Data Centre Support

• Retail Stores

• Field Technicians

• Smart Hands

• IT Roll Out Projects

• Staff Recruitment

For further information please visit our website

“The trusted partner that helps your business grow across multiple countries.”

Or if you have any queries, please contact us at: enquiries@cdcsl.co.uk

Email: cobus@icobus.com

www.criticaldatacentresolutions

66 | COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

www.icobus.com

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SUDLOWS

80 design engineers. We then got asked by a client to support them in Mumbai, so we opened an office there as well. By 2019, outside the UK we had two offices, one in Dubai and one in Mumbai where we also have around 80 design engineers working.”

Over the last three years, Sudlows has established a further presence in Ireland, Singapore, and South Africa, building on its reputation across these regions. In the UK it designs, builds, and commissions projects for mission-critical environments.

It also offers consultancy and professional services.

“We have a company of high achievers demonstrated by the multiple awards for individual engineers and project works,” Hirst says.

“IT IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL THAT WE GIVE THE CLIENT THE CONFIDENCE THAT ANYTHING WE WORK ON WILL HAVE 100% UP-TIME.”

Andy Hirst, Managing Director of Critical Infrastructure, Sudlows.

BUILT ON LEARNING

But wherever Sudlows is operating in the world, it trades on a wealth of vital knowledge and experience.

“We give the client confidence in our expertise. All organisations have a data centre or mission critical facilities in one form or another such as banking, telecommunications, even retail and universities, to list just a few” Hirst tells us. “If any of these facilities fail, it causes massive issues within that business. It can

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Proud to partner with Sudlows delivering cooling solutions

CANNING

GENERATOR SOLUTIONS

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canning-gs.co.uk HV / LV Generator Servicing

Switchgear Solutions

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RESTORING POWER. BUILDING RESILIENCE. RWL Advanced Solutions UK Ltd continue to play a key part in the development and delivery of next generation Data Centre Connectivity.

Working with leading partners and strategic technology vendors, we play a vital role in delivering successful and sustainable projects.

Server Room and Mission Critical Services

Critical Facilities Solutions Ltd (CFS), a specialist, multiskilled Data Centre solutions and services provider.

CFS delivers ISO level technical cleaning, raised access flooring, firestopping and fit-out. CFS have established operations in Europe and can facilitate projects in America and the Middle East.

Critical Facilities Solutions Ltd UK Headquarters Unit N2, Bolsover Business Park, Bolsover, S44 6BB

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T: +44 (0) 1246 822581 E: cfs@criticalfacilitiessolutions.co.uk www.criticalfacilitiessolutions.co.uk

Find out more by contacting us at salesuk@rwlas.com

WWW.RWLAS.COM

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SUDLOWS

damage brand reputation, cause financial and commercial losses, and ultimately close businesses down.

It is absolutely crucial that we give the client the confidence that anything we work on will have 100% up-time. We can only do that using the experience of our highly qualified engineers and staff.”

To acquire that expertise, Sudlows hires industryrespected engineers and staff.

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The company sources people with experience but also relies heavily on strong relationships with local universities and colleges.

“We are working with local education providers such as Oldham College, Salford University and Warrington UTC,” Hirst says. “We are working with various other colleges, trying to source the right calibre of graduates and put them through rigorous internal training.”

“WE HAVE A COMPANY OF HIGH ACHIEVERS DEMONSTRATED BY THE MULTIPLE AWARDS FOR INDIVIDUAL ENGINEERS AND PROJECT WORKS.” COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY | 69

SUDLOWS

These recruits are put alongside experienced engineers. Currently, there are only a few recognised certifications for data centres, but these can’t offer the experience that is required before being able to work in live facilities.

“We put them through the training we can, but most of what they learn is through being upskilled by the engineers we have,” Hirst says.

That notion of upskilling and continuous improvement is core to Sudlows’ way of working, but Hirst does not just preach this, he lives it.

“I invest a lot of my personal time,” he says. “I have just completed a master’s degree in data centre design and leadership at Anglia Ruskin, and I am partway through a master’s degree in sustainability. It is important to demonstrate that developing yourself does not stop. I work with young engineers and support their career paths, as an IET mentor I help them gain incorporated or chartered status. It is a big passion of mine to develop young engineers and demonstrates

70 | COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

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Fiber & Copper Solutions

We are an experienced, highly trained, multi skilled and versatile team, we provide personalised solutions.

Whether we work with you as tech support or run networking for your premises, you will be dealing with technicians you know and trust.

• Design • Install • Maintain and support We offer diverse fibre optic cabling services to suit all functions. Our experienced technicians are equipped to handle installations in both internal and external environments, using OS2, OM3 and OM4 standard fibre optic cable. Trust us to provide you with the most reliable and efficient fibre optic cabling solutions for all Data Centres or your business needs.

We have a range of experienced national and international engineers and data cablers to undertake a full range of data cabling installations for Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6A, Cat7 & Cat8 to cover commercial, government, education, and manufacturing industries.

operations@jforceltd.com www.jforceltd.com

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+44 7539 204 412 +44 7490 423 007

Welcome to Romdata Cabling, a topperforming telecoms cabling business with a solid track record. We were established 3.5 years ago, and since then, we have quickly expanded from managing minor assignments to successfully completing significant data centre cabling projects across Europe. Our knowledge, dependability, and dedication to exceeding customer expectations are reflected in our ongoing growth.

Delivering excellent quality structured cabling solutions is Romdata Cabling’s key competitive advantage. We are aware that the foundation of any successful organization is an effective and dependable communication infrastructure, and we place a high value on perfection in all facets of our structured cabling services as a result. Our team of highly qualified professionals carefully and precisely plans, installs, and maintains cabling systems.

We follow industry standards and make use of cutting-edge tech to make sure that your network runs smoothly and supports your business activities without being interrupted.

We take pleasure in providing structured cabling solutions that go above and beyond industry standards and satisfy the particular requirements of each client.

ROMDATA CABLING LTD 1 Edward Street, Mapplewell, Barnsley, S756BL, United Kingdom M: +44 07376 417 851 E: office@romdata.co.uk

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that even if you are 56, you shouldn’t stop learning - or you soon fall behind with the equipment being developed and innovation.”

Of course, the thing about investing heavily in your business’ knowledge base is that it creates an appealing prospect for other businesses looking to recruit.

“Because data centres are mission critical, everyone knows everyone. People are always looking at the talent you have and trying to gain their skillsets,” Hirst acknowledges.

Sudlows’ culture is its secret weapon against those recruiters.

“THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS ENSURING THAT WE KEEP OFFERING THE BEST AND LATEST SOLUTIONS.”

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SUDLOWS

To do that, Sudlows keeps its finger on the global pulse of the sector.

“Sudlows advise and specify the correct solution for our clients, and therefore carry out a lot of due diligence, taking us to facilities in the UK, across Europe, and further regions.

We go to the factories and see what they have got, with a dedicated team looking at sustainability and improved efficiencies,” Hirst points out.

“But it is time consuming and requires above and beyond investment to keep up with those technologies.”

But Hirst’s commitment to continuous learning and improvement is reflected across the entire company.

“Our plans for the future in the Middle East and Europe are looking at not just offering professional services, but potential construction of facilities outside of the UK,” Hirst says. “We are looking at continually improving the quality of what we offer and ensuring that sustainability is a high priority, not only within Sudlows but in the offering we give our customers.”

“Sudlows works as a team. At the office, everyone gets on with everyone, and we continually try to upskill and promote internally. We make it attractive to employees to remain with us,” Hirst explains. “But it is tough because we are seen as experts in our field and therefore the team is sought after. However, if an employee is enticed away, it is usually for one of the large organisations such as Google.”

Hirst points out.

THE NEXT CHALLENGE

Wherever you work in the industry, some things remain the same. Data centres are

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notoriously power-hungry, and the biggest challenge in the industry right now is to solve that.

“Ensuring sustainability and reducing carbon footprints is a big priority,” Hirst says. “We are lucky in this industry, a lot of technology is continuously being developed. We invest a lot in innovation and investigating the latest technologies. We go to manufacturing plants and factories and look at how the latest technologies can improve these efficiencies. The biggest challenge is ensuring that we keep offering the best and latest solutions.”

“WE ARE LOOKING AT CONTINUALLY IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF WHAT WE OFFER AND ENSURING THAT SUSTAINABILITY IS A HIGH PRIORITY, NOT ONLY WITHIN SUDLOWS BUT IN THE OFFERING WE GIVE OUR CUSTOMERS.” COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY | 73

ARDENT HIRE SOLUTIONS

ARDENT HIRE IS PURSUING A DIGITAL, DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH TO PLANT HIRE THAT HELPS CUSTOMERS TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY AND REDUCE THE COSTS AND RISKS OF THEIR BUSINESSES.

THE FUTURE OF

PLANT HIRE PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

Ardent Hire Solutions is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of telehandlers, excavators, dumpers, rollers, roto-telehandlers, and electric-powered access to the equipment rental market.

Established through the merger of Fork Rent and One Call Hire in 2015, the company today trades from 10 depots nationwide and invests continuously in both fleet and service enhancement.

W

hen we spoke to CEO Jeremy Fish last year, the company had just implemented one of the largest investment programmes in the UK plant hire sector, worth over a quarter of a billion pounds, resulting in the company being able to offer the most up-todate and youngest fleets in the industry. This year, investment in improvements is projected to reach £60 million.

Mr Fish confirmed that over the last 12 months, the company has again moved forward, increasing its focus on digitisation and eco-friendly operations on site. “We are increasingly becoming a multicategory equipment rental specialist, trying to establish ourselves as a leader in digitisation and sustainability in the rental space,” he said, adding that being fuel- and

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carbon-efficient is Ardent’s number one environmental priority.

GREEN INVESTMENT

“We’re continuing our major fleet renewal programme by investing in the latest construction machinery, which is around 30% more fuel efficient than the older models.

In addition, we’re now working with several suppliers who share our vision of reducing our carbon footprint in every area of our organisation.”

The latest additions to the fleet include electric power access and a new fleet of solarpowered generators.

Trials show that customers can reduce their total temporary power costs by 60% and emissions by 80% compared to conventional diesel generators. 30 units are being delivered over the first half of 2023.

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ARDENT HIRE SOLUTIONS

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CONSTRUCTION | 75

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ARDENT HIRE SOLUTIONS

Earlier last year Ardent invested in a fleet of electric and hybrid boom lifts. Carbon emissions from the solar-hybrid generators and boom lifts are being offset through Ardent’s carbon offsetting programme as part of its partnership with Climate Impact Partners.

“Both those propositions, the electric-powered access and the generators come with comprehensive telematics reporting.

The customers can see exactly what they’re doing in terms of utilisation, safety, productivity, and cost management.”

The use of data and telematics to help customers manage the productivity of their fleet has been Ardent’s competitive advantage for some time. The company’s own multi-awardwinning Site Manager software that tracks the performance of the equipment on hire has been used, and appreciated, by customers for several years.

“WE’RE CONTINUING OUR MAJOR FLEET RENEWAL PROGRAMME

BY INVESTING IN THE LATEST CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY, WHICH IS AROUND 30% MORE FUEL EFFICIENT THAN THE OLDER MODELS.” SMART FUEL TANK SYSTEM

As a response to rising fuel costs, Ardent has spent the last 18 months developing a solution to reduce fuel losses

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Jeremy Fish, CEO, Ardent Hire.

for customers by improving accountability and warning where fuel is being tampered with: Fuel-IT, a Smart Fuel Tank system using industry-leading telematics.

The system includes FuelIT Manager, a cloud-based portal, that enables users to monitor their fuel tank activity on a real-time basis. Low or critical fuel-level alerts can be notified to site managers, and alerts also notify them of potential misappropriation of fuel, spillage, or leakage.

Analytics reporting enables fuel dispersals to be tracked against specific assets so that fuel can be fully accounted for, and anomalies queried.

Accurate carbon reporting is

also possible. The system is intuitive to use and doesn’t require any training.

“We are finding a lot of customers want this product as it clearly helps them achieve significant savings in terms of fuel costs. We have only six units in trial at the moment, but another 55 units have now been manufactured. These will be ready for deployment by the middle of July,” said Mr Fish.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY COMPANY

Ardent has also expanded. The company now runs 10 depots and has recently opened a Super Hub in Bedford, on a six-acre concreted site. The site provides considerable potential for future growth and

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expansion and includes a new training school to help address the issue of labour shortage.

“As in any sector, it is not easy to find quality people but Ardent has a good reputation in the market. It’s an organisation people want to work for. Even though many people think of us as a large company, we still consider ourselves to be a small, family-friendly, handson company where everybody knows everybody.”

The human touch has also been reflected externally.

Last year, a team from Ardent Hire Solutions drove several vans across Europe to deliver essential supplies to Ukrainian refugees, and the help continues.

“We have set up the Plant and Hire Alliance, consisting of like-minded companies in the plant hire industry which are acting together to support the humanitarian effort in Ukraine. So far, we have managed to get 65 companies on board. Together, we have sent over two million pounds worth of aid to Ukraine,” noted Mr Fish, adding that another convoy will be sent to Ukraine in October.

“We’re looking for other companies to join us. We’ll do all the logistics and all the planning; all they have to do is to turn up with a van that has items. Anyone interested can get in touch through the Alliance website.”

CURRENT TRENDS

Speaking about current challenges, he admits that inflation has affected the whole industry.

“We’ve seen very substantial price increases from the original equipment manufacturers, which unfortunately are passed onto customers. If we don’t increase prices, we

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ARDENT HIRE SOLUTIONS

won’t be able to invest in new equipment, and that will affect our customers’ projects.”

He affirmed that this inflationary environment will not hinder Ardent’s further growth.

Business expansion will be helped by a trend that has intensified over the last 12 months: the shift from equipment purchase to equipment hire.

“We’re seeing people selling their fleets; we’re seeing quite a few people exiting the industry. This of course presents new opportunities for companies like Ardent. With our modern fleet, equipped with advanced telematics and complying with the latest environmental standards, we are ready to capitalise on those opportunities.”

WITH OUR MODERN FLEET, EQUIPPED WITH ADVANCED TELEMATICS AND COMPLYING WITH THE LATEST ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS, WE ARE READY TO CAPITALISE ON THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

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DONALDSON TIMBER SYSTEMS

THEY ARE CALLED “MODERN METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION,” BUT DONALDSON TIMBER SYSTEMS HAS SPECIALISED IN OFF-SITE CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES FOR NEARLY HALF A CENTURY.

MODERN METHODS FOR 50 YEARS PROJECT MANAGED BY: CHRIS CONWAY

Donaldson Timber Systems (DTS) is an independent, off-site specialist in the design, manufacture, and installation of timber-based build systems. With nearly 50 years of experience behind it, the company provides full UK coverage focussed on the house building sector. It is not only the largest timber frame manufacturer in the UK but is also part of one of the largest independent timber groups in the UK, the Donaldson Group, a family business which has been trading for 163 years.

A

few things make us unique.

Our range, our heritage, and our experience are key,” says John Smith, Donaldson Timber Systems’ Technical Director.

“We use what is called ‘modern methods of construction’, but we have been using them for 50 years now. That gives us the knowledge, experience, and background to know we are doing the right thing.”

That knowledge is verified.

The DTS product range is fully tested, and fully thirdparty certified, which is a rare claim to be able to make in the sector.

“It is relatively unique, but it is also increasingly important

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in advanced building systems and technical requirements,” Smith points out. “Third-party certification is important for ourselves and our customers.”

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

It is also important that Donaldson Timber Systems can offer its products and services anywhere in the country. It can serve construction projects from the North of Scotland to the very South of England, but despite operating nationwide, the firm also maintains local relationships with its supply chain and customers.

As Smith points out, “This is possible thanks to the strategic partners we work with.

John Smith, Technical Director, Donaldson Timber Systems

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DONALDSON TIMBER SYSTEMS

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CONSTRUCTION | 81

Moving >> Homes with Grampian Grampian Continental Ltd were established in 2009. A road freight operator, covering all aspects of transport to and from the area to all parts of the UK & Europe.

We operate 100 vehicles from our base in Altens, Aberdeen. Our fleet consists of small hot-shot vans to an array of trucks, and a wide selection of trailers culminating with 150 tonne special types artics.

We were delighted to be directly awarded the Donaldson timber systems contract in 2019 although we had been working indirectly with them for several years prior. We now enjoy a superb working relationship with the Donaldson team in Westhill, Falkirk and Witney.

+44 (0)1224 791144 / info@grampianco.com / www.grampianco.com

We work with customers nationwide, but at a local level we have sales, technical, commercial and construction experts that are locally based and build relationships with the customers in that region.”

Those relationships are all the more important given how volatile the housing construction sector has recently been at both ends – from raw materials to the housing market and sales rates.

“If you talk to anybody in the industry right now, they will talk about the volatility in the housing market, the lack of a clear pipeline, and that continues to be a challenge,” Smith says. “The whole construction sector has seen raw material shortages, extraordinary, material and transport cost increases. These have all been a challenge.”

DTS has navigated these challenges thanks to those strategic relationships with key partners, big and small.

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“We work with local and regional customers doing a handful of plots as well as national housebuilders across the UK,” Smith tells us.

“We have also got long-term relationships with key supply chain partners. Our scale allows us to deal directly with material manufacturers, which not only cuts down on costs for third-party distribution but also allows us to share key information on specifications and volume forecasts. Many of our suppliers have been with us for a long time, and some for well over 20 years.

We stick with them, using only two or three per commodity.

It means we never run out of product, and we always have access to supply.”

The benefits roll down the supply chain, allowing Donaldson Timber System’s customers to rely on them, and maintaining those relationships.

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DONALDSON TIMBER SYSTEMS

Beyond our supply chain and customers, DTS has also built up close relations with a number of test facilities, and certification bodies and have a full suite of third-party certification in place. “With new build standards pushing the performance of homes forward quicker than ever, the industry is rightly reacting to this with new and innovative solutions.

This is where third-party certification is vital to ensure advanced build system will achieve their stated performance, are durable and fully fire and structurally tested.

Our Sigma II build system has BBA, BOPAS+, NHBC

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Accepts and TRADA Q-Mark certifications in place, offering peace of mind for people who are building and those who will own and/or live in the homes we build.

