Industry Europe – Issue 21.9

VOLUME 21/9 – 2011 • €6

The world of European manufacturing

INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS FROM COOPER STANDARD FERALPI INVESTS IN SUSTAINABLE GROWTH WATTS INDUSTRIES ITALIA FOCUSES ON ENERGY SAVING TECHNOLOGY

STEEL - DEMAND RISING BUT RISKS REMAIN

OPINION

PETERMERCER

|

Divorce proceedings Europe’s currency union always was a marriage of the fundamentally incompatible.

AN

article of faith among the British educationalists who, over the last 50 years, have driven selection by ability out of the state system and replaced it with comprehensive schools and mixed-ability classes, has been that less gifted children will always be inspired to greater things by the example of their high flying peers. So, those whose principal activities had hitherto been stealing apples and throwing stones at cats might now gather in the library after prep with the swots to discuss the uncertainty principle or the Schleswig-Holstein question or, since boys will be boys, the racier bits of the Aeneid.

A similar pious hope seems to have driven the creators of the European Single Currency. By ditching their national currencies the weaker economies of Europe could put behind them their endemic reliance on continual devaluation to keep them going and enjoy the stability of a currency that was the deutsche mark in all but name. Inspired by the example of the frugal and industrious Germans and, of course, deprived of the ability to set their own interest or exchange rates, the Greeks, Italians, the Irish and the rest would gradually become just as prudent, fiscally responsible, efficient and competitive. The Stability Pact would be their guide and convergence their reward.

Alas, it turned out that letting countries with non-Germanic habits of borrowing loose with Germany’s credit card was not the path to probity but the road to ruin. Greece, for example, gained access to long-term credit at one-third the level of interest it would otherwise have had to pay and went on a binge that would have embarrassed even Zorba. In no time, as Michael Lewis reveals in his new book*, the country’s civil servants were being paid on average €15,000 a year more than their German equivalents and American investment bankers were teaching the government “how to securitise future receipts from the national lottery, highway tolls, airport landing fees. Any

future stream of income that could be identified was sold for cash up front and spent.”

In Ireland, of course, it was not the government that went on a spending spree but property developers and speculators – and by the end that seemed to take in almost the entire population. But when the roof blew off, the walls collapsed and the floor gave way, the result was, as Mr Micawber always said, misery. Specifically, misery to the amount of a €100 billion debt imposed on 4.4 million people to guarantee the losses of their country’s banks.

In Germany itself, of course, there was no credit boom. Property prices remained flat and consumers continued to spend no more than they earned. Obviously that’s why ordinary Germans (and the Dutch, the Finns and the Slovaks) are now outraged to find themselves asked to pay to rescue countries that spent like drunken sailors and banks that bought their worthless debt.

They are being told that if they consent to these bail-outs then the delinquent countries will be brought under strict central (ie German) control and that ‘structural reform’ will in future ensure that their efficiency and productivity will at least begin to match that of the northern states. Convergence – this time by coercion.

Changing cultures?

But is it possible for peoples and nations to change in so fundamental a way? Former chairman of the US Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, writing recently in the Financial Times, thinks it most unlikely. He notes that labour costs and prices continued to rise in the ‘euro-south’ countries just as fast after embracing the euro as they did before entry.

Before 1999 this continuing loss of competitiveness was offset by “chronically depreciating exchange rates against the D-Mark.”

After 1999, when there were no longer any national currencies to depreciate, the south

was able to maintain its pre-euro financial excess by “borrowings subsidised by the credit ratings of euro-north countries.”

This subsidised borrowing also enabled eurosouth consumption to accelerate relative to that of Germany. “The ratio rose between 1995 and 1998 at a 1.26 per cent annual rate,” says Mr Greenspan. Thanks to subsidised euro-credit “that ratio accelerated to a 1.63 per cent annual rate of increase between 1998 and 2007.” This shows, he says, that two very different cultures persist within the eurozone: euro-north, with its high savings rates, low inflation and an emphasis on long-term investments rather than immediate consumption, and euro-south with its habits of negative savings rates and excess consumption.

“For the euro to prevail,” says Mr Greenspan, “something more than the failed stability and growth pact is needed to constrain aberrant behaviour. It may be that nothing short of a politically united eurozone will be the only way to embrace the single currency.” So if the south wants to continue to enjoy the benefits of what is effectively a German currency it will have to submit to German financial control. Does anyone in Europe really want this?

Surely it is more likely that we will end up with a eurozone embracing only the euro-north countries with the south either reverting to its national currencies or joining in a union of the less prudent, the less efficient and the less productive. The problem, of course, is getting there without wrecking Europe’s banks.

How did anyone ever think the euro would work? Well, like the crusaders for all-ability schools, they were driven not by a rational analysis of costs and benefits but by an ideological commitment – in education to socialist egalitarianism and in the EU to supra-nationalism. The consequences of both these idealist experiments will be with n us for generations. *Boomerang: The Meltdown Tour Industry Europe 3

Editor Peter Mercer

Production Manager Kamila Kajtoch

Deputy Editor Victoria Hattersley

Administration Anna Chamberlain Amber Dawson Kayleigh Harvey

Profile Writers Abigail Saltmarsh Felicity Landon Piotr Sadowski Emma-Jane Batey Barbara Rossi Philip Yorke Joseph Altham

Art Administration Tania Balderson Advertising Manager Andrew Briggs Sector Managers Matthew Howe Eniko Kovacs Milada Preslova Massimo Ragazzo Jesse Roberts Anna Dudek Helen Leisi Mac McCarthy Anthony McClintock Ben Snowing Kevin Gambrill Stephen Moore Richard Thomas Lisa Ackroyd David Disney Robin Narracott

Art Director Gareth Harrey Art Editor Rob Czerwinski Designers Leon Esterhuizen Paul Abbott Claire Bidle Web Development Neil Robertson IT Support Jack Everson

CONTENTS Comment 1 4 5

Steel Industry 6 9 12

14 16 18 19 20

Winning business New orders and contracts Linking up Combining strengths Moving on Relocations and expansions Industry people Appointments Technology spotlight Advances in technology

Reports 22 24

Focus on France Ian Sparks reports from Paris Focus on Germany Allan Hall reports from Berlin

Automotive 26

Integrated solutions Cooper Standard Automotive

Alkmaar House, Alkmaar Way, Norwich, Norfolk, NR6 6BF, United Kingdom

Web:

Uncertain outlook Demand rises but risks remain Steel news The latest from the industry Cutting edges Stainless steel for One World Trade Center

News

Industry Europe

Tel: Fax: Email:

Opinion Divorce proceedings Bill Jamieson Eurozone: Where to from here?

James Srodes The nearest run thing

+44 (0)1603 414444 +44 (0)1603 406543 photos@industryeurope.net adcopy@industryeurope.net www.industryeurope.net

36 39

Innovation is the key Sacma Glass styling goes green Richard Fritz

Construction 44 48 52

The door to success Fenestra Challenging tradition The Geberit Group Focuses on high performance Saint-Gobain High Performance Refractories

© Industry Europe 2011 No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form for any purpose, other than short sections for the purpose of review, without prior consent of the publisher.

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A Square Root Company

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Consumer Goods 61 66 70

Mibelle for beauty Mibelle AG Cosmetics The perfect fit PETER KAISER Poised for expansion Ontex

Electrical 77 80

Boundaries without Limit Goepel Electronic Pioneering thermal-imaging analytics FLIR Systems

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4 Industry Europe

84 88

Going for green Hajdu White goods leader in Europe Whirlpool

VOL 21/9

Energy & Utilities Above: FLIR Systems p80

92 96

The face of cleaner power Standardkessel Multiple utility services CPL Concordia Società Cooperativa

HVAC 100 106

The new name for energy efficient HVAC expertise TA Hydronics Turning up the heat Watts Industries Italia

Marine 112

Advanced technology for marine paints CMP Europe

116

Above: Cooper Standard Automotive p26 Below: Saint-Gobain p52

A passion for performance Fairline Boats

Metals 121 130 134 138 142 146

Sustainable growth The Feralpi Group Where filtration counts Bekaert A local force Dirostahl Ramping up results Endomines A stronger position Hydro Aluminium Profiler Stronger in steel SSAB

Above: The Feralpi Group p121 Below: SSAB p146

Surface Finishing 152 157

The art of precision Peter Wolters Surface perfection Ekamant

Transport & Logistics 162 166

Below: Whirlpool p88

Driving logistics forward DSV Experts in chemical logistics Haanpaa

Also in this issue...

170 174 180 184

Bullet proof Dellner Sustainable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) innovation DuPont Teijin Films All in the mix Harburg-Freudenberger Maschinenbau Hitting back with 3D determination

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Hollming works

188 192 196 200 206 213 218

Innovation in fire detection Gent The measurement of success Lahti Precision Design & innovation tapped Ostnor The chemical solution Perstorp Building on the tradition of Swiss dairy products The Elsa-Mifroma Group Heavyweight and expanding its reach Hidromek Feeding the world Yara International

Industry Europe 5

COMMENT

BILLJAMIESON

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Executive Editor of The Scotsman

Eurozone: Where to from here?

Everything now depends on a solution to the sovereign debt crisis.

IN

what has been by any standards the worst financial and economic news flow in Europe for 60 years, let’s start with two items of good news – or news less bad than feared.

First, Germany: the eurozone’s largest single economy may still, according to its leading economic research institutes, avoid recession next year. Indeed, there is still the sliver of a possibility that the eurozone as a whole will avoid one, though the pain suffered in some of the peripheral economies – Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece in particular – will be intense.

Second, the UK may also skirt round recession next year, helped by a better than expected performance by exporters.

Both these forecasts are heavily predicated on the eurozone’s central banks and political leaders agreeing practical, sufficient and above all immediate measures to cauterise a potentially catastrophic sovereign default and bank solvency crisis sweeping through the whole of Europe and beyond.

In mid-October Germany’s leading economic research institutes set out their Joint Economic Forecast. The experts do not see Germany sliding into recession. But they warn that the sovereign debt crisis will increasingly weigh on economic activity.

GDP is projected to drop slightly too in the final quarter of this year (a decline of 0.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter). But for the year as a whole, helped by the roaring performance in the first quarter, the economy should still be able to show a solid 2.1 per cent advance.

Next year, however, sees a marked slowdown. The economy is still forecast to show growth. But the percentage rate is predicted to be less than one per cent. There is little scope on current plans for any lasting tax relief which the FDP, the government’s junior coalition partner, has been pushing for.

As with much of Germany itself, the economic researchers are highly critical of current policy efforts to contain the sovereign debt 6 Industry Europe

crisis. And they oppose the European Central Bank’s sovereign bond purchases and the increase of the European Financial Stabilisation Fund. From a German perspective, the sovereign debt of Greece, closely followed by that of Italy, Spain and Portugal, are huge black clouds being blown towards Germany by other eurozone leaders and about to burst, drowning out what spark of growth remains in higher business and personal taxes. Even if such an outcome can be delayed or mitigated it is not hard to see how it is weighing heavily on business and household confidence in the one economy still capable of growth.

“The concern is less a default by Greece than of contagion across other debtsoaked economies” Hopes that the UK may yet avoid a double dip recession now hang by the barest of threads – an unexpected narrowing of the country’s visible trade deficit in goods in August. This fell from £8.2 billion previously to £7.8 billion. The improvement was the result of a £0.2billion increase in exports which reached their highest value since 1998, and a £0.2billion fall in imports.

Excluding oil and erratics, export volumes increased by 1.3 per cent month-on-month and imports volumes rose by 0.3 per cent.

Rather surprisingly, given the appalling news flow through the autumn, the EU trade deficit in goods fell from £3.5 billion in July to £2.9 billion in August – over the same period the non-EU deficit widened by £0.2 billion to £4.9 billion. This shows the UK’s close trading

relationship with Europe and the eurozone can drive growth for its exporting manufacturers.

However, the squeeze on UK household budgets suggests that while the strength in imports is unlikely to be sustained, exports are also expected to come under pressure as economic activity in the euro area is hit by the continuing financial crisis. Overall trade, including services, should make a small positive contribution to the UK’s third quarter GDP.

Dilemma For UK engineering companies exporting to the eurozone, all this may seem to be clutching at straws. But after two years of failed European summits and emergency meetings, the candle of hope has now all but melted and the flame is flickering. Everything is now riding on a solution to the sovereign debt crisis that has come to dominate events for two years. The concern is less a default by Greece than of contagion across other debt-soaked economies which have seen their sovereign debt yields soar and which have now seen these yields held down

by European Central Bank buying intervention.

What gives temporary relief to the likes of Spain and Italy terrifies Germany. As if ECB intervention has not already caused deep unease, the prospect that it might be called upon to leverage the eurozone bail-out fund from €440 billion to £2 trillion or even higher, fills many with apprehension: such massive resort to debt – and the money printing press – are all too reminiscent of the behaviour of the country’s central bank in the Weimar Republic – a resort that ended in hyper-inflation and which was to have catastrophic political consequences.

The profound dilemma for the eurozone is that the depth of the financial crisis compels an urgent move towards fiscal union, but there is no political will or legitimacy to do so. One or the other must give way. It is fear of financial devastation that is set to win out in the immediate term. But this will unleash n more massive problems in its wake.

USA

JAMESSRODES

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Veteran commentator on Washington & Wall Street

The nearest run thing The President may succeed in his re-election despite having achieved so little.

“T

he nearest run thing you ever saw,” is actually what the Duke of Wellington said after the Battle of Waterloo. But the Iron Duke would revise his judgment if he could witness the strategy President Barack Obama is following to secure his re-election 12 months from now.

The Obama message to the voters is already being tested in a series of Presidential campaign appearances around the nation which he began in earnest in October. The message is twofold: as bad as the economic crisis is, it could have been much worse without his leadership; and as bad as the crisis is likely to remain, this is no time to change administrations.

What has happened is that the White House has abandoned its old effort to win a substantial reduction in the government’s spending on so-called entitlements that subsidise healthcare costs and provide retirement benefits for older citizens. Indeed, the president’s advisers are braced for the US Supreme Court to erase many of the features of the Obamacare health insurance scheme that cost him so much political capital since taking office.

The shift now is to achieving what is possible – extending those safety net programs for the jobless which are set to expire, and providing modest incentives to businesses to hire new workers and pay existing employees a bit more. In the meantime the Federal Reserve with its new ‘Twist’ program is

shifting its inventory of Treasury debt from short term debt to longer term bonds; the idea is to encourage banks to free up some of the surplus capital they hold and begin lending to those businesses which will be encouraged by the tax incentives to start expanding operations.

If one defines politics as the art of achieving the possible, then the Obama plan is high stakes politics. The stimulus part of it is modest indeed – the $447 billion estimated injection of tax incentives and continued benefits amounts to barely 3.3 per cent of gross domestic product. Since much of that merely continues outlays that were to expire in 2012, the whole programme really is contractionary by any measure.

There are two forces standing in the way of Mr Obama’s success. One is that the American citizenry are continuing to deleverage privately held debt by rather formidable amounts. Total outstanding private debt in the United States had reached a high of 295.8 per cent of gross domestic product through the first quarter of 2009. Since then that level of debt has dropped by nearly 40 per cent. This is equivalent to $5 trillion being used to pay down debt rather than on consumption and investment. By comparison, the entire stimulus from earlier Obama programmes since he took office does not come close to offsetting this drag and there is still more of a debt overhang to come.

The other opposing force is the Republican-controlled US

Congress which is not about to fully fund this next round of stimulus, especially since a key element of it is a proposed super tax to be imposed on citizens with one million dollars or more in annual income. The likelihood then is that the American economy will probably continue to totter forward at a lower than two percentage point growth rate for GDP for the 12 months leading up to next November’s balloting. And that will keep the jobless rate at or near enough to 9 per cent, the housing market will remain submerged, and business expansion will be choked by consumers who will neither borrow nor buy. While the odds on the US economy slipping back into a recession appear unlikely, the household income of Americans is actually dropping more sharply than it did during the period of economic contraction that ended a year ago. The US Census Bureau has just reported that during the period from December 2007 through June 2009, median household income dropped by 3.2 per cent; since then, through June 2011 it has fallen a further 6.7 per cent and is now below $50,000 per family of four for the first time in decades.

On the other hand..

Having said that, Mr Obama does have some things going for him.

Chiefly he is the beneficiary of a slate of would-be replacements among the Republican Party who are either (charitably) laughable eccentrics, alarming

ignoramuses, or simply too boring for words. Moreover, to the extent the Republican Congress is successful in blocking his latest efforts to counter the economy’s debt drag; it gives Mr Obama a visible target to attack, knowing that other Presidents (Truman and Clinton to name two) have won re-election against a ‘donothing Congress’.

Second, he may get a lift from two forces outside the United States; or in the worst case, be able to blame them if they fail.

Most immediately, the White House expects America will get a measurable boost as the Japanese economy continues to work its way back from the effects of the earthquake since so many US firms (motor cars, electronics) are tied to Japanese suppliers.

Also, from the White House viewpoint, as bad as things are in the United States, the economic crisis in Europe, burdened by national indebtedness and visible vulnerability among the banking sector, is likely to be no better. There is little fear that a dramatic collapse – say a default

by Greece or any of the other debt-heavy governments – would trigger a banking debacle that might spread its contagion to Wall Street; not that there is not much the US could do to prevent one.

So the bet now is that in 12 months’ time, Mr Obama will face an electorate which will swallow its disappointment at the results of his first term and give him a second. It will be ‘the nearest run n thing’ for sure.

Industry Europe 7

Cold-rolled steel - ThyssenKrupp

UNCERTAIN OUTLOOK The global demand for steel rises but risks remain, reports Daniel Gleeson, Metal Bulletin Correspondent.

8 Industry Europe

Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of ArcelorMittal

T

his is not another 2008. Words to that effect were uttered by the world’s biggest steel maker in September at an investor presentation where CEO of ArcelorMittal Lakshmi Mittal outlined a $1 billion asset optimisation plan that involved shutting down high-cost facilities, mostly in Europe.

These words have not stopped many comparing the financial worries in the eurozone and the US that have affected steel demand to the global crisis in 2008.

“In 2008 and 2009, demand was about 75–80 per cent of normal demand. Today high-strength steels in extremely thin and wide dimensions are operating at 75–80 per cent of normal capacity, so there is no need to cut volume further because we believe customers will need material from us,” Lakshmi Mittal said.

And ArcelorMittal is not the only producer making moves to cut production. ThyssenKrupp, the biggest steel maker in Europe, which at the beginning of 2011 was operating close to 100 per cent, is now operating at 85 per cent of production and will reduce output in Europe by 500,000 tonnes during the last quarter of this year, with most cuts coming from its hot rolled coil production – steel used widely in the automotive industry.

And these might not be the only cuts the steelmaker has to enforce. “ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe is watching developments on the steel markets closely,” a spokesman told Metal Bulletin. “At all events, we are equipped to respond appropriately. If the signals are negative, we will definitely adapt output to market conditions.”

Coking coal has been in short supply after excessive rainfall in Queensland, Australia.

Salzgitter, another big steel producer in Europe, will also be scaling back is strip steel production by 10 per cent or 200,000 tonnes this quarter as a result of weak demand. This is one producer that has been negatively affected by the capital markets.

“There are a lot of rumours in the capital market about a potential recession. We’re asking sales customers, do you hear any bad news? But the bad news is not from the steel-consuming industries,” a spokesman told MB in October. “The reason for the temporary demand weakness is that steel traders and service centres are reducing inventories,” the spokesman said. “I would underline that the fear in the capital markets is not based on fact and we don’t agree with it.”

This shows it is not only the mills that are prepared to cut inventories. Traders and stockholders are also doing likewise. Inventories of steel and steel raw materials throughout the supply chain are low. No-one is willing to speculate on the direction that the industry will take in the near future and therefore are not looking too far forward with their purchases.

Consumption Still, despite all of the problems experienced in 2011, the most recent projections from the World Steel Association (worldsteel) which has members representing 85 per cent of the world’s steel production, are encouraging.

The association announced its short range outlook at its annual meeting in October in Paris, which stated that apparent steel use globally will increase by 6.5 per cent to 1.398

Edwin Basson, director general of worldsteel

billion tonnes in 2011, following growth of 15.1 per cent in 2010. Further, in 2012 it forecasted that world steel demand will grow further by 5.4 per cent to 1.474 billion tonnes.

Daniel Novegil, chairman of the worldsteel economics committee, said these projections should be considered as “cautiously optimistic. Looking forward we can expect downside risks,” he said.

The association’s economics committee met in Istanbul in September to finalise the forecast against a background of ‘turmoil and volatility’. “The key words at our Istanbul meeting were: inflation pressure, monetary tightening, foreign exchange moves, uncertainty, volatility, slowdown, recession, premature to estimate,” he said.

In line with this, the first half of the year provided much of the growth.

“In the first half of 2011, we witnessed sustained momentum in the recovery of steel demand globally carrying over from 2010,” Novegil said. “This is despite a series of anticipated and unanticipated negative developments: the ongoing euro area sovereign debt crisis, the earthquakes in Japan, the political/ social unrest in some countries of the MENA [Middle East and North Africa] region leading to the related surge in oil prices and the tightening of government monetary measures in many emerging economies.”

The lingering uncertainty in the current market means that next year’s forecasts are dependent on developing economies leading the way again.

“Our current forecast for 2012 assumes that developing economies continue to drive Industry Europe 9

High-strength steels in extremely thin and wide dimensions - ThyssenKrupp

global growth and the policy response to the European debt crisis prevents increased volatility in the equity and financial markets,” he added.

This is emphasised with the association’s projections. China’s apparent steel use in 2011 is expected to increase by 7.5 per cent to 643.2 million tonnes following growth of 8.5 per cent in 2010. However, growth is expected to slow for a third consecutive year in 2012, the association said. In 2012, steel demand is expected to lead to 6.0 per cent growth, which will bring China’s apparent steel use to 681.6 million tonnes. With Chinese steel use making up close to 50 per cent of the global figure though, there are a lot of hopes being pinned on the country’s steelmakers and it has economic issues of its own to contend with.

“We know that Europe’s sovereign debt issues and the US slowdown have influenced the world greatly, but China has its own issues as well,” Zhang Xiaogang, the newly appointed chairman of worldsteel said at the annual meeting. “Inflation is a huge problem. We are trying to figure a way out and we don’t have that yet. China’s steel industry goes hand-inhand with overall development, and we have to look at the inflation issue and work it out,” he added.

Aside from China, other developing countries are also contributing to overall expected growth in apparent steel use, worldsteel’s forecasts showed. In 2011, India’s steel use is forecast to grow by 4.3 per cent to reach 67.7 million tonnes due to economic growth within the country, with growth expected to accelerate to 7.9 per cent in 2012.

10 Industry Europe

Central and South America also fit into the expectation of growth in developing countries.

Apparent steel use is forecast to grow by 4.7 per cent in 2011 in these continents to reach an historical high of 47.8 million tonnes, with 2012’s figure forecast to reach 52.4 million tonnes, equivalent to 9.8 per cent growth.

Recovery?

These positive projections aside, this year has been very tough for all steel makers.

Turkish steel makers were hit by a dearth of demand for long products such as rebar as the Arab Spring impacted consumption in Egypt, Syria and many of the other countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

This was reflected in demand for steel falling by 0.9 per cent in 2011 in the MENA region, with worldsteel saying the decrease was mainly down to demand in North African countries falling. In 2012 though, the association forecasts growth of 8.7 per cent in apparent steel use in the region.

There are still question marks over this figure though. “Given that the political situation in the region is far from settled, there exist considerable uncertainties to the current forecasts for this region,” the association said.

Japanese producers also suffered heavily in 2011. The earthquake and tsunami in March hit their steel industry heavily. Importers of steel products and raw materials were forced to look elsewhere and some of the biggest Japanese steel producers in the world were unable to take delivery of core steel making components with deliveries of iron ore and coking coal being redirected due to damaged ports.

In line with this, Japan’s steel use is expected to decline by 2.7 per cent to 61.8

million tonnes in 2011 due mainly to the disruptions caused by the earthquakes. There are positive notes though, with growth of 0.8 per cent in 2012 meaning apparent steel would hit 62.3 million tonnes for the year.

It is not only Japan that had problems with supplies of raw materials, with iron ore prices lingering near all-time price highs due to mining bans in some of India’s most iron-rich states.

Also, at the beginning of 2011, coking coal, a main component of the traditional steel making process, was in short supply, having been hampered by excessive rainfall in Queensland, Australia. This has affected supply and prices for the steel making raw material for the majority of the year, harming steelmaker’s margins and keeping prices at high levels.

Director general of worldsteel Edwin Basson saw this as a positive though. “There are positives and negatives [to high raw material costs] for our industry, depending on how you look at this,” Basson said. “One of the positives we should all recognise is, with the new conditions in the market, the difference between the marginal cost of producing a tonne of steel and the average cost of producing a tonne of steel is not as large as it used to be, and that in itself must lead to much more disciplined behaviour,” he said. The fact is that steel makers have to adapt to new conditions in the markets they serve and rely on daily.

2011, so far, has been a year of unexpected problems and the industry has tackled them well. Coming into 2012, there are still many financial uncertainties, but steel makers have adapted well to every new challenge that has faced them and they n will do likewise next year.

NEWS

New developments in the Steel industry

INDUSTRYNEWS

MMK has acquired all of MMK ATAKAS M

MK (OJSC Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works) has announced the completion of its acquisition of 50 per cent minus one share of MMK-Atakas from the Atakas Family. The total price of the deal is USD 485 million. As a result, MMK has consolidated a 100% stake in the company.

Victor Rashnikov, chairman of MMK and MMK Metalürji Sanayi Ticaret Ve Liman Isletmeciligi AS, said: “Consolidation of 100% of MMK Group’s Turkish project will ensure more efficient management of our Turkish facilities and help capitalise on the promising Turkish market for flat rolled products.”

The project’s two sites in Iskenderun and Istanbul have a full capacity of 2.3mtpy of rolled flats.

Total investments in the project are estimated at approximately $2.1 billion. It is expected that MMK’s Turkish metal complex will reach its full capacity by the end of 2011.

VIisit: www.mmk.ru

Tata Steel to realise worldclass potential of IJmuiden

T

ata Steel has announced a major five-year improvement programme for its IJmuiden steelworks in the Netherlands that is designed to sustain the plant’s potential to be a world-class steelmaker. It is intended that this programme will be accompanied by substantial investment that may total around €800 million over the five-year period.

The improvement programme will focus on three goals: further enhancing product quality, improving plant reliability and reducing costs. The programme is balanced in its structure so as to achieve both cost reductions and growth through investment.

As a consequence, IJmuiden’s annual effective capacity will rise by 2015–16 from 7.2 million to 7.7 million tonnes of liquid steel and the total number of full-time jobs at the plant will be reduced by about 1000 in the next four years.

Karl-Ulrich Köhler, MD & CEO of Tata Steel in Europe, said: “The IJmuiden works enjoys the great advantages of an ideal location – with its own port for bringing in raw materials and close proximity to the market – excellent lay-out, an ability to be flexible in the use of raw materials, and a high level of technology and craftsmanship. Today’s improvement programme aims at significantly strengthening IJmuiden’s position in the steel industry, helping it realise its potential as a world-class steel plant.”

Visit: www.tata.com

ArcelorMittal Iasi commissions new mill

T

he Tubular Products Division of ArcelorMittal has commissioned its new cold formed mill in the Iasi, Romania facility. This new line was constructed in order to increase efficiency and reduce costs to service the domestic and regional markets. With an annual capacity of 120,000 tonnes per year,

Sveaskog and LKAB collaborate on energy initiative

S

veaskog and LKAB have joined forces on an initiative that will help the mining company to phase out its use of fossil fuels by 2020. Coal and oil account for some 2 TWh of LKAB’s annual energy consumption. By fully or partially replacing these fossil fuels with biogas and other alternatives, LKAB hopes to dramatically reduce its carbon dioxide emissions.

“We can see great advantages in starting to use the energy resources that are right outside the door, instead of importing coal and oil. Now we have signed a letter of intent with Sveaskog of which one this new mill will comply with all European standards in terms of product quality, efficiency and overall operation.

The company has implemented this solution to respond to its customers’ needs in terms of deliveries, product quality and range. This new mill allows for the successful decommissioning of six high-cost and outdated lines. “This investment was made as a

aim is to identify ways and means for making better use of energy in the form of forest raw material,” says Jan Lundgren, project manager at LKAB. The upgrading process, whereby iron ore is made into iron ore pellets, requires huge amounts of energy. LKAB is a large electricity consumer.

2 TWh corresponds to about 1.5% of Sweden’s total electricity consumption. As part of LKAB’s effort to safeguard the environment and climate, the company therefore intends to reduce its use of fossil fuels.

Visit: www.lkab.com part of the strategy to move towards a more cost effective and high productivity facility to serve the market better,” said Gonzalo Urquijo, a member of the GMB, ArcelorMittal.

ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Iasi is the largest producer of longitudinal welded steel tubes in Romania and the country’s market leaders for mechanical tubes.

Visit: www.arcelormittal.com Industry Europe 11

NEWS

New developments in the Steel industry

Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH wins major contract

I

lsenburger Grobblech GmbH (ILG), a member of the Salzgitter Group, has won the contract from AMBAU GmbH for the delivery of around 70,000 tons of heavy plate for the Meerwind Offshore Wind Park. This is one of the largest single contracts ever recorded by ILG. AMBAU GmbH will use the plate for the foundation structures of the Meerwind Süd and Meerwind Ost offshore wind parks. They consist of 80 sets of monopiles and transition pieces on which the actual wind turbine towers are built.

The 80 offshore wind turbines of the 3.6MW class, to be erected and operated 23km north of the island of Helgoland, will supply 360,000 households with electricity in the future. The start of construction is scheduled for the end of 2012 and commissioning will take place at the end of 2013.

Visit: www.salzgitter-ag.de

BE Group appoints new business area manager for central and eastern Europe S

weden’s BE Group has appointed Nikolai Makarov as business area manager, CEE. Nikolai Makarov has extensive and broad international experience of the steel industry. He joins BE Group from Finnish steel group Ruukki Construction.

CEE is one of BE Group’s three business areas and supplies customers in the Baltic States, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic with products and production services. The business area

also forms a key component in the entire group’s product supply chain.

“We are happy to welcome Nikolai to BE Group.

He has a very suitable background and the leadership qualities necessary to succeed in the tough but important markets of central and eastern Europe,” says the president and CEO of BE Group, Roger Johansson.

Visit: www.begroup.com

Rautaruukki steel structures for Stora Enso mill in Poland

The contract now agreed is a continuation of earlier cooperation between the two companies. In 2009–2010, Ruukki provided the steel frame for the power plant delivered

by Metso to Stora Enso’s Ostroleka Mill.

“This is a very important contract for Ruukki and an opening to the markets in central eastern Europe. This is the first time high-strength steel will be used in a

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autaruukki is to deliver the steel structures for a paper mill to be built

by Stora Enso in Ostroleka, Poland. The project includes the manufacture and installation of the steel frame for the paper mill and warehouse. The contract is worth over €8 million.

12 Industry Europe

large building project in this market area.

High-strength steel enables Ruukki to stand out from the other actors in the field,” says Jorma Korhonen, business director, CEE & Baltics at Ruukki.

The steel structures will be manufactured at Ruukki’s steel structure plants at Oborniki in Poland and Bolintin Deal in Romania.

Visit: www.ruukki.com

INDUSTRYNEWS

Tata Steel unveils upgraded rail manufacturing plant in France

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ata Steel has officially opened its upgraded rail production facility in north-east France after a €35 million investment.

The investment in a range of new manufacturing equipment and expansion of the plant in Hayange, in the Lorraine region, means it can now produce longer 108-metre rails for the high-speed networks in France as well as other European railways.

Previously, the plant could produce rails up to 80 metres long.

Henrik Adam, Tata Steel’s chief commercial officer, said: “The project to upgrade the Hayange rail mill demonstrates Tata Steel’s commitment to being the European leader in the rail sector. Our two state-of-the-art rail production facilities in the UK and France now have world-class manufacturing

capability and we will continue to support our customers by offering innovative products and services in growth markets.”

The investment has boosted production capacity from 300,000 to 340,000 tonnes per year and has improved yield and quality at the facility. The investment has also secured employment at the plant.

Visit: www.tata.com

Independence for ThyssenKrupp Stainless T hyssenKrupp AG has decided on an integrated strategic development program to move the group forward competitively and sustainably. The group will be divesting businesses for which there are stronger alternative strategic options.

The executive board’s decision to separate the activities of the Stainless Global business area from ThyssenKrupp AG is a key element in this.

EVRAZ advanced solutions for the railway industry EVRAZ showcased a wide range of advanced railway products at the III International Railway Salon, Scherbinka (Moscow Region), 7–10 September. EVRAZ is a world leader in the production of railwayrelated products, and the only rail producer in Russia. Whilst the company’s main

Stainless Global will become an independent entity under the name Inoxum.

Inoxum will bring together the worldwide production, processing and distribution of stainless steel flat products as well as the production and distribution of high-performance materials such as nickel alloys, titanium and zirconium.

Visit: www.thyssenkrupp.com customer is The Russian Railways, it also exports its products to the CIS, North America, Turkey, Vietnam and the Baltic States.

More than 30 items of EVRAZ railwayrelated products were demonstrated at the exhibition, including some recently developed unique solutions, namely wheels with a Brinell hardness from 360 to 390; and heattreated rails of improved quality. Currently,

EVRAZ is the only company in Russia to have mastered these technologies.

“We see EXPO 1520 as an ideal venue, not only to showcase our company’s solutions and products, but also to share best practices with our colleagues from all over the world,” said Oleg Kuzmin, EVRAZ vice-president, Corporate Communications.

Visit: www.evraz.com Industry Europe 13

CUTTING EDGES Stainless steel from Germany is being used to edge the corners of New York’s ‘One World Trade Center’.

