Industry Europe – Issue 25.1

VOLUME 25/1 – 2015

The world of European manufacturing

ASCO OFFERS WORLD-CLASS WING COMPONENTS GEDIA INVESTS IN NEW PRODUCTION PROCESSES GN NETCOM ADVANCES COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

SLOW GROWTH FOR EUROPE’S PHARMA INDUSTRY

OPINION

VICTORIAHATTERSLEY

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No consensus on Russia As the Ukraine conflict carries on, Western powers seem unable to reach an agreement on how to deal with Vladimir Putin’s expansionist ambitions.

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he announcement that the British Museum has loaned part of the Parthenon marbles to a Russian museum has caused consternation in some quarters. The headless statue of Greek river-god Ilissos is now on display at the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.

After all, relations between Russia and the West have been frosty to say the least in the wake of Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine earlier this year and the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July. Why then, argue some spoilsports, should the UK be seen in any way to endorse the Russian regime? Is the message that all of this is OK as long as we are sharing our headless artefacts?

The British Museum’s rejoinder is that they “have always believed that such loans must continue between museums in spite of political disagreements between governments.”

One thing is clear, at any rate – the Greeks can’t have them back. And here is one of the ironies: The marbles are only in their present home because Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, swiped them from the Parthenon in Athens in the 19th Century. Understandably, the Greek government would prefer it if they were returned. Historically, Russia is by no means alone in its snatch and grab approach – whether the target is priceless statues or entire countries.

But then perhaps this is only fitting: the mixed messages inherent in this smaller issue seem merely to be a reflection of western Europe’s attitude towards the Russian problem in general. There appears to be no clear consensus on how to deal with president Vladimir Putin and his land-grabbing tendencies.

Differing approaches For example, German chancellor Angela Merkel recently offered a blistering criticism of Putin, accusing him of interfering in the domestic affairs of Balkan states looking to

form closer ties to the EU. He was, she said, “creating problems” in Moldova and Georgia.

When asked by Die Welt am Sonntag newspaper about the possibility of war between Russia and the West over the Baltic states – in recent weeks we have seen ‘unprecedented’ Russian naval and air force activity in the Baltic Sea region – her reply was: “The question of war in the Baltic States does not arise.”

Although she went on to add: “Nevertheless, Article 5 of the Nato Treaty, that is the obligation of mutual support, applies to all allies.”

This no-nonsense attitude is in contrast to that of France, whose President Francois Hollande recently made an unannounced stop in Moscow for a two-hour meeting with Mr Putin to discuss the Ukraine crisis. (Curiously, Mr Hollande, as though to further emphasise the casual nature of the encounter, described it thusly: “I was just flying over Moscow when I decided to make a stop here.” As one does.)

It is unclear what lurks behind this lack of agreement on how to deal with Mr Putin. Perhaps France is sheepish about the two warships it has so far failed to deliver to Moscow, having been under pressure from its western allies to cancel the contract (although it has yet to do so). After the meeting Mr Putin indicated that the bear’s fur would not be unduly ruffled if France refused to hand over the ships, as long as the money already paid was returned.

And meanwhile the conflict in Ukraine rumbles on, where more than 4300 have died since last spring. There is also a question mark over how well its economy is likely to hold up.

The International Monetary Fund has identified a $15bn shortfall in its bailout for the war-torn country and has warned western governments that the gap needs to be filled within weeks or it risks financial collapse.

Muddying the waters still further is the fact that Wolfgang Schäuble, the German finance minister, said recently he had called on his Russian counterpart, Anton Siluanov, to

ask him to roll over a $3bn loan the Kremlin made to Kiev last year. UK finance minister George Osborne was probably not alone in expressing surprise at the EU asking for help from Russia whilst simultaneously sanctioning the Kremlin over the Ukraine. Look at this tangle of thorns, indeed.

Far-right links Just as disturbing is Russia’s move towards cultivating links with the far right in Europe.

For example, the founder of France’s Front National (FN), Jean-Marie Le Pen, borrowed €2m from a Cyprus-based company, Veronisa Holdings, owned by one Yuri Kudimov.

And who is Kudimov? A former KGB agent, now banker, with close links to the Kremlin – that’s who. More recently, the FN also confirmed it had taken a huge €9.4 million loan from the First Czech Russian bank in Moscow.

Elsewhere, Putin continues to pitch his woo in eastern Europe. Since as far back as 2009, Russia has been establishing ties with Slovakia’s far-right People’s party, Bulgaria’s nationalist, anti-EU Attack movement and Hungary’s radical nationalist Jobbik party.

It is perhaps convenient for Mr Putin that he is also able to take advantage of a rising wave of anti-immigration sentiment throughout western Europe. UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s talk of imposing ‘emergency brakes’ on the number of EU migrants moving to Britain and recent anti-Muslim protests across Germany may well have had the Russian premier rubbing his hands together with glee.

Is it the case that Mr Putin is in fact stealing a more insidious march on Europe whilst its major powers look the other way? Yes, the Russian economy isn’t looking healthy just now what with falling oil prices and the effect of European sanctions, but it is by no means beaten. Time will tell. Europe hasn’t lost its marbles over Russia yet, but it may want to be careful as to whom it lends them out. n Industry Europe 3

CONTENTS Editor Peter Mercer

IT Support Jack Everson

Deputy Editor Victoria Hattersley

Production Manager Kamila Kajtoch

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

Administration Anna Chamberlain Amber Dawson Kayleigh Harvey Art Administration Tania Balderson

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

Pharmaceutical Industry p6

Comment

Advertising Manager Andrew Briggs

1 4

Sector Managers Matthew Howe Milada Preslova Massimo Ragazzo Helen Leisi Anthony McClintock Ben Snowing Anna Dudek Stephen Moore Martin Gisborne Victoria Pease

Pharmaceutical Industry

Industry Europe Alkmaar House, Alkmaar Way, Norwich, Norfolk, NR6 6BF, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1603 414444 Fax: +44 (0)1603 779850 Email: photos@industryeurope.net adcopy@industryeurope.net Web: www.industryeurope.net

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Opinion No consensus on Russia Bill Jamieson Jean-Claude’s bulging billions

Uneven growth Global pharma industry held

up by Europe’s slow recovery

9 12

Pharmaceutical news The latest from the industry Working together to get medicines to market Roche looks at how to meet a transatlantic challenge

News 14 16 18 19 20 21

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

Reports 22 23

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

Aerospace 24

At the leading edge Asco

Agriculture © Industry Europe 2015 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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4 Industry Europe

33 38

Focus on fertile growth Yara International Combining old and new Agrikon Kam

Automation & Tooling 42 46 50 54

Pioneering steel industry solutions Danieli Automation Mission accomplished JEB Power players SPARKY GROUP The first choice for automation YASKAWA

Automotive 58 62

68 72 75

Advanced fastening systems Agrati Quality components for the automotive industry Gedia Poland

Perfect fit Johnson Controls Steering a course for growth Musashi Top gear performer LuK Savaria Kuplunggyártó

VOL 25/1

Above: Procter & Gamble p100

Chemicals 78 82

In full colour Ampacet Continued growth for chemical giant TVK

Construction Above: Asco p24 Below: YASKAWA p54

84 88 92

Fresh thinking and design KÉSZ Group With a true team spirit GranitiFiandre Building a greener future Skanska

Above: Hexagon p112 Below: Bunge p136

Consumer Goods 96 Out in front Gazelle 100 A sustainable future for P&G Procter & Gamble

Energy & Utilities 109 112 116

120 131

Heating Budapest city Főtáv Step on the gas Hexagon The power of commitment Končar Generators and Motors

Energy efficient power solutions Wärtsilä End-to-end electrical solutions CG

Food & Drink 136 Quality cooking oil from Hungary Bunge 141 Tradition and innovation in Italian wines

Fontanafredda

Forest Products

Above: Balcas p144 Below: GN Netcom p174

144 Renewable energy – it grows on trees Balcas

Glass Products Above: Johnson Controls p68 Below: KESZ Group p84

148 Glass technology SCHOTT 152 Transparent success Sangalli Group

Metalworking 155 158 162 166

Sheer performance CIDAN Machinery Completing the circle Corinth Pipeworks Active even in critical times Makstil Gearing up for new markets TTN Veneta

Also in this issue…

170 Environmentally chilled EPTA Group 174 Innovative communications GN Netcom 180 Pioneering smarter ventilation systems SALDA Industry Europe 5

COMMENT

BILLJAMIESON

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Executive Editor of The Scotsman

Jean-Claude’s bulging billions Jean-Claude Juncker has promised Europe a huge investment boost: but where will be the money come from and, more importantly, where will it go?

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the conference rooms of the European Commission, there’s nothing quite like big numbers to lift morale when all else fails.

Take European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s recent announcement of a €315 billion (£247 billion) ‘New Deal’ to pull Europe out of its slump over the next three years. The money will be used to build roads, renew railways, refine energy grids or upgrade high-speed internet. Governments have already sent a list of 1800 possible projects to Brussels: just the stuff to get business going and in due course present lots of opportunity for UK companies exporting to the continent.

Alas, all is not as it seems. Barely had this massive stimulus been announced than it ran into a blizzard of criticism. It will provide almost no new money of its own, the ‘new’ money in the package is mostly cobbled together from pre-announced and forgotten projects. It depends on financial leverage via €21 billion to be managed by the European Investment Bank.

And it has come under fire for not being nearly enough. German economy minister Sigmar Gabriel says the amount is “not only not enough but it is not clear what the money will be used for.” It would just be a ‘straw fire’ – the money would be gone and nothing lasting would come out of it.

Nor was he alone. Professor Charles Wyplosz from Geneva University declared the money “is chicken feed and it won’t do anything to kick-start growth … It is unbelievable they are doing this rather than real fiscal expansion. The private sector will just take governments to the cleaners.”

Elsewhere this ‘last chance’ mega-package stirred little excitement. Might that be because this is just the latest in a series of spending bazookas fired by the Commission?

It seems curiously similar to the package announced in June 2012 when EU leaders 6 Industry Europe

unveiled a massive €120 billion stimulus plan to kick start economic growth across the continent. The European Investment Bank would be given a €10 billion injection of new capital, taking its total lending power to around €1.2 trillion. Other unused funds would also be redeployed.

“We have prepared the ground on how to stimulate growth,” declared European Council president Herman van Rompuy. “It is not just about injecting money.”

Alas, all is not as it seems.

Barely had this massive stimulus been announced than it ran into a blizzard of criticism.

Of course not. Because hadn’t that already been done in the previous massive stimulus package – the one announced on 26 November 2008, when the Commission proposed a €200 billion European stimulus plan (aka the European Economic Recovery Plan) to cope with the effects of the global financial crisis?

The plan included targeted and temporary measures, using both the national budgets of the national governments, the budget of the EU and – yes, again, the handy old European Investment Bank. It was hailed by Gordon Brown as “proof that Europe’s governments have united to combat the global economic crisis.”

False promises?

What lies behind the latest resort to these bumper bulging billions? Much hope has been vested in ECB stimulus to bring a miracle. It’s certainly true that there is no other zonewide authority in the economic sphere. Little progress has been made towards establishing the machinery of fiscal union. The notion

that central bank action is the remedy for all economic ailments seemed an easy way out of painful budget decisions by member states.

And the ambiguous teasing ‘will-he-won’the’ language of ECB president Mario Draghi worked to bolster hopes that the bank had it in its power to wreak transformation. But he declared recently that monetary policy could not do all the ‘heavy lifting’. This may have been the inspiration for the latest resort to those magical bulging billions.

Even if such money is real and will be deployed, how reliable is its magical power?

The problem in Europe is not lack of money but of competitive investment projects. Reading through the long litany of the EU’s failed bulging billions, I was reminded of an incident in the early 1970s when I was a trainee subeditor on a local paper in the south Wales valleys. The story involved a visit to the Ebbw Vale steelworks by Lord Melchett, then head of the British Steel Corporation. Some vague promise of future investment had been made.

As I struggled with the text, the editor reached over my shoulder and wrote, in huge letters the three deck front page splash headline: ‘Melchett’s Magic Millions’.

In truth, there were no magic millions.

The millions went instead to the steel plant in Consett, County Durham. Some 15 years later I was being shown round the Highveld steelworks in South Africa, out in open country east of Johannesburg. The managers were especially keen for me to see a glittering new rolling mill extending a third of a mile. The price, they proudly declared, was just £1 – that and the cost of dismantling and shipping it wholesale – from Consett, County Durham. Any hope of competitive steel-making there had long gone.

So don’t just query where these magic millions come from. Even if they are ever spent, spare a thought as to where the benefits might finally end up. n

Industry Europe 7

Filling of modern insulin in vials in plant in Hillerød, Denmark

UNEVEN GROWTH Mixer on the No.3 granulation line

Novo Nordisk’s fermentation factory in Kalundborg, Denmark

Uphill deduster and product diverter on the No.10 tableting line

The global pharmaceutical market continues to grow, but the slow economic recovery in Europe is still having an effect. Sarah Houlton casts her eye over the biggest stories from the pharma industry over the past year, in which acquisitions, new in-licensing deals and a focus on fighting Ebola have all featured prominently.

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lobal annual spend on medicines is set to top $1 trillion for the first time in 2014, having ended 2013 just shy of that figure at $989 billion. The market continues to grow – the IMS Institute for Healthcare Economics predicts that by 2018 it may top $1.3 trillion in its recent report, ‘Global outlook for medicines through 2018’. But, they caution, while the global economic recovery is set to strengthen in the next couple of years, the pharma growth rate will peak at 7 per cent in 2014. And there remain significant risks from an uneven economic recovery in Europe, political tension within Russia, and the fallout of recent events in Africa and the Middle East.

Combining strengths The trend for companies to drive growth via merger and acquisition continues. While there were no true mega-mergers after AstraZeneca 8 Industry Europe

rebuffed Pfizer’s advances in May, the usual host of smaller deals kept market-watchers busy. One of the more interesting was USbased Botox-maker Allergan, which was being stalked by notoriously slash-and-burn Valeant, but instead sold out to Dublin-based Actavis, whose stance on R&D is rather less negative than Valeant’s. Roche company Genentech was also on the acquisition trail, buying breast cancer specialist Seragon.

There were also a couple of notable spinouts. Bayer announced it is hiving off its materials science business to focus on its life sciences operations, in pharma and agrochemicals. Reckitt Benckiser is spinning out its pharma business into a separate entity, Indivior. This will allow it to focus on its consumer health business. Merck & Co, meanwhile, is going the other way, selling its consumer care products to Bayer.

There was also the usual spate of inlicensing deals as big pharma looked to refill its pipelines. AstraZeneca announced a whole host of them, including with Almirall and with Synairgen, with a particular focus on respiratory and cancer projects. It also bought out Bristol-Myers Squibb’s diabetes business, an area in which the two companies had previously been cooperating.

Novartis got a little more creative, announcing two big asset swap arrangements and a joint-venture in April. It has acquired GlaxoSmithKline’s oncology portfolio for $14.5 billion, and in return GSK paid $7bn for Novartis’ vaccine division, with the exception of its flu vaccines. It also sold its animal health business to Lilly, increasing its focus on human health. In addition, Novartis and GSK have combined their consumer health portfolios via a roughly 1:2 joint venture.

Blister-packing line at the packaging facility in Kaiseraugst: a vibratory conveyer feeds product into the line

Making cuts Some companies this year have been obliged to make some difficult decisions. For example, Danish company Novo Nordisk announced cuts in September: the company is getting out of inflammation R&D in the wake of the failure of its anti-IL-20 rheumatoid arthritis candidate in clinical trials. This will lead to the loss of 400 jobs, although it hopes to deploy up to half elsewhere in the business. However, it also said in June it had plans to add 6000 new jobs in Denmark – half in R&D and the rest in production – by 2022.

Novartis announced it is shuttering its US manufacturing site in Suffern, NY, where blood pressure drug valsartan (Diovan) is manufactured. It’s part of a worldwide restructuring operation the company says will ultimately involve up to 4000 job cuts, while many back-office operations (including some from its corporate HQ in Basel, Switzerland) are consolidated at several facilities around the world, including a new one in Hyderabad, India. In contrast, its rival Roche announced a SFR3 billion investment at home in Basel, creating new and upgraded lab space. More than half of this investment will be in a new research centre, set to be ready by 2022.

More positive news came with the announcement that Boehringer Ingelheim’s site in Petersburg, VA is not to close after all; rather, it is being acquired by Chinese manufacturer UniTao Pharmaceuticals in a bid to increase its market share in the US.

Chemical reaction glassware

However, another Irish manufacturing site is to go – BMS’s facility in Cruiserath.

With the growing expense of Phase III clinical trials in areas such as diabetes, it is perhaps unsurprising that various of the big pharma companies are sharing the financial risk and joint-funding clinical development programmes. AstraZeneca and Lilly, for example, are collaborating on Phase II/III trials of the BACE inhibitor AZD3293, and Pfizer is working with Merck KGaA on studies of an anti-PD-L1 antibody as a cancer immunotherapy. More such risk-sharing agreements are surely inevitable in future.

Focus on fighting Ebola The Ebola outbreak in west Africa highlights just how long trials normally take, and how the timeline can be shortened significantly if the serious unmet medical need greatly outweighs the risks of pressing ahead with shorter trials and a telescoped development process in the interests of speed. Early data from Phase I trials on an ebola vaccine developed at Okairos, now acquired by GSK, and the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases showed it appears safe and gives an immune response, generating anti-Ebola antibodies. It is still some way from being a product that can be used in the field, but the speed with which it has been pushed through these early safety studies have certainly accelerated its potential widespread use, if all goes well in the next stages of development.

Research and development at Novo Nordisk in Gentofte, Denmark

Pharmaceutical production

Other vaccines are in development, including at Merck & Co, which acquired rights to NewLink’s experimental vaccine, and J&J is set to start trials on another vaccine in early 2015. Numerous investigational drugs, such as the antibody combination ZMapp and Tekmira’s TKM-Ebola have also been used as an emergency measure. Several experimental drugs have been around for some time, but lack of funding led to many being shelved. The current outbreak has shifted the priorities somewhat.

High approval levels It was a pretty good year in terms of approvals, with more than 30 novel drugs gaining marketing recommendations by the European Medicines Agency. IHII predicts that we are now hitting a second ‘wave’ of innovation, similar to the annual new drug approvals rate of the early 2000s.

Almost half of late-stage pipeline products are designed to treat cancer, infection and disorders of the central nervous system – indeed, they predict that $100 billion of global drug spend will be on cancer treatments by 2018. Sure enough, as has become commonplace in recent years, various new anticancer agents were approved.

These include GSK’s trametinib (Mekinist) for melanoma, the first drug to act via inhibiting the protein kinase MEK, AZ’s olaparib (Lynparza) for ovarian cancer, a first-in-class PARP inhibitor, and Roche’s B-cell targeting

Production of MabThera and Avastin: vial separation turntable Industry Europe 9

Manufacturing tablets

Employee in the filling station of the Supply Centre at Bergkamen, Germany.

Image author: Bayer HealthCare AG

antibody obinutuzumab (Gazyvaro), which treats chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Roughly a third the 2014 approvals were drugs given an orphan designation, designed to treat rare diseases. These included Janssen’s siltuximab (Sylvant), the first agent approved for Castleman’s disease, which causes enlarged lymph nodes and increases the risk of infection, kidney failure and cancer.