GROW YOUR OWN

As important as the supplier and customer relationships are, the relationships within the company itself are equally important, particularly as DTS has been undergoing a period of growth over the last ten years.

“We have always had a growour-own mentality. We have 25 apprentices and trainees performing various functions across the business,” Smith says.

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DONALDSON TIMBER SYSTEMS

“We have also developed an apprenticeship scheme with West Herts College for our site installation partners because those skills are not typically taught as a trade.”

It is not just about recruiting talent but nurturing and retaining that talent. 21% of Donaldson Timber Systems’ total staff have been with the company for more than a decade. The company also employs ten people with a service record of over 30 years.

“There are a lot of opportunities within the business for development and promotion from within,” Smith tells us.

That training is not confined to the firm’s own staff, however.

“We are also training our customers and their suppliers or sub-contractors in how to build with the system that we have been using for years,” Smith says. “We have two people within the business working fulltime providing CPD-certified training for our customers.”

But while that grow-yourown mentality is a key part of the business’s approach, the company is not afraid to bring in expertise from other businesses, even other industries.

“We have got a board of six directors, three are internal appointments who came up through the business, and three are relatively new but came from different business sectors to give us a wide range of experience to draw from,” explains Smith. “Senior management is the same, with eight senior managers, 50% of whom have been promoted from within the business. We are also happy to look beyond our industry.

With the investment, we are making in our manufacturing centre in Witney now, and across our other facilities in the future, we are using new, more advanced technology.

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DONALDSON TIMBER SYSTEMS

We have people from BMW and Honda with more advanced manufacturing technology, helping us to embed that investment in the business.”

Those technological developments are a key part of Donaldson’s vision for the future of the business, introducing tools such as laser projection technology and even augmented reality.

“We are replacing paper drawings and tape measures with CAD files and information displayed through laser projection directly onto the product being manufactured,” Smith points out. “It means the people running the production lines do not need to stop and look at drawings, they can see exactly what to fit and exactly where to fit it. We have looked at augmented reality goggles and hard hats that let workers see drawings and information.

All these things are starting to advance, and we want to be at the forefront of that. Once we have developed these in our manufacturing centres, we will roll them out on our sites as well.”

By ensuring its people have access to the latest tools, DTS can fuel its future growth.

“We have got manufacturing technology investments in Witney, a new manufacturing facility planned in Scotland, and a new ERP system for the

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business that is in the final stages of implementation,” says Smith. “We will keep developing our product and system offering to keep ahead of the market. We have a good history of that, building the UK’s first code level 5 houses of what was known as the Code for Sustainable Homes back in 2007. Since then, we have been developing our Sigma II build system, and have 15 years of knowledge and improvements to the system which is ideally suited to meet the requirements of future building standards in 2025 and beyond.”

As sustainability continues to be an ever-more critical priority, Smith cannot overstate the importance of timber construction.

“Timber has a vital role in sustainability. It is the only truly renewable building material,” he says. “Many can be recycled, but we always can and should grow more trees to absorb carbon dioxide and store that carbon within the timber. Building a new home with a timber build system saves on average 6 tonnes of carbon compared to a masonry solution, so if even half of the government’s target of 340,000 homes per year were built using timber, we would save over 1 million tons of carbon every year. The more we do with timber the better it is for the planet.”

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BDO SOUTH AFRICA INCORPORATED

IN A TROUBLED TIME FOR THE INDUSTRY, BDO SOUTH AFRICA HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS A CREDIBLE BRAND THAT DENOTES QUALITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN ALL ITS ACTIONS.

THE QUALITY IMPERATIVE PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

BDO was established through the collaboration of five different independent firms from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, the US, and Canada. Formed from the names of the three main partners integral to that collaboration, Binder, Dijker and Otte, the company has since grown into an $11 billion business.

[Opposite page] Wynand Botha, Associate Director, BDO South Africa Incorporated.

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B

DO South Africa has seven offices and 2,000 employees that form part of the 800 offices of BDO Worldwide. Being part of a global company gives BDO South Africa access to international insight and support in over 60 countries.

“The services we provide are auditing and assurance, advisory, tax and business services outsourcing,” says Associate Director Wynand Botha. “We deliver this through our industry sectors such as Real Estate & Construction, Financial Services, Natural Resources, Consumer Business, Public Sector, Technology, Media & Telecommunications, where we have deep knowledge and expertise across the organisation.”

A clear imperative across the BDO network is our focus on embedding quality systemically across our service lines and industry sectors.

In South Africa, BDO is regulated by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA), which ensures all regulations and quality requirements are met by audit and advisory firms. The

profession has seen unfortunate practices in previous years, which has damaged public trust. This places even greater pressure on BDO to be transparent and adhere to the rules and guidelines.

Botha says. “What is important to us is transparency. We have been through this process, we know what to expect, and being transparent and building that client professional relationship gives us the ability to ensure quality.”

“In South Africa, we have a big portfolio of clients, 40 of which are listed on the JSE. Beyond that we have globally 150 listed clients,” Botha explains.

A TIME FOR TRANSFORMATION

With a demanding client base to serve and standards at an all-time high, this is a time to intensify the transformation agenda at BDO South Africa.

Botha Continues: We recently launched the BDO Global 2023 Construction Survey Report, which looks at repositioning the construction industry as an employer of choice for Gen Z. At BDO, we recognise the importance of having workforce planning in

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BDO SOUTH AFRICA INCORPORATED

place to attract and retain staff for the future. To understand the challenges our clients, face in the construction sector in relation to talent shortage and scarcity, BDO’s Global Real Estate & Construction team undertook a global research project to examine the opinions and attitudes of university students towards considering a career in the industry, as well as the views and expectations of construction companies regarding their future workforce.

BDO’s global survey shares insight from countries across 5 continents on how attractive

the construction sector is for the new generation and how their values and beliefs shape their perspective.

It also gathers input from professionals currently working in the sector.

With more than 700 respondents and both global and regional analysis, this global research project witnessed the participation of several BDO firms – each covering their respective markets: Australia, U.S., South Africa, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Belgium, Norway, and Brazil plus 7 other countries in the LATAM region.

“THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON THE PROFIT LINE IS THAT IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, YOU SIGN A CONTRACT WHICH DEFINES YOUR DELIVERY DATE.” 88 | FINANCE & CONSULTING

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BDO SOUTH AFRICA INCORPORATED

REBUILDING THE REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION MARKET

Key sector expertise at BDO is across the real estate and construction industries, and both sectors have faced a lot of challenges in the years following the Covid pandemic.

“The biggest impact on the profit line is that in the construction industry, you sign a contract which defines your delivery date,” Botha explains.

“If you do not deliver on time, it results in penalties, so in South Africa and globally the hard lockdown made the biggest

impact. At the same time, the consumer basket is becoming smaller as everything becomes more expensive. We are looking at inflation and interest rates rising simultaneously, so a company that was wealthy in cash flow but now needs to borrow will take a double hit.”

At the same time, BDO is operating in a marketplace that is fiercely competitive and evolving.

“We all want a diverse portfolio and to increase our order books,” Botha says. “Delivering that service comes with a cost and you do not want to sacrifice quality. At the same time, we are moving into a position where we are more dependent on information technology which is why we are investing in technology to digitalise.”

Doing business in that kind of volatile environment requires careful management. “At the end of the day you have to have a budgeting process in place,”

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BDO SOUTH AFRICA INCORPORATED

says Botha. Budgets are smaller and costs are higher. BDO has made a commitment not to compromise on quality.

It is a challenging situation to be in, but Botha’s outlook is a positive one. “There are a lot of negativities regarding costs, but there is also a lot of opportunity.

Government spending is on the rise, particularly in the construction sector. Eskom has been implementing load shedding, resulting in power cuts for tremendous amounts of hours, so there is government spending to improve the grid and grow the renewables industry, which is where the construction industry is going to be flying. At the same time, there is an expectation for industries to stabilise by 2027 for inflation to recover and interest rates to decrease.”

However, costs are only one side of the equation BDO must solve. The industry is also navigating a shortage of talent. When BDO ran a survey asking about the problem

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BDO SOUTH AFRICA INCORPORATED

areas and opportunities in the construction industry, the number one issue people raised was “Talent.” This is an issue BDO South Africa is positioned to tackle.

“Our purpose is helping people achieve their dreams.

What we need to do is bring them to work and give them the opportunity to thrive,” Botha says. “We have a wealth of in-house knowledge and experience, and we are investing in a diversified workforce at all levels.”

Looking forward, Botha has a great deal of faith in the ability of the industry, and BDO itself, to rise to new challenges, but he never forgets what is important.

“We must continuously evolve, not just as a business but alongside our client base, creating a place where people can thrive. Yes, we are striving to be leaders in our different industry segments by being known and understood as industry sector experts, always with quality as a strategic imperative.”

“WE MUST CONTINUOUSLY EVOLVE, NOT JUST AS A BUSINESS BUT ALONGSIDE OUR CLIENT BASE, CREATING A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE CAN THRIVE.”

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AQUA HORIZON TECHNOLOGIES

AQUA HORIZON TECHNOLOGIES OFFERS COMPLETE WATER FILTRATION AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT SOLUTIONS FOR ALL INDUSTRIES – SOLUTIONS VITAL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, SOMETHING THAT IS NOW MORE IN DEMAND THAN EVER.

CLEAN WATER IS THE FUTURE PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

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AQUA HORIZON TECHNOLOGIES

Pretoria-headquartered Aqua Horizon Technologies (AHT) is an environmental engineering company specialising in water treatment. “We aim to provide long-term low life-cycle cost technology to the market, achieved by conducting continuous research and development and in-house manufacturing,” says company founder and CEO Jacques Steyn.

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W

e are passionate about solving water treatment challenges by means of innovative technologies.

We do not see problems; we only see multiple solutions. We present a complete line of filtration systems to help solve the toughest filtration issues of today. Our problem-solution approach, locally produced products, and technical and engineering expertise are our strengths. Solutions are tailored for complete satisfaction – from production to compliance.”

“We are committed to R&D, as research and development keep us ahead of our competitors, as well as creating a mindset eager to change and develop ourselves – that is why our clients support us and why they choose us. Our top clients have been with us for decades and all of our major customers keep on coming back because they trust us – we do what we promise, always.”

That approach has won AHT a global client base that includes companies such as Rio Tinto, Total, Puma, Astron/Chevron oil, Anglo Platinum and many more.

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AQUA HORIZON TECHNOLOGIES

THE RIGHT MINDSET

Mr Steyn, who describes himself as a serial entrepreneur, established the company in 1995 while still pursuing his studies but its core business was very different then.

“We started from humble beginnings as African Horizon Tours, a specialised safari tour operator, then transformed into African Horizon Planning, a town and regional planning company, before eventually becoming Aqua Horizon Technology,” he says.

“The focus has always been on the ‘Horizon’ - you cannot evolve and grow if you don’t keep moving forward. In life and business, this approach helps us and our clients to be goaldriven and future-focused.”

Although most of AHT’s clients come from the mining and oil and gas sectors, the company can meet the needs of any industry that uses hydrocarbons in its processes and has a need for oil-water separation solutions. Today, AHT has installations in 24 countries worldwide, covering most industrial sectors.

Mr Steyn reflects that one of AHT’s biggest accomplishments is the creation of the entire value chain of water treatment technologies for oil pollution.

“People don’t realise how big oil pollution is globally – it only takes one litre of oil to pollute a million litres of water.

This can be quite an issue in many industries and in many production processes.”

DIESEL ELECTRIC SERVICES Continuously Generating Fresh Ideas.

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As a bespoke engineering, procurement and construction partner, our speciality is found in turnkey solutions, focusing on medium voltage infrastructure, back-up power solutions, low voltage distribution and large power reticulation.

(+27) 086 110 6633 sales@dieselelectricservices.co.za www.dieselelectricservices.co.za

94 | ENERGY & UTILITIES

“WE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT SOLVING WATER TREATMENT CHALLENGES

BY MEANS OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES.” “Water treatment is a complex process, and each industry has its own unique challenges – understanding the client’s needs has always been very important to us and we focus on achieving a clear understanding of our clients’ needs before we start with the design of a solution.”

ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

Focussing on sustainability has been a major part of the business, and Mr Steyn affirms that clients appreciate the fact that AHT’s equipment has a long lifecycle and very few moving or replacement parts, meaning a low life-cycle cost.

“We help our clients see sustainability in the correct way – which means that spending money today on water treatment will save them money tomorrow, next year and the next decade.

Companies that don’t spend money on sound environmentally sustainable solutions will not survive the next decade.”

He notes that the net zero debate significantly intensified during the pandemic, and the market trend is to measure and monitor. “Never has the world been more obsessed with AI and the analysis of data. At AHT we have been preaching this to our clients for a decade now – you can only manage water if you can measure it. All our equipment has been engineered with data collection in mind.”

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AQUA HORIZON TECHNOLOGIES

what I consider our biggest achievement. Hydramix focuses on dissolved oil which is one of the biggest challenges industries face and starts where Hydraspin stops -the Hydramix system reduces oil down to 2-5 microns (99.9% recovery) while being the lowest life-cycle cost technology.”

The system has been applied in various industries, from oil

and gas to mines. “Meeting global standards in oil-water discharge limits is a challenge for all industries. Within the mining industry, this challenge is increased by the necessity to use surfactants and solventbased degreasers. It is thus crucial to make use of a powerful separation process such as Hydraspin, which ensures low discharge.”

One of the most successful outcomes of the company’s continuous drive to research and develop better solutions for oil-water separation, has been Hydraspin, the in-house developed hydro-cyclone technology that has been consistently improved year after year.

HYDRASPIN AND HYDRAMIX

Hydro cyclones have been tried, tested, and proven globally for over 30 years. Hydraspin partnered with the world’s 1st patented hydro cyclone and with continuous improvement, companies can expect compliance and payback in as little as 3 months. The system, designed to assist with oil-water separation, uses 3000x the force of gravity to effectively remove 95% of 10-micron oil droplets.

The remaining dissolved oil can be removed by Hydramix.

“Knowing the limitations of each technology and how to link the technologies efficiently to remove all the oil from water and doing so economically, is

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AQUA HORIZON TECHNOLOGIES

“Achieving net zero targets starts with the installation of Hydraspin to ensure all free and emulsified oils are removed.

Our system embodies the mindset that the world needs to have when it comes to water treatment.”

SUSTAINABLE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

Speaking about the future, Mr Steyn says that the company will continue to invest in people and technology. The goal is to offer the complete value chain and manufacture technology to aid or replace old water treatment plants.

“I believe that we will roll out our solutions to the midstream and upstream oil sectors globally, and I expect we will be confronted with huge demand in water treatment in all industries.

We will be focussing on oilwater separation, storm-water treatment and optimizing overcapacitated water treatment plants by implementing new compact and more efficient water treatment systems.”

AHT is clearly in the right sector at the right time, and Mr Steyn is confident demand will increase globally. “I believe water is going to be a massive topic. People don’t realise how close we are to a global water crisis with climate change.

Catastrophic environmental events are on the increase and storm-water management is a very big focus for us going forward.”

“We know the ‘Horizon’ is our future and we work every day to ensure it will be pure, good, clean and most of all sustainable for future generations,” he concludes.

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Did you know?

1 litre of oil can pollute 1,000,000 litres of water!

20,105,865+

Kilolitres Water Treated

24 Countries

OIL / WATER SEPARATION

Hydraspin system that uses Hydrocyclone technology which uses 3000x the force of gravity to effectively remove 95% of 10 micron oil droplets.

WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Complete range of packaged wastewater treatment plants, filtration systems to comply to environmental legislation.

Exported to

50+ Years

Combined Experience

WATER MONITORING & TELEMETRY

AHT offers a wide range of inhouse developed telemetry which is supported by a global IoT network and partner. Any sensor information can be displayed on the AHT client dashboard.

STORMWATER TREATMENT

A variety of stormwater solutions including attenuation, flood control, treatment, stormwater management.

TENNET

WE LOOK AT TENNET’S VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF THE ENERGY GRID IN EUROPE.

THE FUTURE OF THE ENERGY GRID PROJECT MANAGED BY: DECLAN JONES

TenneT is the largest European Transmission System Operator (TSO) and the only one with operations across borders, i.e. for the Netherlands, as well as a significant part of Germany. Owning and operating over 25,000 kilometres of high-voltage lines and cables, TenneT safely and reliably delivers electricity to 43 million domestic and business users.

T

he company’s team of 7,400 employees, working across two countries, are driven by a mission to keep the lights on wherever and whenever it is needed. It is responsible for designing, building, maintaining, and operating a high-voltage grid that stretches across the continent from the point of generation to the point of use.

But the energy sector is undergoing a worldwide transformation, and TenneT plans to be a key player in making that transformation a success.

The company’s vision for the future of the power grid was laid out in its Target Grid, presented this April to the Minister for Climate and Energy Policy of the Netherlands, Rob Jetten.

Target Grid represents TenneT’s plans for what its infrastructure will look like by 2045.

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The proposals illustrate a new approach that has been conceived to handle the tremendous challenges of the energy transition. The goal is a flourishing, sustainable economy, with enough green electricity for everyone.

It proposes a network of DC (direct current) superhighways and energy hubs, the DC grid (electricity superhighways), and a significantly improved existing AC (alternating current) grid so that renewable electricity can be transported long distances from the North Sea to the grid as a whole.

“The world in which we operate as an electricity transmission system operator is rapidly changing. For the first time, on the basis of political

Manon van Beek, TenneT’s CEO.

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TENNET

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TENNET

TENNET

objectives for climate neutrality, we have created a view of the energy system for 2045 and the associated electricity grid,” says Manon van Beek, TenneT’s CEO. “Our infrastructure is crucial to such a degree that we are putting it in the driver’s seat so to speak so that TenneT can start working on what is needed on time, rather than ten or fifteen years from now when it is too late.”

But while Target Grid demonstrates TenneT’s longterm plans, it is only one of a series of projects TenneT is engaged in to lay the foundations of that vision.

A NEW CONTRACT

Tim Meyerjürgens, TenneT’s COO.