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en years after the destruction of the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center the centrepiece of the redevelopment of the site is already more than half built. One World Trade Center – previously known as the Freedom Tower – is a 105-storey skyscraper that stands to the side of the site of the original Twin Towers. When completed, probably in the middle of 2013, the tower will be the tallest building in the USA. Earlier this year it was announced that the main tenant of the new building will be publishing giant Conde Nast, which will move some 5000 staff into floors 20 to 41. That news itself marked a new chapter in the development of Lower Manhattan, which for more than two centuries has been almost exclusively a financial district.

One World Trade Center is owned by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and its construction is being managed by Tishman Construction Corporation of New York. Work on the project began in 2006. The building will 14 Industry Europe

have 2.6 million square feet of rentable space, the gross square footage is 3.5 million square feet. The high-rise itself will be 417 metres tall, topped with a 124-metre antenna. The total height of 541 metres corresponds exactly to 1776 feet, a reference to the American Declaration of Independence in 1776. Adjacent to the tower will be a museum and memorial to the victims of September 11, 2001.

The final architectural design of the building now under construction was drawn up in the New York office of the international architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merill. The outer facade of the skyscraper will be made of glass.

Above the 60-metre-high base, the metal frames surrounding the glass panes will be clad with stainless steel panels. The outstanding architectural feature of the design is that the edges of the building rotate through an angle of 45 degrees from the base upwards. All the corner elements therefore have to be made in a tapering form in line with this axial rotation.

High-tech solution These corners of the skyscraper’s facade will be edged with stainless steel made in Germany. ThyssenKrupp Nirosta (Krefeld) produced the material at its Dillenburg plant using a customised rolling and heat-treatment process. Partner company Christian Pohl GmbH (Cologne) fabricated this high-quality material into complex facade elements for the corners of the One World Trade Center – some 250 tons in total.

The 1 by 4 metre (40 by 160 inches) facade elements are being made from the corrosionresistant chromium-nickel-molybdenum stainless steel alloy Nirosta 4404 with a textured finish ‘LASER’ specially designed for this project. “Our material meets the extremely high requirements for uniform surface quality with no streaking or shadowing from any angle regardless of light conditions,” says Gert Weifl, head of product service at ThyssenKrupp Nirosta. And Heinrich Robert Pohl,

managing director of Christian Pohl GmbH, adds: “Such complex jobs call for supreme technical competencies and a wealth of manufacturing experience. With a high-tech solution we were able to win our extremely demanding customers over to this jointly developed, high-quality German product.”

With its rolled surface texture, LASER is ideal for facades which are intended to reflect light uniformly and diffusely. This design finish is in fact characterised by a complete lack of design – at least if design is understood to mean a uniform pattern. LASER has a completely random texture. Unlike regularly aligned surface patterns, which reflect light differently depending on the angle of incidence, LASER provides for diffuse reflection.

Like other design finishes from ThyssenKrupp Nirosta, LASER is produced by cold rolling the stainless steel using appropriately patterned rolls, permitting continuous, high-yield, cost-effective production. Previ-

ously high-pressure glass bead blasting was required on stainless steel to achieve the same effect as LASER. LASER is the result of a joint project between ThyssenKrupp Nirosta and Wetzel Processing Group, a leading manufacturer of printing and embossing rolls. The two partners developed a method of transferring randomly textured surfaces to patterned rolls and from there to stainless steel strip. The challenge lay in the fact that completely random textures are far more difficult to produce on rolled surfaces than regular patterns. The conventional approach is to design lots of individual, irregularly shaped microfigures on a computer – a complex process – and then combine these tiny elements into larger areas which are then reproduced until the entire roll surface is covered. The design is transferred to the surface of the roll using a computer-controlled combination laser and etching process. The disadvantage of this method is what special-

ists call pattern repeat: Depending on what angle they are viewed from, and especially from further away, the patterns can be seen to recur – which is exactly the opposite of what is required.

In the new approach, the shapes making up the microelements are no longer random but right-angled. That makes it possible to digitise the elements and then, via a random generator, spread them randomly over the surface of the roll using a new direct laser technology developed by Wetzel. From the distance at which building facades are observed, it is not possible to see that the individual microfigures are no longer completely random.

“The quality of our product helped us to win the contract for this out-of-the-ordinary project.

Ultimately we regard it as an accolade to be a part of this globally known project in the heart of New York which means so much to so many Americans,” emphasise ThyssenKrupp n Nirosta and Christian Pohl GmbH. Industry Europe 15

NEWS

New contracts and orders in industry

NCC secures assignment from Alecta to build new block in Sundbyberg

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CC Construction Sweden has secured an assignment to refurbish and construct new premises in the Plåten block in central Sundbyberg. The customer is Alecta, which is planning a new property block featuring housing, offices, shopping, hotels and restaurants. The order is worth about SEK 550 million and will be registered not later than in the fourth quarter of 2011. The project will be conducted as a coordinated contract with Alecta.

The premises will total about 36,000m2 gross area, of which about 18,000 will be newly constructed. The block Plåten, also known under the name Signalfabriken, currently consists of vacant industrial and office premises.

“Since Alecta has chosen to engage our services at an early stage, NCC’s full range of expertise will be of use to the project. We will construct a full block with various types of buildings,” says Claes Magnusson, business unit manager, NCC Construction Sweden Stockholm/Mälardalen region.

The project has commenced and is scheduled for completion during autumn 2013. The project will be climate declared.

Visit: www.ncc.se

Taiwan’s UNI Air signs contract for 10 ATR 72-600s Metso to deliver biomassaiwan-based UNI Air, a subsidiary of EVA Air, has signed a contract with European regional turboprop fired boiler plant for Eneco

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manufacturer ATR to purchase 10 ATR 72-600s. Deliveries are scheduled to start in third quarter 2012.

UNI Air will use its new ATR-600s to progressively replace the Dash-8-300 aircraft it now has in its fleet. The regional carrier’s new ATRs will be equipped with advanced technologies such as a glass cockpit avionics suite and redesigned cabin interiors. The aircraft will feature Armonia cabin especially created for ATR by Italy’s Giugiaro Design and equipped for passengers’ enhanced comforts with lighter-weight slim-line seats and larger overhead bins that will accommodate a maximum number of carry-on bags.

UNI Air Chairman Tony Su said, “We are pleased to update our regional fleet with the most modern aircraft on the market. The new ATR -600 series will enable us to give our passengers the highest standards of comfort and, at the same time, optimise our fuel and operating costs. We are looking forward to introducing our new ATR aircraft and operating them in Asia.”

Visit: www.atraircraft.com

Skanska awarded road assignment in Norway

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kanska has been awarded the assignment to widen a 10.2 kilometre section of the E18 highway in Norway. The contract value is NOK 764 million, about SEK 880 million, which will be included in order bookings for the third quarter. The customer is the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen).

16 Industry Europe

The assignment means Skanska will expand the existing E18 section to a four-lane highway. The project covers new southbound lanes and upgrades for northbound traffic. Work will start in September and is scheduled for completion in autumn 2014.

Skanska Norway focuses on construction and civil engineering operations. The

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etso will supply a biomass-fired boiler plant for the leading dutch utility company Eneco, in Delfzijl in the Netherlands. The construction of the power plant will be carried out by a consortium consisting of the German company Areva Renewables GmbH, Finnish Metso Power Oy and Dutch Ballast Nedam Industriebouw. The value of the power plant project order is €155 million, of which Metso’s share is approximately one third.

Metso’s delivery includes a 49 MWe biomass-fired boiler plant, a flue gas cleaning plant and stack, a feedwater system and a distributed control system.

The boiler will utilise circulating fluidised bed (CFB) technology and use mainly recycled wood as fuel. The power plant will need around 300,000 tonnes of wood a year, among others recycled waste wood chips.

Start-up of the new power plant is scheduled for the third quarter of 2013. The order is included in Energy and Environmental Technology’s third quarter 2011 orders received.

Visit: www.metso.com unit has approximately 4200 employees. In 2010, Skanska Norway reported revenue of about SEK 11 billion. In Norway, Skanska is also active in the development of residential, commercial properties and public private partnerships (PPP) projects.

Visit: www.skanska.com

WINNINGBUSINESS Balfour Beatty Engineering Services awarded Hertfordshire BSF contracts

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alfour Beatty Engineering Services (BBES) has been awarded two school contracts within the Hertfordshire Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, valued at £14.3 million.

The contracts are both joint ventures. The £5.6 million Nobel sample scheme in Stevenage is with Mansell Construction and the £8.7 million Marriotts Lonsdale sample scheme, also situated in Stevenage, is with Balfour Beatty Construction.

Nobel involves the supply and installation of mechanical and electrical services for the remodeling and extension of the existing secondary school and includes the complete new building services installation. The project is aiming to achieve a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating.

Marriotts Lonsdale comprises the supply and installation of mechanical and electrical services for a new co-located secondary school and all-age SEN school with overnight accommodation and will include a complete new building services installation.

Visit: www.balfourbeatty.com

Cobham to provide aerial refuelling systems for Brazilian KC-390 tanker aircraft

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obham has been selected to develop and supply the Wing Aerial Refuelling Pod for the KC-390 tanker aircraft under development by Brazil’s Embraer and has received an order with an initial contract value in excess of US$60 million. Air refuelling operations will be a key tactical role of the KC-390 following its introduction into service, scheduled to commence in 2015.

Selection by Embraer follows a comprehensive competitive process and reflects Cobham’s unrivalled experience in the design, development

and delivery of air refuelling systems. Cobham will supply Embraer with one of its state-of-theart air refuelling pods, specially modified to fit the KC-390. The system architecture will be tailored to meet the aircraft’s air-to-air refuelling capability requirements, and enable refuelling of a range of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft.

Embraer’s launch customer for the KC-390 is the Brazilian Air Force and it expects to secure significant additional orders from export customers.

Visit: www.cobham.com

Atkins wins major signalling contract in Norway

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tkins has won one of the main design contracts for the new Follo line in Norway.

The contract, won in partnership with Norwegian engineering consultancy Aas Jakobsen, covers the area of Oslo Central Station where the new Follo line will run into the station, in a project that will increase the capacity and reliability of the rail links in to the Norwegian capital The head of Atkins in Norway Håkon Dragsund said: “This is a great step forward in our ambition to become a significant player in the Norwegian signaling market.”

Strabag subsidiary Adanti wins €161 million contract in Tuscany

five viaducts, the most important of which measures 900m in length with piers up to 95m tall. Adanti’s share of the €161 million contract amounts to around 65 per cent or €105 million.

Bologna-based Adanti SpA will carry out the works together with consortium partner Vittadello Intercantieri di Padova.

Construction is slated to begin in the

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he Italian STRABAG subsidiary Adanti SpA has signed an agreement to upgrade some 11km of State Road 223 between Grosseto and Siena in Tuscany.

The contract includes the planning and building of three junctions, six tunnels – the longest measuring 1.5km in length – and

The project will bring the new tracks of the Follo line through a densely built-up area that features many cultural heritage sites which must be carefully protected. The new solution means the present track arrangement at Oslo Central Station must also be altered. Due to the massive and intensive works schedule simultaneous traffic diversions will be needed during the construction phase and there will be a need for considerable flexibility and robustness in the stage plans during this time.

Visit: www.atkinsglobal.com spring of 2012 and is scheduled to last about 2.5 years.

Hans Peter Haselsteiner, CEO of STRABAG SE, is pleased with the new order in Italy: “Our subsidiary Adanti is well-positioned in the Italian infrastructure market and profits especially in northern Italy from the considerable need for modernisation in road construction.”

Visit: www.strabag.com Industry Europe 17

NEWS

Combining strengths

DSM and Sinochem Group establish global anti-infectives joint venture

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oyal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, has established a 50/50 global joint venture for its business group DSM Anti-Infectives with Sinochem Group. The joint venture will be headquartered in Hong Kong. Current DSM Anti-Infectives employees, in total around 2000 people globally, are part of the new group, to be named DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals Limited. The joint venture includes all of the current DSM Anti-Infectives activities across the world.

Stefan Doboczky, member of the managing board of Royal DSM, and CEO of DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals, commented: “The establishment of this joint venture with Sinochem is fully in line with DSM’s stated strategy for its Pharma cluster: creating value via partnerships. The combination of DSM’s strong global market position in anti-infectives and Sinochem’s significant global market capability presents exciting future growth opportunities through combined technologies and access to customers, especially in the fast-growing Asian economies.”

Visit: www.dsm.com

Wärtsilä and Shell to promote use of LNG as a marine fuel

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ärtsilä, the marine industry’s leading solutions provider, and Shell Oil Company have signed a Joint Cooperation Agreement aimed at promoting and accelerating the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel. The agreement was signed in August 2011 and will run for several years.

Supplies of low cost, low emissions LNG fuel will be made available to Wärtsilä natural gas powered vessel operators, and other customers by Shell. The Joint Cooperation Agreement will focus first on supplies from the US Gulf Coast, and then later expand their efforts to cover a broader geographical range.

Gas fuelled marine engines are seen as being a logical means for ship owners and operators to comply with increasingly stringent environmental legislation. This agreement aims at increasing and easing the availability of natural gas for marine engine use, as well as developing the supply chain and infrastructure to facilitate the bunkering of LNG fuel. The two companies will jointly move these developments to marine markets in order to enhance its rapid introduction and use.

Visit: www.wartsila.com

FDS Group further strengthens its UK distributor network

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he FDS Group has announced the purchase of Cheshire-based Sealex Ltd to further strengthen its UK distributor network. Located in Ellesmere Port, Sealex Ltd is a gasket cutter and distribution company specialising in supplying sealing gaskets and hose products engineered and manufactured to suit customers’ bespoke needs. The company also supplies PPE equipment and work wear, and spillage absorption materials designed to help protect the environment.

This latest acquisition will allow the FDS Group to combine and integrate its UK distribution network, with branches based in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Middlesbrough, Ipswich, Cardiff, Bolton and at Ellesmere Port.

Visit: www.fdsgroup.net

Elekta completes the acquisition of Nucletronz

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lekta AB has successfully completed its acquisition of Nucletron, the world leader in brachytherapy treatment planning and delivery. Through the combination Elekta will offer a complete range of radiotherapy planning and delivery technologies. As the market leader in Europe and with strong

18 Industry Europe

positions in North America and Asia, Elekta will enhance the combined ability to meet the clinical needs of cancer patients and health care providers throughout the world.

“Now we have successfully completed the acquisition and we are very enthusiastic about building a broader, stronger and highly complementary range of cutting-edge cancer care solutions,” said Elekta’s president

and CEO, Tomas Puusepp. “Nucletron will add approximately 1000 new customers to Elekta’s customer base of more than 5000 and the combination will allow the enlarged group to take mutual advantage of Nucletron’s expertise in brachytherapy combined with Elekta’s global presence, particularly in emerging markets.”

Visit: www.elekta.com

LINKINGUP

Imtech acquires Groupe Techsol Marine I

mtech N.V. (IM-AE, technical services provider in Europe and on the global marine market) has announced the acquisition of the Canadian marine company Groupe Techsol Marine. This strategic acquisition means that Imtech has now a high-tech marine production site available in Canada. The acquisition also strengthens Imtech’s service and maintenance foothold in North America. With over 100 employees, Groupe Techsol Marine realises annual revenues of around €20 million.

Imtech CEO René van der Bruggen said: “We enjoy a strong position in the global marine market, being active in over 20 countries at more than 70 local offices along all major shipping routes and near major shipbuilding centres. In accordance with our strategic growth plan, we aim to significantly strengthen our marine activities. Through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, Imtech aims to double the revenue of its marine division to approximately €1 billion by 2015. Groupe Techsol Marine fits perfectly in our strategic plans.”

Visit: www.imtech.eu

SABIC to join automotive innovation joint venture INPRO S audi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has entered into an agreement to purchase an equity stake in INPRO, a joint venture dedicated to collaborative innovation in automotive production.

SABIC will join Daimler, Siemens, ThyssenKrupp and Volkswagen as equity owners in the group.

The Federal State of Berlin has also held shares in INPRO since its founding in 1983.

INPRO develops innovative technologies for lightweight manufacturing and zero-defect

production of automobiles. The group’s R&D focus includes the development of new production technologies for future electric and hybrid vehicles. With the realisation of new innovative computer-based software tools, INPRO aims to shorten time-to-market and enhance the overall energy efficiency of automotive production.

According to Joachim von Heimburg, Ph.D., SABIC’s general manager of global innovation

and corporate research programs: “Today, more than ever before, breakthrough innovation is only possible through an ecosystem of interdependent industry leaders who know how to work together across the global value chain. As such, INPRO is an excellent fit for us and serves as yet another example of how we engage in the kind of collaboration that is necessary to fuel and accelerate automotive innovation.”

Visit: www.sabic-ip.com

Bilfinger Berger strengthens industrial services B

ilfinger Berger has expanded its product offering in the field of industrial services with the acquisition of Alpha Mess-Steuer-Regeltechnik GmbH in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Germany, a provider of extensive electrotechnical services primarily for the gas industry, the chemicals sector and utilities. With 120 employees, the company has an annual output volume of €17 million and was previously owned by Funkwerk AG. Alpha specialises in instrumentation, automation and electro-technology and offers design, manufacturing, installation and maintenance as well as a com-

Sika strengthens position in Brazilian automotive sector

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aar-based Sika group has agreed to acquire Colauto Adesivos e Massas Ltda in São Paolo, Brazil, a manufacturer of adhesives and sealants as well as acoustic damping and structural reinforcement elements for the fastgrowing automotive and transportation

prehensive range of services. Its clients include renowned companies such as E.ON, RWE, BASF, DOW and Linde. Alpha’s most important market is Germany, although it has recently carried out projects in Asia, Russia and South America.

With this acquisition, Bilfinger Berger Industrial Services strengthens its position in the electrical, measuring and control technology field, especially in the gas industry as well as in the chemical, petrochemical and metallurgical industries.

Visit: www.bilfinger.com

industry. Colauto is one of the leading suppliers of chemical process materials for the automotive industry in Latin America.

Colauto was founded as a family enterprise in 1962. The company operates a production site in São Paulo and generated sales of CHF 40 million in 2010 with a workforce of approxi-

mately 250. Colauto enjoys an excellent reputation in Brazil as a customer- and solution-led company with a strong market position in Latin America.

Latin America’s automotive industry has a high growth potential and the significance of Brazil as a car manufacturing country continues to increase.

Visit: www.sika.com Industry Europe 19

NEWS

MOVINGON

Relocations and expansions across Europe

Jaguar Land Rover to invest in a new advanced engine facility in the UK

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LR is to make a £355 million investment in a new facility to manufacture all-new, advanced technology, low-emission engines in the UK. The new advanced engine facility will be built at i54 South Staffordshire, a business park near Wolverhampton in the UK’s Midlands.

Dr Ralf Speth, chief executive officer, JLR, said: “As we invest £1.5 billion a year for the next five years on new product developments,

expanding our engine range will help us realise the full global potential of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands. The all-new family of 4-cylinder engines will increase JLR’s capability to offer high performance engines with class-leading levels of refinement, whilst ensuring continued significant reductions in vehicle emissions.”

Visit: www.jaguarlandrover.com

Ferrostaal commissions its first tyre-recycling plant in Mexico

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errostaal AG has announced the commissioning of its first tyre-recycling plant in Mexico. The customer is the operator of a major, nationwide chain of filling stations where drivers can bring their tyres for recycling. Thanks to the recycling plant, the customer can process approx. 1500kg of old tyres each hour, doubling its current capacity. Because there are considerable quantities of old tyres in Mexico, the need for recycling is extremely high.

Rather than store the tyres in enormous landfills, they will now be processed into rubber granules instead. These granules can be used, for example, to surface sports fields and playgrounds, for soundproofing insulation or for hoses that water plants underground, directly at their roots.

Visit: www.ferrostaal-recycling.com

Moog opens new wind training centre ContiTech plans new rubber manufacturing facility in Hungary M C oog, a motion control solution provider and leading developer of pitch systems for wind turbines, has officially inaugurated its new wind training centre in Unna, Germany.

The 1300 m≤ (14,000 ft≤) facility is designed to provide technical training programs to Moog’s global wind energy customer base. A dedicated team of expert trainers will lead customer training programs ranging from a basic introduction to more advanced and focused engineering courses on products and systems Hands-on technical training in Moog Pitch Systems, Pitch Motors, Pitch Servo Drives, Backup-Systems and Programmable Logic Controllers focuses on maintenance, performance analysis, repair and retrofits.

Visit: www.moog.com

ATR opens new pilot training centre in Paris

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TR has opened a new pilot training centre in Paris. The new centre, based near Charles de Gaulle airport in Roissy, is equipped with a brand new Full Flight Simulator (FFS). This simulator, developed and manufactured by Thales, will allow crew members to be 20 Industry Europe

trained on the ATR 72-500. ATR has set up this new centre in partnership with SIM Aéro Training.

Filippo Bagnato, ATR’s CEO, declares: “This new training centre will allow the load to be lightened for our other training centres, particularly the Toulouse centre, which are already operating full-time.”

Visit: www.atraircraft.com

ontiTech is investigating the construction of a rubber compounding facility in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary. The company already operates a plant there under the name of Phoenix Légrugó Technológia Ltd which has 230 employees and makes air spring systems.

“I’m expecting a decision to be made by the end of the year,” said Hannes Friederichsen, general manager of ContiTech Air Spring Systems and member of the supervisory board of Phoenix Légrugó Technológia Ltd. Construction on the new facility could start at the beginning of next year.

Visit: www.contitech.de

NEWS

INDUSTRYPEOPLE BENTLEY ANNOUNCES NEW ENGINEERING CHIEF

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entley Motors has announced the appointment of Rolf Frech (53) as its new board member for Engineering. Frech joins from Porsche AG where he was director for Complete Vehicle Engineering and Quality.

Bentley chairman and chief executive, Wolfgang Dürheimer, said: “I am delighted to welcome Rolf Frech to the Bentley team. He brings with him

a wealth of experience from Porsche, experience which will help us develop new generations of Bentleys which share the same commitment to performance, quality and engineering excellence.

Having worked with him for 12 years I know he will be a real asset to the company and provide technical leadership to our design, engineering and R&D operations.”

Wallix appoints new sales manager for UK and Nordic countries

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aris based Wallix, a leading developer and distributor of software solutions for managing risk and the traceability of users with privileged access to the critical IT infrastructure of businesses, has appointed Nick Lewis as its new sales manager for the UK and Nordic countries.

“We are seeing tremendous interest from UK and Nordic organisations for our innovative solutions, and we are delighted to welcome Nick on board to drive our business forward in these strategic markets,” says Jean-Noël de Galzain, CEO of Wallix.

NEW DIRECTOR FOR VOLKSWAGEN COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

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olkswagen Commercial Vehicles has appointed a new director, Alex Smith, 37, replacing Simon Elliott who recently accepted a new position as managing director of Volkswagen Group Ireland.

Alex is currently head of Retail Operations for Volkswagen Passenger Cars.

Alex has a 16-year career in the motor industry and joined the Volkswagen Group four years ago.

His previous roles include a spell as head of Group Parts Operations where he was responsible for the Trade Parts Specialists network. Prior to this Alex worked for Ford and Kia with responsibility for operations, fleet, aftersales, planning and marketing.

Juli appoints European energy manager

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uli Lifting Group, the world’s largest lifting equipment manufacturer and service provider has announced the appointment of a European energy manager to drive the continental arm of the Juli business forward in the Offshore sector.

Martin Dunbar’s first task will be supporting the senior management team in raising the profile of Juli Lifting in the marketplace.

Martin’s name has become a byword in Aberdeen’s oil and gas industry, where he has spent the last 16 years working on the ‘other side of the fence’ as operations manager for Cosalt before becoming business development manager for lifting with Enermech, so he has inside experience of what companies are looking for from a lifting equipment supplier.

Yves Gauthier appointed chief executive officer of Mobinil

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he Boards of Directors of Mobinil Telecom and ECMS have announced the appointment of Yves Gauthier as the new Chief Executive Officer of ECMS (Mobinil). ECMS, listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange, is one of Egypt’s leading mobile operators and operates under the brand name Mobinil. France Telecom-Orange and Orascom Telecom are its major shareholders.

Mobinil will benefit from Yves Gauthier’s long experience in the telecommunications field, both in the enterprise and retail markets, as well as from his proven leadership and extensive knowledge of the industry. Yves Gauthier has spent much of his career within the France Telecom-Orange Group, where he held positions as CEO or COO of various group subsidiaries in different countries.

New CEO for Aerocrine

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wedish medical technology company Aerocrine AB has announced that Scott Myers has been appointed as President and CEO. This appointment is part of the company’s strategy to focus on the commercialization of its products in the U.S. and other key markets. Scott succeeds Paul de Potocki who has success-

fully led the development of Aerocrine since 2007. Scott brings 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and health care consulting industries to the company. He joins Aerocrine from UCB, a €3.0 billion global biopharmaceutical company where most recently he held the position of vice-president, head of European Mid-Markets.

“Scott’s appointment is a natural and important step in the company’s long-term strategy and we are delighted to welcome Scott to Aerocrine,” says Anders Williamsson, chairman of the board.

Prior to UCB, Scott held several senior positions at Johnson & Johnson including senior vice-president and general manager of McNeil Speciality Products.

Industry Europe 21

NEWS

TECHNOLOGYSPOTLIGHT

Advances in technology across industry

Hydrogen storage solution C

ella Energy, a spinout company from STFC, has developed a cheap, safe and practical way of storing hydrogen that means it is no longer necessary to use high pressure tanks.

Hydrogen, which produces only water when burned, is considered an ideal solution to cutting carbon emissions from road vehicles.

The technology underpinning Cella Energy was developed by scientists from STFC’s ISIS neutron source working with the London Centre for Nanotechnology at University College London and the University of Oxford.

Cella Energy’s solution uses a low-cost process called coaxial electrospinning or electrospraying. This traps a complex chemical hydride inside a nano-porous polymer, speeds up

the kinetics of hydrogen desorption, reduces the temperature at which the desorption occurs and filters out many if not all of the damaging chemicals. It also protects the hydrides from oxygen and water, making it possible to handle it in air.

The coaxial electrospinning process that Cella uses is simple and industrially scalable. It can be used to create micron scale micro-fibres or micro-beads nano-porous polymers filled with the chemical hydride. Cella believes that this technology can produce an inexpensive, compound material that can be handled safely in air, operates at low pressures and temperatures and has sufficiently high hydrogen concentration and rapid desorption kinetics to be useful for transport applications Visit: www.cellaenergy.com

Making rocket fuel using an ancient recipe

A

nammox is a bacterium full of scientific surprises. Microbiologists from Radboud University Nijmegen have now demonstrated how the bacteria makes the rocket fuel hydrazine by means of an ancient evolutionary pathway.

Anammox bacteria feed on ammonium (NH4+) and convert this into nitrogen gas without the need for oxygen. When that discovery came to light it caused a revolution within the world of microbiology and the bacterium is still revealing amazing secrets. When its genome was unravelled in 2006, Nijmegen professor of microbiology Mike Jetten predicted that the bacteria could produce hydrazine, which is used as a rocket fuel.

Now his group has confirmed this prediction and it has also discovered which proteins are responsible

22 Industry Europe

for the production of this highly reactive fuel from ammonium and nitrogen monoxide. Mike Jetten: “Proving this was quite a feat. We had to deploy a range of new experimental methods. In the end we managed to isolate the protein complex responsible for hydrazine production, a beautifully red mixture!

“NASA was initially curious on hearing that we could make rocket fuel from nitrogen compounds, as these occur in large quantities in urine. However, only small quantities are produced; nothing like enough to get a rocket to Mars. Now we are accurately determining the crystal structure of the protein complex. Perhaps we can improve the production process if we have a better understanding of how the protein complex fits together.”

Contact: m.jetten@science.ru.nl

Wärtsilä successfully tests new gas engine technology

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ärtsilä, the marine industry's leading solutions provider, has successfully tested its new low-speed gas engine technology in trials conducted at the company's facilities in Trieste, Italy. Wärtsilä successfully demonstrated that the engine performance fully complies with the upcoming IMO Tier III nitrogen oxide (NOx) limits, thereby setting a new benchmark for low-speed engines running on gas.

The use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel is widely seen as being the most realistic means of reducing the marine industry's environmental footprint. When operating in gas mode, vessel emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulphur oxide (SOx), carbon dioxide (CO2), and particle matter are heavily reduced. At the same time, LNG fuel is often found to be more competitively priced than conventional liquid fuels, thus enabling ship owners and operators to achieve important operational cost savings.

“The decision to initiate this project was announced in February 2011, just seven months ago. The fact that we have already conducted a successful test shows that our gas engine technology is at the forefront of meeting the future needs of shipping, a future that stipulates more stringent environmental regulation,” says Lars Anderson, vice-president, Wärtsilä Ship Power Merchant.

Visit: www.wartsila.com

SET SET is a leading manufacturer of electronic components of MOV, TMOV, thermal fuse, wire wound fusing resistors and cartridge fuse-links.

Thermally protected MOV is a combination of a standard MOV and alloy thermal fuse, which has more safety performance owing to its fast response time to disconnect under the conditions of UL 1449 3rd item 39.1 Abnormal over-voltage limited current. The TMOVs are widely used in SPD, telecom power supplies, AC power panels etc.

SET has recently developed a high current controlled fuse link with a rated current up to 100A~200A. It has an electrical resistance of less than 0.5 milli-ohm and can be triggered to blow by outside signal as required. It is suitable for EV battery packs, IGBT and SSR. SET also offers the standard alloy thermal links, with Functioning Temperatures from 76°C to 169°C, Rated Current from 1A-100A, and VDE, UL, TUV, RoHS and Reach certification.

Visit www.SETfuse.com for more information.

Industry Europe 23

EURO-REPORT

FOCUS ON...

France Ian Sparks reports from Paris on the battle to control online information.

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rance’s usually fiercely competitive newspaper and magazine industry is joining forces to prevent US giant Apple dictating the terms of their distribution on its hugely popular iPad’s online ‘Newsstand’.

Eight French national media titles have united to launch their own digital ‘kiosk’ – a downloadable application that will allow them to sell individual issues in defiance of Apple’s strict rules and hefty 30 per cent commissions on each online paper sold.

The move is the latest act of mounting media opposition around the world to Apple’s bid to exploit the massive appeal of the iPad for reading newspapers.

The Gallic press group of eight – which includes right-wing newspaper Le Figaro, sports daily L’Equipe, business paper Les Echos and weekly news magazine Le Nouvel Observateur – have also agreed to only negotiate with the American techology company as a collective to protect their interests.

Xavier Spender, an executive at L’Equipe, said he realised joint action by the French press was needed when he looked at the potential profits from selling a single online edition of his paper through the iPad. He said: “I realised we would make less money selling a digital edition of the newspaper than we would selling a physical print edition on the street.”

Le Figaro’s head of new media Pascale Pouquet said: “In the world of the Internet, companies like Apple, Google and Facebook are infinitely more powerful and much stronger than we publishers. So it just made sense to us to team up and pool our own resources to try to have more equal relations with them.”

As well as high 30 per cent commission fees charged by Apple for iPad digital sales, the French consortium also objects to the US company’s determination to hold onto customer data, insisting publications 24 Industry Europe

using its Newsstand only get access to a subscriber’s information if they actually click on a button to allow it to be passed on to the newspaper.

Le Figaro’s Mr Pouquet added: “We are still in negotiations with them over this and we are ready to accept that we may lose some sales if we cannot come to terms with Apple. But sometimes it’s better to cut off a finger than to sever the whole arm.”

And consortium member Liberation, a left-wing daily paper, said it was also planning on launching its own web-based app alongside any agreements with Apple.

Ludovic Belcher, who heads the paper’s digital editions, said: “We can’t be dependent on any one distributor, even one as powerful as Apple. And if they remove us from the store, we’ll face the consequences.”

Meanwhile, the group has already irked Apple by signing with Internet giant Google to sell subscriptions via a digital kiosk on its Android tablets, where they pay a lower commission of 10 per cent and have access to customer log-in data.

The most high profile French newspaper refusing to join the consortium is Le Monde, whose chairman Louis Dreyfus said he believes his brand is strong enough to attract users online without saddling itself with what he called the ‘slow group decision-making process’ of the other eight publications.

Misleading consumers Elsewhere, a French court ruling ordering the Internet holiday giant Expedia to pay €400,000 to French hoteliers for providing ‘false and misleading information’ to its website customers has sent shockwaves through the online travel industry.

Expedia – the world’s biggest online travel agency – was found guilty of promoting false price reductions and false information on availability by a tribunal in Paris.

The Tribunal de Commerce court heard how France’s anti-fraud agency the DGCCRF found Internet bargain-hunters were given misleading information that certain hotels were full, then re-directed towards other hotels with whom Expedia and Hotels. com had commercial links.

They also accused Expedia’s sister site Tripadvisor of seeming to be a travel advice site while in fact directing bargain-hunters to other Expedia sites.

The company was ordered to pay €300,000 to French hoteliers federation Synhorcat, and the remainder to two hotels which sparked the initial complaint – the Hotel de la Place du Louvre in Paris and the Chateau Guilguiffin, in Landudec, Brittany.

French tourism minister Frederic Lefebvre, who launched the DGCCRF probe in May, said: “Nearly 60 per cent of French Internet users exclusively use the web for preparing and buying their travel needs. The accuracy of the information provided by these sites is, therefore, vital.”

The Synhorcat union greeted the tribunal’s decision as a ‘victory for consumers and hotel professionals’. Its president Didier Chenet added: “We hope this will lead to a new morality in the e-commerce sector. We now call on these companies to meet to straighten out the situation and these abuses in contracts. If not, we will take Expedia to the tribunal again.”

Meanwhile – and with some irony – Expedia has also just been named the world’s leading online travel company for the Asia-Pacific region in the prestigious Travel Trades Gazette’s annual awards for 2011.

The company scooped the top travel agent title for the second year running, being cited for its ‘professionalism and excellence in staff, best value-added services to consumers and best use of technology in improving service efficiency n and effectiveness’.

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Industry Europe 25

EURO-REPORT

FOCUS ON...

Germany Allan Hall reports from Berlin on the influx of Swiss shoppers.