For years, hepatitis C treatment relied on the unpleasant combination of interferon plus the antiviral ritonavir being dosed for a year, with no guarantee of success. It’s become a real hot therapeutic area in the past couple of years, following the approval of boceprevir (Victrelis, Merck), telepravir (Incivek/Incivo, Vertex) and sofusbuvir (Sovaldi, Gilead), and several further new agents to treat hepatitis C were also green-lighted in 2014. These include simeprevir (Olysio) from Janssen, daclatasvir (Saklinza) from BMS, and two products from Abbvie – dasabuvir (Exviera), and a triple combination, Viekirax, which includes two new agents, ombitasvir and paritaprevir, with the old drug ritonavir.

While prognosis still depends on virus genotype and the new drugs are costly, they do open the door to a potential cure for more patients with hepatitis C infection. The Gilead drug also highlighted the pricing problem – at $84,000 per patient for a 12-week course of treatment, it is massively expensive, and is expected to top $10 billion in sales in 2014.

If a patient is cured, the savings in downthe-line treatment costs will be significantly higher, but that headline-grabbing number causes alarm, and negative headlines about greedy pharma companies.

Manufacturing pills

Employees clean and monitor the stirring rods of an ointment mixer – Image author: Bayer HealthCare AG

10 Industry Europe

Negative publicity Some of the worst headlines of 2014 came courtesy of GSK’s corruption charges in China – it was fined $300m for corruption, and there is also talk of bribes having been made in Iraq. But other companies have been facing legal battles, too. Both GSK and Pfizer settled US lawsuits over the off-label promotion of drugs. And Servier was named and shamed in medical press adverts for breaching the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry’s code of practice on clinical trials transparency.

Patents are frequently the subject of lawsuits, and Amgen is going the whole hog over PCSK9 antibodies designed to lower cholesterol – it is suing Sanofi and Regeneron claiming that its intellectual property covers not just the antibody it is pushing through clinical development, evolocumab, but any PCSK9 antibody. Others under development include Regeneron and Sanofi’s alirocumab, and Pfizer’s bococizumab. Such broad patent claims have been disallowed in small molecules, and it will be interesting to see if the courts take a different view in the antibody field.

On the manufacturing side, an alarming report from India on the deaths of 13 women – and the illness of more than 100 more – in a sterilisation programme in Chhattisgarh appears to be not a result of botched surgery but contaminated medicines. They were given the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, but the tablets made by Mahawar Pharmaceuticals were contaminated with toxic substances including zinc phosphide, commonly used as a rat poison, which releases phosphine gas on contact with stomach acid. The tablets also contained only 60 per cent of the correct dose. When raided, officials found evidence of burnt drugs at the company’s premises.

A costly business The cost of developing a new drug is commonly cited as $1bn, thanks to research published more than a decade ago by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development in Boston. They have now upgraded their calculations, and put the cost of getting a new drug onto the market at a little over $2.5 billion.

“Drug development remains a costly undertaking, despite ongoing efforts across the full spectrum of pharmaceutical and biotech companies to rein in growing R&D costs,” says Joseph DiMasi, the study’s principle investigator. “Because the R&D process is marked by substantial technical risks, with expenditures incurred for many development projects that fail to result in a marketed product, our estimate links the costs of unsuccessful projects to those that are successful in obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities.”

The costs have increased by 145 per cent between the 2003 study and the most recent study – a compound annual growth rate of 8.5 per cent. DiMasi says that larger and more complex clinical trials are one of the main drivers of this increase, as well as testing on comparator drugs to meet payer demands n for comparative effectiveness data.

NEWS

INDUSTRYNEWS

New developments in the Pharmaceutical industry

Roche to invest Genzyme’s Lemtrada approved by the FDA anofi and its subsidiary Genzyme have announced that the US Food and Drug Administration in new diagnostic Sof multiple (FDA) has approved Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms (MS). Because of its safety profile, the use of Lemtrada should generally be manufacturing facility reserved forsclerosis patients who have had an inadequate response to two or more drugs indicated for the TM

Roland Diggelmann

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oche is to invest 450 million Swiss Francs over the next three years to establish a new diagnostic manufacturing facility at the Suzhou Industrial Park, in Suzhou, China. The new manufacturing site sets out to address the continuously growing demand for diagnostic tests in China and the Asia Pacific region. As a new addition to Roche’s global diagnostic production network, the Asia manufacturing facility will focus on producing Immunochemistry and Clinical Chemistry tests, products that are crucial to clinical laboratory testing.

“We are excited to expand our diagnostics value chain in China to include manufacturing,” says Roland Diggelmann, COO of Roche Diagnostics. “Roche is committed to investing in China and the Asia Pacific region. The new manufacturing site will enable us to meet the growing demand for our diagnostic products, ensuring our continuous contribution to the health of people in China and the Asia Pacific region.”

The new Roche Diagnostics manufacturing site will be the eighth worldwide and the first in the Asia Pacific Region. The facility will focus on packaging operations in the first phase and will be fully operational by 2018.

Visit: www.roche.com

Recipharm acquires Lusomedicamenta

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ecipharm AB has acquired Lisbon based CDMO Lusomedicamenta Sociedade Técnica Farmacêutica SA. Lusomedicamenta specialises in the development and manufacture of solid, liquid and semi-solid dose forms as well as sterile ophthalmic products. It operates

treatment of MS. “Today’s approval is the culmination of more than a decade of work by Genzyme to develop Lemtrada,” said Genzyme president and CEO, David Meeker. “Lemtrada demonstrated superior efficacy over Rebif on annualised relapse rates in the two studies which were the basis for approval. A comprehensive risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) will be instituted in order to help detect and manage the serious risks identified with treatment.”

The FDA approval of Lemtrada is based on two pivotal randomised Phase III open-label raterblinded studies comparing treatment with Lemtrada to Rebif® (high-dose subcutaneous interferon beta-1a) in patients with relapsing remitting MS who were either new to treatment (CARE-MS I) or who had relapsed while on prior therapy (CARE-MS II).

Visit: www.sanofi.com

Novartis reports landmark Phase III results for AIN457

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ovartis has announced the first ever results from the pivotal Phase III FUTURE 1 and FUTURE 2 studies, showing AIN457 (secukinumab) demonstrated rapid and significant clinical improvements versus placebo in improving the signs and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis (PsA). There is a high unmet treatment need for patients with PsA. Many patients do not respond to, or tolerate, anti-TNF (tumor-necrosis-factor) medicines, the current standard of care and approximately 45% of people are dissatisfied with current treatments. Secukinumab stops the action of interleukin-17A (IL-17A), which is central to the development of inflammatory diseases.

“We are thrilled to present these landmark Phase III results of secukinmab in PsA, a painful and debilitating condition, with a significant unmet treatment need for patients,” said Vasant Narasimhan, global head of development, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. “We are committed to addressing unmet medical needs in rheumatology by bringing highly effective and long-lasting therapies to patients.”

Visit: www.novartis.comw

from two sites located close to Lisbon and has invested heavily in the production of effervescent tablets with a new dedicated facility for this purpose. The company is focused on new products, carrying the management of the whole process from product development to registration.

Thomas Eldered, CEO of Recipharm, said: “The acquisition of Lusomedicamenta repre-

sents an excellent addition to the Recipharm Group and is perfectly in line with our strategic plan to access new markets, establish new customer relationships and consolidate the industry to become a major CDMO. The new customer base combined with significant IP backed sales in Portugal provides us with many new exciting opportunities.

Visit: www.recipharm.com Industry Europe 11

NEWS

New developments in the Pharmaceutical industry

MedImmune to acquire Definiens

Merck announces global strategic alliance with Pfizer

A

straZeneca has announced that MedImmune, its global biologics research and development arm, has entered into an agreement to acquire Definiens, a privately-held company that has pioneered a world-leading imaging and data analysis technology, known as Tissue Phenomics™, which dramatically improves the identification of biomarkers in tumour tissue.

Definiens’ proprietary Cognition Network Technology® was developed by Professor Gerd Binnig, the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Physics, and unlocks information from cancer tissue samples by measuring the identity, locations and, most importantly, the relationships between the many and varied components of the complex tumour microenvironment.

Under the terms of the agreement, MedImmune will acquire 100% of Definiens’ shares for an initial consideration of $150 million and make additional predetermined milestone payments.

The acquisition will strengthen MedImmune’s focus on the discovery of novel predictive biomarkers in immuno-oncology. It is believed that using biomarkers to select patients for clinical trials could potentially shorten clinical timelines and increase response rates. As a result, the technology will serve as an important tool in the advancement of the most promising combination therapies across AstraZeneca’s combined small molecule and biologics pipeline.

Visit: www.astrazeneca.com

iamyd Medical has announced that an investigator initiated study combining the diabetes vaccine Diamyd® and GABA in children with new onset type 1 diabetes has been approved by the Photo by: Johan Ohlsson

Bayer completes acquisition of Dihon Pharmaceutical Group

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ayer has completed the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Dihon Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd, Kunming, Yunnan, China – a privately held pharmaceutical company specialising primarily in over-the-counter (OTC) dermatology products and herbal traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products for various

12 Industry Europe

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US Food and Drug Administration. Diamyd Medical and the University of Alabama at Birmingham have entered a Clinical Trial Agreement regarding the study. The combination has shown promising results in preclinical studies.

Principal Investigator for the new GABA and Diamyd® combination study is Kenneth McCormick, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The clinical study is a three-arm, doubleblind, placebo-controlled trial and will enrol a total of 75 newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes children and adolescents between 4 and 18 years of age. Patients will be assigned to one of three treatment groups to receive either: a) two injections of Diamyd® plus GABA for 12 months; b) GABA only; or c) placebo. Patients will be followed for a total of 12 months, after which the effect on preserving endogenous insulin production will be analysed.

Visit: www.diamyd.com

erck has entered into a global agreement with Pfizer Inc. to co-develop and co-commercialise MSB0010718C, an investigational anti-PD-L1 antibody currently in development

by Merck as a potential treatment for multiple tumor types to accelerate the two companies’ presence in immuno-oncology.

The asset will be developed as a single agent as well as in various combinations with Pfizer’s and Merck’s broad portfolio of approved and investigational pipeline candidates. The two companies will also combine resources and expertise to advance Pfizer’s anti-PD-1 antibody into Phase 1 trials. As part of the agreement, Merck will co-promote Pfizer’s XALKORI, a medicine to treat non-small cell lung cancer, in the United States and several other key markets.

Karl-Ludwig Kley, chairman of Merck’s executive board, stated: “We live up to our promise to strengthen all three pillars of our business: Healthcare, Performance Materials and Life Science. After this year’s acquisition of AZ Electronic Materials and the proposal to acquire Sigma-Aldrich, we have now turned the focus on healthcare. The agreement with Pfizer isa very important milestone in taking our pharma pipeline forward.”

Visit: www.merckgroup.com

women’s health indications. Bayer paid a purchase price of CNY 3.6 billion (approximately €460 million).

“This acquisition is further evidence of our aim to strengthen our Life Sciences portfolio with strategic bolt-on acquisitions,” said Dr Marijn Dekkers, CEO of Bayer AG. “This acquisition moves us into the leading position in the OTC industry in China.”

“We are delighted to bring Dihon’s outstanding brands into our growing OTC portfolio and to leverage the knowledge and expertise of our new employee base to further grow and develop these self-care solutions to the benefit of consumers across China and other parts of the world,” said Dr Olivier Brandicourt, CEO of Bayer HealthCare AG. Visit: www.healthcare.bayer.com

Diamyd announces approval of pioneering study

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Karl-Ludwig Kley

INDUSTRYNEWS

EFPIA and Innovative Medicines GSK leads Access to Initiative respond to Ebola crisis Medicine Index 2014 E FPIA, its specialised group Vaccines Europe, and the Innovative Medicines Initiative have launched a €280 million Call for proposals for an Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) programme aimed to address the current Ebola crisis. The Ebola+ programme will bring together the pharmaceutical industry and researchers in a collaborative programme aimed to cover the current outbreak, as well as future needs in the space of haemorrhagic fevers.

The first Call for proposals has a global budget of about €280 million and will result in projects aimed to address the development, manufacture,

transport and storage of vaccines; ensuring compliance with vaccine regimens; and the development of rapid diagnostic tests. The first projects are expected to begin in early 2015.

Richard Bergstrom, director general EFPIA, stated: “The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa brings with it unprecedented challenges for patients and the healthcare system. This complex fight requires close collaboration and engagement from multiple stakeholders. The pharmaceutical industry, represented by EFPIA, recognises its responsibility and value and is ready to play a vital role.”

Visit: www.efpia.eu

Bristol-Myers Squibb to acquire Galecto Biotech

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ristol-Myers Squibb Company and Galecto Biotech AB have entered into an agreement that provides Bristol-Myers Squibb the exclusive option to acquire Galecto Biotech AB and gain worldwide rights to its lead asset TD139, a novel inhaled inhibitor of galectin-3 in Phase 1 development for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other pulmonary fibrotic condition.

“Partnering with Bristol-Myers Squibb validates what we have created in Galecto, and will allow us to advance TD139 and our portfolio of other galectin modulators for several important human conditions,” said Magnus Persson, MD PhD, chairman of Galecto.

Galectin-3 is a protein which binds to carbohydrate structures in the body, and plays a central role in various types of fibrosis. By targeting and inhibiting the protein’s binding ability, galectin-3 inhibitors represent a promising approach to treat diseases that exhibit galentin-3 expression such as IPF, a chronic,

progressive form of lung disease characterised by the scarring of lung tissue for which there are limited treatment options.

Visit: www.galecto.com

Dr Inge Lues joins Probiodrug management board

a member of the management board she will be responsible for all research and development activities of Probiodrug.

Dr Erich Platzer, chairman of the supervisory board of Priobiodrug, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Dr Lues to our management board. Dr Lues has directed Priobiodrug’s efforts to transfer a novel concept for the treatment of Alzheimer’s

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riobiodrug AG, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutic solutions to treat Alzheimer’s Disease, has appointed Dr Inge Lues as member of the management board. Dr Lues joined Probiodrug as an R&D adviser in 2008 and has acted as chief development officer since 2013. As

Sir Andrew Witty

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he Access to Medicines Index has ranked GSK top for the fourth consecutive time. The Index is an independent measure of the performance of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies on their efforts to improve access to medicines and healthcare in developing countries.

It ranks individual companies on their efforts to enhance access to medicines across seven categories, including product donation, patents and pricing. GSK leads in areas such as research & development, and management of access to medicines.

Commenting on the 2014 Index, GSK CEO Sir Andrew Witty said: “People rightly expect us to do all we can to discover, develop and price our medicines and vaccines so they are accessible to those who need them, wherever they are in the world. The Index is an important barometer of the industry’s progress. GSK’s ranking is a fantastic acknowledgement of our continued commitment and the dedication of everyone throughout the company to help deliver access to healthcare every day – from scientists working with Save the Children to develop childfriendly medicines, to those collaborating on research into a potential vaccine against Ebola.

Visit: www.gsk.com

Disease from research into pre-clinical and clinical testing. She has also been instrumental in Probiodrug’s recent IPO on Euronext Amsterdam. We are glad to announce that we have succeeded in securing the continuation of our longstanding and successful collaboration with Dr Lues through this appointment.”

Visit: www.recipharm.com Industry Europe 13

The task of bringing new medicines to market represents a transatlantic regulatory challenge. According to global healthcare giant Roche, the solution may lie partly in reducing the discrepancies between EU and US approval pathways.

WORKING TOGETHER TO GET MEDICINES TO MARKET G

etting new medicines to patients as quickly as possible is a priority for Roche and the industry. It is therefore a very positive development that new regulatory pathways have been put in place in both the US and the EU that aim to address this need. However, according to Sabine Atzor, head of EU Regulatory Policies in Roche Pharma Development, “Data show that in recent years it seems to have taken significantly less time to get marketing approval for a ‘new medical entity’ in the US. For European patients who urgently need new therapies, for instance to treat cancer, this relative delay in access may have a significant health outcome impact.”

Why the transatlantic discrepancy?

Three factors are likely to be the main reasons behind this. The first is that the US and EU regulatory authorities have different processes 14 Industry Europe

in place to address unmet medical needs in serious or life-threatening diseases such as cancer. The US has established a number of pathways – Fast track, Breakthrough Therapy Designation, Accelerated Approval and Priority Review – that ultimately allow for a more rapid review of a drug. In the EU there is Conditional Marketing Authorisation, Authorisation under Exceptional Circumstances, and Accelerated Review.

While these pathways have similarities in many respects, there are still fundamental differences between them leading to different timelines and outcomes in practice. As a result, streamlined cooperation between the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) – which would permit a more aligned approach to new drug approvals between countries – remains a challenge due to a lack of synchronisation.

An alignment of procedures would be an ideal

situation, and one that Roche would readily support, but this would certainly require a major political effort to make a reality.

Secondly, there are key differences in how decisions are made locally in terms of drug reimbursement, which ultimately determines how and when patients can access them.

These decisions remain fragmented in the EU due to responsibilities at national level.

Finally, it appears there may be differences between the EU and the US regulatory authorities on how they apply the precautionary principle in regulatory decision-making. According to Sabine Atzor, “To be able to achieve the ultimate goal of maximum health benefit in this context, excessive risk aversion should be avoided. This requires an ongoing exchange on regulatory, scientific and ethical perspectives across regions to enhance mutual learning – an exchange into which Pharma companies are well placed to add value.”

How can these differences be addressed?

In March 2014, the EMA announced that it was going to pilot a new approach to bringing drugs to market called ‘adaptive licensing’. In essence, this will allow new drugs to be approved quickly based on initial evidence of benefit in a specific (most likely small, well defined) patient population, and then allow multiple additional approvals in other indications to be assessed as additional clinical data become available.

This process is unique as it is intended to bring all relevant stakeholders, including health technology assessment bodies (e.g.

NICE in the UK), together at an early stage of the development of a product under ‘safe harbour’ conditions and thus allow early scientific exchange and cross-fertilisation of perspectives. Few candidates have in the meantime been selected for this pilot.

The pilot should go hand in hand with an analysis of key elements of the current regulatory system in Europe such as recently kicked

off by the independent Escher platform.

“Nearly 50 years after the adoption of the first pharmaceutical legislation in the EU, this initiative certainly provides for an excellent opportunity to ‘rethink’ the implementation of existing regulatory provisions, identify any gaps which need to be addressed, and reflect on the best future solutions,” says Sabine.

How far do the FDA and the EMA work together today?

Strong cooperation between the FDA and EMA is actually not a new topic. What was originally intended as a mutual recognition of inspection reports across the Atlantic in 1999 resulted in stronger cooperation between the two agencies in an exchange of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) inspection practices.

This will hopefully now be underpinned with a stronger commitment on both sides under the EU–US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (EU-US TTIP), leading to an even more efficient and risk-based use of resources both by regulators and industry.

Exchanges between the FDA and EMA involving scientific committees have become the norm behind the scenes – particularly during the assessment of a medicinal product, encompassing exchange of assessment reports and review documents. In addition, the two agencies have developed common procedures for applications for orphan drug designation. They also share information on pharmacovigilance, scientific advice and biomarkers.