At around the same time Target Grid was presented, TenneT also signed a contract with four cooperation partners in Berlin to develop the North Sea as a hub for sustainable and independent European energy production. These long-term framework agreements secure

the resources necessary for building grid connections from North Sea wind farms to supply as much electricity as large-scale power plants (28 Gigawatt). The contracts represent Europe’s largest-ever tender award for energy transition infrastructure with an accumulated value of €30 billion.

The new standard has been made available to other TSOs and market parties in order to expedite the expansion of a meshed HVDC grid in the North Sea and to connect 65 GW offshore wind farms until 2030 to the four North Sea bordering EU member states.

TenneT’s COO, Tim Meyerjürgens, says of the deal, “As the leading offshore transmission system operator in the EU, we have the know-how needed to make Europe’s goal of securing an independent supply of renewable energies a reality.

To achieve this, the North Sea must be developed as Europe’s green powerhouse and quickly

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IT Solutions for Utilities

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Modern Workplace

Market Exchange Processes

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Enterprise Architecture Management

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We make the digital energy world easier, more efficient and safer and our customers more successful. arvato-systems.com/Utilities

Metering Services

Cyber Security

CUSTOMER & PROCESSES SAP S/4HANA BTP Alternative

Customer Management Process Automation

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Data & AI

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CONSULTING | IMPLEMENTATION | OPERATIONS

We Empower Digital Leaders.

ARVATO SYSTEMS As an international IT specialist, Arvato Systems supports major companies in their digital transformation. We are the driving force behind the digitization of the German energy industry, accompanying our customers on their journey towards a green and sustainable energy world.

We pride ourselves on being IT experts, trusted advisors, and always a partner at eye level. Leveraging our energy industry expertise and IT excellence, we tackle technological complexity and solve IT challenges, allowing our customers to focus on their core processes and competencies.

Furthermore, as part of the Bertelsmann-owned Arvato Group network, we possess the unique capability to work across the entire value chain. Through our strong strategic partner network with global top players such as AWS, Google, Microsoft, and SAP, we continuously enhance our know-how and leverage the most advanced technology.

SOLUTIONS FOR UTILITIES: • Our cloud-based IoT environmental data platform, green screen, professionalizes ESG reporting and climate accounting, meeting the CSRD reporting obligation and EU taxonomy.

• We provide technical and functional market communication with AS4 for the regulated German energy market.

• Our highly automated SaaS solution, AEP Energy Supplier, assists energy suppliers in successfully implementing dynamic electricity tariffs.

• We support the entire value chain in smart metering with the amendment to the German Metering Point Operation Act (MsbG), making a significant contribution to the success of the energy transition’s digitization.

BUSINESS PROCESS INNOVATION: • Our combination of in-depth technical expertise and excellent technological skills contributes to an industry solution that guides energy supply companies

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(EVUs) in different market roles towards efficient customer management.

• The growing amount of data presents both opportunities and challenges for utilities. To extract added value from this wealth of data, we rely on Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems capable of identifying meaningful correlations and deriving alternative courses of action, even from massive data sets.

• Whether it’s automating individual process steps through Robotic Process Automation (RPA) or processing entire process chains through Hyperautomation, the possibilities for automation are limitless, even for utilities, depending on complexity.

• As powerful cloud-based platforms, SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) provide support to utility companies in the ever-evolving energy market, ensuring their digital alignment and competitiveness. Additionally, we at Arvato Systems are familiar with various alternatives to the SAP stack.

CYBERSECURITY & INFRASTRUCTURE: • Our customers can rely on our top-notch security solutions to safeguard their data and applications in the Arvato Systems data centers. Our security services go beyond physical protection, encompassing areas such as IT security, risk management, and compliance.

• We design digital workplaces that are accessible, location-independent, and enable real-time productivity using Microsoft Office applications.

• When it comes to IT outsourcing, operation, and support of IT systems, Arvato Systems stands as a reliable partner for business and cloud transformation.

• Our Enterprise Architecture Management supports energy supply companies in developing an IT strategy aligned with their corporate strategy and addressing current pain points.

At Arvato Systems, we are committed to providing innovative solutions and ensuring the success of our customers in the dynamic landscape of the energy industry. www.arvato-systems.com

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TENNET

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TENNET

connected to the electricity grids on land. We are acting and investing accordingly. Our 2GW Program will help make green wind energy from the North Sea scalable and more cost-efficient – while continuing to minimise any impacts on the environment.”

TenneT’s commitment to integrating a large quantity of offshore wind into the grid will drive real change in the energy system. For the energy transition to be a success, grid expansion must keep pace with the expansion of new renewable energy resources.

That means shorter contracting processes, large-scale tenders, and standardised solutions. It is an approach TenneT’s projects demonstrate admirably.

“AS THE LEADING OFFSHORE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM OPERATOR IN THE EU, WE HAVE THE KNOW-HOW NEEDED TO MAKE EUROPE’S GOAL OF SECURING AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLY OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES A REALITY.” NEW CONNECTIONS

As well as this landmark agreement, TenneT has also concluded a framework cooperation agreement for at least ten 525 kV HVDC cable systems with delivery between now and 2031. TenneT will supply six German and

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three Dutch 2 GW offshore grid connection systems as well as a German onshore project, NordOstLink, that will be operational in 2032, with plans for further future projects.

The work will involve 7,000 kilometres of HVDC cables.

TenneT also has a contract for an additional five Dutch offshore projects, on top of the framework agreement.

“WE WILL DELIVER AROUND 10,000 KILOMETRES OF HVDC CABLE FOR FIFTEEN ON AND OFFSHORE GRID CONNECTION SYSTEMS IN GERMANY AND THE NETHERLANDS BY 2032 WITH THESE AWARDS ALONE.” “Together, we will deliver around 10,000 kilometres of HVDC cable for fifteen on and offshore grid connection systems in Germany and the Netherlands by 2032 with these awards alone,” Meyerjürgens says.

That is alongside plans for a new electricity link that will connect offshore wind farms between the Netherlands and the UK. Called “LionLink”, this project will support decarbonisation, energy independence and strengthen British, Dutch, and European energy security through the first cross-border direct current cable.

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CONNECTING THE GRID

BY INTEGRATED LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS SHIPS AGENCY - PORT LOGISTICS WAREHOUSING HELICOPTER SERVICES CUSTOMS EXPEDITORS www.dhss.nl

DHSS-CLARKSONS YOUR INTEGRATED LINK BETWEEN OFFSHORE AND ONSHORE The high-voltage grid is the backbone of the electricity supply system, connecting electricity producers to consumers, connecting and integrating electricity markets. The main task is to secure electricity supply to 17 million people that live in The Netherlands, but also the need to design, build, maintain and operate this grid.

This all while driving the country’s transition to a zero CO2 economy.

DHSS-Clarksons acts as an logistics integrator. A stage director to unburden offshore wind operators. In marshalling ports and at heliports, DHSS-Clarkson Port Services is the single point of contact: to plan, arrange and coordinate a full scope of required activities and services. We act as the gateway to and from offshore wind sites.

Our Offshore Renewables team is a leader in offshore wind shipbroking, vessel chartering, newbuilding, offshore energy logistics and strategic marine advisory services. Supporting all offshore wind vessel types and all renewable energy sources, DHSSClarksons is the go-to partner for all stages and sizes of offshore wind renewable energy projects.

With its 18 locations around UK as well as its A1 offshore energy locations in various ports in the Netherlands, we are well positioned to serve all stakeholders during the life cycle of wind farms. www.dhss.nl

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TENNET

It is a vital step towards an integrated offshore grid in the North Sea. “It is our conviction that offshore hubs configured in a meshed DC grid must form the backbone of the North Sea powerhouse,” van Beek says.

“This is a view that is increasingly shared, and for us, it is more than a vision of the future. In fact, we are already doing it by kicking off this ground-breaking LionLink project right now.”

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This is the kind of project that TenneT is perfectly positioned to carry out, with the technical know-how, scale, and geographical position to connect wind energy from the North Sea. “This is one of the most important infrastructure projects of the century; the green transformation of the energy system is key for the decarbonisation of industry,” Meyerjürgens says.

To achieve the ambitious targets TenneT is shooting for, the company is using a novel framework agreement that offers growth opportunities for technology companies and transmission system operators alike.

“We have set a new kind of framework agreement that allows for scaling through efficiently expanding these new offshore systems - both for technology companies and

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TENNET

for other transmission system operators,” Meyerjürgens says.

“This will stimulate the market to build up the resources and comprehensive supply chains we need in a targeted and – crucially – in faster way.”

“THE GREEN TRANSFORMATION OF THE ENERGY SYSTEM IS KEY FOR THE DECARBONISATION OF INDUSTRY.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

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TERALIGHT

WE LEARN HOW A LEADING SOLAR ENERGY DEVELOPER IS WORKING ON GROUNDBREAKING PROJECTS WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY.

BRINGING SOLAR TO ISRAEL PROJECT MANAGED BY: HAYDEN TURNER

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TERALIGHT

For a while now, TeraLight has been a leading name in the Israeli solar energy initiation and development fields. The company is responsible for a project backlog of approximately 1,300MW in Israel and has established itself a firm position as a financially stable, innovative firm. The company is partly owned by Menorah Mivtachim Holdings with a 50.58% stake, as well as Leumi Partners with a 12.8% stake, with the rest of the firm held by public shareholders and is driven by a belief in the fast-growing renewable energy market and trans-sector activities. TeraLight has been involved in the construction of solar installations on land, floating in water reservoirs, on roofs, and integrated into agrovoltaic facilities. As well as the generation of solar power, TeraLight also works on projects integrating storage facilities and deploying electric vehicle charging stations.

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his work is carried out by an intelligent, experienced in-house EPC company led by an experienced management team from a diverse range of background fields. TeraLight boasts expertise in financing, regulation, technology, and the establishment and operation of solar plants. It boasts a successful track record marked by high investment in innovation and the companies that produce it in the renewable energy, electricity storage and energy efficiency sectors for Israel and the world.

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SMA: STABLE AND RELIABLE GRIDS WITH RENEWABLE ENERGIES The energy transition will succeed only if most of our electricity is generated from renewable energy sources in the future. However, this poses a major challenge. How can energy suppliers that depend on the weather, such as wind, solar and hydropower operators, reliably and continuously feed electricity into the utility grid?

Conventional power plants have previously both generated energy and provided grid-forming capability. The synchronous machines at the power plants ensure a stable grid voltage with a uniform frequency thanks to their inertia. This ensures a continuous supply of electricity even if the power generated at a specific moment in time cannot cover demand. This imbalance can arise as a result of, for example, generator failures, large loads or largescale grid separations.

Energy storage systems are taking a leading role in grid stabilization as conventional power plants are increasingly phased out. Unlike the synchronous generators used in large power plants, they do not have a rotating mass for instantly compensating for output imbalances. In gridforming SMA battery storage systems, this function simulates the inertial reaction of a synchronous generator. Same as for pure PV applications, SMA has designed a Medium Voltage Power Station for this purpose. This is a standardized and scalable system with an integrated central inverter, a transformer and switchgear. A powerful SMA Power Plant Manager is used as a system controller. It monitors and controls power at the point of interconnection and manages the state of charge of the batteries throughout the whole power plant. The power plant acts as a single unit in terms of how it interacts with the grid and takes on not only the intermediate storage of renewable energy, but also grid stabilization, especially by providing inertia and short-circuit level.

A sustainable energy strategy is always going to be built on collaboration, and so TeraLight also nurtures a number of key strategic partnerships, including an exclusive partnership with the Moshavim movement that unites 254 cooperative agricultural communities across Israel. TeraLight also partners with leading companies around the globe, including significant activity in North America.

Still, TeraLight is a relatively recent addition to Israel’s renewable energy industry, entering the sector in 2017 through an agreement for cooperation with the Moshavim movement. In 2018 the company was involved in the promotion of solar projects for roofs and water reservoirs, initiating the Jordan Valley project that would have a capacity of 360MW. In 2019 TeraLight won its first high voltage tender, for the Ta’anakh One project, and by 2020 the company was starting

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Projects involving energy solutions on stand-alone grids equipped with SMA system technology have already proved for years that a stable and reliable supply with electricity derived entirely from renewable sources is possible. Thanks to this technology, power plant owners, investors and system operators can open up new business models on the energy market and secure long-term yields.

SMA is cooperating with TeraLight, on Israel’s biggest PV project “Ta’anakh” and is providing 32 Medium Voltage Power Stations for the 150 MWp PV power plant.

About SMA SMA was founded in 1981. As a leading global specialist in photovoltaic system technology, SMA is setting the standards today for the decentralized, digital and renewable energy supply of tomorrow. More than 3,600 SMA employees in 20 countries have devoted themselves to this task. State-ofthe-art test centers and comprehensive functional tests ensure high quality, optimal system integration and longevity in any environment. Digital energy services as well as extensive services up to and including operation and maintenance services for PV power plants round off SMA’s range. Since 2008, the Group’s parent company, SMA Solar Technology AG, has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92) and is listed in the TecDAX index and MDAX index. sma-solar.com

to seek out work in North America, until in 2021 it saw an investment of NIS 120 million by Leumi Partners, leading to the listing the company’s shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

But this was only the start.

This year TeraLight is engaged in some of its most ambitious projects yet.

GROWING POWER AND FOOD

TeraLight’s relationship with Moshavim communities means that it has always understood the importance of balancing the needs of the energy and agriculture sectors.

Solar power is a valuable tool in the fight against climate change, but it takes up a great deal of land, and that land is needed for other purposes, especially agriculture. This is why TeraLight has embarked on a project with the French company Sun’Agri, which will allow Israeli farmers to grow crops and generate solar energy on the same land.

This process of using the same land to grow food and power is called agrovoltaics, a specialism for Sun’Agri. The French firm will supply a software solution that, combined with solar panels supplied by TeraLight, will create a solar plant where the angle of the panels is fully controlled to optimise the electricity production and crop growth in real-time.

“TERALIGHT WILL BRING ITS HIGH CAPABILITIES IN THE FIELD OF BUILDING SOLAR PROJECTS, AS WELL AS ITS CONNECTIONS WITH THE MOSHAVIM MOVEMENT.” ENERGY & UTILITIES | 115

TERALIGHT

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TERALIGHT

By the end of this year, TeraLight expects to have two pilot schemes underway at moshav communities in the Ta’anakh and Jordan Valley regions.

By installing solar panels at a height, on moving axes, they can move to track the sun without blocking the sunlight the crops need, thanks to modern agriculture technologies. The solar panels will even prove a boon for the crops, providing them with protection from the sun, heat, cold, wind, and hail.

“This strategic partnership with Sun’Agri will enable TeraLight to offer Moshavim, Kibbutzim and agricultural landowners all over Israel a significant value proposition,” Rani Lifshitz, CEO of TeraLight has said of the project. “In this framework, TeraLight will bring its high capabilities in the field of building solar projects, as well as its connections with the Moshavim movement.”

For TeraLight this project marks another step in its constantly continuing mission to expand and improve its activities in Israel and abroad.

But while this project is an impressive and innovative solution that shows how the demands for food and energy can be complementary, it is not their most ambitious project.

SOLAR ON A LARGER SCALE

Most recently, TeraLight launched a 250MW solar project, the Ta’anakh project

in Israel’s Jezreel Valley. The project is a collaboration with the Moshavim settlement movement and will serve as an important part of national infrastructure once completed, representing 5.2% of Israel’s green energy capacity and 1.2% of its overall electricity capacity.

The project is an investment of NIS 900 million, the equivalent of $245.95 million, and is expected to come online early next year. It will be Israel’s largest solar power project to date. In practical terms, the project’s 250MW will supply enough electricity to power 60,000 homes across Israel by 2024.

Lifshitz has described the project as a significant step towards advancing the use of clean solar energy in Israel.

“All in all, we are currently in the process of establishing solar projects and storage facilities with a significant volume of approximately 1,000MW and 375MWh respectively,” said Lifshitz at the launch of the project.

But this is only the first step, with new solar projects and storage facilities gradually connecting to the grid over the next three years to aid in the government’s plan to ramp up solar deployment and meet its target of 17GW of capacity by 2030.

TeraLight will play a key role in helping the government meet that goal.

WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF ESTABLISHING SOLAR PROJECTS AND STORAGE FACILITIES WITH A SIGNIFICANT VOLUME OF APPROXIMATELY 1,000MW AND 375MWH RESPECTIVELY.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

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MIBELLE GROUP

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MIBELLE GROUP

THE MIBELLE GROUP, A SPECIALIST IN INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS AND INGREDIENTS FOR THE COSMETIC, HOME CARE, AND FOOD AND HEALTH AREAS, HAS A CLEAR MISSION – TO PROMOTE MORE WELL-BEING, HEALTH AND BEAUTY INTO EVERYDAY LIFE.

EXPERTISE FOR

WELLBEING

PROJECT MANAGED BY: HAYDEN TURNER

From humble beginnings in the 1930s, the Switzerland-based Mibelle Group has grown, organically as well as by acquisition, into a strong international group covering several areas: personal care and beauty, home care, nutrition and biochemistry.

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he Mibelle Group todays employs around 1,600 people spread over nine locations in Switzerland, UK, France, US and in South Korea.

It is part of the Migros Group, Switzerland’s largest retail company and one of one of the 40 largest retailers in the world.

“Our goal is to pioneer and improve well-being, health and beauty for people overall and everyday,” its CEO, Dr Peter Müller, describes the underlying theme and purpose of the company. “To this end, we have different business units and different ways of approaching the market. We develop products for private labels, we have our own proprietary brand products, and we also develop active ingredients for both cosmetics and food supplements within our biochemistry business.”

BEAUTY FROM WITHIN

Dr Peter Müller, CEO, Mibelle Group

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Innovation is a key word for the company, and the Mibelle Group’s products strive to meet the needs of the consumer of tomorrow. “Markets evolve very

quickly. For example, cosmetics 10 years ago was very different from what it is today, and it will be very different in 10 years’ time. Therefore, we strive to look ahead, understanding and anticipating the consumer’s needs. The ability to innovate and anticipate future developments and the desire to meet our customers’ needs make the Mibelle Group a sought-after partner,” says Dr Müller.