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he Swiss are breaking for the border in record numbers to go shopping in neighbouring countries with their high-value francs. Germany is among the euro-using nations benefitting from the spike in the value of the Swiss franc.

Cars and buses are backing up at frontier crossings into Germany, Italy, France and Austria as Alpine bargain hunters enjoy a respite from the high prices in their own land thanks to the crisis endured by the euro in neighbouring ones. It is now estimated that half of Switzerland’s population of 7.8 million now go shopping in another country at least once a month.

The F Bus from Geneva is now full most mornings as it trundles along the pristine waters of the lake into France to disgorge passengers at a Carrefour supermarket.

They are not alone: as far as the eye can see in the oversized car park are vehicles with Swiss licence plates.

Groceries cost half the price they do back home for the away-day shoppers thanks to the franc’s 18 per cent spike in value in the last 12 months. This is largely due to the global clamour for a ‘safe’ currency as the euro and dollar crises show little signs of abating.

As Switzerland suffers a downturn in tourism, dining and retailing due to the franc’s surge, natives are adding to the problem with their cross-border retailing binges.

The Zurich daily Tages Anzeiger published an index last week showing that an IKEA stove selling for €549 in Germany cost €1138 in Switzerland. A deodorant selling for € 2.15 in Germany cost €5.17 in Switzerland, and a child car seat selling for €104.90 in Germany cost the franc equivalent of €209.

“It’s just great to save money,” software engineer Marco Bonifazi told a US TV crew who interviewed him in Ferney-Voltaire in France last week as he lugged bags stuffed 26 Industry Europe

with food and household cleaners. “No-one wants to pay more than they have to.”

Thomas Rudolph, a professor of marketing and retail management at the University of St Gallen, says the exodus is costing the economy €2.65 billion a year in lost tax revenues. Swiss residents can also claim a refund on high value-added taxes they pay when buying goods in neighbouring lands.

The VAT is usually close to 20 per cent.

The effect has been to turn shopping malls in Switzerland into something resembling ghost towns, albeit polished ones. At the Stuecki Mall near Zurich, only the food

“The effect has been to turn shopping malls in Switzerland into something resembling ghost towns, albeit polished ones.” halls are bustling: the shoppers have all gone to another country.

In Lörrach in Germany, shoe sales have risen 35 per cent in recent months thanks to well-heeled Swiss shoppers as the euro hovers at around 1.14 francs. Olive oil, cheese, meat, bread – in fact, it is easier to omit what they don’t buy than list all that they do. Recently a shop in Lörrach – pop.

48,000 – fell vacant in the high street and more than 30 people flooded the council with enquiries to rent it.

Across Lake Constance, the mood is not so good. Max Buholzer, deputy leader of Swiss retail association SDV, said, “I advise

those who are bothered by the prices in Switzerland to seek a job abroad and then shop more cheaply there.”

Such high dudgeon cuts no ice with the shoppers. “It’s every man for himself,” Sabine Knösels told German news magazine Der Spiegel.”As long as everything in Switzerland is so expensive, I don’t feel guilty at all.”

German growth falters Guilt is not felt by anyone on either side while the going is good. But the warning signs are out there now that the biggest economic boom in a generation is waning and hard times may be ahead.

A double-dip recession for the rest of the world would impact severely on Germany’s ability to export its goods and damage its status as a credit guarantor for other eurozone countries hit by a new downturn.

In June, German industry sales stagnated with foreign demand falling by 0.1 per cent.

Germany’s engineering sector, a particularly strong and important part of the economy, showed growth of only 1 per cent in June according to industry association VDMA. Meanwhile, the most recent purchasing manager’s index showed declines in demand for German products in a number of countries.

America remains the biggest foreign investor in Germany while US firms employ almost 750,000 people in Germany. While Germany could cope with a slight weakening of US demand, a real double-dip recession in the world’s largest economy would drag Germany down with it.

Economist Juergen Bieroegel said: “America is not as important to Germany as she once was but we are still tied economically to its fortunes. If she begins to slide, we do too. The economic health of America is in the interests of everyone in Germany n who wants a job.”

Industry Europe 27

INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS Leading global supplier of automotive components and systems Cooper Standard Automotive Inc. has more than 70 locations in 18 countries. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to vice-president of sales and engineering for Cooper Standard’s International division, Uwe Brinkmann, to see how this operation is flourishing.

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lobal automotive supplier Cooper Standard is headquartered in Michigan, USA; it was established in 1960 and has a global workforce of more than 19,000. Core product groups are body sealing systems, fuel, brake and emission systems, anti-vibration systems and thermal management systems.

Its German locations play a key role in the manufacture and marketing of systems and components provided by the group. The locations in Lindau and Mannheim are specialis-

26 Industry Europe

ing in sealing parts production for leading German automotive manufacturers such as Daimler, BMW and Audi. The other three German locations − Hockenheim, Schelklingen and Grünberg – are production sites for emission and fluid handling systems.

Cooper Standard’s vice-president of sales and engineering, Uwe Brinkmann, who is based at the international headquarters in Mannheim, explained how the German operation is integrated both as one overall business

and within the company as a whole. He said, “In Germany we have a common management team that is dedicated to the effective running of the sites, with the support and solid foundation of the global company providing strength, innovative systems and global reach.”

Core products for major OEMs The products manufactured at the Lindau and Mannheim sites are primarily sealing parts for high quality German-manufactured

vehicles, including complex sealing systems for convertibles and coupés. The fluid operations produce, for example, a combination of hoses and water pumps that can build a complete system for fuel, electric and hybrid vehicles.

As a market leader for sealing products for European OEMs, Cooper Standard has a broad range of products in its portfolio. This area is moving away from simply supplying the sealing itself toward offering the complete sealing systems now demanded by customIndustry Europe 27

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ers, with one pivotal point of contact delivering the whole system. The fluid operations are dedicated to the more ecologically sound future of the automotive industry, with the whole of the Cooper Standard global activities underpinned by a continuous search for ways to reduce and improve a vehicle’s overall carbon footprint, including better fuel economy, increased recyclability and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

This ecological focus plays a major role in the active R&D function at Cooper Standard, which has seen great investment in the very latest testing and engineering equipment. Mr Brinkmann added, “We’re working hard to develop new solutions across our sealing and fluid product lines, all with an environmental concentration, as we know this is an important area of growth potential. We are also seeing new regulations concerning automotive emissions, such as the E05/E06 regulations that demands cleaner emissions, and we’re seeing this market growing faster than any other. It’s also an issue that is important to the company as a whole, both from a commercial perspective and an environmental responsibilIndustry Europe 31

32 Industry Europe

34 Industry Europe

ity perspective. Much of our R&D effort is now going in this direction and we expect to continue our market-leading position in this new, growing area.”

Innovation drives Cooper Standard to develop cooler technology that can be used across its product portfolio, with the shared goals of better performance and better comparative pricing sitting closely alongside the ecological considerations, making the new solutions good news all round for the company, the customer and the environment.

Meeting local needs Cooper Standard’s activities across Europe, particularly the Czech Republic, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland and the UK, serve all of the main automotive OEMs, with each country’s office dedicated to working closely with the needs of the local market.

Mr Brinkmann added, “Although of course there are great similarities for each country, it is imperative that we actively tailor our service

to the precise needs of each customer in each market. That way, we are sure to be offering a service that is playing its part in building strong, mutually beneficial relationships which will in turn make it more likely that future-focused solutions are integrated and adopted as quickly as possible.”

As Cooper Standard looks toward the future, its activities are not just focused on continuousl improvement of its existing sealing and fluid business, or the increasing environmental improvement across the range. The company is keen to widen its already-broad product portfolio by adding to it with related products that complement its service and add value to its offer. Mr Brinkmann said, “We have not been just a component supplier for some time, and this is always on the increase as we work to integrate the ingredients of a complete solution in our range, while still keeping to the ever more important ecological responsibility of our products and their performance. We are already able to deliver complete solutions

to our customers by providing the products located beside our sealing systems in the vehicle. Following close communication with our customers we know that this provision gives extra support to their activities, particularly as the complete solutions come with the globally recognised Cooper Standard quality n and service promise.”

Industry Europe 35

INNOVATION IS THE KEY Sacma is an Italy-based manufacturer of machines for bolt-making and other components for sectors such as aerospace and automotive. Barbara Rossi talks to Mr Nathan about the company’s impressive product portfolio and dedication to innovative product design.

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acma Limbiate is headquartered in Limbiate, in the Milan area, where its main production plant is based. It is here that the majority of the design and manufacture of the machines is carried out, and it also acts as a global spare part warehouse as well as housing the group management, commercial offices and R&D. The group also has another production plant in Vimercate from which another group company, OBM, currently operates.

Sacma designs and manufactures cold forming progressive heading and bolt making machines, including combined headers for bolt and screw manufacturing. It has

36 Industry Europe

also recently invested in warm forming equipment for components destined mainly for the automotive and aerospace sectors.

At Limbiate, Sacma focuses more on the manufacturing of the machines’ medium and larger components, while at OBM production is focused on the smaller components. In fact, OBM produces smaller components for both Sacma and another group company, Ingramatic – a manufacturer of thread rolling machines for thread making and special shapes.

R&D is very important to Sacma Limbiate SpA and Mr Nathan stressed how the group designs and manufactures its products entirely

in-house, without using outsourcing. As mentioned, Sacma conducts its R&D at Limbiate, while Ingramatic, as well as collaborating with this research, has a separate R&D division at its Castelnuovo site.

A new product recently developed by Sacma is a warm forming progressive header for the aerospace industry. This is a relatively new area for Sacma, because most of its production is centred around cold forming machines. Another new product is a large cold forming header for manufacturing components, such as bolts, for the automotive and earth moving industries, as well as for the wind power sector. Ingramatic,

meanwhile, has developed large thread roll forming machines for the same sectors mentioned above and thread roll centres for the production of a wide range of heat treated products, such as bolts, screws, studs and bolts with washers pre-assembled.

Main markets The company has established technical centres in some of the most important foreign markets, including Brazil, Russia, China, the USA, Spain and Germany, offering technical assistance and including a local sales manager. There are also agents specialising in fasteners in other countries Industry Europe 37

including Australia, Japan, Argentina, Venezuela and India.

In terms of market segments, 75 per cent of turnover derives from the automotive industry, 5 per cent from aerospace and the rest from other sectors including white goods, renewable energy (wind and solar power in particular) and sport. Production for the wind power industry is currently seeing very strong growth. The automotive sector has always been and still is the main sector, while wind energy is a relatively new market, growing significantly thanks to new demand for this kind of product. The aerospace sector is also a new outlet, thanks to the warm forming machines previously discussed, while both the white goods and the sport industry sales markets have remained stable.

Export markets account for more than 85 per cent of production. The main export mar-

38 Industry Europe

kets are China, Brazil, the USA, France, Russia and Malaysia. However, the key sales markets are likely to change owing to the globalisation of the fastener industry, and depend in particular upon the relocation of manufacturing centres for the automotive sector.

Investing in innovation Sacma carries out voluntary investment on a yearly basis, both to improve productivity and acquire new machines. Investments in R&D are also carried out on a regular basis.

Investments have included widening the range of production machines available to the company and building new warehouses to house cranes for the assembly of large machines. This latter investment project was completed two years ago at the Limbiate plant, while Ingramatic built a new plant five years ago to speed up production.

In the near future a new warehouse with facilities will also be built. In addition, there have been investments in two work centres, one of which features a working table with radius of 10 metres which is capable of receiving mechanical components of up to 100 tonnes for processing.

In terms of the automotive sector, the Sacma Group is currently developing machines for the production of special parts, instead of only for standard parts as had been the case up to now. Sacma is also following and responding to the demand coming from the wind power production industry, which is on the increase particularly in markets such as Sweden, Germany and the USA. In terms of geographical markets, Sacma will focus particularly on the further organic expansion of its products in China, n India, The USA and Japan.

GLASS STYLING GOES GREEN Richard Fritz is a global leader in the automobile window coatings and solutions sector. Philip Yorke talked to Heinz Schmitz, the company’s chief sales officer about the new technology being developed by Fritz and its plans for the future.

Industry Europe 39

T

he Fritz Group is an international operator that specialises in the encapsulation of side windows for passenger cars with thermoplastics and specialised elastomers.

The company has developed logistical and functional module-system solutions for the automobile window sector and provides tailored customer support on a worldwide basis.

The world’s most renowned original equipment manufacturers are listed as clients of Fritz including Daimler, Porsche and VW Audi.

Expectations for the functionality and design of windows are continually increasing. Today it is not only necessary to provide complex shapes, but trouble-free operation must also be guaranteed over a period of many years, regardless of temperature and weather extremes. Additional functions such as the fixing of decorative strips and panels, electrical connections and assembly aids for driver assistance systems are increasingly being incorporated. Fritz currently employs more than 1400 specialists at its factories in Germany, Slovakia and Hungary.

Globally matched solutions As a global player, Fritz works continuously to match the demands of its multinational OEM clients. The company is committed to 40 Industry Europe

improving its on going production processes and the introduction of new technologies for its automotive glass encapsulation and moulded parts. The Fritz system concept determines its strategy and is based upon its cooperation with designers, technicians and engineers to provide solutions that result in optimal results for its clients.

In addition to its major manufacturing facilities in Europe, Fritz has a network of suppliers and partners in the automotive industry. This combination provides flexibility when responding to customers’ requirements and guarantees the quality of its products whether it is for small or volume orders.

This means that Fritz can accommodate its regional customers’ needs without any problems and offers globally matched solutions in collaboration with its partners on a customer-specific basis.

Clear vision Richard Fritz is a leading company in the automotive glass-encapsulation, industry and has achieved this position because of its customer-orientated strategy and long-term vision as a company. Considerations such as specially tailored customer support worldwide and the innovative use of logisti-

cal and functional module-solutions are all provided by motivated and dedicated staff.

Mr Schmitz said, “These days standard encapsulation is a commodity business and we are planning to stay in it, but we also provide added-value solutions especially for complex systems which involve encapsulating plastic parts and metal strips. We use specifically designed equipment and moulding presses and all our dies and moulds are product-specific. Every car that is launched today requires a new design and we have to start by developing the encapsulation in an engineering environment and by designing the interface between the glass and the car body”.

“Our clients rely on us and are with us for the long term and we partner with them to achieve the best possible outcomes. The four key items concerning glass in a car are: weight reduction to improve fuel economy / operation range of electric cars; environment encapsulating glass is a chemical process; comfort, which is becoming more and more important in terms of noise reduction, again especially true for ‘quieter’ electrical cars; exterior design and individuality relating to the trends in styling and personalisation concerning such items as tinted glass,

Industry Europe 41

infra-red reflective foil and complex curved window shapes.

“If you look at the latest Citroen with its big panorama windshield, you realise how important the styling element has become. Complex shaped glass like this must fit perfectly into the car body, which is where we have the knowledge and technology to meet these modern challenges. We see this trend as an opportunity as a leading specialist in this field. Currently we are developing a solution to encapsulate glass without the chemical component, which will go into production later this year.”

Expanding global reach Fritz is attracting new customers in South East Asia and South America and plans to establish joint ventures with selected suppliers that are equally specialised and able to meet the global challenges of the automotive industry. Fritz is currently 100 per cent focused on the automotive industry; however, as new technologies are being developed they can be designed for other industrial 42 Industry Europe

applications. The company has already moved into manufacturing plastic trim parts for delivery covers for the Porsche Panamera, where very close tolerances apply, thus adding value to its product portfolio. In addition, Fritz has also provided the whole glass management and system solutions programme for the Porsche Panamera model.

Mr Schmitz added, “We are located where our customers are based to ensure that we provide them with optimal service. We have two state-of-the-art factories in Germany, with one in Slovenia and another in Hungary.

In Slovakia for example, we have been working with VW Skoda for the last ten years and we continue to work closely with them to optimise cost-effectiveness, whilst developing innovative, new technology. We offer all our customers custom-made services and high quality standards so that they can concentrate on their core business. We also take care to ensure that we protect the environment in order to provide the best quality n of life for future generations.”

Industry Europe 43

THE DOOR TO

SUCCESS 44 Industry Europe

High-quality door and window solutions company Fenestra Oy is increasingly bringing its ecoresponsible products to a wider European audience beyond its Finnish heartland. EmmaJane Batey spoke to CEO Tom Blomqvist to find out more.

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ormed in 1992 following the merger of two leading Finnish window companies, Fenestra Oy has roots that go back more than 120 years, with a particularly strong tradition in wood-based building materials. The company manufactures both interior and exterior doors as well as a range of window solutions, with all products manufactured according to the ISO 9001 quality assurance system which is implemented across its operations.

CEO Tom Blomqvist told Industry Europe that Fenestra reports a turnover of approximately €113 million, thanks to the continued skill and enthusiasm of its 700-strong workforce and a quality-focused product portfo-

lio. He told us, “We produce great products from doors to windows, and the products are supported by excellent sales, after-sales and service installation. The reputation of Fenestra products in the European market is second to none, with our hold over our domestic Finnish market especially strong.”

Continual development The continual development of Fenestra ensures that this market-leading position is retained, with Mr Blomqvist clear that the everchanging regulations for the building and construction industries regarding the performance of windows and doors are a key driver for the company. Recent developments have focused

on the capacity of the products to keep heat or cold inside or outside of the buildings, with the company’s R&D team committed to performance excellence.

Fenestra offers complete solutions and installation for windows and doors, and while its products are not considered the cheapest available, they are certainly of a high standard. Mr Blomqvist said, “Quality is always a bit more expensive. We continue to guarantee the quality of Fenestra products by continually investing in our equipment and by training our workforce to operate the machinery accurately and effectively. We also have a strict quality control policy which involves lots of checking Industry Europe 45

throughout the manufacturing, installation and post-installation process.”

Fenestra operates 13 different sales offices and production facilities, with its head office in Finland’s second largest city, Espoo, and its specialist manufacturing locations positioned across Finland, including the largest exterior door factory in Finland, based in Viitasaari, producing 100,000 doors each year. All the company’s 240,000 annual interior doors are produced at its production plant in Alavus in the middle of Finland, with 340,000 units of frames and thresholds for doors manufactured in Posio in northern Finland and 1.6 million window components produced in Kuopio and assembled in Forssa.

46 Industry Europe

Products in demand The Fenestra product family is centred on windows and doors, with Polaris, Primus, Fenair and Plus windows recognisable Fenestra brands, and a range of unique, modern and classic doors for interior and exterior applications including balcony, sauna, workshop and garage doors. Mr Blomqvist explained, “We work across all the building and construction sectors and can basically produce whatever our customers require. We keep in close contact with the industry so that we are producing what is wanted, particularly with regard to the energy regulations, the desirable styles and products appropriate to the current economic situation.”

All Fenestra products are created with ecologically responsible performance in mind, both for the comfort and cost-saving of the building’s end-user and in order to satisfy the strictest building regulations.

Energy efficiency plays a key role in the day-to-day activities at Fenestra, with the company staying one step ahead of the ever-tightening regulations. Mr Blomqvist explained how as the energy efficiency ratings of a building gets higher, the need for windows and doors that support that performance increases, with the most important issue in energy saving being the ‘solution package trio’ of insulation, tightness and functionality.

Fenestra has a strong hold on the Finnish market, with just eight per cent of its production being exported. Current export markets include Germany, Russia, Norway and Sweden, although Mr Blomqvist is clear that this is an exciting development opportunity.

He said, “We see the export market as an important ingredient in our future success.

We will initially focus on building our presence in our neighbouring Sweden and Norway, with Russia the next target. Our Finnish

market has steadily grown through our use of carefully selected agents, representatives and sales people and we intend to replicate this model in our target export territories.”

Mr Blomqvist pointed out that the company’s ambitious plans for growth outside its Finnish base are likely to be supported by the growing trend for building new apartments and offices in these geographical areas, so the Fenestra expertise in manufacturing and delivering windows and doors that meet the

strictest ecological requirements will stand the company in good stead for being the specified brand in new-build projects. He concluded, “We are open-minded about how to move into these markets as we have a long history of utilising different sales channels according to what best suits our target customers. We have some people selling directly as well as our network of dealers and we can also be flexible as the market and n economic situation dictates.”

Industry Europe 47

CHALLENGING

TRADITION The Geberit Group, a European market leader in sanitary technology, continues to challenge traditional ideas with its latest innovations. Felicity Landon reports.

48 Industry Europe

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anitary systems and piping systems for apartments, houses and larger buildings are supplied throughout the world by the Switzerland-based Geberit Group, with its products designed for use in new buildings as well as renovation and modernisation projects.

While its expertise can be summarised as designing and producing systems to manage the water flow in and out of buildings, Geberit’s product range is hugely varied and constantly developing, with innovative and challenging new ideas.

“We have a very aggressive innovation rate of 30 per cent,” says the CEO, Albert Baehny. “That means that on an annual basis we try to generate one-third of total sales with products introduced into the market during the past three years.”

Geberit, which reported sales of CHF 2.1 billion in 2010, employs nearly 6000 people in 41 countries. It is headquartered in Rapperswil-Jona and has been listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange since 1999.

Sales are mainly concentrated on the major European markets, and the group says there are tremendous growth opportunities mainly in central and eastern Europe, the UK, North America, China and South East Asia.

Production profile The group divides its products into two areas – sanitary systems and piping systems, with six major product lines cutting across the two.

Installation systems, which make up 37 per cent of total sales, are essentially the ‘backbone’ of the building – including products for pre-wall and in-wall installations and installation elements for wall-hung sanitary

ware. The second largest product line, at 28 per cent of sales, is supply systems – the piping to bring fresh water to each part of the house, mainly metallic pipe systems and some plastic/metal combinations.

Third comes drainage pipe systems, mainly plastic, for taking water out of the building; and fourth come cisterns and mechanisms, including flushing and filling components and encompassing visible as well as concealed parts and systems.

In many cases, Geberit’s products are hidden entirely from view. “To some extent, the end user isn’t really aware of what is installed behind the wall – we could be described as the hidden heroes!” says Mr Baehny. “Many people think we are solely a ceramic parts producer but what we do is mostly not in front of the wall at all – we are system building.”

He picks out a few of Geberit’s latest innovations for mention, some of which are entirely visible – others with their merits hidden away. The Geberit Monolith is a toilet with all of the system – flushing mechanism, cistern, etc – hidden within a wall-mounted panel behind the toilet. The advantage of the system is that installation can be done in just half a day.

“The Monolith is very elegant, high designed alternative to visible systems and very easy to install,” says Mr Baehny. “It is mainly aimed at the bathroom refurbishment market.”

The Geberit Shower is another important innovation – offering a technical solution that places water drainage for floor showers in the wall. “The trend today is for floor showers but the drain system normally located in the middle is difficult to install, not easy to repair and not really elegant,” he says. “The

Industry Europe 49

Kirchhoff & Lehr GmbH is a renowned European manufacturer of cold-rolled sections. Our production program comprises a wide range of products from standard to highly specialised sections, including complex systems.

It is this broad production program, our price competitiveness and reliability, our high quality standards and the strict adherence to customer and product requirements that safe guard the future of our business.

Kirchhoff & Lehr GmbH Am Gewerbegebiet 17 01477 Arnsdorf b. Dresden

50 Industry Europe

Tel: +49 (0) 35200 / 259 - 27 Fax: +49 (0) 35200 / 259 - 59 www.kirchhoffundlehr.de

Geberit Shower element is integrated into the wall – easier to install, faster to install and a better design.”

A product for which he foresees major demand in Europe is the Geberit Shower Toilet.

Combining a normal toilet with the functions of a bidet/small shower creates a product that is already well established in Asia, where there are many producers of shower toilets.

However, this category is a new concept for Europe. “We have a broad range of products and access to the market, and so far we are the only company promoting a shower toilet here,” says Mr Baehny. “We are making excellent inroads in Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany and the UK; we are putting a lot of effort into sales and marketing to make sure that people are aware of these products, and market penetration is going well.”

Market presence Geberit has a total of 15 production facilities – two in China, three in North America and the

rest across Europe. All are well-established and each plant focuses on serving its regional market. The group is in the process of building a new plant in India. In addition, it is closing a plant in Slovenia and building a new, much larger one nearby. “We needed more space and more capacity and the only way to achieve it is to move away from the current site,” says Mr Baehny.

Geberit supplies exclusively to sanitary products wholesalers, which in turn sell to plumbers – who are installing and selling products to the end users. The group does not sell directly to architects, contractors or others.

The focus is always on products that are durable and ecologically efficient, and provide high-end sanitary solutions for retailers, plumbers and installers, says Mr Baehny. In 2010, the company trained about 30,000 plumbers, sanitary engineers and architects in Geberit systems and software tools at its network of 25 training centres across Europe and further afield.

Four per cent of overall sales are into North America, and there is a small level of business in Asia Pacific and the Middle East, but the overwhelming majority of sales are into Europe. Geberit sees opportunities, and is achieving the highest growth rates, in emerging markets including China, India and Russia, and the under-penetrated European markets. Dubai was a major market when construction was booming there – today, sales are still growing in the Middle East and Africa, but not at the same pace as before the crisis.

Mr Baehny says organic growth is the preferred route, although Geberit is keeping an eye on a few acquisition candidates and might consider one or two acquisitions.

Meanwhile, innovation continues at apace.

Water saving is a major driver of the group’s R&D and design efforts. “We need to develop systems that allow the end users to use less and less water,” he says. “There is still a great deal of room for innovation.” n

Industry Europe 51

FOCUSES ON HIGH PERFORMANCE

Saint Gobain High Performance Refractories produces refractory systems for a wide range of high-temperature and wear-resistant applications. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to sales and marketing manager Matthias Schumann to find out how the company is developing new, energy-efficient solutions.

S

aint Gobain High Performance Refractories (HPR) is a worldwide expert in the production and application of special refractory products for the ceramics, metallurgy, chemical, petrochemical, power generation, electronics, waste processing and glass-making industries. Its products include refractory bricks, tiles and blocks, mortar, cements and low-mass kiln furniture systems. The major fields of applications of these products are in ceramic systems, energy systems and metallurgy.

HPR is a division of Saint Gobain Ceramic Materials, which itself is a major business of the massive French Saint Gobain group, which has been producing glass in France since 1665 and is today a world leader in the design, production and distribution of glass and other construction materials. Saint-Gobain solutions range from self-cleaning windows and photovoltaic glass to smart insulation systems, water supply systems, solar solutions and building materials distribution.

HPR sales and marketing manager Matthias Schumann is particularly focused on the area of petrochemistry, which the company has defined as an important growth area alongside its activities in nuclear energy and waste-to-energy applications. Mr Schumann told Industry Europe, “Across the group we are dedicated to incorporating the highest quality materials into our products to yield the highest performance in the customer’s applications. This can include glass, plastics, refractories and all manner of other customer-

focused solutions all with the same goal – to help our customers perform better in a more energy-effective way.”

Positive performance Mr Schumann explained that Saint Gobain HPR certainly felt the impact of the global economic crisis between 2008 and 2009, with the market dropping considerably. He pointed out that the recession prompted a number of regulatory and legislative changes as well as a global decrease in government funding for the building of new energy generation projects and the expansion of existing petrochemical plant projects.

He continued, “A major energy plant construction project can take up to six years from first idea to realisation and can cost billions of euros, so we found that many short to medium term projects were halted or scaled back.

Saint Gobain plays a major role in the design and operation of these facilities supplying the highest duty level refractories required in the most aggressive, highest temperature areas of chemical and energy derivation processes.

Saint Gobain’s collaboration activites with end users was slowed during this time. However, since 2010, Saint Gobain HPR has been resolutely out of ‘crisis mode’ as funding is back in the energy generation and petrochemical markets along with increased demand for energy and chemicals. With these positive market dynamics, Saint Gobain’s maintenance, installation and new project work has picked up and yielded strong financial figures for 2010 and 2011.

Saint Gobain HPR activities in energy generation and petrochemical business are worldwide, but have to be differentiated between maintenance and revamp-

ing activities of existing installations and green field projects. Key markets are in North America, Europe, Middle East, South America and Asia, whereas national and regional differences and public interests are an important aspect of for continuos success. Mr Schumann explained, “Local market understanding is imperative because investment in this industry sector depends not only on economical but also on legislative decisions and ecological compatibility.

The differences can be immense, which can make it hard to offer a global solution, but it certainly highlights our considerable expertise in meeting the very particular needs of each country. Much of our work is related to public funding and has to be promoted by the appropriate government, so we are actively involved in meeting the challenges that arise.”

Meeting green challenges worldwide A key way in which Saint Gobain HPR is able to meet these challenges is its understanding of the ‘green & future solutions’ that are considered as breakthrough technologies or processes in terms of efficiency, energy consumption and environmental sustainability.

Described by Mr Schumann as ‘something important now, but even more important for the future’, the ‘green & future solutions’ are supported and developed with the help of Saint-Gobain products to fulfill future requirements defined by legislation (e.g. CO2 reject rate or alternative energy production such as solar). Mr Schumann said, “The increase in demand is being matched by an increase in demand for these environmentally responsible solutions. As we have been at the forefront of this movement for some time, we are perfectly positioned to help key players meet the evertightening regulations in this field. And as the needs for each installation can be so varied, the fact that we have a great deal of expertise in meeting those needs allows us to make the process quicker and simpler.”

Saint Gobain shares the benefits of their focus on ‘green & future solutions’ with customers building a new plant or making a new installation involving refractory products not only to produce energy with the highest efficiency and capacity but cleanly as well.

In terms of petrochemistry, Saint Gobain HPR is closely connected to new technology in this area, which it sees as an important future market. Mr Schumann added, “The process of gasification, or the installation of gasifiers, is a major trend for us as it capitalises on our knowledge while providing our customers with an appealing reduction of CO2 emissions from their plant. Gasification offers a great answer to strict regulations and legislation as it is cleaner, greener and very effective as compared to other methods of conversion of hydrocarbon feedstock into energy or chemicals,. It’s a booming market n and it’s almost future-proof.”

RAISING THE ROOF.....

WITH STYLE In March 2009 ceramic roof tile maker Tondach opened Europe’s largest roof tile plant in Békéscsaba, south-east Hungary. The new investment boosted domestic capacity by 70 per cent and enabled Tondach Magyarország Zrt to provide an extensive range of products and unique services for its customers. Edina Beale reports.

56 Industry Europe

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eading ceramic roof tile maker Tondach AG began to expand in eastern Europe in 1992. Today the company is present in 11 countries and operates 34 factories.

In Hungary, Tondach currently employs 405 people in five production sites and one sales department in Budapest. The latest site, Europe’s largest roof tile factory, was built two years ago in Békéscsaba, south-east Hungary from a €50 million investment.

The new production facility was completed in a record 12 months and provides 25000m2 room for the cutting-edge production technology. The output capacity of this state-of-the-art facility reaches nearly 30 million roof and 2.5 million profile tiles a year.

This is enough to cover about 3 million m2, i.e. the roofs of 15000 houses.

The 235m long kiln is the largest of its kind in the world. The factory’s low energy use, health and safety and environmental standards provide all the necessary conditions for the company to operate at maximum efficiency and to offer its customers an exceptionally high level of service.

Tondach is able to deliver products in a perfect format with improved hardness, thus reducing the chance of cracking during long-distance shipment. The company is also able to develop products with many different and unique colour shades while increasing its efficiency and product durability to 100 years.

New products and services The new factory has enabled Tondach to extend its product portfolio with the XXL family range. This new range is manufactured on the highest quality production line and therefore can be classified as a premium roof tile product. Within this range there are three product types – the Twist, Bolero and Rumba.

Efficiency and secure delivery is an important factor for all customers, both private individuals and large construction

businesses. The new large format ceramic roof tiles are excellent from both of these aspects. The new models provide opportunities for the builder to meet their own individual needs. With this range Tondach has therefore created the trend to provide natural, high-quality and long-lasting products combined with the freedom to meet individual tastes, design and construction.

The introduction of the XXL family range was followed by the launch of Tango+ last year. This is a modern version of one of the most popular

Industry Europe 57

large-size Tango tiles. In 2011 the company developed a new colour within its awardwinning Twist product range. The decision to introduce the Autumn roof tile was based on the result of a customer survey carried out at the Construma Construction Exhibition.

In Hungary, Tondach Magyarország Zrt leads the market while also distributing 50 per cent of its production to foreign markets including Slovakia, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria and Ukraine. The new roof tile factory boosted domestic capacity by 70 per cent which also enabled the company to provide the fastest service for its customers as the unique TESZ (Tondach Express Services) and TET (Tondach Express Roof) services were introduced. The company has recently begun to put increasing emphasis on extending its CSR activities.

Realistic picture of the future Mr Aladár Kató, chief executive of Tondach Magyarország Zrt, and member of the Hungarian Brick Association, gave an insight as to what the future holds for the company: “The Hungarian construction industry, especially 58 Industry Europe

Industry Europe 59

the building construction sector, has been in a crisis for the past three years, and in 2010 was near to complete collapse. Flat construction, the main market, has collapsed within three years. Figures now show a 60 per cent drop compared to 2008. The projections for 2012 indicate a further 20–30 per cent drop.

The turnover of the businesses operating in this industry has been similarly reduced, and a significant excess of capacities has been created. In recent years, companies have been forced to reduce their capacities and make redundancies, and still expect to continue to do the same in the future. Industry players are in a deficit; they are fighting for survival.

60 Industry Europe

“The record strength of the Swiss franc affected directly those companies that have taken loans out in this currency for their investments and developments. Due to the conditions of these loans and the increased exchange rate the repayment instalments have doubled by today in some cases, and it has become unmanageable in this narrow market. The Swiss franc rise affects the industry indirectly as well, since the increased mortgage payments prevent the population from making investments to stimulate the domestic economy; they use their savings to supplement their increased loan instalments.”

Mr Kató continues: “According to industry experts, the crises may not have reached its lowest point. The performance of the Hungarian construction industry, which has a significant role in the domestic economy, has worsened every year and is in deep crisis. Even optimistic expectations do not indicate positive changes before 2013–2014.”