All of these certainly deserve recognition.

Taking in a broader perspective on these topics, European citizens have elected a new European Parliament and a new European Commission has been appointed. Expectations remain high that these institutions will continue to drive the ‘Innovation Union’ agenda. In the area of pharmaceuticals, this will hopefully further enhance bilateral cooperation between the regions. n This article was published on www.roche. com, where more information on these and other issues can be found.

Industry Europe 15

NEWS

New contracts and orders in industry

Kalmar to deliver 18 forklift trucks to Algerian ports Stadler ships first

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almar, part of Cargotec, is delivering 18 forklift trucks to four different port authorities in Algeria: Algiers, Bejaia, Djen Djen and Mostaganem. The order was awarded by the Algerian port procurement company, Groupement D’Interêt Commun Des Entreprises Portuaires (GICEP).

GICEP groups together all public ports in Algeria, handling approximately 800,000 TEU annually. Their operations also include stevedor-

ing and general cargo handling. The new Kalmar equipment will help reduce cargo dwell times and increase storage capacity at the ports.

Kalmar’s previous delivery to Algeria included 25 reachstackers to five different ports in 2013.

Mr Saidi Mabrouk, general manager at GICEP, commented: “Our ports are investing considerably to add handling capacity and modernise fleets. After the good experience with our previous orders for Kalmar reachstackers, we are convinced that we have made the right choice.”

The delivery includes four medium forklifts and 14 heavy forklift trucks: four Kalmar DCE160-12 medium range units, six Kalmar DCF180-12 forklift trucks, three Kalmar DCF330-12 and DCF420-12 units as well as one Kalmar DCF520-12. Five units are equipped with an attachment for coil handling.

The delivery includes a spare parts package.

Visit: www.kalmarglobal.com

ABB to power new railway line in Africa A

BB has won orders worth around $16 million to supply traction substations and auxiliary power supply for a new rail corridor in Ethiopia.

The Awash-Kombolcha-Weldia line is part of a five-year growth and transformation plan being implemented by the Ethiopian Government to provide efficient mobility, facilitate trade and strengthen the economy.

The contract was awarded by Yapı Merkezi Construction and Industry Inc., a leading Turkish transportation infrastructure company.

ABB will design and supply engineered equipment packages for five 230/25 kilovolt (kV) traction substations, eight section posts and about 30 auxiliary substations. Key products to be supplied include a range of high- and medium-voltage switchgear and traction transformers rated at 25 megavolt-ampere (MVA),

FLSmidth signs contract for large cement project

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LSmidth has signed an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contract with CEMEX for the supply of a new cement production line to be installed at CEMEX’s Odessa cement plant. The plant is located in western Texas, USA. Once finished, the cement production line is expected to have a capacity

16 Industry Europe

power factor correction (PFC) transformers, FSK II+ railway circuit breakers and auxiliary power supply equipment.

The 400km Awash-Kombolcha-Weldia railway line will connect the northern and eastern traffic corridors of Ethiopia via Kombolcha and Weldia/ Hara Gebeya in the north.

Visit: www.abb.com

of approximately 2540 metric tonnes per day.

The expansion will utilise state-of-the-art production technology resulting in higher fuel efficiency and improved productivity.

The equipment scope includes a 5-stage ILC preheater with a Low NOx Calciner, 3-pier kiln, FLSmidth® Cross-Bar® cooler, Duoflex® burner, Pfister® weighing and dosing systems, gas analysers and three Fuller-Kinyon®

double deck Aeroexpress train to Moscow

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wiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler Rail Group has successfully shipped to Moscow the first unit of the 25 double-decker KISS trains ordered by Russian railway operator Aeroexpress. Commercial operation of the first train is expected to start in the summer of 2015, while the last train is expected to enter service one year later during the summer of 2016. The new trains will carry passengers between Moscow and the international airports of Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo.

The new double-deckers are 3400mm wide with a height of mm. The trains are designed to cope with the specific Russian climate, which can range from –50°C to +40°C and in this respect are based on the FLIRT vehicles delivered to Finland, Norway, Estonia and Belarus.

The trains will have a speed of 160 km/h and have comfortable, bright interiors in two classes (business and economy). The carriages are made from lightweight aluminium, which makes the vehicles much lighter than the traditional steel carriages. The reduced weight means that the train operator can make significant energy savings on everyday services.

Visit: www.stadlerrail.com pumps. Furthermore, an FLSmidth control system will ensure the most efficient operation.

“FLSmidth has a very strong local presence in the US, and the new production line will help CEMEX keep pace with the rapidly growing cement demand from the oil and gas industry in West Texas,” president of the Cement Division Per Mejnert Kristensen comments.

Visit: www.flsmidth.com

WINNINGBUSINESS

Bestobell Marine secures major Chinese contract Teamtechnik wins

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estobell Marine, part of the President Engineering Group, has secured a major new contract with Hudong Zhongua shipyard in Shanghai. The new contract is to supply cryogenic globe and check valves and Bestobell’s unique Float Level Insulation Valves (FLIV) for use on the four Teekay shipping vessels to be chartered by BG Group.

This latest order takes the total number of Chinese vessels using Bestobell’s valves to 14, helping the company secure its position as a major supplier of cryogenic globe and check valves for Liquefied Natural Gas Carriers (LNGC) in China. Duncan Gaskin, sales director of Bestobell Marine, said: “We are delighted to have secured our third major contract with Hudong Zhongua shipyard. Three years ago we had no market share in China and we are now a major supplier of cryogenic globe and check valves for Chinese ships. The use of LNG as fuel for ships is rising rapidly in China and we are excited about the opportunities to further expand our market here.”

Bestobell’s latest contract win is a result of its close relationship with its agent in China, Healthlead Development, which has well established connections with many of the major shipbuilding companies in China.

Visit: www.bestobellvalves.com

MacArtney supplies connectivity for ambitious water pipeline project

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o provide a secure supply of fresh water from Turkey to Cyprus, an ambitious transnational water pipeline project been approved and is under construction. MacArtney was contracted

by AES and I4O to provide the underwater connectivity solutions for various instrumentation systems mounted on the pipeline.

In the first such project in the world, Turkey will soon be able to pump water directly to northern Cyprus with the help of an 80km water pipe running under the Mediterranean Sea at a depth of up to 280m.

Symbolically named ‘Baris Su’ (Peace Water), the project will bring 75 billion cubic metres of fresh water a year from the Turkish river of Anamur to Cyprus. About half of the water will be used for agricultural development and the other half as drinking water.

MacArtney has supplied SubConn® connectors to interconnect 145 cables of approximately 1000m length which will be attached to the water pipe. At 1000 metre intervals, MacArtney have built special interconnect ‘T’ assemblies to interface the ends of the cable and to attach sensors for measuring water pressure and other parameters.

Visit: www.macartney.com

Vallourec awarded supply contract in Angola

metres water depth and reaching up to 5000 metres drilling depth.

The Kaombo project is composed of 59 wells to be drilled in a variety of complex geologies, requiring different types of well design. Vallourec will supply its most advanced premium tubular solutions, including VAM® 21 connections combined with integral premium connections (VAM® SLIJII and VAM® BOLT).

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allourec has been awarded a contract to supply premium tubes and connections for the ultra-deep offshore Kaombo project in Angola, operated by TOTAL E&P Angola.

As part of this contract, Vallourec will supply 27,000 tonnes of OCTG (Oil Country Tubular Goods) for wells drilled within 1400 to 2000

contract from Chinese GEELY Group

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he international teamtechnik Group has been awarded another major contract from China. The Chinese automobile manufacturer GEELY has ordered a test facility for the latest generation of double-clutch transmissions for GEELY and Volvo. This puts the teamtechnik Group ahead of the global market in passenger vehicle testing.

Delivery time on the 4-stand turnkey test facility is just 12 months. “This short delivery time on such a technically complex project is only possible because we have standardised our test benches so that we can produce them in series,” explains teamtechnik CEO Stefan Rosskopf. “And that’s exactly what our Chinese clients are looking for: a tried and tested standard test bench with hi-tech processes and intelligent test software that can quickly be made available for delivery.”

The modular structure of the COMPACT DRIVE also allows every transmission type to be tested on the same machine platform, from development to pre-series tests and right up to high-speed series production. The standardised production system modules are adapted to customer requirements. This considerably reduces the amount of engineering required.

Visit: www.teamtechnik.com

Commenting on this contract, Didier Hornet, director of the OCTG and Drilling business line, said: “Our premium tubular solutions are recognised as standards for the most demanding and complex applications.

This new contract demonstrates Vallourec’s capacity to support the development of the most challenging offshore projects.”

Visit: www.vallourec.com Industry Europe 17

NEWS

Combining strengths

ASSA ABLOY acquires Silvana and Metalika in Brazil Axfood and WWF ABLOY has signed an agreement to initiate collaboration ASSA acquire Silvana, a leading lock company, and acquired Metalika, a leading steel fire door for sustainable fish has company, both located in Brazil.

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xfood and WWF have signed a cooperation agreement surrounding sustainable fishing.

The aim is to improve the environmental situation at sea and as part of this to make sure that Axfood will meet its goal to sell sustainable fish products in the Willys, Hemköp and Axfood Snabbgross grocery chains. Above all the objective is to achieve the goal to sell only fish assigned a ‘green light’ by WWF’s 2020 seafood guide.

Both Axfood and WWF have provided financial support for the development of methods and tools for Swedish harvesting of North Sea shrimp in an effort to increase the amount of ecolabelled Swedish shrimp. Axfood now wants to take a further step and deepen its collaboration with WWF by investing in concrete projects to drive this development forward.

“We must work constantly and actively to develop the offering at our fish counters,” comments Åsa Domeij, head of Environment and Social Responsibility at Axfood. “It is a matter of highlighting good alternatives, working with ecolabelling, communicating with customers and more. This requires constant knowledgesharing, which is something we will gain with the help of WWF.” Visit: www.axfood.se

Benecke-Kaliko acquires two Mecaseat companies

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he Hannover-based Benecke-Kaliko Group, part of Germany’s Continental Corporation, has announced that it is expanding production of foils for car interiors in southern and eastern Europe. On 1 November 2014 Benecke-Kaliko took over two sites from Belgium’s Mecaseat Group.

18 Industry Europe

“I am very pleased that Silvana and Metalika are joining the ASSA ABLOY Group. Silvana and Metalika represent the group’s first major acquisitions in the large Brazilian market. This constitutes an important next step in our strategy to grow market presence in emerging markets,” says Johan Molin, president and CEO of ASSA ABLOY. “With these two important acquisitions, ASSA ABLOY will now offer more comprehensive door opening solutions across the large Brazilian market,” says Thanasis Molokotos, executive vice-president of ASSA ABLOY and head of the Americas Division.

Silvana was established in 1964 and is located in Campina Grande, Paraiba, in northeastern Brazil. Metalika, established in 1999, is located in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Together they double ASSA ABLOY’s existing presence and add approximately 410 employees.

Visit: www.assaabloy.com

Nizi International and Chemalloy reach agreement

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izi International (Nizi) and Chemalloy Company, Inc. (Chemalloy) have reached a non-binding agreement by which Nizi is to acquire substantially all of the business and assets of Chemalloy.

Chemalloy specialises in the manufacturing of custom sized alloys, metals, minerals and chemicals for various industrial applications. It is the leading supplier of metal powders to the North American welding industry. Headquartered in Bryn Mawr, PA, Chemalloy employs approximately 85 people.

Nizi is a leading marketer and distributor of ferroalloys, base metals and foundry products. Historically, the core market of Nizi has been Europe, while the acquisition of Miller and Company in 2012 strengthened the group in the US foundry market. The acquisition of Chemalloy will further strengthen the Nizi Group in North America.

Dag Teigland, CEO at Holta Invest and Chairman of Nizi International, commented on the announcement: “Nizi International represents our long-term industrial commitment towards the metal industry and we have high ambitions for the future development of the Nizi Group. With a strong financial platform, a highly dedicated organisation and a robust business model Nizi is well positioned for growth and further geographical expansion. Chemalloy fits right into this strategy.”

Visit: www.nizi.com The first of these is Mecaseat’s Spanish company Gorvi SA in Pamplona, which supplies customers in Spain, France and North Africa; the second is its Polish company Mecapol in Wagrowiec, which supplies eastern European and Russian customers with foils and upholstery materials.

“We didn’t just want to buy the business, but also its manufacturing capacities,”

says chairman of the executive board of Benecke-Kaliko, Dr Dirk Leiß. “With access to the market in southern Europe, we are sending a clear signal for further growth with French and Spanish manufacturers.”

Benecke-Kaliko operates four plants worldwide in China, Germany and Mexico.

The company posted sales of €392m in 2013.

Visit: www.benecke-kaliko.com

LINKINGUP

Acquisition to power growth for Ricardo

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icardo’s ambition to become the international partner of choice for the world’s motorcycle industries has been underscored with the announcement that the company has acquired UK consultancy Vepro Ltd, and is forming a new global motorcycle-focused business. The formation of the new Ricardo Motorcycles business of Ricardo plc combines the strengths of the company’s extensive existing in-house motorcycle engineering team, based at the company’s Schwäbisch Gmünd Technical Centre in southern Germany, with the UK based independent motorcycle, powersport and niche vehicle consultancy Vepro.

This expansion of in-house capability also builds upon the collaboration with Exnovo Srl of

Peab acquires construction companies in northern Norway

Italy. It enables Ricardo to provide an unprecedented level of full product development capability – applicable to the demands of the rapidly growing urban mobility sector in all parts of the world, and ranging from concept design to niche manufacture – for motorcycles, scooters and other two-, threeand small four-wheeler products.

The company’s CEO Dave Shemmans said: “From the luxury, high performance motorcycle brands of Europe, North America and Japan, to the much higher volume economy-focused commuter products of many Asian manufacturers, the global urban mobility sector is one in which Ricardo plc has a very significant role to play.”

Visit: www.ricardo.com

Scheidt & Bachmann and IVU form sales collaboration

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eab, one of the Nordic region’s leading construction and civil engineering companies, has signed an agreement to acquire the companies Nilsen & Haukland AS and AS Bogstrand based in Harstad in northern Norway. The companies are part of the same group and are engaged in contract and construction services The overall turnover of the companies for the fiscal year 2013 was 221 MNOK. Together they employ 120 people. The acquisition requires approval from the Norwegian competition authorities and admission is expected to occur during the fourth quarter of 2014.

Peab is the Nordic Community Builder with some 13,000 employees and net sales exceeding SEK 40 billion. The group’s subsidiaries have strategically located offices in Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Visit: www.peab.com

Soudal acquires Polish adhesive manufacturer Bochem

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oudal has announced the full takeover of Zaklady Chemiczne Bochem Sp. z.o.o., Poland’s independent manufacturer of industrial adhesives for the furniture, shoemaking, construction and automotive industries.

Bochem employs a staff of 88. Established in 1991, today Bochem not only supplies a wide

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cheidt & Bachmann’s Fare Collection Systems division and IVU Traffic Technologies AG have agreed to form a worldwide sales partnership and bundle together the strengths of both companies: Scheidt & Bachmann provides comprehensive systems for fare management while IVU offers IT solutions for fleet management (ITCS), passenger information and driver-operated vending systems.

Through joint collaboration, both companies can now offer complete systems, ranging from ticket sales and validation, access control, onboard computer, and control centres to dynamic information at bus stops and on mobile devices.

range of adhesives to various industries but has also established a successful business unit for the production of modified starch for the drywall industry, as well as a business unit for adhesive based lamination.

Bochem will continue to operate under its own name as a daughter company of the Soudal group. The current management will remain in place. For Soudal, this acquisition

This is based on integrated data and information management for their customers.

As a first result of this collaboration the companies demonstrated a farebox which integrates both companies’ systems. This solution combines ticketing functions such as ticket sales & validation with comprehensive ITS functionalities.

“With IVU AG we have the perfect partner to expand our expertise in ticketing with superb fleet control and passenger information systems,” says Matthias Augustyniak, managing director at Scheidt & Bachmann.

Visit: www.scheidt-bachmann.de means the further extension of its technical competence and experience in adhesive technologies, combined with a wide-ranging portfolio of products.

Vic Swerts, founder and chairman of Soudal, said: “The takeover of Bochem is an important step for us and offers us the opportunity to extend our core competences.”

Visit: www.soudal.com Industry Europe 19

NEWS

MOVINGON

Relocations and expansions across Europe

Hexcel invests in new R&T facility Works starts on flagship Morgan facility in the Middle East H W excel has established a new £6 million R&T facility and additional investments for capacity expansions at the site. These investments will add up to 100 jobs to the Duxford, UK, workforce by 2017.

Duxford is Hexcel’s largest centre for research into resin systems and adhesives. Hexcel’s innovations in polymer chemistry and material science, together with advanced fibres from Hexcel operations in the United States, were instrumental in Hexcel being awarded its largest ever contract by Airbus to supply all of the carbon fibre prepregs for the A350 XWB primary structures.

The site is also Hexcel’s centre of excellence for process technology including product scale-up and research into new process methods for making composite materials, including quality control methods.

Hexcel decided to create a new dedicated facility to house all chemistry functions, to further expand R&D expertise and continue the development of leading edge technologies that will enable composite materials to penetrate further in aerospace structures and in selected industrial applications for energy, automotive and other industrial markets. Construction of the Innovation Centre is scheduled for completion in 2016.

Visit: www.hexcel.com

New subsidiary for SCHOTTEL

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CHOTTEL has founded a new subsidiary: SCHOTTEL HYDRO GmbH. The new company will incorporate the hydrokinetic energy business of SCHOTTEL and comprises activities in three segments: hydrokinetic turbines, semi-submerged platforms, and components, such as turbine hubs and drives. SCHOTTEL HYDRO is located in Spay, Germany, while SCHOTTEL sales and service locations ensure customer proximity worldwide.

“For a few years we have been working on the development of highly efficient, reliable and cost-effective solutions for gaining instream energy,“ explains Prof. Dr Gerhard Jensen, CEO of SCHOTTEL. “SCHOTTEL HYDRO allows us to dedicate even more to hydrokinetic energy solutions. By now we are involved in projects around the world and aim at a full penetration of the emerging hydrokinetic energy market with our solutions and products.“ SCHOTTEL hydrokinetic turbines are lightweight, yet robust in-stream generators, with a rotor diameter between three and five metres.

Visit: www.schottel.de

CybAero invests in advanced test facility

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irst North-listed CybAero, which develops and markets unmanned helicopters, has decided to build a test centre which will contain the industry’s most sophisticated equipment. The centre is scheduled to be ready for occupancy by April 2015.

20 Industry Europe

ork has started on Morgan Advanced Materials’ first dedicated facility in the Middle East, located in Kizad, Abu Dhabi – a major trade and logistics zone. The factory will focus initially on the production of hightemperature fibre products for use in sectors including oil & gas, aluminium, steel, energy, petrochemicals and fire protection, with expansion into other product areas planned for the future. Through an initial 30-year agreement, Morgan has committed to an initial investment of AED 50 million (around £8.25 million) in a facility of more than 400,000 sq ft (37,000m2) at Kizad.

Morgan has had a presence in the region since 2001 when it established a sales office in the UAE to service customers in the Middle East and North Africa. The decision to create a dedicated local facility follows significant growth in demand for its products, especially in the areas of thermal insulation, energy saving, acoustic barriers and fire protection, many of which are produced to meet very high specifications and are designed for use in extreme environments.