Speaking about current trends, he notes that as the concepts of inner and outer beauty are coming closer, there is a clear shift in the market towards a greater awareness of health and well-being. This creates new opportunities for the Mibelle Group’s biochemistry business, the one that is expected to grow strongly in the coming years.

The Mibelle Biochemistry has already launched several products targeting “Beauty from within”, the result of inhouse scientists transforming innovative, naturally derived plant compounds into truly functional bioactive ingredients.

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MIBELLE GROUP

One example is the recently launched cosmetic ingredient with neuroactive power – TiMOOD™. Based on timut pepper, a spice plant from the Himalayas, the product is supposed to improve neuronal function in the skin and positively influence one’s mood.

“I believe that consumers are becoming better informed and will prefer in the near future a more holistic approach to health and beauty. It will not be only about stopping wrinkles and looking young but about enjoying good health, both physical and, specifically, mental.”

Awareness of sustainability and preference for ‘green’ products will also increase, he further reflects. Customers will continue to expect efficacy and performance, but sustainability will come more and more into focus.

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MIBELLE GROUP

HIGH-PERFORMANCE CLEAN BEAUTY

In this respect, the Mibelle Group is already ahead of many others, as it belongs to the most sustainable retailer in the world.

The company has set ambitious targets to reach by 2025 but Dr Müller emphasises that it is not future goals that are important, but today’s activities to reach them.

GREEN PARTNERSHIPS

And again, the Mibelle Group is very active in this area. Its partnership with the American company LanzaTech, a designer of a new CO2 recycling technology, has enabled the company to use alcohol (ethanol) obtained directly from exhaust gases in its liquid detergents and cleaning products. This innovative technology can also be used for their packaging, mainly consisting of PET and PE. More recently, the Mibelle Group announced a collaboration with AeroFlexx, planning to launch a new type of ecofriendly, all-in-one packaging in Europe that combines environmental friendliness with consumer convenience. The packaging, which uses up to 85% less plastic than traditional rigid packaging, can incorporate recycled content without compromising durability.

The company has received numerous awards for its sustainability efforts, the latest being winning the 2023 Swiss Packaging Award in the Marketing category as well as the Public Award for the Limited

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Edition of the “Handy” cult brand of dishwashing liquid made of ocean-bound plastic.

SUSTAINED RESILIENCE

CEO Dr Müller clearly states that the company’s growth has been driven by its people, the core of the business. “In these challenging times, you need to have good resilience within the organisation, strong values and a clear purpose, an organisation that is well prepared for the changes in the future. And therefore, for us, it’s also important to have the right people on board.”

It was the Mibelle Group’s workforce that carried the company forward during challenging times, with the business remaining robust and unscathed. “Despite the supply chain disruptions and the unstable geopolitical situation, we have remained well prepared to support our customers. At the same time, we remained focused on innovation, developing new products that have won numerous awards.”

“For me, managing the crisis while continuing to focus on innovation and sustainability and keeping the entire company financially sound and stable, has been the greatest achievement of recent times – the result of a lot of hard work internally but also our long-term relationships, based on trust, with both customers and suppliers.”

Dr Müller affirms that the Mibelle Group’s commitment to the sustainability of its products will continue to be a prime theme for the future. In line with its philosophy ‘Inspired by nature, realised by science’ the company’s research team will continue to refine naturally sourced components into highly effective active ingredients.

“The focus is on products that combine effectiveness, efficacy and sustainability. This reflects one of our company values – responsibility.

Personal responsibility, meaning taking ownership, but also responsibility for the planet.”

“Sustainability and innovation are truly part of our DNA, and as the lines between health and beauty are becoming increasingly blurred, the concept of ‘well-being’ will become a key topic. Closely linked to well-being is resilience. These two concepts will become the big topics for the next 10 to 20 years, and our business will evolve accordingly.”

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SEDAMYL UK

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SEDAMYL UK

FOUNDED IN THE 1950S AS A FRUIT DISTILLERY, SEDAMYL HAS GROWN, UNDER THE OWNERSHIP OF THE FRANDINO FAMILY, INTO A LEADING MANUFACTURER OF STARCHES, SWEETENERS, PROTEINS AND ALCOHOL SUPPLIED TO A RANGE OF INDUSTRIES.

THE DIFFERENCE THAT COUNTS PROJECT MANAGED BY: DAVID GARNER

Sedamyl UK, based in Yorkshire, is a British subsidiary of the Italian group that is a leader in its sector – its focus on constantly improving the quality of its products has made Sedamyl one of the main suppliers of ingredients for the food and beverage, paper and board, green chemistry and animal nutrition industries. The company is also recognised by the leading spirits companies for the high quality of its neutral grain alcohol which is produced both in the UK and Italy.

Elena Frandino, Managing Director, Sedamyl UK.

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edamyl draws on a decades-long history.

Elena Frandino, member of the third generation of the company’s owners and the Managing Director of the UK branch, says: “The family business was started by my grandmother, when we acquired the distillery in 1961, and it was later significantly developed by my father and uncle.”

For many years, the company had grown within a joint venture with a multinational group but in 2019 the family bought their shares back. “Bringing the business back into our hands was a major milestone,” says Ms Frandino, pointing out that as most of our competitors in the sector are large multinational groups, being a family business, highly flexible and with a fast decision-making process, is one of the aspects that make Sedamyl different.

“The family is involved in the day-to-day management of the company, we are present onsite, and we have direct contact with the people who work for us. This allows us to be very responsive to the needs of the business, which has proved

to be a significant advantage, especially during the last few challenging years.”

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

She further explained that the company traded with the UK for many years, so establishing a subsidiary in the British market, still under the joint venture, was a logical step. The plant, opened in 2012, was first made into Sedamyl’s UK base for potable alcohol production but today has a much wider portfolio – the processing facility converts wheat into high-quality products, including starch, gluten, bran and grain neutral spirit for the food and drink industry.

Sedamyl is committed to ongoing research and development to ensure its products always meet the new needs of consumers; the latest innovations include for example Sedadry, a range of dehydrated glucose syrups, allowing for 30% reduction in sugar.

“We aim to develop a farmto-customer strategy: thanks to the activities within our Group, we are directly involved in sourcing high-quality crops

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Sparkford have been

Sourcing & Supplying Globally for the last 50 years.

In 1961 the Frandino family set up Sedamyl; 5 years later, the Gibbons family founded Sparkford Chemicals. All of us at Sparkford share the values that underpin both families and businesses, and we are delighted to congratulate Sedamyl for the continued success of their family business.

We’ll drink to that.

+44 (0)1962 717 810 admin@sparkford.co.uk sparkford.co.uk

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ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A BULK POWDER TRANSPORT OR IMPORT SOLUTION? We can handle the whole process from loading to shipping, handling to transport

DAMAC BULK HANDLING | DAMAC TRANSPORT | SEXTANT SHIPPING CALL US TODAY +44 (0)1405 766979

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WWW.DAMAC.CO.UK

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SPARKFORD The importance of famiglia in Italian social history is recognized, the world over. Sedamyl, (since 1961) is an admirable example of Italian family values being successfully applied to an enterprise going from strength to strength, propelled by a family fully-invested in its business.

What is evident, at Sedamyl UK, is that the positive ethos generated by the Italian family owners, has percolated through to everyone at the Selby operation. There is a real sense of a shared vision at the UK plant, and a shared ownership of, and participation in, its future.

Sparkford, (since 1966) is a family business built on rock solid British family values. The energy, determination and loyalty exhibited by the family owners and their staff, has helped the company forge long-lasting relationships with businesses of all scale, across the globe. Nevertheless, versatility is a cornerstone of the organisation’s success, and longevity hasn’t inhibited its ability to react to changing market conditions, in order to sustain its customers’ activities and support its supply Principals presence in the market. Larger organisations are constrained by their scale, when sudden changes in supply conditions occur. Sparkford as a trading organisation prides itself on its ability to adapt, in order to protect its business partners’ interests. This all takes time to become evident, but as it does, it garners long-lasting goodwill from those we deal with.

SEDAMYL UK

cultivated using sustainable agricultural techniques, such as organic agriculture. To promote sustainable practices within each step of the supply chain, our group also directly controls the transportation of raw materials. This farm-tocustomer approach also helps us guarantee full traceability from raw materials to final products.”

The Gibbons family, through Sparkford, looks forward to working with Sedamyl for years to come, and supporting the Frandino family’s investment in its UK business. www.sparkford.co.uk

DAMAC Founded in 1976, Damac has grown into one of the UK’s leading bulk powder transport companies. With its modern, high-specification fleet, operating from strategic locations, Damac is perfectly positioned to meet the needs of customers big and small. The Damac Group consists of Damac Transporters, Damac Bulk Handling and Sextant Shipping and is equipped to offer the complete bulk logistics solution to our customers from loading to shipping and from handling to transport throughout the UK. The company now operates five bulk powder silos from its terminals in Goole and Hull, with plans for another in 2024. This unrivalled capability makes Damac the strategic partner of choice for any importer/ distributor of bulk-powder products.

The transportation of bulk powder products requires a high-level of care and a specific type of equipment if the product is to arrive at its final destination in perfect condition. Damac’s fleet of specialised vehicles designed for the movement of dry bulk powders and operated by a highly trained and efficient workforce ensure that its customers goods arrive on time and in spec every time.

Quality and industry-leading standards are at the forefront of everything Damac does. From the highest levels of health and safety standards to FORS Gold and ISO9001 accreditation. This culture and mind-set means Damac is the partner of choice for many blue-chip companies including Sedamyl UK, the UK’s leading manufacturer of starches, sweeteners, proteins and alcohol.

Tim Wilkinson – Transport Manager Email: Tim@damac.co.uk - Tel: 01405 782637 www.damac.co.uk

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Sedamyl has been investing in cutting-edge manufacturing technology to improve sustainable practices. “Our manufacturing plant is located in Selby, North Yorkshire, one of England’s largest wheat regions. This means we can source all of our wheat from local suppliers. As a result, all our raw materials are from within a 50-mile radius of our production facility, which has reduced our transport impacts to a minimum.”

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SEDAMYL UK

She further points out that as for all companies today, sustainability is a big topic for Sedamyl. “We are quite an intensive energy-using business, we use a lot of electricity as well thermal energy in our process and we are very much focused on thermal recovery and energy waste avoidance. Our efforts are not only cost-driven, but also sustainability-driven.”

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“WE AIM TO DEVELOP A FARM-TO-CUSTOMER STRATEGY: THANKS TO THE ACTIVITIES WITHIN OUR GROUP, WE ARE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN SOURCING HIGH-QUALITY CROPS CULTIVATED USING SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL TECHNIQUES, SUCH AS ORGANIC AGRICULTURE.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

SEDAMYL UK

DOUBLING CAPACITY

The company has recently significantly enhanced its position as a leading and sustainable supplier with a major expansion of its Selby facility. “We have spent over £100 million over the last two years, doubling potable alcohol production but also adding a new family of products – the liquid sweeteners like glucose and dextrose. We valorise all

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AT HILLTOP ENGINEERING AND FABRICATION LTD WE SPECIALISE IN STRUCTURAL STEEL WORK & SECONDARY STEEL WORK, WELDING SERVICES, ACCESS SOLUTIONS, COMPLETE CLADDING PACKAGE, DESIGN & DETAIL AND SITE INSTALLATION. We are a forever growing company who are used to working nationwide.

Our well-established steel fabrication company is ISO 9001:2005 & ISO 14001;2004 certified with a dedicated and highly skilled team that are committed to carrying out all services safely, on schedule and to the highest standards.

Hill Top Engineering is based in Goole joining major motorway links M62 & M18.

• All structural steel is fabricated in accordance BS1090 execution class 2.

• Full cladding services to complete the full package, gutters, rain pipes, flashings and doors supplied and installed.

• All access solutions in accordance with PUWER regulations.

• Structural design, fully detailed drawings, fabrication and assembly drawings.

• Structural calculations.

• Structural and Secondary steel work, fabrication and assembly.

We operate from a fully equipped workshop with cutting edge steel fabrication equipment and machinery enabling us to manufacture a wide range of materials.

• All welding services with all materials using common welding processes: metal inert gas or metal active gas (MIG/MAG), tungsten inert gas (TIG) or electrode (manual metal arc) welding methods.

We pride ourselves on offering the highest standard of design, manufacturing and installation.

• Steel tank, vessels and hoppers fabricated.

Contact Hill Top Engineering and Fabrication Ltd for all your project needs.

• Labor supply (welders & erection team).

• Metal holo rib flooring installed for concrete floors.

• All our engineers are competent in the following areas: working at height, CSCS trained operatives, CPCS appointed persons and CPCS lift supervisors.

info@hilltopengineeringltd.co.uk • +44 (0)1405 760994 • www.hilltopengineeringltd.co.uk Hill Top Engineering and Fabrication Ltd, Unit b3, Larsen Park, Larsen Road, Goole, DN14 6XF

Frogmech Ltd offers clients an unrivalled pipework fabrication, installation, and mechanical engineering service.

We have a highly trained and professional team, whose aim is to always produce the finest quality. From design of new bespoke installations or retrofit of existing systems, we undertake all industrial pipework projects regardless of size and budget.

We strongly believe that detailed design, management, and close customer relationships produce high-end results.

Frogmech Ltd has an exemplary health and safety record operating integrated management systems. ISO 14001, 45001 & 9001 We are members of SSIP organisation Safe-contractor, Gas safe registered, and all operatives hold IPATH training, IOSH & NEBOSH, safety passports and CSCS cards.

Our Welding engineers hold, BS EN ISO & ASME certification and procedures, which ensures we can cover welding of most pipework covering all materials, sizes, and pressures. We have the capability to prefabricate all pipework ‘off site’ at our dedicated fabrication facility.

Contact us for a free no obligation quote, site survey or meeting to discuss the services we can provide.

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+44 (0)7434 170 040 info@frogmech.co.uk www.frogmech.co.uk

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Blyth & Blyth are proud to continue to support Sedamyl Providing Civil, Structural & Building Services Engineering Design and Management Services within the Industrial Sector throughout the UK

With a 175 year heritage, Blyth & Blyth are an award-winning independent multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy providing a full range of project management and engineering design services to projects in the industrial, commercial, logistics and education sectors, with particular expertise in agri-chemicals, food and drink production, malting, distilling, brewing and energy.

We are pleased to have brought extensive hands-on civil and structural engineering experience and knowledge to many of the major projects carried out by the Sedamyl team since their acquisition of the Selby site in 2008, and wish them every ongoing success.

engineering design that exceeds expectations

/company/blythandblyth @blythandblyth @blythandblyth1848

www.blythandblyth.co.uk Robin Gibson, Director robin.gibson@blythandblyth.co.uk

the elements of wheat – the main one is starch but there are others, such as gluten – meaning that there is basically no waste from the raw material.”

“WE VALORISE ALL THE ELEMENTS OF WHEAT – THE MAIN ONE IS STARCH BUT THERE ARE OTHERS, SUCH AS GLUTEN – MEANING THAT THERE IS BASICALLY NO WASTE FROM THE RAW MATERIAL.” The expanded facility now employs 150 people, three times as many when compared to the business beginnings in 2012, and Mrs Frandino points out that just in the last 18 months 70 new people have joined the company. “Recruiting

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SEDAMYL UK

such a great number of people has been a challenge, as finding certain competencies in a very tight labour market is not easy. Luckily, we have now reached a point where we have a solid structure in place and we can focus on developing our employees. That is very important to us – the best technology in the world means very little without the right people.”

Speaking about the future, she explains that consolidating this rapid growth will be the main focus for the UK business.

“Having recently integrated 70 new people into the business, it is important to make sure that all work to the same kind of culture that we try to foster, and this will take some time. Also, starting the new production line will require some time to get it right to achieve the volumes we are aiming for. We have always done business in a prudent way before making the next step, making sure we develop on a sound and strong foundation, and this will also apply to our latest expansion.”

She emphasises that as a family business, it is the longterm success of the business that is the priority for the owners, and the third generation that has now taken the lead is very much aware of the responsibility. “The business is set to grow, but we have to find the right balance between business growth and stability. That will be our focus in the coming months.”

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SEDAMYL UK

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AFRICAN BUSH CAMPS

TELLING AFRICAN STORIES

AFRICAN BUSH CAMPS IS A COMPANY THAT IS EVOLVING THE SAFARI EXPERIENCE, MAKING IT A VENUE FOR CONSERVATION, SUSTAINABILITY, AND STORYTELLING.

PROJECT MANAGED BY: AMANDA JONES

AFRICAN BUSH CAMPS

African Bush Camps describes itself as a conservation-focused tourism company, running small bespoke safari camps across Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The company has enjoyed a lot of success, guided by the principles its founder was trained and brought up in as a safari guide.

I

was a guide for twelve years before I started my first safari camp and the one thing that struck me as very important was that guiding element,” says Beks Ndlovu, African Bush Camps’ CEO. “A good guide will turn a great safari into an exceptional safari. We go beyond the usual experience of being taken around by a knowledgeable driver, instead offering a companion who shares their life journey with you, focusing on the art of guiding. We have brought in the element of hosting, which is a big element of what we do, connecting our guests with people and storytelling.”

African Bush Camps’ camps are well-designed, informed by the local culture and landscape.

“But it’s about the people who we give that platform to tell their story,” Ndlovu insists.

“We find in today’s world a lot of hotels have staff you almost do not see. But we elevate our people to the front stage, asking them to tell their story and bring guests the gift of becoming part of that story. And it helps to be in iconic destinations.”

THE GUIDE’S TALE

Ndlovu has his own story to tell, and it is one he often shares with guests he takes on safari tours of Hwange National Park.

Croge Investments (Pty) Limited t/a Lepop Food & Liquor Services Plot 527, Mopane Avenue, P.O. Box 20853 Boseja, Maun, Botswana Snowwhite White Bread Flour 1 x 12.5kg

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Customers are at the heart of our business. Pick-up and delivery services are available at the request of our customers. Putting customers first also means that we work always towards comprehending their changing needs and how we can better serve them i.e. fulfilling their special product requests.

