Business Focus Magazine - BFM 98

Issue No.98

MOPANI COPPER MINES

Building an independent identity in Zambia.

VATTENFALL

Bringing new meaning to the phrase “Solar Farm”.

SPECIAL FEATURE: PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY

IT'S IN THE BAGCO

Exclusive interview with GM Russell Prior on revolutionising bag technology & storage in Nigeria.

BAG

Ardent Hire Solutions | Passion, Pace, Performance | Cellcard | Opening New Telecoms Frontiers FloraLife | Blooming Marvellous | RepRisk | Looking Under the ESG Hood | Star Alliance | Silver Star

FEATURE YOUR BUSINESS

With a global readership of over 290,000, Business Focus Magazine is the perfect platform to place your business in front of our Senior Executive level audience.

CONTACT SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR:

TREVOR GRETSINGER | t.gretsinger@ceomediagroup.com

PROJECT MANAGERS

EDITOR’S NOTE

MARK BAILEY m.bailey@ceomediagroup.com 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 JOHN HOLLIMAN j.holliman@ceomediagroup.com ROBERT NAPIER SMITH r.smith@ceomediagroup.com LIAM PYWELL l.pywell@ceomediagroup.com JAMIE SIVYER j.sivyer@ceomediagroup.com ANDRZEJ SZANDOR a.szandor@ceomediagroup.com DAVID TAVERNOR d.tavernor@ceomediagroup.com HAYDEN TURNER h.turner@ceomediagroup.com RASH UDDIN r.uddin@ceomediagroup.com

DESIGN SCOTT ANDREWS design@ceomediagroup.com ADRIANA STROIA artwork@ceomediagroup.com

ACCOUNTS MIKE ASHER accounts@ceomediagroup.com

PRODUCTION KAMILA KAJTOCH production@ceomediagroup.com

EDITORIAL CHRIS FARNELL cfarnell@ceomediagroup.com JIM HUNTER editor@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 2022 CEO Media Group.

FOCUS ON

PACKAGING Throughout almost the entire supply chain, your product will often have one constant companion – its packaging. From not long after it is manufactured or processed, until it is in the customer’s hands, the packaging is your product’s advocate and its protection.

I

n this issue, we have profiled two very different businesses operating in the packaging sector. One is BAGCO, a company making sacks for transporting produce, ensuring crops arrive at their destination safe, fresh, and free of pests.

Similarly, Romaco manufactures cutting edge machinery to make packaging for the pharmaceutical industry and was an essential ally in the delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Two drastically different products, but with very similar priorities and requirements- to be robust, to create a controlled environment for their contents while protecting them from the outside world.

Of course, as well as the packaging itself, how the products get to your customers is equally important, and we have been talking to industry leaders with lots to say about that part of the product’s journey as well.

We also talk with 3e Omnichannel Retail Solutions, who are providing a range of innovative approaches to the very last leg of a product’s journey, from the store to the customer’s home.

Meanwhile, in the agricultural sector, Jupiter Group has a lot to tell us about the agricultural supply chain, from field to fruit bowl, while palm plantation firm Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC) and pet food manufacturers Montego Pet Nutrition each provide their perspectives on how to ensure food supply chains are robust so that the products that reach the customer are of the highest quality.

ON THE COVER Bagco Go to page 16

Issue No.98

MOPANI COPPER MINES

Building an independent identity in Zambia.

VATTENFALL

Bringing new meaning to the phrase “Solar Farm”.

SPECIAL FEATURE: PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY

IT'S IN THE BAGCO

Exclusive interview with GM Russell Prior on revolutionising bag technology & storage in Nigeria.

BAG

Ardent Hire Solutions | Passion, Pace, Performance | Cellcard | Opening New Telecoms Frontiers FloraLife | Blooming Marvellous | RepRisk | Looking Under the ESG Hood | Star Alliance | Silver Star

EDITOR’S NOTE | 3

IN THIS ISSUE

8

13

16

EVENT

Suriname Energy, Oil & Gas Summit & Exhibition Torarica Hotel, Paramaribo, Suriname 28th-30th June 2022 Offering a wealth of content on investment and development opportunities in one of the world’s oil & gas hot spots.

NEWS

Packaging Technology The Package Deal

LEADING ARTICLE Bagco It’s in the Bag

Electro-Parts The Day of the Motor

40

Rhino Products Charging Ahead After Another Acquisition

AVIATION

Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport Today’s Airport, Tomorrow’s Spaceport

58

Lisi Aerospace Working Smarter, Not Harder

64

Sacramento County Department of Airports Room to Grow

70

16

AUTOMOTIVE

34

46

8

70

76 82

88 94

98

4 | CONTENTS

Star Alliance Silver Star

COMMUNICATION & TECHNOLOGY Cellcard Opening New Telecoms Frontiers RepRisk Looking Under the ESG Hood

CONSTRUCTION

Ardent Hire Solutions Passion, Pace, Performance Dangote Cement Tanzania Everything You Need

ENERGY & UTILITIES

CleanTech Global Renewables The Next Generation of Energy

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

ISSUE NO. 98

166

140

Jupiter Group Fruitful Relationships

152

Plantations et Huileries du Congo Growing Prosperity

158

NBI Pride and Plasma Production

166

172

102

Ingeteam Driving the Energy Transition

108

Skyline Renewables To Acquire and Develop

112

Vattenfall Lay of the Land

128 134

FloraLife Blooming Marvellous

146

162

172

FMCG

178

HEALTHCARE, HOTEL & LEISURE

MANUFACTURING

Romaco Group One-Stop Solutions Beyond Technology

MINING

Mopani Copper Mines Forging Their Own Path

RETAIL

3e Group The Power of Tools

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

GB Railfreight On Track for Sustainability

178

ENGINEERING

Bosch Holdings From Farms to Building Sites TSP Engineering A Triumphant Return

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

CONTENTS | 5

Find your way out of a complex operating model.

Let’s talk.

Operations Strategy | Digital | Cultural Engineering

Global io

- integrated operations experts.

globalio.com

EVENT OF THE MONTH

8 | EVENT OF THE MONTH

EVENT OF THE MONTH

WHEN: 28TH- 30TH JUNE, 2022 WHERE: TORARICA HOTEL, PARAMARIBO, SURINAME

SURINAME ENERGY, OIL & GAS SUMMIT & EXHIBITION T

he 2nd edition of the Suriname Energy, Oil & Gas Summit & Exhibition will be hosted physically in Paramaribo on the 2830 June 2022 and provides the opportunity to hear from government, meet the major operators, licence holders, tier one contractors, service companies and the entire value chain in Suriname’s nascent hydrocarbons sector.

The summit offers a wealth of content for strategically minded companies looking to capitalise

on investment, development, and project opportunities in one of the world’s oil & gas hot spots while the exhibition provides the perfect platform for internationals to meet with local partners and buyers to meet with suppliers.

www.suriname-energy.com/en

EVENT OF THE MONTH | 9

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PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY

WHILE IT IS OFTEN OPENED AND DISCARDED WITHOUT MUCH THOUGHT, A GREAT DEAL OF THOUGHT GOES INTO THE DESIGN OF PRODUCT PACKAGING, AND TECHNOLOGY COULD HAVE FAR-REACHING RAMIFICATIONS.

THE PACKAGE DEAL Packaging is an often ignored, but crucial aspect of every product-based industry. Far from being a mere container, the packaging is often a product’s first introduction to the customer, the product’s last line of protection throughout the supply chain.

E

vents in recent years have only highlighted its importance. Delays in the supply chain mean that products needed to be kept in prime condition for longer before they reach the consumer; concerns around sustainability mean the role of packaging in carbon footprints

has been re-examined, and rapidly rising materials costs mean that anything which can keep those costs down is to be taken seriously.

With these pressures coming in on all sides, the innovation we are seeing in the packaging sector is also undergoing a golden age.

NEWS | 13

MODERN CONSTRUCTION

FRESH THINKING

The food supply chain is one of the places where the packaging has always been essential, and that remains true today. From a film made of paper to coatings that double the shelf-life of cheese products, this market is a hotbed of innovation.

These innovations have included a bamboo-based film developed by university researchers in Chongqing, China. They have developed a nanocellulose fibril-based composite film manufactured from a bamboo parenchyma cell with effective antimicrobial, yet biodegradable properties that could make for excellent food packaging.

Also, in the realm of food packaging, Portuguese scientists at the University of Aveiro have invested a kind of heat-sealable starch-chitosan bioplastic film, mechanically reinforced with reduced graphene oxide for active food packaging. This film is hydrophobic, meaning it repels water.

And at Urma University in Iran, scientists have potentially discovered a way to double the shelf life of high-moisture mozzarella by applying an antimicrobial coating based on carboxymethyl cellulose, and natamycin.

BAGCO, profiled in this issue, is a Nigerian packaging solutions provider that has always been at the forefront of innovation in the sector.

BAGCO’s minds are also the ones behind the ZeroFly® Storage Bag, an insecticide-incorporated woven polypropylene bag developed for post-harvest storage of cereal grains, pulses, oilseeds and seeds.

Incorporating the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Health Organisation

14 | NEWS

(WHO) approved pesticide Deltamethrin into the individual yarns of its bags means it is slowly released onto the surface of the material in a controlled and sustained manner, continuously protecting it against insect infestation for the lifetime of the product.

But innovation in the packaging sector is often as tied to the manufacturing machines and processes around the package as much as the packaging itself. BAGCO were among the first woven PP bag manufacturers in Africa to purchase the newly developed Starlinger circular

looms in the 1970s, and from there the firm’s story has been defined by a belief in progress and a readiness to try out new technologies.

Recently, the company partnered with Lohia Corporation India, upgrading its extrusion technology and weaving capabilities.

In our interview with the firm’s leadership later in this magazine, we learn about the company’s recent upgrade to its prepress system and how it has successfully commissioned a high technology ink mixing facility using advanced computerised formulation.

MODERN CONSTRUCTION

PACKAGING FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Of course, sustainability is a discussion at the core of the packaging sector, in terms of the types and volumes of materials used, and what happens to them when they are finished with. The switch from plastics to fibre-based solutions like paper has been a big part of this.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö is one of the world’s leading players in sustainable and innovative fibre-based solutions. Its latest product reveal, PurposeSeal, is pushing the boundaries of fibre-based packaging applications. PurposeSeal itself is a heat-sealed paper, carefully constructed to ensure quality and protection for end-use packaging

solutions. What makes this seal revolutionary is the additional sustainability benefits it bestows when applied to AhlstromMunksjö’s Cristal™ Transparent Packaging Papers or trulyNatural™ unbleached papers.

“PurposeSeal is changing the way our customers can create sustainable packaging solutions,” Zack Leimkuehler, Vice President of Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s Technical Solutions business, has said.

“Excess waste and chemicals are removed from the converting process, as the strong seal is achieved using only heat.”

The seal is completely customisable and can be combined with other technologies such as colour, transparency, water resistance, and high stretch to fit customer requirements. It is a valuable proposition at a time when consumers are continuing to demand products with a positive end-of-life story.

PACKAGING FOR PROTECTION AND SPEED

This issue also covers the Romaco Group, a leading global manufacturer of packing and process technology that specialises in the pharmaceutical industry. Few companies can make as strong a case for how important cutting edge packaging solutions can be. The firm was instrumental in meeting increased demand for new Covid-19 vaccine packaging machinery and played an important role in significantly reducing lead time for vaccine manufacture.

The pandemic changed how all business sectors operate, and packaging has been no different.

When widespread travelling became impractical, packaging firms focussed on digitalisation increased, enabling remote FATs (factory acceptance tests) and live stream presentations of machines for customers.

“So, we could still do business, still complete machines, still test them, thanks to our flexibility in adapting to the changed market environment,” says Nicola Magriotis, Managing Director of the Romaco Italian site.

Innovation and new product development have always been key parts of Romaco’s strategy. Currently, the firm is investing in new solutions for sterile filling applications and the development of isolators used in aseptic and containment barrier systems.

Its new developments include a robotic powder-and-liquidfilling machine suitable for isolation technology, the MicroRobot 50.

THE GENUINE ARTICLE

As well as new materials properties, improved sustainability and better protection, new packaging technology can be essential in protecting a company’s IP. This year the global market for anti-counterfeit packaging is expected to reach US$ 137.4 billion. Sales are expected to grow at an 11.9% compound annual growth rate over the next ten years, ultimately bringing the market to a value of US$ 422.8 billion.

Counterfeit packaging can damage companies’ brands in terms of both goodwill and economic damage. Tools such as document monitoring technology, of the kind used in event ticketing and security papers, could make an important impact in this sector according to a report by Future Market Insights.

These innovations, across a range of business sectors, show the packaging sector is every bit as vibrant, innovative and fast-moving as the products they contain.

NEWS | 15

GENERAL MANAGER RUSSELL PRIOR TALKS ABOUT HOW BAGCO HAS REVOLUTIONISED BAG TECHNOLOGY AND STORAGE IN NIGERIA.

IT’S IN THE BAG PROJECT MANAGED BY: JOHN HOLLIMAN

Bagco was established as a wholly owned subsidiary company of Flour Mills Nigeria (FMN) plc in 1972 when it commenced operations at the Iganmu site in Apapa. The company expanded its operations into Kano and set up a manufacturing facility in Sharada in 1990 establishing a pan Nigerian supply of woven Polypropylene bags. In 2007 the flexible packaging unit Morpack was set up in the Iganmu site complex.

O

ver time the company has seen the technology behind its bag operations develop and expand a comprehensive portfolio of products to supply a diverse base of customers in the Agricultural and Industrial sectors both in Nigeria and abroad.

With its large installed capacity and extensive manufacturing capability, Bagco has grown to be one of the largest woven polypropylene packaging facilities on the continent able to deliver the volumes required by both large and small industrial and agricultural customers.

16 | LEADING FEATURE

Initially also established to supply the flexible packaging requirements of the food manufacturing units of FMN, Morpack embarked on an expansion trajectory in 2016 to meet the demands of targeted sub-sectors in the fast-moving consumer goods space in Nigeria. This has been founded on accretive sustainable growth.

The initial expansion provided additional printing, laminating and slitting capacity.

This was followed by a second phase expansion in 2020 to further increase rotogravure printing capacity and ancillary equipment. Special mention has to be given to Bimec Italy which

has partnered with the company to supply slitting equipment and Nord Meccanica Italy for lamination, both contributing to the recent success of Morpack.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

The company was started by the late Mr George Coumantaros the founder of FMN and was his brainchild. At the time flour was packed into bags made from calico. The development of circular loom technology to weave polypropylene tape into strong functional bags had been developed by Starlinger Austria with whom the company partnered to introduce this pioneering development. In 1999 in the same vein, Bagco again partnered with Starlinger to manufacture woven polypropylene cement bags using the patented AD*STAR technology.

This was a game-changer for the packing of cement in Nigeria and later became the industry standard.

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

Russell Prior, General Manager, Bagco.

LEADING FEATURE | 17

www.lohiagroup.com

Extrusion • Winding • Weaving • Coating • Printing • Conversion • PP Yarn Spinning

End to End Solutions for complete peace of mind.

For over three decades, Lohia Corp, besides standing for innovation and precision has stood for maximum customer satisfaction. A company that offers end to end solutions for the raffia industry, be it extrusion, winding, weaving, coating, printing, conversion or PP yarn spinning, Lohia Corp has gone the distance and has always put customers first.

Today if the company has delivered a processing capacity of 6.8 million metric tons per annum of PP and PE for customers across 92 countries, it’s only because of efficient after-sales support and optimized cost of ownership for customers. Lohia Corp continues and in future too, will be committed to customers for great value and complete peace of mind.

Lohia Corp Limited D-3/A, Panki Industrial Estate, Kanpur-208022, INDIA. T: +91 512 2691221 I E: sales@lohiagroup.com

LOHIA CORP LIMITED Lohia Corp Limited (LCL) provides solutions for the flexible woven plastic (PP/HDPE) industry for packaging of solid bulk materials and a variety of infrastructure-related applications.

Mr Raj Kumar Lohia, CMD, and Mr Gaurav Lohia, COO, Lohia Corp With four decades of experience in the segment, the company has a manufacturing campus of about 200,000 sqm in Kanpur and Bangalore supported by in-house R&D capabilities.

LCL has delivered till date an accumulated plastic processing capacity of more than 6.8 million metric tons per annum with an installation base of more than 1,900 extrusion lines and 82,000 circular weaving looms globally, which is a testimony of its engineering capabilities. With a vast portfolio covering advanced solutions for tape extrusion, winding, weaving, converting and recycling, LCL has several patented technologies and serves its customers from conceptualization to commissioning in over 90 countries across the globe.

To provide timely and effective post-sales support to customers, the company has a team of more than 115 technical subject matter experts who offer professional and effective support for onsite or remote assistance and diagnostics. Its sales network is appropriately placed across continents in India, Brazil, UAE, Indonesia, Thailand, Panama and Russia and exclusive sales agents in more than 20 countries.

Taking the lead to support the industry, LCL has set up the “Technical Training & Research Institute” (TTRC) in the year 2012 to provide structured institutional training to prepare the trained workforce for the raffia industry.

TTRC has developed a laboratory accredited with NABL (India) as per ISO 17025: 2017, to undertake testing and quality assignments of PP/HDPE woven sacks and fabrics to to further support its customers. TTRC is also engaged in developmental projects with petrochemical and plastics raw material companies.

LCL has been awarded for excellence in export performance by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry-GOI, Federation of Indian Export Organizations, Niryat Shree award by the President of India and has also been awarded the ‘Best Plastics & Polymers Brand Award’ by the Economic Times in 2022.

Lohia Corp Limited is improving its agility to respond to the fast-changing needs of its customers. The company is strategically prepared to unlock its potential for growth by setting industry standards to further strengthen our national mission “Make in India” for the world market.

For more information: T: +91 512 3045100 / E: sales@lohiagroup.com

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

www.lohiagroup.com

LEADING FEATURE | 19

Angelika Huemer, Managing Partner, Starlinger & Co Ges.m.b.H. The congratulatory message from the head of Starlinger, Mrs Angelika Huemer, captures this: “BAGCO has always had a touch of the pioneer spirit. They were among the first woven PP bag manufacturers in Africa to purchase the newly developed Starlinger circular looms in the 1970’s, and in the late 1990’s, when we started to market our patented AD*STAR block bottom valve bags, one of the first Starlinger AD*STAR projects was installed at BAGCO. During those times my late father Franz Huemer built a very good business relationship with Mr. George Coumantaros, the founder of FMN Plc. and former Chairman of BAGCO. The close relations of our companies have been continuing until today – now, for about 20 years, between John Coumantaros and me. The belief in progress and the readiness to try out new technologies paired with intelligent diversification strategies have made BAGCO Africa’s largest manufacturer of premium polypropylene bags.

On behalf of Starlinger I extend my heartiest congratulations to BAGCO on the occasion of the

20 | LEADING FEATURE

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

50th company anniversary and wish you all the success for many more years to come.”

The Bagco Kano operation originally focused on the production of its iconic harvest bags for packaging and storage of grains produced in the grain belts of Northern Nigeria, but later its manufacturing capabilities were expanded to produce one-tonne bulk bags, travel bags made from strong woven polypropylene cloth and specialised laminated packaging using laminates of biaxially orientated polypropylene film which has enabled customers to provide product offerings of international standard. The site has recently partnered with Lohia Corporation India to upgrade its extrusion technology and weaving capabilities in wide fabric and processing capability of polyethylene-based resins produced in Nigeria.

“A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE TRIED TO FOLLOW IN OUR FOOTSTEPS, BUT WE REMAIN AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION.” AN ICONIC BRAND

With its position in the industry and highly effective marketing and branding in the early days, Bagco has become a household name in Nigeria and beyond.

The brand equity remains high, and the envy of competitors and the strongman logo and super sack motto are recognized pan Nigeria.

Bagco has expanded its marketing tools to embrace all digital marketing platforms

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

LEADING FEATURE | 21

BIMEC Founded in 1976, Bimec is an Italian company worldwide known for its highquality slitter rewinders. Based close to Milano Malpensa International Airport, Bimec has always operated in the flexible packaging industry as manufacturer of slitter rewinders designed to convert plastic materials, paper and laminates.

Manufactured to the highest quality standards, Bimec’s slitter rewinders are worldwide appreciated for their practical and functional design and can be tailored to the customer’s specific needs and integrated with other useful systems.

The key of Bimec’s success is the close cooperation with its customers: the company constantly listens to them to better meet their requirements and offer tailor-made solutions.

Bimec’s product range is composed by an extensive series of models which can be divided in two main groups: • Dual spindle slitter rewinders: comprising the STB brand models that are fully equipped, offering quality and reliability; the STM series featuring high flexibility and ergonomic design; the TF series designed with unwinding and rewinding on the same side.

• Duplex turret slitter rewinders: composed by the TCA series, which offers high performances, automatisms and quality, and the BBOX Duplex Turret Slitter Rewinder which stands out for its compactness, versatility & maximum efficiency.

Alongside its slitter rewinders, Bimec produces a series of ancillary equipment: • BDM inspection rewinders • Unwinders/Rewinders • Automatic and manual core cutters Bimec counts more than 1700 Slitter Rewinders in action worldwide and 70 of them have been supplied in Nigeria since 1980.

22 | LEADING FEATURE

One of the main partnerships in this market is with Bagco group, to which the Italian company supplied no. 5 STM80 Duplex Slitter Rewinders and no. 1 TMB manual core cutter, with the complete customer’ satisfaction.

The STM80 Duplex Slitter Rewinder has been the first model tested and purchased in 2015 from the Nigerian group, which requirements were to acquire a new Slitter Rewinder that could guarantee high speeds, processing flexibility and automatisms.

After 4 years from this purchase, the company decided to increase its productivity with a new STM80 and a TMB manual core cutter and in 2021 they purchased other 3 STM80 Duplex Slitter Rewinders, which have been installed and started-up with success in summer 2021.

The machines which Bimec provided to Bagco group have mother rolls diameter up to 1000 mm and finished rolls up to 800 mm diameter. They reach a maximum speed of 600 m/min and, thanks to their high flexibility, give the possibility to create several slitting and rewinding solutions.

They have also been well equipped to process different kind of materials with various thickness and are destined to the flexible packaging market for food application.

Eng. Davide Bottoli – Bimec General Manager – declares: “Our partnership with Bagco group has always been successful: they have a professional and qualified team and it’s been a great satisfaction for us to have been chosen several times over the years for the supply of our slitter rewinders. This is the result of our continuous attention to the customers’ need and pushes us to improve ourselves always more and more”. www.bimec.it

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

STARLINGER & CO GES.M.B.H. WORLD-LEADING TECHNOLOGY FOR WOVEN PLASTIC PACKAGING AND PLASTICS RECYCLING Machine manufacturer Starlinger & Co GmbH supplies machines and complete lines for the production of woven plastic bags, as well as systems for plastics recycling, PET extrusion and refinement. The Austrian-based technology leader produces the entire range of machines required for producing woven polypropylene bags, also known as raffia bags. From polypropylene tape extrusion lines and winders, high-speed circular looms, lamination and printing equipment, to the final steps of bag conversion – with its technological innovations, Starlinger has been leading the way in the woven plastic packaging industry. Be it heavy-duty fabric for big bags (FIBCs), sewn bags for flour, rice, grains and other dry bulk goods, or high-quality eye-catching sacks with a variety of closing options – Starlinger machines installed in more than 130 countries all over the world produce them all.

With the business units Starlinger recycling technology and Starlinger viscotec the company caters to the important sector of plastics recycling. Starlinger provides recycling systems for both industrial as well as post-consumer plastic scrap and holds food-safety approvals from FDA, EFSA and important brand owners in the food and beverage sector.

The company has its own sales and service centres in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, the United States and Uzbekistan, guaranteeing quick and professional technical service for customers.

Starlinger & Co Ges.m.b.H. Sonnenuhrgasse 4, 1060 Vienna, Austria T: +43 (0) 1 59955-0 / F: +43 (0) 1 59955-25 E: office@starlinger.com www.starlinger.com

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

LEADING FEATURE | 23

24 | LEADING FEATURE

and continues to keep the brand alive and relevant in an ever-increasing competitive market.

“A lot of people have tried to follow in our footsteps, but we remain ahead of the competition.”

Prior has been an important part of Bagco’s development over the years. “I am responsible for the Bagco Group, my role is to lead the team and develop and deliver strategies for sustained growth, building on the consolidation and growth we have achieved in the last eight years,” he details.

The previous two years presented a number of additional challenges and headwinds created by the covid pandemic and an extremely volatile and uncertain global supply chain.

The company has longestablished global and national supply chain partnerships for strategic inputs, and together with the support of the parent organisation, we managed to ensure continuity of supply throughout this critical period ensuring on time in full deliveries to all our customers.

Demand for fast-moving consumer goods was extremely high in this period and special mention needs to be given to all employees who showed tremendous commitment and support to operate the factories at the high levels required despite lockdowns and other pandemic induced difficulties.