Visit: www.morganthermalceramics.com

DSM opens international research centre

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oyal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, has opened its new centre for research into and development of high-performance materials on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Sittard-Geleen, the Netherlands. The completion of DSM’s largest materials centre worldwide is part of the €100 million investment in knowledge and innovation in the Netherlands that DSM announced in May 2012. The centre employs over 400 knowledge workers and combines important technological skills and expertise unique in the Netherlands for use in applications the world over.

The materials centre is an important base for DSM’s Materials Sciences research and marketing activities. Furthermore, it will be the most important research centre worldwide for DSM Engineering Plastics. Historically, Sittard-Geleen has been the main centre of DSM’s high-performance materials research. In addition, being located on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus offers opportunities for open innovation owing to the proximity of other start-up and established companies as well as research and education institutes.

Visit: www.dsm.com

“Our testing represents a large and important part of our commitment to offer customised solutions. Our goal is to become the leading supplier in the market based on customer satisfaction,” says Mikael Hult, CybAero’s CEO. The test centre will occupy an area of 300 square metres and will be located only minutes away from CybAero’s head

office in the Mjärdevi Science Park in Linköping, Sweden.

“At the test centre, we will be able to test components, customer-specific solutions and, together with clients, perform complete factory tests, including functionality and performance prior to delivery,” Mikael Hult explains.

Visit: www.cybaero.se

NEWS

INDUSTRYPEOPLE

Nexam Chemical appoints new CEO New chairman of Royal Dutch Shell

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exam Chemical’s board has appointed Anders Spetz as its new CEO. Anders Spetz has a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering and has a long and broad experience from the international plastics and chemicals industry, with senior management positions. Most recently, Anders comes from the listed company Sanitec where he has been commercially responsible (CCO) and part of the group management. He has previously worked at Akzo Nobel and Neste Chemical, as well as CEO in the Trioplast group.

Nexam Chemical has successfully built a broad portfolio of patented technologies and products and established a number of collaborative projects with globally leading chemical companies.

“I very much look forward to taking the next step in Nexam Chemical’s positive development.

Strategic collaborations with the major companies in the global market for plastics is a strong platform for the company,” says Mr Spetz.

Stephane Le-Mounier appointed president, SKF Automotive

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KF has announced that Stephane Le-Mounier has been appointed president of the business area SKF Automotive. Stephane will assume his new role on 1 January 2015 and will be a member of SKF’s group management and executive committee. He succeeds Tryggve Sthen, who is retiring.

Stephane joined SKF in 1988 and has held a number of senior positions within both SKF’s industrial and automotive businesses.

Most recently, he was director of the group’s aerospace business unit.

Stephane holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a post-graduate degree in Finance and Controlling. He is a French national. SKF Automotive serves manufacturers of cars, light trucks, heavy trucks, trailers, buses, two-wheelers and the vehicle aftermarket. In 2013, the business area generated SEK 17,421m in net sales, representing 27% of the group’s total.

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he board of directors of Royal Dutch Shell is pleased to announce the appointment of Charles O. Holliday as chairman. Mr Holliday will succeed Jorma Ollila who will step down from the board having served as chairman for nine years.

Chad Holliday was appointed as a non-executive director of the company with effect from September 2010, and is currently chairman of the corporate and social responsibility committee and member of the remuneration committee. He was CEO of DuPont from 1998 to 2009, and chairman from 1999 to 2009.

Chad Holliday said: “I am honoured to be appointed chairman of this great company, and I look forward to working with Ben van Beurden and the whole board to deliver the strategy.”

New business development manager at STG Aerospace S

TG Aerospace, a world leader in innovative aircraft lighting technologies, is pleased to announce the appointment of Pierre Michard as business development manager. Pierre will be working closely with customer representatives, including engineers, buyers and planners, as well as STG Aerospace’s own sales team to establish and execute long-term business development and marketing strategies.

Pierre brings eight years’ aerospace industry experience to STG Aerospace, having previously worked for Tier 1 manufacturers, MROs and the French MoD. Most recently he was a programme manager at Esterline, supporting the Entry Into Service of the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB and TP400 engines. Prior to that, he held positions as contract manager at the French MoD in Paris and business development manager at ELTRA in Hong-Kong.

Commenting on his appointment, Pierre said: “This is an exciting opportunity for me. I’m very much looking forward to helping STG Aerospace exploit its pioneering lighting technologies to the full.”

New managing director for Langh Ship

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aura Langh-Lagerlöf has been elected as Langh Ship’s new managing director.

Its previous managing director, Hans Langh, has taken over as chairman of the board.

Laura Langh-Lagerlöf, 33, sees the change as a natural transition: “I’m a born-and-bred entrepreneur. When my father bought the

first ship that he owned outright in 1983, I was on the ship with him to see it happen.

I am thrilled at the opportunity to take the company forward.”

Hans Langh, 65, will stay on with the company as an adviser: “Laura has essentially been part of running the company for a long time already, but now she will be assuming the full responsibility of managing director.”

Industry Europe 21

NEWS

TECHNOLOGYSPOTLIGHT ThyssenKrupp develops world’s first rope-free elevator system

Lockheed Martin pursuing compact nuclear fusion reactor concept

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he Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® team is working on a new compact fusion reactor (CFR) that can be developed and deployed in as little as ten years. Currently, there are several patents pending that cover their approach.

While fusion itself is not new, the Skunk Works has built on more than 60 years of fusion research and investment to develop an

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he era of the rope-dependent elevator is now over, 160 years after its invention. ThyssenKrupp places linear motors in elevator cabins, transforming conventional elevator transportation in vertical metro systems. MULTI elevator technology increases transport capacities and efficiency while reducing the elevator footprint and peak loads from the power supply in buildings. Several cabins in the same shaft moving vertically and horizontally will permit buildings to adopt different heights, shapes, and purposes.

The first MULTI unit will be in tests by 2016.

Now, the long-pursued dream of operating multiple cabins in the same elevator shaft is made possible by applying the linear motor technology of the magnetic levitation train Transrapid to the elevator industry. MULTI will transform how people move inside buildings.

In a manner similar to a metro system operation, the MULTI design can incorporate various self-propelled elevator cabins per shaft running in a loop, increasing the shaft transport capacity by up to 50% and making it possible to reduce the elevator footprint in buildings by as much as 50%. Using no cables at all, a multi-level brake system and inductive power transfers from shaft to cabin, MULTI requires smaller shafts than conventional elevators, and can increase a building’s usable area by up to 25%.

The significant extra space available is only one of MULTI’s advantages. Although the ideal building height for MULTI installations starts at 300 metres, this system is not constrained by a building’s height. Building design will no longer be limited by the height or vertical alignment of elevator shafts, opening hitherto unimagined possibilities for architects and building developers.

Visit: www.thyssenkrupp.com 22 Industry Europe

Advances in technology across industry

approach that offers a significant reduction in size compared to mainstream efforts.

“Our compact fusion concept combines several alternative magnetic confinement approaches, taking the best parts of each, and offers a 90% size reduction over previous concepts,” said Tom McGuire, compact fusion lead for the Skunk Works’ Revolutionary Technology Programs. “The smaller size will allow us to design, build and test the CFR in less than a year.”

After completing several of these designbuild-test cycles, the team anticipates being able to produce a prototype in five years. As they gain confidence and progress technically with each experiment, they will also be searching for partners to help further the technology.

Visit: www.lockheedmartin.com

GKN Aerospace leads new research to progress wing technologies

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KN Aerospace is to lead a challenging 13-partner, 27-month, £30m future wing research programme, backed by the UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI). The VIEWS (Validation and Integration of Manufacturing Enablers for Future Wing Structures) programme will bring promising wing design, manufacture and assembly technologies near to market readiness, whilst selecting some novel technologies for further development.

VIEWS will progress technologies that have emerged from the recently completed STeM (Structures Technology Maturity) research programme. Also led by GKN Aerospace, STeM has identified processes that could reduce by 20% the cost of manufacture and assembly of a typical composite box structure.

The work of the new VIEWS programme will span manufacturing and assembly processes including: identifying and defining future manufacturing requirements to produce novel wing architectures; assessing tools that will improve product and process design and enhance the flow of production; progressing a variety of emerging composite and metallic manufacturing and assembly technologies and processes; and studying innovative inspection and repair tools. In the final stages, the partner companies will produce test demonstrators to validate the maturity of key technologies.

The VIEWS team includes four industrial partners: GKN Aerospace, Bombardier Aero-

space, Spirit AeroSystems, and GE Aviation; five of the UK’s high value manufacturing catapult centres: the National Composites Centre, the Manufacturing Technology Centre, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (the University of Sheffield),the Warwick Manufacturing Group (the University of Warwick) and the Advanced Forming Research Centre (the University of Strathclyde); and the Universities of Nottingham, Bath, Bristol and Sheffield Hallam.

Visit: www.gkn.com

NEWS

NOTICEBOARD

Bosch helps make New Biaxtronic CO from KARL MAYER MALIMO changing lanes safer K ARL MAYER MALIMO has combined the key components of its RS MSUS-V machine with biaxial technology and developed a biaxial machine featuring weft insertion in line with the courses.

This new innovation is known as the Biaxtronic CO. Compared to the conventional version, this new composite machine offers an improved cost:benefit ratio and advantages in terms of its operation and maintenance. But above all, the quality of the product has changed – an

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o help minimise the risk of driving accidents when changing lanes, Bosch has developed the lane-changing assistant, which receives the information it needs from the new mid-range radar sensor for rear-end applications.

A leading global car manufacturer is currently putting the Bosch system into series production for one of its high-volume mid-sized vehicles.

To make changing lanes safer, this European manufacturer has concealed two sensors in the rear bumper – one on the left, one on the right. These two MRR rear sensors monitor the area alongside and behind the car. Powerful control software collates the sensor information to produce a complete picture of all traffic in the area behind the vehicle. Whenever another vehicle approaches at speed from behind or is already present in the blind spot, a signal such as a warning light in the side mirror alerts the driver to the hazard.

Visit: www.bosch.com

important advantage, particularly for the Chinese wind turbine market. There, manufacturers of multiaxial structures for the blades of wind turbines want a construction containing weft yarns that are not pierced during the knitting process.

As with all stitch-bonded biaxial textiles, the fabrics produced on the Biaxtronic CO are made up of zero inlays and weft yarns and, if required, an additional base web.

Visit: www.karlmayer.com

SCHURTER introduces new filter series

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CHURTER has expanded its successful range of FMBC NEO 3-phase filters with a low leakage current series for applications where no high leakage currents are allowed. The new FMBC LL series of filters is designed for rated currents between 7 and 180 A. It is ideal for leakage current-critical industrial applications such as drive technology.

Today’s electrical industrial installations are increasingly being fitted with residual current devices (RCD) to ensure efficient personal protection. This is also a requirement in certain countries for 3-phase systems, for example plug-in systems up to 32 A. The RCD limits the current to earth to a maximum of 30 mA. This poses a particular problem in drive technology since the frequency inverters that control the engine generate considerable leakage current.

Long motor cables further aggravate the problem since they increase the capacity to earth and

hence the currents to earth too. The new series of FMBC LL filters helps reduce the leakage currents and permits compliance with common EMC standards as an efficient input filter.

Visit: www.schurter.com

Farm trailer wins Swedish Steel Prize University Challenge

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he winner of the Swedish Steel Prize University Challenge 2014 is a lighter, safer chassis solution for an agricultural trailer.

With the winning solution chassis weight could be reduced by over 20% from 522 kg to 410 kg, and the chassis was safer. The two trailer prototypes that were built for the end customer have shown good performance and received positive reviews.

The winning chassis solution was developed

by Manuel Genzor, a civil engineer from Spain.

The trailer chassis was originally developed by the Spanish trailer manufacturer Beguer, which in turn contacted the University of Zaragoza in northern Spain for help in testing the chassis

performance. Genzor, who was studying for a degree in civil engineering, became interested in the project and used it for his thesis. With Sergio Sanchez from Beguer as his mentor, Genzor tested replacing mild steel parts in the chassis with the high-strength steel, Domex 700 MC. Beguer has even built and sold three more trailers since the project was completed.

“This is a good example for both Beguer and SSAB of how a student project can develop into real business development projects,” said Luis Antunano, area sales manager for SSAB Specials Steels in Spain.

Visit: www.ssab.com Industry Europe 23

EURO-REPORT

FOCUS ON...

Germany Allan Hall reports from Berlin on Germany’s fears of pro-Russian influence in Europe.

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he oil prices are tumbling, the ruble is crumbling and all is not well for Russian leader Vladimir Putin as the sanctions he once laughed at now begin to bite badly into his nation’s economy.

But according to media reports in Germany, one of the toughest proponents of the economic punishment now being meted out to his country, he may be playing a much longer game than anyone hitherto anticipated.

Well-connected media sources say he has embarked on a secret plan to become the de-facto leader of conservative parties across Europe in a bid to influence policy towards Russia for decades to come.

Smarting and isolated due to international sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, Germany’s biggest newspaper BILD published details of the Kremlin plot in which Putin seeks to hold sway over a continent currently aligned against him in the last week of November.

BILD quoted German intelligence sources saying that the country’s only mildly-eurosceptic party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), is being wooed by Russian agents as part of the campaign “to construct a network of right-wing populism in western Europe.”

The story was followed up by more heavyweight publications and was never denied by the German government, caught as it is between a rock and a hard place when it comes to placating the Russian bear and its export-reliant businesses which make up the bulk of the economy.

Moscow’s Centre for Strategic Communications has allegedly drafted the blueprint for the covert operation under the title: ‘Putin: the new leader of international conservatism’. It is unclear whether the UK, currently home to thousands of Russian exiles in London who refer to the capital as ‘Moscow on Thames’, features in his grand plan.

Part of the Kremlin strategy includes acquiring gold dealerships through front companies to support parties friendly to it.

24 Industry Europe

The report also suggests Russian banks and financial institutions run by the country’s secret services could provide cheap loans to the parties it wants to control; recently a loan of nine million euros was made through the First Czech Russian Bank of Moscow to the National Front in France.

BILD, which is known in Germany for its credible sources within the intelligence community, said: “In Europe Putin dreams – and he has said this publicly – of having a sphere of influence across the continent all the way down to Portugal.” It said that at the end of May this year Putin met secretly in Vienna with leaders of right-wing parties, including those from Bulgaria, Austria and France. He is cultivating Germany now because of an AfD vote in March this year against western sanctions.

“In Europe Putin dreams...of having a sphere of influence across the continent all the way down to Portugal.”

Russian politician and Putin’s friend Vladimir Jakunin has been tasked to coordinate the political and diplomatic wooing offensive with the right-wing parties and appeared in Berlin in the last week of November as the main speaker at a conference aimed at cementing ties with ‘friends of Russia’. He has been described as ‘Putin’s most important western networker’ in the past and one of the Kremlin’s most effective propagandists.

Continuing Ukraine crisis Putin’s quest for political influence over a continent ranged against him comes as Berlin itself is divided about what to do about the ongoing Ukraine crisis. “A political solu-

tion is more distant than ever in the Russia conflict, with the German government and EU having exhausted their diplomatic options. A rift may now be growing between Chancellor Merkel and her foreign minister over Berlin’s tough stance against Moscow,” said the influential Der Spiegel magazine at the start of December.

The spectre of war, of innocents dying in a Europe that tore itself to pieces vanquishing Hitler just seven decades ago, is a nightmare one for Germans. “But everyone seems to be at wits’ end,” say federal government sources in Berlin.

In the past, the German government sought to serve as a bridge between eastern and western Europe. But significant differences in the assessment of the situation are starting to emerge within the coalition government pairing Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).

“The greatest danger is that we allow division to be sown between us,” the chancellor said recently. But it has already been sown and the harvest of uncertainty can, say observers, only work in Putin’s favour.

Chancellor Merkel fears pro-Russian separatists may seek to divide eastern Ukraine and that the west will have to resign itself to that development.

Her foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier wants to avoid provoking the Russians, fearing that would force Moscow into an even more defensive posture and would further complicate cooperation with Russia in other areas like the nuclear negotiations with Iran.

So if Putin can wait long enough for infighting in Berlin to begin to give him the political and military advantage he craves – and even longer to eventually win control of rightist parties in Europe – he may yet emerge as the strongest Russian strongman since Ivan the Terrible.

And, say critics, it will be a dithering, divided n west which helped him.

EURO-REPORT

FOCUS ON...

France Ian Sparks reports from Paris on a controversial move by the French government.

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he French government has triggered accusations of ‘treason’ by announcing it is selling half of the Toulouse-Blagnac airport in south-west France – the home of aircraft maker Airbus – to a Chinese-led consortium for €308 million.

The planned 49.99 per cent stake sale of France’s fourth largest airport comes amid a €10 billion selling frenzy of French assets by the government in a bid to fill the country’s near-empty coffers, under pressure from Brussels.

The Symbiose consortium consists of Chinese financial groups the Shandong Hi-Speed Group and Friedmann Pacific Asset Management.

Under the terms of the deal, the Paris government will retain a 10.01 per cent stake, and local authorities a just under 40 per cent stake in the airport which last year saw about 7.5 million passengers pass through its gates, and which the European consortium Airbus uses to test and assemble its planes.

In an interview with regional newspaper La Dépêche du Midi, France’s economy minister Emmanuel Macron defended the sale, saying: “This is not a privatisation but rather that the capital is being opened up with local authorities and the government remaining the main stakeholders, holding 50.01 per cent of the capital.

“We’re not selling the airport, we’re not selling the runways nor the buildings which remain in the government’s ownership.”

But the controversial move has sparked anger from right-wing politicians, with Gaullist MP Nicolas Dupont-Aignan branding the sale as ‘treason’.

Mr Dupont-Aignan, also chairman of the Debout La France (Stand-up France) movement, said: “I am ashamed of this minister who, in order to obey Brussels commissioners, is now selling our country. It is completely absurd and completely uneconomical, because it is the airport for Airbus.

“It is high treason; it means that people who lead us no longer defend the French.

There are also fears of espionage on what is the principal centre of the aviation industry.”

Even some lawmakers within the ruling Socialist Party called for the sale to be halted.

Socialist Party Senator Marie-Noëlle Lienemann said: “The opening up of the airports to private capital is a scandal comparable to the selling off of France’s motorways by the right. Macron believes he is in Greece where the government sold ports to the Chinese to reduce deficits which continued to increase.”

And National Front Party leader Marine Le Pen described the move as an outright sellout of national interests. She added: “Selling off strategic assets such as this airport to foreign investors is the opposite of politics supporting economic development in the long-term and national independence.

This is even more true for Toulouse where Airbus has its headquarters, requiring even more vigilance vis-à-vis all foreign investors in this sector.”

‘The French way’ But a separate sale of French assets fell through for a second time in December when an American tycoon refused to rescue a doomed French tyre factory in frustration at the nation’s ‘stupid’ labour laws.

US tyre giant Titan International’s boss Maurice Taylor branded French unions demands for the takeover as “the dumbest thing in the world.” And he said it was so difficult to do business in France, the nation may as well “become communist.”

He told France Info radio: “You can’t buy Goodyear. Under your laws, we have to take a minimum of 662 or 672 employees. You can’t do that. The most you could take is 333. There’s no business for that plant now.