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AFRICAN BUSH CAMPS

“A question I often get asked is ‘When did you start? Why was this your first camp?’” Ndlovu says. “I grew up in a village just outside Hwange National Park. Guiding in southern Africa and parts of East Africa inspired me to see if I could increase my impact and reach. I was exposed to some incredible parts of Africa, but what bothered me was seeing the abject poverty, the Injustice of inequality. I wanted to make a big difference in local communities and an impact in conservation circles. So, I looked for ways to engage with my people. Hwange is where I had my first guiding job, so that is where I took a business offering in 2006. I then went to Botswana and Zambia, opening camps there.”

It is a unique story, but if you are fortunate enough to be taken on safari by the CEO of the company you would expect nothing less. But Ndlovu is keen to emphasise that everyone at African Bush Camps has their own story to tell.

Beks Ndlovu, CEO, African Bush Camps.

“We have a guide who has been with us for ten years who made it his job to follow the progeny and legacy of Cecil the Lion,” Ndlovu says, referring to the lion who was famously, and tragically shot by a dentist in 2015. “It was on the back of that, seeing a situation where one person has decided to steal heritage, that this guide went on to watch Cecil’s cubs grow up, as well as his aunties and sisters. He can draw a whole family tree of these amazing animals that have existed and become part of the landscape and storytelling of Hwange.”

African Bush Camps targets local communities, something it can do as part of those communities. Ndlovu cares

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AFRICAN BUSH CAMPS

deeply about reaching out to where people come from and making an impact in those surroundings.

“The stories they have are relevant to the area they come from,” Ndlovu says. “It gives guests an experience of what it is like having grown up here as part of these local communities.

People can hear the story of how someone came to work at a particular camp, and really engage in their lives. These stories are far richer than having someone point out a zebra and tell you its gestation period.

That is what we build on.”

A STORY OF CONSERVATION

While these stories and connections are meaningful, they are also a means to an end - preserving and supporting the wildlife and communities African Bush Camps works alongside.

“If your landscapes are thriving, including the people, the land and the wildlife, then you are achieving your conservation objectives,” Ndlovu tells us.

African Bush Camps’ camps exemplify this approach.

They are made of canvas, built on stilts, and floating on wooden decking. These semi-permanent camps are off grid, run by solar farms, with a recycled water system.

“We build our objectives around those core focus areas, collaborating with others wherever possible,” Ndlovu says.

Ndlovu is the founder of the Conservation and Wildlife Fund, which carries out conservation efforts around the Hwange landscape, employing game scouts and working with other parks.

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AFRICAN BUSH CAMPS

“We believe we should be increasing the size of protected landscapes, keeping them secure from illegal activities such as hunting lions, setting up snares or toxics that illegal operators use to kill elephants, painted dogs, and other protected wildlife,” Ndlovu explains. “We provide resources to protect those landscapes, sweeping and patrolling and working together to deploy game scouts in those areas. We work with local governments and authorities, but that is just one role. You keep a record of how to operate in a way that does not affect or harm the environment.”

Ndlovu is passionate about the African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go it alone, but if you want to go far take others with you.”

“Post-covid, it is important to recognise that while it is great to operate in silos and create legacy projects on your own, you will go further collaborating with others,” Ndlovu insists. “We are always asking how we can take others on the journey with us, creating strong partnerships with like-minded people who share our vision.”

That means strong bonds with African Bush Camps’ staff and local communities, but also the guests that support the company on its current travels and future projects.

“IF YOUR LANDSCAPES ARE THRIVING, INCLUDING THE PEOPLE, THE LAND & THE WILDLIFE, THEN YOU ARE ACHIEVING YOUR CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

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PHARMARON

PHARMARON, A GLOBAL R&D SERVICE PROVIDER HEADQUARTERED IN BEIJING, IS LOOKING TO EXPAND ITS LIVERPOOL FACILITY IN THE UK TO MAKE IT A LARGER HUB FOR CELL AND GENE THERAPY MANUFACTURING.

TAKING GENE THERAPY TO THE NEXT LEVEL PROJECT MANAGED BY: LIAM PYWELL

Pharmaron, one of the world’s leading life science service providers, has been investing heavily in the UK – today the company has 5 sites with over 900 employees in the UK, covering a broad spectrum of research, development and manufacturing service capabilities across multiple therapeutic modalities, including small molecules and gene therapy products.

P

harmaron’s Gene Therapy (GT) CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organisation) operates out of state-of-the-art facilities in Liverpool. The site was previously Allergan’s global centre of excellence for biologic drug substance development and sold to Pharmaron by AbbVie in May 2021, following the latter’s acquisition of Allergan.

Pharmaron has since launched its GT CDMO business from the site and has continued to invest in worldclass innovation in viral vector and gene therapy analytical and

138 | HEALTHCARE, HOTEL & LEISURE

process technology, in order to support partners around the world. The company is now set to implement an ambitious plan for expansion of the Liverpool facility and is investing £151 million into the project, with support from a grant from the UK Government’s Life Sciences Innovation Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF).

The facility is set to be significantly expanded, providing a four-fold increase in gene therapy process development and analytical capacity, accommodating viral vector, DNA and RNA drug substances, plus drug product

Dr Derek Ellison, VP, Biologics Services Europe at Pharmaron.

PHARMARON

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Pharmaron’s Viral CDMO Facility, Liverpool, UK.

formulation. The expansion includes 3,500 m 2 for future commercial-scale GMP capacity.

The resulting facility will greatly enhance the scale and scope of Pharmaron’s services to vaccine, cell and gene therapy customers and will allow Pharmaron to continue expanding its scientific team at Liverpool.

PROVEN EXPERTISE

Dr Derek Ellison, VP, Biologics Services Europe at Pharmaron, explains that the facilities include advanced analytical platforms, high-throughput process development equipment and purposedesigned viral and plasmid GMP manufacturing suites.

Asked what makes Pharmaron different from other CDMOs he says: “There are two things that make us different. One is our pharma drug developer background; we really understand taking products to market, i.e., we look at any project from the beginning with the end in mind. We provide top expertise, not just on how

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GMP Manufacturing Suite – Large Scale GMP Chromatography Systems. to make products, but how to get them approved, and how to develop them. That’s an important differentiator for us.”

“Superb analytics is another,” he adds. “On site, we have the best, leading analytical technologies. We work with manufacturers to develop new instrumentation, for example for gene therapies. Those two aspects are closely interlinked – the best technology goes with the expertise and the knowledge to really understand the product molecules that we are developing.”

The flexible cGMP biomanufacturing facility leverages its industry-leading expertise in a

broad range of biologic products and has also established a solid foundation and expertise in cell and gene therapy product development using a suspension system for manufacturing up to commercial scale. Working with our US lab services team, Pharmaron offers an end-to-end lab to manufacturing GT service.

PEOPLE AT THE CORE

Dr Ellison points out that the highly experienced and skilled talent pool within the organisation has been a fundamental aspect of its ongoing success and one of the key attractors for Pharmaron.

He says: “We are very lucky

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PHARMARON

Upstream Development Laboratory – Bioreactor Systems Support Design of Experiment (DoE) optimisation.

to have such a great team of people who have been loyal and stayed with us through a lot of changes, which has allowed us to retain this exceptional expertise.”

Human resources are one of the reasons why he is personally so excited about the expansion. “We are a really good place to work and our focus on people and their progression and development is significant. Pharmaron has developed excellent university links for graduates, is a founding member of the Advanced Therapies Apprenticeship Community and sponsors postgraduate degrees.”

“The planned extension will provide new career development opportunities for experienced staff also. It’s important to keep in mind that

if you want people to grow and develop, you need to give them the opportunities to allow that to happen.”

“This is something which is much easier to do within a dynamic, growing company that is prepared to invest. And Pharmaron is prepared to do just that. The excitement isn’t just about a bigger facility and expanded capacity but about the career development opportunities it will provide.

And that’s positive for everybody. “ The company is preparing to double staff numbers, he acknowledges.

Completing Stage II of the expansion, i.e., moving into GMP commercialscale manufacturing, would add approximately 170 people to the existing workforce of 180.

WE ARE ONLY SUCCESSFUL IF OUR CLIENTS ARE SUCCESSFUL, AND COMPLETING THEIR PROJECTS ON TIME AS REQUIRED IS AND WILL REMAIN OUR PRIORITY.” 142 | HEALTHCARE, HOTEL & LEISURE

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PHARMARON

Analytical QC Laboratory - for release testing of cell banks, plasmids & viral vectors.

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GENE THERAPY HUB

Following the acquisition, Pharmaron has added customers with 29 gene therapy and vaccine projects running through 2022, making use of the company’s enhanced capability. Through leveraging Pharmaron’s gene therapy plasmid development and in-house manufacturing capabilities, partners can simplify supply chains and take control over both the CMC development for their product and critical plasmid supply.

Pharmaron’s recent gene therapy CDMO partnership announcements include collaborations with Vaccitech to support its novel T-cell immunotherapeutics and vaccines development and manufacturing, and a strategic partnership for the development and clinical manufacture of gene therapy for the treatment of geographic atrophy with Complement Therapeutics Ltd. In the future, Pharmaron will continue to invest in its industry-leading expertise in process R&D, cGMP manufacturing and advanced analytical capabilities to support its partners in the development and manufacture of gene therapy products.

The expansion, says Derek Ellison, will allow 12 products to be developed in parallel. “This is a very exciting time, but it is important to highlight that our existing facility will remain fully operational during, and after the expansion project. We are only successful if our clients are successful, and completing their projects on time as required is and will remain our priority.”

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DANIEL BEAUMONT

DANIEL BEAUMONT IS A SEASONED ENTREPRENEUR AND BUSINESS STRATEGIST, KNOWN FOR HIS EXPERTISE IN THE ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT OF ESTABLISHED MANUFACTURING BUSINESSES.

SEAMLESS TRANSITION

PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN With a passion for helping owners who lack a succession plan, Daniel has become a respected figure in the industry, providing an invaluable opportunity for business owners to gracefully exit their ventures while ensuring the continued success of the enterprises they have built.

Daniel Beaumont, seasoned entrepreneur and business strategist.

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D

aniel started his career as a Chartered Accountant working in Management Consulting and then Transaction Services for a variety of clients in different sectors. He then moved into his Family’s textile business before he led the sale of the business to enable his parents to retire, and for himself to move on a explore new opportunities.

Recognising the unique circumstances faced by many manufacturing and engineering business owners who are ready to retire or move on to new ventures but lack a viable succession plan, Daniel identified an unmet need in the market. In response, he founded his own company in 2020 and has since acquired a group of four manufacturing businesses.

Daniel leverages his extensive network and wealth of experience to identify viable businesses seeking an exit strategy. He carefully evaluates potential acquisitions based on their financial health, growth potential, & alignment with his core values.

What sets Daniel apart from others in the industry is his hands-on approach. He understands that each business has its unique dynamics, and he takes the time to build relationships with owners to truly comprehend their goals and aspirations. Daniel firmly believes in preserving the legacy and reputation of the businesses he acquires. He works closely with the existing management teams, fostering a collaborative environment that allows for knowledge transfer and a seamless transition of leadership.

As an industry leader and compassionate advocate for business owners, Daniel Beaumont continues to reshape the manufacturing landscape.

His unwavering dedication to facilitating successful transitions has not only brought peace of mind to owners but has also contributed to the growth and sustainability of the manufacturing sector as a whole.

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DANIEL BEAUMONT

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MANUFACTURING | 145

ASHLYNE FABRICATIONS

ASHLYN FABRICATIONS IS A COMPANY THAT TRADES QUALITY, EXPERIENCE, AND AN ABILITY TO MEET DEADLINES.

A RELIABLE PARTNER PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

Ashlyne Fabrications has been successfully serving customers for over 30 years. Driven by a commitment to provide complete customer satisfaction while maintaining unrivalled relationships with a number of large, international companies, Ashlyne brings to bear a team of highlyskilled craftsmen and engineers with the knowledge, experience and expertise necessary to carry out an enormous variety of specialist fabrication assignments to suit all industries and requirements.

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O

ur key strengths are quality and an ability to meet stringent deadlines,” says Ian Mitchell, Ashlyne Fabrications’ General Manager. “We have got a small, highly skilled workforce, our production is planned correctly, and we are looking to implement ISO 9000 to ensure that level of quality still further.”

Until recently, Mitchell was the owner of Ashlyne Fabrications, however in 2021 the company was bought out by the entrepreneur Daniel Beaumont, to join his Group alongside names such as Paragon Toolmaking, Fairgrieve Compression Moulding and Aurora Profiles.

By staying on as General Manager of the company, Mitchell ensures that the firm will continue to benefit from his experience and ensures continuity in its relationships.

“I’ve talked to customers and suppliers and assured them things will continue on a level playing field,” Mitchell says.

Ashlyne Fabrications facility is strategically positioned near the motorway network,

based in Dukinfield, Cheshire.

Here Ashlyne maintains a 6,000-square-foot factory unit which benefits from two tentonne overhead cranes.

This facility is equipped to offer full steel fabrication, welding and engineering services, operated by a small but dedicated and highly skilled workforce.

WEATHERING CHALLENGING TIMES

Although Ashlyne has been operating for more than three decades, and in that time it has seen numerous economic and political events unfold, but Mitchell is the first to point out that the company is seeing some unprecedented times right now.

“I think our biggest achievement has been succeeding through this recession,” Mitchell says to us. “We have been through a number of recessions, but with Covid, the War in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis, all one after another. If we can get through that we can get through anything.”

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ASHLYNE FABRICATIONS

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ASHLYNE FABRICATIONS

Unsurprisingly, an essential element of Ashlyne’s ability to navigate these turbulent times is its ability to carefully manage its own supply chain, and make savings it can pass on to the customers.

“The biggest challenge is securing materials at the right price so that we can set the right price for our quotes and secure the right work,” Mitchell says.

“If we can buy in at the right price, we can quote at the right price. Getting raw materials and goods and services at the right price is our priority.”

Mitchell succeeds at this through the longstanding relationships he has maintained across Ashlyne’s supply chain, but he explains this is as much about the breadth of relationships as the depth of them.

“We have numerous suppliers and always have a good ring round to check the current situation with different providers,” Mitchell says. “We don’t rely on any one-stopshop. We will have several different suppliers for the same product. I don’t always go with the cheapest because that is not always the best option.

But all my suppliers have been checked and approved over the years, so I know exactly what I’m getting.”

A SKILLED TEAM

The materials that Ashlyne sources are useless at any price, however, without the skilled work of Ashlyne’s team of engineers and craftspeople.

Managing that team well is how Ashlyne succeeds at what it does.

“I try and keep the lads happy,” says Mitchell. “I pay the going rate for the job. Most of my lads have been here for a while. Some of them have been here for 20 years, some

148 | MANUFACTURING

of them for ten years. We only have one relatively new member of staff who has not been here very long. Having such a longstanding staff means that I know their strengths and weaknesses. That means that I can put them on the work that I think is suitable for them and that they like doing.”

Mitchell is working to find those people yet more of that work, and he is focusing on upgrading the company, its facilities and capabilities so that it is able to take on still more ambitious work.

“Going forward this year, we are deploying the ISO system and getting our welders certified to standards that will open doors for us,” Mitchell tells us. “All of our customers are longstanding customers. Some

of them have been coming to us for 20-odd years, but you don’t want to stand still. You want to open new doors.”

Ashlyne serves a wide variety of customers, some of whom are project engineers that will move from place to place and project to project, but who know Ashlyne’s ability to provide quality and meet deadlines and are happy with its quotations.

“Some of these customers will have quality systems in place that we need to meet, but they have told us that once we do that we will be on their suppliers’ list,” Mitchell says.

“We have now recruited a woman who has worked with these quality systems, so when we start going down that path we will be better equipped to meet those criteria.”

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ASHLYNE FABRICATIONS

The next step, Mitchell points out, is to expand Ashlyne’s 6,000-square-foot factory unit.

“Currently we are in a singlestory industrial unit but we only occupy half of it,” Mitchell tells us. “When the other half becomes available, we want to take that on and expand the workforce. We have promises of work coming in and want to expand our capabilities and capacity to meet that. We have been keeping ourselves on a level playing field over the last couple of years, and now that has put us in a strong position to grow from.”

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MANUFACTURING | 149

AURORA PROFILES

AURORA PROFILES

AURORA PROFILES IS A COMPANY PROVIDING STEEL PROFILES TO SOME OF THE MOST ICONIC CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN THE UK.

A CUT ABOVE PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

Aurora Profiles is a steel profiler equipped with both Oxy-Gas and High-Definition plasma cutting machines for cutting profiles from mild steel plates. Primarily serving the structural steel market, Aurora works with fabricators and construction firms that erect stadiums and office buildings around the UK.

C

Russell Mercer, General Manager, Aurora Profiles.

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ustomers supply us with detailed drawings or .nc files that specify thickness and grade, then we’ll cut those shapes out of the appropriate plate, and the customer will weld them together,” says Russell Mercer, Aurora’s General Manager.

“We will do anything you need to one piece of steel, drilling, machining, countersinking etc. but stop short of welding them together.”

The company is built on two key principles, quality, and reliability. The construction industry is defined by a critical need to hit deadlines, but typically not a huge capacity for storing stock. That means Aurora’s customers depend on it living up to those values.

“Our customers require delivery that happens when we say it’s going to happen,” Mercer says. “With these huge projects, if they don’t hit their stage build targets there are massive financial repercussions. Our reputation

is built on the fact we deliver reliability. That is what we pride ourselves on.”

It means Aurora’s customers can reliably plan their own production schedules while operating on a just-in-time delivery basis.

A NEW GROUP

These are the values that have been leading Aurora since the company was founded in 1996 by a band of former employees from British Steel when an opportunity arose for them to leave the company and start their own business.

They continued as the main shareholders of the business until last year when they sold the business to investor Daniel Beaumont. Beaumont bought Aurora as part of a project to build a Group of companies, including Paragon Toolmaking and Fairgrieve Composites.

“He was looking to get the combined group turnover to approximately £10 million per annum,” Mercer tells us.

“The other companies had a combined turnover of £6 million, so our £4 million turnover took him to his target.”

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But while Beaumont has taken over ownership of the company, Aurora’s management team is still in place doing what they do best.