To ensure continuity of supply and steady-state production Bagco has a fully integrated power plant providing energy 24/7, the Iganmu facility can operate on both gas and diesel, and accordingly has a great deal of flexibility. Currently, the unit is installing a 6.4 MW gas turbine to increase its power capacity and efficiency.

FOUNDATION OF SUCCESS

People are at our centre and the company places the Health and Safety of its employees as the number one focus, we are reinventing our culture to drive continuous improvement and processes to higher levels for the sustainability of our business.

Recruitment is a crucial factor when building a company something Prior is very aware of.

“We look for people with ability and integrity, and the willingness to work in teams and show initiative, these

Working for a better future www.ngr-world.com

MEMBER OF NEXT GENERATION GROUP

Customized recycling technology for the plastics converting industry. It will not only satisfy, but also inspire.

Inserat_180x129_NEXT_GRAN_EN_220318.indd 1

26 | LEADING FEATURE

NXT:GRAN SHREDDER-FEEDER-EXTRUDER COMBINATION

22.03.22 14:04

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

NEXT GENERATION RECYCLINGMASCHINEN GMBH Founded in 1996, the Austrian company Next Generation Recycling Machines (NGR) develops and distributes customized plastic recycling solutions. These innovative and future oriented recycling systems are manufactured at the headquarters in Feldkirchen a.d. Donau and are in use in more than 100 countries worldwide. Thanks to modern customer care centers in Europe and USA, the Asian sales office in Kuala Lumpur and the tightly woven network of distribution partners, NGR is always close to its clients.

NGR recycling machines are realizing zero-scrap production for the plastics converting industry (Post Industry Recycling) or are giving plastics a “second chance“ at the end of their product life cycle (Post Consumer Recycling). With the specially designed LSP process (Liquid Sate Polycondensation) PET material is leaving the recycling process corresponding to virgin material and 100% safe for food contact (PET improvement).

To preserve plastics as valuable raw material as long as possible for the next generations, NGR is pushing the plastics industry as technology leader.

The now rapidly advancing change from a linear to a circular economy, driven by new EU directives and regulations up to the planned bottle deposit, is leading to extreme dynamics in the plastics industry. A transfer of knowledge between all players in the value chain is essential so that recyclability is already considered in product design. To ensure this, NGR is also investing heavily in know-how development and laboratory equipment. www.ngr-world.com

SUMITOMO (SHI) DEMAG PLASTICS MACHINERY GMBH As one of the world’s leading producers of injection moulding machines for plastics processes, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, together with its Japanese parent company, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, is supporting the industries Packaging, Medical, Automotive, Consumer, and Electronics, with their high-end solutions.

The product portfolio includes all-electric, hydraulic, and hybrid-driven injection moulding machines with clamping forces of between 500 and 15,000 kN. With over 154,000 installed machines, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is present in important markets worldwide and is one of the largest manufacturers of injection moulding machines. In addition to injection moulding machines, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag provides standard and customized systems for parts handling automation, process engineering and solutions for special applications, and dedicated services, as well as machine financing options.

PACKAGING EXPERTISE Sumitomo (SHI) Demag has decades of know-how in the fast and economical production of standard closures, thin-wall packaging, and buckets. With their expertise in processes such as IML (in-mould labeling) or injection-compression moulding, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is at the forefront of making packaging more sustainable and at the same time more economical.

MEDICAL EXPERTISE With many years of experience in the medical technology industry, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag can demonstrate, how the balancing act between the highest part quality and lowest part costs, between a high number of cavities and perfect precision is achieved – all while keeping in mind the regulatory requirements for medical devices.

www.sumitomo-shi-demag.eu

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

are all in line with our Core Values, we want people who can add value to the company,” he explains.

Development of core skills and capability building is an ongoing program to leverage the asset base installed.

“Developing future leaders is also an important focus and we have two members of our senior management team benefiting from an executive leadership program,” he further explains. Prior is proud of the local representation within the Bagco workforce, “we are proud to be a Nigerian company that is operated by Nigerians, something we feel is unique in our Industry,” he states.

Behind and in support of the people, there is a drive to optimise Processes to make Bagco as efficient and effective as possible. “We use lean manufacturing processes incorporating five Sigma and Manufacturing excellence techniques which include overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)metric hierarchy to increase productivity from the shop floor to top management.”

Employee engagement is at the centre of this.

LEADING FEATURE | 27

“DEVELOPING FUTURE LEADERS IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT FOCUS AND WE HAVE TWO MEMBERS OF OUR SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM BENEFITING FROM AN EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP PROGRAM.” At the core of our business processes is Quality and Bagco is certified to ISO 9001:2015 standards and is embarking on introducing food safe practices across the sites benchmarked to FSSC 22000.

28 | LEADING FEATURE

The diversity of our product offering is a key success factor for Bagco and its ability to deliver its selling proposition of offering total packaging solutions to the market.

This has been the result of continuous innovation and investment in technology.

MORE INNOVATION

As Bagco nears its 50th Anniversary the company remains passionate about its desire to drive the business forward and continue to innovate by further developing its product offerings and industrial processes.

As a landmark investment and diversification, the company recently installed successfully

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an in-mould labelled injection moulding line to manufacture high-end containers for the packaging of margarine and spreads for one of our sister companies in the FMN group.

This embodies the packaging solution delivery and will provide packaging previously imported.

The equipment using highend injection moulding and robotic label placement from Europe is a game-changer for the local market.

In our Morpack division of note are the recent upgrade of the prepress system and the successful commissioning of a high technology ink mixing facility using colourimetry and advanced computerized formulation. This is another pioneering initiative achieved with the partnership of DruckFarben Inks Nigeria which will significantly enhance the consistent quality of our flexible packaging and improve process efficiency.

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LEADING FEATURE | 29

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30 | LEADING FEATURE

In the bag operation, a new product has been launched using patented Innovative technology from the partnership with Vestergaard Switzerland.

The Zero Fly Storage bag is an insecticide-incorporated woven polypropylene bag developed for post-harvest storage of agricultural commodities, including cereal grains, pulses and seeds.

The active ingredient Deltamethrin is a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) approved pesticide for controlling

pests. Commodities stored in these bags are protected against external insect infestation.

Prior believes passionately this innovation and product offering will have a significant impact on reducing post-harvest grain losses and empowering smallholder farmers who are at the centre of Nigeria’s agricultural transformation policies.

Developing synergies in the agricultural space is core to Bagco’s strategy, and this is yet another development to achieve that.

“DEVELOPING SYNERGIES IN THE AGRICULTURAL SPACE IS CORE TO BAGCO’S STRATEGY.”

SYNERGISING FOR AGRICULTURE

Leveraging its innovations in both process and product, Bagco is working with key stakeholders within the Agric space both in the Agro-Allied division of FMN and other players to assist smallholder farmers to improve yields and outputs in pursuit of the Country’s agricultural transformation.

Part of this involves the data collection from targeted farmers to develop synergies with the supply of agricultural inputs like fertilizer and seed and ensure that together with agronomic support farmers have adequate inputs at the right time to improve output.

LEADING FEATURE | 31

This season Bagco will be launching grain drying mats based on its recent installation of wide laminated fabric processing. The use of these mats will help reduce mould infection and contamination of Aflatoxin which is of great public concern due to its cancerpromoting properties and improve the marketability of the grains to the food processing sectors.

Building on the Zero Fly storage bag this season will also see the launch of a Hermetic bag using patented film technology to reduce plastic waste and provide a hermetic grain storage bag which excludes air from the internal contents, thereby curtailing insect growth and maintaining the quality of the grain by significantly reducing exposure to repeated chemical treatments and reducing post-harvest losses. There is an added benefit in that the bag construction blocks the effects of external humidity fluctuations as well as the spread of fungi to non-infected kernels.

Bagco has the ability to produce this packaging on a scale and therefore has the potential to impact positively on the success of smallholder farmers in the region.

INTO THE FUTURE

Bagco’s legacy and growth position the company well to continue adding value to both the parent organisation; helping FMN deliver its mission of “feeding the Nation every Day” and supplying packaging solutions to the wider market in support of the growth of the Nigerian economy.

32 | LEADING FEATURE

ELECTRO-PARTS

BY PROVIDING TAILOR-MADE MOTORS FOR A WIDE RANGE OF MARKETS, ELECTRO-PARTS IS DEMONSTRATING THE FLEXIBILITY TO THRIVE IN A COMPETITIVE MARKETPLACE.

THE DAY OF THE MOTOR PROJECT MANAGED BY: MARK BAILEY

34 | AUTOMOTIVE

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ELECTRO-PARTS

Electro-Parts was born in 1983, founded by its current CEO’s father. He started out in the development of electrical motors, before deciding to take the knowledge and experience he had acquired in that sector to go into business for himself.

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W

e were producing electrical DC motors for automotive manufacturing in electrical components such as power windows,” explains Marco Falcone, Electro-Parts’ CEO today. “Then step by step we grew, starting as a very small company and growing to achieve a 52-million-euro turnover, producing 9 million motors every year. Today we are producing not only DC motors but also brushless motors and gear motors.”

Electro-Parts is based near the small community of Bossolasco in the Northwest of Italy, but in 2008 the company also expanded to a production facility in Romania.

“Our main office is in Bossolasco where we employ 200 people, and we have research and development, production, plastic injection, and testing. I call that the brain of the company,” Falcone tells us. “In Romania, we have an operation that produces and assembles motors, and we

AUTOMOTIVE | 35

ELECTRO-PARTS STATORS & ROTORS FOR ELECTRICAL MOTORS & GENERATORS

PRECISION IS OUR TRADE EXPERIENCE, INNOVATION AND QUALITY

Fagandini Tranciature is specialised in blanking and assembly of magnetic laminations for electrical use.

Our laminations have applications in a variety of sectors. We realize tailor-made tooling and processes.

Our company employs a certified quality system according to ISO 9001 and IATF16949.

T: +39 0522 654277 | E: info@fagandinitranciature.it

www.fagandinitranciature.it

employ around 80 people. We are specialised. We produce a motor for HVAC models for the acclimatisation of cars. We produce models for automatic and manual transition shifts for cars, and we produce a motor for the roof of the car and its power windows. We also have motors for home and office applications, hospital applications and industrial applications such as opening and closing gates.”

Electro-Parts develops its products in-house, producing tailor-made, bespoke motors for a wide range of applications.

These motors are developed precisely to the specifications of the customer. This does not just mean Electro-Parts assembles the motor. The company is also responsible for designing and manufacturing many of the individual components of the motor.

“Internally we have our own plastic injection moulding capability because the plastic parts are very important to the functioning of the motor,” Falcone says.

“We have invested a lot in the plastic injection machinery, and also have a department for designing mechanical parts where we build the samples and everything mechanical necessary for our applications.”

THE AGE OF MOTORS

Electro-Parts has always operated in a highly competitive environment, but as demand for its products is exploding, the competition for that new business is only growing as well.

“Historically there has always been competition in this market, and now it’s clear the electric motor is considered an essential commodity and so competition is even higher,” Falcone tells us. “It is not easy to compete

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AUTOMOTIVE | 37

ELECTRO-PARTS

with large global producers, but we have invested a lot in our technology. We are a producer that can offer specified models for applications, not standard or catalogue models. We offer tailor-made motors. We want to develop motors to spec for our customers, and that sets us apart from the competition.”

While the competition is fierce, Electro-Parts’ unique talent pool and capabilities mean it can help customers solve specific problems, making them an intriguing prospect for potential customers.

“We offer European quality while remaining as economical as manufacturers from China and Southeast Asia,” Falcone points out.

It is clear from talking with Falcone that he views this as an incredibly exciting time for the industry, both within ElectroParts’ sector and the automotive industry as a whole.

38 | AUTOMOTIVE

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ELECTRO-PARTS

“It is a sparkling moment for the electric motor,” he says.

“With the electric transition in the automotive sector and other applications turning up all over the place there are a lot of opportunities for the electric motor. It is not easy to stay competitive, but there are a lot of opportunities, and so my point of view is that this is a good moment to be in the industry. We are in the right place for the right market, at the right time.”

Matching the Big Players Electro-Parts was built on the foundation of Falcone’s father’s knowledge and experience, and Falcone has never forgotten the importance of good talent and a strong knowledge base to the future of the company. That is why it has been able to perform so competitively even against much larger companies.

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“We invest a lot in human resources because we have a very small team of people here and we want employees who are involved in our business, in our story,” Falcone tells us.

“We want people that work here because they believe in that story, and we give them the opportunity to work with a product that is currently undergoing an exciting alignment with the market. Our proposal to our employees is that if you compare ElectroParts to its biggest competitors, we are small but we can still play at the same table. That makes this an exciting place to work.”

While there are many reasons to be excited about the way the sector is heading, Falcone is the first to acknowledge that the Covid pandemic has changed the way many people are doing

business. Global supply chains are increasingly less the norm than well-supported local networks.

“Today it is clear that the world after the Covid pandemic has changed a lot,” Falcone says. “In the past products were produced in the Far East and shipped globally, but now the market wants to have specialists in each region of the world for easy access and reliability. We are not big, but we have an automotive mentality and the capacity and knowledge to invest in a higher standard of technology. There are a lot of opportunities with the return of potential customers to buying in Europe. As long as we continue to be flexible, I believe the future is bright.”

AUTOMOTIVE | 39

RHINO PRODUCTS

RHINO PRODUCTS’ STORY BEGAN WITH IDENTIFYING A KEY MARKET NICHE. NOW THAT NICHE IS GROWING, AND SO ARE RHINO PRODUCTS. RECENTLY LAUNCHING THEIR OWN DELIVERY SERVICE, AND ACQUIRING COMPETITOR MANUFACTURER, HUBB SYSTEMS, THE RHINO JOURNEY CONTINUES TO ACCELERATE.

CHARGING AHEAD AFTER ANOTHER ACQUISITION

PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN 40 | AUTOMOTIVE

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RHINO PRODUCTS

For nearly 20 years, Rhino Products have been Europe’s leading vehicle accessory manufacturer, specialising in manufacturing industry-leading products for the commercial vehicle sector. While Rhino Products serves an exclusively b2b market through a network of resellers, the brand is very well-known amongst tradespeople in both the UK and European markets, leading the way in terms of quality and continuous innovation.

W

e have humble origins,” says Steve Egerton, Rhino Products’ founder and CEO. “Over the last 20 years, we’ve grown from a small, single-site business to an international company with five sites across the UK and Europe.”

Since opening its doors in 2003, Rhino Products’ journey has consistently been marked by three key values, all of them driven by Egerton’s vision.

“I am extremely passionate about product quality, innovation and customer service,” Steve tells us. “We strive to ensure we’re better

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than anyone else in our field when it comes to this.”

The first of these values, product quality, is defined at Rhino Products through a rigorous in-house quality department, present at both of the company’s two UK manufacturing sites.

“Nothing goes out of the door if it doesn’t meet our high standards,” Egerton says. “Quality is paramount to everything we do at the Rhino Products group, and our dedicated quality team ensure that every product sent to our customers is of the highest possible standard.”

The second of their values, innovation, has been critical in making Rhino Products’ brand so successful.

“When we were starting, I noticed that commercial vehicles were going in the same direction aesthetically as regular cars,” Egerton recalls.

“They were becoming sleeker, more modernised, increasingly lightweight and that trend has increased with electrification.

Our big opportunity was that we could make accessories that matched that aesthetic but also delivered on quality.”

Rhino Products started with rudimentary accessories such as roof bars but soon started selling bespoke products, adapted to every vehicle. This growing range of accessories was stylised but also built to withstand the rough and tumble of daily use. Much of Rhino’s range is professionally crashtested to industry-leading standards.

AUTOMOTIVE | 41

RHINO PRODUCTS

“That was how we found our space in the market,” Egerton says.

Of course, quality and innovation alone are not enough, and that is where Egerton’s third key value comes into play.

“Exceptional service, that’s just something we’ve always believed in,” he says simply.

“In our industry, you need everything in stock and ready for same-day despatch to stand out as market leaders. We have a dedicated customer service and sales support team on hand to support our customers throughout their buying process.”

ROOM TO GROW

Over the last 20 years, Rhino Products has seen numerous challenges, and they are constantly changing. Egerton tells us it is essential to be adaptable and flexible to meet those challenges. The pandemic hit Rhino Products just as it has hit businesses around the world, although the firm was fortunate that it came on the tail-end of a string of record-breaking years.

However, at the same time, the pandemic, combined with global supply chain issues, has been driving up commodity prices.

“Our in-house procurement department has had a lot to adapt to, working with our partners to reach solutions that work for everyone,” Egerton says. “As the leaders in our field, we have better buying power than our competitors, which has put us in an enviable position.”

Challenges are only as common as opportunities, however, and recent shifts across the automotive sector have played to Rhino Products’ strengths.

42 | AUTOMOTIVE

Steve Egerton, Rhino Products’ founder & CEO.

“As electric vans continue to increase in manufacture and popularity, becoming increasingly lightweight, commercial vehicle accessories also need to change with this landscape, providing modern aesthetics, while also being low weight.

Thanks to our inhouse design team, we can ensure that through continuous improvement and innovation, our products confidently remain the very best on the market.”

Seeing the potential for the market to grow, Rhino Products has been engaging in some growth of its own. The market leader has just acquired one of its main competitors, Hubb Systems, now offering Hubb products alongside Rhino’s existing range.

It is the latest step in a long growth journey. Rhino started at a small unit in the Welsh town of Buckley, before moving to a

larger factory in North Wales.

Just before the pandemic, Rhino Products opened a new head office and factory in Ellesmere Port, while keeping its old factory open to house a previous acquisition from 2017, AVS Steps. AVS are the market leader in the design and manufacture of passenger vehicle side steps, working with large industry names such as Mercedes Daimler.

“Opening our new head office, while keeping our previous premises open meant that we had room to grow,” Egerton says. “Our latest acquisition of Hubb Systems was an exciting announcement for our customers, as we further diversify our product range and incorporate select Hubb products.”

The acquisition of Hubb Systems is part of a longer strategy for the company’s growth.

“It has been a particularly busy couple of months since our acquisition news was announced,” he admits.

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RHINO PRODUCTS

As well as two UK-based factories, Rhino Products also has an office based in Poland and two distribution centres in the Netherlands and Sweden, and the company are looking to open a new distribution centre soon.

“One of the big problems that our industry has faced since the pandemic is it has typically worked on a next day guarantee delivery service,” Egerton tells us. “Our logistics partners have struggled to do that. So, what we have done is set up the distribution wing of our business.”

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AUTOMOTIVE | 43

RHINO PRODUCTS

It has already received a fantastic response from customers.

“When orders are delivered with Rhino Express, our customers know they are guaranteed that the order arrives on time and in perfect condition,” Egerton says. “That is what we are all about. It is one of the things we have done recently that is a good example of our ethos internally.”

REWARDING TALENT

That ethos is made a reality by the people who make up Rhino Products’ team, and Egerton is clearly proud of the people within his company.

“We are proud of all our staff.

Rhino has a strong culture of both training and promoting

44 | AUTOMOTIVE

internally,” Egerton says. “When we recognise the talent of our people in-house, we make sure we are rewarding that talent. We have lots of people who have been in the business from the very start. We have a design engineer manager who has been with us since the early days and they are now leading a team of nine in-house designers.”

Rhino Products has clear progression plans in place to allow the company, and its staff, to get the most out of their employment.

The company also have an internal academy, supporting professional development for staff and encouraging positive contributions towards the improvement of business processes.

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RHINO PRODUCTS

“Despite the challenges we’ve met as a group this year, we remain extremely ambitious at the Rhino Group, as we look to grow by 20% this year alone,” Egerton says. “In Europe, we’re continuing to work towards all opportunities to increase our market share, as we continue to strengthen our brand to the high level we are known for in the UK.” The brand already has customers as far afield as Australia and Canada, and with a dedicated team and a whole new portfolio of additional products on the way, that is set to be only the beginning.

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AUTOMOTIVE | 45

BROWNSVILLE SOUTH PADRE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

BROWNSVILLE SOUTH PADRE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’S HISTORY SPANS ALMOST THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF AMERICAN AVIATION, BUT NOW IT IS SEEKING A NEW FRONTIER.

TODAY’S AIRPORT, TOMORROW’S SPACEPORT PROJECT MANAGED BY: RASH UDDIN The first municipal airfield was commissioned in Brownsville in 1927, at the time; the only airfield was the site of the US Army, Fort Brown. Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh were present at the dedication ceremony in 1929. Its first international route was from Mexico City to Brownsville, and by the late 1930’s Pan American World Airways used the facility as its Latin American hub. If you look at the historical air route maps of the time, Brownsville is as busy and connected as Miami is today.

T

oday the historical terminal Pan Am built back in 1932 still stands, alongside the most modern passenger terminal in the region, inaugurated in January 2021. The airport, and the region, are currently quieter than they have been, however.

46 | AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE

“A lot of places say they’re the best-kept secret, but Brownsville is one of these places,” says Airport Director, Bryant Walker. “The region is largely undeveloped, which means we can plan better. We can do more things with what we have.”

Indeed, the airport currently hosts a range of tenants, from Greyhound to SpaceX and beyond. In fact, the airport is currently pursuing a new business frontier. The final one.

“We’re pursuing spaceport designation, and looking for a horizontal launch operator,” Walker tells us. “We’re working with the city and the FAA to get that designation in the next 18 months, making us the 14th spaceport in the country.”

STRANGE NEW WORLDS?

The prospect of becoming a spaceport is more than science fiction, Brownsville is

geographically and economically perfectly positioned to serve a burgeoning space industry.

“For purposes of economic activity, it would attract horizontal space operators looking for a Gulf Coast location or a test location for testing realworld launches,” Walker says.

“We have a strong workforce down here that is developing and expanding due to other space activities. We have a low population density in the eastern direction for space launches over the Gulf, we have the security of the US while being as far south as you can get with a relatively safe supply chain. We are uniquely positioned to be a sort of space city, and we are very much marketing that and pushing the industry itself.”

Brownsville is already attracting satellite and space habitat manufacturing companies, testing on Earth with the intent to use their products on the Moon or Mars.

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Bryant Walker, Airport Director, Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport.

CMYK Process

On the Border By the Sea & Beyond

The Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC) seeks to promote economic growth in Brownsville, Cameron County, located on the southernmost tip of the region in Texas, also home to Starbase and the SpaceX South Launch Site.

Our goals include empowering a young and skilled workforce and driving innovation and emerging technology to the area. We strive to stimulate economic growth by promoting investment and working with regional and international partners in the areas of job creation, training, innovation, business development, and manufacturing. *GBIC is a non-profit organization, Type A Economic Development Corporation, created to oversee the disbursement of a ¼ cent sales tax collected by the City of Brownsville.

Why Brownsville?

A city, “On the Border, by the Sea, and Beyond.”

We are located at the crossroads of the hemisphere and boast of a warm tropical setting along the great Rio Grande River and near the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.

A city known for its rich history, as the second most historic city in Texas, Brownsville embraces innovation and new and cutting-edge technology.

Its prime location offers 3 International bridges to Mexico, the largest land-owning public deep-water seaport in the nation, and Interstates 69 and 169 that make Brownsville a strategic logistical site. There are multiple sites available that feature ideal locations for industries looking to be in a fast-growing region in Texas. Brownsville features sites ranging from a few acres to 1,000 acres.

SpaceX Launch Facility

Port of Brownsville

Gladys Porter Zoo

500 E. Saint Charles Street | Brownsville Texas 78520 | USA administration@greaterbrownsville.com +1 (956) 561 4133

www.greaterbrownsville.com

GREATER BROWNSVILLE INCENTIVES CORPORATION (GBIC): ON THE BORDER, BY THE SEA & BEYOND! THE GREATER BROWNSVILLE INCENTIVES CORPORATIONS IS SHOWING US HOW BROWNSVILLE IS A FANTASTIC PLACE TO BUILD A BUSINESS AND A LIFE. The City of Brownsville is the largest city in the Rio Grande Valley, with a population of nearly 200,000 people. It has been repeatedly recognized as one of the safest places with one of the best qualities of life in the country, and one of the top places to live in Texas with its scenic, historical downtown neighbourhoods.

As well as being a fantastic place to live, it is also perfectly located for business. Brownsville is only a 45-minute flight from Houston and an hour from Dallas. Positioned at the southernmost tip of Texas, on the Rio Grande River next to its sister city, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, the city is in a region with a combined binational population trade area of over 2 million people.

It is well connected to the rest of the world through a deepwater seaport and free trade town that is the largest exporting port in the region, its three international bridges, international rail connectivity and international airport, but it is also connected beyond the world, with its burgeoning spaceport and air & space campus.

Here at Brownsville, we receive over half a million visits a year to visit our historic streets, and our meandering waterways, or “Resaca”, the unique remnants of the Rio Grande that run through our city and even through our zoo.

Our city is very family-friendly but is also in the process of building a variety of accommodations downtown to create suitable homes for all kinds of living.

We boast a variety of different housing typologies and densities for multigenerational living for living and working.

You will also never be short of a good bite to eat in Brownsville with a thriving culinary industry rising up to serve the growing aerospace and technology industries here, and have a unique ambience and authenticity you won’t find anywhere else.