You guys have got to wake up over there and tell the unions: ‘Hey if they’re so smart, they should buy the factory’.

“It’s stupid. It’s the dumbest thing in the world. France should just become communist and then when it goes all bad like Russia did, then maybe you’d have a chance.”

It is Taylor’s second failed attempt to buy the Goodyear plant in Amiens that is threatened with closure and the loss of 1170 jobs. He visited the factory in February last year, and later wrote to France’s then industry minister Arnaud Montebourg branding workers as ‘lazy, overpaid and talking too much’.

He said in the letter published in the Les Echoes financial newspaper: “I have visited the factory several times. The French workforce gets paid high wages but works only three hours. They get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three hours and work for three. I told the French union workers this to their faces. They told me that’s the French way!

“Titan is the one with the money and the talent to produce tyres. What does the crazy union have? It has the French government.

“The French farmer wants cheap tyres.

He does not care if the tyres come from India or China and these governments are subsidising them. Your government doesn’t care either.”

Mr Taylor’s latest embarrassing assessment of French workers comes as France teeters on the brink of recession and unemployment has risen above three million – the highest level of joblessness in 15 years.

A 2013 global study of working hours also revealed the French worked the fewest hours of any country on Earth. The report by Swiss bank UBS found the French graft for just 1480 hours a year, with 27 days’ annual holiday – meaning they have more free time than any other nation on the planet.

Britons work 1782 hours a year – 301 more than the French – and have 20 days’ holiday a year, making it the world’s 36th n most lazy nation, it was found.

Industry Europe 25

AT THE LEADING EDGE L

ast October, in a speech on inward investment into the USA, President Barack Obama referred to the Belgian aerospace company Asco as offering an excellent example of the kind of high technology manufacturing investment that was helping to revitalise the US economy. He was thinking specifically of Asco’s start-up of production at a new facility in Stillwater,

Oklahoma, just over a year after the acquisition of the site.

“Asco currently realises some 40 per cent of its turnover in North and South America so the US was the obvious choice for a new production site to better serve our aircraft manufacturing customers in both regions and to accelerate our growth in these dynamic markets,” explains Asco President

and CEO Christian Boas. “We settled on the Oklahoma location because it is geographically central in the USA and is home to a cluster of aerospace companies. Stillwater itself is the site of the Oklahoma State University, which has an excellent reputation in aerospace and R&T, and to the Meridian Technology Centre, which offers excellent facilities for training and development.

“We bought a 66,000m2 building there, formerly operated by Mercury Marine, in 2012 and the first $100m phase of our investment will be completed early next year. We are setting up a state-of-the-art production facility that will incorporate processes such as machining, heat and surface treatment and assembly in a vertically integrated plant that will offer our American customers a one-stop-shop. We have been supplying major customers such as Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer from our plants in Belgium, Germany and Vancouver for many years but the Oklahoma site will not only significantly increase our production capacity but will also reduce lead times and inventory and increase our flexibility in responding to the rapidly growing aircraft production rates of the major plane makers.”

Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, Asco is a world leader in the design and manufacture of wing components that allow jet airliners to take off and land safely. Peter Mercer went to its headquarters outside Brussels to meet CEO Christian Boas.

60 years of engineering excellence Asco is known throughout the aerospace industry as a world-class designer, developer and manufacturer of high technology operating and support mechanisms for the slats and flaps on aircraft wings as well as other complex assemblies and structural components.

This year it celebrates its 60th anniversary, having been started in Brussels in 1954 by Emiel Boas as a trading house for car spares.

It is still a family controlled company; today’s CEO Christian Boas is the grandson of the founder. By the mid 1960s Asco was renovating mechanical parts for the military vehicles of the Belgian army and by the 1970s it was supplying Alvis of the UK with suspension, gearbox and turret components for the Scorpion and Scimitar light tanks. It went on to establish a leading position in the armoured vehicle industry, producing suspension components for British, German and US main battle tanks as well as complete aluminium shells for troop transport vehicles.

Asco’s break into the aircraft industry came in 1979 when it became a member of the Belairbus management company that was set up by the Belgian government to help its aeronautical industry to participate in the

European Airbus programme that had begun in the early 70s with the launch of the A300.

Asco was approached by the Belgian company Sonaco, which was involved in airframe work, to supply slat tracks for the wings of the new Airbus 310, the 200+ seat aircraft that went on to mark up more than 250 deliveries.

Slat tracks allow the slats on the leading edge of aircraft wings to be extended and retracted on take-off and landing, Slats enable the wing to operate at a higher angle of attack, increasing lift and making possible shorter take-off and landing distances.

From the beginning Asco realised that supplying the aircraft industry with even the smallest part was a business unlike any other and it now needed more than ever to stay true to its motto ‘Do it right from the start’. It had only a weekend to draft its offer for the A310 slat track contract and even when it had acquired the latest machine tools from Germany it took nine months between receiving the raw material and delivering the finished part. Today things happen a bit faster – Asco can provide a set of parts for an Airbus A330 in just five days. And for a set for the massive A380, it must take into account a total of 2500 components.

New needs need a new approach.

Innovation is about more than simply working with new composites and new alloys. What is important here is the approach taken by the aerospace industry, and the technologically expedient and cost-effective machining solutions being developed. Product ideas must lead to competitive series-production solutions. It is only in this way that machining can contribute towards higher profitability and, consequently, competitiveness. And this is where we come in! We offer the most comprehensive range of metal cutting tools in the world for metal and composite materials, and for many years, we have been developing innovative and flexible solutions for machining in aerospace technology. Even though new composites and alloys are becoming increasingly difficult to machine, our boring, milling, turning and threading solutions are setting standards. www.walter-tools.com

Take off The A310 was produced in relatively small volumes and the real transformation of Asco into an aerospace company came with the launch of the A320 in the late 1980s. For this aircraft, which was equipped with electrical rather than hydraulic flight controls, Asco was responsible for the complete manufacture of the parts – nickel based steel slat rails and a rack and pinion system – including surface treatment and destructive and non-destructive testing.

It also manufactured the torque tubes for the carbon brakes of the landing gear. This programme turned out to be of a completely different scale – up to now around 10,000 A320s have gone through Airbus’ order book and the production rate is scheduled to reach 46 aircraft a month by 2016.

“Since the A320 launch, Asco has been involved in all the Airbus programmes, including the A330, A340, A380 and now the A350,” says Christian Boas. “In fact since the mid 1990s we have supplied parts for every western commercial aircraft model in the 50 seat plus range. We quickly established ourselves as the world leader in leading edge slat mechanisms but we also recognised the need to diversify and broaden our capabilities. So for the Airbus A380, for example, we manufacture and supply carriages for the trailing edge flaps, pylon brackets for the outer engines , the main strut of the nose landing gear as well as the leading edge slat tracks and the droop nose actuators.” The

28 Industry Europe

droop nose on the A380 does not involve the actual nose of the aircraft pivoting downwards on landing and take-off, as in the Concorde, but rather the downward rotation of the entire leading edge of the wing between the fuselage and the inboard engines.

In 1995 Asco succeeded in diversifying in another sense when it signed its first contract with Boeing to supply wing components for the new generation 737-600. These included slat tracks, trailing edge flap tracks and flap carriages. The company went to on to supply parts for all succeeding Boeing aircraft, including slat track assemblies and engine fittings from its Vancouver plant and brake rods for the main landing gear for the 777 and, for the 747-8, the torque boxes which attach the engines to the wings. Asco is also playing a major part in the 787 Dreamliner programme, supplying slat tracks and the crown and lower frames of the fuselage section that supports the vertical fin.

In the regional aircraft market Asco supplies both Bombardier – with slat tracks and flap support systems for the C Series – and Brazil’s Embraer – with ribs for the wing main box of the E-Jet.

Production on two continents Asco’s headquarters and its Belgian production factory is at Zaventem, near Brussels airport, a site that has been home to the company since 1973. Today this facility specialises in the design, development and

production of complex prismatic components in titanium and steel up to 2.5 metres in length. Recent investments at Zaventem have included two completely new production facilities equipped with high technology and high performance machining centres and machines for heat and surface treatment.

These new facilities represent an expansion of the site from 43,000m2 to 50,000m2.

Asco Deutschland was acquired in 2003; it was formerly a German family company that had been providing parts, including engine pylons and landing gear boxes, to leading companies in the German aeronautical sector since 1962. Today the site at Gedern, near Frankfurt, is Asco’s centre of excellence for the high speed cutting of large and complex aluminium structural parts and extruded profiles.

Asco’s Canadian plant specialises in very large complex high speed aluminium and complex hard metal machining and assembly. The facility, in Delta, British Columbia, was acquired in 2003 from a former Boeing supplier just as Asco won the manufacturing contract for the Boeing 777 slat tracks.

Today the plant extends to more than 10,200 m2 and has more than 170 employees.

“Our Canadian plant established Asco as a key direct supplier to Boeing, complementing our long-standing relationship with Airbus in Europe,” explains Mr Boas. “It is only a short distance away from the main Boeing Everett assembly facility in Seattle. This closeness to the customer is ever more important as the production rate of commercial aircraft is rising so quickly these days. We already deliver components from Delta to the Boeing plant twice a day and as Boeing is now increasing production of the new 737 to more than 50 aircraft a month, we need to keep pace.”

Asco Canada also produces complex titanium and aluminium components for Lockheed Martin’s F35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Even closer to the Boeing plant in Seattle – in fact just minutes away – is the Asco USA Design Centre, which can deliver rapid

MAKINO: Your first-choice supplier Makino, a Japanese world leader for advanced technology machine tools, is deeply involved in the aerospace industry with specific equipment dedicated to 5-axis machining of light alloy parts but also complex hard materials such as titanium, the use of which is increasing for the latest aircraft generation.

For titanium machining Makino has developed innovative technologies that enable significant increases in cycle time and tool life performances compared to standard machines.

The 5-axis T series, available in three sizes and specifically designed for titanium machining, includes besides their high rigid design the latest Makino technologies such as active dampening, high-flow, high-pressure through-spindle coolant, and Makino’s tried-and-tested Thermal Stabilizer. The latest model (T1) has been designed specifically as multi-purpose machine tool, capable of machining titanium and other aerospace alloys.

One of world leaders for landing gear components manufacture, ASCO has joined the list of Makino customers for titanium machining by investing in T2 machines for flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) at its Belgium plant.

engineering responses both to Asco’s customers and to its local suppliers. There are also Asco offices in Brazil and France.

Developing products, optimising process The accelerating growth in commercial aircraft production all over the world means that Asco has continually to invest in upgrading capacity, improving productivity and increasing efficiency as well as adapting to the fast-changing technology of aircraft structures. In fact, the world fleet of passenger aircraft is set to double over the next 20 years, which means there will be a demand for more than 36,000 new aircraft in that time frame. At the same time there is pressure to reduce the environmental impact of air travel and to reduce operating costs.

That means lighter aircraft that burn less fuel, which means more use of lightweight materials such as composites and constant improvements in aerodynamic efficiency.

“There are essentially two aspects to our future development programmes – working on new products and new materials and improving processes,” says Christian Boas. “Our product-related R&D is currently focused on areas such as new laminar wing profiles, composite technology for structural parts and the use of carbon fibre reinforced plastics. We are participating in the European Union Clean Sky programme to promote greener aviation with, for example, high lift devices for laminar wings.

These are leading edge flaps that disappear completely into the lower part of the wing when retracted, so the upper wing surface is clean and smooth with no steps or gaps to disturb the laminar airflow over it. This significantly enhances aerodynamic efficiency and lowers fuel consumption. We are also looking at new composite leading edge devices and new actuation and support mechanisms. There are always

new problems to solve – composites, for example, are more and more in demand for long-range aircraft but composites and aluminium don’t work well together and you have to use titanium as an interface.”

To meet the constantly increasing demand for its products Asco also has to continually upgrade its processes – it always needs faster and more reliable machines, more efficient supply chains, greater flexibility and lower costs. In its plants it must optimise the interfaces between machines, equipment and the buildings themselves while within the plants it operates flexible manufacturing systems which enable several machines to be managed by a cell controller unit; surface treatment at its plants is now automated and sand blasting robotised. It is all, as Christian Boas says, to make the whole process ‘leaner, cleaner and meaner’.

Constantly diversifying Even though it has full order books for the next five years Asco is constantly looking to diversify and expand its capabilities, its product range and its key markets. “Clearly the core of our business will continue to be with Airbus and Boeing and we are fully engaged in the Airbus A350 XWB programme, for which we are the single source for the slat tracks and hinge arm mechanisms for all versions; we also supply main landing gear titanium attachments,” says

Christian Boas. “But we also have long-term contracts to supply leading edge components for Bombardier’s C Series and for Embraer’s E2 and its KC390 military transport.”

The Embraer transport is not the only military project that Asco is involved in. In Europe it is jointly responsible for the trailing edge tracks and components for the huge main landing gear of the Airbus A400M, the large military transport aircraft that has been ordered by seven European air forces. Asco Canada is also producing important titanium components for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, including a key bulkhead which joins the airframe and the wings.

“Of course, governments have significantly reduced spending on their air forces in recent years but we still see opportunities for the future,” says Mr Boas. “The Belgian air force, for example, is looking for an aircraft to replace its F 16s and there could well be a chance for Asco to benefit from the off-set agreements that the choice of any of the candidates would bring to the Belgian aerospace industry. Contracts for military aircraft ensure a stable, longterm flow of business as well as access to advanced technologies that can often then be used in civil programmes.

“And staying at the cutting edge of aerospace technology is, of course, the key to the success of Asco’s next 60 years.” n

ASCO has joined the list of Makino customers for titanium machining by investing in T2 machines

FOCUS ON FERTILE GROWTH Yara International is a global leader in the development and manufacture of nitrogen-based fertilisers.

Today the company continues to see strong growth in all its product sectors. With new acquisitions in the US and South America, Yara is set to significantly increase its global market share, as Philip Yorke reports.

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ara International is headquartered in Oslo, Norway and its core business is the production of nitrogen-based fertilisers, which is closely connected to global agricultural productivity and food production. The company’s development is rooted in the Norwegian industrial company, Norsk Hydro, which was founded in 1905. In that year Sam Eyde, Ktistian Birkeland and Marcus Wallenberg tapped into Norway’s large energy resources to produce the company’s first agro-chemical product: mineral fertiliser.

This new product attracted interest worldwide since it enabled farmers to significantly boost their yields.

Decades later the company’s agricultural products and co-products were spun off to become Yara International ASA, which

debuted on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 2004. In 2013 Yara recorded sales of more than NOK 84 billion and employed over 9700 people. Today Yara has a global presence with operations and offices in more than 50 countries worldwide and sales to over 150 others.

the prevention of air pollution. This includes innovative NOx abatement solutions for industrial plants, vehicles and vessels. Other areas of expertise include in CO2, dry ice and innovative solutions for the civil explosives and mining industries.

Innovative industrial solutions

Expanding global operations

Yara offers the most comprehensive range of fertilisers in the industry and its portfolio runs from single nutrient fertilisers to highly complex compounds and micronutrients for feeding plants. The company is a leading producer of ammonia, nitrates, NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and speciality fertilisers.

Today Yara International offers tailor made and integrated solutions for optimising industrial processes, water treatment and

Spearheading the company’s drive for an increased global presence is Yara’s newly appointed CEO, Torgeir Kvidal, who had served as chief financial officer since May 2012 and was previously in an executive position with Norsk Hydro. Kvidal takes over from Jorgen Ole Halstead who pioneered the global expansion of Yara in recent years.

In October this year Yara International significantly increased its presence in the US

and its global sales with the acquisition of OFD Holding Inc. OFD owns and operates a major fertiliser production facility in Cartagena, with an annual capacity of over 320 kilotons (kt) compound NPK, 100kt calcium nitrate (CN) and 70kt of ammonium nitrate (AN). OFD also controls approximately 700kt of NPK blending capacity across 12 sites throughout Columbia, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica and Panama.

This expansion represents an important milestone for Yara as it paves the way for further development in Latin America and follows on from an earlier acquisition of a similar scale in Galvani, Brazil only a couple of months earlier. Galvani is a leading player in the production of phosphate mining and the distribution of fertilisers in the centre and

36 Industry Europe

north-east of Brazil. This important acquisition will also help Yara to a secure phosphate fertiliser capacity in the centre of the country, with cost-effective solutions for mining, production, blending and warehousing facilities.

Increasing fertiliser capacity in Norway In October this year, the board of Yara International approved an investment of NOK 2.25 billion in order to increase its value-added fertiliser capacity at its Porsgrunn plant in Norway. This significant new investment will add 50kt of compound NPK annual capacity and a further 200kt of calcium nitrate. In addition, the investment will enable optimisation of production in Yara’s Glomfjord and Usikaupunki plants, thus adding a further 150kt of annual NPK production to the company’s output.

Acting CEO and president of Yara, Torgeir Kvidal, said, “This investment confirms Yara’s

ambition to create value through brownfield expansions and de-bottlenecking projects.

Furthermore, it strengthens our position as the global NPK leader and shows our dedication to provide farmers with premium products and agronomic competence to increase agricultural productivity.”

This major project also includes a new-build nitric acid plant and innovative technology applications, which bring down greenhouse emissions, improve energy efficiency and reduce waste. Construction of the site has already begun and is expected to be completed in 2017.

Record sales

achieved 6 per cent growth compared with the same period last year. Yara’s margins also benefited from lower energy costs, as the company’s average oil and gas cost decreased by 19 per cent.

Based on current forward markets for oil products and natural gas, Yara’s European energy costs over the next two quarters are expected to be NOK 1.15 billion lower than a year ago. The company acknowledges that its many suppliers of high quality raw materials, manufacturing equipment and logistics play a vital role in its on-going success and this will be reflected in the company’s plans for 2015, at which time it n celebrates its 110th anniversary.

Yara’s global fertiliser deliveries were up by 16 per cent compared with the same period last year, mainly driven by Brazil with the inclusion of Bunge volumes from August 2013. Excluding Brazil, fertiliser deliveries

For further details of Yara International’s innovative products and services visit: www.yara.com

Industry Europe 37

COMBINING OLD AND NEW Located in Kiskunmajsa, south of Hungary, driver’s cab manufacturing firm Agrikon Kam Ltd has experienced dynamic growth in recent years owing to its strategy of diversifying its product range and exploring new markets.

To face this new challenge the company has made large investments to develop its facilities whilst still managing to maintain its financial stability. Edina Beale reports.

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ince 1976, Agrikon Kam Ltd has been the exclusive supplier of drivers’ cabs to the leading international combine harvester manufacturer, Claas. It has also been producing welded components mainly for agricultural machines. In recent years, however, the company has developed a strategy to target customers in the construction industry. Today it designs, develops and produces drivers’ cabs for harvesters, tractors, forage harvesters, road rollers, excavators, telescopic loaders, loading vehicles on wheels and also welded components for road sweepers and lorries.