However, Mr Kató is proud to announce that Tondach Magyarország Zrt has managed to maintain its leading market position during this difficult economic climate and continued to extend its product portfolio with new shapes and colours as well as providing better and faster services. n

MIBELLE FOR BEAUTY Mibelle AG Cosmetics is one of the most innovative Swiss own-brand manufacturers in the cosmetics sector. Felicity Landon finds out why apples and grapes are two secrets of its success.

M

ibelle AG Cosmetics this year celebrates half a century in the business – or, as the company describes it, 50 years of know-how in development and production innovation. Its major product segments are Face, Body and Bath Care, Dental, Sun, Men, Hair Care, and Baby and Kids Care, and its major customers include global top-drawer brands and a host of own-label clients.

It sounds a straightforward story – but there are plenty of magical subplots here, including two involving apples and grapes. Mibelle describes its Zoé Effect PhytoCellTec line as an outstanding example of its innovative strength; high-tech facial care with a new plant stem cell extract.

Mibelle Biochemistry, the company’s innovation wing, had fantastic success with its award-winning plant stem cell extract PhytoCellTec Malus Domestica developed from the Swiss apple variety Uttwiler Spätlauber, subsequently making the global headlines when it was revealed that Michelle Obama uses a product formulated with this active ingredient.

The apple itself is unpopular because of its sour taste – but its ability to remain free from wrinkles for up to four months after harvesting is an undoubted virtue. Its stem cells are said to protect skin-cell regeneration and delay the onset of wrinkles, and Mibelle was able to replicate the apple cell and its active ingredient.

Now Mibelle has launched another stem cell innovation, PhytoCellTec Solar Vitis. This is

based on the highly UV-resistant grape variety Gamay Teinturier Fréaux, which has been shown to improve vitality and boost the resistance of skin stem cells.

“With our highly innovative biochemistry department, we develop our own active ingredients not only for our own beauty products but also for worldwide famous brands,” says CEO Luigi Pedrocchi. “The latest developments are the PhytoCellTec actives such as Malus Domestica, Alp Rose and Solar Vitis; they are based on plant stem cells, which increase the vitality of skin stem cells and protect the cell longevity.”

Innovation is one of the principal driving forces for Mibelle’s business, he adds: “We will continue to keep up with the best in the Industry Europe 61

world and continue with passion to work on technologies and product concept for tomorrow, for our national and international, existing and new customers.”

Expanding production Based in Buchs, Mibelle has three production facilities. Two are in Switzerland where, as well as manufacturing its beauty products, Mibelle is the country’s biggest detergent and edible fats producer and a major producer of homecare and household products. The third beauty products facility is in the UK, where the company expanded its capacity last year (2010) by gaining the major share of Hallam Beauty UK, now renamed Mibelle Ltd Bradford. “Together we can increase our potential for innovation and use the combination of research, development and marketing know-how to serve the individual and varied needs of our international clientele even better than before,” says Mr Pedrocchi.

Further expansions of production capacity are being discussed, he adds – and these will go ahead as required, based on major customers’ requests.

62 Industry Europe

Mibelle is a private label manufacturer for the beauty and personal care trade, as well as for major brand owners, he stresses. “Thanks to our experienced team of marketing specialists, formulation developers and packaging professionals, we are not only a manufacturer but also offer tailor-made full-service solutions to our customers.”

For its home care and household products, naturally Switzerland is a major market. The company is a subsidiary of the Swiss retailer Migros, for which it manufactures highly successful own-label cosmetic and personal care products. In terms of finished product exports, it focuses on central Europe, including Germany, France, Austria, Italy, the Benelux countries and the UK, and on North America.

For its active ingredients, Mibelle has customers all over the world.

“As Mibelle is one of the seven business segments of M-Industry, we can take advantage of the group’s worldwide network,” says Mr Pedrocchi. “We have an M-Industry platform in North America in order to be as close as possible to our customers.

M-Industry exports Swiss-quality products to

more than 50 countries, and numbers famous major international corporate groups among its customers.”

Quality is the watchword; 20 years ago Mibelle was the first cosmetics company anywhere in Europe to be certified under the ISO standard. “Numerous audits by well-known customers and independent institutes regularly confirm the outstanding functionality and currency of our quality management. Quality is just as much a firmly established element of the company’s philosophy as safety, hygiene and environmental protection, as well as reliability and service.”

Constant innovation Importantly, Mibelle keeps things in-house, from original idea to market-ready product.

Every year up to five patent applications are registered and around 500 new products are launched on to the market. Professional 64 Industry Europe

trend analyses and marketing concepts based on these are coordinated with the research department, and new are articles developed and produced in the shortest possible time to market.

“The products created from this match the level of innovation of expensive branded products and more and more often are actually surpassing them,” says Mr Pedrocchi. “And for many customers, the resulting added value generates a decisive competitive advantage.”

About 15 per cent of the company’s employees are working in research and development; the biochemistry department conceives and develops innovative, high-quality active ingredients based on well-grounded scientific knowledge.

“Effective cosmetic ingredients are created on the basis of natural compounds.

In-house, innovative cosmetic developments are protected by patents and are found in active ingredients and formulations of our

own products and, again, in global branded articles. The application of the very latest formulation techniques generates sustainably effective products.”

Mibelle has a professional packaging development section which creates brandings suited to the individual customer’s market and its product assortment. Jürg Burkhalter, director of sales and marketing, says a big change has been the dramatic improvement in the quality of own-label beauty products in recent years; the benchmark today is to be at least the same quality as the A-brands, if not better.

However, having the right packaging is essential when competing against the A-brands.”

The emphasis on natural ingredients is also likely to gain in importance, putting Mibelle in a strong position. “We will focus on existing and new customers in order to achieve sustainable growth,” says Mr Pedrocchi. “We are constantly expanding our business, based on n values of quality and reliability.”

Industry Europe 65

THE PERFECT FIT The oldest shoe design and manufacturing company in Europe is just as passionate about creating beautiful shoes today as it was more than 170 years ago. Managing director Marc Bakowski, explained to Emma-Jane Batey how the company maintains its success.

Marc Bakowski, Managing director

F

ounded in 1838 in the German city of Pirmasens in Rhineland-Palatinate, shoe manufacturer PETER KAISER Schuhfabrik GmbH has grown steadily to become a prominent European shoe producer. As one of the oldest shoe factories in Europe, PETER KAISER is proud of its long history as well as its passion for fashion, its name synonymous with high quality shoes that meet the demands of the discerning customer.

Within just five years of the company’s establishment, its founder Peter Kaiser was already exporting his shoes to customers as far afield as Australia, laying the foundations to become one of the first industrial shoe manufacturing companies to sell internationally. This global focus has also continued throughout the history of the company, with the PETER KAISER brand today available worldwide.

Managing director Marc Bakowski told Industry Europe how this early appreciation of global retail enabled the brand to grow quickly and effectively. He said, “Unlike the vast majority of other footwear brands we

still follow small-scale production in order to guarantee excellent quality. With regard to the materials, particular attention is placed not only on sustainability and the highest quality standards, but in terms of uniqueness, also created through leather produced exclusively for PETER KAISER.”

Quality and style Well known for both feminine and modernclassic shoes, the PETER KAISER brand is very much focused on high quality, classic yet fashion-conscious designs. The company’s awareness of fit, trends, quality and carefully sourced materials combine with the skills of the design team to create collection after collection of shoes that are hard-wearing and appeal to customers worldwide. With a reputation for ‘sophisticated design, luxury statement pieces and excellent wearer comfort’, PETER KAISER shoes come in a broad range of styles for day wear and evening wear.

In addition to the footwear and complementary handbag ranges that PETER KAISER

develops each season, the company has seen great success thanks to a recent partnership with designer Dawid Tomaszewski.

Marc Bakowski explained more about the project: “The reason for Mr Tomaszewski’s decision to contact PETER KAISER was, in particular, the high-quality workmanship using excellent materials that symbolises our company. As a result of this cooperation, we have found our way to an extraordinary interplay of modernity and tradition, innovation and craftsmanship, currentness and elegance, which it is necessary to develop in the future.”

Dressing feet worldwide Popular worldwide, PETER KAISER sells especially well in Europe, with its main markets in the UK, France, Russia and the USA. Many of the stores that sell PETER KAISER footwear and handbags match the same ‘high quality, great style’ focus, with the smallscale production ethos carried through into the careful choosing of the various retailers.

Mr Bakowski added, “We are dedicated to making the right decision about each

Industry Europe 67

www.tatainternational.com

IN STEP WITH FASHION T

ata International Limited is a member of the TATA Group - India’s most diversified and respected conglomerate with annual revenues of more than US $ 70 Bn and 400,000 employees (www.tata.com) with operations in more than 80 countries across the world. The TATA Group is the most trusted business house in India, widely acknowledged for ethical business practices and high standards of corporate governance.

At Leather & Leather Products Business, we have built an integrated business leveraging glabal scale, product portfolio, new product development capabilities and global reach focused on delivering unique offerings to our valued customers. We are the largest tannery in India and among the leading tanneries in the world. We produce 5 million sq ft of finished leather per month from cow, sheep, buffalo and goat skins. We have created a global footprint for sourcing & processing from raw

to finished leather and offer unique ‘One Stop Shop’ capabilities to serve our global customers in markets – Europe, US, Far East and CIS countries. Our colours feature in Modeurop every season.

Reflecting our deep commitment to the environment, we are the first leather company in Asia to receive ISO 9001and - ISO 14001 and ECOMARK certification. In 2010, we were awarded BLC Gold Certification rating on our industry leading Environment Management practices, including 100 per cent solid waste management. We also received some of the most prestigious National Awards as the Rajiv Gandhi National Quality award, Rajiv Gandhi Award for Environment Protection, the TERI Corporate Environment Award, the CLE best exporter award, among a swathe of others. We take pride in the fact that our products are free from banned chemicals and comply with all European norms.

2011

With continuous focus on in-house product development and leveraging expertise of leading leather chemical companies, we collaborate with some of the world’s most respected fashion brands to stay ahead.

Our ‘Customer Success’ philosophy has earned us the loyalty of major fashion brands and we continue to forge new partnerships across all markets.

As India’s only Performance Leather manufacturing facilities of 2 Mn Sq Ft/ month, certified for TS 16949 standard, we have expanded our portfolio to extend our offerings for Automotive, Athletic and Furniture Upholstery.

As the only corporate with strong commitment to Corporate Governance and Sustainability, we have won numerous awards and accolades over the years.

We value our association with leading footwear, apparel & leather goods brands.

TS 16949 for Performance Leather

2010

BLC GOLD certification

2010

SA 8000 Certification for Footwear and Garments

2005 2005 2005

Winner of the CLE’s Best Exporter Award in Leather from 1984 to 2008 and 2010

ECO MARK - for Finished Leather TERI Corporate Environment Award - Across Industries MP State Award for best practices in Environment Protection

2004

ISO 9000 certification for Chennai Supply Chain operations

2003

Rajiv Gandhi Award for Environment Protection

2002

ISO 14001 certification - 1st in India

2000

Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award - Best of all, only leather company in Inida

1998

ISO 9000 certification for Leather Garments and Footwear - 1st in India

1995

ISO 9000 certification - 1st tannery in India

Tata International Limited Agra – Mumbai Highway, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, India Tel.: +91-7272 258900-04 / 425500 Email: okaul@tatainternational.com, mghosh@tatainternational.com

stage of the value process on our own terms, for the best results for our brand and our customers. All our partners and suppliers are rated and selected according to the highest standards, with a great emphasis placed on the sustainability of materials and processes.

Furthermore, our shoes are all subjected to meticulous checks at every stage of the development, production and delivery process so that they meet their customer at the precise quality we promise. Our reputation and heritage is based on this promise continuing, so we take it very seriously.”

The PETER KAISER quality promise is ensured by its state-of-the-art production facilities, with more 480 skilled employees based at its long-term home in Pirmasens and a further team at its Portuguese branch.

Approximately 4700 pairs of shoes are produced each day, with the traditional company utilising its continual investment in the most modern facilities available. With PETER KAISER products ‘representing an extraordinary love for the product and the product quality’, the focus on quality control is a key characteristic of the brand.

Best foot forward As PETER KAISER anticipates the next chapter in its story, the company is keen to highlight that its ability to stay at the forefront of footwear and accessory trends marks it out as a unique brand. With possible new design partnerships and a continued strategy to bring its products to an ever-widening global audience, PETER KAISER is looking to move into more than its current 20-strong export countries by developing the brand further through gaining new point-of-sale n partners worldwide.

POISED FOR EXPANSION Ontex, Europe’s leading manufacturer of private label hygienic disposable products, is set for further expansion with the acquisition of Lille Healthcare. Felicity Landon reports.

T

welve manufacturing facilities and sales offices in 11 countries enable Ontex to maintain is leading position in Europe as the manufacturer of hygienic disposables for the private label sector. Last year the company, which produces a wide range of products for baby care, feminine care and adult incontinence care, was acquired by Goldman Sachs and TPG for €1.2 billion − the largest ever private equity transaction in Belgium.

Now Ontex, which is headquartered in Zele, Belgium, is poised for a major expansion with the acquisition of Lille Healthcare, a 70 Industry Europe

French-based company that operates across Europe and Australia selling incontinence products to institutional healthcare customers under the Lille brand, and private label products to retailers. Lille’s turnover amounted to €76.8 million in 2010.

“We have been an admirer of Lille Healthcare for some time and believe that its addition to the Ontex Group will make our offer more attractive in the growing incontinence market across all the geographies in which Lille Healthcare operates,” says Ontex CEO Michael Teacher.

Ontex employs 4250 people worldwide; Lille Healthcare, which has its head office at Lille and subsidiaries in the UK, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Australia, has 340 employees.

Three divisions Ontex has manufacturing facilities in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, the Czech Republic, Algeria, Turkey and China.

It operates through three divisions – Retail, Healthcare and Turkey Regional.

The Retail division is primarily involved in the development, production and sale to retailers

of private label baby care, feminine care and adult incontinence products. It also produces and sells to retailers branded products such as Helen Harper, Moltex and Babycharm.

The Healthcare division is primarily involved in the development, production and sale of private label and branded adult incontinence products to institutional customers – both private and governmental – in the healthcare market. The main brands are ID and Euron. The division also produces and sells private label products to specific healthcare distributors.

The Turkey division is rather a different section of the company; it is involved in the development, production and sale of private label and branded products, primarily Canbebe, Canlady and Canped, to customers across all three of its markets, mainly in Turkey and the surrounding countries.

Its product range in all three divisions is extensive: baby care includes diapers, baby pants and wet wipes; feminine care includes panty liners, tampons, classic fluff towels and ultra towels; and adult care includes

light incontinence pads, pull-ups, belt diapers, all-in-ones, shaped pads, underpads for beds, and rectangular pads. All products are produced both under Ontex’s generic brands and for private label clients.

Focus on R&D “As the leader in private label, Ontex maintains a strong focus on product development and is investing continuously in innovation in order to further improve the comfort, fit and performance of the product,” says a spokesman for the company.

The Ontex R&D department is split into R&D centres according to product categories and has teams based in each of the key manufacturing units as well as at the Zele headquarters, from where the entire R&D operation is managed.

“The role of the R&D team is to provide the Ontex Group with a flexible and innovative R&D system, which enables the company to work actively on new concepts, changes in product specifications and the validation of new raw materials, as well as contributing to Industry Europe 71

productivity by optimisation of the used raw materials,” says the spokesman. “Our R&D activities are based on a multifunctional and short time to-market principle.”

The R&D teams work closely with key suppliers, which are themselves carefully selected in close cooperation with the purchaseing department. This process is essential for obtaining the desired raw materials and concepts, says Ontex.

To ensure that all products are fully validated and well tested before release to customers, each R&D centre has its own laboratory facilities working closely with all the manufacturing

units – which also have their own lab testing equipment. “In order to validate the products in all aspects, including safety risks, in-use tests are organised next to lab tests, and this in close cooperation with independent test organisations. Only after positive evaluation, are the products released for production.”

Meeting environmental standards Sustainability is a key topic with products such as those manufactured by Ontex. The group won the Better Environment Award for Industry in 1996, and since then has continued to focus on environmental issues.

Ontex specifies that its own activities and those of its suppliers meet environmental codes of practice and codes of fair and ethical conduct. All Ontex factories are introducing an environmental management system which puts particular emphasis on waste management, electricity consumption, transport efficiency, packaging optimisation and weight reduction in new product design. The group’s two production plants in Belgium, at Buggenhout and Eeklo, are already ISO 14001 certified.

Fluff pulp, used to form the absorbent core, is the main raw material in Ontex prod-

ucts. “Product development has enabled us to drastically reduce the amount of fluff used in our production processes,” says the spokesman.

As well as reducing the quantity, Ontex only uses fluff pulp from suppliers which subscribe to responsible sourcing programmes such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative or the Forestry Stewardship Coun-

cil. One of its key priorities is to ensure that only wood from well-managed forests is used, with respect for the applicable regulations, water quality and important habitat elements for wildlife.

Ontex says it is committed to maintaining its leading position as the preferred supplier of hygienic disposable products to the retail trade and to hospitals, health authorities

and other institutional bodies, with the focus remaining on quality and innovation.

“Ontex as a group is passionate about achieving high levels of customer service to help build trust between customers, the company and its employees. This, combined with the competitive pricing of the products, provides the value proposition n Ontex offers to its customers.”

Tredegar Film Products Ontex has recognized Tredegar Film Products by awarding Tredegar with the 2011 Ontex Supplier Innovation Award. One challenge Ontex faces is the need to deliver consistently high performing products at a consumer acceptable price - even during periods of sharp raw material price increases. As a result, Ontex especially values its strong relationships with suppliers that are able to provide innovation at the right price and this award recognizes Tredegar for doing just that.

Tredegar Film Products, a global supplier of topsheets, acquisition layers, and elastic films and laminates, strives to leverage market understanding with material design expertise to provide innovative solutions with enhanced performance while using less material. As Ontex has expanded outside of the European region, they have benefited from the global support that Tredegar Film Products provides

through a combination of local and global development, marketing, customer service, and manufacturing. Tredegar’s recent innovation efforts have focused on the enhancement of fluid management, softness of film surge layers and topsheets, and improving softness and stretch properties of value optimized elastic laminates and films.

Expanding upon Tredegar’s well established history in the hygiene market, Tredegar also serves several additional industries, including: flexible packaging, healthcare, building materials, and electronic displays. Each of these specialized markets builds upon Tredegar’s extensive expertise. Furthermore, like Ontex, Tredegar is committed to promoting sustainability and received the 2011 EDANA INDEX Innovation Award for Sustainable Management Practice and Process for providing to the market FlowertoolTM , a software system that makes sustainability a measurable goal.

BOUNDARIES WITHOUT LIMIT Goepel Electronic is a global leader in electrical test technology equipment. Philip Yorke talked to Thomas Wenzel, the company’s managing director, about the strategy behind its dynamic growth and the pioneering, innovative products currently being launched at Nepcon.

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oepel Electronic was founded in 1991 by three entrepreneurs in Germany’s equivalent of Silicon valley – Jena, the home of Carl Zeiss.

The company has been a leading pioneer of advanced electrical test technology for electrical components and PCBs, and pioneered the development of the first JTAG/ Boundary Scan. This scan technology is considered to be the most innovative and efficient test process available, which, like ICT,

tests within the circuit and detects structural fault locations by setting thousands of test points, even under BGAs, with only four test bus lines. JTAG/Boundary Scan Technology can be used throughout a product’s entire life cycle and no mechanical access is required.

The advanced test procedure accelerates the development of new products, while reducing time to market and offers a fast turnaround and simultaneous testing and programming within just one programme sequence.

However, Goepel Electronic is not only respected for its work in developing boundary scan test processes but for many other ground-breaking test procedures such as its special VarioTAP IPs for testing the new generation of femtocell chips in association with Picochip and safe in-line inspection technology of double-sided equipped BGA components. Today Goepel Electronic employs about 180 people and in 2010 recorded sales of more than €22 million.

Industry Europe 77

Three-dimensional success One of the company’s latest innovative products is its 3D inspection system, OptiCon X-Line 3D, which enables the safe quality control of solder joints on opposed mounted BGA components. This system is unrivalled worldwide and utilises revolutionary gigapixel image technology. This unique product offers a multi-angle image, recorded in real-time and

provides test speeds of 40cm2/s for full 3D PCB capturing. In addition, integrated reconstruction methods based on digital tomosynthesis allows clearly defined evaluation of the board’s single layers. Furthermore, full-sized 3D X-ray inspection (AXI) allows layered analysis of all solder joints of a PCB within the production process, and powerful analysis software provides the safe evaluation of detected faults.

Mr Wenzel said, “There is no one in the electronic testing industry working to the same level as us and therefore no one can offer anything approaching our range of advanced scanning technology solutions.

For example, our revolutionary X-ray system detects voids and offers complete 3D capturing while providing the opportunity to analyse both the top and bottom sides of

the boards and all layers in between, layer by layer. Our auto-test division also offers complete turnkey solutions and we have started to develop our own camera for our advanced AOI systems.”

Mr Wenzel added, “The target for Goepel Electronic is not to focus on a single product line but to be a single product solutions provider. One and a half years ago we opened a brand new R&D production centre at our HQ in Germany; however, we are still using our outside specialist sources in order to be able to offer a high level of flexibility to our customers. Our GATE (Goepel Associated Technical Experts) alliance partners play a major role in technology transfer.

“These design houses, test houses and system integrators provide special knowledge and services, which means that we are well placed to individually support any of our core customers, whether OEMs, ODMs or EMSs.

“Last year our growth rate was 27 per cent and we are targeting a double-digit growth this year; in fact we are almost there and only just into the second half of the year. Part of this success lies in the fact that we work as close technology partners with our clients and maintain excellent communications with them while offering flexible solutions strategies. In addition, once a year we sponsor special ‘technology days’ with up to 300 people in our user group meetings, which is very popular with our clients as it also puts them at the forefront of our cutting-edge test technology solutions.

Today Goepel Electronic’s important emerging market sectors include medical equipment, public transport and contract manufacturing.

We have offices in the USA and throughout Europe and recently opened an office in Hong Kong to serve the Chinese market. We have also established a presence in India for the growing automotive market there.”

Multi-dimensional instrumentation At this year’s NEPCON Shenzhen, Goepel Electronic Ltd Asia presented its latest offerings in Mult-Dimensional Boundary Scan Instrumentation, in addition to its advanced chip embedded testing, debug and programming tools. Visitors to its booth were able to learn how to enable straightforward control of on-chip or on-system test, as well as programming functions of any complexity, based on the IEE 1149.1 test bus protocol and fully synchronous with other JTAG/Boundary Scan operations. They were also informed about Boundary Scan integration opportunities into other automated test equipment such as in-circuit testers, flying probers, MDA, functional test systems and automated optical inspection systems. During the last year alone, Goepel Electronic introduced around 40 new and ground-breaking Boundary Scan software n and hardware products.

PIONEERING THERMAL-

IMAGING ANALYTICS

FLIR is a global leader in the design and manufacture of infrared cameras and thermal-imaging systems. Philip Yorke talked to Rickard Lindvall, general manger thermography, about its latest innovative technology and the growth in predictive maintenance thermography.

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LIR was founded in 1978 in the USA to focus on the development of infrared imaging and detection systems. Today FLIR Systems is the clear global leader in the design and manufacture of infrared cameras, night vision and thermal imaging systems. The company’s products continue to play a vital role in a wide variety of industrial, commercial and government activities in over 60 countries worldwide.

As a pioneer in the commercial infrared camera industry, FLIR has been supplying thermographic and night vision equip-

80 Industry Europe

ment to industry, law enforcement and the military for more than 30 years.

FLIR products are divided into two distinct business divisions: Government and Commercial. Each division covers a wide range of applications including airborne and ground-based surveillance, advanced thermal imaging and threat detection systems. From predictive maintenance and medical science to navigation and manufacturing process control, FLIR offers the widest selection of infrared cameras and systems in the world.

Future generation products FLIR continues to extend its lead in the development of cutting-edge thermographic and diagnostic products. The company recently launched its new E-Series of thermal imaging cameras featuring wireless connectivity.

These light, compact and rugged thermal image cameras showcase the company’s leadership in the development of cuttingedge infrared technologies and user-friendly product ergonomics. The latest E-series models are designed to provide advanced thermal diagnostics for industrial engineers, electrical and HVAC technicians and many other professionals, to enable them to detect problems more quickly and easily and to communicate issues more effectively. Earl R. Lewis, president and CEO of FLIR, said:

“By aligning unrivalled research and development with customer input, our new E-Series represents a leap forward for thermal camera technology and usability.”

In the automotive world, Audi AG continues to make extensive use of FLIR’s thermal imaging technology in order to meet its exacting engineering quality criteria. More than 700 research engineers are involved in Audi’s engine development work, which covers a wide range of machine parts from simple items such as transmission belts to complex components such as turbochargers and catalytic converters. All of these items are thoroughly tested by Audi at its extensive test facilities in Europe before the products go into production. FLIR’s thermal imaging cameras are also used extensively on Audi’s

engine test-bed to measure the build-up of heat and heat distribution, as well as to determine the ‘failure point’ of a component.

Lindvall added, “Research and development for our thermography products is carried out here in Sweden as well as in France, Estonia and the USA. We produce cameras in four different locations and our thermography products contribute more than US$300 million to group sales.

We have also developed a new range of hand-held and fixed mount cameras to enhance our focus on providing a complete thermography system for professionals. This means that today an operator can send out a diagnostic report faster than ever before thanks to our WI-FI connectivity for advanced reporting.”

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AB Technology, headquartered in Malaysia, is the leading Thixomolder® in South East Asia. Established in June 2000, our company is a licensee of Thixomat and is ISO 9001:2000 certified.

Our range of services includes: • Prototype Tools: magnesium; aluminium; sheet metal; plastic; soft tool and CNC Machined • In-house Tooling Design • In-house Tooling Fabrication: magnesium tools; plastic tools; post-moulding jigs and fixtures; and tool conversion • Post-Moulding Processes: trimming, deburring, CNC, drill and tap; passivation, electro-less nickel plating and other surface treatment; spray painting, powder coating, tampo printing, silk-screen printing and hot stamping • Cold-Chamber Die Casting: magnesium and aluminium • Plastic Injection Moulding • Metal Stamping • Electro-Mechanical Assembly Our customers include some of the leading manufacturers in the consumer electronics, telecommunications, automotive, office automation, sporting equipment and medical equipment sectors.

WWW.ABTECH.COM.MY AB Technology (M) Sdn. Bhd Lot 11, Kawasan Perindustrian Lukut, 81900 Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia Tel: +607-882 5018 / +607-883 9766 | Fax: +607-882 5013 | E-mail: information@abtech.com.my

New advances in gas imaging technology Many industrial gases and chemical compounds are invisible to the naked eye; however, global companies continue to transport and transform these products every day.

Gas imaging using FLIR thermal cameras offers a number of important benefits compared to traditional measurement tools. This is because they are able to scan a broader area much more rapidly and in areas that are difficult to reach with other gas-sniffing devices. FLIR infrared cameras display a gas leak as a plume of vapour in the infrared image. Today FLIR infrared cameras are used as standard practice in petrochemical

refineries worldwide as well as in oil and gas extraction sites and throughout municipal gas distribution networks.

Lindvall added, “Energy saving and protection of the environment is the driver today in the petrochemical and gas industries and we have developed the most efficient leakage detection equipment available on the market, which is the FLIR GF-Series. The oil and gas industry is a significant growth area for us and we are the only one on the market with this ground-breaking product. Our gasimaging products are also designed for use in gas stations, and another of our advanced thermography cameras, the FLIR GF306, has been developed for use in power sta-

tions and offers the same unique benefits.

“In manufacturing, predictive maintenance is the sector that is demonstrating significant growth. This is especially important in installations such as nuclear power stations and also where overheating needs to be detected in items such as cables and turbines. Predictive maintenance means that you can fix something before it breaks, potentially saving huge amounts in terms of down-time and expensive remedial solutions.

In other industries where moulding processes are involved and controlling temperature levels is vital, our thermographic cameras have n become indispensible.” www.flir.com

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GOING FOR GREEN In the past decade Hajdu, Hungary’s best-known manufacturer of household goods, has began to shift towards the renewable energy segment to meet the current trends. In the past four years the company has made significant technological investments and launched many innovative energy-saving products.

Edina Beale reports.

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ounded in 1952, the formerly state-owned Hajdu company has established a strong brand and became a household name in Hungary in the mid 1970s by supplying reliable automatic washing machines and spin dryers.

Since then the company has continued to manufacture its traditional line of products and has continuously extended its portfolio with a wide variety of water-heating appliances including electric and gas-fired water heaters.

In 2006 the company turned its main focus to the renewable energy market and established

a new division to develop new products for this sector. Hajdu Ipari Zrt began to supply solar systems and condensing gas-fired boilers in addition to maintaining its traditional markets.

In 2008 the company started a two-year investment project. The aim of the 780 million HUF investment was to develop and install new technologies required to manufacture new products including indirect tanks and products for the renewable energy sector as well as increasing efficiency. This also involved the development of the full production

processes and the implementation of new machinery including laser cutting equipment, coil producer and welding robot. In addition, the company has invested in improving its IT structure, staff training and marketing.

Owing to the new developments, in 2010 Hajdu introduced a new buffer tank and solid fuel boiler to the market and in 2011 launched its new heat pump boiler. In addition to its long list of renewable energy system components the firm today also offers planning, installation and financing services Industry Europe 85

provided by its recently established network of specialised subcontractors.

As a result of the new green focus, last year Hajdu Ipari Zrt achieved a 7.3 billion HUF turnover while also increasing its number of employees to a total of 488. Managing director, Mr István Novotni revealed, that the company is currently involved in a test production of a newly developed heating pump based on a Swiss licence and sees further opportunities for growth in the development and manufacture of complete renewable systems especially in the domestic market. He adds, “I hope that by this time we have managed to deliver a breakthrough that Hajdu is now not primarily known as a washing machine and electric boiler manufacturer but as an innovative, environment-conscious company with a renewable energy focus. To maintain competitiveness continuous product development and site development is crucial. Currently we employ 49 staff with higher education degree, from which 26 are engineers. However, we believe we are still in a need of further developments primarily in the area of technologies.”

Hajdu Ipari Centre Another important part of the company’s activities is the Ipari Centre, located in Téglás, Hungary and housing Hajdu Infrastruktúra Plc and many other companies. This 86 Industry Europe

industrial park contains the entire range of infrastructural and other additional services available from the Hajdu, including public utilities, industrial railway, non-stop security service, reception with weigh bridge, offices, storage and production buildings for rent.

Hajdu is always looking for new companies to set up base in the park, where they can benefit from the most sophisticated electric power, heating, water, sewage and telecommunication systems. The location of the park is advantageous as it is located near to both the Ukrainian and Romanian borders and can be reached by both motorway and rail routes. In addition, Debrecen International Airport is only 21 kilometres from the park.

Diversified operation – automotive supplier The Hajdu group includes another important manufacturing division, the automotive supplier Hajdu Autotechnika Ipari Zrt, which began its operation during the 1990s. In recent months the company has increased its turnover significantly and expects sales of 5.1 billion HUF this year. From its largest customer – the French company Faurecia – Hajdu installed a new metal processing work machine last year which produces exhaust system parts built into the biggest auto brands including various Porsche models. The company had to make sig-

nificant technological investments including the purchase of new CNC work stations in order to meet the increasing product and tooling orders. Two years ago the company has also set up its own tool making unit which proved to be a great investment, as it allows Hajdu to win projects that require firms to develop their own tools to manufacture products. According to the managing director the company plans to spend over 200 million HUF to develop its tool making unit in the very near future.

Continued focus on highquality green products Thanks to its strong brand and well established products Hajdu has acquired a firm market position in Hungary. Even during the economic crisis the company has successfully maintained its turnover and managed to further increase its market share. In recent years Hajdu has acquired a good reputation in the renewable energy sector and has become a recognized name.

The company received a number of prestigious awards last year: it won the Hungarian Quality Product Award for its innovative buffer tanks while receiving the Hungarian House of Quality award for developing indirect tanks. The firm was also rewarded with the Business Ethnics Award 2010 in the category of large companies. Mr Novotni says:

’we are committed to providing high-quality products and this route has to be pursued without making any compromises.

“The utilisation of renewable energy will grow enormously in the near future – there is no other possibility looking at it either from the environmental protection aspects or from the energy policy point of view; in fact, this has today become a distinctively formulated expectation on behalf of the society. Hajdu is prepared to meet these expectations and aims to join in the energy n rationalisation process ahead.”

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WHITE GOODS LEADER IN EUROPE F

ounded in 1911, the USA headquartered Whirlpool Corporation has deeply influenced home and family life during the Past century. Driven by the belief that everyone needs a comfortable place to call home, the company has a 100 year history of creating innovative ways of cooking, cleaning, refrigerating and storing, to improve lives.

Currently recognised as the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of major home and appliances, with annual sales of nearly $18.5 billion in 2010, 71,000 employees and 67 manufacturing and technology research centres around the world, the company markets brands like Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul and Bauknecht. With its European

88 Industry Europe

For 100 years, the maintaining of both character and integrity have made Whirlpool a unique case worldwide. The key to the company’s global success is its team of people united by strong values such as integrity, diversity, teamwork and a winning spirit. headquarters in Varese, Italy, Whirlpool now ranks as the third largest appliance producer in Europe, and its own brand is number one across the region. Its products include tumble dryers, front-loader and top-loader washers, built-in hobs, built-in ovens, built-in and free-standing dishwashers, free-standing cookers, built-in and free-standing microwave ovens, built-in steamers built-in and free-standing refrigerators and freezers.

Through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions during the Past century, Whirlpool Corporation has expanded globally and has built a legacy of sound financial performance, employee empowerment, consumerdriven innovation and social corporate

responsibility that includes a commitment to sustainability and the environment, while improving both home and family life.

Major acquisition In 1991 Whirlpool made a major strategic move with the acquisition of Bauknecht, a German company based in Stuttgart and founded by Gottlob Bauknecht in 1919. The Bauknecht brand belongs to the Brand Portfolio of Whirlpool Corporation and is sold mainly in Germany and Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark. The brand reflects over 90 years of experience purely focused on the appliance industry and is strongly associated with ‘Made in Germany’.