“The authenticity of the people here is something very unique you won’t find anywhere around the world,” says Helen Ramirez, Deputy City Manager of Brownsville and Executive Director of greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation. “Having lived in LA, in Madrid, Spain, and in Austin, there really is a very genuine warmth and welcoming attitude in the city of Brownsville and Cameron County that you really will not find in many communities. Even if it’s the largest city, you still have a very welcoming and warm and authentic feeling when you come here.”

THE WELCOMING PARTY At the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, it is our job to spread the word about the possibilities Brownsville has to offer, and to act as a welcoming party to businesses that want to set up shop here. With our focus on innovation, workforce development, and employment creation, we are able to work with everyone from start-ups to large companies like SpaceX making sure they get the most out of the opportunities to be found in our city.

We offer streamlined permitting and can liaise with planning and building departments on your behalf. We can help you access funds for job creation and job training. We also have great standing relationships with the State of Texas

and skills development fund programs. The Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation can help you through the Enterprise Zone Program administered through the State of Tax to allow for tax reductions, and tax abatement schemes that can negate property tax for as long as ten years.

With excellent relationships on a local, country and state level, we can negotiate with businesses to payload incentives to their needs, filling in the gaps and helping them source talent.

A HOTBED FOR TALENT Talent is something that Brownsville has in abundance. The city, across its various higher learning establishments, is home to 36,000 students including astrophysicists, engineers, and physicists. We are the proud home of one of the oldest community tech colleges in the nation and regularly work with companies such as SpaceX to fulfil their workforce needs.

If you want to find out what Brownsville can do for your business, we can leverage our relationships with community colleges and universities to show you around, using our connections with deans and professors to find prospective talent in your areas of specialization.

If you are looking for Research and Development in a specific area, we can use our academic contacts to pursue that, simultaneously creating a great pathway to recruiting new talent that is knowledgeable and experienced in your field. We can help you combine new product development and hiring practices while promoting productive relationships with higher education partners.

This is why we recently created the Launch BTX grant program to cultivate and support collaborations between public education institutions and businesses, including start-up companies, that are testing, researching and developing new products in the aerospace, “new space,” urban mobility and technology sectors. These grants can help offset the costs of equipment, materials, or even training and internships to accelerate technology in these sectors.

ACCELERATING TECHNOLOGIES At Greater Brownsville Incentive Corporation we believe our city is already home to the most innovative and creative companies in the world. Brownsville already has a proud history in the evolution of the aerospace sector, and it is not hard to see that future history is being made here at our air and spaceport campus. We are working hard to accelerate the trend of new companies coming and joining our community, helping to revitalize our city and thrive themselves along the way.

That process can be seen in the ambitious plans to build out our connectivity and broadband fibre throughout the city- a scheme unrivalled by cities of our size. With feasibility studies completed prior to the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, we are now ready to put those plans into action and build our fibre network even further.

These projects demonstrate that Brownsville is riding the wave of innovation and technological development, and we’re bringing our whole community, including education institutions, the border economy, the workforce, and our businesses with us. www.greaterbrownsville.com

BROWNSVILLE SOUTH PADRE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

“All this is pretty exciting.

We are looking for the synergy of complementary industries,” Walker tells us.

“For us technically we need to designate space on the airfield for unconventional fuel storage, but it will mean jobs, development construction and economic activity. We are utilising our space and economic development to its fullest potential, rather than by patchwork or adapting of something that already existed.”

Brownsville is looking to capitalise on this industry while supporting the industry that is already here, taking advantage of a lack of previous development to build what is needed from scratch.

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AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE | 51

BROWNSVILLE SOUTH PADRE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

“THE REGION IS LARGELY UNDEVELOPED, WHICH MEANS WE CAN PLAN BETTER. WE CAN DO MORE THINGS WITH WHAT WE HAVE.”

THE RIGHT STUFF

It is no surprise that in seeking spaceport status, Brownsville is at the cutting technological edge.

“We have autonomous lawnmowers. We are doing airfield maintenance with

52 | AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE

robots, landside maintenance with robots, needlepoint air filtration that is a hundred times more effective than HEPA,” Walker says. “The airport makes a good testbed for technologies because we are large enough that technology can be scaled up but small enough to try the technology out on a smaller scale. We have industryleading technologies.”

At the same time, the facility is constantly future-proofing itself, building in infrastructure for technology that has not even been released yet- such as biometric scans.

“We’re very much forwardlooking, innovative, and environmentally responsible all at the same time,” Walker tells us.

It is not something the facility has been able to achieve alone.

“We have found a lot of our suppliers have been very helpful getting to where we are.

They were crucial in making the project a success,” Walker says.

Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, SageGlass SaintGobain, One Stop Janitorial RGV, JBT AeroTech and G&S Airport Conveyor have all been essential partners in the airport’s development.

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The other thing Brownsville South Padre International Airport must build up from scratch, however, is its brand.

“The biggest challenge the airport has faced is a lack of publicity and promotion. The border area has always been seen as a sort of transitional, transient sort of environment,” Walker admits. “There is definitely a larger cash economy in the valley and on the border, but the airport has developed a reputation of not being a development-focused airport.”

But the fact remains that Pan Am saw Brownsville as a Latin American hub for its operations, and it has the potential for significant development and impact on the industry and global economy.

AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE | 55

BROWNSVILLE SOUTH PADRE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

“The challenge is the perception that it’s a sleepy little airport and city,” Walker says.

“That this perception is changing, is the result of the vision of city leaders and the aggressiveness of developers and visionaries in the community. Today we have a progressive commission and a progressive airport board, and we are pursuing development and additional tenants and funding that was never previously considered. We constructed a $75 million terminal that complies with the latest regulations and codes.”

Brownsville boasts a synergy of assets on the airfield and its surroundings, with a deepwater seaport close by, and the city owning its own utility company.

“It could be a nexus not just for the Americas but the space sector as well with the right assets and resources,” says Walker.

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BROWNSVILLE SOUTH PADRE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

But while the airport has set its sights on the stars, it is still committed to providing a downto-Earth service.

“I think what this airport needs in the future is additional air service to better serve the community, some enhancements to the runway. There is an airport aerospace industrial park, and the point of that is we can attract both development and manufacturing that supports the aerospace industry,” Walker says. “We have on the airfield a space and aerospace

incubator run by the local university, and that really will help spur development of STEM in education as well as support the labour pool for all the aerospace concerns that are already in Brownsville.

So, our future is really just about working to improve and perfect what is here right now, expanding on it and spurring innovation and development.”

The airport, soon to be spaceport, is striving to be a model of innovation, a model of service and a model for the industry.

“OUR FUTURE IS REALLY JUST ABOUT WORKING TO IMPROVE AND PERFECT WHAT IS HERE RIGHT NOW, EXPANDING ON IT AND SPURRING INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE | 57

LISI AEROSPACE

LISI AEROSPACE

WE LEARN HOW A FASTENER FACTORY FOR THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY IS TRANSFORMING MODERN MANUFACTURING.

WORKING SMARTER, NOT HARDER PROJECT MANAGED BY: JOHN HOLLIMAN

When Ondrej Polak went to school in the Czech Republic he was an academically gifted child, but not one interested in engineering. His math teacher used to jokingly threaten pupils in his class that if they didn’t work hard, they would end up working in a bolt factory.

L

ater I met that teacher on holiday he said ‘You were the smart one in the class.

What are you doing now?’”

Polak recalls. “And I said, ‘I work in a bolt factory!’”

It is true. Today Ondrej Polak is the Process Development Manager of Lisi Aerospace, part of the Lisi Group, which manufactures fasteners and structural components for most, if not all, of the big aircraft manufacturers and distributors around the world. Lisi has been involved in the sector since 1977, and Lisi Aerospace’s facility in Rugby, England employs 240 people, while Lisi Aerospace as a whole employs over 5,000 employees globally and is currently in the top three

aerospace suppliers in the world. Possibly a bit more than just “a bolt factory then.

“It’s a great place to work, a great team with a tight-knit, supportive management team, and that culture spreads across the shop floor,” says Mark Capell, General Manager of Lisi Aerospace Rugby. “That’s why I love working here, because of the teamwork and the shared vision and shared achievement. Our core values are innovation, teamwork, integrity and customer focus.

Everyone has to have good customer focus and integrity.

We prioritise communication and the involvement of the workforce. We really believe it, we live it.”

AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE | 59

A erospace

Bowers and Freeman are a British manufacturer of premium quality heading punches for the aerospace fastener industry and we are delighted to work with Lisi Aerospace in the development of high production punches to help them to increase efficiency and reduce their manufacturing costs.

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Our patented Superpunches will produce significantly more fasteners than comparative standard punches and this extended productive life increases production, reduces downtime, and cuts costs.

Further innovation has enabled us to develop new punches to produce fasteners with a non-patented screwdriver recess. This unique patented application allows not only regular quantities of punches to be produced efficiently but, for the first time, for small quantities to be made cost-effectively with a fast delivery turnaround.

We also produce first process heading punches, wafers, and fillet rolls to the same premium standard.

In most cases, we are able to despatch orders within a short lead time and urgent orders within a very short lead time. However, all orders retain the same high standard of production that the market has come to depend on from Bowers and Freeman.

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60 | AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE

Integrity and honesty are not just buzzwords for Capell. As General Manager he is very open with his team, ensuring constant two-way communication.

But as well as an open and communicative company culture, Lisi Aerospace is also a powerhouse of innovation.

PUTTING THE “SMART” IN “SMART FACTORY”

“Innovation is essential,” Capell tells us. “A lot of companies talk about being innovative, namedropping Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things and Smart Factories, but we’re actually doing it. And that sets us apart.”

This was not always the case, however.

“We were historically set up as a standard manufacturing and engineering business,” Polak

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LISI AEROSPACE

L to R: Ondrej Polak, Process Development Manager & Mark Capell, General Manager, Lisi Aerospace Rugby. says. “Engineers used to mainly work on day-to-day activities and with this organisational structure it was difficult to take a step back and think about innovation and what would set us apart.”

A decision was made in 2017 to change that, starting with appointing Polak as manager of the engineering department.

“We restructured the whole team and turned it into process development,” Polak says. “We asked ourselves what will set us apart in five years’ time? We don’t just do presentations but develop the production line of the future, applying I4.0 technologies to our existing production line.

This gives us credibility and it shows employees within our organisation the link between

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AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE | 61

LISI AEROSPACE

technology and business value.

We can use ideas on a proof-ofconcept basis while developing our future programme, using funding from Innovate UK. Our future machines will be able to make basic decisions thanks to machine learning.”

While Polak was making these changes to Lisi Aerospace’s engineering department in 2018, the markets were changing rapidly, putting enormous pressure on prices.

“Most of our products are made to specification, so we knew we had to innovate the process to remain competitive,” Polak recalls. “We looked at how this could be done. It was only me and a digitalisation engineer, Krzysztof Dec, at the time. There were lots of technologies out there, even in 2018. There were loads of white papers and demonstrations but nothing really relevant to us.

So, we took a step back and asked what the real technical problems are affecting our productivity and how can we use I4.0 technology to solve them?”

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From here Lisi Aerospace began developing its smart factory approach, working with Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). Together, they put together a vision to establish what a smart factory would look like for Lisi Aerospace.

“AMRC realised our vision was innovative enough to apply for funding from Innovate UK, and we worked with them for 12 months on a bidding process,” Polak tells us. “In 2020 we were successful, receiving £1 million to develop the factory.”

The project was delayed, like so many big projects, by the Covid-19 pandemic, but within six months it was up and running again.

“We partnered with the best equipment manufacturers around the world. You can’t do machine learning on machines that aren’t designed for the purpose,” Polak insists. “Now it’s paying dividends because there’s a big focus on cost & innovation within our industry, and by taking this decision in 2018 we’re much further ahead than we would have been.”

LISI AEROSPACE

In carrying on this process, Lisi Aerospace had the support of the Lisi Group as a whole, although as Capell points out, not all Groups are as supportive.

“In a lot of organisations if you’re part of a group you’re quite restricted, but we have a lot of systems in place to ensure the day-to-day running of the business is at a very high standard with continuous improvement, purchasing, health and safety,” Capell tells us. “That means when it comes to the innovation side of the business, we are encouraged to be innovators, encouraged to be entrepreneurial, that’s part of our role.”

From there, Polak completely built a department from scratch in two years, creating a longterm vision and strategy for the company. That strategy nurtures innovation but ensures that it is always directed towards the future of the business.

“We need results, so we have robust processes in place to justify each of our projects. That’s a good example of where we’ve worked with other organisations, such as the University of Cambridge, on a justification process,” Capell tells us. “Every idea goes through a filtering process and is justified to ensure we’re working on the right things.

It stops little passion projects that might be great ideas but not good business decisions.”

THE HUMAN ELEMENT

While the technological innovations behind Lisi Aerospace’s new developments are key, Capell is careful not to underplay the importance of people in aiding the company’s transformation.

“The two things that go hand in hand here are innovation and the focus on people,” he says.

“We’re already working on the next generation of Ondrej’s team with organisations like

De Montfort University and the MTC (Manufacturing Technology Centre).”

But while people remain at the core of Lisi Aerospace’s strategy, their role will continue to evolve.

“The traditional engineer’s job is dead,” Polak says simply.

“Future jobs in manufacturing will be gradually getting closer to IT and technology-related jobs. The apprentices we bring in are data analysts and software engineers because these are the skills needed for factories of the future.”

“We’re making a big investment in developing the training plan for line technicians, line leaders and Maintenance Engineers of our smart factory,” Capell adds.

“We are shifting expectations of the different roles within the factory. A line technician needs to know how to run the machine, but in the future, they will need to know how to understand data.

We’re sending people on data literacy courses, going up to six sigma greenbelt level, and we’ll expect them to use those skills to fine-tune and improve our future processes.”

But for Polak, it all comes back to that story about his old maths teacher. It is not enough for him to recruit people into the industry and equip them with the skills they need.

“How can we bring a new generation in if we stick with doing what we did for the last 20 or 30 years?” Polak asks. “We want to make manufacturing people’s career of choice.”

“It’s easy for us to get quite evangelical about this because we really believe it,” Capell adds.

“We’ve got this opportunity to make science fiction a reality, and that’s something a lot of us are getting excited about. The sort of stuff that’s been in the movies for the last ten years we’re using in the factory right now.”

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SACRAMENTO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF AIRPORTS

WITH PLANS FOR EXPANSION AND AN INDUSTRY UNDERGOING REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE, SACRAMENTO COUNTY’S AIRPORTS ARE GOING THROUGH AN EXCITING, AND DEFINING PERIOD.

ROOM TO GROW PROJECT MANAGED BY: RASH UDDIN

Cindy Nichol has been the Director of Airports for Sacramento County’s Department of Airports (SCDA) since 2018. She arrived when SCDA had just experienced their seventh straight year of double-digit growth. In some ways, Nichol arrived to find that SCDA, which includes the Sacramento International Airport (SMF) located in California’s state capital, was a victim of its own success.

W

e were getting close to running out of gates and public auto parking [at SMF],” says Nichol.

“And we needed new types of facilities to serve rapidly growing transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft. Additionally, our rental car facilities needed to be upgraded.”

Nichol’s first order of business was to expand the airports’ facilities to meet demand, but then suddenly the game changed completely: the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“In some ways, it helped that we were a little behind where we wanted to be,” Nichol tells us. “It meant we could pivot quickly and stop our development plans to survive the pandemic.

We were very successful in managing through these difficult circumstances.”

SCDA includes four airports in Sacramento County.

64 | AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE

SMF, a medium-sized travel hub and the County’s only commercial service airport and Mather Airport, a former United States Air Force Base, transferred to the County in 1992. With an 11,301-foot runway capable of handling wide-body aircraft, Mather serves as the County’s air cargo hub while also serving the general aviation and flight training sectors. Its two other airports are Sacramento Executive Airport and Franklin Field, both serving corporate and general aviation operators.

“We operate the airports as one entity,” says Nichol. “We have the same staff serving all four airports.”

Together, these airports are serving the world’s fifth-largest economy in an area that is rapidly, explosively growing.

Sacramento has experienced a decade of population growth in the last two years, but it also has the land available for development to meet that growing demand.

SMF is located on 6,000 acres, with plenty of room to grow. The West Runway was fully rehabilitated in 2019, and is surrounded by acres and acres of airfieldaccessible land.

SACRAMENTO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF AIRPORTS

AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE | 65

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SACRAMENTO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF AIRPORTS

PULLING TOGETHER

It is an optimistic outlook, quite different from the way things looked when the pandemic broke.

“My goals when COVID hit were first, to not lay off any of our 346 staff. Secondly, we wanted to remain financially solvent,” says Nichol. “Since we do not get any money from the County, we have to survive on our own revenues. Finally, we wanted to help our tenants survive however we could.”

Nichol puts the survival of SCDA, and its eventual return to prosperity, exclusively on the shoulders of her incredible staff.

“They pulled together, tightening their belts in terms of spending needs,” says Nichol. “We did not lay anyone off and found ways to trim costs while limiting

the impact on our customers.

In April 2020 our traffic at SMF plummeted by 95% almost overnight. Airport staff came up with smart ways to reduce our expenses. Using stimulus money from the federal government, they deployed intelligent and proactive measures to figure out how best to spend those funds.”

“Eleven years ago, we completed a major terminal development program, which made SMF a high debt airport,” Nichol continues. “We used the stimulus money to buy down that debt in each of four fiscal years, FY 2021 through FY 2024.

That made a huge difference to our ability to survive financially.”

SMF has recovered steadily and is back to 2019 levels, the airport’s busiest year since its opening in 1967.

While Nichol places a great deal of importance on the achievements of her team, assembling, maintaining and taking care of that team is an achievement in itself.

Cindy Nichol, Sacramento County Director of Airports.

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“As part of the County, we have a civil service structure, and a majority of our staff are represented by various unions.

To recruit, we start with the position we are hiring for and spread our nets wide,” Nichol tells us. “We’re extremely interested in diversity and having a staff that looks like our community in terms of gender, race and all other respects.”

It also helps that, with a great deal of combined experience in the industry, Nichol and her colleagues have a lot of personal connections to draw from.

AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE | 67

SACRAMENTO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF AIRPORTS

Imagine having one of your favorite meals before you even take off on your next trip. SMF has partnered with some of the region’s top restaurants to bring you a uniquely homegrown dining experience, right in your terminal.

“I’m super excited that these past 12 months we’ve attracted two great new deputies in addition to two talented deputies who have many years of experience with Sacramento County’s Airports,” Nichol tells us excitedly. “One of my new deputies came from Dayton and one from Grand Rapids and I’m ecstatic; everyone’s really on it and pointing in the same direction.”

She is particularly thrilled because, as Nichol points out, this is a hard time to be recruiting employees across the board – airports included.

“I’ve been fortunate in this environment that we’ve retained key people, from line staff to leadership, and brought in these two deputies as well as others throughout the organization,” she says. “That’s adding to the positive forwardlooking culture that we are building here at SCDA.”

68 | AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE

THE NEXT BIG STEP

It is clear talking to Nichol that she has big plans for Sacramento County’s airports.

She is planning major new developments for the way they handle cargo, taking advantage of all the space they have access to, while working with large shippers and carriers.

Of course, the big question that every industry, not least the aviation sector, has to address today is sustainability. Nichol’s mission is nothing less than to be at the leading edge of this movement.

“We have two very large solar arrays at SMF that are the source for much of our electricity,” says Nichol. “Sometimes we produce more than we need that we sell back to the provider,” Nichol says. “We also offer a variety of vehicle chargers and are working on adding more.”

Nichol also details plans around electrical chargers for aircraft-

the electrical aircraft area is a nascent part of the industry, but a fast-growing one.

This is a big moment for another major investment program. “In February, the County Board of Supervisors approved our Master Plan for SMF, and we are now launching the development of quite a few major projects which will total just over (US) $1 billion,” Nichol says. “We not only need to do the design work for this development, but we also have stringent environmental processes for each project.”

Plans at SMF include a new parking garage, additional aircraft gates and related terminal facilities, an US$80 million pedestrian walkway, and taxiways. As part of the terminal development, Nichol describes a complete overhaul of SMF’s concessions and a wholesale change to the food and retail offering during the next two years.

But that is not all.

“When the terminal was built transportation network companies didn’t exist,” Nichol points out. “There was no Uber or Lyft, so we’re making a ground transport centre to accommodate buses, taxis, Uber and Lyft.”

At Mather and Executive airports, improvements are planned for their major runways, along with investments by private companies serving cargo and general aviation needs.

Nichol has the enthusiasm to match the scale of these projects.

“There’s a lot is going on right now,” she says. “It’s an exciting time to be in the aviation industry.”

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SACRAMENTO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF AIRPORTS

SMF wants to create an airport experience you actually want to experience. So here is Leap, our 56-foot giant rabbit sculpture that inspires our “Hare-port”.

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AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE | 69

STAR ALLIANCE

WE REVISIT STAR ALLIANCE ON ITS SILVER ANNIVERSARY AND LOOK AT THE ORGANISATION’S TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS.

SILVER STAR

PROJECT MANAGED BY: DAVID TAVERNOR

It has been just over a year since we spoke with Star Alliance, the world’s first global aviation alliance. Founded by five airlines in 1997, today the organisation consists of 26 member airlines, working together to improve passenger experiences and make seamless global travel possible.

70 | AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

STAR ALLIANCE

I

t has not been an easy year, as Alliance CEO Jeffrey Goh points out, but it has been a year that provides many reasons for optimism.

“If we use 2020 as a reference, 2021 was equally tough in many respects,” Goh says. “But for the industry and us as the Alliance, there was greater optimism.”

With widespread vaccination and shifting restrictions around the world, estimates for how long it will take the air travel sector to recover have been revised.

“At the beginning of the pandemic there were parts of the industry talking about the recovery continuing as far as 2025, but now we believe full recovery by the end of 2023 is achievable,” says Goh. But while conditions are improving, Goh points out that any airline company that has survived the pandemic can still consider itself fortunate.

“We survived the deepest and darkest aspects of the crisis, so it may sound flippant but that we’ve all made it through this crisis relatively intact is an achievement in itself,” Goh says.

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STAR ALLIANCE

“WE MANAGE DISRUPTIONS THROUGH OUR STAR CONNECTION CENTRES AROUND THE WORLD.” CONTINUING DIGITAL REVOLUTION

Aside from simply surviving, Star Alliance has also continued to be at the forefront of digital improvements to passenger experiences.

“While we had greater optimism in 2021 it was still a very cautious year and capital expenditure and production capacity were realigned with that recovery, but we continued to push on with our digital program,” Goh says. “One thing we talked about last time was delivering this new normal for customers who are always connected, mobile-first, and expect information on demand.

It means introducing features such as the ability to select seats through a service called Seat Selection, which we now offer through as many as 50 member carrier pairings. The

72 | AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE

‘Digital Connections’ product, meanwhile, assists passengers with short connection timing.”

Star Alliance ensures that not only can passengers make their connections but also offers baggage tracing throughout the journey, keeping pax informed of any bag disruptions.

“We manage disruptions through our Star Connection Centres around the world,” Goh says. “We have also begun to digitalise these connection centres to put the control of the experience in the hands of customers.”

When we last talked with Star Alliance it had established Digital Connection for Singapore Airlines at London Heathrow, using innovative technology including a navigational map in the customers’ smart devices.

When we speak to them today Goh is preparing to roll out the digital connection service in Frankfurt.

“It will be one of our biggest hubs, so the digital connection service will add significant value,” Goh says.

Star Alliance has rolled out its Star Alliance Biometrics technology across Frankfurt, Munich, and Vienna. Customers can enrol once and use that identity multiple times across

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STAR ALLIANCE

these airports. This technology was recently introduced at Hamburg aswell.

As well as digitalisation, Star Alliance is also focusing on decarbonisation, working with its member carriers to reduce greenhouse emissions and their environmental impact.

“One of the most important initiatives under decarbonization is the use of SAF and Star Alliance is working closely with the leading manufacturers to strike synergies,” says Goh. “We call it our ‘flight path for the future’.”

That said, that flight has had some challenges to overcome.

“We set up our digital vision in 2017 on a five-year program to deliver what we planned to deliver by 2022. We are in earshot of the end of 2022 now and we won’t achieve those targets because we’ve been set back two years by Covid,” Goh admits. “We have pushed back some timelines in completing our digitalisation program.

We’re optimistic that by the end of 2024 we will offer the complete raft of services on the same app no matter who you fly with.”

25 YEARS OF LESSONS

While Star Alliance has big ambitions for the future, on its 25th anniversary nobody can blame the company for reflecting on its past.

“By all industry measures we continue to be the largest such Alliance in the world, but that’s not necessarily the achievement to shout about,” Goh says. “It’s that we continue to offer a comprehensive global network that lets us take people from one end of the globe to the other. We continue to be resilient to changes in the industry.”

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STAR ALLIANCE

Over the last 25 years, the company’s strategy has evolved to reflect the needs of the industry. For the first 20 years, Star Alliance focused on membership growth, adding two or three-member airlines each year as the Alliance developed its global network.