Increased customer base The Claas group is still the company’s largest partner. Agrikon Kam delivers products to its German, Hungarian and French manufacturing plants. Recently a new agreement was made to extend the product line with Claas: in addition to delivering drivers’ cabs for harvesting

machines, Agrikon now manufactures cabs for Claas tractors too. Besides successfully maintaining long-term partnerships, Agrikon has acquired many new partners in this segment and found opportunities in new markets. The company supplies drivers’ cabs for WackerNeuson, for whom a second type of cab is already being developed. The factory has been regularly manufacturing Kramer, Hako and Terex drivers’ cabs as well as receiving orders from the American Belgian JLG. After exporting welded components to Liebherr for many years, Agrikon had been recently selected to manufacture drivers’ cabs for them.

The company has had some success in the Czech market. Since January 2014 it has been manufacturing drivers’ cab frames for the Zetor tractor producer in Brno – a regular order of 3000 pieces every year. In addition to this, Agrikon now manufactures two types of drivers’ cabs for Ammann, a Czech road roller producer.

The company is able to meet all customer requirements from painted and glass frames to complete finishes. “The latest trend of recent times is that our customers want to install equipment options by themselves, so they only require the product to be completed to half finish,” says chief executive Mr Pál Velkey. “Besides our most significant German market, the demand from Belgium, France and Austria has increased lately, and the Czech market has become important too. Despite the current political instability in Russia, their demand for our products has remained the same.”

Setting up for growth At present Agrikon Kam employs 380 people and will generate a turnover of €24 million this year. This turnover is the result of an annual production output of 24,000 products. According to the managing director, Agrikon is currently experienc-

Industry Europe 39

ing dynamic growth and is expected to produce 28,000 units in 2015 and 33,000 units in 2016.

As the company currently operates in a 65,000m2 production plant, of which only 36,000m2 is built up, Agrikon is not in need of more production space. However, it has had to make significant investments into new assets for its latest projects.

To this end, Agrikon has modernised its laser cutting technology and purchased fibre

40 Industry Europe

laser and 3D laser machines. “Now we have a state-of-the-art machine to bend and roll special profiles in-house and this investment has enabled us to improve our edge and tube bending technologies too,” confirms Mr Velkey. The company’s manual welding machines are regularly replaced with modern versions whilst the automated welding processing line, which was installed over 10 years ago, has recently been extended and increased from 4 to 14 machines.

The company’s e-coating lines have also been completely refurbished and the latest technology has been installed to provide a variety of coating, including powder coating, so Agrikon can meet specific customer requirements.

Furthermore, Agrikon has extended and modernised its measuring technologies.

It currently operates four 3D measuring machines, a measuring arm and measuring machines with cameras.

Good prospects Agrikon Kam is now close to being one of the top three European producers of drivers’ cabs. Mr Velkey continues: “In order to become one of these top three producers we have to improve our competitiveness continuously, which means we have to focus on efficiency, quality, reliability and speed. Our stable financial position,

however, is already a great advantage in our sector in the European market when recovering from the recent recession. We are able to carry out our investments without taking any bank loan, by using only our own resources.”

He concludes: “Our company currently stands on three legs: agricultural machines, construction machines and welded com-

ponents. This chair is not wobbling at the moment, but a fourth leg could improve its stability. One possible option could be manufacturing drivers’ cabs for lorries. Our aim is to utilise most of our capacities before 2018 and that would mean manufacturing 40–45,000 products per year. At the same time we will focus on providing training n opportunities for our workforce.”

Industry Europe 41

PIONEERING STEEL INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS Danieli ranks among the world’s top three suppliers of equipment and plant to the steel industry. Danieli Automation is a leading company within the Danieli Group and responsible for the transfer of technological knowhow from other Danieli divisions. It also provides the interface between the plant process and the plant operator. Philip Yorke looks at a company that has pioneered the design of automation equipment and electrical systems for the metal foundry industry.

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he Danieli Group is headquartered in Buttrio, north-east Italy and was founded in 1914 when two brothers, Mario and Timo Danieli founded the Angelini Steelworks in Brescia, Italy. Based upon the intuition of Mr Luigi Danieli, Danieli Automation (DA) was founded in 1969. This vision soon became reality when a team of electrical engineers began to work with their mechanical counterparts, thus starting the design and production of electrical systems for the steel industry.

Today the company supplies complete electrical and automation equipment for every type and size of plant in the metal industry.

Broad spectrum Danieli’s mission is to provide process automation and control systems to the steel industry that cover the broad spectrum of Danieli technology, which ranges from iron ore to long and flat products. In addition, the company produces special instruments and

sensors to meet the growing demand from steel producers for sophisticated controls, quality certification, cost optimisation and fast adaptation to the latest systems.

Today the company is entering the market with a new family of smart and flexible devices based on the use of industrial cameras and image processing systems.

The latest contribution from Danieli Automation involves the development of modular hardware and software architecture, called Q-VID. One of the many new applications of this novel architecture is a system that combines the use of four cameras that monitor the external diameter and length of round, hot billets or pipe shells in the intermediate phase of the rolling process.

Furthermore, the outstanding performance of the company’s latest QDRIVE MV System was also realised when the company completed a major shipment of MV cabinets for the Qdrive MV drive system for the Hot Strip

Mill Roughing Stand for the major Dunaferr revamping project. The large motor supplied

by DA has a shaft height of approximately 2500mm and weighs around 170 tonnes.

Expanding global markets Danieli Automation continues to increase its global presence in more ways than one.

Earlier this year the company announced the merger of its US division in Pittsburgh PA, with the independent systems integrator, Taranis Inc. which is located in Birmingham, Alabama. The newly formed Danieli Taranis LLC began operating in the North American market in July this year and provides electrical engineering and equipment, as well as automation and process controls for the North American steel industry.

On the other side of the world in Indonesia, Danieli Automation has provided a new ‘Hi-profile’ for a ‘Multistrand rebar’ system in Jakarta. The company will replace the

Industry Europe 43

armature and the field regulator cards of six DC converters for six stands of the rolling mill. For each drive the existing cards will be replaced with a new digital regulator, whilst maintaining the existing power pack. The latest digital regulators will exchange all the reference signals with the mill speed control via a profiBUS connection.

Danieli Automation has also consolidated its capabilities in Russia this year with the start-up of the OMK Russian minimill. This has been equipped entirely with Danieli Automation process controls and electrical equipment from scrap to finished coils.

In the central highlands of Vietnam, Danieli Automation is also working with Dana-Y Steel, which is the region’s largest manufacturer of construction steel.

This latest contract follows two primary contracts awarded to DA for the supply of control automation for the new mill, which will promote improved yield and plant performance.

The latest automation systems supplied

by DA will provide all the controls needed to optimise the performance of such an advanced, high-tech mill, including inter-stand tension control, lead speed, automatic cobble detection and ghost rolling for realistic billing rolling simulation.

Technological strength The technological areas covered by Danieli Automation are unrivalled in their breadth, depth and strength. From blast furnaces to metal shops, billet, bloom and beam blank casters and a diverse range of mills and processing lines, DA covers them all. The company’s technological superiority is based upon its 3Q concept: Quality, Quantity and Quickness. Quality in the excellence of its products, Quantity in terms of optimised productivity, and Quickness in its response to its customers’ needs. Thanks to its synergistic relationship with its clients, and the technological back-

ground that it shares with its parent company, Danieli can offer an unrivalled range of products and services to its international clients.

Today the optimisation of both tailor made and standardised solutions from Danieli Automation produce results that meet the precise needs of its customers. In each project the company delivers best in class performance and quicker plant start-up. For example, its motors and drives division designs and selects the best possible solutions for motors and their respective drives, depending upon the technical requirements of each individual customer.

Furthermore the company designs and supplies complete electrical distribution systems. This includes full turnkey solutions for the steel industry with installation engineering based on the company’s extensive n experience and high standards.

For further information about Danieli Automation products and services visit: www.dca.it

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED JEB Engineering Design Ltd is part of the international JEB Group and a global technology leader in the development and manufacture of complex, high quality machine tools, component assemblies and individual components. Philip Yorke talked to the production manager, John Talbot, about its growing portfolio of products and how it accomplished a major R&D breakthrough by developing the world’s most advanced non-lethal training ammunition.

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rom the outset JEB has benefited from its commitment to quality, innovation and the continuous drive of its management team. The company was founded in rural Suffolk, in 1972 by John James, Eric Bone and Barry Littlewood, whose combined initials form the company logo. Following consistent growth through the years, the company has established itself as a global market supplier of high quality machine tools, metal stamped components and assemblies for the Electronics, Medical and Munitions industries.

JEB has continuously built upon its design and tooling capabilities, together with the unrivalled success in the utilisation of Bihler Vari-slide automatic forming machines.

The company is fully QA certificated to ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 and operates in the UK from its two state-of-the-art manufacturing plants in Mildenhall, Suffolk, and at Oldham, Lancashire. A milestone was achieved when

JEB acquired a major shareholding in a small company in 2003 known as UTM, with a mission to provide safe training ammunition that would allow military, law enforcement and professional training organisations to ‘train as they fight’ in authentic training environments and disciplines.

Multi-disciplined technology Today JEB prides itself in providing innovative solutions for the manufacture and assembly of a wide range of quality products that rely on the latest multi-disciplined technologies.

From a single source, JEB can not only optimise products for manufacture, but also handle new product development from an early design stage through to commercialisation.

The company has many years’ experience in tool and jig design with in-house tooling facilities for metal or plastic components and their subsequent assembly. This is supported

by a broad range of engineering skills, quality management and regulatory support for the validation of its manufacturing processes.

JEB has developed its business around three core skill areas: Metal Stamping, Injection Moulding and High-End Assembly. In each area the company applies the same high standards and production values. John Talbot said, “Much of our success stems from our early days when we began by making machine tools for Bihler automatic forming machines.

This led us to making tools to allow us to produce components in-house, as a sub-contract component manufacturer. Through time, we then became the agent for Bihler in the UK. Barry Littlewood, our CEO, set up Bihler in America in 1976 and continued to develop the business in the UK. Today, JEB provides multi-disciplined solutions for the manufacture of components and assemblies, through to the high volume production of training munitions”.

“Our success in the USA has been enhanced by the winning of a major contract against much bigger competition, where we secured the US Department of Defence business for the production of 5.56 training munitions for M16 and M249 Weapon systems.

Today our products are distributed worldwide through our network of agents.

“Furthermore, whilst the defence market is very important to us we are seeing strong growth in the medical sector too where we are focused on increasing our market share.

In November this year we are having a significant presence at the ‘Compamed Trade Fair’ in Düsseldorf, where we shall be exhibiting in Hall 8A on stand S25. Our colleagues from the US will also be joining us at the exhibition to demonstrate a surgical light product that to date has only been sold and manufactured in the US. In tandem with the exhibition, we shall also be launching our new website that will complement our increasing presence in the market. We continue to employ the very latest technology for CNC machining, laser and ultrasonic welding with associated finishing and de-burring processes. Our Class 8 assembly area supported by a fully automated cleaning and passivation process meet the very high standards required by the healthcare industry.

“We remain very flexible in providing solutions for low to high volume manufacturing, moulding, over-moulding, and assembly processes.”

Talbot added, “Where we score is when someone comes to us with a sketch. We can then take it and develop the product or component right through to commercial manufacture. We continue to drive costs down through providing innovative solu-

tions and a prime example of this was the re-design of a metal clinch form that enabled us to significantly reduce the material thickness of a kettle control component supplied to Strix Ltd, one of our major customers. We are constantly evaluating our processes to stay one step ahead of the competition. We are also proud of our on-going apprenticeship scheme and have recently been awarded Apprenticeship Employer of the Year for a

medium sized organisation within our region.

Winning this award automatically enters JEB into the National Finals which are also held in November. Today, approximately half of our current workforce has been employed through this scheme.”

Advanced patented engineering Following the major shareholding acquisition of UTM, JEB Engineering Design put their exceptional engineering skills to work and developed a completely new aluminium training round that replaced the original UTM zinc round. The new design, quality control and advanced engineering proved highly successful when tested by the US military and achieved a 99.8 per cent reliability rating in 2007 and has done so in every year since.

This makes it the highest rated nonlethal training ammunition on the market with low emission and non-toxic primer options also available.

JEB says that continual advances in manufacturing and product assembly techniques are driving ever greater demands for quality assurance. To respond to these market forces the company uses statistical process controls, to monitor, in agreement with its customer, predetermined parameters. This data can then be analysed and shared. “First class equipment, well trained personnel, sound quality procedures and the overriding desire to ensure customer satisfaction. These are the essential ingredients of our continued n success,” commented Talbot.

For further details of the JEB Group’s innovative products and services, visit their new website at www.jebeng.com

Anopol is the UK’s largest group offering electro polishing, pickling, and passivation and cleaning treatments for stainless steel, nickel and nickel alloys.

With over 40 years experience, Anopol can rightly claim to be the market leader in chemical and electrochemical processing of stainless steel, and other metals, for a wide spectrum of industrial, decorative and functional applications.

In addition to offering sub-contract services, plant and chemicals, Anopol can also supply an extensive range of pickling, passivation and general cleaning products for stainless steels. These are suitable for use by companies who wish to carry out their own processing.

Anopol operates from 2 sites, one in Birmingham and the other in Bordon, Hampshire. info@anopol.co.uk www.anopol.co.uk

POWER PLAYERS SPARKY GROUP is one of the world’s leading producers of power tools. enjoying the benefits of its considerable investment in equipment and resources in recent years. Industry Europe looks at what this has involved.

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stablished in Berlin, Germany in 1990, SPARKY GROUP is the majority shareholder in two state-of-the-art factories in Bulgaria, both listed on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. One of the most well-positioned professional power tools brands, SPARKY also manufactures power tools and components for OEM customers, as well as welded parts and machinery.

Over the past few years the company has invested some €43 million in new plant and equipment across its three factories. The most recent investment programme, totalling some €8 million, was set in train in 2013 and is due to be completed in 2015.

A company spokesperson explained: “We are investing all the time in developing innovative new products and training our staff,

but this major investment programme was primarily focused on making sure our two production facilities were fully equipped with the very latest technology.”

Production facilities The first Bulgarian factory received €16 million of the original €35 million investment, which was spent on upgrading its power tools manufacturing capabilities. This factory produces high quality power tools for the professional industry sector and for the DIY sector.

The second Bulgarian SPARKY factory benefited from an €11 million investment.

This factory focuses on manufacturing steel components including welded machines and steel parts. The steel parts produced at the SPARKY site are primarily supplied to major producers in the fields of construction, cranes, agriculture and railways, with SPARKY being a globally-recognised name in the OEM sector.

In addition to enhanced production capabilities and global competitiveness, another reason behind SPARKY’s extensive investment programme was to mark its 50th anniversary in 2011. “We felt very strongly that we wanted SPARKY to be more than prepared

for our next 50 years in business. We wanted to stake our claim at the forefront of power tools manufacture and so our investment was a statement of intent. I am proud of how this huge amount of money has been carefully and cleverly spent to ensure the best possible return, both for us and our customers. Our facilities are truly second-tonone, with the most advanced manufacturing

equipment and very highly trained workers able to use each machine to the best of its potential. We can continue to develop new products using our equipment and can also implement the most effective processes for using the equipment.”

Thanks to these investments, the company’s manufacturing process is fully closed, which allows it to maintain full quality control at all times. Both of SPARKY’s factories are accredited to the widely-recognised ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards.

The investment and these certificates illustrate the importance SPARKY places on keeping all aspects of its business up to date with the latest requirements of a competitive market, particularly as it is rapidly increasing its global reach in terms of its customer base.

Comprehensive product range SPARKY’s range of power tools have applications in a number of sectors, split into four divisions: concrete, drilling and hammering; metal cutting, grinding and polishing; wood working; and special power tools.

In the area of concrete, drilling and hammering it offers impact drills, concrete grinders, demolition hammers, rotary hammers and drywall screwdrivers. Its metal cutting, grinding and polishing products include bench grinders, jig saws, angle grinders of various sizes, polishers and sanders, sabre saws and so on.

Its wood working tools include belt sanders, chain saws, circular and mitre saws, cordless drills, planers, routers and vacuum cleaners.

Lastly, its special power tools encompass products such as bench grinders, Li-ion cordless impact drivers, cordless impact wrenches, cordless flashlights, heat guns, nibblers, paddle mixers, straight grinders and tools for wet & dry surface preparation.

The company’s products are considered to be amongst the best in the industry – and it has the awards to prove this. In September last year (2013), for example, two new products from its SPARKY HD Professional series received gold medals and Diplomas from the International Technical Fair – Plovdiv

2013. These two products were its R 10E Tapper machine and its SM 728E and SMA 728E flat head sanders.

Future plans SPARKY intends to continue to upgrade and improve its product ranges as technology develops and production allows. One such area where new generation products are being introduced is the cordless machines market, where SPARKY has been creating a number of products for both the professional and DIY sectors.

With customers all over Europe and a marketing department that is embracing social media in order to engage with existing customers and connect with potential customers, SPARKY’s current customer base, which also includes customers in North Africa, South Africa, South America and the Middle East, is set to grow further in the coming years. n

THE FIRST CHOICE FOR AUTOMATION

YASKAWA Electric is one of the world’s leading manufacturers in the fields of drive technology, industrial automation and robotics. Julia Snow reports on the group’s innovative products and dynamic developments.

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ounded in 1915, YASKAWA is a pioneer in its chosen field, always striving to optimise productivity and efficiency of the products and systems offered. For almost 100 years now, YASKAWA technology has supported industrial automation processes in the mining, mechanical engineering and toolmaking sectors, as well as the automotive, packaging, wood processing, lift, textile and semiconductor industries.

With a total of 14,600 employees and over 60 subsidiaries worldwide the group realises an annual sales volume of more than 3.1 billion Yen. The wide range of YASKAWA’s business activities covers drives, motion control, robotics, systems engineering and information technology – with this wide range the company is one of the few global players able to supply components and solutions for almost all industries from a single source.

YASKAWA Europe GmbH Based in Eschborn, Germany, YASKAWA Europe GmbH is within close reach of the surrounding markets’ requirements for mechatronics and robotics solutions. With 7 production sites, 30 subsidiaries and over 1250 employees, the company services the markets of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the region of the former Soviet Union.

Late in 2012, VIPA became part of the YASKAWA family, when it joined Drives & Motion and Robotics as a third division. The company is based in Herzogenaurach, Ger-

many, and develops and produces PLCs, I/O systems and advanced industrial HMIs. While the broad range of MOTOMAN industrial robots from YASKAWA is ideal for many applications, industries and ready-to-use solutions, VIPA has been driving innovation in the fields of PLCs and HMIs. This means that VIPA rounds out the YASKAWA portfolio of central controller products and allows customers to purchase powerful integrated systems from a single source.

A stream of innovations Extensive investments in research and development have yielded numerous inventions, patents and innovations, always improving the technical compatibility and ease of use.

In order to integrate robots even better YASKAWA developed the MOTOMANSync interface, a ‘Total System Solutions’ concept that was launched in Autumn 2013. A range of modular products and software in the areas of Drives&Motion, Robotics and VIPA work together as a holistic solution, – resulting in an offering that is unique in its width: from visualisation through to controlling, drive technology and robotics.

In April 2014, YASKAWA followed this with an impressive innovation for the life sciences sector at Analytica: in a live demonstration cell, the CSDA10F dual arm robot with a human-like stature and two hands performed the complex preparation of samples and operated analytical instruments

in pharmaceutical research. Robots have made their way into the field of life sciences, where they automatically carry out synthesis and analytical tasks in research and development – in areas where conventional automation was previously too inflexible and too expensive. The robot itself is almost maintenance free and easy to operate.