In Schorndorf Bauknecht manufactures high-end, large-size front-loading washing machines and exports 95 per cent of its production to the USA. In Neunkirchen Bauknecht manufactures high-end built-in dishwashers.

Commitment to innovation and sustainability As outlined during a conference held in Milan in March 2011 to celebrate 100 years of history, innovation, sustainability and diversity are three essential elements included in the Group’s business model. With an investment in innovation of about $600 million globally, a taskforce of 1500 Innovation mentors (including 200 based in Europe) and its Industry Europe 89

constant search for new ideas, Whirlpool is committed to continuing to be successful in these three key areas in the future.

The Global Consumer Design Studio located in Cassinetta di Biandronno near Milan (Italy) is now the only European centre of excellence, where designers, ergonomists, anthropologists, sociologists and psychologists translate society’s current trends to invent the concepts of tomorrow, and provide the market with innovations that bring real benefits to everyday consumers. Thanks to the work of these designers, in the past decade factories have

produced appliances able to use up to 50 per cent less energy and less water than before.

Washing machines with a ‘sixth sense,’ for example, can automatically adjust the amount of water and energy needed during the wash cycle. In addition, electricity savings of up to 70 per cent can be reached in the case of the ‘green generation’ washing machines, which use water heated by solar panels.

As testimony to its global achievements, Whirlpool Corporation has recently been awarded multiple international prizes for its unique sense of social responsibility and

its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

According to ‘Fortune’, it ranks among the ‘most admired in the world’, next to brands like 3M, Apple, GE, Google, IBM, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart and Walt Disney.

Whirlpool Corporation is also listed 85th among the ‘100 best corporate citizens’ by ‘Corporate Responsibility’, for its continuous commitment to publicly available data, the environment and sustainability. Finally, Whirlpool is ranked 49th by ‘Diversity Inc’, for its worldwide recognised commitment to diversity and inclusion at all levels of its organisation. n

Industry Europe 91

THE FACE OF

CLEANER POWER Technology provider Standardkessel GmbH, together with its sister company Baumgarte, has amassed more than 160 years of experience ‘full of energy’ in the industrial and municipal power plant sector.

Industry Europe spoke to sales and marketing manager Detlef Simon to find out more. Emma-Jane Batey reports.

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eadquartered in Duisburg, just north of Düsseldorf in Germany, technology supplier Standardkessel GmbH, alongside its sister company Baumgarte Boiler Systems, which supplies complete systems for energy from waste, is actively looking forward to the next chapter in its history.

In 2010 the company celebrated its 85th anniversary, and Baumgarte’s 75th anniversary, giving the group an accumulated 160 years of providing power plant solutions and components across Europe and beyond.

This milestone gave the company the perfect reason to both reflect on its success and make a clear plan to be well-positioned to continue to deliver customer- and environmentally-focused power plant solutions.

Total power solutions Standardkessel supplies complete systems and components for power plants, both for industrial and municipal energy needs.

Using four different forms of energy creation – biomass, heat recovery downstream gas turbines, energy from waste and coal, gas and oil – Standardkessel prides itself on always being able to deliver a power plant solution that meets the precise needs of each customer.

Sales and marketing manager Detlef Simon explained, “We have a very strong balance of customisable solutions and standard components, which allows us to tailor-make each and every plant so that it is perfectly in tune with the demands of the customer, whether

that is an urban municipality or a paper mill.

We have our own engineering team and we manufacture the boiler components in close co-operation with specialised and reliable long-term partners.” With our broad band of different technical solutions we have always the right one to offer.

The concept-to-completion approach to power plant delivery is a cornerstone of Standardkessel’s continued success.

The company appreciates that its strength comes from its long-term experience and wide range of reference plants across different applications. This range of projects over many years, coupled with its tailor-made focus, means that Standardkessel Baumgarte understands the varying needs of

Industry Europe 93

different plants, and the types of challenges they face over a period of time.

Such challenges are often handled in conjunction with the changing legislative and political influence around energy generation and provision. Mr Simon said, “Market development in terms of geography is mainly politically driven by subsidies and legislation, particularly in terms of biomassfired power plants and energy from waste, as the deciding factor is primarily financial.

But we are finding that renewable energy is being increasingly requested, with people understanding more about the whole situ-

ation of sustainable energy supply while nuclear power plants and big coal-fired power plants are coming under increasing political pressure. I believe this will lead to smaller units close to consumers, such as combined cycle plants, which can produce electricity and process steam for industrial use or for providing district heat for cities.”

Future force This understanding of the wider power generation industry is an important aspect in the next successful chapter for Standardkessel Baumgarte. The company is highly experi-

enced in assisting clients in each and every phase of the project, from project development to process design, execution and during operation and maintenance. Its extensive range of supply and services includes different grate systems – air-cooled and water-cooled, boilers and flue gas treatment systems, with all types of repairs, power plant operation and maintenance available for plants that range from industrial clients with their own energy supplies to utility companies.

Standardkessel Baumgarte is mainly active in Europe, where it has concentrated its activities during its long history, but the group

has intensified its worldwide activities in recent years, looking further afield for its future business development activities.

Mr Simon concluded, “We certainly see an exciting potential in decentralised power stations, both in our established European market and beyond. This is in some part to do with the fact that the production of electricity and heat will more increasingly be combined,

as practicality and legislation meets a greater appreciation for environmentally sustainable energy provision. Energy from waste is the state-of-the-art solution instead of landfill, which meets all manner of future-focused targets, with Germany at the forefront in Europe, and Italy, Spain and the UK not far behind.

We are also very interested in building urban power plants that are gas-fired, so totally

clean, which can be used for both heat and power generation in cities. Additionally these power plants can be used as back-up to wind and solar power because they are always in service even when there is no wind or the sun is not shining. As a true partner in the power plant industry, Standardkessel Baumgarte is leading the way for both urban and industrial power generation solutions in the future.” n

MULTIPLE UTILITY SERVICES

CPL Concordia Società Cooperativa, a company founded in Modena in 1899, is a multiutility cooperative group offering products and services in multiple fields. Barbara Rossi spoke to export sales manager Mr Tiziano Zocchi.

Mr Tiziano Zocchi, export sales manager

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he company has come a long way since its beginnings. In fact, from its foundation to the 1930s its main activity was that of land reclamation, excavation, canal digging, embankment construction and laying out of roads. All activities ceased from the late 1930s to the end of the war and then resumed with new technologies allowing for the mechanisation of large parts of the work. The name CPL was acquired in 1948 and slowly the company started to introduce an element of diversification to its activities. The big turning point took place in 1964 when the construction of networks for the distribution of methane gas commenced.

The range of activities further developed and expanded in the 1970s and 1980s. It’s in these latter years that the management business began with CPL’s participation in the “methanisation” process of southern Italy. At this time the company entered the district heating, heat management and combined heat and power sectors. Since then all these activities have been consolidated, with the addition of increasingly innovative solutions.

Fulfilling various needs As a consequence of the fact that its activity spans various fields, CPL Concordia offers several different products, ranging from cogenerators to natural gas volume converters, also including decompression systems for natural gas, and photovoltaic fields.

Mr Zocchi stresses that CPL Concordia is essentially a system integrator, assembling

complex systems using elements produced by major international manufacturers. Nearly all of this work is carried out at the company’s main site, located in Concordia sulla Secchia, in the Modena province of the Emilia Romagna region of northern Italy. Activities more closely linked to a geographical area, such as heating management, construction and technological networks maintenance, are carried out at a number of operational sites (40 plus) located all over Italy.

In terms of investments, CPL Concordia has just obtained a new loan of €51 million from a pool of 13 banks, which will be used to finance innovative activities and projects in the renewable energy sector. Furthermore CPL Concordia is engaged in the setting up of the methane gas supply environment for the Sardinia region.

In particular it is now in the phase of advanced construction of the gas distribution network, which will supply more than 100 boroughs and in which over €200 million has been invested.

The activities of facility management, such as for schools, hospitals, nursing homes and universities, are mainly targeted at the public sector. Network construction and maintenance and specialised services, such as decompression and odorisation systems, are aimed at the gas distribution sector. On the other hand, cogeneration, trigeneration and renewable sources activities, while including the public sector, also extends to the industrial one.

New ventures The company mainly operates in Italy but Mr Zocchi pointed out that the opening of branches in Romania and Argentina, where CPL CONCORDIA is engaged in the distribution of natural gas to more than 68,000 customers, has been very successful. A similar outcome has been achieved in Tunisia and Algeria, where CPL supplies and installs natural gas decompression systems.

In terms of geographical expansion to new markets, CPL has just started an Indian registered company in New Delhi for the purpose of exploring this challenging and interesting market. The aim would be that of operating in the natural gas distribution and renewable energy sectors.

Future growth will certainly follow an organic route, both at national and international levels, even if, in the right circumstances, acquisitions of interesting and competitive companies shouldn’t be ruled out.

When talking about future horizons, Mr Zocchi reaffirmed the intention of having a harmonious and balanced growth and noted that the target set by the company’s CEO Roberto Casari is that of 30 per cent growth, especially on the international markets.

As a measuring instrument of corporate social responsibility the company has been employing a ‘social account’ since 2002.

This in an instrument of self-analysis, knowledge and transparency, considered essential and strategic for the achievement of continuous improvement and in which CPL has made a large investment. The company believes that this instrument plays a crucial role in developing its mission and values and n its care for the environment.

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Marina Bay Sands, Singapore with kind permission of Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd

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Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

THE NEW NAME FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT HVAC EXPERTISE Hydronics pioneer TA Hydronics is currently rolling out a customer-focused global rebranding project that’s set to cement its position as the world’s leading expert in hydronic distribution systems. EmmaJane Batey spoke to global marketing director Caroline Bright to find out more.

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New state government office complex in Minas Gerais, Brazil

M

arch 2011 is an important date in the history of TA Hydronics, with the launch of its strategic rebranding at the leading house and building technology trade fair ISH in Frankfurt.

Following many months of internal work, customer research and careful planning, the company has introduced its new concept of complete hydronic expertise from one family of famous brands. Global marketing director Caroline Bright has been integral to the on going engagement of employees and customers alike, and she told Industry Europe how the new single corporate brand will make it even easier for the company to deliver hydronic solutions.

Ms Bright explained, “As a leading global provider and renowned expert in hydronics, we have completed more than 100,000 projects worldwide. We have a solid portfolio of three major multi national brands

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but we found that our activities could be aligned more closely. This in-depth rebranding exercise has been a massive undertaking to ensure that our customers continue to get the same first-class service from us worldwide in an easier, more transparent way. It’s certainly been a challenge but one which will definitely benefit our customers, our employees and our shareholders.”

Family strength TA Hydronics is part of the British-based international engineering group IMI plc, which has more than 14,000 employees worldwide, an annual turnover of close to £2 billion and is listed on the London Stock Exchange as a FTSE 100 company. Under its previous Indoor Climate company name, one of five divisions of IMI plc, the three core brands operated as separate brands with different geographical territories; following

the rebranding, the three brands are now aligned under the umbrella of TA Hydronics.

The well-known trio of hydronic brands are TA, Pneumatex and Heimeier, all of which are respected in their respective fields of balancing valves, pressurisation, expansion vessels, air and dirt separators and individual room temperature controllers for the hydronic solutions sector. Ms Bright clarified why bringing the brands together has been an important decision. She said, “We wanted to create a cohesive single corporate brand of IMI plc in our own HVAC industry, so we could more clearly showcase our expertise and technical know-how. Essentially we were hiding some of our strength, concealing our excellent knowledge and experience by operating three different brands without a single point of contact. Knowing our hydronic competences are mutually supportive and demonstrably synergetic we knew we

Welcome to the Superior Way Of Life!

Superior is an internationally recognised manufacturer of high-precision elastomeric O-rings and seals that are critical to the safe and reliable functioning of highintegrity products. This family owned business has offices and manufacturing facilities in the UK. Since 1972, Superior has built a reputation on high quality, reliability and most importantly trust with its OEM customers. We proud ourselves that every single product is 100% manufactured in-house, giving full material traceability, consistency and repeatability.

Our Material Science and Seal Design Engineering experts ensure the best possible technical support and provide our customers with a strong scientific foundation that they can use and rely upon. This extensive knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of the materials allows Superior to recommend the right sealing solutions.

Superior has a clear vision for the future and strong fundamental values. We are continuously re-investing into latest technology and are working towards sustainable development in a broad sense – environmentally and socially.

Our goal is to become the preferred supplier of precision O-rings and special mouldings to the world’s finest manufacturing companies.

Superior Seals Limited Nimrod Way, Ferndown Industrial Estate, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 7SH, United Kingdom Tel: 0044 (0)1202 854300 | Fax: 0044 (0)1202 854313 | E-mail: sales@superiorltd.com

www.superiorltd.com

Ceskoslovenská Obchodní Banka, Czech Republic

had the opportunity to align who we are in the eyes of our customers. The strategic rebranding was hence set in motion.”

The important choice of what name to use for the strategic alliance of Pneumatex, TA and Heimeier was focused on bringing together the synergies across the three brands whilst still leveraging the strong history of the company within the HVAC industry. Ms Bright explained, “We wanted to find the best name to depict the strategy and value we offer in our area of focus – hydronic distribution – drawing in the integrated approach that characterises our success in each brand.

TA Hydronics is actually a name that we used ten years ago, but specifically for our balancing valves business rather than as a corporate company name. TA Hydronics is now much larger than before as it comprises all three core brands. We didn’t want to use a totally new name as, following intense customer and internal discussions,

we realised it would mean we would lose market recognition – and a unifying force for our passionate and loyal workforce.”

The hydronics pioneer A key factor in this decision-making process was that the company was actually the first in the industry to use the term ‘hydronics’, so the strength of the brand has long been in the fabric of the company. The company is now focused on communicating the strength of the TA Hydronics brand to the market and to ensure that the launch of the new superbrand is perfectly coordinated to highlight the fact that combined competence of three brands together now delivers an integrated approach to help customers deal with the complexity of hydronic systems as easily as possible.

Ms Bright concluded, “TA Hydronics represents our integrated hydronic competencies in the fields of pressurisation and

water quality, balancing and control and thermostatic control from each of our global product brands. We are now positioned more effectively to continue our role as the leading partner to support our customers in meeting their increasingly complex challenges in designing, installing, commissioning and maintaining optimally performing HVAC systems.”

It’s all about energy efficiency and indoor comfort Forty per cent of the world’s energy is consumed by HVAC systems in buildings, and optimising HVAC systems is a complex challenge requiring in-depth understanding of the total system and its dynamic nature.

TA Hydronics’ unrivalled system knowledge and experience affords it a unique ability to deliver indoor climate comfort and energy efficiency across the world. It’s the new name n for energy efficient HVAC expertise.

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TURNING UP THE HEAT

Part of the multinational company, Watts Water Technologies with its headquarters in Boston USA, Watts Industries Italia opened its doors officially in 1993, although Watts’ products had been on the market since the 1920s.

From day one Watts Industries Italia proved to be one of the biggest players on the map that makes up Watts Industries Europe, writes Beverley Young.

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lose to the Italian city of Monza, on the outskirts of Milan, Watts Industries Italia specialises in heating, air-conditioning and plumbing and all relevant appliances and accessories and has become a national leader in these markets with sales being generated through wholesale distributors and original equipment makers (OEMs).

Apart from the factory near Monza Watts Industries Italia also operates another two factories, one in Trento and another close to the city of Ferrara. The Italian company is responsible for the markets of Southern

Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and Watts Industries Italia contributes significantly to the €330 million total turnover of Watts Industries Europe.

Also, on a European level, a strong link exists between Watts Industries Italia and Watts Industries Germany owing to the fact that both countries are amongst the biggest producers of brass, an essential material for most Watts products and, not surprisingly, the two most important industrial fairs for this sector take place in Frankfurt and Milan.

Working with Nature The Italian company has launched new heating systems such as quick-connect one-piece fittings, zone control and heat metering which is not only a plus for the consumer but, like most products produced

by Watts, is also driven by the company’s energy saving ethos, reflected in their slogan, ‘Technology by Nature’.

“Our company has by tradition always been sensitive towards renewable energy and strongly contributes fulfilling the Kyoto pact of 20 per cent energy saving, 20 per cent C02 reduction and the use of 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020,” states the managing director, Mr Umberto Ferretti. “We are also leaders in solar energy and many of the components used in solar pumps units are made in Italy.”

Two new products which are specific to the energy-saving sphere are Domocal, which, with its 63 different models, can cover every specification and provides a high-capacity heat exchanger and Domocompact, a pre-assembled temperature control, thermal energy meter which gives independent room control and control of domestic water consumption. Both products enable every households to monitor and save on energy consumption.

Watts Italia’s very latest innovation, however, which will enhance the performance and efficiency of air conditioning and heating systems, has only recently been presented to clients at the Fair in Frankfurt. It is a new valve known as Francoil and could be a ground-breaker in energy saving for heating and air conditioning systems of the future.

Achieving excellence In July 2010 the two Watts Industries Italia factories at Monza and Trento were awarded the Oliver Wight Class A Accreditation for Business Excellence following an integrated Business Planning Programme.

Oliver Wight’s consultants helped to introduce a new management process which has dramatically improved supplies to customers with an on-time-in-full performance Industry Europe 107

Founded in 1953, Sironi Zeno Sas is a Firm specialized in the production of lathed bar-stock smallware or worked from plan.

T.F.C. Snc, more than 30 years experience, is specialized in mechanical machining of pressed brass parts.

Thanks to high produc on efficiency, flexibility, seriousness in compliance with the requirements of the customer in terms of delivery mes and service, TFC Snc has made over the years the trust of many Italian and foreign customers. We can produce pressed brass parts for fi ngs ON DRAWING from 3MA to 4 inch with a maximum weight of 5 kg.

We work contract pressed and cast brass parts, if required we also supply finishing like sanding, polishing, chrome pla ng, etc... The whole produc on process, star ng from the evalua on of the drawing, to the produc on of the mould, parts and shipping is carefully monitored by our staff during all phases.

info@ csnc.com | info@dracmanet.com | www. csnc.com

Our production of metal turned precision small items is the result of a rational productive system. The lay-out of the premises, high technology machinery operated by specialized technicians, the automation of the sequence operations, the quality check during each work phase, the constant maintenance of the machinery, a department for the construction of special equipment and the specific experience acquired in the field allow us to carry out complex machining, guaranteeing respect for the required tolerances.

We begin our work from the drawn bar of different shapes (round, hexagonal, square and special outlines) with a minimum diameter of mms. 6 to a maximum diameter of mms. 65 or from forged parts; we carry out any machining (turning, drilling, milling, screw thread, broaching, etc.) on different materials (Brass, Copper, Automatic Steels, etc.).

Our production is thoroughly diversified and our special products are qualified for different industrial fields: Automotive sector - Industrial valves - Chrome plated valves - Heating apparatus valves - Fittings - Electric and electronic industry - Motorcycles, bicycles - Fixing systems, etc...

Products produced to customer’s drawing.

TOSI F.LLI s.r.l.

Fraz. Roccapietra - Z.I. Via Monte Rosa, 1 13019 VARALLO (VC) Tel: +39 0163 51817 Fax: +39 0163 53069 Email: info@tosi.it www.tosi.it

Our efficient and bleeding edge production fleet features more than forty automatic last-generation lathes, suited for the making of high detail pieces. The main kinds of machinerie of our Firm are: • Multispindle lathes (GILDEMEISTER) • CNC fixed head lathes (OKUMA - MIYANO) • CNC mobile headstock lathes (CITIZEN) • Camshaft lathes • Transfer We work with our Clients with the competence and efficiency developed in our long-lasting experience in high-precision mechanics. Our production has been employed in various sectors: • Taps • Coffee machines • Pneumatics • Lightening

• Fittings • Furnishing

www.sironizeno.it

SIRONI ZENO S.A.S. di Sironi Daniele C.F. 08008220157 - P.I. 00886120963 VIA CASIGNOLO, 17/19 20092 CINISELLO BALSAMO (MI) T: 02.618.12.78 - F: 02.660156.11 - E: info@sironizeno.it

Montini Pietro & Figli S.r.l. is a company which has been carrying out galvanic plating for third parties for over thirty years. It’s specialised in galvanic nickel frame processing, galvanic nickel tumble processing, frame chrome plating and cobalt tin nickel finishing (rotochrome plating).

Galvanic processing is carried out on brass tap, ball valve, thermosanitary, fixture, fittings, bolt and screw components.

Galvanic processing is sample tested according to EN 12540 – ISO 1456 – EN 248 regulations and is performed with latest generation machines.

Via Fiume Mella, 15 - Cogozzo di Villa Carcina 25060 - Brescia Tel: 030 800907 - Fax: 030 801791 - Email: info@galvanicamontini.it

www.galvanicamontini.it

passing from 68–72 per cent to 95 per cent.

The project was led and followed by Mr Ferretti himself who states that it has brought the company savings in production of up to €300,000. Watts Spain and Germany, under Mr Ferretti’s guidance, will also be aiming at this Class A Accreditation in 2011. This certificate guarantees the highest level of company operations, enabling the monitoring of every step in the production process.

Having weathered the difficult year which was 2009 Mr Ferretti acknowledges that 2010 saw a clear improvement in profits and 2011 sees the company back on track.

“We worked hard to reduce costs,” he says, “and have responded positively to changes in the market. The situation is far more stable now.”

importance is also given to customer service and satisfaction which is followed on a daily basis. He then concluded, however, by saying that the name Watts is itself a mark of approval as its long history and presence in world markets has become associated with a product of high quality and reliability. n

Research and Innovation When asked what foundations provided the basis for the company’s success Mr Ferretti underlined a continuous investment in research and development and an ability to renew and innovate production according to the needs of the market. Great Industry Europe 111

With its range of innovative, environmentally focused industrial paint solutions, CMP Europe continues to develop new products and reach new markets. EmmaJane Batey spoke to Michael Hop to find out more.

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY

FOR MARINE PAINTS AS

one of the many European operations of Japanese Chugoku Marine Paints Ltd, CMP Europe’s main office in the Netherlands is home to local sales teams and business development activities. CMP Ltd was founded in Tokyo in 1917 and has grown to become one of the leading manufacturers of marine paints in Japan, and among the top thee in the world, with a service network in over 30 countries

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and over 80 global locations. The ethos of the company has always been to ‘harmonise human activity with nature’, which manifests itself in CMP striving to develop ever-more ecologically responsible paints for its core market in the marine industry, and also for other industrial applications.

Michael Hop illustrated how the European operations fit into the global structure. He told Industry Europe, “Our worldwide geographi-

cal network is ably supported by the strong R&D teams in each core market, as well as a team of technology experts in our Hiroshima development centre. These guys work alongside some of the most innovative minds in Japanese universities to develop innovative coatings and further improve existing coatings.

They then share their findings with the global R&D teams so that CMP is able to stay one step ahead of the competition.”

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Your reliable partner in minerals and chemicals for the construction, paint, plastics and adhesives industry.

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All about innovation The Hiroshima development centre is focused on formulations of paints and coatings; the CMP factories worldwide are then able to produce the products to exact specifications, ensuring that all CMP customers worldwide are guaranteed the same high quality product. Mr Hop added, “We are careful to use local raw materials wherever possible because not only does this help to keep our products as low cost as possible, it also keeps our transport costs and environmental impact down too.

The R&D teams work with the development centre to keep the formulations the same using the local raw materials so the quality is consistent and reliable.”

Reliability is a key word for CMP, with the company well aware that the reliability of its products is what keeps it in a market leading position. It is committed to regular communication with its customers, which include shipbuilders, ship repair yards, power generation companies and the construction industry, in order to maintain its promise to offer paints and coatings that meet demand.

Senior representatives from CMP often hold industry-specific seminars to engage fully with customers and potential customers in an environment which encourages open debate, with the feedback from these events then given to the technical development teams to integrate into their latest research.

Mr Hop continued, “We are not a marketing driven company; we are very much a technical company that also takes service very seriously. Our products are special, with a real focus on performance and environmental responsibility and we are continually striving to ensure our product portfolio is among the best in the industry.”

Global supplier of paints and coatings The CMP product portfolio includes a number of paints and coatings that are mainly supplied to the global marine industry’s major players such as MOL and NYK. CMP’s latest product development Seaflo Neo was recently launched at the Nor-Shipping trade exhibition in Oslo and this has further cemented its reputation for innovation. Mr Hop said, “Seaflo Neo is the very latest in anti-fouling technology and it has the important added benefit of cutting fuel consumption too. We call it ‘beyond Silyl’ as it is one step up from the original Silyl technology that all the other marine paint companies are offering. Besides that the VOC level is one of the lowest in the market.”

Ready for growth CMP is strong worldwide, with its network covering every major country. CMP Europe’s aim for the coming years is to focus on developing its market presence in Scandinavia in particular, as it is already

well-positioned in much of Europe and this represents a key market. Mr Hop added, “We are working towards building our profile across Scandinavia, in Norway especially, as this is an incredibly important marine industry location. We believe that our dedication to technologically advanced products with excellent service supporting our products will mean that CMP Europe’s paints and coatings will find a positive reception in the region. Most of the marine industry’s major players are already aware of CMP, so it is for us to share the features and benefits of our paints and coatings. The fact is, ships don’t lie, so if ships with our paints still look good after five years and are performing well, customers are happy to work with us. The industry is price sensitive too, of course, so we know that our products perform well and n are well-priced.”

A PASSION FOR PERFORMANCE The leading international boat builder, Fairline Boats, based in Oundle in the English Midlands, has been producing and designing high-end powerboats since 1963.

Industry Europe looks at the continued success it enjoys as a result of its dedication to detail and the highest possible quality standards.

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airline Boats was established in 1963 by Jack Newington – a man who was committed to the design of powerboats with the highest specifications. His son, Sam, was his successor and went on to lead the company for 25 years. Even today, Fairline’s core values of quality, integrity and innovation are what drive it forward as it holds its place among the leading yacht builders in the world. In 2008, the company received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, and in the same year its Squadron 55 model won the

Motor Boat of the Year award. Today Fairline’s major markets are Europe, the USA and the Far East, and it operates through a network of over 30 dealers worldwide.

The three core Fairline lines are Squadron, Phantom and Targa, each comprising many sizes and variations of boat to meet every client need. Furthermore, the company’s specialised Yacht Division was created to support those clients investing in one of its largest and most exclusive models – such as the Squadron 65 or 78.

As the company explains: “Things do need to move up a gear in terms of personal service and commitment when we are dealing with our most discerning clients.” Such services can include arranging VIP transport to and from progress meetings, or perhaps advising on the practicalities of production and ownership.

Unique quality The process of building Fairline’s boats has not changed much in its essentials since the establishment of the company. The basic hull

still conforms to the design of naval architect Bernard Olesinski – a deep V shape to cut through the choppiest seas. Also, many of the production stages, such as laying woven rovings or brushing on gel, are still carried out by hand and 100 components are bonded to the hull to become an integral part of the overall structure. Obviously these methods take longer than with more massproduced boats, but the result is a craft with great structural integrity and rigidity which translates to superb handling and stability.

Creating a boat that performs to the highest possible standards is the ultimate goal.

Every aspect of the onboard engineering of a Fairline boat, from domestic equipment to electronic boat management systems, is designed to work in perfect harmony to create a truly unique level of performance.

Furthermore, Fairline believes its rigorous attention to detail is another attribute to set it apart from the competition – right down to concealing screw-heads and cabinet fixtures and making doors that fit

Industry Europe 117

Suppliers of Interior & Exterior lining out and upholstery materials www.boyriven.co.uk The Fairground, Weyhill, Andover, Hampshire, SP11 0ST

Tel: +44 (0)1264 771414 | Fax: +44 (0)1264 771444 | Email: info@boyriven.co.uk

Boyriven Ltd For nearly 20 years Boyriven Ltd has been supplying Fairline boats with both interior & exterior furnishing materials. These are used for both upholstery and lining out applications, ranging from the White PVC used for the cockpit cushions on the smallest Targa models to the sophisticated wall lining fabrics used on the bulkheads of the latest Squadron’s. Exclusive materials are sourced from many countries around the world and prepared to Fairline’s specifications. These are then held in stock prior to being delivered on a weekly basis to their various production sites. For many years Boyriven have worked closely with Fairline’s interior designers to ensure that the materials used fully reflect the company’s leading position with regard to the style and quality of their boats. We look forward to continuing the relationship for years to come as Fairline continue to develop and expand their range into new and existing markets.

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Industry Europe 119

firmly to eliminate rattles. Its key selling feature, it says, is the quality and finish of its interiors.

New additions Fairline continues to expand and develop its range, utilising the very latest technology to reach ever more impressive levels of luxury and craftsmanship. The new Squadron 58, introduced to the market in January 2011, is fitted as standard with the Fairline tender launch system, a revolutionary system which assists owners in launching and retrieving their tender. The longer hull includes a redesigned cockpit area that brings greater headroom above the bed in the fourth/

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crew cabin, and the mid-level lockers in the starboard guest cabin are now twice as wide as those in the original Squadron 58 which was introduced in 2000. As with all the company’s newer models, the new Fairline 58 has been meticulously created with the greatest attention to detail, and incorporates up-to-the-minute Fairline technology.

Another significant event for Fairline in January 2011 was the launch of the all-new three cabin, two en-suite Targa 50 Gran Turismo.

This craft has a 50ft hull length but is distinguished by the fact that its master cabin is able to provide as much space as a typical 60ft yacht. As with the Squadron 58, this model n also includes the tender launch system.

Volvo Penta Fairline is one of the largest and most valuable customers for Volvo Penta in the World For more than 40 years Volvo Penta has been powering a vast majority of Fairline craft supplying over 16,000 marine engines. Volvo Penta is delighted to be chosen to power the new Targa 50’ and Squadron 50’ with our highly developed D11 engine. Providing worldwide support for Fairline customers with Volvo Penta power is a key goal as is excellent customer retention. We wish Fairline every success for the future under new ownership and look forward to supplying most of their engine needs for the future.

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH The Feralpi Group is a major player in the Italian iron and steel industry.

Isabella Manfredi, the company’s communications director, discusses its developments over the past few years, stressing the importance of factors such as production process optimisation, energy saving, emission reductions and product innovation. Barbara Rossi reports.

T

he growth achieved by the Feralpi Group over the past 10 years has developed along three paths: the first is in terms of size; the second is in terms of quality; and the third is linked to the everincreasing closeness between the iron and steel manufacturing activity and sustainable development standards.

Iron and steel manufacturing experienced a golden period between 2004 and the end of 2008. During those years the iron and steel industry changed radically, owing to aggregation and acquisition processes resulting in the creation of real giants. The Feralpi Group’s main production output consists of rebar, wire

rod and electro-welded mesh. In addition to these it also manufactures cold roll reinforced steel, lattice girders and spacer bars.

Over the past few years it has grown a lot owing to its efforts to manufacture large volumes suitable for several markets. For this reason, over the years it has established plants in Germany such as ESF (Elbe-Stahlwerke Feralpi GmbH) and EDF (Elbe-Drahtwerke Feralpi GmbH), in the Czech Republic and in Romania where it has added to the already existing Lonato del Garda and Acciaierie di Calvisano facilities. In Italy the group also owns other companies such as Dieffe, which carries out cold processing, and Nuova Defim,

which specialises in the manufacture of electrowelded mesh for construction, industrial fences and professional, industrial and civil railings.

Technological innovation and sustainability Technological development and the maximisation of production efficiency are two musts for an iron and steel company – particularly in a country which doesn’t offer effective support to increase the competitiveness of its industrial players. For this reason, Feralpi has made large investments in technologies in order to optimise its production processes and to reduce raw material consumption to

a minimum. Energy is one of the main costs for the company as so much is used in the production of iron and steel, which is why so much time and resources have been spent on this issue.

The Feralpi Group has been evaluating its environmental activities for years and periodically produces a sustainability balance sheet to measure its achievements in this area, as well as to help it map out a path for future advancements.

At the beginning of 2011 the group opened a new foundry furnace and photovoltaic system at the Lonato del Garda site, which will aid its mission to reduce produc-

tion costs and improve process innovation.

These facilities allow for energy savings and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The right skills The iron and steel industry is increasingly reliant on highly skilled human resources and the current training available is not always suitable to the needs of the Feralpi group. It has tried to rectify this problem by setting up a professional apprenticeship programme to bring together school and working environments and to solve turnover issues within its departments. This project has been realised thanks to the active contribution of various business partners, cre-

ating three two-year courses in which several high school graduates with a technical/industrial specialisation have participated. Encouraging results have been achieved, demonstrating that the iron and steel sector is still appealing to new generations as long as it affords them the opportunity to grow and develop.

Feralpi is also involved in the Comenius Regio project, which connects two different EU regions for two years and allows them to take part in a common project with the aim of achieving objectives which are usable within the EU – such as comparative studies, and training courses for teachers and for apprentices. The objectives also

Industry Europe 125

SanGregorio, a Private Shareholder Company located 40km north-west of Milan, was established in 1963 on the site of an old foundry which had been producing mainly devices for the textile industry as crane wheels. It subsequently set up a new line for the production of cast iron rolls for hot rolling mills, serving only the domestic market.

In the 1970s a new and larger workshop was built and new machine tools were set up to speed up roll machining. During the latter part of this decade the old casting line for textile tools and crane wheels was dismantled and all production became focused on cast iron rolls with the intention of conquering foreign markets, beginning with Spain.

Today more than 75% of SanGregorio’s products are exported, reaching most of the European countries, the Americas, some African countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Cameroon and the Ivory Coast; Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine; Far Eastern countries such as Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and India. A wide network of customer service agents was also built to address customers’ needs.

SanGregorio’s production is certified according to the highest standards. It achieved the ISO 9001:2008 Quality System Certification, and the ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management System Certification.