“But in 2017 we made a decisive shift to emphasise less membership growth, focusing instead on how to make the

customer journey better,” Goh recalls. “In the new digital customer era, we must present a relevant proposition to the customer and our members. We have shifted focus from membership growth as we have a strong carrier coalition. While the membership of the Alliance remains open, we have become more selective of the members that we’re bringing in, but we’re conscious we have a significant asset.”

“STAR ALLIANCE HAS LAUNCHED A NEW TAGLINE TO REFLECT ITS CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE FOCUSSED STRATEGY, ‘TOGETHER. BETTER. CONNECTED.’ IT ENCAPSULATES EVERYTHING THAT STAR ALLIANCE WILL STAND FOR IN THE YEARS TO COME.” 74 | AVIATION, AEROSPACE & DEFENCE

Goh’s goal is more than just a seamless customer experience in terms of the physical act of getting on the plane.

“While delivering an experience for the customer so they don’t have to run half a mile to connect from one flight to another, we also make sure bags connect seamlessly,” Goh says. “We’ve been making sure that the transaction experience is also simple. In the digital era, we ask how we can make that experience seamless, so customers can avoid downloading 26 apps just to book a seat on a second or third flight. You should conduct the whole transaction through your app of choice.”

Star Alliance’s next 25 years will be about continuing that global network proposition, not only on the digital front but also in terms of a loyalty proposition.

“One of our key pillars is the loyalty experience for our customers. We want to provide an industry-first product,” Goh says. “We are preparing to launch an industry-leading product on the loyalty front. We feel confident we will be the first alliance to launch such an experience.”

A few years ago there were doubts about the future and relevance of alliances like Star Alliance, but the organisation has outlived those doubts and continues to be relevant to customers and members alike.

Now Star Alliance has launched a new tagline to reflect its customer experience focussed strategy, “Together.

Better. Connected.”

“It encapsulates everything that Star Alliance will stand for in the years to come,” Goh says. “Not only will it cement our position as the leader, but also motivate us to innovate and deliver a better customer experience.”

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When we come together, greatness happens.

We are better when we are connected. For 25 years, Star Alliance has been bringing people together across the globe to develop new ideas, seize opportunities and make their mark on the world.

Find out what happened when we brought together classical dancers and a musician who uses the latest digital innovations, for a sensational performance.

See the film at staralliance.com

CELLCARD

Simon Perkins, CEO, Cellcard.

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CELLCARD

CELLCARD IS BUILDING A ROBUST MARKET IN CAMBODIA, BUT IT NEEDS A VASTLY DIFFERENT APPROACH TO WESTERN MARKETS.

OPENING NEW TELECOMS FRONTIERS PROJECT MANAGED BY: ANDREW BOURKE

Perkins describes his experience of working in Nepal and the triumph of providing mobile services for climbers at the Mount Everest Basecamp. While the word “Basecamp” probably has you envisaging, quite reasonably, the very bottom of the mountain, it is actually at 5,300 metres altitude.

T

here’s no electricity, no roads, everything has to be carried up by hand,” says Simon Perkins, CEO of Cellcard. “Horses and donkeys can climb up to 3,000 metres but then the air gets too thin for them, but people can climb up there, so everything goes up by hand and it is phenomenal seeing people carrying stuff up on their backs. It has to be totally self-supporting because you cannot send an engineer up there if something breaks down, half of the year it is totally inaccessible, even on foot. I

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love seeing how we adapt to those environments and how those lessons can be applied to other emerging markets.”

A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT

Perkins’ career has seen him leading the growth of the mobile telecommunications industry in countries across Indochina, facing a wide range of challenges from geography to economics.

“I moved to Vietnam in 2000 and mobile services were in their infancy. It had a very closed economy, very communist, foreigners were treated with suspicion,” Perkins recalls.

“There was only one ATM in the entire country, in Hanoi.”

Perkins’s contribution to the market was to introduce prepaid phone credit, or “pay-asyou-go” as it is known in the UK. “That really made the services take off because people don’t have bank accounts or credit cards,” Perkins explains “We introduced pre-paid phones so

people could buy a top-up card and services really took off. That was the beginning of mobile adoption in Indochina. We had Vietnam, Lao and Cambodia, similar in their economic development and infrastructure, and it just really took off.”

95% of Cellcard’s customers in Cambodia are pre-paid, and for low-income customers this system lets them feel in control of their expenditure. It quickly proved to be a successful model, but a puzzling one to telecoms companies in Europe who are used to the contract model.

“A lot of people in Vietnam smoke but nobody will buy a pack of cigarettes,” Perkins says. “They will buy one cigarette when they want one because enough for one cigarette is all they have got in their pocket. They will buy one cigarette, not a box, one bottle of beer, not a pack of six, spend one dollar on their phone, not five.

They earn money daily and then they eek that out. They can enjoy

COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY | 77

Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. We have 195,000 employees and we operate in more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world.

Our vision and mission is to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.

For more information, please visit Huawei at www.huawei.com or follow us on:

HUAWEI Cambodia’s leading telecom operator Cellcard has achieves a big milestone in various sectors including advancing progress towards a digital economy, nurturing E-sport, E-Learning and coding, improving education and helping communities during Covid-19 lockdowns.

Huawei, Cellcard’s key strategy partner has played an important role to this great success in numerous campaign for Cellcard as well as Royal Group Cambodia. We are strongly believe that, with this earnest partnership, we can make a long-term growth together.

Huawei will continue to work together with our customers and partners toward ubiquitous connectivity and inclusive network access, laying the foundation for an intelligent Cambodia; provide diversified computing anywhere, anytime, bringing Cloud and intelligence to all four corners of the world; building digital platforms to help all industries and organizations under Royal Group to become more agile, efficient, and dynamic; and redefine user experience with AI, making life smarter and more personalized for all users in all aspects of their needs.

For more information, please visit Huawei online at: www.huawei.com

78 | COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

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CELLCARD

the delights of using a phone or smoking a cigarette but in a very different way to how we do it in the West. Once you understand that you understand how to serve that economy.”

These economies have progressed over the last twenty years, cars are now more common than bicycles, but that same frugal approach to expenditure applies.

Perkins has also operated elsewhere in the region, encountering different challenges. Before the coup, Perkins worked in Myanmar, where the economy was largely similar to the way it had been when the country gained independence. The country also faced an extreme lack of infrastructure.

“You could still see Ford Anglias and Morris Minors on the road.

They got replaced with Toyotas, but they imported second-hand Toyota taxis from Singapore to sell off as personal cars,” Perkins says. “The challenge is infrastructure. Electricity is only available in 50% of locations and even if it is available, it will be hopelessly unreliable. You need lots of different business strategies for remote locations.

It becomes a tyranny of logistics, to get generators running and keep services running. You have to really get down to the nuts and bolts of the practicalities.

How many trucks do you have, is the site only accessible by motorbike? Do you need a boat when there is flooding? These are questions that would be impossible to comprehend in the UK other than during a crisis.”

INVESTING IN YOUTH AND GROWING ESPORTS INDUSTRY

While reinforcing traditional values, Cellcard also has a vital blueprint for a digital future and sees the nation’s potential in its youth.

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Cellcard partnered with the global organisation Terre des Hommes Netherlands (TdH-NL) and launched the campaign “Protect the children, protect the future,” which aims to increase the children’s digital skills.

“The initiative aligned to Cellcard’s wider remit to help improve digital literacy,” Perkins admits. “It is part of Royal Group Chairman Neak Oknha Kith Meng’s vision for a fully digitised Cambodia.”

Cambodia has seen a rapid rise in demand for gaming and Esports among its youth audiences, who are also connecting with their peers in the broader Asian region through regional competitions and viewership of live-streamed matches.

PlayGame is Cambodia’s first, giving youth access to a full range of experiences,

including online Esports tournaments offering cash prizes and in-game incentives in partnership with leading global game developers such as Tencent, Netease, and Moonton.

“Cellcard was Cambodia’s first telco to stage Esports tournaments in 2017 and has successfully built the gaming community to a sizeable mass.

Our recent announcement to celebrate Khmer New Year, we launched Sankranta Cup Tournament – a Khmer New Year themed tournament in partnership with the Esports Federation of Cambodia,” Perkins says. “We committed to Khmer culture preservation by creating a range of innovating apps and tournaments to serve Cambodians.”

It is a fitting project for a company that calls itself “Proudly Khmer.”

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CELLCARD

“We are Cambodia’s mostawarded mobile network having achieved more than 30 industry awards for network excellence including an impressive six consecutive Ookla Speedtest awards and a number of category wins from Opensignal including Best Games Experience in February 2020,” says Perkins. “We have retained the title again this year based on an article released by a local publication, Khmer Times,

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which mentioned Cellcard offers the best multiplayer game experience by Opensignal.”

PROUD INDEPENDENCE

Cellcard invests in projects like this because it is working to build something for the people in Cambodia.

“It has this Khmer culture just ingrained in it because it’s owned by a Khmer businessman and has been part of the fabric of Cambodia for 25 years,” Perkins

says. “When we came it was just emerging from the Khmer Rouge period, which did not end long before this business started. We appeal to the local population because we understand them.

We speak the same language and speak to them.”

Indeed, Cellcard is not part of a large international group and does not have access to the shared learning and scale advantages of those companies.

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CELLCARD

“We have to be very selfreliant. If we want to find out about something we have to do it ourselves, develop our own team of experts,” explains Perkins. “You have to be prepared to train people in multiple disciplines. If we continue to stay independent, which I think we will, we need to build a multi-skilled workforce in house. The key will be the focus on the development of the team, which here is made up of locals.”

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COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY | 81

REPRISK

MANY COMPANIES CLAIM TO HAVE SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS AND ETHICAL PRACTICES, HERE’S WHY REPRISK WILL NOT TAKE THEIR WORD FOR IT.

LOOKING UNDER THE ESG HOOD PROJECT MANAGED BY: HAYDEN TURNER

ESG, or Environmental, Social, and Governance, is a relatively new term for businesses, but already it is a term at the core of many financial agreements. It is incorporated into investments, due diligence and knowyour-client procedures, indexes, pensions, and credit risk management to name a few. Knowing what a company’s ESG business practices look like can help others decide where to invest, where to operate, and what strategic decisions must be made.

T

he challenge is in evaluating a company’s ESG business practices – how does one discern between companies with meaningfully sustainable operations and those that just have good PR? “Think of us as an ESG technology company,” explains Dr Philipp Aeby, CEO of RepRisk.

“We leverage technology like machine learning and geospatial analytics to assess ESG risks.

We can provide relevant data thanks to that mix of artificial and human intelligence, providing incredible coverage for companies and infrastructure

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projects with relevant information used directly by our clients.”

RepRisk uses this technology to evaluate businesses for their impact on biodiversity, child labour, corruption, and a host of other ESG issues and risks.

That data can in turn be directly applied by market practitioners in their financial decisionmaking.

“We don’t rely on companies to report and disclose their behaviour when it comes to ESG,” Aeby says. “We get information from outside the company such as

media reports, think tanks, governmental sources, and NGO reports.”

RepRisk’s technology scans these sources in 23 languages to identify any relevant risks associated with the companies it examines.

“What makes our data generation methodology unique is our human analysts.

The analysts annotate the documents our machine learning and AI take in and feed them back to the machine – further sharpening the results.

It is a kind of symbiosis,” Aeby tells us.

As an example, if you had a phone manufacturer with labour issues in India, RepRisk would use machine learning to gather sources, identify issues – such as the company not paying a living wage and determining if it violates ILO standards – and quantify the risk, building a complete risk profile of that company.

REPRISK

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REPRISK

“We sum it all up, linking a company or infrastructure project to an ESG risk incident, such as child labour or deforestation,” Aeby says. “On top of that, we take these data elements and build a number of standard and customised metrics. So, if a bank wants to onboard a client and wants to know if there are any issues we’re aware of, we can say ‘be careful, there have been corruption charges in the past’ or ‘these issues are systemic, use enhanced due diligence’. We allow investors to invest in a way that better manages risks.”

This information can be provided in a data format to be inputted into their clients’ own systems, or through a softwareas-service analytic platform, the RepRisk ESG Risk Platform.

“WE DON’T RELY ON COMPANIES TO REPORT AND DISCLOSE THEIR BEHAVIOUR WHEN IT COMES TO ESG.” CHANGING MINDSETS AND DATA SETS

“Our challenge now is to showcase how our technology is a fantastic way to address the ESG data gap, a knowledge gap over what the real conduct of companies is,” Aeby says.

“A company might have a policy stating human rights are important, but their conduct could be very different. This requires a change in mindset because traditionally this was

evaluated through company self-disclosure and reporting.

Now technology can be leveraged to check their claims.”

RepRisk scans 500,000 documents from 100,000 sources every day, in 23 languages, but data alone will not get results. RepRisk leverages human curation to ensure relevant, actionable intelligence.

“What I love about RepRisk is that we have to excel in a number of quite different tasks,” Aeby says. “If you want to do machine learning you need a lot of labelled documents and this is what our analysts have been doing that for 15 years. That is a different skill than selecting and adapting the best machine learning algorithms for specific uses cases, training, validating

Dr Philipp Aeby, CEO of RepRisk.

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REPRISK

and constantly re-training the corresponding classifiers, or maintaining the whole IT big data infrastructure. The machine learning infrastructure alone requires a mix of data scientists, data ops people, developers and machine learning engineers. In any case, we have people with a lot of curiosity and passion in all areas.”

A pioneer in ESG datasets, RepRisk’s next move will be in spatial risk development.

“Our next step is combining these data sets with geospatial data,” Aeby explains. “If you have a gold mine with a tailings dam spilling over into protected

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REPRISK

areas you might have a report that suggests exactly that. But what if you could check the position of the mine and the protected area to see if this dam is adversely affecting it? We are going to link our documentary data with GPS coordinates and gather corresponding data sets.”

GOING TO THE SOURCE

RepRisk provides an invaluable early warning system for market practitioners, but Aeby believes there is more to be done to achieve a truly sustainable economy.

“90% of our business is with financial institutions, big pension funds, insurance companies, and banks or private equity,” Aeby says. “But ultimately we need to engage with companies directly.”

There are companies out there genuinely working to make positive change. What if, Aeby argues, instead of evaluating those companies for investors, RepRisk was showing those companies how to do better? How can you monitor and account for unintended consequences of even wellintentioned practices?

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“There is a lot of talk about when it comes to transitioning into a low carbon economy and what that means in terms of protecting biodiversity,” Aeby says as an example. “If you are a jet engine manufacturer that wants to be carbon neutral you might transition to biofuels, but someone has to produce those biofuels, which involves a lot of monocultures and takes a lot of land to cultivate. We can help companies see what potential, inadvertent, or unwanted side effects their activities might drive. We are moving from evaluating companies to working with the companies directly to show them the consequences of their actions.”

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are buzzwords across the tech sector, but RepRisk demonstrates real concrete applications for that technology. It is an appealing prospect for data scientists and technologists.

“The people we hire share our mission to provide transparency in business conduct. We make companies accountable and the world a better place,” Aeby says. “We’re doing it using the latest technology.”

REPRISK

“THE PEOPLE WE HIRE SHARE OUR MISSION TO PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY IN BUSINESS CONDUCT. WE MAKE COMPANIES ACCOUNTABLE AND THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.”

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ARDENT HIRE SOLUTIONS

ARDENT HIRE SOLUTIONS, THE UK’S PREMIER EQUIPMENT HIRE COMPANY, IS RECOGNISED FOR ITS OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF ITS CUSTOMER AND ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS BUT ALSO FOR ITS SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.

PASSION, PACE, PERFORMANCE PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

Ardent Hire Solutions, established with the merger of Fork Rent and One Call Hire in 2015, has come a long way – today the business trades from 11 depots nationwide and provides over 5,000 units for rent with an average age of fewer than two years and a fleet holding of approximately £200m.

E

arlier this year, the company announced that it had won the RoSPA Gold Medal Award for achieving five Gold Awards in succession.

This demonstrates Ardent’s long term commitment to improving safety through engagement, consultation and communication, training, leadership, risk management, innovation, and continuous improvement.

This commitment came with considerable investment – over the last four years, the company has implemented one of the largest investment programmes in the UK plant hire sector, worth over a quarter of a billion pounds, into fleet renewal and expansion, enhanced logistics, infrastructure, technology and innovations, resulting in being able to offer the most up-todate and youngest fleets in the industry.

DIGITAL PROGRESS

The company’s fleet includes a wide range of telehandlers, excavators, dumpers, rollers,

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rotating telescopic handlers and, just recently, powered access.

One of Ardent’s competitive advantages is the use of data and telematics to help customers manage the productivity of their fleet.

“We have a whole range of telematics that are the best in the industry, that enable people to track safety and productivity on their hired-in fleet,” said CEO Jeremy Fish, pointing out that over the last few years, the company has intensified our focus on the digital proposition and now offers a complete digital customer experience, which has won Ardent several awards.

The company’s multi-awardwinning Site Manager software enables customers to track the performance of their equipment on hire. This includes texts and email alerts that are notified directly to site managers with details of imminent events that could affect human life or cause permanent damage to equipment. The system has

ARDENT HIRE SOLUTIONS

Jeremy Fish, CEO, Ardent Hire Solutions.

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ARDENT HIRE SOLUTIONS

recently been extended to offer novel features and to have better control of a machine’s performance.

TOWARDS CARBON NEUTRAL

Another key topic – as in most sectors – has been sustainability, and the company actively promotes carbon offsetting, using technology to minimize emissions to customers. To this end, Ardent has teamed up with climate and sustainable development experts ClimateCare to offer a world-class carbon-offsetting programme for its customers.

“At Ardent, being fuel- and carbon-efficient is our number one environmental priority.

We have invested heavily in a new transport fleet that meets the latest European emission standards and we are now working with several suppliers who share our vision of reducing our carbon footprint in every area of our organisation.”

The fleet has been expanded by electric- and hybrid-powered access platforms that are 100% carbon neutral. “With the hybrid plant, we are offsetting the emissions with carbon credits,

so it will be 100% carbonneutral for customers, including deliveries and collections.”

Ardent’s environmental efforts have been internationally recognised – last year, Ardent won the ‘Best Sustainability & CSR Award’ at the 2021 Hire Association of Europe (HAE) Awards for its carbon-offsetting initiative.

“AT ARDENT, BEING FUEL AND CARBON EFFICIENT IS OUR NUMBER ONE ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITY.” A PEOPLE BUSINESS

Speaking about post-pandemic challenges, Jeremy pointed out that in addition to managing and containing the cost headwinds that everybody in the industry is suffering from, the biggest challenge has been finding capable people who want to come into the hire industry.

“I encourage young people to have a look at our industry because here people can get responsibility very early on, which is a fabulous opportunity for them to grow and develop their management skills,” says Jeremy Fish.

He explained that the company has numerous progression programmes in place as well as apprenticeship schemes, and most people are promoted within the business.

Ardent has many examples of people who initially started as a yardman or a fitter and have progressed into senior positions, including the company’s Operations Director.

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ARDENT HIRE SOLUTIONS

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ARDENT HIRE SOLUTIONS

“One of the many reasons we are the UK’s premier hire company is our focus on our people,” affirms Jeremy, explaining that Ardent’s corporate values are Passion, Pace & Performance – all key to delivering world-class service. These values are ingrained across the business, from recruitment of colleagues to the servicing and delivery of our products, at all levels in our organisation, 24 hours a day.”

PRODUCTIVE AND COST-EFFECTIVE

He reflected that with cost inflation, customers are finding their projects more costly and are looking at opportunities to save. “Customers need to know that rental prices are going up by double digits, but they can save money by using their machines more intelligently. This is where the data come in – customers need to start using data and to embrace data analysis in order to identify saving opportunities.”

“And this is where we can be useful – Ardent has a track record of helping customers to save considerable amounts by just using data to manage their equipment.

Our approach to equipment hire provides customers with all the information they need to maximise productivity and reduce operating costs while improving safety at the same time.”

To this end, the company is planning to expand its digital offerings, in order to provide customers with greater transparency and information and is also set to invest in growing the fleet.

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“ARDENT HAS A TRACK RECORD OF HELPING CUSTOMERS TO SAVE CONSIDERABLE AMOUNTS BY JUST USING DATA TO MANAGE THEIR EQUIPMENT.” FOR THE GREATER GOOD

In a wider context, the company has been also active on a different front: actively responding to the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis, a team from Ardent Hire Solutions drove 3 vans across Europe to deliver over 250 boxes of essential supplies to Ukrainian refugees at the end of March.

Working in conjunction with Rotary International, Ardent’s convoy travelled to Kosice, in East Slovakia, where teams of volunteers from the town and the nearby Ukrainian border town of Uzhhorod, unloaded the vehicles and repacked the supplies into transit vans that were immediately destined for Kharkiv, one of the cities in eastern Ukraine that is under artillery attack from the Russians.

Jeremy Fish, who himself drove one of the vans, commented: “I’m pleased that we’ve been able to help in a very small way, however, we need to do more, much more.

Ardent is committed to helping and promoting the need for more help in any way it can.”

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DANGOTE CEMENT TANZANIA

ON THE VERGE OF A PERIOD OF MASSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT, AND SURROUNDED BY NATURAL RESOURCES, TANZANIA IS THE PLACE TO BE IN THE CEMENT MARKET.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED PROJECT MANAGED BY: JOHN HOLLIMAN

Located in Mtwara, 400km from Dar es Salaam in the southern part of Tanzania, Dangote Cement Company’s Tanzanian arm has the capacity to produce 3 million metric tons a year through its one-line cement project.

With both an active port and a convenient source of gas power nearby, it is an ideal location to work from.

I

have been the CEO here since September 2020, and I am pushing to get the best out of the company,” says Abdullahi Baba, Country Manager of Dangote Tanzania. “We are making good progress.”

Baba has been working in the cement industry since 1981, but in over forty years he has never encountered an environment quite like Tanzania.

“I think what makes Tanzania stand out, of all the places I’ve been, is that everything we need to produce cement is available locally,” Baba tells us. “The raw materials, the energy sources, packaging materials, we source them all locally. Tanzania is the first place that I have seen this.”

Baba is not just talking about raw materials either. Dangote Cement Tanzania has a staff of approximately 500 people, which includes only 40 expatriates from Nigeria, other African countries and elsewhere around the world.

“In terms of local content, we are doing very well. Over 80 to 90% of our staff come from within Tanzania, but the major

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challenge is we are located away from the cities and when we train people they sometimes move to other centres,” Baba says. “We are trying to contain that by employing people right out of school, training them, and keeping them on the job while making more training facilities available. We have a competent staff within Tanzania, the challenge is getting them to the rural areas. That is a work in progress.”

SILVER LININGS

Recruiting people to rural locations is a challenge, but it is not the only challenge that Baba has encountered since he arrived at Dangote Cement Tanzania. As you can imagine, 2020 was an eventful time to be put in charge of a business.

“There were a lot of challenges at that time,” Baba admits. “When I came in the market was bad and I think it was all because of mindset.

People believed that with our

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DANGOTE CEMENT TANZANIA

location, away from the main market, it was going to be difficult to compete. But we had to work on the mindset, we changed that mindset, drew up our strategy, and tried to look at our costs. We reduced our costs to the extent that we were able to export our products costeffectively.”

It is clear talking with Baba that he places a lot of weight on the importance of a positive mindset, and it has helped him navigate Dangote Tanzania through numerous challenges.

“For every disadvantage, there are also advantages,” he insists.

“Our location is distant from the market, but we are close to gas for our operating needs, we have a port that is virtually free and is close to us. We are taking advantage of that, and as I said we had to take extra measures

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to make ourselves competitive, including cost reduction and improving efficiencies.

We have some of the lowest power consumption in Tanzania. We introduced compressed natural gas for our trucks. We reduce costs, take advantage of the port, reduce costs in our trucks, and that combines to give us an edge on the market.”

That edge is not just cost efficiency, Baba points out.

“We provide quality products at a very competitive price. We also provide added support which our fleet of trucks will deliver, and we are able to reach areas that other cement companies might not be able to get to,” he explains. “Quality and service, that has given us an edge over the others.”

Dangote Tanzania uses that competitive edge to provide for the communities it works within and alongside.

“I am so proud of what we are doing. We engage with the community, we meet regularly

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DANGOTE CEMENT TANZANIA

to identify their needs and mutually agree on the best way forward,” Baba says. “We have intervened in their water provisions, provided learning facilities, desks and in our main community, we just completed a school for the immediate community which is yet to be opened by the government. We have provided a police station and health units on the ground.”

Dangote’s contributions are welcomed by local communities and local government alike, but Baba is keen the company does not rest on its laurels.

“Our communities are pleased with what we are doing to improve our CSR portfolio.

Even the government of the southern region of Tanzania is happy with what we are doing, and we hope to improve even more,” Baba says.

With the support of the local communities and government, a strong strategy, and a wealth of nearby resources and talent, Dangote Cement Tanzania has

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everything it needs to build toward a prosperous future for the company, and the nation.