“We have not seen too much change,” Mercer says. “I’ve been here for 14 years as the Commercial Manager and when the outgoing Managing Director left, I stepped up into the General Managers role and began recruiting someone to fill my shoes as Commercial Manager. Daniel was very keen to ensure we had stability and the majority of the management team stayed in place after the takeover happened.”

While the change in ownership has led to some consolidation, it always helps if every company in a Group uses

the same accountant, the dayto-day running of Aurora has not changed, and Beaumont has been happy to let the existing management team run things as they see fit.

And their expertise is needed as the market is going through some challenging times.

REMAINING FLEXIBLE

Over the last year, the entire steel industry has been rocked by wildly fluctuating steel prices and availability. As Mercer points out, “Our main UK mill supplier is Ukrainian-owned and the majority of its raw steel slab came from Mariupol, which the Ukrainian army was using as a fortified refuge. So that mill was not only unable to supply the UK but the

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AURORA PROFILES

rest of the world. It had a massive effect on steel prices, doubling them in a matter of weeks.”

Since then, the market has calmed down to what Mercer considers normal levels, but the fluctuations left a huge gap in everyone’s capacity.

Fortunately, Aurora’s careful stock management helped it to navigate the crisis.

“As a business, we manage our stock quite closely turning it over 12 to 15 times a year,” Mercer explains. “In a rising market that’s good, but it also means that when the price turns, we are not stuck with high-value stock that is too expensive.”

But while Aurora has a high turnover of stock, its staff turnover is quite the opposite.

As Mercer points out when the company hired his replacement when he stepped into the General Manager role, that was the company’s first new hire to the management team in 11 years.

Even when hiring is necessary, it typically uses personal relationships and word of mouth to find the right candidate.

“We are in an industry where everyone knows everyone else,” Mercer says. “You know who your competitors are, who is good.

When we hire it tends to be people we know from within the industry.”

Aurora can afford to hire so little precisely because it hires known quantities and values the people it has.

“We know the people we recruited in advance of them working for us, and we are fair in terms of the wages that we pay. We benchmark against other companies in our sector,” Mercer says. “We look after our guys.”

CONSOLIDATION FOR THE FUTURE

With the company under new ownership, this is a time of consolidation for Aurora Profiles.

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“Daniel [Beaumont] wanted the smoothest transition possible,” Mercer points out.

“Six months into our new ownership he pretty much leaves us to do what we have always done. We will give him our KPIs on a weekly basis and he can see how we’re performing.”

As for where the company might go next, Mercer sees possibilities ahead, but ultimately it is a decision for Beaumont.

“The site we are on the at moment means it would be difficult to expand our premises.

Around us, we have cinemas and bowling alleys and fast food, so we stick out as an engineering company,” Mercer

points out. “We do not have space for additional machines, and we already run a night shift.

It would be a big decision and a big move to new premises, but that might be necessary to take us to another level.”

However, there is one thing Mercer is certain of, and that is that there is plenty of business out there.

“The structural steel market in recent years has been strong.

Sports stadiums have been a good source of business for us. We have also supplied steel profiles into some of the iconic high rises in central London such as the ‘Shard’ ‘walkietalkie’, and the ‘cheese grater’.

Those are the kind of projects we are in the supply chain for.”

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FAIRGRIEVE COMPRESSION MOULDING

FAIRGRIEVE COMPRESSION MOULDING

WE LEARN HOW FAIRGRIEVE COMPRESSION MOULDING IS USING ITS ACQUISITION BY THE INVESTOR, DANIEL BEAUMONT TO BUILD ON AND GROW ITS REPUTATION.

MOULDING A NEW VISION PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

In 1913 the Fairgrieve brothers travelled to the United States to learn about the production of Bakelite plastic. At that time, Bakelite was used in almost every manufactured product that required thermal properties, strength, and rigidity. It is still used in many applications today. The brothers would use that knowledge to establish Fairgrieve Brothers, becoming one of the first companies in the UK to specialise in the production of parts made from this pioneering development in plastics. The business then changed its name to Fairgrieve Mouldings back in the mid-’70s, becoming Fairgrieve Composites in 2010 and then changing our name again in 2021 when acquired by Daniel Beaumont to Fairgrieve Compression Moulding. The retention of the Fairgrieve name was somewhat deliberate so as not to lose the history and identity of the business.

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oday, Fairgrieve Compression Moulding specialises in the manufacture of innovative compression moulded parts for a wide variety of industries including mining, construction, electrical distribution, marine, air defence and many more. But as Barry Davidson, the firm’s General Manager, points out, the industry is changing.

“Like so many skilled professions we have seen the compression moulding industry

slowly contract where we now compete in a much smaller marketplace,” Davidson says. “We are now the only compression moulding specialists located in the North of England and in total only a dozen or so compression moulders now exist in the UK.” However, the skills Fairgrieve Compression Moulding has to offer are still in demand, and the company’s reputation in the marketplace means it is supported by a loyal customer base.

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“I would say that our unique selling point has to be our skilled workforce, many of whom are long-serving employees, in some cases with more than 30 years’ experience,” Davidson tells us. “It takes many years of experience before our operators are fully trained and skilled at manufacturing these bespoke products.”

Those skills are put into action through a vast array of compression moulding presses capable of applying anywhere between 80 tons to 600 tons of pressure, and a temperature range between 100 and 400 degrees Celsius.

“That gives us an arsenal of machines that our competitors simply don’t have,” Davidson says.

BUILDING ON A REPUTATION

That combination of skills, equipment and reputation makes Fairgrieve Compression Moulding a compelling prospect. This is why, in April 2021, the investor Daniel Beaumont decided to make it part of his Group of businesses.

Each company in the Group operates autonomously and is responsible for its own financial performance, however, they all have one thing in common, marketing.

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“The Group recently recruited a Group Marketing Manager, Marcus Thrall who has many years of experience in this field,” Davidson says. “He is now helping us all to promote our businesses by defining our market audiences and creating greater awareness of our businesses, products and people.”

Davidson is grabbing this opportunity with both hands.

Fairgrieve is over a hundred years old, but despite being a well-established business, many people have not heard of it.

“Being part of a larger group also has its advantages when visiting the different sites and learning how the GMs at those sites have driven improvements,” Davidson tells us.

It also led to a new public face of the company.

“We realised that we would need to invest in a new web page which we did after engaging the services of Arrival Design,” says Davidson, adding that it has already led to increased traffic and sales interest.

“In the two years I have been the GM at Fairgrieve since its acquisition by Daniel Beaumont we have gradually transformed the business from loss maker to profit maker through a programme of continuous improvement activities,” Davidson points out. “The company had previously been a family-owned business and like so many similar situations, a lack of focus and direction meant that the business wasn’t profitable or efficient.”

But while Davidson was quick to identify zones for improvement, like Beaumont he also recognised the company’s potential.

“In the past two years this closely knit team I inherited have given everything to this transformation, under my leadership and direction,” Davidson says.

As well as guiding the company, Davidson has also delegated tasks to highly competent staff who had previously not been involved in any decision-making.

DRIVING IMPROVEMENT

It is clear from our conversation with Davidson that driving improvement is a topic close to his heart.

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FAIRGRIEVE COMPRESSION MOULDING

“We have seen two key people being promoted in recognition of their efforts and contributions,” Davidson says proudly. “We have thrown everything out of the pram and started again, particularly with pricing, purchasing and planning before moving on to the process (our four P’s if you like).”

Fairgrieve has been implementing a programme of 5S Workplace Organisation, empowering its people, and dramatically transforming the factory with a safer and more efficient process layout that generates greater outputs.

“It is now over two years since we had our last reportable accident,” Davidson says.

“Following the transformation, we have received such positive feedback from our employees, customers and suppliers that we have been entered into a National Manufacturing and Engineering Award where we have been nominated as finalists.”

The company has held the ISO 9001 Quality Standard for more than 15 years and is proposing to integrate this with the ISO 14001 Environmental Standard and ISO 45001 for Health & Safety in the workplace.

“Work is already well underway with this project, and we are aiming for independent accreditation by the end of 2023,” Davidson says.

All these efforts are paying off. While Davidson is unable to give details, he confides in us that the company has been contracted by a major player in the air defence sector to manufacture a significant volume of compression moulded anti-aircraft missile tips used by fighter jets in combat. Davidson also tells us that Fairgrieve

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is currently working on a new development project with a major blue-chip company to produce a compression moulded electrical part for subsea applications.

“The specially developed material is from a family of super materials renowned for their conductivity and barrier properties,” Davidson says. “It would appear that Fairgrieve is one of the very few suppliers in the world who can manufacture this part.”

Fairgrieve is continuing its 30-year record of serving the rail travel sector, working with

Signal House to supply them with a key part for railway signalling systems used by rail companies all over the world.

What all these projects have in common is that they offer more opportunities for the continuous improvement Davidson is so passionate about.

“At the moment we have a project underway to aid material selection and storage using the lessons learned through our 5S workplace improvements,” Davidson says.

“Continuous Improvement is part of Fairgrieve’s DNA these days.”

Barry Davidson, General Manager, Fairgrieve Compression Moulding.

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PARAGON TOOLMAKING

PARAGON TOOLMAKING HAS BEEN PROVIDING TOOLS FOR OVER 50 YEARS, AND SO UNDERSTANDS THE IMPORTANCE OF NURTURING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SKILLED WORKERS.

AS GOOD AS ITS TOOLS

PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

Paragon Toolmaking was founded in 1969 by Carl Canty. It has changed hands a couple of times since then, most recently being purchased by Daniel Beaumont, son of former England rugby union and British Lions captain Bill Beaumont, but whoever owns the company, it has built itself a reputation producing essential tooling, used to manufacture parts for some of the world’s best-known products and brands.

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oday the firm employs 18 people to design and manufacture tooling to produce components for firms from Ideal Boilers to automanufacturers like Jaguars, Nissan, Land Rover, and BMW. “We typically manufacture for the UK, although we have some tools going out to China, America, and Japan,” points out Paragon’s General Manager, Kevin Batty. “We are a subcontractor, producing tools for a wide range of business sectors including automotive, aerospace, building products, white goods, and many more.

One of the companies we work for is a manufacturer of sinks and hobs for the leisure industry, used in caravans and motorhomes. We also carry out repair work on their tools.”

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Paragon manufactures these tools at its facilities in Hull, which end up in a wide range of products and brands around the world, offering a full service.

“We start at the beginning, with the design concept.

We look at the customers’ products and components and understand what they are trying to make, we then work with them to determine what changes might be required to make it manufacturable,” Batty explains. The next step is the tool design, after customer approval we manufacture the component parts, assemble the tool, and test it, all tools are fully tested before shipment to the customer. As a business, we offer the full service from concept through to commissioning the tool at the customer’s site”.

PARAGON TOOLMAKING

Kevin Batty, General Manager, Paragon Toolmaking

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THE TALENT BEHIND THE TOOLS

Nobody knows better than Paragon the importance of having the right tool for the job, but Batty is also keen to point out that the most essential component is the person behind the tool.

“The key element behind our business is its people,” Batty insists. “Their skill and their knowledge. That is why we put a lot of energy into looking after and developing our people.”

Paragon Toolmaking develops those people from the ground up, with a huge proportion of the people in the company starting out as an apprentice and progressing upwards.

“Currently 60% of our workforce is Paragon homegrown. They started here and still working here,” Batty tells us.

“Our longest-serving employee has been here for 41 years, and he started as an apprentice.

Our average length of service is 11 years. It is all about preserving skills and knowledge by passing it on to young people entering the business. We need our people to understand how a tool is built, how it works, and how it manipulates the component, this is best learnt hands-on.”

Paragon’s role in finding and nurturing talent has never been more essential, as a skills shortage is being noticed across the manufacturing industry.

“One of the key issues that schools have is they want to grab and hold onto good people and put them through the academic route, but that is not always the right route for everybody,” Batty reflects. “We have an ongoing

apprenticeship programme, but we struggle to attract the right calibre of people willing to start at the bottom level.”

It is a problem exacerbated by the fact that a lot of employers do not share Paragon Toolmaking’s commitment to investing in people.

“We find that a lot of employers believe the skills are just out there for them to recruit. We have lost two toolmakers to a larger organisation in the last year, and that is annoying because they are not putting people back in.

We should all be putting our fair share into that pool,” Batty points out. “We all only work for around 50 years of our life.

That means one-fiftieth of your employees should be new to the workforce, and you should be training them, not expecting

Apprentice Toolmaker Jay Malone being instructed.

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PARAGON TOOLMAKING

Toolmaker Ian Tong testing a tool in our 400T try-out press.

them to fall out of universities.

They provide a knowledge base but not the skills and experience.”

Paragon Toolmaking recruits apprentices with the vision of equipping them with a toolmaker’s skills and knowledge in the space of four years.

“But you will spend the rest of your career honing those skills, making things more accurate, making them work better, learning the ‘art of the toolmaker’,” Batty emphasises.

“You can’t build that without learning as you go along.”

LOCALLY SOURCED

This commitment to growing local skills is only part of Paragon Toolmaking’s ongoing approach to developing British industry as a whole.

“We have to have a UK supply base and a UK manufacturing base, and if we are not careful as a country, we will lose that,” Batty argues. “If you don’t have that local supply chain you leave yourself open to being held to ransom by other markets.”

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This is why Paragon Toolmaking is committed to sourcing through UK suppliers.

“It’s important to support the business around you,” he says.

It is an approach that leads to strong and long-lasting supplier relationships, such as the firm’s ongoing collaboration with die sets and toolmakers’ supplies manufacturer, DANLY. “That relationship goes to the point of friendship,” Batty tells us. “We first started dealing with them in the early 1980s. It is about ensuring you communicate, and that is our first port of call. We cannot produce quality tools if they do not have quality supplies to sell to us. Price is important, but never the single driver in what we buy. We build quality products. If we are the cheapest toolmaker supplying them, we have probably got it wrong.”

This is why Paragon Toolmaking’s approach always considers the full-life quality of its products.

As Batty says, “We have tools come back for us to be serviced that have operated for over a million strokes since they were last serviced. Some have run for over 20 years manufacturing a lot of components.”

That kind of longevity is reflected in Batty’s vision for Paragon’s future.

“We like to bring people through the business, and a few of us retiring in five years.

So, we are already considering who will be replacing us from within the business and taking on apprentices to fill the role they vacate” Batty says. “I often go to our customers who will have an old toolmaker in their 60s, ready to retire in a couple of years. And he will say, ‘They’ve just got me an apprentice!’ That gives that apprentice maybe two years to absorb 40 to 50 years of knowledge. At Paragon we know that our employees are our most valuable asset, the need to develop the employees of the future and the importance of an ongoing apprentice program.”

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WEISS-AUG

WEISS-AUG GROUP, A COMPANY THAT HAS DEVELOPED FROM SCRATCH INTO A RECOGNIZED LEADER PROVIDING MOULDING, STAMPING AND ASSEMBLY SOLUTIONS, IS SET TO CONTINUE ITS GROWTH.

FUTURE STAMPED IN

EXCELLENCE

PROJECT MANAGED BY: CHRIS CONWAY

Family-owned Weiss-Aug is an example of the American dream – Dieter Weissenrieder, the company founder and CEO, emigrated from Germany in 1960 as a tool and die maker to work for his uncle’s tooling business. He quickly became the manager of the company, and when it was later sold to a large firm, he founded Weiss-Aug with just a handful of colleagues in 1972. The rest is history.

L

ast year we celebrated our 50th anniversary, five decades of growth and expansion. A rewarding milestone for a company that started with just myself, my former partner Kurt Augustin and three colleagues who had come with us from the previous company,” says Mr Weissenrieder.

Looking back, he explains that the business started as a stamping company making metal parts. A turning point came in 1980 when Polaroid Camera decided to make the company their prime parts suppliers, giving the business the opportunity to add moulding to its capability.

“To clarify, we don’t just make plastic parts, we make parts that have metal embedded.

That’s what sets us apart from our competition today.

There are very few companies that have both stamping

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and moulding technology. This combination has enabled us to grow over the years, into a strong group that employs 700 people across five plants and a research centre.”

The story sounds simple enough, but what was the real driving force behind such marked success? “We just loved what we were doing and were very passionate about it. The sky was the limit in those days,” says Mr Weissenrieder, who evidently still has the same love and passion for the business today.

“We didn’t even have a business plan for the first ten years.

But we believed in what we were doing, and we did that with full dedication and commitment.”

STRONG COMPETENCE

Weiss-Aug development was a process of both organic growth and business acquisitions.

Entering the new millennium, Dieter Weissenrieder’s vision for growth led to the acquisition of a tooling company, a stamping company, and the addition of a medical devicefocused division. Following the successes of those integrations, Weiss-Aug Mexico was launched in 2017, and in 2020 Lupine Research, an R&D firm in Boulder, Colorado, was created to provide customers with early product development support and next-generation technology.

In 2022, Weiss-Aug Surgical New Kensington division launched and in January 2023, the newest, the Life Sciences Division was added, located in Fairfield, New Jersey, and responsible for the development and manufacture of drug delivery and combination devices, with core competencies in insert moulding, laser welding, and clean room assemblies.

Today, the Weiss-Aug Group is an internationally recognized leader in precision metal stamping, injection moulding, value-added assembly solutions and tooling, serving the medical device industry, automotive industry, and industrial sector.

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WEISS-AUG

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WEISS-AUG

The company provides design, prototype, advanced engineering support, and manufacturing services, ensuring a seamless transition from prototype to production.

A GROWING SECTOR

Mr Weissenrieder explains that although a large part of the company’s business comes from the automotive industry, today the most important market is the medical field, which today generates some 60% of WeissAug revenues and is increasing.

“There is a tremendous need in America for medical devices as people are living longer and health problems are on the rise.

This increases demand for our products. On top of that, we also support our customers in making their products better, easier to manufacture and less expensive.”

“The achievements I’m most proud of have been made in cooperation with customers, leading to important product improvements, or creating a new product, such as a new medical device. The medical industry is constantly looking for support from their supplier base, which they very much appreciate. We have done some terrific work in the medical industry, and hearing stories of someone’s child or wife being successfully operated on using one of our instruments always make me feel happy. I think that is success.”

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An example of recent products manufactured by Weiss-Aug (in partnership with RxBandz) is the MiniJect™ auto-injector. These can be used to safely inject life-saving medication, in fixed doses, such as epinephrine in the context of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or anti-allergens.