SanGregorio’s production covers an area of 18,000m2 over three buildings: Foundry, Workshop and Administration. The Foundry is equipped with a 35t medium frequency induction melting furnace and ladles able to cast a 27t one-piece roll. The Workshop is equipped with CNC horizontal & vertical turning lathes, CNC milling and grinding machines, capable of producing roll diameters up to 1500mm and rolls barrels up to 5000mm. Finally, the Administration facilities are entirely computerised and a website supports customers’ needs.

SanGregorio specialises particularly in the production of nodular/ductile cast iron rolls for the rolling of long products such as rails, beams and merchant bars. Also, following the development of Universal Stands for the rolling of rails and heavy beams, SanGregorio also specialises in the shrinking and disassembly of large sleeves onto and from steel shafts.

SanGregorio’s organisation is based upon maintaining close contacts between Customers and Company management to satisfy technical or other questions they may have. A fast-response philosophy is essential to maintain a high level of customer care!

Fonderia Officina Meccanica CILINDRI PER LAMINAZIONE I - 21010 S. Macario di Samarate (VA) Italy Viala Europa, 62 Tel: +39.0331.235353 | Fax: +39.0331.235328 Email: infocentre@sangregorio.com | www.sangregorio.com

ISO 9001:200 8 ISO 14001

include the distribution of the results of the study and the creation of a bilingual (Italian– German) iron and steel industry glossary.

In this instance the two regions involved are Lombardy, Italy, and Saxony, Germany, where the Feralpi Group is currently present.

Through the Comenius Regio project the partners wish to complete a comparative study and offer a training path which will lead to European-level qualifications, respectively carried out by the Riesa-based Elbe Stahlwerke Feralpi and the Lonatobased Feralpi Siderurgica.

For many years Feralpi has been active in CSR (corporate social responsibility) in social, environmental and economic terms.

These three aspects are certainly different in terms of approach and method, but they meld into a single policy which is integrated in each of the group companies.

Raw material supply In terms of the iron and steel sector as a whole, one of the key factors to affect competitiveness is the availability of raw materials. In this context raw materials can mean a variety of elements, ranging from minerals to scrap, including human resources and energy.

For Feralpi, the challenge is that Italy is a country which is basically lacking in raw materials, and the steel industry pays a high price

for this lack of energy, minerals and scrap iron. The price-increasing tendencies of the latter are an issue affecting the whole world, owing to the fact that this sector operates as an oligopoly composed of three mining companies which manage it at a global level, while the energy problem is specific to Italy owing to its lack of energy policies which has seen bills skyrocketing. The lack of infrastructural projects to push the economy often means that Italian companies find themselves alone in facing the challenge of recuperating competitive margins in the face of rising energy n bills and lack of raw materials. www.feralpigroup.com

WHERE FILTRATION COUNTS

Bekaert (www.bekaert.com) is a global technological and market leader in advanced solutions based on metal transformation and coatings, and the world’s largest independent manufacturer of drawn steel wire products. Joseph Altham spoke to Sebastien Heymans, Bekaert’s global product market manager for filtration, to find out about some of the industries where filtration plays a vital role.

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ekaert (Euronext Brussels: BEKB) is a global company with headquarters in Belgium, employing 28,000 people worldwide. Serving customers in 120 countries, Bekaert pursues sustainable profitable growth in all its activities and generated €4.5 billion combined sales in 2010.

Bekaert works with many different industries and produces wires for every purpose from tyre cord to champagne corks. Bekaert began its life in 1880 as a manufacturer of barbed wire, and to this day it still makes barbed wire for agricultural purposes. However, over time it found more and more applications for wire across different industry sectors and gradually built up a global business. If metal wires remain Bekaert’s core competence, the uses it has found for wire are almost endless, and filtration is only one of many fields where the company is active.

“Bekaert got into filtration by making finer and finer wires,” Mr Heymans explained. “Eventually the company moved into making fibres and developed the sintered stainless steel fibre media that are

used in filtration. Bekaert’s filtration business can be divided into the design and production of sintered metal fibre filtration media and of stainless steel filter elements and systems.”

Textiles and plastics Bekaert’s filtration media and systems serve an important purpose in the industries requiring polymers.

“Polymer is our biggest and oldest sector.

Some polymers are very sensitive in terms of the creation of gels. Gels are polymer particulates that are made during the polymerisation reaction but that have cross-linked chains and so a different viscosity.”

In the resin production (or polymerisation lines) several steps of filtration are required from filtration of the raw material to final melt polymer filtration after finisher for final dirt filtration and gel removal.

In the textile industry, more specifically in the manufacture of synthetic fibres, filtration is needed to remove particles of dirt and retain gels. “When you spin and draw fine

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fibres, you cannot afford dirt or gel particles, which would create a break in the yarn.”

Bekaert is also a leading supplier of filtration elements and systems for the plastic film industry, where filtration is required to produce synthetic films. Here gels are unwanted because they create a fish-eye effect which has a negative impact on product quality, especially in the increasing market of optical film for flat screens or photovoltaic industry.”

Bekaert supplies most of the specialist manufacturers of PET (mainly BOPET (biaxially

oriented polyethylene terephthalate) film as well as of PP (including CPP (Cast polypropylene film) and BOPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene) for the packaging industry.

Improvements in filtration generate significant environmental benefits. “Standards of filtration are improving, and the environment is a driver in our product development. For example, if you want to reduce the weight of polyester in plastic bottles, there are filtration requirements you have to meet in order to get there.”

Petrochemicals and automotive In the petrochemical industry, Bekaert’s filtration elements and systems are used to cleanse process gases and for emission control.

Hot gas filtration makes it possible to purify process gases by removing dust particles and contaminants from a gas stream even where the process occurs at a high temperature.

Mr Heymans explains: “Hot gas filtration may be required within the petrochemical process when you want to retain the catalyst for reuse. Hot gas filtration is also needed at

the end of a process, before the gas can be released into the atmosphere. Here, removing the dust particles is necessary in order to reduce the environmental impact. Previously, if you wanted to do that, the gas had to be cooled down first, but filtering at high temperatures allows you to recover energy. We design and sell complete solutions for these processes. The application range is fairly wide and includes refineries, cement industry, metallurgical process furnaces, gasification process, nuclear and many others. We use very fine stainless steel alloys that are specific to the application, which helps us to design solutions for the different gases.”

In the motor industry, makers of diesel trucks use Bekaert’s diesel particulate filtration technology in exhaust systems. “We produce

the filtration media and a systems integrator delivers the final solution. The particulate filter captures the black soot from the exhaust. In this way the environmental impact is reduced.”

The BRICs Bekaert as a whole is firmly established in the emerging economies, which it entered at an early stage. Like the rest of the business, the filtration unit has made the BRICs a priority. “In Brazil, we opened a sales office for filtration two years ago in São Paolo. Business is expanding in Russia, and in India we started a production plant in 2007. In China, we have had a factory since 2005 at Suzhou.”

Mr Heymans says that Bekaert’s filtration systems are proving particularly successful

in the BRICs for textile and packaging applications. “In China there has been a fantastic growth in polyester products. Whereas 10 years ago China accounted for 20 per cent of the world’s polyester production, China produces around 70 per cent of the world’s polyester today.”

Being established in the BRICs is important to Bekaert so that it can work closely with its customers. The company even has a research and development centre in China at Jiangyin. “We want to be partners with our customers and we move with our markets. In research and development, we have a strong team of engineers who understand n what our customers want to achieve.” www.bekaert.com

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A LOCAL FORCE Forged steel of the highest quality is called for when machines have to withstand exceptionally strong forces, and Dirostahl’s product quality satisfies the most demanding requirements in mechanical engineering. Julia Snow reports on the ongoing programme of investments.

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ith over 400 years of tradition, and located in the heart of Europe in Germany’s Bergisches Land, Dirostahl has made a name for itself as a provider of first-class steel bars and other types of forgings for the entire machine tool industry, for the fabrication of gears, of heavy tools, synthetic, textile and paper machines, power plants and shipbuilding as well as the off-shore industry.

The company employs 480 staff, and has strong roots in the local community. Whether it’s a visit from a local politician, the use of the works as a set for a TV production or one of the many seasonal and social activities the company arranges for its apprentices, employees and retired staff members Dirostahl is proactively involved in supporting social aims and furthering the well-being of local people and strengthening the local economy.

The production facilities include open-die steam hammers and presses, rolling mills, heat treatment and machining. The product range stretches from open-die forgings from 10kg up to 35,000kg, seamless rolled rings up to 3500mm OD, forged bars up to 850mm OD/ square and up to 15 m in length in alloyed and unalloyed steel grades. In order to guarantee the highest quality of raw steel, Dirostahl works with select suppliers and purchases are made in accordance with the company’s analysis specifications. To guarantee availability and allow cost management, around 20,000t of an assorted range of raw steel is held at any time.

The company has domestic and international representatives, and highly qualified engineers and technicians can provide technical and metallurgical support from the company’s base in Remscheid. Material inspections are offered

at laboratory facilities and forging inspections can be carried out by destructive and nondestructive tests.

Automated logistics centre in operation Owing to a steady expansion of the facilities, the production area has nearly doubled from 40,000m2 to 78,000m2 in the last three years.

Today Dirostahl’s activities are spread across three main works and a brand new state-ofthe-art logistics centre.

In December 2009 a new 3000t press took up production after only three weeks of construction time, and the same year saw the installation of a new gantry crane to make the handling of raw steel blocks easier and safer. The highlight of 2009, however, was the opening of the new high rack storage facility. With dimensions of 50m by 17m and Industry Europe 135

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a height of 21m, the new building offers space for 2860 pallets with up to 2000kg load per pallet. Inside there are six rows of shelves with 14 – 22 floors each, depending on the shelf dimensions, and all filling and picking of pallets is handled by three fully automated shelf-rack servicing units. In the adjacent 500m2 quality control and packaging hall the forged parts can be US-, HB- and VP-tested, and a measuring protocol will be issued for each item that is then loaded onto pallets and secured safely for transport. Outside of the testing hall there is a covered area of ca. 500m2, where pallets are loaded onto lorries. The storage system places the pallets onto six loading bays, where individual displays show the order numbers of the assignments stored in each bay. Dirostahl has its own fleet of articulated lorries that take care of around a third of all deliveries, while with a range of other logistics channels, delivery reliability and flexibility are ensured all over Europe

New turning shop Last year a rotary hearth furnace was installed for the new piercing press of the ring rolling mill, and more recently Dirostahl started using a new cold circular saw (KKS 1250), as a block saw for pre-materials. The teeth of this circular saw blade are fitted with carbide, which permits a higher cutting performance compared with belt saws, halving the sawing time. The machine is equipped with an automatic stock feed unit, which allows high precision, and employs a ‘minimum quantity lubrication’ technology that reduces cooling lubricant consumption.

The biggest investment project, however, is the construction of a third turning shop, adjacent to the Luckhausen workshop II, which was started in 2008. The new facility means that heavy forged pieces don’t have to be transported across the motorway anymore, bringing a huge improvement in workflow. The

new hall is now home to a range of machines, including a modernised and refurbished ‘Russenbank’, Dirostahl’s largest turning machine, a high-end portal milling machine, centre lathes and the new Tacci heavy duty lathe.

The Tacci has already been used to work on a shaft weighing 21,500kg – commissioned by a Serbian customer for open-cast mining.

Into the future with optimism During the festivities on the occasion of his 70th birthday in December last year Managing Director Dr Diederichs confirmed the positive outlook for the future of the company. He reported a rise in orders from the previous year and stated that he was optimistic for the year 2011. And certainly, the sheer volume of continuing investments – both in the company’s people and its facilities – gives a very good indication about n how well-founded his optimism is.

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RAMPING UP RESULTS Endomines AB specialises in mining for gold along the Karelian Gold Line in eastern Finland. Philip Yorke talked to Markus Ekberg, the company’s CEO, about the success of its new Pampalo mining operations and its prospects for further expansion in Finnish Lapland.

E

ndomines was founded in Finland in 1996 and is today comprised of the parent company Endomines AB and two wholly owned subsidiaries: Endomines Oy and Kalvinit Oy. The operations of Endomines Oy concentrate on exploration, development of gold deposits and gold mining activities.

Kalvinit Oy is focused on the development of

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the company’s industrial ilmenite deposits.

These subsidiaries were both founded in the mid-1990s and have been financed by private individuals and leading Finnish institutions since their inception. Currently all the company’s mineral deposits are located in Finland, but this may change to include other Nordic countries in the longer term.

Success was achieved early when the parent company, Endomines AB, was transformed from a minor exploration company to a fully fledged mining company in 2009 and made ready for commercial production.

Construction of the company’s Pampalo mine was completed before the end of 2010, on target and within budget. Subsequently,

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the Pampalo Gold Mine delivered its first gold concentrates to Finland’s Boliden Harjavalta smelter early in February 2011 and has now ramped up its production to full capacity.

The company’s mining operations are based on sustainable principles and on minimising the impact on the environment. The Pampalo processing plant does not use cyanide leaching in its processing system.

Building on initial success During 2010 Endomines focused its efforts on the construction and commissioning of its major asset, the Pampalo gold mine.

Underground mine production began in mid-

April and over 1000 metres of underground development drifting was completed in less than 18 months. In total, more than 45,000 tonnes of ore was mined by drifting and longhole stoping operations.

Mr Ekberg said, “Endomines AB is the newest gold mine in Europe. We are located in eastern Finland only 10 kilometres from the border with Russia. I am very encouraged by what we have achieved since we began full mining operations at the beginning of this year. We are selling our intermediate concentrates to smelters in Finland and expect to process over 250,000 tonnes of ore this year.

“We have a lot of exploration in-hand and a lot of tenements ahead of us to explore and are optimistic about our other licence holdings along the Karelian Gold Line and also in Finnish Lapland. The production ramp-up at our Pampalo gold mine will be completed by the third quarter of this year, by which time any remaining modifications to the processing plant will have been carried out. Thereafter we expect to achieve gold production levels of 800−900kg per annum from 2012.”

Qualifying mineral reserves Endomines is quoted on the Stockholm stock exchange First North Premium and therefore

from an investor’s point of view it is important to be able to qualify the potential of the company’s assets. As a result, Endomines reports the levels of its mineral resources according the Australian JORC code. The reporting code is supported by the Swedish and Finnish organisations in the mining industry, SveMin and FAERI. In addition to these qualifications, the company also ensures the transparency of its mineral resources through

qualified, independent and international consultants who make mineral and ore estimates based upon industry standards.

Mr Ekberg added, “These important quality-assurance procedures are the foundation stones for the company’s future and also allow international comparisons to be made with similar mining companies.”

Furthermore, an updated JORC compliant estimate for the company’s mineral resource

and ore reserves at its Pampalo gold mine was recently completed by the leading independent consulting company, Outotec Oyj (Finland), which confirmed that the increase in mineable reserve tonnes at Pampalo was 50 per cent and the increase in gold content was 11 per cent. These new estimates further strengthen the outlook for profitable gold production at Pampalo and the Karelian Gold n Line for Endomines AB.

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A STRONGER POSITION

Hydro Aluminium Profiler (HAP) is part of Norsk Hydro, one of the world’s largest integrated aluminium companies. Abigail Saltmarsh reports on its activities.

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eing part of the Hydro Group, Europe’s largest producer of aluminium extrusions and one of the world’s largest producers of aluminium metal, gives Hydro Aluminium Profiler (HAP) access to extensive resources and a wide network of contacts that benefits its customers. Now Hydro has strengthened its position even further, according to Atle Larsen, sales director of the company.

“Hydro recently strengthened its position as one of the world’s leading aluminium companies by acquiring Brazilian company, Vale’s, aluminium division. This is a leading company producing bauxite and alumina, raw materials for the subsequent aluminium fabrication,” he explained.

“The investment is in the range of US$4.9 billion and makes Hydro one of the world’s leading players in the market. This acquisition strengthens Hydro’s and HAP’s roles as stable and dependent suppliers with a safe and secure access to aluminium raw material.”

A global supplier Hydro is one of the world’s largest integrated aluminium companies, with activities throughout the value chain, from bauxite

extraction to the production of rolled and extruded aluminium products and building systems. It is a global supplier, with 23,000 employees in more than 40 countries.

“As part of Hydro’s Extruded Products division we form a network of extrusion companies that play a major role on the European market and continuously strengthen our positions also on the American and Asian markets,” said Mr Larsen. “HAP produces aluminium extrusions and offers customer support from idea to finished product. It assists the customers with product design and development support, along with addedvalue activities such as fabrication, surface treatment and assembly.”

All major markets Aluminium extrusions are used in almost all industries and markets, he continued.

Major sectors using extrusions include the transport industry, building, mechanical sector, electronics including telecom, furniture, design and interior fittings. “Hydro is a global company with activities in all major markets. HAP’s main markets are Norway, Sweden and Finland,” he said

Today HAP employs approximately 425 people and sees an annual turnover of approximately NOK 1,000 million. It has six production units in three countries, with a combined capacity of about 30,000 tonnes of aluminium extrusions. Its presses (from 1200 tonnes up to 7000 tonnes) have the capacity to produce extrusions with up to 520mm width and with a weight of 30kg per m.

Continuously improving He continued: “We have extrusion, fabrication, surface treatment and sales in Raufoss – which is our headquarters – and in Magnor and Karmøy, all in Norway. We also have sales and fabrication in Vetlanda and Åseda, in Sweden, and sales and fabrication in Forssa, in Finland.

“We have no immediate plans for any expansion at any of our sites and no change in our activities planned in the foreseeable future. The development will be in the technical aspects of production – alloy development for optimising product properties, improving the capacity and productivity of our presses and production equipment, continuous development for higher, better Industry Europe 143

and consistent quality, improving our fabrication and machining capabilities etc.”

He added: “We will do everything we can in order to continuously improve our abilities to meet our customers’ demands and to establish HAP as the preferred supplier and partner in the extrusion market.”

A new smelter As well as acquiring Vale’s aluminium division, Hydro has also recently seen the establishment of the new Qatalum aluminium smelter in Qatar. This is a 50 per cent joint venture with Qatar petroleum.

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“Together we built the world’s largest aluminium smelter,” he said. “The plant was opened last year and will in its first phase produce some 600,000 tonnes of primary aluminium per year.”

A preferred supplier Future growth, Mr Larsen stressed, is likely to occur organically as well as through acquisition, though no specific plans will be implemented in the near future. “First we will focus on the economic recovery of our major markets and establishing a positive trend in the aluminium extrusion sales,” he added.

Over the next few years, HAP will develop through a clearly defined focus on continuous improvement for all the various sectors throughout the company. “We will increase our human competence and skills as well as our technical resources and performance,” he said. “By following that road, without compromise, we will establish and strengthen our role as one of the leading extrusion suppliers in Scandinavia and remain the preferred supplier of our customers.” n Visit: www.hap.hydro.com

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STRONGER IN STEEL

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SSAB is a global leader in value-added, high-strength steel. Abigail Saltmarsh looks at recent developments at the group.

H

alf way through 2011 Sweden-based SSAB has seen an increase in sales, according to president and CEO Martin Lindqvist. Recent developments at the group, which is a global leader in value added, high strength steel, have also seen the appointment of two new heads of business areas and SSAB becoming the full owner of the steel and non-ferrous metals distributor Tibnor.

“Demand was good at the beginning of the second quarter, but we also witnessed a degree of slowdown towards the end of the quarter,” said Mr Lindqvist. “Operating profit for the quarter amounted to SEK 1,323 million, which is double that of the preceding quarter and the corresponding quarter last year.”

A global leader SSAB offers products developed in close cooperation with its customers to create a stronger, lighter and more sustainable world.

The group has employees in over 45 countries and operates production facilities in Sweden and the USA. It is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange, Stockholm.

The group’s steel operations consist of three business areas: EMEA, Americas, APAC and the two subsidiaries Plannja, representing processing, and Tibnor, which is the group’s trading company.

An important channel In May, SSAB announced it was becoming the full owner of the steel and non-ferrous metals distributor Tibnor. At the time, SSAB owned an 85 per cent stake in the company, and announced it was to acquire Outokumpu’s 15 per cent minority stake.

Tibnor is a leading steel and non-ferrous metals distributor in Sweden and the rest of the Nordic region, and also has a subsidiary in Latvia, explained Mr Lindqvist. SSAB said it was to pay €44 million in cash for the smaller stake. The sale was not expected to impact on customer relations between Outokumpu and Tibnor, which markets and sells products from many different suppliers.

“Tibnor is an important channel for reaching our customers on our Nordic domestic market and we see that the company possesses good development potential,” he added.

New leaders In another recent move SSAB has appointed new heads of its Americas and EMEA business areas. Both will become members of SSAB’s group executive committee.

Charles Schmitt will head the Americas Business Area. He is a member of SSAB America’s management team and currently head of the Southern Business Unit in SSAB

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EFFEKTIVA TRANSPORTSYSTEM TransAtlantic erbjuder kundnära och kostnadseffektiva sjötransporter genom hög kompetens, effektiva system och anpassat tonnage.

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INDUSTRIELLA SJÖTRANSPORTER RoRo Vi erbjuder RoRo-transporter främst i Östersjön samt i delar av Nordsjön. Fartygen kan lasta de flesta typer av rullande last, t.ex. bilar, lastbilar, tunga maskiner, gruvutrustning m.m. Fartygen har även förmåga att hantera enhetsgods såsom maskindelar, båtar, last på pall, containrar, tankar, etc. Vi hanterar även styckegods där vi har kassetter och trailrar med olika mått och kapacitet.

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Våra logistiklösningar är att likna vid One-stop shop där kunden vänder sig till en enda kontaktperson. Den personen tar i sin tur ansvar för kundens hela logistiska flöde från råvarutransport till leverans av färdig produkt till slutkund.

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Americas. Melker Jernberg, currently SVP at the truck and bus manufacturer, Scania, will be the new head of EMEA. “It’s extremely pleasing that we have obtained such skilled managers to head our Americas and EMEA Business Areas. With his many years of experience from Scania, Melker Jernberg will be able to contribute extremely important knowledge to SSAB. “Charles Schmitt has already demonstrated his genuine skills within SSAB and I am convinced that he will be able to further develop our American operations. I wish both Charles and Melker a warm welcome to SSAB’s Group Executive Committee,” said Mr Lindqvist.

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Improving demand

Positive trends

At the end of the first half of 2011, SSAB has seen sales increased by 15 per cent and amounted to SEK 22,825. Operating profit improved to SEK 1,939 (876) million.

Mr Linquist said recovery from the economic crisis was continuing and demand was improving but he suggested the company’s third quarter could be weaker than its second.

“Demand was good at the beginning of the second quarter, but we also witnessed a degree of slowdown towards the end of the quarter. Operating profit for the quarter amounted to SEK 1,323 million, which is double that of the preceding quarter and the corresponding quarter last year,” he said.

“The trend in our American operations has continued to be positive. In accordance with the objectives that we established in conjunction with the acquisition of the operations in the USA, one of our most important niche steels − Hardox − is now being produced and delivered from our plant in Mobile, Alabama. Also, operations in Asia continued to grow strongly, while the market in Europe was characterised by the uncertainty resulting from the financial crises in several countries,” he said.

“Late June, we signed a price agreement for iron ore pellets for the second and third quarters. The new agreement entails a price increase in USD of almost 20 per cent com-

pared with the price in the first quarter 2011.

The impact of the price changes will be felt during the third quarter.”

New projects He continued: “During the third quarter, implementation will continue of a number of projects aimed at strengthening our position as a leading supplier of quenched steels. In Borlänge, a new quenching line and cutting line are now being installed, while in Mobile, Alabama, work is underway on the new quenching line.

“In Oxelösund and Kunshan, investments are taking place to improve logistics, reduce

lead times and improve the service level to our customers. Taken together, these investments will provide us with improved possibilities for meeting our customers’ demand for quenched steels.”

Increased capacity He said the investment projects would be brought into commission towards the end of the year and at the beginning of next year, and would increase SSAB’s quenched steel capacity by 500,000 tonnes to approximately 1,300,000 tonnes. In addition, one of the group’s

blast furnaces in Oxelösund is undergoing a relining and there would be a major maintenance outage in Montpelier, Iowa.

“The maintenance work and a normal lower level of activity during the third quarter will have a negative impact on earnings,” he said. “These factors, together with continued price pressure, increased raw materials costs, and uncertainty concerning developments in Europe, indicate that the third quarter will be weaker than the second quarter. However, the recovery is continuing and demand is expected to n be stronger than in 2010.”

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THE ART OF PRECISION Peter Wolters is a world leader in precision surface solutions. Abigail Saltmarsh reports on recent developments at the growing company.

P

ick an industry, says Dave Celli, CEO of Germany-based Peter Wolters, and you will find his company’s products there. With growth coming from geographical regions across the world and new products continually being developed, more and more companies within an ever-widening base of customers are demanding quality and are turning to its equipment.

“Our customer base is in silicon and sapphire wafer manufacturing, automotive, medical, aerospace, transportation, alternative energies, and every type of heavy

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equipment industry,” he explained. “We are already recognised as a world leader in our field but the achievements we are making are going to ensure we continue to be successful and profitable.”

Enhancing its position The company began when Johann Peter Wolters started making carding machines in the little house Schlickum, in Mettmann, in 1804. Over the years, the shape and nature of the business has changed but the company’s innovative research and development

has reinforced its competitiveness in the area of super finishing and has enhanced its position in international markets.

Today the company, which is owned by Novellus Systems, offers a unique and comprehensive scope of high-precision processing machines. These range from singlewheel and two-wheel fine-grinding machines to double-side flat grinding machines, through-feed grinders and lapping, polish-

ing, honing and deburring machines for flat work pieces up to compact, high-precision multi-spindle machines for economic inner diameter and outer diameter grinding as well as cam profile grinding.

Serving customers’ needs “We continue to develop new products to serve the needs of our diverse customer base,” said Mr Celli. “In particular, we are

currently developing several new technologies for our customers in the silicon wafer manufacturing industry.

“That industry is struggling to make any profit at all, squeezed between increasing manufacturing costs and consumer expectations for lower-priced electronic products.

We continue to develop and manufacture systems and processes that enable our customers to achieve higher throughput and

Industry Europe 153

better yields. For example, our prime wafer polishing and grinding systems are currently targeted at 300 mm wafer substrates, but we’ve already done the engineering needed to prepare these machines for the 450 mm bare wafers that we’ll see in production in a few more years.”

He said demands from industrial customers, such as those in the automotive business, are also driving further development of ever finer grinding for small, hightolerance components.

A presence in Asia The headquarters of Peter Wolters is in Rendsburg, where the company’s main production facility is located. It also has manufacturing facilities in Vaihingen, Germany, and in Des Plaines, Illinois, in the USA. “Additionally, we have an OEM agreement with Dalian Machine Tool Group to manufacture some of our products specifically for the Chinese market,” he said. “Because

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Industry Europe 155

business is growing so rapidly in Asia, we really need a presence there. We signed the agreement in April of this year and should deliver the first equipment to our Chinese partners at the end of the month.”

Investment is on-going, he continued, especially as customers are increasingly requesting “one-stop shopping.” They are looking for Peter Wolters to be able to meet all their surface finishing needs.

“We continue to invest both in internal research and development and through acquisition of complementary technologies.

In 2009, we acquired the assets and intellectual property of Micron , a USA-based manufacturer of creep-feed grinding equipment that largely serves the aerospace and automotive industries,” he said.

was in Germany and about 90 per cent in Europe. But this has all changed.

“Peter Wolters has a long history and a large customer base in Europe, but our business is developing rapidly in other parts of the world,” he said. “By 2012, we expect that over half of our business will be in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan.

“Peter Wolters is moving into every growing economy. We have recently opened a sales and service location in India and have taken our first system orders from Thailand.

The BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are a major focal point for our sales and service activities.

“As these economies grow and wealth increases, there is a demand for better quality and better technologies. They therefore require equipment that is of a higher quality and capability.”

Global growth

Looking ahead

When Novellus acquired the company in July 2004, about 70 per cent of its business

He said future growth plans for Peter Wolters were multi-faceted. Its strong mar-

Investing in the company

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ket presence in the growing economies of the world is an anchor to its strategy.

“Finding new technological solutions that enable profitability for our silicon and sapphire substrate manufacturing customers is key to market share growth,” said Mr Celli.

“Continuing our growth through our acquisition strategy will enable us to add complementary technologies that will both grow our business and enable our customers by providing them with solutions to their hightolerance requirements. And, we’re always looking for new market opportunities. For example, we’ve recently been selling equipment and manufacturing consumables for the LED (light emitting diode) manufacturing marketplace, a sub-segment of the global lighting industry that is projected to grow very rapidly in the future.”

Mr Celli added “The next five years will be very exciting for Peter Wolters. If we execute our growth strategy in a disciplined manner, n the sky is the limit!” www.peter-wolters.com

SURFACE

PERFECTION

Ekamant AB, based in the town of Markaryd in Sweden, produces coated abrasives for furniture manufacturers and other industrial purposes. Joseph Altham spoke to Per Thorsell, Ekamant’s CEO, to find out about the expertise that goes into the development of top quality abrasives.

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alking to Mr Thorsell, it soon becomes clear that the abrasive used in the wood industry is a much more specialised product than the sandpaper you might keep in your toolbox at home. “Our products are not really intended for consumers,” said Mr Thorsell, “and we only sell to other businesses and to our distributors.”

Ekamant’s abrasives cannot be found in a DIY store. The many different kinds of abrasives the company produces are intended to satisfy the specific requirements of wood industries, from making grand pianos to building the cabins of boats or kitchen cabinets.

Indeed, the company’s products for wood industry use can be found in large manufacturing plants to small wood working shops from China to the USA. The choice of abrasive depends upon what the user is grinding and what kind of surface they want to achieve; for example, when sanding wood the user has to consider whether it is hard or softwood. It is important to use sandpaper with the right grain size and with the right kind of grit and density.

For lacquered surfaces, other kinds of qualities and know-how are required. Most commonly used for this purpose is an abrasive with an extra layer of stearate that has a cooling/lubricating effect on the workpiece, resulting in smoother grinding surfaces with less clogging and therefore a longer shelf life for the sanding belt.

Ekamant is careful in its choice of raw materials. To produce the highest quality abrasives requires high quality materials. This applies to all components, and the raw materials can generally be divided into three main groups.

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First, the back material normally consists of paper or fabric in different weights or qualities depending on the product being manufactured. The second raw material is the binder, the most common of which are urea or phenolic resins with various additives to achieve the right properties. Lastly, the abrasive grain is the working part of the abrasive material, the most widely used of which are aluminium oxide, silicon carbide and some special alternatives such as zirconia. Aluminium oxide is the most common variety and is available in several versions depending on the purpose.

Experience Ekamant was founded in 1928 and employs around 430 people. Three years ago, Ekamant began to sell abrasive products for metals, car bodywork and for composite materials such as fibreglass. However, abrasives for wood still account for around 90 per cent of

the company’s turnover. “Ekamant’s origins are in wood, and the wood industry is still our bread and butter.” The long experience of the company and of its individual workers is a valuable asset. “We have people working here who have been with us for many years, so there is a lot of internal know-how on the production line. We are very particular, and everything has to be 100 per cent correct.”

Ekamant produces abrasives that are designed to be used by the wood industry in the form of wide and narrow belts or discs.

At its main factory in Småland, the company makes the abrasives in jumbo reels, before sending the reels on to conversion plants placed in the different local markets. This summer, Ekamant has brought out a new segmented, abrasive belt, the EKA 101 YY, designed for use on wood particle board and suitable for sanding chipboard and MDF, for example. “The panel board sanding is a highly demanding operation and the components forming the product have been carefully chosen for their high performance.”

Markets Exporting belts directly from its factory in Småland would be expensive, so Ekamant has subsidiaries in various European countries to do the job of converting the reels.

Småland is also where the retail giant, IKEA, first began, and Ekamant has been supplying IKEA’s furniture subsidiary, Swedwood, for a number of years.

“We are a major supplier to Swedwood/ IKEA. But we sell to small-scale businesses too, such as companies that produce handmade kitchen cabinets.” Globally, Ekamant

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has subsidiaries in Indonesia, China (Beijing as well as Schenzen), Poland, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and South Africa.

Outside these areas we have a distribution network in over 50 countries, many of whom we have been working with for many years. Indonesia is for example a big market for us. Today we are the absolute market leader here.”

Know-how The success of Ekamant around the world is proof that you can make a global impact without the aid of a fancy head office in a 160 Industry Europe

capital city. “Ninety per cent of our sales come from exports,” said Mr Thorsell. “We owe a lot to our strong local distribution networks and to everything they have done to build up the trust of our customers.

Delivering a high level of service is at the heart of all our plans. All our sales people are technical specialists with extensive knowledge of wood processes. They can offer advice on how to run the sanding machines and can make the right adjustments to them.”

Ekamant has developed an innovative product in response to the current European fashion for hardwood floors. CLEARCUT is a high-performance abrasive with an aluminium oxide grain coating. It is designed for sanding floors made of hardwood species like oak, cherry, walnut, beech, birch etc. As parquet floors become increasingly popular throughout Europe, Ekamant has developed the CLEARCUT to meet the increased demand for more sophisticated surface treatments for hardwood flooring.

The company’s focus has been to develop a product with paper backing with good pressure and heat durability when used for tough sanding applications.

Mr Thorsell believes that eastern Europe is a market in which Ekamant could develop further. He has ambitions to enter the Russian market, where the Swedwood brand, amongst others, is already present. However, in his mind what is most vital for Ekamant’s growth prospects over the long term is to preserve its n reputation for high quality and service.

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DSV is a leading European transportation and logistics company that operates globally. Philip Yorke looks at how the company is evolving to meet the challenges of tomorrow and its latest innovative customer services.

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SV was founded in Denmark in 1976 and formed by the amalgamation of ten independent hauliers. Today the company is present in more than 60 countries, with an international network of partners and agents that extends the company’s global reach to over 110 countries worldwide. The company has grown consistently over the years via acquisitions, mergers and organic growth to become one of the world’s largest logistics companies, employing over 21,000 people and with sales in 2010 of more than €5.7 billion. DSV is also listed on the NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen and included in the OMXC20 Index as one of the 20 most actively traded shares.