“As far as we are concerned the future is very bright,” Baba says. “There are a lot of infrastructure projects in Tanzania coming up and we are poised to provide cement for that.”

But while Tanzania has everything Dangote needs, Baba believes it also has more to offer further afield.

“We’re expanding our exports into the Indian Ocean markets, and I wouldn’t be surprised if in one or two years we’re putting another production line in place,” Baba reflects. “In addition to that there is demand from all the in-land countries like Rwanda and Burundi, DRC, Malawi, and more recently we had an order from Kenya. We see the demand for cement will go upward, and we are thinking of putting another production line in place to meet that demand.”

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CLEANTECH GLOBAL RENEWABLES

CEO SALVADOR ANTONIO R. “ABOY” CASTRO JNR TALKS ABOUT HOW HIS BACKGROUND IN BASKETBALL COACHING IS HELPING HIM TO INSPIRE CLEANTECH’S RENEWABLE ENERGY BUSINESS.

THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENERGY PROJECT MANAGED BY: DAVID GARNER

CleanTech Global Renewables, Inc. is a renewable energy company based in the Philippines, mainly focusing on solar and wind power. Established in 2014, the company received praise from the local government for the speed with which it responded to the national call for renewable energy sources.

“From finding the land site, completing the technical studies, permits and financing to construction and operation, we managed to get the first solar plant finished in just 13 months” recalls CEO Salvador Antonio R. “Aboy” Castro Jnr.

C

ompanies will often use sport as a metaphor for motivation. In Aboy’s case, sports as a metaphor for communication and motivation comes from real experience.

“In our company, I would define myself as the Chief Energy Officer (if you’ll excuse the pun!)

I see myself as a leader, like a sports coach. For 14 years I was a professional basketball coach, leading teams on the college, professional and national levels” he states.

Aboy goes on to explain the skills he learned on the court and how they also apply in the world of business.

“When you are a coach, you have to sell the vision to your team. It is about being able to

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show people a direction and strategy to get things done” he further details.

Aboy and his team had to dig deep, especially early in the life of the business.

“As a family-owned company, we did not have deep pockets compared to the larger local conglomerates. Over time, we managed to get funding from private equity firms, but to start with our equity was our blood, sweat and values” he colourfully describes.

Aboy felt that initially CleanTech and the renewable energy industry were not fully supported in the Philippines, feeling that the industry has been better supported in the United Kingdom.

CLEANTECH GLOBAL RENEWABLES

CLEANTECH GLOBAL RENEWABLES

“WHEN YOU ARE A COACH, YOU HAVE TO SELL THE VISION TO YOUR TEAM. IT IS ABOUT BEING ABLE TO SHOW PEOPLE A DIRECTION AND STRATEGY TO GET THINGS DONE.”

“In the UK, the regulations have allowed for more investment in wind power.

Between 2016 to 2019, we had a lull in renewable energy investment in the Philippines, so we did not get the same benefits” he explains. Since then, the need for renewable energy has been more recognised in the Philippines and there has been more support for CleanTech with the business continuing to push forward.

“It has been picking up since 2020, although this has been more to do with technology such as solar panels becoming more affordable. CleanTech is now branching out into other markets such as Australia and Vietnam” Aboy outlines.

WORDS OF INSPIRATION

Aboy is inspired by the American industrialist Warren Buffett, citing his advice when it comes to recruiting potential employees.

“Warren Buffett identified three key traits when looking for employees.

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CLEANTECH GLOBAL RENEWABLES

The first is intelligence, as you need a certain amount of intelligence so that you can move forward within the company” Aboy explains. “The second is energy. We want people who will take ownership of their work and will not back down” he further explains. “Finally, we need people with integrity. The problem with people who have intelligence and energy without integrity is that they could end up robbing you” he quips.

Aboy continues to use sport as a metaphor, this time citing horse racing when looking at how you work with your team.

“Some people need the stick to encourage them, while with others you can let go of the reins and let them move forward.”

As well as sport, Aboy is passionate about CleanTech Foundation, the charity and community project arm of the business. “I’m as passionate if not more so about our foundation than I am about the company. After our father died when I was still in Elementary School, my sister and I benefited from scholarships and without that, we would not have been able to complete our education.

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I am a Chemical Engineer, and my sister is a Doctor of Medicine.” he recalls.

He goes on to break down the key areas that CleanTech Foundation has been established to address. “The foundation covers four main areas, the “Four E’s” as we call them. The first is the Environment, as this is an important part of our business.

The second is Education so that we can provide the means for families and students to get the support they need.

We will continue to grow the scholarship as we complete more projects and expand the company” he explains.

“The third part of the foundation is Emergency Response. We are based around the infamous ‘ring of fire’ so we have to deal with emergencies such as volcanic eruptions and typhoons regularly, we would like to be able to avoid these, but we cannot” he states. “This is why we have funds allocated to provide clothes, food and shelter. We also provide solar panels so that people can charge their phones and contact loved ones in an emergency “he further explains.

As with education, the final key area that CleanTech Foundation wants to address is personal to Aboy and could have a potentially massive impact in the local area around the Philippines.

“The final part of the foundation is Entrepreneurship. We provide training and opportunities, as well as small capital access.

We aim to encourage new businesses and spur the local micro-economy” he says.

THE FUTURE

CleanTech is in the process of completing a major renewable energy project. “We are working on multiple renewable energy projects with an aggregate capacity of 1000MWs that are to be completed in 2025. We are hoping to partner with a global leader in renewables. One that is at the forefront of the energy transition, giving us both access to capital and expertise. This will happen in the next two weeks, and everything is looking to be on track” Aboy explains.

The company is also looking beyond wind and solar energy to investigate the next potential renewable energy source.

“We are also looking into hydrogen technology. Studies have suggested that this could be possible within the next 8 to 15 years” Aboy states. The company is also researching sites in the United Kingdom so that they can further develop their offshore wind technology.

Aboy concludes with a final sporting metaphor, outlining CleanTech’s motivation to push their industry forward.

“Over time, CleanTech will be expanding into more markets.

I compare it to a half-marathon or even a marathon, you must always look at the next goal post, like the next kilometre in front of you! That way you break the entire run into more manageable and reachable goals.”

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INGETEAM

INGETEAM, A SPECIALIST IN ELECTRIC POWER CONVERSION, OFFERS ADVANCED SYSTEMS THAT HELP TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE AND EFFICIENT ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION.

DRIVING THE ENERGY TRANSITION PROJECT MANAGED BY: TIMOTHY GARWOOD The Spanish company Ingeteam is active in several sectors with a common goal: to electrify society in order to decarbonise the economy.

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ith its international structure and presence in 24 countries on five continents, the company provides the design and manufacture of power electronics solutions for different applications, such as renewable energy plants, electric mobility, railway traction, mining, marine, green hydrogen production and others.

Ingeteam has an extensive product portfolio, ranging from string inverters for residential, commercial, and industrial systems, to central inverters for large-scale plants rated at hundreds of megawatts.

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Just recently, the company has undergone internal reorganisation into 7 business sectors, to become more marketoriented and make better use of internal efficiencies.

SOLAR POWER

Mr José Luis González, Sales Director of the Ingeteam Solar Photovoltaic Area, the sector that has been experiencing the steepest growth, says: “Solar and Energy Storage, currently accounting for about 35% of the Group’s turnover, are areas with huge potential, unhindered by the global pandemic.”

Indeed, despite the pandemic, Ingeteam ended 2021 having supplied 4,229 MW to the solar and energy storage global markets, a record in the company’s history, and signing 1.5 GW of operation and maintenance contracts for the solar PV sector. “This has been a very important achievement

for us, taking into account the grave consequences of the pandemic and all the delays suffered in the development of projects.”

“We have been working closely with our customers from the design phase. This has allowed us to create alliances that helped us to better understand the needs of our customers, with a view to always seeking a balance between the quality and profitability of the projects, thus minimising the risk.”

As a result of its customercentric focus and technological expertise, Ingeteam has been selected to participate in several prestigious projects over the last few years. In 2020, Scottish Power Renewables, Iberdrola’s subsidiary in the UK, awarded Ingeteam a contract for the supply of the company’s largest-ever ion-lithium battery storage system.

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INGETEAM

Mr José Luis González, Sales Director, Solar Photovoltaic Area, Ingeteam.

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SEL S.p.A SEL is a manufacturer of Medium Voltage equipment and switchgears for primary and secondary distribution applications, with performances up to 40.5kV and 31.5kA. SEL was established in 1988 by two brothers in a small workshop in Italy, located in the hills of Tuscany, a stone’s throw from the hometown of Leonardo da Vinci.

Finding ourselves in the place where such a great genius was born and grew up and being in so close contact with the history of the Renaissance is indeed a powerful inspiration that has guided us through a continuous technological development during the last 34 years.

INGETEAM

This agreement joins another which was signed recently for the supply of inverters for the Francisco Pizarro plant, which is to be Europe’s biggest solar PV plant and Iberdrola’s biggest plant of any kind anywhere in the world. Further agreements have also been reached in recent months for PV construction projects in Spain and Mexico.

Today the company is still run by the same family with the same spirit of innovation, giving continuity to our motto “from the Idea to its Application” by creating and manufacturing useroriented products.

Our products are constantly updated according to the latest technological advancements and to our customers’ needs and they are the clear evidence of our everyday efforts in R&D and our commitment to quality and customer support.

In the early years, SEL was LV and MV panel builder but in the mid 90’s we decided that with our extensive knowledge and passion for perfection, we should design and build our own range of MV switchgears; our products have been in service for more than 25 years and are considered by many to be the benchmark of quality and innovation helping us establish ourselves in the worldwide market, we have a strong network across 5 continents enabling us to supply projects of massive importance along with our valued and trusted customers.

Ingeteam is one of our key partners and together we have realized huge solar and BESS installations such as the Sweihan Solar Park in Abu Dhabi (so far, the largest PV farm in the world in a single execution), the “Francisco Pizarro” Photovoltaic Plant in Spain (the largest in Europe), the New England Solar Farm in Australia and many others across Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Today our products are used and appreciated by major utilities, developers, EPCs and final users in grid applications, infrastructures, industrial sites and power generation. This is only possible thanks to the continuous focus that we put into our quality, customer service and support that very often becomes a partnership that we can grow together.

All of this makes us ready for the great challenges given by the global happenings and the technological innovations aimed at a green, sustainable and smart future. www.sel-electric.com

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ENERGY STORAGE

Energy storage is an area that is growing fast and where Ingeteam is building an impressive track record, positioning itself for significant developments over the short and medium-term, both at the residential level and at a large scale.

“This sector is very important for us, as it is the key element needed to make the energy transition technically possible.

We have been present in this sector for more than 10 years.

In this time, we have supplied 1.6 GWh of energy storage capacity.”

Ingeteam recently commissioned the Arañuelo III photovoltaic plant, the first large-scale PV plant in Spain to incorporate an energy storage system, comprising a 3MW / 9 MWh battery system in this case.

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INGETEAM

As well as being the first large-scale solar plant in Spain to incorporate batteries, this project offered a further innovative feature with its inclusion of the battery storage system within the PV plant as a distributed system with a DC-Coupling configuration. In this mode, the batteries are installed within the solar array and the battery converters share the DC connection with the PV inverters.

Last but not least, in May 2022, the company announced that Ingeteam has been selected as the technology partner to equip the largest energy storage system in Italy, which will also be one of the largest and most important systems in Europe and in the world. This landmark project will secure a power output of 70 MW and an installed capacity of 340 MWh and offer an energy storage capacity that was almost inconceivable until a very short time ago.

ONE OF A KIND

Although there are many players in the fast-growing renewable energies sector, it is not only the customer-centric approach and technical expertise that differentiate Ingeteam from its competitors. “Ingeteam is a European company that was created 50 years ago. We are a medium-sized company, and this gives us greater flexibility to provide a more customised service to our clients.”

“Moreover, we believe that we provide the widest scope of supply for solar PV farms on the market compared to other power electronics suppliers. In fact, some of our clients see us as a technology partner, because we are by their side throughout the development stages of their projects.”

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Mr González also highlights the company’s excellent team, without whom success would not be possible. At the moment, given the expected growth of the sector, the company is planning to hire 1,000 new people to increase staff numbers to 5,100 by 2024.

Ambitious as this may seem, Mr González points out that the company is going to capitalise on its proximity to the local university as well as the promising potential of the

sector, as well as Ingeteam’s active participation in the energy transition, which is bound to be an attractive proposition for young talent.

GROWING WITH THE MARKET

Apart from solar energy and energy storage, the company has also been looking at green hydrogen, initiating in-house electrolyser development in 2006-2021. “The first project will be delivered in the coming weeks,” says Mr González.

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INGETEAM

“However, in terms of revenues, solar and energy storage will be the main contributors.”

Needless to say, investment in R&D is high, and the company is committed to sustaining the level of investment in both its facilities and research and development. In this context, Ingeteam plans to invest €210 M over the next 3 years – €140M will be spent on R&D for the company’s in-house technology, while €70 M is planned for new facilities, says Mr González.

“We are planning a new building within our Spanish power converter manufacturing plant and a new high-tech power laboratory at our Spanish R&D offices. This will translate

into a greater productive capacity, enhanced value for our clients and increased local staff numbers.”

In line with this increasing capacity and number of employees, the company is set to grow its PV and Battery storage business, specifically in the US and the UK, followed by Ingeteam’s historically strong markets of Spain, Italy, Australia, and Latin America.

“We expect to consolidate our position in the markets in which we are most active and well-established while looking for new opportunities that may arise in other countries with good growth prospects,” Mr González concludes.

“WE ARE A MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANY, AND THIS GIVES US GREATER FLEXIBILITY TO PROVIDE A MORE CUSTOMISED SERVICE TO OUR CLIENTS.”

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SKYLINE RENEWABLES

SKYLINE RENEWABLES DEMONSTRATES THAT RENEWABLE ENERGY FIRMS DO NOT NEED TO START FROM SCRATCH.

TO ACQUIRE & DEVELOP PROJECT MANAGED BY: HAYDEN TURNER

Skyline Renewables was created back in 2018 as a partnership by the management team at Transatlantic Power Holdings and an infrastructure equity investor, Ardian. The company’s original goal was to create a platform for developing renewables in both the solar and wind segments. With a strategy to become a leader in the US market, the company maintained an interest in opportunities with all clean energy technologies that would provide the ability to grow in emerging markets. It was not the first company to enter the renewables market with a goal like this, but its approach was unique.

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SKYLINE RENEWABLES

I

n the renewable energy sector, the standard phase approach started with the development stage, construction, and commercial operation of the renewable energy facility.

This path has an inherent risk because as you start investing in development, there is a potential that those projects may or may not be built. Revenues are only realized when the development assets move to the operating phase and generate renewable power. Martin Mugica, Skyline Renewables’ CEO says. “In 2017 and 2018, we decided to buy projects that were already generating cash flow and use those proceeds to build our construction and development capabilities at a later stage. We have already put together a 1000 MW portfolio of operational assets. With the current market

conditions and high development fees we are experiencing from acquisition targets, we decided it is time to build our own development facilities. We are putting together our own pipeline and development function.”

The Skyline management team was a group of former employees of Iberdrola. Within a very short time, they had proved themselves to be a contender.

“We are proud of what we have accomplished at Iberdrola, we were the second-largest wind operator in the US, and it was an interesting time.

There was an immense amount we learned about market participants, regional and state markets, federal policy, and how to extract value in changing market dynamics. This understanding raised the idea back in 2015 that it was time to pursue something on our own,” Mugica says. “We resigned and started looking for partners

to invest capital, eventually finding Ardian a firm who was looking to invest in the US We were looking for capital, they were looking for a management team, so it was the perfect partnership.”

In 2018 Skyline acquired its first project and continued to acquire three more assets. Closing the deal on another four assets in 2019, in a little more than one year we put together a wind portfolio of more than 800MW in 5 different states in the US. “We worked on integrating and organizing the wind portfolio and began to diversify by acquiring solar,” Mugica recalls. “Finally in 2020, we achieved our first construction project, which was also our first solar project. We did not acquire an operational solar farm, instead, we acquired it before starting construction.

It was the largest solar project in the US to reach commercial operations in Q4 2021.

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SKYLINE RENEWABLES

A TIME OF UNCERTAINTY

Today Skyline Renewables is looking at more projects and entering the next phase of its plan, which is to grow its development capabilities.

Of course, it is attempting to do that at a time when the market is encountering new uncertainties.

“There is so much uncertainty in the environment, including renewables. While there is increased interest to combat climate change, there are practical matters, regulatory hurdles and global issues related to the supply chain,” Mugica explains. “Some projects that have been announced have been postponed because they cannot get solar panels as expected due to the tariff situation on panels. Record Martin Mugica, CEO, Skyline Renewables.

Making a difference.

Our firm is proud to support Skyline Renewables and its CEO Martin Mugica in creating a clean energy future for all.

troutman.com Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP

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wind penetration on the grid is already affecting prices. It is the lowest cost of generating electricity, making it very competitive but pushing overall electricity prices down and reducing margins.”

While the challenges are undeniable, the role renewables must play is more important than ever.

“When we look at electricity prices in Europe, I am amazed many people forget that the best way to reduce energy prices is to have more renewables., Technologies with no fuel costs result in the lowest marginal cost. However, this requires proper ways to integrate nondispatchable resources into the grid” Mugica says.

Given the importance of renewables as a solution, Skyline Renewables has taken a robust approach to the challenges the sector faces.

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SKYLINE RENEWABLES

“Regarding the supply chain, you need agreements in place to procure equipment while diversifying supply sources to reduce your risk in a changing environment,” Mugica tells us.

“We are seeing less and less globalisation, which I think is bad. Global trade will take a while to get back to where it was. We have Ukraine war and sanctions as a result, the ChinaUS damaged relationship, and countries in a desperate search to secure resources looking to be more independent because of a lack of trust in the global trade system. For us, it means relying more on US manufacturers and US companies as well the UK, and Europe, which will also have an impact on costs.”

Meanwhile, Skyline continues to educate and advocate for renewables and the support they need.

“You need robust transmission to support renewable energy.

Europe is in a better situation due to more transmission available than the US. Many renewable facilities are located in remote areas, their grid is more integrated and designed to move electricity to areas that have load demand,” Mugica says. “There are also downsides as most transmission grids are generally operating at the country level. As a result, they are losing a big part of their advantage. Bigger markets that are well interconnected are the best way to reduce costs.

The EU doesn’t have global transmission yet, but opening and unifying their transmission would enable the energy to move from one country to another, tremendously reducing the cost of electricity across borders. In the US we have fewer systems, making it difficult to move power from one transmission grid to another,

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and building new transmission is a significant challenge.

Until we get a transmission grid that allows us to cover electrical demand with the right resource there will always be inefficiencies preventing the ability to move electricity at the lowest cost, which ultimately affects our competitiveness.”

BUILDING CAPABILITIES

Moving forward, Skyline Renewables is working to balance its capabilities to optimise the growth of the Company via acquisitions and development of its own assets.

“There are times in the market when the developers are asking for large transaction fees and it is more effective and efficient to develop your own assets. That is what we are implementing now,” Mugica points out. “So those two pieces of the business, acquisition, and development, complement each other. We

want a company that is always capable of growing by buying assets or developing our own.

We need a quality pipeline to bring us projects we can develop and construct. We are working on new technologies and new products including green hydrogen and battery storage, which, complement renewables and reduce the carbon footprint.”

Above all, Mugica emphasises the importance of cooperation, in the face of both climate change, and the difficult international situation.

“The challenges of the industry can be fixed simply by working together to find a solution. The situation we are facing right now is that countries are too dependent on gas from potentially hostile powers. Let us learn from history, promote the right technologies to preserve our way of life and take care of the environment and the Earth,” he insists.

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VATTENFALL

IN ITS LATEST DEVELOPMENT, VATTENFALL IS BRINGING NEW MEANING TO THE PHRASE “SOLAR FARM”.

LAY OF THE LAND PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

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VATTENFALL

Vattenfall is a trailblazer in the energy sector. When we last spoke to them two years ago the company had just shut down its only coal-powered power plant and was developing a flagship 1.2-megawatt floating solar farm.

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hen we catch up with Ron Sperber, Vattenfall’s procurement manager for solar power, he is delighted with that project’s progress.

“It’s running, it’s operational, it’s going very well,” he tells us, before adding, “and we’re now working on something even more exciting.”

That something is the Symbizon Project and could very well be the future of solar power, and agriculture.

A LANDMARK PROJECT

The problem Symbizon was designed to address is a simple and familiar one for the solar energy sector. Solar panels

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Unleash the Full Potential of Renewables With Huawei’s Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) As a leading technology company, Huawei is at the forefront of the global energy transition.

Equipped with advanced digital technologies and designed for absolute reliability in the harshest conditions, Huawei’s products have established themselves in the market for string inverters, transformers and energy storage systems.

solar.huawei.com/eu eu_inverter_support@huawei.com

SUN2000-215KTL-H0 Smart String Inverter

SUN2000-20KTL-M2 Smart PV Controller

SUN2000-40KTL-M3 Smart PV Controller

SUN2000-6KTL-L1 (Single Phase) Smart Energy Controller

SUN2000-10KTL-M1 (Three Phase) Smart PV Controller

SUN2000-450W-P Smart PV Optimizer

Smarter Energy for a better Life FusionSolar is smart, secure, reliable and delivers high returns and ROI making Huawei preferred by developers and investors. Since 2015 to date, Huawei has been ranked 1st every year for the highest number of inverter deliveries worldwide.

HUAWEI’S BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM ELECTRICITY GRIDS ACROSS EUROPE ARE FLOODING, ELECTRICITY PRICES ARE SKY HIGH AND THE INCREASING SHARE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION IS BRINGING ABOUT AN UNPRECEDENTED PRICE VOLATILITY IN POWER MARKETS. BECAUSE OF THESE DEVELOPMENTS HUAWEI RECENTLY LAUNCHED ITS BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM (BESS) IN EUROPE. GRID CONGESTION The energy transition is accelerating; renewable energy is being generated in many places. Although in many countries DSOs are expanding their electricity grids, grid congestion have become in many places an issue. As a consequence of this new wind and solar parks can’t be connected to the grid anymore. Also, even new businesses can’t start, because the DSO can’t provide a connection. Likewise, existing businesses that are growing and have a need for more power can’t get a bigger connection. It is needless to say that these developments pose a threat not only to the energy transition but also to the economy.

LEGISLATION According to the EU regulation 2019/943 on the internal market for electricity “electricity from renewable sources from small powergenerating facilities should be granted priority dispatch either via a specific priority order in the dispatching methodology or via legal or regulatory requirements for market operators to provide this electricity on the market”. However, in some countries over-supply situations are dealt with by so-called curtailment, i.e. lowering the output of wind power plants or solar power plants. If this curtailment happens while conventional power generation is still running this is actually against the EU regulations.

LARGE-SCALE BATTERIES Large-scale batteries play an important role in the energy transition.

They can take away the obstacles of grid congestion and allow developers to establish new solar and wind parks at locations where the grid capacity previously was too tight and, by using batteries, entrepreneurs retrieve back their freedom to grow their businesses.

Moreover, the use of large-scale batteries prevents curtailment and is thereby enabling full utilization of the available renewable energy supply at any point in time. For this reason they play an essential role in meeting the Paris agreement climate goals. Lastly, the deployment of batteries forms a means for grid operators and regulators to obey to the aforementioned EU regulations.

GETTING MORE OUT OF THE BATTERY Although grid congestion is in many cases the reason for companies to purchase a large-scale battery, soon after the procurement, battery owners are exploring other lucrative income sources. One source is power trading, based on the simple rule of buying/charging at a low price and by selling/discharging at a high price. On the European EPEX spot exchange, power can be traded on a day-ahead basis and even intra-day. In these markets, the spreads, i.e. the difference between the high and low prices in a day, have dramatically increased, which is of course good news for the BESS business case. The increase in spreads also holds for the imbalance prices in most countries and

brings trading opportunities in the imbalance markets as well. Next to power trading, the BESS can be deployed for grid stability purposes, like for the services FCR (Frequency Containment Reserve) and FRR (Frequency Restoration Reserve). To this end battery owners can participate in auctions to obtain time slots in which they can deliver the grid stability service against a financial compensation. Because of the versatility described above some people compare a BESS with a Swiss knife. Moreover, a recent report of research company CE Delft from the Netherlands shows that the deployment of a BESS for a combination of tasks rather than for one single task yields the most profitable case.

HUAWEI’S BESS Huawei’s BESS is a modular container system with a capacity of 2 MWh and starts with a power of 1 MW (0.5C). In addition to the container battery, Huawei also supplies the inverters and optionally transformers, and therefore becomes a one-stop shop for its customers. The inverters are to a large extent based on the utility-scale Solar PV inverters for which Huawei has been global market leader for many years. HuaweiBESS owners can therefore rely on proven technologies and obviously also on the compatibility between the Huawei components.