Many typical motions (pipetting, opening/ closing Eppendorf tubes, handling a microtiter plate, opening/closing an incubator, opening/closing screw caps of bottles) have been standardised and stored as modules in a motion library.

The DX200 controller for Motoman robots from Yaskawa celebrated its European premiere at the Automatica in June 2014. This new high-end controller is an extension of the highly successful DX100 model with a range of additional options, such as safety features, and offers more than 120 application-specific functions. This particularly benefits system integrators and industrial end customers who use Motoman robots for welding and handling tasks. Yaskawa has drawn on the many years

of experience of its engineers for the new DX200, building on the service-proven quality of the DX100. Numerous new functions and function packages have been added, further simplifying the application-specific solution and programming of robotic tasks. Other new features include the standard and safety-oriented bus systems and the integrated safety controller. The DX200 is designed for the simplified integration of peripheral devices by means of corresponding bus interfaces. Windows CE programming is carried out using a compact colour touch panel weighing just 990 grams.

Strenthening the energy capacity In July 2014, YASKAWA announced the purchase of The Switch Engineering Oy, a Finnish manufacturer of wind turbine components. The takeover is in line with the long term company strategy ‘Vision 2015’, which sets out the strengthening of the business field of energy and environment.

In 2013 both companies had already formed a partnership working approach, with synergies that included the cross-

selling of generators and inverters through both distribution networks. After the acquisition, The Switch was integrated into the business unit Environment and Energy, and a close cooperation with the YASKAWA European Research and Development Centre is planned.

The combined technological strengths in the field of drive and performance electronics provide a promising platform for both companies to develop more leading products and solutions for customers in the wind- and tidal energy segment as well as other maritime and industrial applications. n

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ADVANCED FASTENING SYSTEMS From humble origins more than 50 years ago Agrati has become one of the global leaders in the production of fastening systems for the automotive industry. Eugenia Fiusco reports.

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was 1939 when Agrati was set up as a small mechanical engineering company. It employed around 20 people who manufactured woodscrews, articles for carpenters and rod linkages.

At the time, the equipment available was modest and manually handled. Technological development and physical expansion went hand in hand as Agrati gradually but steadily set up new facilities and created strategic alliances with other companies.

In particular, in 1959, a company called URAMA SIMMONDS was founded by Agrati and Simmonds, a leading French company in the production of self-locking ring nuts

and, in 1974, ATTREZZERIE ADDA was set up with the purpose of concentrating the know-how and production in one site. The early 1990s saw the first stage of integrating the companies at group level. Raw materials purchasing and production, heat treatments and surface treatments were centralised and Agrati acquired 100 per cent of FIVIT. The new millennium saw the start of a radical transformation of the Agrati Group. The main turning point in the company’s development was in 2001, when the group decided to put together all of the companies it controlled under the same name and present itself to customers in a more focused and centralised

way. That turned out to be a winning strategy.

In the past ten years, Agrati’s yearly turnover has in fact more than doubled.

A worldwide presence Today, Agrati has five subsidiaries and 1700 employees in ten manufacturing units, over 200,000 square metres of surface area, and a capacity of 150,000 tonnes per year. Beside the headquarters in Veduggio, located approximately 30 kilometres from Milan, the group has many locations in the north of Italy, and four branches in France, beside the commercial offices in Créteil. In Germany, Agrati has four facilities.

Agrati has also followed through on its investment plans in China and the USA. In 2007, Yantai Agrati Fasteners (YAF) was established in Yantai, in the region of Shandong, China. Today, YAF is one the most important fastening system producers in the country, with a surface area of 87,000 square metres and a capacity of 8500 tonnes per year. All production stages of YAF are performed locally. The company has two other offices in China, in Shanghai and Changchun.

In the USA, Agrati Group made a global alliance with the American company Semblex Corporation, a fastener manufacturer and engineering resource located in Elmhurst, Illinois, to provide fastener solutions and coldformed special products for top OEMs and components suppliers with global locations.

The alliance had the objective to combine two supplier teams in order to provide global customers with a single source for technical, quality and logistics support. Local engineering support, local quality response and local sales support to purchasing, as well as inventory, material planning and other logistics support are supplied to customer plants in Europe, North America and Asia.

LaBridoire moves to new €2.8 million location Agrati La Bridoire has started building a 3535 square metres packaging, storage and shipping centre for the value of €2.8 million.

La Bridoire produces sheet metal screws, metric screws, screws for plastics and Trilobular thread forming screws. The plant’s manufacturing processes include cold heading, screw threading, heat treatment lines, plating lines, sorting and metal weaving. The French site will be the new logistics centre.

The Italian group is planning to relocate the La Bridoire plant to a more convenient location near the motorway. The new logistics centre is expected to be ready by 2019, the year that proudly witnesses a hundred years of business for Agrati.

Commitment to Research and Development Investing in strategic acquisitions and new facilities are not the only strong suits of the Italian group. There are several other reasons explaining its success. It is important to underline the company’s ability to focus investments in the right sector at the right moment. This has proven to be crucial, along with the management’s will to invest in continuous technological improvements to the group’s production facilities.

Moreover, investments in quality control standards and procedures are constant.

Quality plays a major role in production cycles and involves several quality checks on the supply and production cycles. Particularly important is spotting any possible n defect during primary stages.

62 Industry Europe

QUALITY COMPONENTS

FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY Gedia Poland, a company from Nowa Sol, Poland, is a part of Gedia Automotive Group and develops and manufactures components for car bodies. In its production process it uses the latest technology called hot forming.

G

EDIA Automotive Group is a global, private company with headquarters in Attendorn, Germany. Its origin dates back as far as 1910. For more than 30 years the group’s core interest has been focused on the global automotive industry.

GEDIA has specialised in the development of body press parts and welding components for cars and trucks. Front end, floor and assembly, or rear end – GEDIA delivers custom-made press parts and welded assemblies for every part of the car body.

The group’s annual turnover in 2013 is estimated as more than €400 million. It employs about 2700 people worldwide.

GEDIA Automotive Group includes locations in Poland, Spain, Hungary, and China. It has joint ventures in Mexico and the USA as well as engineering centres in France and Sweden.

In 1998 it built its first production plant in Nowa Sol, Poland, which specializes in cold and hot forming. Ten years later Gedia opened its second production unit in Nowa Sol - Assembly (GPL2).

A great selection of components “Nowadays, Gedia Poland is the group’s biggest company, with its annual sales estimated as €200 million and with 1200 employees,” says Ryszard Gongor, the Gedia Poland managing director. “From the very beginning the Gedia Group has had very serious investment plans for our company and we have been benefiting from our parent organisation’s know-how.

This back up has allowed us to achieve our current position.

“We deliver car components to more than 200 automotive manufactories. European car manufacturers account for approx. 90 per cent of our customers. Among them are major brands such as Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Daimler, Fiat, Ford, GM, Mini, Opel, PSA, Porsche, Scania, Seat, Skoda, Suzuki, Vauxhall, Volvo, Valmet and VW. Our products portfolio is huge and includes about 1400 various components. Such diversification protects us from the fluctuations of the market. On the other hand, it

is also a major challenge for us due to the high degree of complexity of our offer,” adds Mr Gongor.

Some like it hot Gedia Poland is a leading European manufacturer of components produced by hot forming technology. It is the GEDIA Group’s first production facility, which uses this technology and the first company of this kind in Poland. The hot forming line was launched in Nowa Sol in June 2012.

“Hot forming is a process dependent on temperature and time. Parts are formed in their soft state at elevated temperatures and then quenched in the tool,” explains Mr Gongor. “Components made by hot forming are stronger and they may have complex shapes. Furthermore, the springback effect is reduced. Springback occurs when a metal or alloy is cold-worked and the material has a tendency to return partially to its original shape due to the elastic recovery of the material. Hot formed components can

Industry Europe 63

phone: +48 68 388 24 00 e-mail: marketing@technical.com.pl web: www.technical.com.pl

TECHNOLOGY • PRODUCT • QUALITY

BMW i3: The world’s first premium electric car has Novelis aluminium under body structure Novelis supplies its innovative automotive alloy Novelis AdvanzTM c300 for the under body structure of the BMW i3, BMW’s latest sustainable, emissionfree mobility platform. This aluminium sheet has been specifically developed for automotive structural body applications with high crash performance requirements. It offers good formability, a strength level equivalent to high strength steels (on a weight-specific basis) and an extraordinary energy absorption capacity. The BMW i3 was officially unveiled last summer as the “world’s first premium electric car”, with a carbon passenger compartment characterized by the use of high-quality, sustainable materials.

Voestalpine The voestalpine Group is one of the leading partners to the automotive industry in Europe, with its top-quality steel based products. Headquartered in Linz, voestalpine is represented by over 500 group companies and locations in more than 50 countries.

Voestalpine Rotec Group is specialist in the production and further processing of precision steel tubes, and they are expanding their existing subsidiary in Poland.

Located in Środa Śląska, since 2001 the factory processes tubular components used in the automotive industry including anti-vibration elements, chassis components, steering columns, airbag tubes and car seat structures. The company employs over 180 people, with annual sales over €27 million. As a result of the dynamic development of the automotive market in this part of Europe the company took a decision to increase its production capacity in Poland. The investment project is taking place on the Legnica Special Economic Zone, directly neighbouring the existing manufacturing facility. The construction of the factory and installation of new production lines to further increase the production portfolio, are expected to be completed in the first half of 2015, so that mass production can begin from mid-2015. Voestalpine Rotec will invest a minimum of €6 million and employ several dozen new employees by 2020.

Poland Tokai Okaya The metal stamping parts manufacturer Poland Tokai Okaya Manufacturing (PTO) offers a wide range of advanced presses in a variety of sizes, thicknesses and shapes. PTO is highly experienced in the use of many kinds of materials from steel and aluminium to stainless steel. It also provides a number of additional services including design, welding, pressure welding, washing, assembly and many others besides.

Muhr Metalltechnik GmbH & Co. KG As a medium-sized family-run company based in Germany in Wenden Muhr Metalltechnik GmbH & Co. KG has continually expanded its manufacturing capacities to the extent that we are now able to offer our customers fully integrated and optimized solutions from component design right through to large batch production.

For production of numerous components made of steel and aluminium for the automotive and heating industry there is a highly modern tool shop as well as industrial facilities and storage space on a roofed area of about 45,000 square meters.

Product range The wide product range enfolds mainly stampings and pressing, blank outlines for hot forming, strut braces, welding assemblies as well as seats for special-

Head Office in Germany, Wenden

Muhr Metalltechnik GmbH & Co. KG - Everything from toolmaking to serial manufacture As a medium-sized family-run company based in Germany in Wenden, Muhr Metalltechnik GmbH & Co. KG has continually expanded its manufacturing capacities to the extent that we are now able to offer our customers fully integrated and optimized solutions from component design right through to large batch production. For production of numerous components made of steel and aluminium for the automotive and heating industry there is a highly modern tool shop as well as industrial facilities and storage space on a roofed area of about 45,000 square meters.

As suppliers to the automotive industry we concentrate on the following: • Production of cutting and drawing dies • Series production of pressed steel and aluminium parts which are • processed into welded assemblies • Production of strut braces • Manufacture of seats for special-purpose vehicles Product range The wide product range enfolds mainly stampings and pressing, blank outlines for hot forming, strut braces, welding assemblies as well as seats for special-purpose vehicles and radiators. The machinery park enfolds mechanical- and deep drawing presses from 200t till 1,100t / 2D- and 3D-Laser, several welding machines. As a quality-conscious supplier to the automotive industry, our business operations are certified as conforming to ISO/TS 16949 and DIN ISO 9001 standards. The world’s leading car manufacturers and suppliers of automotive components rely on the professional experience we have gathered over many years in the sector.

GEDIA Nowa Sol & Muhr Metalltechnik/MM Systemy GEDIA and Muhr Metalltechnik united by their successful long-term cooperation, which is going to intensify by building a new plant in the Polish town called Katy Opolski near to Opole.

Since the opening of the polish affiliate MM Systemy, located in Kąty Opolskie, in October 2014, numerous stamp parts have been produced by 400 tons and 1000 tons transfer presses especially for the GEDIA plant in Nova Sol. Over the next few years MM Systemy is planning to create more than 30 new jobs.

For further information, do not hesitate to visit us: www.muhr-metalltechnik.de and www.mm-systemy.pl

purpose vehicles and radiators. The machinery park enfolds mechanical- and deep drawing presses from 200t till 1,100t / 2D- and 3D-Laser as well as several welding machines. As a quality-conscious supplier to the automotive industry, our business operations are certified as conforming to ISO/TS 16949 and DIN ISO 9001 standards.

GEDIA Nowa Sol & Muhr Metalltechnik/ MM Systemy GEDIA and Muhr Metalltechnik united by their successful long-term cooperation, which is going to intensify by building a new plant in the Polish town called Kąty Opolskie near to Opole.

Since the opening of the polish affiliate MM Systemy, located in Kąty Opolskie, in October 2014, numerous stamp parts have been produced by 400 tons and 1000 tons transfer presses especially for the GEDIA plant in Nova Sol. Over the next few years MM Systemy is planning to create more than 30 new jobs.

For further information, do not hesitate to visit us: www.muhr-metalltechnik.de and www.mm-systemy.pl

Dome bar out of polished aluminium for MINI GP II

TECHNICAL TECHNICAL is a manufacturer of machinery and equipment for various industries. The company’s intense activity has resulted in the production of modern, high-level technical machinery, equipment and production lines equipped with advanced electronic control systems and management systems of production processes.

TECHNICAL is well-known producer both in Poland and in Europe.

Its machines and equipment are designed primarily for use in the foundry industry as well as in the automotive, glass, metallurgy, mining, ceramics, insulation, refractory, and many other industries.

The main products of our company include: shot blasting machine and turbine mixer. More information about our company and our products are included on website www.technical.com.pl Our machinery, equipment and complete production lines are sold to Germany, the UK, Denmark, Serbia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Kazakhstan, India, Egypt, the USA. We are proud to co-operate with a number the European industry leaders, including our regular partner GEDIA POLAND SP Z OO from Nowa Sol.

be produced in a much shorter amount of time. Moreover they are lighter than those, which are cold formed.”

Hot forming has become an important process in manufacturing components for the automotive industry, as it meets specific requirements for higher crash safety and lower overall weight. Such car body parts as pillars, front and rear bumper beams, door beams, door sills, roof rails, side-rails, and roof frames are now hot formed.

In January, 2015, the new, second, hot forming production line will be launched in Gedia Poland.

Only the best suppliers “The quality of the products and services of our suppliers is a decisive factor for the quality of our products. We believe in an active role for the supplier in our production chain, in fair partnership and in a success-oriented cooperation. Because the quality of our products and performances is of crucial importance for the common company success, we are committed to comply with GEDIA´s quality policy. That is why we only supply products of impeccable quality. As for the raw material suppliers, they come from the first league of suppliers,

and we cooperate only with suppliers who employ the latest technologies. It is of great importance for us that all suppliers commit themselves to our quality policy. We expect them to meet exactly our delivery dates and quality requirements,” says Mr Gongor.

One company instead of two Gedia Poland expects a significant event early next year, for which it has made intensive preparations. On January the 1st, 2015 the company will take over 100 per cent of the Gedia Poland Assembly shares.

“In June, 2014 Gedia shareholders adopted a resolution on the merger of both companies operating in Poland, and at the end of August, the boards of both companies have agreed the fusion plan. Now, 12 teams are working on such practical aspects of the takeover as: human resources, IT, finances and technology. We’ll take all the GPL2’s assets and liabilities,” says Mr Gongor.

What is behind the merger of the two companies? “They both operate in the same industry. GPL2 is focused on highly complicated assembling for the automotive industry, such as longitudinals for the Opel Astra IV and body components for the BMW

i3 and BMW i8. Furthermore, the companies are reliant on each other, and their production processes are in fact closely linked. The main reason for Gedia Poland to merge with GPL2 was to enable the optimal use of the resources of both entities, to increase the efficiency of the company and to achieve the synergy effect,” explains Mr Gongor. n www.gedia.com

Industry Europe 67

PERFECT FIT Johnson Controls Europe is a global technology leader in the manufacture of automotive interiors. This includes seating, overhead systems, floor consoles, door panels and instrument panels. The company recently presented its suppliers with their annual awards for outstanding achievements, as Philip Yorke reports.

68 Industry Europe

J

ohnson Controls is a global leader in the design and manufacture of automotive interiors and provides a diverse range of interior systems and fittings for the world’s major passenger car brands. Headquartered in Burscheid, Germany, the company operates 220 production plants and development centres worldwide. Johnson Controls employs more than 170,000 people who serve customers in over 150 countries worldwide. It is these highly skilled engineers and the company’s dedicated suppliers that keep Johnson Controls at the forefront of the automotive interiors sector. Today with its global capabilities, Johnson Controls supplies key interior components to more than 50 million cars per year.

Suppliers awarded for outstanding performance At Neuss, Germany in October this year, Johnson Controls presented its annual European Supplier Awards. A total of fourteen suppliers to the interiors business were recognised for outstanding achievements at the Classic Remise in Düsseldorf, with

a performance and/or leadership award.

These coveted annual awards are based on quality, cost, logistics, development, technology and service. Depending upon the number of points earned, Johnson Controls honours suppliers with a gold, silver or bronze Supplier Performance Award. Twelve companies that provide injection-moulded parts received an award this year.

Three Johnson Controls suppliers received the gold performance awards. These were Polydesign Systems from Canada for leather and PVC components, Basell Deutschland GmbH for chemicals and plastics, and Taiwanese supplier Macauto Industrial Co, for its sun visors and tonneau covers.

The silver award was given to Izo-Blok SA, Jute Kassel GmbH, Polyvlies Franz Beyer GmbH, Luebke & Vogt Gmbh, Xin Point Corporation and Total Research & Technology Feluy.

Vulcaflex SpA, BASF Polyeurothanes GmbH and Stuyron Deutschland Anlagengesellschaft mbH were all honoured with a bronze Supplier Performance Award.

Three suppliers receive top leadership awards The criteria for the Leadership Award were based on factors considered critical to the company’s success, such as sustainability, innovation, optimal quality, customer satisfaction, global growth and continuous performance improvement. This year, three Johnson Controls Interiors suppliers received the sought-after Leadership Award. These were, Polyvlies Franz Beyer GmbH of Germany, Maier s. Coop of Spain and Muerdter Dvorak s.r.o of the Czech Republic.

Polyvlies received the Leadersip Award in the global growth category for expansion of its facilities and its excellent performance in research and development.

This year the customer satisfaction award went to the Spanish company: Maier S, Coop, a supplier of coated surface interior modules, was recognised for its proactive methods, expertise, and technical product characteristics, which were optimised in the product development phase. Supplier Murdter Dvorak received the Leadership Award in the continu-

Industry Europe 69

ous improvement category. They achieved considerable improvements in production efficiency, reduction of rejects and overall production control.

Advanced multi-material systems Through the use of its innovative multimaterial systems, Johnson Controls has achieved seating that is 40 per cent lighter in its ‘CAMISMA’ lightweight project. At its headquarters in Burscheid, Germany Johnson Controls received this year’s CLEPA Innovation Award in the ‘Green’ category for its cuttingedge work in the CAMISMA Research Project.