The corporate headquarters for DSV is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the company has three major divisions: DSV Road division, DSV Air & Sea division and DSV Solutions.

Multi-faceted services DSV is constantly evolving to meet the fast-moving and changing demands of both its mature and emerging markets. The company is pursuing a strategy of expanding its current position among the most profitable transport businesses in the world.

DSV is an integrated company that works across its divisions and offers multiple choices of transport services and logistics solutions.

The company handles the entire supply chain with its in-depth expertise. DSV also offers its customers cost-effective solutions in a complex and ever-changing environment and has the ability to adapt to changing conditions, which sets it apart from its competitors, For example, DSV uses state-of-the-art information technology to handle the entire cargo process and can provide its customers with tailor-made IT solutions designed specifically to suit their individual needs.

Stefan Vrolijk, marketing coordinator for DSV’s Road division in the Netherlands added, “Our on-going commitment to improving customer service has resulted in some new support products, which include an advanced, track and trace system, allowing our customer’s to follow their shipments at any time and in any place, as well as a range of comprehensive e-services, making it easy for our customers to book shipments online. In addition, we now offer DSV cargo insurance so that our customers can fully insure their shipments at DSV, which provides full risk cover, unavailable on alternative CMR insurance. DSV handles all cargo with personal and professional care, but the company is also aware of the risks involved in transportation. Unpredictable events such as road traffic accidents can be insured by our own company, DSV Cargo Insurance.

“Recently DSV has made some major acquisitions, such as that of a major hauler, Frans

Maas, here in the Netherlands, and I hope that DSV will move on to continue to generate greater brand awareness, as well as expanding our market share in the Netherlands.”

European focus With around 10,000 employees located across 34 European countries and over 17,000 trailers on the road every day, the European market remains the springboard for the company’s global strategic ambitions. The diverse range of services available includes both domestic and pan-European distribution, with full or ‘less than full’ truck loads, terminal and storage facilities, internet booking facilities and track & trace facilities.

In addition the company’s web services include online booking, electronic data interchange (EDI), cargo tracking and documentation services (IOC, IOD and POD). Special cargo services include those for hanging garments, temperature-controlled transporIndustry Europe 163

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tation and hazardous cargo shipments, as well as food transport services.

In Europe, DSV Road division represents one of the company’s major business sectors and provides fast, efficient, flexible and environmentally friendly logistics services throughout the continent, as well as to the rest of the world. DSV Road Services specialises in developing solutions to fit customer needs, no matter how special or individual they may be. The company assists both small businesses and large, with dedicated freight forwarding assignments, as well as broader services for major international enterprises who want to outsource their overall logistics responsibility and management to DSV Road. As a full service provider, DSV Road is capable of handling all aspects of logistics, from forwarding to packing, sorting, labelling and stock management and control, as well as individual logistics solutions.

small business, while providing the strength and depth of a global business operator. The company is able to manage the entire logistics process from pick-up, consolidation and shipment to distribution to the final destination. DSV’s third division, Solutions, provides warehousing and inventory management and replenishment, as well as a full range of supply-chain management services.

Emerging potential As you would expect from a global player like DSV, the company has been investing continuously in providing its ‘top-drawer’ services to the world’s emerging markets.

Over the last six years DSV has worked consistently to establish a strong presence in India and has succeeded thanks to its ability to achieve a vital cultural balance with

its local markets and to optimise its organisational performance there.

The same strategic market approach to other ‘local’ markets has paid dividends in Africa and China too, as Jens Bjorn Anderson, DSV’s CEO, explained recently, “We have opened another representative office in South Africa in order to make a determined effort to exploit the brilliant developments in the African continent, which offer enormous potential for an efficient, well-run worldwide transport company. China in particular has become aware of the possibilities in Africa and our Chinese organisation is not slow to exploit the opportunities this provides.

“By engaging a dedicated African expert, DSV China will become a key player for major Chinese projects in Africa and we can already reap the benefits of these developments.” n

Flexible freight-forwarding solutions Another of DSV’s pillar divisions is its DSV Air & Sea division, which offers alternative routings and flexible schedules to meet even the most demanding logistics requirements. This important fast-growing division handles more than 710,000 TEUs of seafreight and over 250,000 tons of airfreight every year. The DSV Air & Sea division has developed the market share and the buying power to offer the most cost-effective and diverse range of freight forwarding solutions available today.

DSV’s local management structure and autonomy, combined with a set of appropriate cultural values and business tools, enables DSV Air & Sea to act with the flexibility of a Industry Europe 165

EXPERTS IN

CHEMICAL LOGISTICS

Leading liquid logistics provider Haanpaa has a solid grip on the Baltic Sea market and a growing presence in bordering countries. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to business unit manager, Jussi Kares, to find out how this opportunity is being maximised.

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alue-added logistics provider Haanpaa specialises in the reliable transportation of chemicals throughout the Baltic Sea region. Established in 1946 when founder Jussi Haanpaa bought his first truck, the company has always been true to its promise of ‘natural growth’, which has resulted in a trusted company that has grown steadily in response to the growing demands of its customers. With a blue-chip client list that includes many of the world’s biggest names in chemical production, Haanpaa’s position has been gained through years of service.

The ‘natural growth’ of Haanpaa reached a milestone in 1976 when its previous transportation focus of timber, dry goods and fuel started to include chemicals, a decision prompted when it acquired a domestic transportation company with activities in this sector. Expansion and strategic acquisition continued, with the 1999 purchase of Sweden’s leading chemical transportation company ADR-Transport AB. Family-owned until 2002 when a lean reorganisation saw it sold to investors, Haanpaa is now the largest chemical logistics provider between Nordic countries and continental Europe.

Impressive results Today, Haanpaa achieves annual sales of around €95 million, with a 20 per cent market share of the Baltic Sea chemical logistics sector, gained through an annual six million tonne transportation roster that utilises its 400 truck and intermodal units.

Business unit manager Jussi Kares told Industry Europe, “Our acquisitions have primarily been buying or taking over competitors and small niche players in the local chemical transportation industry, so we have gained considerable additional expertise and local market knowledge as well as increasing in size. We work with road tankers, tank containers and warehousing services to guarantee that our total logistics solution meets the very exacting demands of the large chemical corporations.”

The value-added logistics services provided by Haanpaa also include consignment stock management, warehouse logistics, forwarding and customs services thanks to its fleet of trucks and intermodal transportation units. All the transport units are designed to meet the strictest international regulations for hazardous and

non-hazardous chemical logistics, as well as liquid chemicals and various gases.

Mr Kares explained how the ever-growing network of Haanpaa’s transportation provision allows the company to serve its customers better. He said, “The marriage of our acquisitions and thoroughly modern fleet of trucks and intermodal units ensures that we meet the needs of our customers, who usually require a full logistics service from one provider. Traditionally, there were a number of small players in Scandinavia each focused on one aspect of the liquid chemical logistics value chain, but the trend is now for the whole service to be delivered from one hand. All our activities – from acquisition to training to investment – are centred on providing that total liquid chemical logistics service for our customers in a reliable, cost-effective and ecologically responsible manner.”

Responsible delivery Ecological sustainability is an important element in Haanpaa’s day-to-day activities, with its commitment to delivering all products in the most environmentally considerate way

possible, a promise that has been in place for more than 10 years. The company’s range of sustainability practices includes driving with maximum loads and minimising empty driving. It has a sophisticated IT system that tracks and manages all orders geographically so that good planning of loading points and space in trucks allows the volumes to be transported in the most effective manner. The intermodal transport units support this, with Haanpaa carefully choosing the best logistics solutions in relation to chemical type, timing of delivery and management of complete loads.

With Haanpaa’s Baltic Sea region its strongest market, the company is working hard to actively develop activities in neighbouring countries. Russia in particular represents an interesting market. Mr Kares explained, “For many years the Russian chemical transportation industry has relied on rail, but this system is slow and rather inflexible. Global companies such as the major chemical producers which are our customers demand speed and quality of logistics now, with small shipments accord168 Industry Europe

ing to the demands of their receivers. Rail cannot provide this, so our expertise in road and intermodal transportation, as well as excellent regional knowledge, is perfectly suited to the growing Russian market. We can make deliveries every day, and we have an extended network of subcontractors as well as our 500 employees to meet the global needs of our customers.”

The future of Haanpaa is different from its recent past in that the company is not actively looking to make additional acquisitions, but rather to concentrate on using its existing network to grow organically within its target areas, particularly Russia.

Furthermore, it intends to further improve its intermodal logistics provision to continue to guarantee that it is offering the best possible solutions for its customers’ chemical transportation needs, including efficiency, reliability, speed and ecological responsibility. Mr Kares concluded, “We want to be the best and most reliable chemical logistics partner in the Baltic Sea area, with increasingly strong results in Scandinavia, the Baltic n countries and western Russia.”

BULLET PROOF Dellner is a world leader in train connection systems. Philip Yorke talked to Mats Hogberg, the company’s global marketing manager, about its futuristic train technology as well as its ambitious plans for growth.

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ellner Couplers is a unique company with a fascinating history and an equally interesting range of high-tech products.

Founded in 1941 by Gunnar Dellner, the company started out as a local bicycle repair shop and shortly after opening its business was asked to repair couplers for a Swedish train company. As Dellner’s reputation for quality and reliability grew, so did its business.

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Throughout the years, the growing rail industry made the company move forward, and as a result the company today focus entirely on advanced train connection systems. Dellner is unique as the only company who can supply all interfaces that holds a train together. With the rapidly growing rail industry and global authorities aim to increase public transportation, the company’s future was secured.

Today Dellner is a truly global company with manufacturing facilities on three continents and a network of sales offices worldwide.

Without exception, all of the world’s largest train manufacturers specify Dellner connection systems and components. The company has more than 500 employees working at its factories, service plants and sales offices. Since its acquisition of the leading British gangway

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manufacturer, Woodville in 2009 it has become the world’s leading system integrator when it comes to the interface between rail cars and train front ends. In addition, Dellner services the majority of existing rail car types worldwide, regardless of their make. Furthermore, as far as the after-sales market is concerned, most large service operators choose the company as their supplier of choice.

Enhancing partnership value Dellner’s enviable reputation is based on a combination of innovative research, advanced design and customer orientation. The company has been responsible for introducing many breakthroughs in the rail industry, including gas hydraulic draft gears, high performance gangways, automatic retractable couplers, advanced energy absorption management

systems and, more recently, high-speed data transmission systems.

Hogberg said, “We focus on what we do best: that is designing and producing advanced train connection systems. We plan to grow our lead in this field and as a result we participate in several preferred partner projects with our customers. Taking this strategy further, we also started a new company called Dellner Technology. This company has been created to focus exclusively on R&D within the Dellner Group of companies and to improve our ability to increase our product range and company offers.

“For example, we are now looking to produce some of our key components using high-strength steel instead of traditional steel castings. At the Innotrans Trade Show in Berlin, September 2010, the conceptual automatic coupler ‘The Avatar’ was presented to the industry. It was developed by Dellner in cooperation with the Swedish steel producer, SSAB. The result is increased safety and a dramatically lower weight for better fuel economy.

A vital role in safety management For many years Dellner has been pioneering energy absorption management systems and today delivers advanced safety solutions to all of the world’s largest train manufacturers. The company’s unique D-BOX energy absorption system helps train operators to manage the minor impacts of everyday operations, but it is also designed to cope with the major impact experienced in a major collision. Hogberg added, “At Dellner we have taken the systems approach to energy absorption management.

This means keeping deceleration to a minimum, something that is not always easy. The D-BOX works throughout the entire train and consists of various components in the coupler centre section and in the front end of the train and between carriages.”

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In a collision, even at slow speeds, the train packs quite a punch. Therefore the interface between carriages is critical, especially when there are more than two involved. D-BOX’s unique design counters twisting and climbing to keep the train on the track and passengers safe. The impact is softened dramatically by the dissipation of huge kinetic forces in a matter of milliseconds, to prevent major deformation of the train’s carriages and wagons.

New horizons

but act locally and we normally start with a service facility taking us closer to our customers. However, we recently got involved in an important strategic venture to provide a complete train front end nose, including many of our products and key components.”

“Furthermore, we are currently opening a new service factory in Torino, Italy and one in Beijing, China. Beginning of 2012 Dellner Brazil will open in Sao Paulo.

Other areas of interest to us can be found anywhere in the world where infrastructure

programmes are being planned – for example in Quatar/Doha, where the government is investing heavily in rail and road infrastructure to meet the demands of the world cup in 2020,” said Mr Hogberg.

Dellner accelerates for the future implementing a strong focus on an even more customer oriented and efficient Dellner Group. Further an optimised production structure with efficient regional sourcing and new innovative solutions will enable Dellner to serve its customers in the n most efficient way.

Dellner Couplers is continuing to invest not only in new technology but also in the global services that it provides. By the end of 2012 the company plans to have wholly owned subsidiaries in 15 different countries. It already offers more types of couplers than anyone else and is the only company to have an integrated system for couplers and gangways. As a result of its clearly focused strategy, its innovative products are now utilised by train manufacturers in most countries throughout the world.

Where there is substantial investment in new infrastructure, Dellner Couplers is able to play a major role, “China is a very important market for us and we will be investing further in our main sites there. Two of these are wholly owned by us and the third is a joint venture with a Chinese manufacturer based in Qingdao. As a company we think globally Industry Europe 173

SUSTAINABLE POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE (PET) INNOVATION DuPont Teijin Films is a global leader in the manufacture of PET and PEN polyester films. Philip Yorke talked to Alan Cook, the European marketing manager, about the latest challenges facing the industry and the innovative solutions it is developing to maintain its lead in a competitive marketplace.

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uPont Teijin Films is a global 50:50 joint venture between DuPont of the USA and the Japanese chemical company Teijin. The company specialises in the development and manufacture of polyester film products and related services for a diverse range of markets and industries.

These include packaging and industrial applications, advanced magnetic media and photo-systems, in addition to products manufactured for the electrical and electronics sectors. The company is a global player employing approximately 3000 people worldwide and reporting sales of €1.1 billion.

Leading DuPont Teijin Films brand names include Mylar®, Melinex® and Teijin®Tetoron® for PET polyester films as well as Teonex® for PEN polyester films. In addition, the global business encompasses existing joint ventures with DuPont Hongi Films Foshan Co. Ltd of China.

Delivering innovation diversity DuPont Teijin Films offers one of the broadest portfolios of polyester films of any supplier in the world as well as an unmatched technology platform. Product and process innovation are the key drivers for the company’s success and by working closely with its customers and industry supply chains in its chosen markets, the company continues to develop groundbreaking films and targeted solutions for its customers. DuPont Teijin Films is constantly extending the threshold of these innovative solutions by inventing and developing new applications for its advanced film products.

Mr Cook said, “We manufacture our film products in Europe, the USA and Asia, offer films of between 0.5 microns to 500 microns thickness and are operational across the entire spectrum of PET film manufacture. Our core business is supplying master rolls of high quality film products to a diverse range

of industries, which between them amount to more than 1200 applications. There are many new industries using our PET products today and we strive to be perceived as the premier supplier of polyester films. Our continuing success is a result of our ongoing commitment to developing innovative products that serve the changing needs of the marketplace. We are making significant investments in the longterm success of our company, both in stateof-the-art equipment and through developing products that provide added-value to end users. We operate two advanced technology centres to support our global business, one here at Wilton in the north-east of England and the other in Japan.”

He added, “We operate in a wide variety of market sectors and it can be surprising to find where polyester films can add value.

The food packaging sector remains an important market for us and is one where

Emerson & Renwick

Campine

The partnership between Emerson & Renwick and DuPont Teijin Films is long established and includes many projects for bespoke coating and converting solutions.

The success of DuPont Teijins innovation is a result of the cooperation and synergy between 2 competent partners.

Campine’s commitment as a leading member of i2a* has successfully tackled all unjust attacks on antimony. This means customers can still enjoy cost-efficient antimony catalysts in PET production without any concern.

Most of these are for 24/7 ‘cleanroom’ environment production lines which demand performance which meets or exceeds the most stringent quality and reliability targets.

Working closely with DuPont project and process specialists E&R’s design team will evaluate the production specifications and then from initial conceptual designs the final solutions are developed.

All this is achieved whilst maintaining stringent project schedules and meeting competitive cost objectives.

Emerson & Renwick greatly value this partnership and congratulate DuPont Teijin Films on their three Queens Awards for Innovation.

Campine’s competence and diversified sourcing of antimony raw materials, make we can guarantee a long term availability of antimony products.

Our capability to translate the customers’ needs into new generation products, makes Campine an essential partner in the industries’ innovation circle. *international antimony association

De Decker - Van Riet For already more than 30 years De Decker - Van Riet has been a reliable partner of Dupont - Teijin Films.

ABB Consulting ABB Consulting has provided Dupont Teijin Films with technical consultancy and engineering services to help improve their performance in the areas of compliance, operations and engineering.

A strong working relationship has been forged between the two international companies. With bases across the UK and worldwide ABB Consulting pride themselves on being responsive to client needs no matter how large or small the problem. They offer bespoke, fit for purpose solutions that meet business demands whilst complying with ever tightening legislation.

ABB’s experienced and knowledgeable engineers, with operational heritage offer pragmatic judgements to provide cost effective solutions to a wide range of companies within the process sectors

De Decker – Van Riet is a ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified and SQAS assessed company.

De Decker - Van Riet delivers essential basic materials to Dupont - Teijin Films in Contern (Luxemburg). Deliveries are made with respect to very high safety and quality standards, using special up-to-date tailor-made trailers.

Drivers are trained in collaboration with Dupont – Teijin Films and are kept at the disposal of Dupont – Teijin Films 24H 7/7.

we have a strong position in the ‘high-end’ specialist packaging segment. In addition, the electrical and electronics industries offer us excellent growth potential for our value-added products − polyester is an excellent insulator for electric motors and is also proving to be one of the substrates of choice for advanced flexible electronics and display applications. We regularly develop new products in close partnership with our key customers to ensure that they fully meet their specific requirements.

“Our goal is to provide added value for our clients and we have achieved a lot of success in developing films with complex structures to meet the latest industry demands for greater strength, longer lifetimes and lighter weight products.”

Award winning formula During the last nine years DuPont Teijin Films in the UK has been honoured with three ‘Queen’s Awards for Enterprise’, all in the area of ‘Outstanding Innovation’. The latest Award, in 2011, was for the company’s development of an innovative range of high-performance Melinex® polyester films for use in environmentally friendly solar photovoltaic modules. Photovoltaic cells are assembled into modules, which normally have a protective backsheet

to seal them from the elements and allow long service life. Standard polyester films are a key component of backsheets due to their stability and electrical insulation properties, but for use in the exposed outer layer additional environmental resistance is required as the modules need to last for at least 25 years. DuPont Teijin Films has developed a new range of highly innovative films which meet these demanding requirements with respect to moisture stability, resistance to ultraviolet light and other properties to tailor them precisely to the application. They also offer the possibility of lower costs and, crucially, the ability to meet increasing demand.

In future, advanced products from DuPont Teijin Films including heat stabilised Melinex® PET and Teonex® PEN film grades will also play an important role in the manufacture of tomorrow’s flexible solar cells as their increased dimensional stability enables them to be processed at high temperatures.

In the healthcare industry the demand for advanced PET products also continues to grow, with material requirements becoming ever more demanding and the list of applications becoming increasingly diverse. However, this growing market is also a challenging one due to the increasingly complex regulatory frameworks that

apply to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. DuPont Teijin Films has the experience and the systems capability to meet these complex needs and it contributes to the improvement of the healthcare of people all over the world. Applications in this area include use as the substrate for medical test strips, particularly for the home testing of blood glucose levels in diabetes care, ensuring clarity in medical labelling and safeguarding long life for the important information carried on health cards.

Mr Cook said, “Healthcare is an increasingly important market for us and our commitment to innovation makes us well placed to serve it. We are also leading the field when it comes to environmental responsibility and we have developed our processes so that our manufacturing waste is virtually 100 per cent recyclable. In addition, we have pioneered the use of kerbside-collected polyester waste and have a range of products that replaces virgin polymer with this post-consumer waste. Overall the company culture of DuPont Teijin Films is bound by the core values of DuPont; safety and health, quality, respect for people and ethical behaviour. Adding outstanding innovation to this culture will ensure a successful future both for n our business and for our customers.”

ALL IN THE MIX As a leading mechanical engineering and service company for the tyre and technical rubber goods industry, Harburg-Freudenberger Maschinenbau GmbH is working hard to expand its network and enlarge its product portfolio. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to sales director of the HF Mixing Group, Dr Harald Keuter to find out more.

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arburg-Freudenberger Maschinenbau GmbH has been delivering engineering solutions since it was founded in Hamburg, Germany, in 1855. Having grown to provide products and services to the global tyre, technical rubber goods, oil seed processing and food industries, today the company has representatives worldwide in order to service its global client base which includes all of the world’s major automotive tyre manufacturers.

Harburg-Freudenberger is one of ten divisions of the German-owned L. Possehl & Co. mbH and it has two main business locations in Germany namely Hamburg-Harburg and Freudenberg. In Harburg, the business units 180 Industry Europe

extrusion technology, tyre building machines and curing presses mainly serve the tyre industry. These business units are known as the HF TireTech Group. Dr Harald Keuter, being located in Freudenberg, is responsible for the HF Mixing Group’s sales activities.

Bigger and better Dr Keuter explained more about HarburgFreudenberger’s activities in Freudenberg, and its commercial advantage. He said, “Since the company bought two of our competitors, the mixing capabilities at Harburg-Freudenberger have grown considerably. We bought one competitor with locations in the USA and the

UK (Farrel) and one from Italy (Pomini Rubber & Plastics), which has broadened both our geographical reach and our product portfolio.”

Under the umbrella of the HF Mixing Group, Dr Keuter is focused on providing industrial-scale equipment for rubber mixing, which is predominantly internal mixers, single screw and twin screw dump extruders, mixing room control systems and auxiliary equipment such as strip cutting machines or bale cutters. “The demand for complete engineering and turn-key solutions is increasing,” Dr Keuter said, and thats why the importance of control systems and reliable partnerships with other mixing room suppliers is grow-

ing. “Similar to a car computer, the machine should tell the operator when certain parts are worn out and have to be replaced.” The main customers for these activities are in the tyre industry, with Michelin, Goodyear, Continental and Pirelli all long-term HF Mixing Group customers.

Another important part of the HF Mixing Group’s business is its technical rubber goods industry provision. Dr Keuter said, “This unit can make rubber into anything and everything!

We are particularly well established in the automotive market, of course, with sealing systems for cars a big volume market for us.

Our machines also create compounds for a vast number of special products, both for the automotive industry, such as special seals and brake pads, and the building and appliances industries, such as the rubber seals for washing machines, with simple and more complex products available.”

The core products at HF Mixing Group are the mixers and dump extruders themselves, with the control systems. The mixers are available in all manner of different sizes, from 0.3 litres to 1000 litres mixing capacity, in line with the trend in the automotive industry for ever larger machines that satisfy its high volume requirements. So while the tyre industry demands machines from around 270 litres to 1000 litres, clients in the technical industries require smaller machines, as their products tend to be more specialised and are needed in smaller production quantities.

Meeting customers’ needs Dr Keuter added, “There is a massive cost focus in the automotive industry, particularly following the challenges of the global economic crisis, and it needs big production runs to maintain its cost targets. In the technical rubber industries, there are more recipes to handle smaller runs, the tooling is changed more often and there are different quality demands. We can meet these different demands handsomely at HF Mixing Group as we offer both standard and tailor-made products.” In this complex environment the importance of control systems is even higher to raise cost-saving potential.

This flexible product portfolio is a cornerstone to HF Mixing Group’s success. With two main types of mixer that can be sold as standard, or modified to suit the exact needs of the client, the tangential mixers and intermeshing mixers are both well-respected across the industries in which the company operates. It can also upgrade installed mixers, for example with a wide variety of rotors available depending on the application decisions of the client.

Continuous investment in maintaining and upgrading HF Mixing Group’s production facilities highlights the company’s production and quality orientated philosophy. It is keen to protect its high-tech image in the market and so must ensure that it has the latest machinery and equipment, as well as a well-trained workforce to operate it on a day-to-day basis. The company has recently invested in three new milling centres

and has also added a range of additional quality assurance support, such as a laser scanner to scan the rotors and measure the exact volume. Increased automation is also a focus of HF Mixing Group, as long as it is carefully utilised alongside the technically advanced engineering specialists. As such, the company has invested in some new welding robots, which are initially being used

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to create the hard-coated materials which can be abrasive and corrosive.

Geographically speaking, HF Mixing Group is also investing in its global footprint, with its traditional heartland of Europe being increasingly joined by Asia, North and South America and the former Soviet countries. Aided by the recent acquisitions and the potential for more, HF Mixing Group works with carefully selected agents to help grow in local markets using local contacts.

Dr Keuter explained that HF Mixing Group’s future aims lie with this global expansion, while

ensuring that its product portfolio remains reliable, flexible and customer-focused. He concluded, “Our business is stable. We will keep that and grow by capitalising on the worldwide opportunities we see, particularly in the BRIC countries and Japan. We also intend to concentrate our product innovation on new markets where our rubber technology experience will also be appreciated, such as thermoplastic elastomers, wood plastic composites and natural fibres. Our ability to mix fibres or other materials difficult to process, is n a very transferable skill.”

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HITTING BACK WITH 3D DETERMINATION Finnish heavy machine building services provider Hollming Works has responded proactively to competition from low-cost countries – through careful planning, investment in 3D modelling and a constant efficiency drive. Felicity Landon reports.

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ajor players in the offshore and shipbuilding, power production, mining, and pulp and paper industries turn to Hollming Works for its long experience in providing heavy machine building services.

From four workshops in Finland – at Pori, Kankaanpää, Loviisa and Parkano – Hollming supplies customers with series production of critical components and equipment, and also manufactures equipment for specific projects in, for example, the offshore oil

and gas sector. Remember the geological survey vessel in the opening scenes of the film Titanic? It was equipped with some major pieces of kit supplied by Hollming.

Part of the Rauma-based Hollming Group, whose history goes back to 1945, Hollming Works employs 700 people and has its head office in Pori.

At present, offshore and subsea contracts are dominating its output, and it is also increasingly involved in wind energy

and nuclear power units. The Hollming name comes with a strong reputation and tradition but at the same time the company is having to face up to tough competition from low-cost countries, says marketing and sales director Tapani Mannonen.

“We have made some significant changes in our manufacturing lines to make them even more efficient,” he says. “We must be able to demonstrate our ability clearly to our customers; they have really demanding con-

structions to make and are all the time going to deeper waters. Our long experience in the oil and gas sector is really important.”

Modelling technology Two years ago Hollming Works modernised all of its manufacturing halls and equipment and invested in the latest 3D modelling technology.

This enables the company to create a 3D model of how the the equipment is to be built, and it has been really well received by customers says Mr Mannonen. “We are able to examine things in detail before we start to manufacture,” he says. “So there

will not be any stoppages or surprises in manufacturing, because we have studies every aspect beforehand.”

Sometimes a piece of equipment can be difficult to manufacture in the way that the customer had envisaged. “With this 3D capability we have the opportunity to discuss with our customers’ designers and senior people how we might produce the piece in a much better way – and this also helps our customers to improve the construction,” he says. “Often we can discover a better solution that can also save money for the customer.”

Hollming has put millions of euros into its facilities over the years – obviously important, says Mr Mannonen, but this also has to be balanced with the understanding that the cost of such investments have to be passed on somehow.

“Cost levels are really important and if we put too much to investment then we have to put up our product price,” he points out.

Hollming Works has a long track record of supplying customers in the offshore, subsea and marine markets. It provides winches, demanding steel structures and components for oil drilling and exploration rigs, linkspan

systems, thrusters and thrusters components, and rudders. It supplies components for the propulsion equipment, electric motor and diesel engine manufacturers. Its strength in the manufacture of steel components for the offshore and shipbuilding industry includes the capacity to handle heavy pieces. It also has state-of-the-art facilities for surface treatment, and is specialised in mechanized welding, CNC machining and cold forming.

“Because we are facing really tough competition from low-cost countries, we are constantly trying to find solutions for manufacturing items more cost-effectively,” says Mr Mannonen. “The 3D modelling is essential. And all our workers are trying to find new solutions and putting their minds to ways of being even more effective. Of course we are not able to compete with these low-cost countries at all on salary

levels – that is impossible. So we have to find solutions with our manufacturing and operations.”

Waiting for the upturn Hollming Works had a reasonably good year in 2009, but experienced a tougher year in 2010 as the knock-on effect of the economic downturn filtered down. In 2011 there are continued pressures on price, says Mr Man-

nonen – and with steel prices climbing once again, that is a real challenge.

Further ahead, he forecasts a huge increase in demand for subsea projects as the oil and gas industry goes into ever deeper waters.

“That boom is coming – but it isn’t coming this year,” he says. “We can see that the market has awakened because there are so many requests. But when will customers make the decision? Everybody is waiting for that.”

Each of Hollming Works’ four workshops has its own specialist operations. Pori specialises in machinery and equipment for the wood processing and other process industries, as well as for the offshore, shipbuilding and energy production industries. Its expertise includes creating demanding structures

and working with special materials such as titanium, aluminium, nickel-chrome steel and stainless and acid-proof steel.

Kankaanpää offers heavy sheet metal and welding work, demanding cold forming, stabilising annealing, machining, assembly and surface treatment. It supplies large, welded and machined steel structures, complete equipment systems and machine parts.

Loviisa specialises in large and mediumsize machine assembly and demanding sheet metal and welding structures. It produces wind power machine units and generators, and provides winches and cranes from 10 to 1000 tons for the offshore industry.

Parkano’s expertise is in short-run production of medium weight and heavy com-

ponents for industrial customers, including the mining industry.

All of the units have a very high commitment to environmental protection, says Mr Mannonen. “Here in Scandinavia the environment is really important to us – it is at a totally different level to other countries,” he says. “To be a qualified manufacturer, we must take care of environmental issues. We see quality as a whole package – perfect materials, perfect manufacturing tools, good workers and everybody taking care of his part in quality and environmental commitments. This isn’t something written on paper – it is something n that we are really doing.” www.hollmingworks.com

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INNOVATION IN

FIRE DETECTION Long-established fire detection and alarm specialist, Gent, continues to grow as part of the global Honeywell portfolio.

Emma-Jane Batey spoke to the sales director of Honeywell Life Safety Systems UK and Ireland, John Lewis, to find out how this is being achieved.

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he Gent reputation has been built on more than 140 years of quality and innovation in the field of fire detection and alarm systems. Founded by John Thomas Gent in Leicester, UK, in 1872, the company was acquired by technology giant Honeywell in 2005, when it bought the Novar Group of which Gent was an integral part. The company, now known as Gent by Honeywell, sits in the Life Safety Division of Honeywell’s international business.

Positive profile Sales director, John Lewis, explained to Industry Europe how Gent’s acquisition by Honeywell helped to further boost its profile.

John Lewis has worked for Gent for over ten years, so has seen firsthand the positive impact the changes have had on the company. “Honeywell is a focused company with a clear long-term strategic plan, and Gent is positively influenced by the Honeywell family.”

Gent’s dedication to developing and manufacturing fire and smoke detection products, and its reputation for technically sophisticated solutions has continued throughout the company’s long history. Its products remain at the forefront of the industry, with a core range centred around its renowned S-Quad multi-sensing devices.

The innovative S-Quad was launched in early 2005 and Lewis explained the unique design behind the ground-breaking device

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ensures that it remains firmly at the top of Gent’s best selling products list. The S-Quad is synonymous with Gent’s philosophy of providing products and solutions that ensure that customers have superior value offerings with specifiable technology. The detector range covers optical, heat, CO2, as well as sounder, strobe and speech in a single unit that sits on the fire detection loop. It’s ideal for areas where there is a high risk of false alarms as the system has the ability to filter unwanted alarms. Another of Gent’s products, the Vigilon panel, has a sophisticated set of patterns and rules that work in conjunction with the unique S-Quad range of sensitivity that allows the system to discriminate between a real fire alarm and an unwanted false alarm situation.

Dedicated to innovation While the S-Quad and Vigilon are still industry-leading products, Gent is continually looking for the next industry-defining solution and its commitment to innovation remains at the forefront of the company’s strategy. Mr. Lewis continued, “Honeywell invests heavily in R&D and Gent has certainly been able to benefit from this. We have a strong team of innovative development engineers who are committed to taking the challenges faced by our end users and creating fresh new products that adhere to the industry’s very

strict quality and performance standards. We are currently working on developing the next generation portfolio where we see a future network of smart system devices that integrate seamlessly into the types of buildings where our solutions are used.”

Gent by Honeywell’s products are ideal for a wide range of buildings from those which provide accommodation right through to larger commercial buildings such as shopping centres. The vast majority of Gent’s products are currently installed in hospitals, prisons, hotels, care homes and student accommodation as well as specially tailored solutions for airports. The Gent range of products are available to customers through a network of approved system integrators which have been carefully selected and trained in every aspect of the Gent by Honeywell systems.

Gent’s largest sales region is the UK and Ireland, accounting for more than two-thirds of the company’s global sales. The company is strengthening its market presence in regions such as South East Asia, Brazil and India, and has already seen considerable opportunities.

Gent also plans to continue to maximise its potential by working with local resellers known as Gent international partners.

Geographical growth will be supported by the considerable investment in innovation and technology from Gent, which will lead to some exciting additions to its product portfolio in the coming months. The company

was set to launch the new wireless system, Plexus, in September 2011. The ‘quick to install’ radio-based system will be an ideal solution for buildings that require a reliable fire and smoke detection provision which will not damage the building fabric in locations such as heritage, listed and temporary sites.

A new integrated voice alarm system with loudspeakers will also be released. The voice alarm systems provide clear direction to people in a building. So, crowds are more likely to evacuate a building if a human voice is heard rather than an alarm. Mr. Lewis concluded, “We’re inventing the future, creating voice, video and fire solutions that not only suit the needs of our customers, but meet with the stringent safety standards essential n in our industry.”