WHAT MAKES THE HUAWEI BESS SO SPECIAL? In simple large-scale battery systems, the battery cells are all connected in series and the control takes place in a central way. In such a system the performance is determined by the weakest link. Huawei has chosen for a different approach, namely a hierarchical control. Each container system is divided into six racks, each rack is divided into 21 battery packs and each pack contains 16 cells. Power electronics are applied on all levels, resulting in system-rack-pack control. Each rack has its own air conditioning unit, which guarantees a uniform temperature distribution. These features lead to a very low degradation rate of the battery cells, an optimal capacity utilization and low maintenance costs.

HUAWEI’S EXPERTISE It is not the first time that Huawei enters the field of energy storage.

The company has ample experience with battery systems that are used as back-up systems for e.g. telecom antennas as well as data centers.

Know-how, supported by 96,000 staff working in R&D, forms the basis of a sublime quality and a very high level of safety. Thermal-runaway is a well-known safety issue of batteries and should by all means be prevented. The high safety level of the Huawei BESS is based on a defense-in-depth safety philosophy. Firstly, a battery technology is chosen with an inherently low probability of thermal-runaway which is Lithium Ferro Phosphate (LFP). Secondly, an early warning system is in place, wherein the current-voltage characteristics of the battery packs are continuously monitored and any malfunctioning pack is immediately excluded from operation. Thirdly, each system is equipped with CO, smoke and hydrogen detectors. And lastly, each container is equipped with an active fire extinguishing system. With this, Huawei is confident to introduce a safe and reliable product and is looking forward to push the energy transition forward together with its customers!

ONE-STOP SHOP SOLUTION | MULTI-LEVEL OPTIMIZATION | SAFE solar.huawei.com/eu

VATTENFALL

take up a lot of room, and in the countries where Vattenfall operates space is at a premium.

“What we see is there are so many demands pressing on the amount of land we have,” says Eric Tonnaer, Project Engineer for Symbizon. “We need more space for housing, for energy, for food. You also see now, looking at legislation, the government wants everyone to push for multidisciplinary land use, combining functions to increase the efficiency of the land. The Dutch coalition agreement of 2021 even puts emphasis on this multidisciplinary land use within solar farms. There are places you can’t get a permit for standardised fields because of this pressing land problem.”

At the same time, there is always the pressing issue of sustainability.

“The Netherlands has one of the highest rates of Ammonia pollution per capita due livestock

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numbers and meat production,” explains Giuseppina Iannuzzi, Symbizon’s Construction Project Manager.

“We’re trying to convince farmers to convert their business to more agricultural uses.”

Vattenfall’s floating solar farm addressed similar challenges, but if anything, Symbizon’s solution is even more special.

“We have combined agriculture and PV on the same field,” says Tonnaer. “We add solar panels to an agriculture field, taking away the entire food versus fuel discussion by combining both in one place. We try to find an optimal destination for every particle of light that hits the field, so it is used for either electricity production or

crop growth via photosynthesis.

It’s innovative. We’re the first in the world combining trackers with lane farming.”

Lane farming is a new idea in agriculture designed to promote biodiversity. It uses no pesticides, working by putting different rows of crops next to each other. Among the benefits of the technique is the fact that infestation can’t jump from crop to crop across the lanes. It also includes “herb strips” that attracts insects that target the infestations crops are vulnerable to.

“The land has to be more productive,” Iannuzzi points out. “We’re using one piece of land to grow food and produce energy.”

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VATTENFALL

“We are showing that both purposes can be complementary rather than substitutional,” Tonnaer agrees.

The more you learn about this project, the cleverer it looks. For instance, the “herb strips” are positioned in the areas that get the least sunlight, because the herbs do not need a lot of light. The solar panels have tracking models that allow them to follow the position of the sun from east to west, and as they move they ensure every part of the field gets enough light for its crops to grow.

“Solar panels are normally mounted on fixed structures,” Sperber explains. “We use trackers, a vertical pole with a horizontal pole on top of it, and it moves along with the sun.”

Every aspect of the project is designed to find the optimal combination of energy generation and food growth. The agricultural yield without the solar park would be a bit higher than a field without solar park. The same applies to the solarpark itself: more modules could be place on the field if the agricultural activities were not to be considered. However, the total yield, energy + agriculture is much higher than when the land was used for only one of these activities.

“We use modules that also produce energy on the back side,” Tonnaer says. “We have bigger row widths because you need agricultural machines moving between them. So, light that reflects from the ground and hits the module also produces power. We optimally make use of the space with this tracker. We’ll then position the panels vertically when the farmer need to harvest the field with his machines.”

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VATTENFALL

SOMETHING NEVER SEEN BEFORE

While a lot of the technologies being used by this project were pre-existing, the way they are being combined here is unique.

“There were already trackers, lane farming and bifacial modules, but getting all that knowledge around the table and making good decisions with it is a challenge,” Tonnaer tells us. “We have experts in food and energy working together where they had been in competition. That was our greatest achievement.”

Indeed, Tonnaer has found it a learning experience fuelled by strong partnerships.

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VINDO SOLAR is solar PV company specializing in design, installation, operation and maintenance of large scale rooftop & utility solar parks. We are active in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Lithuania & Ireland.

We provide long term solutions where safety, reliability and maintainability are key conditions. Delivering maximum value to our Customers is the most important goal of our team.

Harvesting the sun!

“Our passion for Solar energy started in 2009 with the goal to contribute to affordable and clean energy.”

Mindaugas Jaruševičius, Founder & Managing Director.

Contact us: +31 611 239616 | info@vindosolar.com | www.vindosolar.com

Vindo Solar your partner towards net zero emissions

We strongly believe that energy production and consumption as much as possible should be close to each other. That is the reason for battery energy storage systems to be implemented where energy consumption is high, especially at industrial buildings. Smart systems and engineering is key components to success.

Harvesting solar energy in Agro-PV is combination that brings benefits to all involved parties. Not only farmers see increase in crop yields, but also generated energy contributing to global green energy demand. Such land usage is an option to balance farm land with ecological and environmental goals.

We are solar solutions integrator, where idea, feeling and action are jointly transformed into long term value.

■ We focus on industrial buildings, rooftop solar installations and Agro-PV; ■ Our solutions provides long term maintainability features; ■ Our aim to implement sustainability objectives of our Customers.

Whatever challenges our Customers have, we always find the solutions that fit their needs the best. For instance, installation of 68 MWp rooftop portfolio in the Netherlands requires different approach for every roof, not only on technical side, but as well concerning roof access, hoisting solutions and work time schedule.

We have experience working with specific and short time windows for installing solar panels on Conference & Convention Centre, where we could not work on the roof while events are held. And we learned that there is not much event free days in the Year!

There are projects requiring innovative solution for maintainability – roof cover is weak and we have to install solar panels together with walkways for future access.

So every second module we installed special metal walking plates, that are anchored to building structure below the roof skin.

www.vindosolar.com

We realize that every project has its own specific requirements and we are ready to provide customized services with fixed cost solution and on time.

VATTENFALL

“From our side, we learned a little more about agriculture.

Farmers learned about the energy perspective, and we worked together with the construction sector, and Vindo Solar B.V., our contractor for this project,” he tells us. “Together with the tracker manufacturer, aligned to ensure everything can be accessed remotely and adapted the tracking algorithm to optimise for electricity yield and crop growth.”

It meant dealing with unique challenges that would be unfamiliar to a pure solar project.

“After construction, the area between the modules will be immediately used for agriculture, so we minimise the compression of the ground,” Tonnaer emphasises. “Some

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www.schletter-group.com

The Schletter Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of solar mounting systems.

Schletter Solar develops & manufactures mounting solutions made of aluminium & steel for solar farms, flat roofs & pitched roofs.

The sophisticated solutions deliver supreme quality & durability, wherever the sun shines.

Schletter Solar GmbH Alustraße 1, 83527 Kirchdorf, Germany

+49 8072 91910 info@schletter-group.com

GCL SYSTEM INTEGRATION TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD GCL System Integration Technology Co. Ltd (GCLSI) is part of the GOLDEN CONCORD Group (GCL), an international energy conglomerate specializing in clean energy.

GCL, founded in 1990, now employs over 30,000 people worldwide with business footprints across China, Asia-Pacific regions, as well as Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. GCL ranked the fourth in the world’s new energy Top 500 in 2021.

As the world-class crystalline silicon module manufacturer, GCLSI dedicates on the research and development of high efficiency module for all applications, products including: bifacial, half-cell, 166mm, 182mm, 210mm large format, and certified low-carbon modules. All products have passed comprehensive inspection and rigorous testing. GCLSI is rated as a global first-tier module supplier

by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. With a vertically integrated value chain operation, GCLSI has proven track record of capability and expertise in delivering state-of-the-art solar package solutions incorporating DESIGN-PRODUCT-SERVICE. GCL system integration technology GmbH. 8 Leopoldstrasse, 80802, Munich. +49(89)954572962 E-mail: gclsisales@gclsi.com www.gclsi.com

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VATTENFALL

soil will be compressed a bit, but most will be optimal for agriculture immediately, which make the construction of this project a lot more difficult compared to a conventional solar park”.

“WE’RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION, PROCUREMENT AND COORDINATION, BUT THERE ARE PARTNERS INVOLVED IN THIS. THEY ARE A PART OF THIS PROJECT AND WITHOUT THEM, IT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE.” A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT

As well as contractors such as Vindo Solar B.V., solar module manufacturer GCL, and tracker supplier Schletter, Vattenfall has been working on this project with a consortium of organisations to make this idea a reality. These include the research institute, TNO, Aeres University of Applied Sciences, lane farming expert HEMUS/ERF, and governmental landowner RVB. The project was made possible thanks amongst others to a subsidy from the Topsector Energy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.

“We’re responsible for the construction, procurement and coordination, but there are partners involved in this. They are a part of this project and without them, it wouldn’t be

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possible,” Sperber insists. “The goal is to learn for the future, and it’s a joint effort.”

Finding appropriate partners can be a challenge, because although Symbizon is a gamechanging development, as a proof of concept it is operating at a smaller scale than some potential contractors would be interested in.

“When it comes to procurement, this is a relatively small project with 0.7 megawatts on the side of energy generation. That is small for a large-scale project.

The construction market is very overheated at the moment,” Sperber accepts. “We worked with Vindo Solar B.V., and that’s

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a very good company. They were very flexible from the start, willing to invest in this project because they see a future for it. We need partners who can look beyond this specific project to see what it means for the future for the scarcity of land and renewable energy.”

Being willing to take risks on these kinds of projects is central to Vattenfall’s philosophy.

“We always try to find and research new improvements of our projects,” Tonnaer says.

“With these kind of pilots we want to test potential new forms of business in real life. If the outcome is positive, it can have a huge impact.”

“We intend to use what we learn here for other projects in the Netherlands and Germany,” Sperber agrees.

“We want to go for a largescale rollout if it’s profitable,” Tonnaer concludes. “Let’s see what comes out of the research.”

“WE WANT TO TEST POTENTIAL NEW FORMS OF BUSINESS IN REAL LIFE. IF THE OUTCOME IS POSITIVE, IT CAN HAVE A HUGE IMPACT.”

VATTENFALL

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BOSCH HOLDINGS

BOSCH HOLDINGS HAS OVER 60 YEARS OF EXPERTISE TO APPLY TO THE CONSTRUCTION, INFRASTRUCTURE, & AGRICULTURAL SECTORS, ALL POWERED BY STRONG CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS.

FROM FARMS TO BUILDING SITES PROJECT MANAGED BY: JAMIE SIVYER

Bosch Holdings has made a name for itself as an internationally focused, multidisciplinary engineering and consulting group leading in its market sectors. The company works closely with its clients to successfully execute demanding industrial, infrastructure, and agricultural projects. Bosch boasts a strong portfolio of capabilities that includes everything from consulting engineering, skills development and even project finance solutions.

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BOSCH HOLDINGS

T

he company has been in operation for over 60 years, and during that time it has maintained a strong regional presence across its ten office locations in South Africa, Kenya, Brazil, and the UK staffed by highly qualified professionals.

Throughout more than half a century of service, Bosch Holdings’ purpose has been to try and create a positive, lasting difference that exceeds

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its clients’ expectations and achieves exceptional results. It works to achieve this not only for its clients but for its staff and the communities it works within. This is made possible through a company culture that emphasises quality, innovation, and technical excellence.

Bosch’s work consists of over a thousand successfully completed projects that can be seen in over 120 countries around the world.

Bosch Holdings is known for delivering high quality local integrated project solutions to an international client base, pursuing excellence, innovation, and extraordinary levels of service through a team defined by its authenticity. The strong working relationships Bosch builds with its clients do not end when the project is complete, Bosch establishes lasting relationships with its clients by exceeding their expectations and providing exceptional results.

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THE BOSCH WAY

XOMOX XOMOX ranks among the most successful and well known global manufacturers of industrial valves for demanding service applications.

BRAY Bray’s modular product line of valves, actuators and accessories offer great compatibility, economy and quality performance.

Bosch Holdings’ approach is based on a philosophy called “the Bosch Way.” Clients are the foundation of this philosophy, and client relationships are central to Bosch Holdings’ business. The company encourages its people to grow, have fun as they work, and achieve their full potential while doing everything with integrity, trust, and respect. This cooperation and teamwork are critical to the Bosch Way. Everyone in Bosch Holdings is motivated to have a passion for excellence, and in pursuit of that excellence, the company works to continually harness innovation, embrace transformation, and deliver beyond expectations.

All this philosophy is built around a core of sustainability that drives all of Bosch’s activities, including the full implementation of ISO0991 Quality Standards in all its projects and business activities, as audited by the approved international verification agent, DEKRA. Bosch Holdings is also fully committed to BBBEE in South Africa, subscribing to the guidelines of the Construction Charter & supporting disadvantaged communities.

The company adheres to these standards in projects across a range of industries and market sectors.

WORKING IN THE FIELD EL-O-MATIC The new, re-imagined EL-O-Matic actuator improved to meet today’s industry demands delivers the same high standards of reliability for the automation of valves.

VA-CON 25 Marseilles Crescent, Briardene Durban North 4016 Tel: +27 (0) 31 563 6880/3/4 Email: ivan@vacon.co.za www.vacon.co.za

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Bosch Holdings has the resources and expertise in the agricultural sector to offer engineering and agri-services at all stages of its clients’ project life cycle. Bosch is ready to assist at every point from conception to completion. Its experts can analyse the technical and even financial viability of their clients’ projects, and Bosch can prepare bankable feasibility studies, and assist clients in raising appropriate project funding.

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BOSCH HOLDINGS

Once funding has been established, Bosch Holdings can design, engineer, and monitor construction on its clients’ projects, offering technical support and management for operations according to its clients’ requirements.

Whether it is advisory services, agricultural research and development or logistics

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planning, Bosch Holdings has the knowledge and experience to help. Bosch Holdings’ people understand water management, operations and maintenance management, and technical audits and services, and can offer performance improvement and knowledge transfer. The company can even provide smallholder farming management.

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And all of that is happening alongside innovative sustainability solutions.

One of the most economically valuable agricultural sectors in South Africa is sugar production.

The South African sugar industry generates an annual estimated average direct income of R14 billion, and Bosch Holdings has positioned itself to assist that industry with creative and clientfocused sugar engineering and technology solutions.

Bosch Holdings has designed and implemented brownfield and greenfield projects on both small and large scales around the world. Working closely with a dedicated research and development team, Bosch Holdings’ experts have developed a range of stateof-the-art sugar equipment for cost-effective, high-efficiency performance with industryleading operational reliability.

Bosch Holdings leverages extensive in-house operational and design experience to make sure the sugar equipment it provides is continuously optimised to meet clients’ needs.

PROVIDING BUILDINGS & INFRASTRUCTURE

Construction is a passion for Bosch Holdings, and the company’s offering includes the full range of building, engineering, and management services for clients across the broader building sector. Bosch Holdings’ construction projects have ranged from industrial to retail and commercial buildings, offices, and warehousing.

The company has had its end in up-market residential estates and low-cost housing, as well as hotels, hospitals, clinics, and tertiary learning institutions. Bosch Holdings’ clients are industrialists and private developers, as well

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WHETHER IT’S ADVISORY SERVICES, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OR LOGISTICS PLANNING, BOSCH HOLDINGS HAS THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE TO HELP.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

BOSCH HOLDINGS

as government institutions considering the development of landholdings on both brownfield and greenfield sites.

Bosch Holdings is also active in providing best practice, yet cost-effective engineering solutions for clients across the ports and terminals sector.

The company has a long and successful history of delivering projects in this sector and specialises in both bulk and unit handling across the entire logistics value chain as well as all stages of the project lifecycle.

As well as working on building, improving, and maintaining countries’ port and terminal infrastructure, Bosch has also made itself a valuable ally in preserving national road assets. The firm has shown its

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commitment to sustainability, particularly in its efforts to maximise the re-use of existing pavement materials.

Bosch Holdings has a history of major rehabilitation works, new roads, major upgrades to existing roads and interchanges and urban roads throughout South Africa. Bosch Holdings have provided services including road condition assessments, analysis of the remaining life in the road, rehabilitation design, engineering design for new roads and upgrades and construction stage implementation.

Across every sector Bosch Holdings works in, the recurring themes are the same, dedication, innovation, and strong client relationships that make this firm the partner of choice.

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TSP ENGINEERING

SINCE WE LAST SPOKE WITH TSP ENGINEERING THE COMPANY HAS SEEN SOME DRAMATIC CHANGES & TUMULTUOUS TIMES, BUT IT SEEMS TO BE THE BEGINNING OF A BOLD NEW ERA FOR THE BUSINESS.

A TRIUMPHANT RETURN PROJECT MANAGED BY: MARK BAILEY “We’ve had a very interesting couple of years,” says John Coughlan when we catch up with him for our first interview since we profiled TSP Engineering in 2020.

I

n 2020 the total solution provider was serving the nuclear, energy, defence and steel industries with a full range of services including project management, design, manufacture, refurbishment and in-house testing facilities.

It has built itself a reputation as a firm achieving the rare feat of delivering nuclear projects on time and within budget.

However, the company was also facing serious problems.

While TSP Engineering was performing well, its parent company, British Steel, went into insolvency in 2019.

“We were a wholly owned subsidiary which meant that the Crown Receiver could not access our assets and could not come on-site without our permission. But they owned our shares,” Coughlan tells us.

“So, they decided to sell British Steel to a non-British entity. We advised them it was the wrong

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thing to do because of the security work we do, but they sold it anyway.”

A CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP

What followed for TSP Engineering was two difficult years under non-British ownership, which had an immediate effect on the firm’s incoming work. At the same time, the new ownership necessitated increased diligence around information security for ongoing work in the nuclear sector.

“Our biggest achievement was that we maintained our security levels and have them adhered to because of the classified documents we had on-site,” Coughlan says proudly “We held on to that information and increased our security levels.”

While new work from the nuclear and defence sectors dried up, the company still had a duty of care to the projects it has signed up for before the company changed ownership.

“Our people were well motivated to protect the orders we received,” Coughlan tells us. “We had received a £30 million contract for work with Sellafield. We kept the morale

of the business up, never compromised on our level of delivery.”

Perhaps surprisingly, given the stressful environment they were working within, TSP Engineering still managed to maintain a lot of its staff, even during a time when staff turnover has been high industry wide.

“We kept the majority of our key staff,” Coughlan says. “We also had a lot of staff movement, but we’ve seen that throughout the economy as well.”

While this was a tough period for TSP, it soon came to an end when, once again, TSP Engineering came under British ownership.

A NEW ERA

In March this year, TSP was acquired by GMET Group and immediately the company saw a change in fortunes. The Ministry of Defence immediately offered the firm work involved in the decommissioning of submarines.

“We’re working on more orders for the MOD and have other orders coming in from civil nuclear companies as well,” Coughlan tells us. “So, we have

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PRECISION MACHINING 5 Axis CNC Machining & Grinding in accordance with AS 9100 Rev D qualification. Also Precision tool manufacture of Dies, Punches & Wear parts.

ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE SUPPORTING TSP ENGINEERING

OUR MARKETS We successfully supply & develop long term business relationships with 4 key markets.

• Nuclear, Gas & Oil and Energy • Aerospace • Medical • Rail & Engineering

OUR CAPACITY Over 35,000 sq. ft. facility & 70 strong highly skilled engineering team is ideally situated & equipped to support all customers needs.

TECHNOLOGY The experience of trading for over 80 years places Burcas Ltd. at the leading edge of Technology, Innovation & Quality.

Burcas Ltd, Park Lane, Handsworth, Birmingham, B21 8LT, UK T: +44 (0) 121 553 2777 • E: info@burcas.co.uk

www.burcas.co.uk

BURCAS

DEWATERING SOLUTIONS FOR THE REAL WORLD The many years’ experience that Burcas has gained in supporting the Nuclear and oil industries places the company in a strong position to satisfy the needs of the major tier one contractors, in particular that of our valued customer – TSP ENGINEERING. Our investment over the last few years has allowed us to supply a full range of equipment to TSP such as small special Dowels through to large Trunnions at 600mm diameter. This comprehensive machining activity is now supported by our Assembly capability allowing us to extend our scope with this and other customer.

The capability of Burcas also extends to the development of components for inspection and investigation within these sectors, utilising the significant engineering and re-engineering strengths of the business has allowed Burcas to retain an excellent reputation for quality supply and competitive component manufacture.

With our industry approvals and in particular that of Rolls Royce, Ansaldo, Tokomak Energy and other OEM’s we have been able support the highly technical requirement of TSP for the last 6 years, through that time we have gained the necessary understanding of the nuclear industry’s formalities.

With the current development of Modular Reactors in the Nuclear sector, Burcas is well placed to utilise the comprehensive range of skills and equipment on offer within the company.

As a part of our strategic approach towards the Nuclear, Energy and Gas/Oil sector, significant and careful investment continues to ensure that all aspects of the customer’s requirements can be met.

The Burcas Nuclear sector team are led by Paul Killeen – Project Engineer – bringing significant experience of previous Industry employment with AMRC where his role was to technically support the Industry Supply Chain. Paul plays an important part in managing the TSP orderbook which continues to grow in size and complexity. www.burcas.co.uk

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TSP ENGINEERING

had a lot of big changes. With our new owners, GMET, who are very much engaged in the nuclear sector holding their own IP. So, we will start working towards the building of AMR’s by the end of this year. We have already started gearing up for that in Cumbria.”

Quality Management System Inspection & Test Plan Lifetime Records Manufacturing Procedures

Weld Engineering Weld Log Records NDE Reporting Third Party Client Witness Hold Points

Photo Credit: Newsquest

Material Traceability

Realtime MRP Reporting

John Coughlan, CEO, TSP Engineering.

FOR MORE INFORMATION GET IN TOUCH +44 (0) 161 627 5822 • sales@oldham-eng.com www.oldham-eng.com

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Cumbria is famously home to the first commercial nuclear power plant in the UK, Sellafield. Now TSP is involved in planning, construction and development of the new Nuclear Technologies.

“We have taken it a step forward. Cumbria saw the first big nuclear reactors, and next, it will see the first advanced modular reactors,” Coughlan says. “We are going to start that by 2025.”

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Coughlan details plans for the company to grow its workforce from 230 people to over 1,000 people on-site, fuelled by the new possibilities TSP’s new ownership opens up.

“They are a British group with a history in the development of nuclear technology. The fact that they are British based opens up the possibility of developing the reputation we already have in the sector,” Coughlan says. “Combined with

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the reputation we have built on securing information and assets during ownership by a non-British company, all of this will help grow the business.

GMET are also bringing with them their own new nuclear technologies, which opens up opportunities for the business to grow and develop the 1,000 jobs we want to open up here on site. It will also fuel the growth and development of our export sector.”

“WE KEPT THE MORALE OF THE BUSINESS UP, NEVER COMPROMISED ON OUR LEVEL OF DELIVERY.”

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TSP ENGINEERING

Throughout the last two years, and looking to the future, Coughlan is keen to emphasise the importance of a strong team.

“It is our passion to grow and develop our people, particularly at a time when lots of resources are moving throughout the whole economy,” Coughlan says. “We still believe that people who want to join TSP Engineering are making an investment in their future. It is important people understand that by coming to this business they can grow their abilities and technical capacity, working on new nuclear technologies.”

Of course, with new business comes new challenges, and Coughlan is the first to acknowledge that there are obstacles to overcome.

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“Some of our biggest challenges at the moment relate to energy costs and material costs, which are increasing, driven by the war in Ukraine,” Coughlan reflects.

“There is a lot of speculation about whether those costs will come down if the war stops, how quickly prices will come down when it does and under how much control they will be.

There is also the question of whether suppliers might look to keep prices high even when these pressures are removed to make a windfall profit.”

TSP Engineering has lost no time in adapting to the new economic environment.

“We have started to put agreements in place. Obviously, we have experienced cost increases, but we have

minimised those as much as possible by buying forward and getting into an agreement early,” Coughlan says. “We are also looking at what infrastructure we could fit on-site to generate our own electricity and lessen the cost through wind power or solar power.”

It will be interesting to see where TSP Engineering is at in another two years.