Using vertical injection moulding machines, the company is able to maintain a high level of reproducibility and tight tolerances in the injection moulding process to ensure exact dosing.

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WEISS-AUG

“I BELIEVE IT’S IMPORTANT TO CREATE A CULTURE WHERE PEOPLE FEEL APPRECIATED, WHERE THEY ENJOY WHAT THEY DO AND WHERE THEY GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO GROW.” DRIVEN BY PASSION AND COMMITMENT

Weiss-Aug is aware that human resources are an integral part of its success. As early as 40 years ago, Mr Weissenrieder set up his own apprenticeship school – an unusual step in

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the US. Today the company is one of the few in New Jersey to run an extensive apprentice department.

“Some of the people that we have trained over the 40 years are still working with us today.

That is quite impressive, I think, especially in America. I believe it’s important to create a culture where people feel appreciated, where they enjoy what they do and where they get an opportunity to grow.”

Weiss-Aug is getting ready to grow as well. Now in the process of expansion with 2 factories, adding another 100,000 sq. ft. and more capabilities, the Group is well positioned to continue to support customers with the smartest R&D, engineering, and manufacturing solutions.

Reflecting on the journey from nothing to a strong, stable, and growing business group,

Mr Weissenrieder says: “ The success has not been just for me – it has been about success for others. I have seen people in my company developing into great engineers, having a great career, making use of the opportunities we provided. And that’s very rewarding.”

In conclusion, he acknowledges that after five decades of running his business with passion, he is getting ready to step aside and leave Weiss-Aug Group in the hands of the next generation – his daughter, son, and son-in-law. “Weiss-Aug will remain a family business. I have seen many companies taken over by investors and closing down shortly after. This will not be our case. We want to keep the family spirit, the passion, and the drive to successfully develop this business into the future.”

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World Headquarters 220 Merry Ln East Hanover, NJ 07936, USA +1.973.887.7600

High Quality Components at the Tightest Tolerances With over 50 years of experience in precision metal stamping, injection molding, and value-added assembly solutions, we offer tailored solutions for a wide range of industries, including medical devices, automotive, and industrial sectors.

Our core capabilities: Prototyping • Engineering Support • Tooling • Metal Stamping Injection Molding • Assembly • Laser Processing • Production Machining Let us know how we can help with your project business@weiss-aug.com

Our Locations • • • • • •

East Hanover NJ Fairfield NJ Boulder CO New Kensington PA Elk Grove Village Il Monterrey MX

Visit us at weiss-aug.com

AARD MINING EQUIPMENT

WHEN A SOUTH AFRICAN MINING EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER COMES UNDER SWEDISH OWNERSHIP, IT LEADS TO SOME EXCITING CHANGES TO THE WAY IT DOES BUSINESS.

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT PROJECT MANAGED BY: DECLAN JONES

Based near Johannesburg, South Africa, AARD Mining Equipment designs, manufactures, services, and supports an impressive variety of mining equipment, specialising in low-profile underground machines for mines with low mining heights. Its portfolio includes products such as high-quality drill rigs, bolters, loaders, scalers, and more. With a team of roughly 200 employees, the firm primarily serves the Southern Africa region, carving out a competitive edge in the bespoke equipment sector.

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e have been able to create a market niche customising products while working closely with our customers,” says the firm’s new Managing Director, Martina Ahlborg. “We are a small, agile team that can design products to meet the specific needs of the customer, engaging with them to understand their operations and develop solutions uniquely suited to their projects.”

A NEW ERA

Ahlborg is relatively new to her position in the company, having become MD shortly after AARD Mining Equipment was acquired

by Epiroc, a global productivity partner for the mining and infrastructure sector.

Epiroc has made a name for itself on an international level, working to accelerate the transformation towards sustainable industry, and society at large. It develops safe but innovative equipment through ground-breaking technology

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for rock excavation, drill rigs, construction equipment and tools for applications both surface and underground.

The Group had revenues of SEK 50 billion last year, and while it is headquartered in Sweden the firm operates across 150 countries with approximately 17,000 passionate employees.

The ink is still drying on the firm’s acquisition of AARD Mining Equipment, but work is already well underway to make the most of the deal.

“We are very early, barely three months, into our first stages of operating AARD as an independent company,” Ahlborg tells us. “We are building relationships, and we have areas where we see the integration will happen faster than others.”

This is far from Epiroc’s first acquisition, and Ahlborg is more than familiar with both the knowns and the unknowns of the process.

Martina Ahlborg, Managing Director , Aard Mining Equipment.

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AARD MINING EQUIPMENT

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AARD MINING EQUIPMENT

“WITH ANY TEAM, IT’S ALL ABOUT FINDING OUT ABOUT THE INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED, THEIR PASSIONS, CONNECTING WITH THEM AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT THEY ARE ABOUT.” “When we acquire a company, we know what we want to do but each acquisition is different,” Ahlborg says. “They need to fit into the overall portfolio and must add something we don’t already have.”

When we speak to her, Ahlborg has been in her new position for a matter of weeks, but she comes to it from a period of 13 years working in the Epiroc Group’s research &

development, and operations departments.

“Stepping into this role has been so inspiring,” Ahlborg tells us. “I have people that are truly passionate about what they do. We are a small adaptable, flexible, and knowledgeable team.”

Ahlborg’s first job as AARD’s new managing director has been to connect with and make the most of that team.

A ARD Mining Equipment (P t y) Ltd based near Johannesburg, South Africa, has been associated with mining capital equipment for over 30 years.

AARD designs, manufactures, services and supports a wide range of mining equipment, specializing in low-profile underground machines.

Our range of equipment includes drill rigs, hydraulic rock drills, bolters, load haul dumpers (LHDs), scalers, and more, for both standard and low underground applications. In April 2023, AARD Mining Equipment became part of Epiroc, a leading global productivity and sustainability partner for the mining and infrastructure industries.

Epiroc is based in Stockholm, Sweden, had revenues of SEK 50 billion in 2022, and has around 18,000 passionate employees supporting and collaborating with customers in around 150 countries.

info@aardme.co.za www.aardme.co.za

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AARD MINING EQUIPMENT

“With any team, it’s all about finding out about the individuals involved, their passions, connecting with them and understanding what they are about,” Ahlborg says.

“You make sure you have the right plans in place and that everyone understands them, with everyone in the right position. Then of course you need to guide them with a clear strategy and targets so that everyone knows what they need to deliver.”

Ahlborg is clear about her own targets and strategy for AARD moving forward.

“In this case, my ambition is to grow the business within the network of the Epiroc Group. I want to utilise the technology we have developed in the group for automation, electrification, and digitalisation,” Ahlborg points out.

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AARD MINING EQUIPMENT

Epiroc is known for the worldclass service and aftermarket support it offers, particularly in terms of its solutions around automation, digitalisation, and electrification. By becoming part of the Epiroc Group, AARD gains access to its extensive, global reach for technological acquisition.

“We have people scouting and developing technology across Epiroc, collaborating on these platforms,” Ahlborg says. “Epiroc is currently going through a period of great technological acquisition. It has made a lot of acquisitions during this year alone. We are looking at what can acquire, what we can do in-house, how we can collaborate and what we can get through Epiroc as a group.”

With her background in research & development, Ahlborg is passionate about deploying these tools through AARD. “We are working on collision avoidance, helping vehicles avoid colliding with other vehicles or people in the mine,”

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Ahlborg explains. “We are also looking at ways to remove the operator from the scene, keeping them safe.”

It is all part of Ahlborg’s wider vision of productivity and efficiency, supporting the workforce to do the best job they can possibly do.

“We are talking about productivity, helping operators perform their tasks better. All of this technology is out there for operator assistance that we can inherit and work on and adapt,” Ahlborg insists.

“These machines are robust, with a low cost of ownership, and offer real benefits to the projects that use them.”

One of those key benefits is sustainability. Even before it became part of the Epiroc Group, AARD has been fully committed to the transformation and investing in local communities and enterprise development initiatives.

Ahlborg seeks to continue and build on that, also pushing an environmental agenda within the company.

“For me personally, sustainability is a huge priority,” she says. “We must make all parts of the company sustainable for the community and the environment.

We know that making this transformation is important, and the electrification of our fleet is important.

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AARD MINING EQUIPMENT

“WE MUST MAKE ALL PARTS OF THE COMPANY SUSTAINABLE FOR THE COMMUNITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

We want to make sure you can rebuild and reuse machines and recycle them if needed.”

Overall, it is clear that between Epiroc and Ahlborg, there are big things in store for AARD Mining Equipment’s future.

“There is still a lot of ongoing work to do. We are

working on collision avoidance, investigating an automation, digitalisation, and sustainability journey with Epiroc on board,” Ahlborg says. “We have a facility that can rebuild and manufacture a lot of components, as well as complete vehicles, to contribute to the circular economy.”

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TORQUE AFRICA GROUP

WE LEARN HOW TORQUE AFRICA GROUP HAS DELIVERED RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCES, BUT THIS IS ONLY THE START FOR THE COMPANY.

A RECORDBREAKING OPERATION

PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

Torque Africa Exploration was founded in 2014 by Nardus Bezuidenhout, who brought his 22 years of experience in the onshore drilling industry to the firm. Seeing the rapidly growing demand for turnkey drilling solutions at home and abroad. It was a demand Bezuidenhout positioned his company to meet. As the company expanded to become the Torque Africa Group, its offering would also expand to include RC exploration drilling, air core drilling, percussion drilling, and input grade control drilling.

T

orque Africa is an onshore drilling company that does large diameter and deep wells in the exploration and gas industry,” Bezuidenhout tells us today.

“The company, which is under my sole ownership, runs a fleet of over 30 drilling machines alongside a range of additional equipment.”

Torque Africa runs topperforming, modern drilling rigs as part of its fleet of 200 licensed vehicles, run and maintained by a team of over 200 employees.

This wealth of resources means that Torque Africa Group is positioned to deliver the very highest standards and quality in the drilling industry.

“We are working in Southern Africa including South Africa, Namibia, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana and

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elsewhere, such as Central Asia, Pakistan, Algeria, and West African countries as well,” Bezuidenhout explains.

But while the company has a growing fleet of vehicles and equipment and an expanding international footprint, it has maintained the bespoke approach, strong interpersonal relationships and innovative approach that are the key selling point of a smaller business.

“We are not yet a large corporate company, so you get that one-on-one customer service,” Bezuidenhout says.

“We are not scared to do new things, and we can think outside of the box. We are entrepreneurs. This is how we have achieved a few world records. We hold the record for the deepest RC well in the world.”

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POWERBIT ROCKTOOLS POWERBIT: POWERING PROGRESS IN THE ROCK DRILLING TOOLS INDUSTRY – FROM TAIWAN TO AFRICA AND BEYOND

INTRODUCING THE POWERBIT PRODUCT ROUNDUP: UNLEASHING THE POWER OF REMARKABLE ROCK DRILLING TOOLS

As technology advances and mining and drilling operations expand globally, more organisations need hardy, reliable tools to conquer the extreme environments within which they operate. Energy efficiency, cost reduction, lasting strength and enhanced safety in drilling operations are nonnegotiable. And in a fast-paced, demanding industry, professional operations require equally professional products and service from suppliers to stay ahead.

Powerbit Rocktools supplies reputable African companies working in quarrying, surface mining, underground mining, coal mining, open cast mining, railways, highways, hydroelectric power plants, soft rock and hard rock formations and other construction projects.

Explore the exceptional Powerbit range of rock drilling solutions designed to maximise drilling output.

Established in 1996, Powerbit Rocktools (PTY) LTD is a trusted supplier and specialist in the rock drilling tools industry with a name that has become synonymous with steadfast quality and world-class service at highly competitive prices.

Powerbit’s product range includes DTH hammers and bits, RC hammers and bits, top hammers, bits and rods, casing systems, grinding machines and grinding pins – and more of the tools that help global drilling operations achieve optimum efficiency and longevity.

Having served the southern African mining industry for almost 20 years, Powerbit’s expertise is singularly focused on addressing the unique demands of drilling-related industries and is fuelled by passion and a commitment to excellence.

Director at Torque Africa Exploration and Powerbit client Nardus Bezuidenhout says, “Rock drilling and geotechnical excavation operations are a vital cornerstone of African industry. They are our primary means of resource extraction and optimisation that drive our survival and progress.

“In this context, it is imperative that we foster long-term partnerships with our suppliers so we can confidently maintain the exceptional levels of quality we need at prices that align with our budget. Our longstanding relationship with Powerbit is a testament to their quality specialist drilling products and unparalleled service.”

Thomas Chao, Managing Director at Powerbit Rocktools, adds, “Rock drilling, blasting, rock crushing, mining and all the industries Powerbit services are constantly evolving. As a trusted supplier, we must consistently stay at the forefront of emerging engineering challenges in the global industry.

“We maintain and adapt to new quality standards by collaborating with our facilities in Taiwan, China and Japan, where we have advanced research capabilities and applied technology experts in the rock drilling tools industry.

We continuously work alongside our clients to understand their needs and provide products that serve their specific requirements.”

Economical, long-life rock drill bits, hammers, grinding machines and related equipment are paramount to efficiently and cost-effectively handle the complexities of 21st-century drilling operations.

Powerbit Rocktools recognises the pivotal role these tools play in enabling their clients’ success, along with expedited infrastructure projects that drive local economies. Powerbit’s unwavering commitment to innovation, quality and precision drives the cutting-edge ingenuity needed to optimise performance, enhance efficiency and ensure cost-effectiveness.

“We take immense pride in the trust we have established with our clients.

Our expertise is deeply rooted in understanding their unique demands. Our heat treatment processes ensure superior wear resistance, outperforming similar products in the market. And with different product ranges tailored to various working conditions, including DHD, MISSION, QL, SD, NUMA, BK and more, we service a diverse range of industries.

If you can’t find the best bit for your unique needs in our wide selection of standard models, we can also design it for you. Our one constant is our commitment to offering high-quality products and solutions to our clients through excellent service at the best price,” says Chao.

DTH HAMMERS AND BITS: Igniting your drilling potential Experience the power of rapid drilling speed and reduced drilling body wear with Powerbit’s world-class DTH hammers and bits.

Innovative heat treatment ensures unparalleled durability and longer service life compared to similar offerings in the market, regardless of working conditions. This versatile product range is suitable for DHD, MISSION, QL, SD, NUMA, BK and more.

TOP HAMMER DRILLING TOOLS: Unleash precision and speed Top hammer drilling tools are the ultimate choice for hardwearing operations. Powerbit offers a wide selection of drilling options for small hole drilling, drifting and tunnelling, bench and production drilling or furnace tapping. Equipped with various carbide button types, these tools exhibit remarkable abrasion resistance and deliver fast drilling speeds for boundless efficiency and reliability.

RC HAMMERS AND BITS: The epitome of epic performance Unleash unparalleled drilling speed with Powerbit’s meticulously engineered RC hammers and bits. Optimised structural design ensures ideal energy transfer, maximising drilling efficiency. With a simplistic yet robust component structure, these products guarantee a long service life and effortless repairs.

The collection tubes’ carbonised surfaces provide exceptional wear resistance, allowing for pristine sample collection in even the most demanding operating conditions. Choose from comprehensive casing system options, including eccentric casing systems, slide block casing systems, symmetric overburden drilling equipment and double casing drilling tools.

Hardened part surfaces exhibit excellent anti-wear properties, ensuring prolonged service life and consistently high drilling speeds.

Join the Powerbit Revolution The Powerbit Rocktools team is driven by an unwavering commitment to providing rock drilling solutions that exceed expectations.

Every Powerbit product is precision-engineered, incorporating the latest advancements in technology and manufacturing. With exceptional anti-wear properties, prolonged service life and high drilling speeds on demand, Powerbit rock drilling tools provide a gateway to unprecedented performance and productivity.

Embrace the power of innovation, quality and customer-centric service, conquering new frontiers in rock drilling excellence with Powerbit Rocktools – committed to serving the African mining industry with high-quality products, extensive expertise and unparalleled customer support.

CONNECT WITH POWERBIT ROCKTOOLS TODAY: Website: www.powerbit.co.za Contact Number: 082 467 4274 / 063 773 3661 General Enquiries: info@powerbit.co.za Support Queries: support@powerbit.co.za Sales Enquiries: sales@powerbit.co.za Address: 87 Second Ave, Bredell, Kempton Park, South Africa Powerbit Rocktools (PTY) LTD. Rock drilling tools supplier and specialist – Proudly supplying the southern African mining industry for almost 20 years.

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TORQUE AFRICA GROUP

Nardus Bezuidenhout, Director, Torque Africa Group.

“WE ARE NOT SCARED TO DO NEW THINGS, AND WE CAN THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

This record, which involved drilling an RC hole down to 1019 metres in Amam, in the Northern Cape of South Africa, was established in 2020. That depth was reached in the astonishingly short period of only nine days of continuous drilling. But it was not simply a question of drilling downwards. It was an intricate and complex project that

required meticulous planning, leveraging years of experience and detailed knowledge of the ground conditions in the area.

Bezuidenhout has reason to be proud of the achievement, having led the project personally. This is a handson approach that can be seen across all of Torque Africa’s projects.

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THE PROBLEM OF POWER

Another thing that all of Torque Africa’s projects have in common is that they all require power, and in South Africa that can sometimes be a major obstacle.

“We face challenges such as load shedding in South Africa, and that can have a knock-on effect on the supply of materials because suppliers don’t have electricity to manufacture,” Bezuidenhout says.

One of the solutions Torque Africa is deploying is to draw materials from further afield, by importing from abroad.

The company is also carefully managing stock.

“IT IS ABOUT CHANGING YOUR MINDSET, LOOKING FOR BETTER WAYS TO ADDRESS EACH NEW SITUATION.” “We make sure we have on-the-shelf equipment to accommodate any shortfalls,” Bezuidenhout says.

However, when it comes to power supplies, the business has adopted its own innovative solutions.

“We have evolved our own solar power systems to create energy for our workshops,” Bezuidenhout points out.

THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT PLACE

Of course, as Torque Africa expands its reach and enters new territories it faces new challenges, particularly from a regulatory point of view.