John Lewis, sales director

THE MEASUREMENT

OF SUCCESS

Weighing and measuring machinery and control systems expert, Lahti Precision, has a technical know-how that reaches back more than 100 years. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to their vice-president of glass technology, Jarmo Nappi, to learn how this extensive knowledge is being utilised.

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ounded in Lahti, Finland in, 1914, weighing and measuring machinery and control systems company, Lahti Precision, is still located in the same town, where it is an important local employer with a reputation for loyalty and professionalism. These qualities are passed on to its customers too, with the Lahti Precision brand synonymous with performance and reliability.

Jarmo Nappi appreciates that this brand awareness and solid reputation is worth upholding. He told Industry Europe, “A good reputation has to be valued and protected, and we are proud to do both. Our core competency is our impressive understanding of developing and manufacturing weighing and

measuring machinery and equipment; our core products are our machinery and control systems for dosing and weighing applications for bulk materials. We also offer electrical products that relate to scales in order to ensure that we can provide a complete service to our customers and meet all their weighing, dosing and mixing requirements.”

Long history, modern approach With around 170 employees, Lahti Precision has a tight-knit team of professionals that enables the company to maintain its marketleading position in Finland, with a strong hold across Europe. The company’s geographical expansion plans are focused on Arabic

countries in the near East and Middle East, with both Russia and South America also representing interesting growth potential.

With nearly a century in business, Lahti has achieved its strong reputation through a continuous reliable service and a developmentdriven product portfolio that is both proactive and reactive to the needs of its local, national and international customers. A resolutely global company, Lahti Precision is committed to following its customers wherever they go in the world, providing a seamless service that meets the globally continuous requirements of multinational machinery companies and glass production companies, both of which represent major growth markets.

The company’s customer-focused provision is centred around the process industry, with all of its systems, plants and machines designed to offer the best possible accuracy, with ease of maintenance a practical benefit.

As the biggest-scale company in both its domestic and Scandinavian markets, Lahti Precision is a well-respected brand for all bulk material weighing applications. Mr Nappi continued, “We provide weighing, mixing and dosing systems and equipment for sectors such as food, steel, chemical, plastics and steel.

Lahti Precision is active in three main markets, with each market seeing its own potential for growth in the coming years. Our main market is the glass industry, with our weighing, dosing and mixing systems particularly appreciated for demanding applications. A typical customer in this market would be Sisecam Group, the Turkish glass producer for whom Lahti Precision has worked over many years on a number of significant projects across their different European plants. For the raw materials market, we can provide complete dosing, weighing and mixing plants, and within the dry mix sector we offer complete plaster and mortar facilities.”

Introducing innovative products Lahti Precision is committed to new product development in order to continually add value to its customers, with the extensive knowledge of its teams neatly complemented by the forward-thinking vision of the R&D teams. One such development is its fluid bed dryer for bulk material which is already gaining fans in the dry mix sector, particularly as it is both high-performance and energy-efficient. Lahti Precision’s new weighing electronics device is also an important addition to its portfolio, with plans to introduce the product at industryrelated exhibitions in late 2011.

As one of the world’s leading suppliers of glass batch plants and mortar plants, as well as being the market leader in the weighing business in Finland, Lahti Precision is a technology-based company. Its weighing and dosing systems and plants are renowned for their accuracy, ease of maintenance and the support offered to the process industry across a range of sectors. Mr Nappi is dedicated to continuing in this positive vein for the next long chapter in the company’s history, with the

specific aim to achieve market-leading status in the dry mix sector across Europe as well as being one of the top three suppliers to the glass industry.

Ready for growth He concluded, “We will also continue to be the primary supplier of accurate weighing and dosing machinery and equipment to the steel industry, with a growing presence in Arabic countries, Russia and North America sitting closely alongside our already-successful achievements throughout Europe. We will keep following our customers wherever they need weighing and dosing equipment, and providing high-quality, performance-driven scales in the precise locations they are required. With accurate, reliable weighing and dosing machinery able to save wastage, reduce transportation costs and improve process efficiency, we know that Lahti Precision is a valuable partner for customers across sectors such as glass, steel and dry mix wherever they are in the world, so we are confident that our second century in business will be even n more successful than the first.”

DESIGN & INNOVATION TAPPED Ostnor is a leading European supplier of quality sanitary fittings. Since the company was created through the merger of two of Sweden’s most successful manufacturers, Ostnor has moved into new healthcare business segments and expanded into new export markets. Philip Yorke reports.

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he foundations of the Ostnor Group were laid in the late 18th century when farmers in the harsh Mora region of Sweden were forced to find an alternative means of supporting themselves. Initially, in order to supplement their income from farming the villagers turned their hands to clockmaking. Through this craft, the villagers gained knowledge and experience of working with brass which ultimately led to the manufacture of sanitary fittings that the company is so well-known for today. The two brands that merged to form Ostnor AB were FM Mattsson and Mora Armatur. The company’s joint production facility in Ostnor, Sweden, is home to northern Europe’s largest and most modern brass foundry.

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Today the Ostnor Group employs more than 500 people and is one of Europe’s leading sanitary fittings manufacturers. The company exports its products primarily to Europe as well as a number of other countries worldwide and in 2010 it recorded sales of approximately SEK 1000m.

Design and innovation driving sales Ostnor’s long and well-documented heritage has meant that for many years it has enjoyed a reputation for quality and stylish Swedish design. The company’s business concept is to supply the market with a high-quality range of taps, accessories and services that are clearly focused on its customer’s needs and the changing trends in the consumer marketplace. In addition, Ostnor continues to invest in the latest technology to enhance its product’s quality and durability. The company employs its own in-house design team and R&D department and was the first to introduce such innovations as ceramic seals, non-freeze garden taps, soft closing single lever mixers and

thermostatic mixing valves. It is said that more than 100 years of unique patented solutions are behind every Ostnor product.

Another recent innovation has been the introduction of a new range of mixers in the Morsa MMX Care product line. This unique range of products was developed by Ostnor to meet the growing demand from the older generation who are suffering from rheumatism and related conditions. The new Mora MMIX range has been tested and approved by the Swedish rheumatism association and offers outstanding functionality and ease of operation.

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Poto Sanitary Ware Company Ltd was established in 1992. With more than 20 years of manufacturing experience in all kinds of brass sanitary wares, and other precise accessories.

Our product quality has become one of the best in the industry, and is highly recognised by our customers in the U.S and Europe. Being an OEM/ ODM vendor, we respect product intellectual property, and we strive to provide an excellent level of service possible.

www.poto-china.com No. 11, Puling Road, Dayan Industrial Area, Huangpu Town, Zhongshan City, G.D. Province, China. Zip Code: 528429.

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To maintain its leading-edge market position, Ostnor has invested in an advanced water laboratory as well as a sound laboratory in order to test, verify and optimise its latest products. In addition, to improve and upgrade its products, the company uses advanced design development tools such as CFD and CAD computer-aided software.

Environmental care is also a priority at Ostnor and its commitment is based on FM Mattisson’s Ecosafe environmental programme and Mora Armatur’s ESS (energy saving system). The company’s

on going environmental programme is designed to minimise its products’ overall environmental impact and spans the entire production chain. This ranges from energy and water-saving technology in its mixer production facility, to transportation and energy consumption in the factory.

Furthermore, by installing Ostnor environmentally friendly taps, it is possible to reduce energy consumption by up to 30 per cent. To further underscore this dedication to the environment, Ostnor won the coveted ‘Stora Energipriset’ award for n environmental care in 1999.

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THE CHEMICAL SOLUTION Well-established Swedish company Perstorp is one the world’s leading suppliers of chemical products.

With plans for strategic expansion in high-growth areas, Perstorp’s second century looks likely to be just as successful as the first. Following an interview with head of business group and deputy CEO, Mats Persson, Emma-Jane Batey reports for Industry Europe.

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stablished in 1881 in the southern Swedish village from which it takes its name, specialist chemical supplier Perstorp has grown to become a USD2.5bn company with more than 2200 employees. Privately held until 2001, Perstorp is currently owned by one of Europe’s largest private equity companies, PAI Partners. Perstorp has manufacturing units in 11 countries worldwide, particularly present in Asia, Europe and North America, with its very active plans for continued expansion focusing on the increasingly important Chinese market.

As one of the world’s leading suppliers of chemical products for a wide range of industries and applications, Perstorp is especially active in the field of coatings. With its ‘130 years of winning formulas’ a well-known marketing slogan in the global chemicals market, Perstorp is justifiably proud of the competitive advantage its lengthy history offers. Head of business group Speciality Intermediates and deputy CEO, Mats Persson, explained, “We are in a leading position wherever in the world

we are active, which we have achieved by focusing on the local market in each territory and responding to the precise needs of each market. So although we are not the biggest chemical company globally, we lead wherever we are, in the first, second or third market position in every region we’re in. As we steadily and strategically increase our global presence, we are more and more aware of the advantage of our 130-year history, not just in terms of marketing but because it means that we have come across so many situations throughout our history that we are always able to find a suitable solution.”

Plenty of advantages This focus on delivering solutions to the chemical production industry also helps set Perstorp apart from the competition. The company works to produce special building blocks for the chemical industry by working closely with its customers as a solutions provider and development partner. With around 80 per cent of its research and development

linked to chemical solutions that are environmentally friendly and sustainable, Mr Persson’s assertion that much of its activity is driven by a passion for sustainability, both within Perstorp and by its customers, is certainly backed up.

Perstorp’s product portfolio is broad but can be divided into four core platforms, with each working with the other as needed to deliver complete solutions. The first platform is Perstorp’s polyalcohol activities, in which it is the global leader. This important area includes the company’s core industry sector of coatings, with its main customers using its chemicals for various technical solutions.

The second Perstorp platform is its caprolactones activities, with the company holding the leading position in each territory in which it is active. Perstorp is in the final stage of building a new unit alongside its existing unit which will double its caprolactones production. Mr Persson added, “We see a great future in caprolactones and we are investing a great deal in this new facility. It’s a great chemical that has a vast range of applications, from

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Logix Forwarding Nederland BV., home based at Rotterdam, operate since 1978 as International freight forwarder within the shipping industry and render their services to a wide range of clients all over the world to and from worldwide destinations. Through their agents network worldwide Logix is able to offer and facilitate all multimodal disciplines.

Apart from the international forwarding Logix also operates as “Tank operator” offering bulk services to the chemical industry (both traders and producers) under SQAS assessment of the CEFIC (The European Chemical Industry Council).

Logix is a medium sized company adhering to a personal approach towards their clients always being on top of any problem that may occur satisfying the needs and protecting the interests of their clients.

Thanks to his approach Logix enjoy long term relationships with their clients, among which the Perstorp organisation is one of them.

Since aprrox. 1994 Logix coordinate trucking- and loading schedules irrespective the location and perform documentation services from their Rotterdam office. The daily personal contact is smooth and to mutual satisfaction as per statement of Director Intl. Forwarding, Mr P. van Pelt.

www.logix.nl

Logix Forwarding Nederland BV Van Weerden Poelmanweg 27 - 3088 EA Rotterdam - The Netherlands T +31 (0)10 - 429 91 22 - F +31 (0)10 - 428 28 24 - E info@logix.nl

various adhesives to strengthening the soles of high-heeled shoes. It’s so versatile.”

The third platform in which Perstorp is active is its ‘oxo business’ where it also enjoys a strong presence. The ‘oxo business’ is connected to key raw material suppliers within Sweden’s petrochemical industry, and the company is predicting this to be an important growth market in the coming years.

The fourth and final platform is Perstorp’s

isocyanate range of plastic polymers, which includes its Tolonate and Scuranate brands.

The company operates this provision mainly from its location in France, where it is also the global leader in this field.

Meeting the global demand The increasingly global reach of Perstorp is perfectly in tune with the general megatrend of customers wanting global suppliers. Mr

Persson said, “Each of our four platforms listens closely to the changing needs of our customers, and we all communicate closely to ensure that we benefit from feedback and expertise. We are finding that as many of our customers are increasingly active worldwide, so too do they want to deal with global suppliers, suppliers that understand how their business is both the same and yet different in different countries. We excel

in this field, and are a committed solutions provider to customers worldwide.”

With 50 per cent of Perstorp’s current business activity focused on the coatings industry and extensive investment in R&D, the company’s future is clearly well-positioned to respond to the most modern of megatrends.

It has recently launched a nearly 100 per cent green pentaerythritol product, VoxtarTM, which has a carbon footprint that is 70 per cent less than comparable products.

The company also aims to expand its activities in China with the long-term aim to give strong attention to the exciting opportunities across Asia. The high-growth region has an increasing demand for chemical products, and Perstorp is working to deliver sustainable solutions. It is also open to considering suitable acquisitions to continue its expansion in the region.

Perstorp will continue to be driven by the increasingly strict regulations for reducing environmental impact for coating systems in particular, and is looking forward to meeting the challenges of this fast-growing, n dynamic sector.

BUILDING ON THE TRADITION OF SWISS DAIRY PRODUCTS The Elsa-Mifroma Group, the dairy products arm of Switzerland’s largest employer, is preparing to bring its extensive range of high-quality, sustainably produced milk, cheese and yoghurts to a wider geographical market. Following an interview with CEO Matthew Robin, Emma-Jane Batey reports for Industry Europe.

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part of one of the seven business segments that make up Migros Industry, one of Switzerland’s largest enterprises and the country’s biggest employer, the Elsa-Mifroma Group represents the milk products segment.

Based in the west of Switzerland, the ElsaMifroma Group benefits from the unique structure of its parent company, Migros, which has been run as a cooperative since it was founded in 1925. Sustainable development throughout the following 85 years has played an important role in establishing and maintaining the market-leading positions held across the group, as the Elsa-Mifroma Group CEO, Matthew Robin, explained. He said, “We are a proud Swiss company with a long-term focus on durable production.

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That means sustainability in everything we do, not just now because it is fashionable but because it is the right thing to do for our country, our employees and our products.”

Commitment to sustainability The dedication to durable production underpins every aspect of the Elsa-Mifroma Group.

The Migros philosophy and not being a publically listed company enables the Elsa-Mifroma Group to focus on what it believes makes for a more sustainable, socially responsible business, while still making adequate profits that can be reinvested to further develop the business. Mr Robin added, “It’s ironic that by not focusing only on profit maximisation, we actually end up making good profits. But that is the beauty of running a large-scale

business, or indeed any business, in a socially conscious, ethically managed way – it is rewarding in so many ways. Our philosophy has always been to provide good quality, high standard products at a reasonable price in a responsible manner, and by doing so we have created a very successful industrial group.”

The range of dairy products offered by the Elsa-Mifroma Group includes milk and cream, yoghurts, desserts and fresh cheese, and the company also makes soya products, salad dressings, sauces and mayonnaise. With more than 300 cheeses in its portfolio, the Elsa-Mifroma Group is a principal provider of cheese to the Swiss market, with a growing presence in the neighbouring countries.

Upholding the Swiss tradition of producing delicious dairy products using high-quality milk

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from well-looked-after cattle, the company is proud to offer both traditional products such as block cheese and plain yoghurts as well as trend-led products including organic yoghurts and convenience packs.

Product development at Elsa-Mifroma is led by the extensive trend research the company has access to as part of Migros, and also its own dairy-specific research. Mr Robin said, “As the Swiss franc is performing strongly we have to make sure now more than ever that

our products are cost competitive as well as delicious. We are continually looking to the market trends, both mega trends and local trends, to ensure that our current product lines and new products are welcomed by our customers, and that they fit in with our ‘durable production’ philosophy. We work closely with Migros as it has, through its supermarket operations, direct input from the retail market on a day-to-day basis; this gives us exceptionally quick access to valuable data. We also

subscribe to trend analysis information. It’s a holistic approach to giving customers what they want, which is what the company and the overall group is all about.”

Popular and delicious Elsa-Mifroma’s export tradition is built on its cheese competences, especially in selecting and maturing Swiss Gruyère cheese in its extraordinary natural caves in the alpine foothills of the region of Fribourg in Switzer-

land and it exports a wide variety of Swiss cheese sorts to France, Germany, the USA and other countries. In the milk products area, Elsa-Mifroma’s best-selling product range in the export market is its Swiss Delice brand, which is focused on high-quality yoghurts, desserts and milk drinks. The yoghurts are based on high-end products in Switzerland and are especially popular in Germany and France: they have a pureed fruit layer below a layer of natural cream yoghurt, and are often consumed as a premium dessert. A popular ready-to-drink coffee product called ‘Grande Caffè’ is also available in these markets and complements the Swiss Delice brand.

The convenience market also represents an important growth area for the Elsa-Mifroma Group, with ‘on the go’ products becoming increasingly popular across Europe. One such product that will soon be launched is the Mix Me dessert, which is a portion of creme dessert with a separate mix of chocolate balls or other complementary solid product, and it comes with its own coloured funny spoon in the lid for easy consumption.

Mr Robin added, “Convenience ranges are expanding within retail businesses and we are keen to have our products visible, giving

customers what they want, when they want it. This principle is also reflected in our lighter, low-fat and organic ranges – customers want this choice now, without compromising on flavour. Our Léger brand has a number of healthy eating products to offer a welcome alternative to the ‘weight loss’ focus of other light or low-fat products – we focus on being healthy rather than losing weight, which fits

in well with the psyche of many Swiss and European customers.”

As Elsa-Mifroma looks forward to 2012 and beyond, it is planning to expand its market reach outside its Swiss heartland, with the aim to deliver milk and dairy products to more neighbouring countries and cheese products worldwide. Continuing the durable production n commitment goes without saying.

SIG Combibloc With combibloc EcoPlus, SIG Combibloc has developed an aseptic carton pack for liquid food that reduces CO2 by about 28 % compared to a conventional 1-litre SIG Combibloc carton of the same format, thanks to a special new cardboard composite. In the combibloc EcoPlus carton pack, the content of pulp obtained from wood, a renewable resource, is more than 80 %. The reduction in CO2 generation has been confirmed by an independent, critically audited life-cycle assessment conducted by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IFEU) based in Heidelberg, Germany. SIG Combibloc commissioned this institute to analyse and evaluate the environmental impacts of combibloc EcoPlus when compared to a conventional SIG Combibloc carton pack of the same format, in accordance with internationally binding ISO standards.

HEAVYWEIGHT AND

EXPANDING ITS REACH

Turkish company Hidromek is exporting its backhoe loaders and excavators to more than 50 countries on five continents. Felicity Landon reports on its ambitious expansion plans.

T

oday, Hidromek serves more than 50 countries, but its medium-term target is to reach 70 countries worldwide, as well as increasing its market share in the countries where it is already established. As part of this expansion plan, the Turkish manufacturer of backhoe loaders and hydraulic excavators is looking to increase its dealer network and its network of sales and after-sales offices.

These may seem obvious steps to take, but backing up this geographical expansion, Hidromek plans to increase its product portfolio, and in this way increase sales per customer and increase their loyalty to the Hidromek brand.

“Therefore we are investing in our brand,” says marketing director Levent Karaağaç.

“That is why we have joined the Turquality programme.” Turquality is a Turkish government incentive programme which was set up by the foreign trade department, he explains:

“Turquality has been described as an innovative, unique model for making global brands out of Turkish products – with the slogan ‘ten world brands from Turkey in ten years’.

Hidromek is the only company from the construction machinery sector in Turkey that has joined this programme.”

Continuous growth Hidromek was established in 1978 as a small workshop for making hydraulic cylinders and backhoe loader attachments for farm tractors. It has seen continuous growth ever since and today it produces two core models of backhoe loaders – the HMK 102B, a rigid chassis machine with 4x4 drive, turbo diesel engine and full power-shift transmission, and the HMK 102S, a 4x4x4 machine with the same engine and transmission, providing four-wheel steering. Both machines can be equipped with many different attachments

such as hydraulic breakers, clamshell buckets, grading blades, augers, etc, making them multipurpose machines able to meet different needs.

Another important development in the product range is the new Mini-HMK62SS backhoe loader, a miniature version of the 102B and 102S, but with a hydrostatic powertrain.

Hidromek excavators cover a wide range between 14 and 37 tons, with several attachment applications and also including specialised machines such as material handlers and long-reach excavators.

“We are planning to expand our product portfolio, especially on larger excavators,” says Mr Karaağaç. “We are currently developing a 45 – 50 tonne class crawler excavator, and working on special-purpose excavators such as a demolition machine. We are developing our excavators after detailed studies carried out with machine operators.”

Expanding production Hidromek has two fabrication plants, an excavator assembly plant and training and after-sales centre in Ankara, and a backhoe loader assembly plant in Izmir. “With the new excavator assembly plant and the extension of our backhoe loader assembly plant, we expanded our total land area to 175,887m2, and our total production premises now cover 73,497m2,” says Mr Karaağaç.

The company has an annual production capacity of 10,000 construction machines; it is continually expanding its production facilities and technology by

investing in automated production, he adds. There has been steady investment in CNC cutting machines, welding robots and special-purpose machining centres.

Hidromek uses the most advanced technology in operation in Turkey’s construction machinery sector.

“Hidromek is the country’s leading manufacturing and exporting company in its sector, with aesthetic, ergonomic and world-standard construction machinery,” says Mr Karaağaç. “Our backhoe loaders are entirely designed and manufactured in-house; the quality of our products is

ensured by our intensive quality assurance system, and the machines can easily compete with other well-known brands.”

The company already benefits from recent investments and it continues to invest heavily in research and development, he adds.

The recent introduction of a new service centre in Ankara and a new office launch in France are improving sales and after-sales power at home and internationally.

“Our backhoe loaders and excavators can serve in many applications, such as infrastructure works, municipality works and major construction projects and mining,” he says.

“The construction and mining sectors in particular are growing day by day.

“With society’s need for more materials and technology and in response to the need for comfort and speed, the application areas for our construction machinery are gradually expanding. They vary from traditional uses such as construction, road building, water conservancy, electric power and mining, to the space-constrained construction sites of cities, agricultural sites in hilly areas, docks, warehouses, gardens, foundations and underground engineering work.

“The machinery is required to extend at both ends, to be compact, large oversize. With the help of large, oversize construction projects, the market demand is increasing for high-tech

and high-added-value products from companies with a long record in research, development and manufacture.”

New markets In Turkey, Hidromek is the market leader, with a 37 per cent share for backhoe loaders and 30 per cent share for wheeled excavators. It is also a top four company for crawler excavators and has ambitions to step up to market leader in this sector too.

Outside Turkey, the company manages its European operations from is own sales and after-sales service centre in Barcelona.

Its dealer network now numbers 28 in Spain alone, and it is now expanding its dealership network in Portugal, France and across Europe.

“Furthermore, our company is increasingly busy in the Middle East,” says Mr Karaağaç.

He says Russia has important potential for the company – obviously because it is nearby, but also because a large number of Turkish contractors have projects in that region, and infrastructure works and mining are rapidly increasing there. It is stepping up the number of dealers in Russia, and also expanding in CIS countries such as Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

“Our target is to stay market leader in Turkey in every construction machinery product that we sell – and to increase our market share in Europe, with the vision of being a ‘world brand’ in the very near future. We are a company with an exciting future, and our growing order book supports our optimism in the marketplace.” n

218 Industry Europe

FEEDING THE WORLD Yara International ASA is the world’s leading fertiliser company. Based in Oslo, Yara has factories throughout Europe as well as in Brazil and Canada and sells over 20 million tons of fertiliser every year. Joseph Altham reports on a company with a mission to achieve better yields.

O

riginally, the reason why Norway became such an important producer of fertiliser was because of the country’s waterfalls. Yara dates back to 1905 and the foundation of Norsk Hydro, a business created to produce fertiliser using the electricity generated from hydropower. Norsk Hydro subsequently became a highly successful producer of aluminium. Finally, in 2004, the fertiliser division of the business, Hydro Agri, was spun off from the rest of Hydro and renamed Yara. Yara today has more than 7300 employees and operates production sites in 17 countries worldwide.

Fertiliser gives agricultural crops the essential nutrients they need for strong, healthy growth. The most important elements contained in fertiliser are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK). However, crops also require other nutrients such as calcium and magnesium. Calcium strengthens cell walls and helps to reduce bruising in fruit, while magnesium assists in photosynthesis. Yara’s main brands of fertiliser include YaraMila, containing a combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and YaraLiva, a range of calcium nitrates that can improve the size, strength and appearance of fruit.

Upstream Yara distinguishes between its upstream and downstream activities. The phosphorus in fertiliser has to be mined. Yara sources much of the phosphate ore (apatite) from its own mine at Siilinjärvi in Finland. The basic ingredients for nitrogen fertiliser are ammonia and urea, and the majority of Yara’s production plants for ammonia and urea are located in Europe. Yara’s single largest site for the production of ammonia is in the Netherlands, at Sluiskil. The Sluiskil site has an annual production capacity of 1.7 million tonnes of ammonia and 900,000 tonnes of

Industry Europe 219

Novochem

Fertilizer Additives The Art of Chemical Processing Solid fertilizers are sensitive to caking, moisture uptake and or dust formation.

Novochem Fertilizer Additives develops and offers custom made additives to keep the Yara fertiliser in good shape any time. Besides that Novochem Fertiliser Additives is a front runner in the development of sustainable applications, and has obtained several subsidies of the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs. The future is now with our cost efficient and sustainable line of products.

For more information please visit our website - www.novochemgroup.com

Villawal 15 - 3432 NX Nieuwegein - The Netherlands P.O. Box 390 - 3430 AJ Nieuwegein - The Netherlands Phone +31 (0)30 602 15 33 Fax +31 (0)30 605 33 76 E-mail info@novochemgroup.com

Witt Handel GmbH is a traditional fertiliser trading company with thirty years experience, particularly on the markets in Germany, Scandinavia and Benelux.

Our key products are: • • • • • • • •

Calcium Ammonium Nitrate 27% N UAN-Solution 28% N UREA 46% N, granulated and prilled Ammonium Sulphate 21% N PK and NPK formulations Mono-Ammonium Phosphate 12/52 Diammonium Phosphate 18/46 Triple Super Phosphate 46%

Witt Handel GmbH Ballindamm 3 • Phone • Fax • Email •

D 20095 Hamburg (49)–40–30 96 56 25 (49)–40–33 58 06 info@witt-handel.com

Tessenderlo Group Tessenderlo Group is the third largest producer of sulphate of potash (SOP) in the world and its factory in Belgium is the largest single unit for the production of SOP using the Mannheim process.

The group offers a full range of SOP grades; standard powder, granular and fully water soluble (SoluPotasse®).

Tessenderlo Group has been supplying SOP for NPK fertilizers produced by Yara for over 10 years.

SOP improves crop yield and quality, making plants more resistant to drought, frost, insects and disease. SOP also improves the crop’s nutritional value, taste and appearance but also its resistance to deterioration during transport and storage, and its suitability for industrial processing. These benefits make SOP the world’s most popular low-chloride potassium fertilizer. SOP also offers the additional benefit of sulphur and has a very low salinity index making it the preferred potash fertilizer in areas at risk from soil salinity.

Novochem Fertilizer Additives: the reliable partner in fertilizer additives for Yara Fertiliser coatings are a strategic raw material for fertiliser producers. Novochem Fertiliser Additives has been the preferred fertiliser coatings supplier for Yara International ever since early 1990 for the Yara plants in Europe. Besides that a strong co-operation between the 2 companies has existed in the field of R & D between the companies resulting in a ongoing flow of new and improved applications of fertiliser additives.

Novochem Fertilizer Additives is a leading producer of fertiliser additives with a strong focus on quality, reliability and cost efficiency. The state-of-the-art laboratory is focussed on developping the most optimal applications and several succesful inventions have been filed in patents worldwide.

Industry Europe 221

urea. In 2009, Yara began construction of a new plant at Sluiskil, Urea 7, representing an investment of €400 million. Yara has also invested €60 million in its Siilinjärvi mine in order to step up production of phosphate rock and thus make production of NPK fertilisers less reliant on imports.

Ammonia production is an energy-intensive process which needs a lot of natural gas. In a drive to limit production costs, Yara is now choosing to locate more of its production in low-cost gas regions. One such region is Qatar. Here, Yara has a 25 per cent stake in the Qatar Fertiliser Company, Qafco (with the other 75 per cent owned by Industries Qatar). The Qafco-5 expansion project, costing $3.2 billion, involves the construction of two ammonia plants and one urea plant, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2011. A project for another urea plant, Qafco-6, is expected to be completed the following year. Together Qafco-5 and Qafco-6 are set to achieve an increase in production capacity of 1.6 million tonnes of ammonia and 2.6 million tonnes of urea.

222 Industry Europe

Downstream

Knowledge grows

Yara sells to over 150 countries and so plays a truly global role in the agricultural industry. Indeed, Yara regards globalisation as a ‘megatrend’ which needs to be incorporated into its strategic thinking. Another megatrend, the growth in the world’s population, presents a serious challenge. By 2050 world population will reach 9.1 billion people, which will necessitate a 70 per cent increase in food production. However, it will be impossible to meet the world’s need for food simply by bringing more land under cultivation, since land is a finite resource. At the 2011 World Economic Forum in Davos, Yara co-presented the “New Vision for Agriculture” initiative on global food security.

The initiative, backed by Yara, along with 16 other global companies, is centred on a 20/20/20 ambition: lowering greenhouse gas emissions and rural poverty by 20 per cent each decade, but increasing food production every decade by 20 per cent. More efficient farming is needed if these objectives are to be realised, and this is where fertiliser can make a vital contribution.

Yara’s motto is ‘knowledge grows’ and the company is the first to point out that simply dumping more fertiliser onto the soil is unlikely to be the best answer to the problem of the world’s food supply. Instead, the focus must be on encouraging farmers to use fertiliser in more intelligent ways. What counts here is providing crops with just the right quantity of nitrogen for their needs, as well as giving them the best possible balance of other essential nutrients like sulphur and potassium. By helping the farmer to use fertiliser more effectively, Yara can even save him some cash. Yara’s N-Sensor is a fertiliser management tool that the farmer can put on his tractor. As the tractor moves across the field spreading the fertiliser, the farmer can gauge how much nitrogen the crop needs and adjust the fertiliser application rate accordingly.

The technology works by measuring the way the crop reflects the light. A study conducted in Germany has shown that with the aid of the N-Sensor a farmer can increase his yield by 6 per cent while at the same time obtaining a 12 per cent reduction in the amount of fertiliser he n has to use.

Industry Europe 223

ADVERTISERSINDEX A AB Note North America AB Technology (M) Sdn Bhd ABB Ltd Acquatec Srl Alfagomma Group All-Brave’s Plastic Kft Allgaier Translog GmbH & Co KG Alpha Natural Resources Inc Antonioli Impianti Elettrici Srl Aquafax Ltd Arbo Srl Årevall Plast AB Armeton Group Assag Assoni Giulio Srl Atling Maskinfabrik AB August Dohrmann GmbH AxFlow Oy

Inside front P 82 P 176 P 124 P 216 P 43 P 28 P 148 P 127 P 118 P 98 P 198 P 91 P 155 P 110 P 173 P 136 P 194

Outside back P 160 P 74 P 136 P 118 P 109 P 202

C C.I.B. Srl Cameco AB Campine NV Ceric Technologies Chemie-Plast Vertriebs GmbH & Co KG Christian Maier GmbH & Co KG Complastex SpA Coop. A.L.P.I. scs Coreth Kunststoffverarbeitungs GmbH Corodur Fülldraht GmbH Cowi AB Csaba Sped Kft

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G G. Bopp + Co AG G.B.I.E. Inc

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M J Marine Trimmers Ltd Maxam-Suomi Oy Medicast Mevera Metall AB Mofém Zrt Montini Pietro & Figli Srl Munksjö SAS

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Obermeilen Oxiquimica, LDA

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Raccorderie Borghesi B. Srl Radici Spandex Corp Rhenus Logistics NV Richard Fritz GmbH & Co KG Rio Tinto Alcan Specialty Aluminas Rockwell Automation BV

S.J.M. Alloys & Metals Limited Saeflex – HD Europe Srl Saint-Gobain Savoie Refractories San Gregorio SpA Sauer Polymertechnik GmbH & Co Saulcot Scott Bader Co Ltd Set Fuse Sidertrading Srl Siemens AG Siemens Osakeyhtiö SIG Combibloc Silox SA Sironi Zeno SAS Smurfit Kappa Turnhout Superior

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T Tapla Industrias SL Tata International Teknor Apex BV Tessenderlo Chemie NV Tetra Pak (Schweiz) AG Texsus SpA TFC Snc The Membrane Keyboard Company Ltd Thyssen Krupp Nirosta GmbH TMT Doo Top Notch Joinery TOSI F.LLI Srl Toten Transport AS Trakya Cam Sanayii AS Transatlantic Tredegar Corporation

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V Visool SpA Volvo Penta

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W W.P. Hydroschneide Technik GmbH & Co KG WFT GmbH & Co KG Witoplast Witt-Handel GmbH

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Z ZAE-AntriebsSysteme GmbH & Co KG

P Pack 2 Pack Parigi Industry Srl PerLaTech GmbH PET Processors (UK) L.L.C. Pieplow & Brandt GmbH

P 159 P 72 P 199 P 154 P 198 P 190

S P 164 P 122 P 109

K Kawasaki Precision Machinery (UK) Ltd Kilian GmbH & Co KG Kirchhoff & Lehr GmbH KMF (Precision Sheet Metal) Ltd KTR Finland Oy

Platex sro Plastik SpA Plastinject AB Polo Filter Poto Sanitary Ware Co Ltd PSU Designs Ltd

R P 211 P 220 P 178 P 164 P 30 P 145

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F Fermet Srl Ferrolegeringar Fitre SpA Florin AG Friedrich Bühler GmbH & Co KG

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D De Decker-Van Riet Bvba Dillinger Fabrik Gelochter Bleche GmbH DIR-AIR OY Dong Energy AB DOW Belgium B.V.B.A

P 123 P 25 P 25 P 211 P 202 P 110

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B Baker Hughes Bamberger Kaliko GmbH Bischof + Klein GmbH & Co KG Blaser Swisslube GmbH Boyriven Brawo Brassworking SpA Bulkcon Transport AB

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P 155