“We plan to do a lot more work in the Defence sector now we have British ownership,” Coughlan says. “With our history we see ourselves having a big impact on energy and net-zero. We are working on AMRs, or Advanced Modular Nuclear Reactors, and we are working with several companies to support these projects in manufacturing.”

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FLORALIFE

BLOOMING MARVELLOUS FLORALIFE SHOWS US HOW TO BUILD A TRULY GLOBAL FLORAL SUPPLY CHAIN.

PROJECT MANAGED BY: DAVID TAVERNOR

Who is FloraLife? Just by reading the name or seeing the logo, your mind would probably immediately connect to the idea that it has something to do with flowers.

What you would learn very quickly once you do become involved in the flower world, however, is that at any level of the distribution chain, FloraLife has everything to do with flowers. True pioneers of the floral industry, this is the company that invented the very first flower food in the United States in 1938. Leading in innovation ever since, FloraLife is dedicated to developing products to help their customers deliver the freshest, strongest, most attractive, and longest-lasting flowers possible from farm to vase. Ultimately, their goal is to maximize the consumer’s experience with flowers!

O

ur ‘Follow the flowers’ philosophy is how we built our whole business model,” Vice-President of FloraLife Jim Daly says.

Having been in the industry for 84 years and counting, FloraLife has long been considered the expert in fresh-cut flower care and the leader in post-harvest flower care and handling.

Anything that happens to a flower after it is harvested falls into FloraLife’s speciality as part of Smithers-Oasis, the largest manufacturer of floral products in the world. What does it mean to FloraLife to be considered the expert in flower care?

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Having the trust and confidence of their clients is beyond measure and something they truly do not take lightly or for granted. Their customer-centric approach to the floral industry has led to innovations and the advancement of technology in ways never imagined possible 84 years ago.

“Since our inception we’ve continued to partner with our customers, creating a line of floral care products to hydrate, feed, treat, transport, store and protect at every step of the distribution chain,” says Global Marketing Director Sharon Mikulinski.

“We engineer,

manufacture and sell products specifically formulated to the needs of flowers from the moment they are harvested, to when they are delivered to the consumer and all the stops along the way. We ensure they thrive and last as long as possible, giving the consumer the best possible experience and a reason to come back to buy more.”

FloraLife is proud to be a total cut flower solution provider, educator and resource for the vibrant and always dynamic global floral industry.

A GLOBALLY POSITIONED COMPANY

We learned very quickly when FloraLife says they are worldwide, they mean exactly that. As we had the pleasure of speaking to FloraLife’s team of directors, we were literally connected to every corner of the globe. Since 2007, FloraLife has been a part of the SmitherOasis company. Smithers-Oasis currently has four divisions that proudly serve the global floral supply chain, OASIS® Floral Products, FloraLife, Oasis® Grower Solutions and Design Master®. Together, these four

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FLORALIFE

FLORALIFE

divisions are present at every stage of the floral supply chain in more than a mind-boggling 140 different countries with 20 manufacturing distribution facilities, 34 sales offices, and nine research facilities.

A necessary response to an increasingly globalized flower market, the company’s growth does not look to be slowing down any time soon.

“30 years ago, flowers were grown locally, but as globalization increased and the technology developed to transport flowers long distances, flowers were able to be grown in the most efficient locations,” says Jim Daly.

Having tactically positioned locations throughout the globe to cater to specific growing regions and the industry as a whole has not only proven to be advantageous to FloraLife’s customers but a competitive advantage for the company as well.

“The majority of the flowers we buy today in our local supermarkets or florists are grown in South America, Central America, and Africa and then transported to markets such as North America, Europe and Japan,” Daly adds.

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FloraLife’s focus is on how to best handle the flowers from a consumption point of view.

“Because we’re strategically located with boots on the ground in different markets around the world, we experience trends, shifts and developments quickly and can communicate this information across our teams allowing us to be proactive in response,” says Mikulinski.

“Industry players from one part of the world ask us for trends in other parts of the world. For us, it is simple because if we do not already have this information, it is all just a phone call away. Our customers have gotten used to working with us as a resource.”

As they say, perspective is everything and to be able to see your business from multiple vantage points has value and benefits beyond measure.

“Having that global perspective at the director level keeps us very agile because we’re being reported into from a global footprint, not a local footprint,” says Mark Allen, FloraLife’s Global Product Manager.

HEARTFELT SERVICE

This company embraces a customer-first attitude without exception. It is such an ingrained part of their company culture that no matter what

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FLORALIFE

team member you speak with, the first and foremost question always is: how can we help? No matter what product you buy, knowledge is key, and when the FloraLife team is partnered with a client they are not just selling them a product but providing total solutions. Their professional expertise is offered freely with a lot of hands-on consultation, education, and training on how to use FloraLife products and care and handling practices that together will yield the best results for their clients. FloraLife is committed to the success of its clients, and that commitment never stops.

Once partnered with FloraLife, you have a resource that your business can count on without hesitation.

Marco Marques, FloraLife’s Global Sales Director, has been with the company for nearly 20 years, operating from Germany with sales teams in Africa, Europe, North America and South America.

“I would not call our approach a classic sales approach. It is about selling a solution and adding value to the customers’ bottom line,” Marques tells us.

“We start by understanding the status quo of the customer with a free audit by our technical experts. We check key influencing factors on flower

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quality but also efficiency. We discuss the outcomes of that audit with the customer and produce improvement areas, including focus areas for the customers. We start with the grower, asking what we can do for them.”

Cutting waste is one of the first improvements FloraLife usually offers, decreasing wastewater by providing special, pre-mixed flower food solutions that have been through research and quality control procedures.

“When the growers mix it themselves that is not the case. They can work okay but not as well as the commercial products,” Marques adds.

“These homebrews can also only be used once, ours can

be used as many as four times.

We look at what is less obvious, using our vast experience so that we have an eye for things the customers might not be looking at.”

Sharing internal knowledge, products, services, and expertise to educate every level of the floral industry is what FloraLife is all about.

THE INNOVATION GAME

How does FloraLife stay at the top of the innovation game in the floral industry? Since the beginning, FloraLife has been a company founded on innovation.

Research and development have been the foundation on which the business was built.

That international perspective

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means FloraLife is exposed to a wide array of challenges and solutions, consequently fuelling innovation. Often when faced with solving a particular problem for a client the issue at hand has become the catalyst for a new discovery that can benefit the industry as a whole.

“I estimate we launch three to four new products a year,” Daly says.

It is an approach that has yielded innovations such as the EthylBloc™ technology*, which prevents flowers from sensing Ethylene, lengthening their lives. FloraLife also invented FloraLife® Express Technology, a product platform that makes re-cutting flowers before putting them in a vase or bucket unnecessary.

“I think of innovation in three buckets,” Daly says. “The first is the consumer, the retail florist or the mass marketer, who drives a lot of innovation. Then there is the grower whose problem is

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making the flowers last through the logistics chain. Finally, there is the old Steve Jobs quote ‘nobody knew they needed an iPhone’. We invent things nobody knew they needed, like EthylBloc™*, a revolutionary technology that is even used in the food industry. Most apples you eat right now are treated with that.”

MASTERING SUSTAINABILITY

Another area that FloraLife has mastered is sustainability. It has never been as important as it is today to track and reduce our footprint on the planet. Growing, processing and distributing flowers use many resources to guarantee that high quality, beautiful fresh cut flowers reach the hands of consumers. Floral industry waste impacts almost all areas of sustainability. Putting measures in place to reduce it should be top of mind. Every stem requires land to grow,

water to hydrate, products to treat, energy to cool, packaging to protect, fuel to ship and lots of labour.

“When a flower does not make it to the end consumer, it is not only the flower that is wasted. It is also all the resources that went into growing, packaging, protecting and shipping it through the long chain. Having the proper flower care and handling protocols in place not only ensures that you put top quality flowers in the hands of consumers, but it also can significantly reduce waste which in turn reduces your footprint on the planet,” says Mark Allen, FloraLife’s Global Product Manager.

“We went back to school, educating ourselves at the Institute for Sustainability Leadership, University of Cambridge, to really understand sustainability,” Allen recalls.

“It was an extensive, eyeopening course where we

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FLORALIFE

learned about the challenges the world is facing in terms of carbon footprint, water usage, biodiversity loss and the rest of the nine planetary boundaries.

It bridged the gap between the projects we were doing and the bigger picture we were trying to achieve.”

With a focus on climate change, water stewardship, product portfolio, sustainable packaging and stakeholder awareness, sustainability has been and will continue to be a key area of activity at FloraLife going forward. Through 2025 and beyond, FloraLife is committed to reviewing the efficiency of its supply network, leveraging its footprint and consolidating shipments.

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“It’s not enough to understand sustainability and the actions we’re taking, we need synergy across the whole industry,” Allen says. “Reviewing, tracking and reporting have never been so important.”

A PASSION FOR FLOWERS

Why is FloraLife so passionate about flowers? A study at Rutgers University has demonstrated that flowers in our environment have a positive impact on our health, well-being and happiness. They touch people’s emotions directly, and receiving flowers evokes a genuine and immediate response.

This study found flowers were by far the gift people appreciated the most. Reviewing responses of gift recipients, fruits, candles, or other traditional gifts did not compare in immediate or lasting response.

“When we receive flowers, we are instantly happy, smiling. We include flowers in nearly every celebration throughout our lives,” says Mikulinski. “Flowers are one of the few gifts that evoke a powerful and immediate response.

Flowers create intimacy, not just for the recipient, but also the giver, making a connection as few other gifts can.”

Making that feeling last as long as possible, creating an experience with flowers that exceeds a consumer’s expectations and bringing them back for more is what FloraLife is all about.

“That’s what drives our whole culture,” says Marques. “That is the driving force behind everything we do.” *EthylBloc™ is a trademark of AgroFresh

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JUPITER GROUP

Mark Tweddle, Founder & Joint MD of Jupiter Group.

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JUPITER GROUP

JUPITER GROUP IS BRINGING TRANSPARENCY TO THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN.

FRUITFUL RELATIONSHIPS PROJECT MANAGED BY: DAVID TAVERNOR

Jupiter Group is an award-winning fruit grower and exporter with a simple vision- to be the most transparent company in fresh produce.

W

e have a year-round supply of fresh produce and pride ourselves on new variety development,” says Mark Tweddle, Founder and Joint MD of Jupiter Group. “Our expertise covers table grapes, citrus including lemons, oranges, grapefruit and easy peelers as well as avocado, pineapple and kiwi.”

What makes Jupiter Group different is its constant process of striving to innovate, finding new ways to share data within the company and with its customers.

“We are digitizing our supply chain and control a true seed to shelf process. We are leading the way with a world-leading traceability system that will offer full transparency to customers and consumers alike,” Tweddle explains.

A TRANSPARENT VISION

This traceability system is more than just an add-on, it is core to Jupiter Group’s very identity as a company.

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“We uphold our transparency vision through our two pillars of ‘Growing together’ and ‘Trust together’,” Tweddle says. “Our ‘Growing Together’ initiative is a supply-chain programme that supports the sustainable development of independent marginal farmers globally and ‘Trust Together’ is supported by providing a culture of trust, backed by a transparent supply-chain for customers and consumers.”

Indeed, as invested as Jupiter Group is in cultivating good quality produce, it is equally invested in cultivating strong relationships up and down the supply chain.

“The relationships that we cultivate with our Growing Together partners ensure that we can continue to supply fresh produce 52-weeks of the year as our partnerships complement our own farming portfolio,” Tweddle tells us.

“With our structured, audited and standardised way of farming, we can ensure that our partner growers meet the high standard expected from Jupiter fruit.

Our in-house technical team support and advise partner growers to reach the highest

audit requirements set by international markets and our global customer base.”

As part of this transparency vision, Jupiter Group’s purposebuilt supply chain systems are in place to ensure easy and accurate access and transference of data.

“This is crucial to the supply of great quality fresh produce and adds value to the relationships we have with our growers globally,” says Tweddle. “Our specialist logistics partnerships allow us to find solutions to incountry challenges throughout the supply chain, from the farm right through to loading at port.

These connections allow us to cultivate strong and meaningful relationships that are beneficial to all parties.”

With Jupiter Group’s own volume alongside its partner volume, the firm has been able to negotiate favourable rates on essential farming and packing materials to counteract the rapidly rising costs that the market is experiencing.

“Talking of relationships in the human form, our communication tools are all digital via video and accessible through mobile,” Tweddle points out. “Our connectivity with our growers

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The GSH Group was founded in 1997 by a group of packaging professionals with the combined lifetimes of experience across many sectors of the packaging industry.

We pride ourselves not only in the products and professional service we offer, but also in our commitment to Research and Development, our high environmental standards and our dedication to customer service.

[Eis committed to ongoing research and development of innovative solutions aimed at reducing the environmental impact of production processes. Its plastic packaging already makes a significant contribution to sustainability by reducing food waste. Thanks to the new "F" side ventilation system, fruit and vegetables have a longer shelf life. u..111.111,a:,�work closely with a number of world class companies and specialise in the supply of innovative packaging solutions to the fresh produce industry.

We supply a comprehensive range of machines and packaging materials from graders and linear weighers through to knitted nets and sacks. All our products are designed for the fast, effiicient and gentle handling of a wide selection of fresh produce.

From self-adhesive, wineglass labels to ribbon for net packs, custom printed tape and printed film for netted products, we can meet your packaging and printing needs. When it comes to labels, we offer a wide range of sizes, adhesion levels and printing options. Our ribbon printing offers an effective way to promote special offers and we offer printed film printing in a range of widths and lengths.

Products include: •Self-adhesive label •Wineglass labels •Ribbon for net packs •Custom Printed Tapes

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JUPITER GROUP

means the world seems a much smaller place and farm location simply doesn’t create a hurdle.”

BEARING FRUIT

Jupiter Group’s way of working, combined with the strong relationships it has nurtured with its growing partners, allows it to work to the highest standard and give back to its communities. The company recently announced that waste from its UK based BRCGS AA rated prepared facility is being transformed into energy to power around 2,000 local community homes.

Fresh fruit waste is processed through an anaerobic digester on a farm local to Jupiter Group’s headquarters where bacteria break down the fruit in the absence of oxygen and naturally produce 10,500 kilowatts of energy each day, with 8,000kw exported to power homes close by.

In line with the rapidly increasing global movement towards sustainable packaging, the company has partnered with the packaging supplier Sharpak Aylesham and the Prevented Ocean Plastic™ (POP) initiative to introduce a recycled solution for its prepared fruit punnets.

“Our 400g Watermelon and Pineapple packs, already supplied into two major retailers in the UK are the company’s first punnets to include Prevented Ocean Plastic™ (POP) and divert high-quality plastic from the ocean,” Tweddle tells us. “Not only sourced from plastic that would otherwise have made it into the ocean, our POP punnets are also 100% recyclable.”

SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES

When speaking of giving back to communities local to their farms and HQ, Tweddle says “As the largest benefactor of the Nancy Tweddle Foundation, we have

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JUPITER GROUP

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JUPITER GROUP

been able to work in partnership with our communities to support our people and their growth.”

The Nancy Tweddle Foundation is an independent international NGO which is Not for Profit with a focus on developing agricultural supply infrastructures, sustainable agricultural supply chains, implementing agricultural technology and uplifting communities to benefit rural economies.

Some of the initiatives that Jupiter Group has supported through the NT Foundation include Rockafellas Football Club, supporting a safe haven in South Africa for young

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people who live in a crimeridden township on the Cape flats. The Foundation also supports the Little Stars Crèche on the Group’s largest South African citrus farm, offering a childcare provision so women with families have the same opportunity to work as their male counterparts. A computer school in Pune India, with British and Indian Rotarian Societies working in collaboration, has also received support from the Foundation who were able to refurbish and install 30 new computers into a girls’ school in India, not only benefitting the students but also their parents and community.

“OUR CONTINUAL NEW VARIETY DEVELOPMENT KEEPS US ON OUR TOES TO SATISFY THE CONSUMER AND RETAILER DEMAND GLOBALLY. WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO PLANTING OUR NEW VARIETY CITRUS AND EXPANDING OUR EXCITING TESTBEDS.” AN EVER-EVOLVING OFFERING

Jupiter Group is investing heavily in its communities, and of course, its growers. But it is also investing in its own product lines.

“Our continual new variety development keeps us on our toes to satisfy the consumer and retailer demand globally,” Tweddle says. “We’re looking forward to planting our new variety citrus and expanding our exciting testbeds.”

Moving forward, Jupiter Group’s offering is only going to grow and become more exciting, particularly with the support of its partners.

“With ongoing support from world-renowned table grape breeders Grapa Varieties and our NV citrus partners, Citrus Genesis we’re delighted to be innovating to add value to the market and to provide our customers with new and pioneering fresh produce options,” says Tweddle. “The continual development of our transparent supply chain is ever-evolving and set to really shape the landscape for fruits of the future.”

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PHC

THIS AGRIBUSINESS COMPANY IS NOT JUST PRODUCING PALM OIL; IT IS PROVIDING A VITAL PIECE OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO’S ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE.

GROWING PROSPERITY PROJECT MANAGED BY: JOHN HOLLIMAN

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PHC

Palm oil mill at PHC’s Yaligimba site.

Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC) is a food palm oil and plant kernel oil producer based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, working across several different regions of the country. It is a company that has existed for well over a century under various owners before coming under the ownership of the Democratic Republic of Congo itself.

The government owns a 23.83 % share in the company, alongside a consortium of majority shareholders.

T

he company has 6,500 full-time employees, 80% of whom are assigned to plantation operations,” says Monique Gieskes, who has been Managing Director of PHC since February 2021. “We have a robust

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ESG programme which supports all our sustainability initiatives and programs and stakeholder engagement with the community.

The company operates amid local communities in several regions of the DRC.”

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PHC

PHC is engaged in challenging work, with its plantations situated in remote locations a long way from the company’s main consumption centres.

“Our products are distributed to three main customers, and the Congo River plays an important role in the distribution of our oil,” Gieskes tells us. “We have three industrial mills, and we transport palm oil along the Congo River to facilities where is it offloaded to our customers.”

As the largest employer in the DRC other than the country’s government, PHC is much more

than just another industrial production company; it also produces the highest quality product.

“When you come to our product itself, our palm oil is manufactured in industrial quantities with the lowest acidity that you will find in the market,” Gieskes says. “It is milled in a closed circuit which means it does not come into contact with oxygen, creating premium quality oil. We also produce plant kernel oil for which we are a high-grade carrier.”

Lokumete Palm Oil Mill, located at the Lokutu site. The mill is PHC’s newest and most technologically advanced facility, powered by a steam turbine and a biomass boiler that reuses the mill’s waste.

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SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES

PHC operates among many local communities, particularly with its main estates, the largest of which comprises 9,000 widely dispersed hectares.

“There are communities living between and around those 9,000 hectares,” Gieskes explains. “That means it is important to maintain communication with the chiefs of local populations.

We are continually engaged with them through our social governance team. We have a very important community engagement program to make sure we maintain constant communication between the operation and the community.”

Gieskes emphasises the importance of those relationships, as well as PHC’s responsibility to maintain them due to its tentpole position in the country’s economy.

“We are the only big operation in the region, and there can be social tension around the company because of that,” she admits. “We cannot provide work for everyone, so we need to have community development programmes to engage communities around different projects. For example, we support the community with activities such as cereal, fishing, and poultry farming so that communities have other means of income and can become financially autonomous.”

Meanwhile, who gets employed directly by PHC itself is a matter of much scrutiny, and transparency is paramount.

“When we need to recruit employees that will be assigned to roles such as harvesting or weeding or general activities regarding guarding or maintaining the plantation, we make a public announcement that we’re recruiting and include the specifications of the profile

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PHC

we’re looking for,” Gieskes says.

“We make announcements to the local communities because our workers need to come from those communities.”

The efforts to recruit locally and fairly go beyond simply publishing job adverts locally, however.

“We have a committee where each candidate can make an application in writing. Then the committee has stakeholders including representatives of the community and the shareholders’ representatives, to ensure transparency over who is recruited,” Gieskes explains. “We look for the best candidate with experience or potential to become a guard or worker within the facility.

This is very important to the community. They want to make sure we include the members of the community and do not recruit from further afield, and we make sure we reflect that in our hiring procedure. We want to be transparent, so they feel they are treated well.”

Sometimes, however, the company requires specialist skills, particularly in agronomy.

“We teach at the agronomic school in Yangambi, RDC, which helps us identify candidates,” Gieskes says. “We are also establishing an elective training facility called ‘PHC Academy’ that will provide courses in agronomy, production improvement, literacy, English proficiency, and computer science.”

work in those circumstances.

We import heavy machinery and heavy equipment from all around the world to build and maintain our mills.”

When PHC needs to transport goods, people, or equipment to areas the roads cannot reach, the company will use other forms of transport.

“The roads can be extremely difficult to navigate, especially once it has rained. So, we plan months ahead to get resources, materials, and equipment to where they need to be, while also using the Congo River,”

Gieskes says. “To get our teams to the plantation, we send them by commercial flight to the nearest large town or city.

From there, they take the boats on the river. From the nearest city, it takes about four hours on the river to get to our closest plantation and then another four hours to the next plantation after that.”

It is clear, talking with Gieskes, that she has big plans for the company’s future, aiming to create bigger yields for the company, the country, and its people.

CONNECTING ACROSS THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

While it is important to PHC that it sources its people locally, the rest of the business’s supply chain is far longer.

“Our other main challenge is logistics because we operate in fairly remote areas,” Gieskes says. “We have learned to

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PHC

Oil palm fruit is the core of PHC’s business.

The Yalifombo school in Lokutu, which PHC rebuilt in 2021. Since 2018, PHC has rebuilt 18 schools across its three sites.

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“In the future of the company we see opportunities to increase our yield per hectare with the same trees and the same surface coverage,” Gieskes says. “By increasing our yield, we can increase productivity and double our production without deforestation. We will apply improved procedures and fertilisers to increase our yield.”

While PHC increases its crop yield, it will also look for new places to sell its product.

“We’re looking at potential markets for expansion, but I also want to say the Congolese government has launched an initiative to transform the agriculture sector of the DRC, and PHC will be part of that programme as a seed supplier,” Gieskes says. “We can contribute to the national transformation of agriculture.”

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NBI

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NBI

HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SHANAY SINGH DISCUSSES NBI’S NON-PROFIT PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, AS WELL AS THEIR WORK IN THE LOCAL SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNITY.

PRIDE AND PLASMA PRODUCTION PROJECT MANAGED BY: HAYDEN TURNER

NBI (National Bioproducts Institute South Africa) is a non-profit pharmaceutical organisation based in Paradise Valley, South Africa.

The organisation was established in 1994 but has existed in various forms since the early 1960s. The company is known for products formed from human blood plasma which can include clotting proteins or fresh frozen plasma that can then be used to treat conditions such as bleeding disorders.

W

e use a process called plasma-fractionation which is to separate human plasma into its various constituent proteins that can be used to form pharmaceutical products.

These products conform to all pharmaceutical norms and standards and are registered by the relevant authorities,” explains Head of Business Development Shanay

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Singh. “We have also expanded into biotech, such as the manufacturing of antibodies used in malaria test kits. This has been used to great effect in Africa, where malaria is very prevalent” he further details.

COVID-19 IMPACT

Singh’s division has a particular focus within NBI. “I am the head of business development. I work across a number of areas including sales and marketing, identifying new territories and signing deals with partners that share our ideology. We are very proud to be a non-profit company. Our main focus is on our patients” he explains.

Their work was made more challenging in the last couple of years due to the impact of COVID-19 in South Africa. “Like a lot of companies, the COVID-19 pandemic hit us hard, especially with the number of variants and the lower vaccination

rate in South Africa. This also presented logistical challenges for us. Obtaining plasma was a challenge because people were unable to go out due to lockdown, while patients in rural areas struggled to get medication” Singh recalls.

Despite the adverse circumstances, NBI was adept at dealing with the change. “We did this through collaboration, innovation and a strong culture of teamwork amongst our Product Consultants. In some cases, we (they) physically took the stock to where it needed to be. We also worked closely with patient advocacy groups (such as haemophilia and critical care patients) to get medication to the most vulnerable people. Without this medication, the impact on the patients could have been fatal.

I am glad to say we managed to get through it” he says, relieved.

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NBI

COMMUNITY CARE

NBI employs 270 people and requires people with specific experience and skillsets. “We are the only plasma fractionator in Africa, which is different from a standard pharmaceutical role.

When looking for potential employees, we aim to find people with the right attitude, to see who has the potential to learn the right skills” Singh states.

Many people have benefited from a long career at NBI. “In NBI, our staff turnover is not very high and we have had employees work for us from 15 to 30 years and our CEO has been with us for over 36 years.

With anyone who wants to work for us, the key is temperament, attitude and then knowledge,” Singh explains.