“Health and safety are not standardised around the world, so every time we enter a new market we must add new safety standards,” Bezuidenhout says.

“It changes a lot from place to place.”

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MINROM : UNLOCKING PROJECT VALUE YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER IN MINERAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SERVICES. Minrom specialises in providing comprehensive services in the exploration, mining, and groundwater sectors. Our expertise and technical support ensure the successful delivery of your projects, from greenfields to full-scale mining.

At Minrom, we understand that unlocking the value of your assets requires a strong geological knowledge base: that is why we offer crucial technical support, extensive knowledge, and experience to deliver seamless project execution and management.

Mineral Resource Management and production planning play a pivotal role in risk mitigation and sound investment decisions.

Minrom’s dedicated team of mining experts ensures robust mineral resource management (MRM) and mine optimisation.

Our adoption of sustainable and ethical mining practices provides the framework for our responsible mineral resource management practices for the long-term benefit of all stakeholders.

Minrom: providing Mineral Resource Management solutions in unlocking the value of your mineral assets and what that lies within. www.minrom.com

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TORQUE AFRICA GROUP

To keep up with the changing regulatory environment, Bezuidenhout employs specialists to ensure its work is in accordance with any standards its clients might have.

“We employ safety managers that act as a key contact point between ourselves and the customer to accommodate all the health and safety standards we might encounter,” explains Bezuidenhout. “It is about changing your mindset, looking for better ways to address each new situation.”

This is just one example of the importance Torque Africa places on its people. When we speak with Bezuidenhout the company employs 200 members of staff around the world, and they are all vital to the company’s success.

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TORQUE AFRICA GROUP

“Our rule-of-thumb is that we will help any customer to build a programme, joining up with them as a partner in the drilling industry and working together for the long-term benefit of both parties. We want to be on the customers’ books as a partner of choice. That is why we make a commitment not to over-charge, to develop longterm relationships across the industry, especially with the green field exploration phase.”

“WE INVEST IN PEOPLE. WE TRAIN THEM, WE OFFER PEOPLE COURSES TO UPGRADE THEIR SKILLS. PEOPLE ARE OUR MOST IMPORTANT ASSET. THAT IS WHAT MAKES US SUCCESSFUL- THE PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR US.”

“Because we are working all over the world, primarily in the southern part of Africa, we require different kinds of people across different categories,” he tells us. “We invest in people.

We train them, we offer people courses to upgrade their skills. These people are our most important asset. That is what makes us successful- the people that work for us.”

To make the most of those assets, Torque Africa takes a personal interest in each of its employees.

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“We know our employees’ personal problems, their living standards, and we have a good relationship with them,” Bezuidenhout tells us.

Bezuidenhout believes that the company’s future will depend on long-term relationships with Torque Africa’s staff, its supply chain, and its customers.

“Human resources wise, we try to maintain a good term relationship with the people that work for us,” Bezuidenhout insists.

Torque Africa’s approach is not on a project-by-project basis but with the goal of building relationships for fourto-five years into the future, or more. And that future is bright.

“Gas energy in Africa is booming because of the energy shortfall, so there is a focus on exploration right now. We have made a considerable investment in R&D within the onshore gas drilling sector.

It allows us to design and implement a hole design and drilling technique uniquely suited for the Southern African conditions and requirements to accommodate the gas ‘gold rush’,” Bezuidenhout says. “We have plans up to 2026 to build the company, and then we are going to restructure, join up with other partners and build ourselves up. We are drawing a bigger picture for the customer base.”

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DRG TECHNOLOGIES

DRG TECHNOLOGIES

ARIZONA-BASED DRG TECHNOLOGIES, A SPECIALIST IN ADVANCED, CUSTOM-DESIGNED PRINTED LABEL PRODUCTS, HAS SIGNIFICANTLY EXPANDED ITS CAPABILITY, MOVING INTO NEW MARKETS.

MAKING COMPANIES LOOK GREAT PROJECT MANAGED BY: HAYDEN TURNER

For more than 40 years, DRG’s label products have helped companies across multiple industries — from automotive and aerospace to household products and electronics— provide identification, instruction, and differentiation for their products.

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H

eadquartered in Arizona, DRG today manufactures from two locations, Safford and Chandler, with additional logistic and distribution facilities in Mexico.

The company offers a complete portfolio from durable UL labels, insert cards and tags, packaging and speciality labels, to security and tamperevident solutions and more.

The products meet the most stringent quality requirements with regard to multiple certifications.

“We provide complete label and tag solutions, offering a broad-based spectrum of products, aiming to be the onestop-shop for our customers,” said Roger Popovec, President of DRG Technologies. “We have three different printing capacities – flexographic print, as well as screen print and digital print, something which allows us to consolidate vendors. Many large, diverse companies appreciate being

supplied from a single source which can meet all their varied requirements. “ DRG provides many innovative ways to help reduce costs and add value, including but not limited to, engineered solutions, vendor-managed inventory and just-in-time fulfilment. DRG works closely with their customers to identify and design a customized solution that fits their needs.

“We can accommodate requirements for very low as well as very high volumes – a feature that distinguishes us from many competitors, “ noted Mr Popovec, explaining that DRG Technologies is primarily a custom printer. “We do have a couple of stock items, but 95% of our products are specifically printed for customers. In addition, we offer a high level of service and inventory management programmes that allow for just-in-time delivery to our customers within hours of receipt of the work.”

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SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

New, innovative products for the RPC industry have been added recently to the company’s portfolio. “In the US, reusable plastics containers are the primary methods for carrying produce between the fields, the processors and the grocery stores. RPC labels play a crucial role in the efficiency and sustainability of supply chain operations. Standardizing RPC labels ensure that products are correctly labelled, accounted for, and tracked throughout their journey,” explained Mr Popovec.

In collaboration with IFCO, a leading supplier of reusable packaging containers; fresh produce growers; and Avery Dennison, a labelling and functional material developer, DRG has developed costeffective labels that are completely removable during sanitation, ensuring that RPCs are clean and residue-free.

This ensures the RPCs are left in perfect condition for their future use.

The new label, made from paper, has undergone extensive field testing by IFCO and DRG across several different commodity and pack types where film labels are currently being used, including field, shed, and cooler. The new label has shown equivalent functionality to film in those environments, providing growers and packers with a reliable labelling solution.

“We offer a comprehensive RPC labelling solution. Our RPC labels are constructed using materials designed to withstand harsh environments and temperature variations, ensuring that the product’s label packaging remains intact throughout its lifespan. Our newest label development has been tested and leaves

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BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

[From left to right] Daren Riley, CEO DRG Technologies, Kirk Valadez, Owner La Fiesta, Dee Cowell, La Fiesta, Leo Valadez, Owner La Fiesta, Roger Popovec, President/COO, DRG Technologies.

DRG TECHNOLOGIES

Beyond the RPC solution, he affirmed that the company has taken a proactive approach to sustainability - DRG has registered as a FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) facility, which means they can provide their customers with a full chain of custody certification on many of its critical products.

EXPANDED CAPABILITY

no residue after the sanitation process. This avoids further costs associated with cleaning the RPC’s and improves the quality and lifecycle of the RPC.” In addition, Mr Popovec noted, “The newest RPC label development reflects the increased focus on more sustainable solutions. As a paper solution it can be more recyclable than a plastic film label, another standard solution in the RPC industry.”

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“LA FIESTA’S EXPERTISE AND INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS WILL COMPLEMENT DRG’S EXISTING PORTFOLIO AND HELP US TO BETTER SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS WITH ADVANCED LABELLING SOLUTIONS.”

It is not only DRG’s own portfolio that has expanded.

The company has recently achieved a major business growth milestone, when in May 2023 it announced the acquisition of La Fiesta Label & Packaging Systems, a renowned provider of labelling solutions based in Chandler, Arizona.

The acquisition will expand DRG Technologies’ product portfolio with the addition of shrink sleeves, flexible packaging, digital, expanded board stock, and strengthen its presence in the labelling and packaging industry. With this acquisition, DRG Technologies will have access to La Fiesta’s technology and expertise, enabling the company to offer a wider range of labelling solutions to its customers.

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“We are excited to welcome La Fiesta Label & Packaging Systems to the DRG Technologies family,” said Roger Popovec. “La Fiesta’s expertise and innovative products will complement DRG’s existing portfolio and help us to better serve our customers with advanced labelling solutions.”

IN GROWTH MODE

The acquisition will also allow DRG Technologies to expand its presence in key markets and provide enhanced customer service to its clients, and the two companies will now work together over the coming months to integrate their operations and products, with no disruption to customer service during the transition.

Mr Popovec affirmed that despite the current market challenges such as continuing

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supply chain disruptions and rising inflation, the company remains in growth mode. “We have a strategic plan to continue to expand the business. We’re making substantial investments in the business, both in new technologies and resources to further strengthen our product offering and capabilities. We are 100% privately owned and self-funded, and our market position is sound.”

“With the acquisition, we have gained specific capacities and capabilities that we did not have before. We will be able to continue to grow the business by leveraging the expertise and the teams in both facilities and promote cross-functional sales growth from existing as well as new customers,” he concluded.

“WE HAVE A STRATEGIC PLAN TO CONTINUE TO EXPAND THE BUSINESS. WE’RE MAKING SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENTS IN THE BUSINESS, BOTH IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND RESOURCES TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN OUR PRODUCT OFFERING AND CAPABILITIES.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

We Are a Custom Label Manufacturer Delivering World-Class Supply Chain Solutions Work with our expert team to streamline production, consolidate suppliers, and create unmatched label products

www.DRGtechnologies.com | +1-928-428-7450

| 300 E 4th St, Safford, AZ 85546, USA

CARIBBEAN SHIPPING ASSOCIATION (CSA)

THE CARIBBEAN SHIPPING ASSOCIATION SHOWS HOW THROUGH COLLABORATION THEY ARE ELEVATING THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY.

GIVING A VOICE TO CARIBBEAN SHIPPING PROJECT MANAGED BY: TIM GARWOOD

The Caribbean Shipping Association is a prominent and influential organisation at the forefront of the maritime industry in the region for over 50 years. In October it will celebrate its 53rd anniversary. Primarily the association is focused on the shipping and logistics sector, leveraging strategic partnerships, and advocating for the needs of its members.

A

lthough the Association was founded 53 years ago, the necessity it was introduced to meet arose with the invention of steamships. As sailing ships became obsolete and transit times shrank, the shipping sector exploded.

By the 1960s it was widely recognised there was a need for a regional association that could monitor, discuss, and share information to support the growth and development of the Caribbean shipping industry.

In 1970, the decision was made to form the Caribbean Shipping Association at a meeting, and a steering committee was formed

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to draft plans for an organisation that would create a voice for regional shipping interests while enabling the exchange of information and best practices.

Its first Annual General Meeting was held in Nassau, Bahamas on October 19 that year, and was attended by representatives from Antigua, the Bahamas and St Vincent.

Today, over 150 organisations are members of the Association, including six national shipping associations and a diverse range of shipping operations across the Caribbean, Latin America, North America, and Europe.

Milaika Capella Ras, General Manager, Caribbean Shipping Association

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CARIBBEAN SHIPPING ASSOCIATION (CSA)

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CONNECTING CONTINENTS, DELIVERING EXCELLENCE OUR SERVICES Ocean/Air Import and Export Customs Clearance LCL and FCL Services

Project Cargo and Breakbulk Management Vessel and Crew Services Tug and Barge Operations

www.gulfshippingltd.com +1 868 623 4121 | sales@gulfshippingltd.com

GULF

MARITIME INC

Delivering global solutions to your logistic needs.

We proudly serve as Guyana’s trusted maritime service provider, forging lasting partnerships.

OUR SERVICES Agency Services Procurement and Supply Services Freight Forwarding

Warehousing and 3PL Services Customs Clearance Vessel Husbandry

www.gmsgy.com +1 592 506 0870 | sales@gmsgy.com, admin@gmsgy.com

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GULF SHIPPING For over 35 years, Gulf Shipping has been a beacon of excellence in the shipping industry. As a family-owned and pioneer Shipping Agency, Freight Forwarder, and Logistics Company, Gulf Shipping has continuously raised the bar by delivering unparalleled services to its esteemed customers.

At Gulf Shipping, the customer is at the heart of everything we do. Our dedicated team of professionals, equipped with years of global experience, goes above and beyond to provide responsive, competent, and value-added service.

We understand that our customers’ success is intertwined with ours, and we work tirelessly to ensure their complete satisfaction.

We have built mutually beneficial relationships with our partners, ensuring that their interests are represented and prioritized in every aspect of our business.

Gulf Shipping represents a number of reputable ocean carriers and is the general sales agent for United Airlines, further expanding our global network and providing comprehensive transportation options for our customers.

Our highly trained professionals possess a deep understanding of the industry’s intricacies, allowing us to adapt to our customer’s evolving needs.

In 2019, Gulf Shipping solidified its global position by partnering with Express Consolidation Systems (ECS), further expanding our reach and strengthening our affiliation.

Gulf Shipping’s full logistical operations in Guyana encompass a wide range of services, including shipping agency, freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and transportation solutions.

Whether it’s facilitating imports or exports, handling complex logistics operations, or ensuring seamless clearance and delivery of goods, we offer a comprehensive suite of services to support our client’s supply chain requirements.

Gulf Shipping Limited is proud to have brought our responsive, competent, and value-added services to Guyana. With our experienced team, dedication to customer satisfaction, and aproven track record of excellence, we are well-positioned to be the preferred choice for shipping and logistics solutions in the region. www.gulfshippingltd.com

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CARIBBEAN SHIPPING ASSOCIATION (CSA)

THE POWER OF COLLABORATION

“We are a group consisting of shipping agents, port and terminal owners and operators, and ship owners and operators who have been working in this region,” says Milaika Capella Ras, General Manager of the Caribbean Shipping Association.

“We also have a category for associate members, consisting of individuals and companies that do not qualify for ordinary membership but still wish to participate in the organisation.”

Caribbean Shipping Association’s member organisations benefit from a unique confluence of ideas and innovation, which the Association’s annual general meeting, exhibition, and conference act as catalysts for.

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These collaborations can take place through in-person or virtual interactions, or a combination of the two, and Caribbean Shipping Association offers a wealth of curated information on best practices and standardisation, as well as the latest research, training, and leadership opportunities.

Becoming a member of the Caribbean Shipping Association means a company is grasping an opportunity to deliver bestin-class service to its clientele.

Through advocacy, philanthropy, training, and constructive exchanges, the Association underscores the collective value of its individual memberships.

That the Caribbean Shipping Association has such a broad membership means it has a broad knowledge base to draw upon.

“We actively promote holistic developments in the industry.

We facilitate knowledge sharing, training, and the development of communities,” says Capella Ras. “We are a unifying force within the maritime community, supporting the growth and success of our members and the industry as a whole.”

Caribbean Shipping Association’s offering to its members takes the form of two distinct advantages. Firstly, it offers the ability to connect people and companies with each other.

“We connect the dots within the shipping industry, that sets us apart,” Capella Ras says.

“We facilitate operations by establishing strong connections between various stakeholders.”

Secondly, Caribbean Shipping Association focuses on people, prioritising building and maintaining strong relationships with its members and stakeholders.

“We exceed our members’ expectations and know what their needs are,” Capella Ras explains.

“The Association is known for its commitment to collaboration, knowledge sharing and training within the industry.”

“WE ACTIVELY PROMOTE HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENTS IN THE INDUSTRY.” To this end, the Association organises two conferences a year, one in May and a conference and exhibition in October.

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CARIBBEAN SHIPPING ASSOCIATION (CSA)

Both conferences see attendance in the region of more than 400 people.

“We strongly believe in the power of collaboration between our members to enhance efficiency, elevate overall standards, and give the support that is needed,” Capella Ras tells us. “Besides that, knowledge and expertise are very important for the shipping industry. Our training initiatives are designed to equip industry members with great skills and knowledge, driving the evolution of the shipping landscape.”

A GREENER BUSINESS

Right now, the Caribbean Shipping Association’s priority for that evolution is to help create a greener, more sustainable and less carbonintensive industry.

“CSA has been actively engaged in efforts to decarbonise the shipping

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industry,” Capella Ras insists.

“Right now, the industry needs to evolve. We understand our carbon footprint has grown and we need to implement more sustainable practices so that we can be ready for the future.”

To further this goal, the Caribbean Shipping Association has partnered with the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) to drive decarbonisation in the Caribbean region.

“We started our partnership with IDB during our mid-year conference last May,” Capella Ras tells us. “Our focus is on reducing fossil fuel usage and we aim to adopt faster decarbonisation methods. We are capacity building and raising awareness in the industry. We believe it’s a very long journey, but we need to take those first steps and the money will follow automatically once people see the way that the industry is going.”

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CARIBBEAN SHIPPING ASSOCIATION (CSA)

GROWING SKILLS

This commitment to sustainability is only one part of the Caribbean Shipping Association’s ongoing drive for continuous improvement.

“One of the things that is very important in our relationships is the commitment to continuous development,” Capella Ras says.

“It is essential to enhance the skills and efficiency available within our profession. We are working to upscale personnel across our sector.”

The Association is providing training programmes around

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the fields of cyber security and hazardous materials training, among others, to meet the diverse needs within the industry. The people who go through these schemes are equipped with necessary knowledge and skills. The Association also offers scholarships.

“We’re nurturing the next generation of maritime professionals to enhance productivity,” points out Capella Ras. Overall, Caribbean Shipping Association is an organisation

built on collaboration between the stakeholders in the Caribbean shipping sector and adapts to meet their needs.

“Through regional discussions among our members we are finding new ways for our members to generate greater outputs,” Capella Ras tells us. “We are bringing in new members to participate in our activities for the industry. We are amplifying our training mission, to reach more people and offer more diverse options.

The value of our offering is only growing.”

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EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN ENERGY CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION

Under the patronage of

MINISTRY OF ENERGY COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF CYPRUS

Driving Clean, Reliable Solutions to European Energy Demand 28-30 November 2023 Limassol - Cyprus www.emc-cyprus.com

BOOK YOUR STAND For information: exhibition@emc-cyprus.com +39 30803030 +39 340 3377803

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