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INTRAVENOUS USE LABORATORY USE

As well as providing a stable environment for their employees, NBI is also using various programs to reach out to vulnerable people in the local community to ensure they receive better access to healthcare. “We support community initiatives based around the work we do. This includes working with patient advocacy groups such as the South African Haemophilia Foundation. We donate funding so that they can provide nurses, help with home care, as well as provide educational programs and raising awareness” Singh details. While recent research has suggested that treatment for haemophilia in South Africa is improving there are still issues for patients needing to access facilities and care, so NBI’s work is crucial in identifying people who have the condition and ensuring they get the help they need.

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NBI

Another major project has been NBI’s support of the PID (Primary Immunodeficiency Disorder) register. PID refers to a condition where part of the immune system is compromised.

There are over 130 recognised PID disorders to date, with new variants being discovered all the time, which makes tracking them all the more important.

“For the last 17 years, we have also supported the PID register.

This allows us to track PID patients in South Africa, as well as provide information and awareness. This is how we can make the biggest impact” Singh further details.

Shanay Singh, Head of Business Development, NBI.

FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE

Singh is excited about NBI’s prospects for the future.

While the company cannot discuss specific products due to confidentiality agreements, Singh can outline the overall plans of the business for the foreseeable future. “NBI has a pipeline of new products that will soon be available, as well as a raft of new services.

These services will include laboratory and analytical services. This will make it easier for companies in South Africa to test and release products here” he states. NBI is also looking to expand its operations, offering its services to neighbouring countries outside South Africa.

The new services that NBI offers could prove massively important for the pharmaceutical industry in South Africa and neighbouring countries, cutting costs and reducing waiting times.

“Traditionally, companies have had to spend money to send products overseas to get them tested, which has also meant additional time waiting for test results to come back. We will be launching a monocyte

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activation test. As far as we know, we are the only company in South Africa offering these test services, which are very important for ensuring products are safe,” Singh details.

Singh believes in the values of NBI, as a non-profit company providing advancements in

pharmaceutical technology but also as an organisation offering support to the wider local community. “We are proud to be a South African company and to stay true to our roots. Our patients and employees are our number one concern and they see the benefits of that.”

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ROMACO

THROUGH ITS TECHNOLOGIES AND ITS CUSTOMER-ORIENTED APPROACH, ROMACO, A PRODUCER OF SPECIALISED EQUIPMENT FOR THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY, IS COMMITTED TO DELIVERING COMPLETE SOLUTIONS FOR ITS GLOBAL CUSTOMERS.

ONE-STOP SOLUTIONS BEYOND TECHNOLOGY PROJECT MANAGED BY: ANDRZEJ SZANDOR Romaco Group, a leading international manufacturer of processing and packaging equipment for pharmaceutical products, supplies stand-alone machines, lines and turnkey solutions for manufacturing and packing powders, granulates, liquids, tablets, capsules, blisters, vials, and other medical products.

T

he Group has its headquarters in Karlsruhe, Germany, and is part of the Chinese Truking Group, a global hightech enterprise specialised in machinery for handling, filling, and packaging pharmaceutical products.

“Our core business is manufacturing and selling processing and packaging machinery for the pharma

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industry,” says Nicola Magriotis, Managing Director of the Romaco Italian site, summarising the core business, adding that the machines are sold to any country worldwide where the pharma industry is established.

GLOBAL REACH, LOCAL COMPETENCE

He explains that Romaco operates from six manufacturing sites – three in Germany, one in Spain, one in China and one in Italy; overall, the Group covers most of the processing and packaging applications for the pharmaceutical industry, both solid and liquid, such as granulation and coating technologies, tablet presses, blisters, heat-sealing and rigid-tube filling machines, technologies for filling sterile and non-sterile powders and liquids, cartoners, track & trace systems, and others.

“All of the six manufacturing plants share an international sales network covering all the major markets. Romaco’s key strategic setup rests on de-centralization in terms of sales and services, in order to be as close to customers as possible, while developing technological know-how in the production sites.”

The combination of its global reach and local competence is also what sets Romaco Group apart from competitors, he says. “We have a Chinese shareholder but are headquartered in Germany using the unique technical competence of manufacturing sites in several European countries. Our strength is to merge all these very different cultures to ensure the smooth and effective operation of the whole Group. This capability makes us very agile and very flexible in dealing with and understanding international customers and plays to our advantage.”

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ROMACO

ROMACO

EXPANSION AND GROWTH

The Group’s organisation has been one of the factors contributing to an excellent performance over the last two difficult years. Romaco was also able to meet increased demand for new Covid-19 vaccine packaging machinery, while significantly reducing lead time.

Mr Magriotis points out that the pandemic has also changed the way the company does business – as a result of the impossibility of travelling, the focus on digitalisation increased, enabling remote FATs (factory acceptance tests) and live stream presentations of machines for customers. “So, we could still do business, still complete machines, still test them, thanks to our flexibility in adapting to the changed market environment.”

“We could also leverage our localised sales organisation, so it was possible to continue to meet customers locally without travelling out of Italy or Germany. Customer care could be undertaken by our nine local Sales & Service Centres in Europe, Asia, and America; this enabled us to stay very close to our customers. As a result, we have experienced record growth over the last two years here at our Romaco site in Bologna, Italy, with turnover increased by 40% between 2019 and 2021.”

STRONG R&D DEDICATION

The Italian site in Bologna covers two brands – Macofar, a powder and liquid-filling specialist, and Promatic, offering customised secondary and

Nicola Magriotis, Managing Director of Romaco site in Italy”.

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tertiary packaging solutions.

This combination provides customers with complete filling and packaging lines so that the final pharmaceutical product is ready for the market.

Innovation and new product development have always been a key part of the company’s strategy – right now, the company is investing in new solutions for sterile filling applications and the development of isolators used in aseptic and containment barrier systems, says Mr Magriotis. A robotic powderand liquid-filling machine suitable for isolation technology – the MicroRobot 50 – is now also available.

“We are setting up a new product line of isolators to be included not only on our own filling equipment but also on the machines made by the other Group companies,” he says,

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ROMACO

explaining how some lines are built to produce high toxicity, high potency products, and the isolator forms a physical barrier between its interior and the external environment, offering thus protection for the operators and the product.

PREMIUM LOCATION

The Bologna site has recently achieved a major milestone - a transfer to new, modern premises in Pianoro, Bologna.

The 15,000 m2 facility provides ample space for manufacturing primary and secondary packaging solutions from both Macofar and Promatic.

The spacious building was designed from beginning to end with sustainability in mind. In addition to green electricity and the construction of a solar roof, heat-reflecting blinds and an energy-efficient ventilation and filtration system are major factors in systematically improving the environmental footprint of the company. Moreover, the 15,000 m2 outdoor area with native plants and a wetland biotope ensures a climate-friendly work environment.

“The move into the new premises has set our course irrevocably for the future and has paved the way for sustainable growth. The building was designed to accommodate employees and operations space consistent with the substantial progression of the sales activities. In addition, the investment included the land next to the current building, to be used for a future expansion of 12,000 m2, providing a lot of potential for further future growth.”

raw materials, late deliveries of components and logistics disruptions, the company is set to continue working on its ‘green’ agenda. Not only is the manufacturer seeking to enable more sustainable production by its customers, but Romaco is also keen to improve its own carbon footprint.

An example of Romaco’s approach is the PC 4201 continuous motion cartoner from Romaco Promatic which made its debut at Pharmintech 2022 exhibition in Milan. The new, compact PC 4201 machine achieves a maximum output of 200 cartons per minute.

The cartoner was built using a reduced mix of materials and components, with a housing made of 100% recycled acrylic glass, giving Romaco Promatic PC 4021 an even better environmental balance.

Speaking of the future, Mr Magriotis confirms that the company is well-placed to face market developments, as an organization focused on empowering people to grow professionally and making the most of their potential. “I would like to make Romaco Bologna the best employer in the region, especially for young talent. The aim is to be a dynamic, modern, smarter organisation.”

SUSTAINABILITY ENABLER

Mr Magriotis affirms that aside from the current challenges of the skyrocketing prices of

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MOPANI COPPER MINES

MOPANI COPPER MINES

ORIGINALLY RUN BY MULTINATIONAL MINING CONGLOMERATE GLENCORE INTERNATIONAL, THIS ZAMBIAN OWNED MINE IS NOW BUILDING AN INDEPENDENT IDENTITY.

FORGING THEIR OWN PATH PROJECT MANAGED BY: HAYDEN TURNER

Mopani Copper Mines has been in operation since the 1930s, today it provides work to over 5,500 permanent employees. Primarily mining copper, the company’s mines have also yielded modest quantities of gold, silver and cobalt through its three t-shaft complexes at Mopani, which include two concentrators, a smelter & a Refinery.

W

e currently produce under 100,000 tonnes of copper cathode.

Our capacity is 225,000 tonnes of cathode. We sunk three shafts with Glencore International AG, our previous owner,” explains Charles Sakanya, CEO of Mopani Copper Mines. “We plan to commence with equipping the new shaft at Mindola.”

GOING IT ALONE

The Mindola Shaft has not been completed yet, however, it was 30% complete at the time the previous major shareholder,

Glencore International, opted out of the company.

“Capital work was suspended and we’re looking for capital to finish off that work,” Sakanya tells us. “Glencore sold the mine off to the government for $1.5 billion through an offtake agreement where they buy the cathode from Mopani.”

The change in ownership has been a huge shift for the company, financially and culturally, leaving Mopani to position itself as a company with its own distinct identity under its current shareholder ZCCM-IH.

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168 | MINING

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MOPANI COPPER MINES

INARA INVESTMENTS LIMITED 16 YEARS OF AFFILIATION Our main aim while working with Mopani has always been to deliver services with utmost care, efficiency, reliability while adhering to the environmental, social, and governance principles.

“We need to find our own footing, make our own mark and say, ‘We are here to contribute to the welfare of the country and re-establish ourselves as a powerhouse,’” Sakanya says.

“I normally tell people that when Glencore left it was like a divorce. When you divorce and you’ve been together for a long time it doesn’t matter what the reason is. There is always pain and readjustment to find a new footing.”

Despite this huge shift, the mine itself has persisted, partly thanks to a decision to put it on care and maintenance in 2020 which has brought about the fighting spirit to survive.

“We’re currently doing just over 4 million tonnes of copper ore per year, with a 25–30year Life of Mine, with 129 million tonnes of proven ore reserves , with more yet to be confirmed. We’re talking another 25 to 30 years on top of that potentially,” Sakanya tells us. “The three shafts are equipped with state-of-the-art winders, PLC controlled; unlike old type winders which had analogue type controllers. The new winders can be started remotely, and we are training

We have teams of professionals who are trained regularly to upkeep with technological changes, security, health and safety, etc. The team is well equipped to provide the best expertise to our clients. Along with wide range of equipment we are able to provide full package of supply chain services in the field of transport, load management, warehousing, clearing, shipping and logistics for copper, cobalt, sulphur, manganese, steel, zinc and related products.

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Charles Sakanya, CEO, Mopani Copper Mines.

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MOPANI COPPER MINES

employees who operated old winders with analogue equipment to computer-based equipment systems. We are currently commissioning a $210 million concentrator at Nkana.’’

Today the company is looking for capital to finish off the remaining work on its expansion projects. Sakanya is seeking $300 million to complete the main, which will mainly be invested in the unfinished shaft infrastructure and some related expansion work.

“We need to establish ourselves as a mining house, get that $300 million and ramp-up to 8.5 million tonnes of ore, 225,000 tonnes of finished cathode in the next three to four years,” Sakanya says.

A DIVERSE IDENTITY

While Glencore is gone, it seems clear that the company that has been left behind is one with a proud, Zambian identity, and one that is ready to take hold of the current industrial zeitgeist.

“We’ve got a diverse culture; we’ve got brand new infrastructure and modern equipment. We are set to position ourselves in the international market,” Sakanya tells us. “Copper is now a highly sought-after commodity due to the energy transition from fossil fuels to green energy. Everyone wants to move away from fossil fuels and promote electric motor vehicles to cut down greenhouse gases. So, we are we’re positioning ourselves to be a part of that.”

Sakanya has set his sights on working with some of the biggest names in a range of industries, to add value to Mopani’s product, and contribute to Zambia’s growth.

“Over the next couple of years, we want to work with Mercedes Benz and Toyota and companies that want to make electric motor vehicles,” he explains. “Until now we’ve only done cathode, but now we are looking at investing in

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MOPANI COPPER MINES

the manufacture of copper-based products, for example, electric motor parts for export from here.”

While looking at how to add value to the company, Sakanya is also investing in adding value to Mopani’s people, and the company invests heavily in building its knowledge base.

“We run a state-of-the-art training centre commissioned in the last twelve years. We invested $21 million in the Training Centre. We also have a contractor Academy as part of the training centre where contractors are trained before they are onboarded,” Sakanya says. “We train in-house for mechanical technicians, instrumentation, electronics, electrical, boilermakers and machine operators to name but a few courses. We have a full suite; other mining houses and government institutions send their people here to upgrade their training.”

At the same time, Mopani is not afraid of sending its people further afield to see what knowledge they can bring back to the company.

“We have sent people all over the place. I am a product of that, I was sent to the UK for extra studies,” Sakanya points out.

“We send people to Canada, Australia, and the US. If we need a skill and don’t have it, we shop around worldwide. We’ve about 30 expatriates working with us right now. We source the talent wherever we can find it. We’ve also exposed all of our senior staff to operations around the world, again I am one of those beneficiaries. I’ve been exposed to the Canadian mining industry, the Australian mining industry, and the South African mining industry. We have a very diverse and educated workforce.”

FERTILE FUTURES

All of this expertise is helping Mopani Copper Mines to build out its offering, allowing it to

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contribute more to Zambia’s economy.

“We need to add value. We produce sulphuric acid from the smelter offtake gases when you smelt the anodes. That is one of the ingredients in the manufacture of fertilisers, so we’re talking to fertiliser companies,” says Sakanya. At the moment we sell the acid to companies with leaching facilities for treatment of oxide copper ore. Mopani had leaching facilities more than eight years ago. We want to add value to the cathode by making copper rolls and copper wire, for export.”

As well as fertilisers, Sakanya is excited about the possibilities of the electric motor vehicle revolution.

“We are also actively looking at working with companies that make electric motor vehicles to add value for the country, rather than just exporting raw materials,” he tells us. “We are also actively looking at solar power. There is now a big drive for green copper,

and Mopani can achieve this by utilising solar power as part of its energy in the copper cathode production process’. Mopani is a 150MW plant so we think we should look at between 50 to 100MW solar power plant. Mopani is an ISO certified plant, and our copper is one the most highly sought after, at 99.999% purity, and sold at a premium.”

As Sakanya says, Glencore’s departure might have felt like a divorce, but it has also opened up huge opportunities for Mopani and Zambia as a whole.

“This is the first time in 20 years that Mopani is now owned

by ZCCM-IH, an investments holding company. This is the first mining company to own a mine 100% as a shareholder.

So, it’s brought up a lot of excitement,” he tells us. “People are wondering whether Zambia as a nation can operate an asset as big as this. It’s been exciting to see Zambians at the helm of the operation, maintaining integrity under very difficult operations.”

MINING | 171

3E GROUP

3E GROUP

OVER THE THREE DECADES OF ITS EXISTENCE, THE AUSTRIAN-HEADQUARTERED 3E GROUP HAS EVOLVED INTO A MULTI-FACETED COOPERATIVE OFFERING SUBSTANTIAL BENEFITS TO ITS BUSINESS PARTNERS WITHIN THE DIY SECTOR.

THE POWER OF TOOLS PROJECT MANAGED BY: ANDREW BOURKE

The 3e Group is a cooperative functioning as an umbrella of hundreds of companies and brands operating in the hardware sector in central and eastern Europe – over 300 renowned companies from Austria and 10 other countries bundle their purchasing activities to ensure a competitive advantage with joint market concepts. For customers, this means noticeable advantages in both the price and the quality of the products and services offered.

T

Markus Dulle, Managing Director, 3e Group.

he Group’s roots go back 33 years when 3e Handelsund Dienstleistungs AG was created in 1989 as an association emerging from an amalgamation of 3 hardware associations operating in Austria.

Today, 3e has more than 900 contracts with industry brands around the world, offering more than 20,000 stock items to its member companies from a large central warehouse in Wels.

“The 3e Group was founded with a view to bundling the quantities and to negotiating advantageous conditions with suppliers,” says Mr Markus Dulle, 3e’s Managing Director, adding that the core products include hand tools, power tools, garden

equipment, screws, paintwork tools and similar. Thanks to its own imports, 3e members have direct access to the cheapest prices on the global market and can purchase the required goods by the piece.

THE OMNICHANNEL CONCEPT

While many of the members sell their products under their own names, the Group also has an umbrella brand - LET’S DOIT - under which several tool categories are placed, to enable member enterprises to distinguish themselves clearly from competitors. For these, 3e provides additional activities such as marketing and store concept planning, as well as loyalty programmes.

Markus Dulle explains that just before the pandemic, the Group had launched an innovative Store 4.0 concept

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within the LET’S DOIT brand, which includes the cordless range of major upmarket brands such as Milwaukee, Husqvarna, or Stihl, normally available only through specialised hardware dealers.

The first omnichannel tool store - LET’S DOIT Store 4.0 was opened in 2019, the year in which the Group celebrated its 30th anniversary. “Together with our members, we developed the first Store 4.0 from scratch within 14 to 16 months, taking inspiration from other retailers and other industries. The Store is a unique combination of online channel and brick and mortar store, capitalising on the strengths and benefits of both, and reaching out to the younger generation, our customers of the future.”

The Store 4.0 is still a hardware store, he says, but it feels different – with its warm atmosphere, it is an experience store, where customers are served by well-trained staff and can take all the time they need to try the tools, see them in action on big screens and test their performance, even compare the performance on screen and fully enjoy full digital support. The Stores include something which is called a ‘digital shelf’ - unlike a typical hardware store that stocks about 10,000 items, customer can view over 30,000 products on a large screen to be ordered and delivered the next day.

“We were the first in the hardware industry to launch this omnichannel Store 4.0 concept, and we are proud of this achievement. The concept, currently covering some 50 3e members, has been gradually rolled out in Austria and now there are 7 Stores 4.0 providing this novel shopping experience.”

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3E GROUP

Another proud achievement, impressive for a cooperative without corporate backing, is the LET’S DOIT Loyalty Programme based on an app, not a physical card, introduced a few years ago when apps were not yet common. The application has a lot of hard work behind it, unifying all the different platforms of the hundreds of 3e members to offer a unified picture, showing types of products, prices, as well as stock availability in a consistent manner.

IN DEMAND

As the global pandemic has further accelerated the trend towards digitisation, 3e was well prepared for this development. Mr Dulle explains that generally, online sales in the DIY sector grew by some 20% over the last two years, whereas the growth in the hand tools segment was even more marked.

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3E GROUP

“Limited by lockdowns and movement restrictions, people turned to spend their savings on home improvements, and demand for hand tools clearly increased.

Moreover, hand tools and power tools are easy to ship, and we experienced the increased online sales of even the most expensive tools by premium brands such as Stihl, Husqvarna and Milwaukee which are renowned for their top quality and reliable performance.

So, the last two years have been very good for us, with turnover increasing by 20% overall.”

In 2021, the Group generated €709 million of external sales, €525 million of which was in Austria, thus cementing its prime position in the central European market. And the trend seems set to continue: “In the first quarter of 2022 we again recorded double-digit growth and although predicting any future development is impossible at the moment, we are hopeful about the future,” says Mr Dulle.

He admits, however, that the company faces the same challenges as any other business in any industry in Europe today, challenges that will, sadly, persist for quite some time: acute shortage of human resources, supply chain disruptions and delivery delays, as well as rising inflation. In Austria, the latter – at 7% – has reached the highest level in 40 years.

“However, we could see that in the past any such crisis did not have a major impact on our industry, as people tend to stay at home in difficult times and invest in home improvements.

So, I hope that the hardware sector will enjoy if not a boom, then at least stable growth in the next two years, and we will strive to make sure that 3e continues to grow both in terms of business and geographical expansion.”

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GB RAILFREIGHT

WE LOOK AT THE INNOVATION GB RAILFREIGHT IS DEPLOYING TO CREATE A MORE SUSTAINABLE FREIGHT INDUSTRY.

ON TRACK FOR SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

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GB RAILFREIGHT

GB Railfreight was formed when its founder and CEO, John Smith, saw a niche for a new rail freight company in the early days of Britain’s rail privatisation. The company has been active in construction, energy, infrastructure, rail services, and even a little bit of passenger work. But as it grows and develops, GB Railfreight has started to invest heavily in its role in creating a greener supply chain and helping the UK meet its net zero carbon targets.

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T

he freight business has a good position to start from as rail freight is already much greener than road transportation.

One tonne of freight moved by a kilometre by road produces as many emissions as rail freight produces for every nine kilometres for the same load. A supply chain that is more railbased, and less road-based is a key part of the Government’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan.

To make rail freight even more sustainable, GM Railfreight is pursuing several innovations.

GREEN LOCOMOTIVES

This February GB Railfreight took delivery of a new Class 18 hybrid+ shunting locomotive for a three-month trial with Beacon Rail Leasing.

This new locomotive not only has zero emissions but also produces less noise. For the last three months, GB Railfreight has

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GB RAILFREIGHT

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been putting the new locomotive through a series of tests to evaluate its capabilities and performance. The locomotive itself is powered by an onboard battery, allowing for emissionsfree operations if there are charging facilities available, as well as a regenerative braking system that uses the energy burned when braking to recharge that battery. Where charging facilities are few and far between, an efficient onboard Stage V compliant engine can be put into action to increase the locomotive’s running time.

“The Class 18 hybrid+ shunting locomotive has the power to play a key role in the decarbonisation of our future fleet,” said David Golding, Asset Director of GB Railfreight. “Going forward, it will offer a wide range of sustainable benefits capable of significantly reducing the environmental impact of our operations.”

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GB RAILFREIGHT

As well as investing in a greener locomotive, GB Railfreight has also partnered with the rolling stock company, Porterbrook to announce the production of 50 new Greenbrier box wagons. With a 15-year preexisting relationship with the company, GB Railfreight and Porterbrook make for a strong partnership, and this deal marked a renewed commitment from both companies to developing sustainable freight transport.

“By partnering with Porterbrook, the new rolling stock marks our commitment to supporting sustainability in the construction sector,” Golding has said. “As we look towards the future, this investment will help meet the growing demand for rail freight services, whilst playing a key role in the delivery of Government’s netzero targets.”

ELECTRIC FREIGHT

GB Railfreight’s sustainable ambitions go beyond simply building a greener fleet of vehicles. The firm is being the UK’s first electrification system

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GB RAILFREIGHT

“THE ELECTRIFICATION OF FREIGHT TERMINALS IS THE BIGGEST TECHNOLOGICAL HURDLE TO NET-ZERO RAIL FREIGHT AND WE HAVE JUST OVERCOME IT.”

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for rail freight terminals, in a move that will not only push sustainability but also reduce delays for passenger services.

One of the challenges freight systems have always had is that freight trains typically unload from the top, making the overhead electrical equipment for electric locomotives impractical. For this reason, most rail freight systems have used diesel engines.

With funding from the Department for Transport and Innovate UK, GB Railfreight is partnering with Furrer+Frey GB and Tarmac to launch the Decarbonisation & Electrification of Freight Terminals (DEFT) project. The project’s goal is to demonstrate a new way of decarbonising rail while lessening freight’s impact on passenger journeys.

Furrer+Frey GB’s engineers have designed a Moveable Overhead Conductor system that allows the overhead equipment that supplies electricity to locomotives to be safely moved away from and back onto the train during freight stops.

The innovative system is being trialled at one of Tarmac’s aggregate facilities in partnership with GB Railfreight, with the hope of expanding it nationwide if the system is successful.

“It is fantastic to see winners of our First of a Kind competition getting out there and helping transform the railways for the better,” Rail Minister Wendy Morton has said of the scheme.

“Making rail freight even more environmentally friendly helps us leap forward in our plans to build back greener and make the whole UK net-zero by 2050.”

“The electrification of freight terminals is the biggest

technological hurdle to netzero rail freight and we have just overcome it,” added Noel Dolphin, Head of UK projects at Furrer+Frey GB. Ultimately the home is that seamless electrification of the rail freight industry will see slower, diesel-fuelled trains phased out completely, improving air quality and reducing noise pollution. The system is based on the one Furrer+Frey developed for passenger train depots, which is already used by Eurostar and LNER and has been installed by SPL Powerlines.

“Rail freight is already a greener alternative to moving goods by road but innovations like the Moveable Overhead Conductor System, and electrification more broadly, will allow us to go even further,” said John Smith.

The DEFT project is one of 30 ground-breaking initiatives which have been awarded funding from the Department of Transport’s £9 million pot. Working together with Innovate UK, the Department of Transport is working to encourage the development of pioneering technology and exceptional ideas that can improve journeys for travellers, encouraging them to come back to the rail network and reduce the environmental impacts of rail as the UK builds back better from Covid-19.

“At the same time as combatting climate change, they also bolster operations, and the reliability and efficiency of rail freight,” Smith says.

“We continue to work with the UK government to fulfil our industry’s potential and this is a great example of what can be achieved when the industry and government work together effectively.”

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