Working with its partners from industry and science, the Johnson Controls team, working with a newly developed seat structure, succeeded in drastically reducing the use of steel and light alloys by replacing them with new multi-material systems.

“Lightweight Technologies, which save resources and lower pollutant emissions, are in greater demand than ever in the automotive industry. We are making great investments in working with new materials, skills, and manufacturing processes, in order to give customers the best possible support with innovative seating products,” said Andreas Eppinger, group

vice-president Technology Management at Johnson Controls Automotive Experience.

Other prestigious awards were earned by the company when it was ranked highest in the automotive seating industry with six J.D.Power satisfaction awards. Johnson Controls was recently recognised in the JD Power 2014 Seat Quality and Satisfaction study as the supplier providing the highest-quality seats in three out of seven vehicle segments. The company received six awards overall, three for Johnson Controls and three for its joint venture partners, Avanzar Interior Technologies Ltd and Bridgewater Interiors.

Having been participant of Johnson Control’s Improvement Process Mürdter Dvořák, lisovna, spol. s.r.o received one of the Leadership Awards 2014 for outstanding improvements implemented to Johnson Controls‘ satisfaction.

Mürdter Dvořák, lisovna, spol. s.r.o is proud being an important supplier to Johnson Controls and would like to say Thank you for the high level of confidence placed in Mürdter Dvořák, lisovna.

Mürdter Dvořák lisovna’s main products are injection moulded and painted components and assemblies, mainly for the interior of a car, focussing on development of light weight technologies in order to reduce CO2 emissions.

Mürdter Dvořák lisovna is a part of the global acting Mürdter companies which are able to offer full service for the automotive industry in engineering and manufacturing of tools as well as in injection moulding of thermoplastic parts, including painting and assembly.

Mürdter Werkzeug- und Formenbau GmbH Mürdter Metall- u.Kunststoffverarbeitung GmbH 73557 Mutlangen Germany

Mürdter Dvořák, nástrojárna, spol.s.r.o Mürdter Tooling (Nanjing) Co.Ltd. Mürdter Dvořák, lisovna, spol.s.r.o 79 814 Olsany Nanjing 210049 Czech Republic P.R. China

www.muerdter.cz

Polyvlies Franz Beyer GmbH & Co. KG The German Company Polyvlies Franz Beyer GmbH & Co. KG develops, produces and finishes technical nonwovens made out of synthetic, natural and/or mineral fibers.

In addition to the Silver Supplier Performance Award Polyvlies received the Leadership Award in the Global Growth category.

Polyvlies received the award for the expansion of its production facilities and excellent performance in research and development which enabled the company to be globally competitive.

Safety and innovation Product and vehicle safety has become a key purchasing criterion, and consumers expect their vehicles’ interiors to provide maximum protection for all occupants. However, today the focus is not on safety alone.

Innovation is at the centre of all Johnson Controls’ R&D activities and this plays a key part in the company’s operations. There are countless examples of innovative products resulting from the major investments made by the company in its cutting-edge R&D. For example, it has developed an automatic seat adjustment system that brings the driver’s seat into a comfortable and safe position based upon the size of the driver.

Recently the company also introduced a door panel that was produced using its latest compression hybrid moulding process technology. This unique technology for manufacturing door panels is able to combine the benefits of both natural fibre components and thermoplastic injection moulding techniques. Earlier this year the company announced that it will be supplying key components for the new Mercedes n Benz S-Class saloons.

For further details of Johnson Controls innovative products and services visit: www.johnsoncontrols.com

STEERING A COURSE

FOR GROWTH Musashi is a global leader in the manufacture of precision steering systems and engine parts for many of the world’s biggest automotive manufacturers. Philip Yorke takes a closer look at its European operations and ambitious plans for growth.

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usashi established its European manufacturing facility in Hungary in March 2000 as a subsidiary of the giant Musashi Seimitsu Industry Co. of Japan.

The Hungarian plant was created to supply automotive parts to European car manufacturers as a tier one and tier two supplier, and at the same time be able to benefit from being located close to its customers’ manufacturing plants in eastern Europe.

Musashi Hungary produces a wide range of high-precision parts for engines and steering systems for global automotive brands such as Audi, Fiat, Jaguar Land Rover and Suzuki. Among the 20 sites that the Japanese company operates worldwide, Hungary is the only production facility within the Musashi Group located in Europe. However, the company also operates a special UK facility that serves as a technical support and

distribution centre for its UK customers and has its central European sales and marketing offices based in Germany.

Growing product portfolio Musashi is acknowledged worldwide for its high precision engine parts and steering systems. Today the company has an ambitious growth strategy in place. Mr Akira Mataga, managing director, explained, “We

have a very ambitious strategy for growth that is designed to take us through to the end of the decade. In the near future we will extend our product portfolio and also plan to start new businesses with our own design parts and unique production processes.

“By doing so we will differentiate ourselves from our competitors in the marketplace and will be able to endorse our product slogan, ‘Be Unique’. In order to achieve our strategic goals we have to strengthen still further our engineering expertise by expanding our engineering team and its functions.

“If we do our job well our turnover will increase and in turn we will be able to expand our facilities and generate more satisfied customers.

“Currently our production is split roughly 50/50 between our engine and steering products. However, we have decided to redefine these figures by widening our product portfolio in the near future. At this moment in time, Musashi has several attractive new products in the pipeline. We plan to introduce these into the European market shortly and are working hard to ensure that this will prove a successful launch programme for all concerned.”

Continuous investment programme The global financial crisis in 2008 forced Musashi to consolidate its European production capabilities and relocate them from the UK to Hungary. This step allowed the company to

optimise the utilisation of its new facilities and helped it to overcome the challenges involved in the transfer of several major ‘running projects’ from the UK plant. Since that time, in order to enhance its cost-competitiveness, Musashi Hungary has been investing consistently in its advanced process technology and making on-going improvements to its manufacturing capabilities, as well as to its automation and quality-control procedures.

This company’s on-going commitment to investment in new plant and technology has paid dividends and it continues to build upon its long-term business relationships with its customers. As mentioned, these include Audi, Fiat and Jaguar Land Rover, and although several OEMs have big

Industry Europe 73

operations in Hungary, the company also supplies its automotive components to many of their other European plants. For example, Musashi’s high-precision camshafts and other engine parts are delivered to Poland for Fiat and also to the UK plant of Jaguar Land Rover, whilst its steering components, such as suspension arms, are delivered directly to Audi in Germany.

Following on from the success of its original project for Honda in 2012, Musashi Hungary has signed a new contract with them to supply high-precision camshafts for Honda’s diesel engines from 2015. The company is also optimistic about winning further new contracts from Jaguar Land Rover this year.

Quality assured Musashi Hungary continues to strive for excellence and to improve its customer satisfaction

levels by applying the highest quality standards across its entire supply chain. ‘Quality Consciousness’ is a basic value at Musashi Hungary and one that its workforce applies throughout the working day. For continuous improvement, the company measures and assesses its performance on a regular basis.

The successful management system that has been built up at Musashi Hungary over the years is in accordance with the requirements of both ISO/TS 16949:2002 for its manufacturing processes, and ISO 14001:2004 for the company’s environmental management systems.

A strong customer-orientated attitude is also considered a main principle in all areas of the company’s operations. This is manifested through its regular customer audits and meetings that are designed to enable Musashi Hungary to be in complete harmony with its customers’ goals and aspirations.

Mr Akira Mataga added, “We believe that we excel when it comes to customer service and we work closely in cooperation with our clients, project by project. Regarding camshafts for example, we may propose a design modification to enhance its cost-saving and efficiency features. In the case of steering systems, the company’s design and R&D Centre at Musashi Japan can design and test products completely based upon a customer’s requirements.

“Following this research, we are then able to develop and optimise the individual production process, whilst in other cases we may simply supply an unmodified part without any design change involved.” n For further details of Musashi Hungary’s innovative automotive products and services visit: www.musashi.hu

TOP GEAR PERFORMER Established in 1996, LuK Savaria Kuplunggyártó Kft in Hungary is the biggest clutch and clutch disc manufacturer within the internationally operating Schaeffler Group. The production site is located in Szombathely, near the Austrian border, and was initially set up as an assembly plant to serve customers in Hungary. Today the company offers a wide range of products and covers almost a third of the group’s production in the clutch segment. Edina Beale reports.

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he Schaeffler Group is renowned for its three main brands – LuK serves the automotive industry, whilst INA and FAG are industrial brands – and operates a worldwide network with 78,000 employees. In Hungary the group operates three sites: LuK Savaria Kuplunggyártó Kft produces LuK clutches in Szombathely; FAG bearings are manufactured in Debrecen whilst INA and FAG products are sold through the Budapest sales office.

LuK Savaria Kuplunggyártó Kft began production in November 1997 on a brand new 7500m2 manufacturing site in Szombathely. The company has gradually extended its site since then, and now operates on a 78,000m2 production facility and office area. The Szombathely plant currently employs 2400 people, which makes it the largest plant besides the Schaeffler headquarters in Herzogenau-

rach, Germany, which employs 4600 staff.

The company achieved a turnover of €540 million last year.

Increasing product variety Serving only the automotive sector, LuK Savaria’s customers are all major OEMs. The company mainly supplies clutches and clutch discs for manual transmission, but also builds clutches for the VW DSG system

and provides double clutches for other partners as well as damper systems. Thanks to its state-of-the-art technologies, the firm offers a wide range of clutch applications including a twin disc application for high torque transmission.

Other significant products manufactured by LuK Savaria include dual mass flywheels and dampers. In addition to the core products, two years ago the company began to produce clutch release systems in Szombathely. Managing director Michael Reinig explains the reasons behind this: “We are increasing our capacity in accordance with our business plan so we can meet the market demand for greater flexibility.

“In general, we can say that every third newly manufactured car has a product from LuK worldwide and every 10th new car worldwide has a component part produced

by LuK Savaria.” The company supplies mainly engine manufacturing plants, which has largely contributed to the decision to establish LuK Savaria in its current location.

For example, the company is able to supply the Audi Hungary engine plant directly from Szombathely, as well as OPEL Szentgotthárd and the BMW Steyr Plant.

Mr Reinig continues: “The philosophy of the Schaeffler Group is ‘in the region for the region’, which is why we are acting with the group and its different brands worldwide.

For our plant the target region is Europe and 96 per cent of our production is supplied directly to customers in Europe.”

In addition to the manufacturing process, LuK Savaria is currently working on developing new testing and prototyping applications for its partners. “We build our prototypes for these projects here in Szombathely and

also work out most of the necessary testing parameters. This includes all electrical applications,” says Mr Reinig.

Guaranteed quality In order to meet growing demands, the Hungarian plant regularly invests in extending and modernising its facilities. The latest development of the 3B plant increased its production capacities by 20,000m2.

Component production has also become increasingly important for the factory in the past few years. Production technologies include stamping, heat treatment, machining and spring production. The firm is aiming to carry out all stages of the production process by itself as much as possible, from the raw material to the finished product.

Quality, however, is top priority, as Mr Reinig confirms: “Quality is first and foremost. We

have a very well organised quality control system within the group that enables us to constantly improve our quality to achieve the target of zero defects. We provide regular training courses for all our employees.

Everybody within LuK Savaria is responsible for quality and for improving our systems to avoid quality concerns for our partners.”

Mr Reinig also shares the following view on the company’s prospects: “We have a challenging future in front of us and we will be increasing our workforce over the next few years. Why do I say challenging? We have more and more advanced technologies on-site and we are little by little becoming leaders in these technologies within the group. For this reason, we are in need of young, motivated and well trained engineers, and identifying this calibre of employee is still n one of the biggest challenges.”

IN FULL COLOUR Since 1937, Ampacet’s Masterbatch technology has enhanced the value of a broad range of plastic products, giving them the right look and function. Ampacet’s Masterbatch range of Black, White, Colour and Additives are used in almost every polymer plastic process and application. Abigail Saltmarsh reports on Ampacet’s continued European success and the company’s ongoing strategy for global expansion.

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he game has changed for Leading Masterbatch producer Ampacet, according to Philippe Rey, director of marketing and business development EMEA. “The company is now not only recognised as a well-established global player but also has a good reputation for its broad portfolio and its unequivocal insistence on excellence.

“Ten years ago we were perceived as a commodity player,” he explains. “We were seen as a company that could only offer black and white Masterbatch. Now, however, we are not only seen as a company offering a full product range; Black, White, Additives and Color Masterbatch, but it is much more about adding value and creating speciality products for our customers.”

For many years now Ampacet has been classed as a leader in the Master-

batch industry. The company’s success is down to its ability to partner suppliers and customers and to create Masterbatch formulations that help bring products quickly to market and satisfy the needs of its customers to the best of its ability.

New state-of-the-art European headquarters Ampacet’s history dates back to 1937, when the American Moulding Powder and Chemical Corporation were formed in Brooklyn, New York. Since then, the privately owned company has grown to such an extent that it currently operates 24 sites globally, produces in excess of 400,000 tonnes annually and sells its products in more than 90 countries.

Ampacet has four research and development centres – two in the Americas,

one in Asia and one in Europe – and the latest developments at the company have seen the opening of a new state-of-the-art European headquarters, as well as new production capacity and a new European Ideation centre at Dudelange, in Luxembourg. The investment of approximately €25 million includes the installation of a new production line and an increase in capacity of approximately 30 per cent in terms of related production lines in Europe.

“The site also offers the possibility for further increases in capacity,” says Christian Tourtier, director of Manufacturing. “The new Dudelange plant also includes the latest environmental and manufacturing technologies to ensure production of the highest quality Masterbatches, respecting the international standards of ISO 9001.”

CREATE VALUE BY ANTICIPATING THE NEEDS OF CUSTOMERS

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ounded in 1924, Daikin has a turnover of roughly 13 Billion euros with more than 56,000 employees operating in 209 companies worldwide with 28 subsidiaries in Japan and 181 internationally.

Daikin Industries, Ltd. has become a global company with its Air-Conditioning systems and Fluoro-

chemistry businesses at the core. Daikin Industries is the world leading manufacturer of air conditioning and fluorochemical products.

Fluorinated gases are strategic to A/C. This gives a unique and strong position to Daikin Industries.

Daikin is securing its production through the integration of key raw materials and the addition of

new production capacity.

Daikin has integrated its own raw material (Fluorspar).

Daikin offers more than 1.800 kinds of fluorochemicals as fluoroplastics, fluoro- elastomers, fluorocoatings, fluorocarbon gases, fluorochemical intermediates, water and oil repellents, additives, fine chemicals, mold release agents…

DAIKIN PLASTIC ADDITIVES

Thanks to these unique properties Daikin offers a wide product range of plastic additives. This product segment includes Polymer Processing Aid (PPA), MPA Anti Drip, Unidyne Anti Fogging- Repellents, Micro Powder.

The laboratory for R&D and technical service is located in France. Its focus is to develop new products to satisfy customer needs: to help our customers in the evaluation of our products and to give advice to optimize their production.

Fluorine compounds exhibit many unique properties like Chemical, heat and flame resistance, wateroil repellency, low gas permeation, non-stick…

Polymer Processing Aid (PPA’s)

Daikin PPA’s are based on the latest generation of fluoropolymers developed and are tailored to improve extrusion properties of polymers such as LLDPE, mLLDPE, HDPE, PEX, PP, PET, PBT, PA and others.

Main benefits to use PPA’s (directly incorporated in resins or via masterbatch) are: • Melt Fracture Elimination (sharkskin) • Gloss improvement and haze reduction • Gel reduction during extrusion • Die build up reduction • Waste reduction and productivity increase • Improve processing of LLDPE rich blends.

By adding Daikin PPA’s at a level of only 500 ppm, a dynamic coating is created inside the extruder to reduce friction and modify the velocity profile of the extrudate.

Without PPA

With PPA

based on a low Mooney viscosity fluoroelastomer that is easy to disperse, creating no die build up and small drops with an efficient rate of 500 ppm.

In 2010, Daikin introduced new PPA technology through our third generation PPA: DA-910 for LLDPE and mLLDPE. This PPA is based on a functionalized fluoroelastomer combined with low Mooney viscosity, showing similar benefits to first generation products but with an efficient rate of only 300 ppm.

Based on new research and development, Daikin will be soon introducing new PPA’s in 2015 for additional applications.

Anti-Drip Additives Daikin PPA’s are suitable for many different processes such as blown and cast film, extrusion blow molding, wire and cable, pipe and tubing, fiber extrusion among others. Daikin’s shear rate calculator app was developed to select the correct PPA best suited to the processing conditions.

First generation Daikin PPA’s were launched in 2008 with DA-310 ST for cast film and other processes, DA-810 X for blown film. These 2 PPA’s are

Anti-drip additives are used to improve flame retardant formulations. PTFE fine powders exhibit unique behavior by creating a fibril network in the polymer. PTFE does not melt when the primary polymer burns. The network shrinks when exposed to flame and prevents dripping. It also reinforces the molten polymer during extrusion and increases polymer melt strength.

Testing shows reduced drip and flame propagation and allows products to pass UL94 V0 Qualification (US plastic flammability standard). PTFE strengthens char formation in resins as well as preventing dripping during combustion.

This is particularly useful in wire/cable and building materials applications. These anti-drip characteristics help to retard flame propagation.

Water/oil repellents

Fluorochemicals can modify surface tension of plastics to be more hydrophobic/ oil repellent or hydrophilic.

Examples of typical applications are anti-fog additives for packaging or agriculture film, oil repellency for bottles and others.

Here, for green house films, surface tension properties create liquid spread on films: clarity is then enhanced, light transmission is improved and as a result plant growth time is decreased.

Micro Powders

Daikin Micro Powders are based on PTFE technology.

Added to specific resins (thermoplastic engineering resins), micro powders help to improve wear resistance of these polymers. They also decrease marring, coefficient of friction and improve non stick properties when added to these resins.

These additives are suitable for PC, PA ..

www.daikinchem.de

New ideas Ampacet’s Masterbatches are used in almost every polymer, plastic process and application. Its customers come from a range of markets, including food and beverage, industrial, hygiene, personal care, cosmetic, textiles, toys, electronics, construction, agricultural and greenhouse films.

Caroline Scheydecker, senior marketing and communications coordinator, explains that the new Ideation Centre is where product design and engineering come together. “Ideation by Ampacet is a new concept that offers our customers a creative environment where they will journey from an ‘Idea to a Realisation’. Our customers will go through three faster steps – innovation, development & actualisation – and will be surrounded by industry professionals and the latest cutting edge technology. Creative elements will be delivered in a variety of articles in a myriad of effects. With every step, Ampacet will be right there to ensure it utilises its industry expertise to deliver our customers’ final products to the market much more quickly.

A clear focus Ampacet Europe SA has recently been announced the National Champion in the European Business awards. The company has also seen internal reorganisation, resulting in a greater focus on dedicated segments: Film, Moulding, BOPP and Extrusion.

“We are moving more and more towards focusing on dedicated areas,” says Mr Rey. “This enables us to offer our customers a much more specialised service and to have a better understanding of their development

concerns. We have been doing this for the past two to three years and as we grow and move forward we want to strengthen this way of working.”

Continuing to invest A new distribution centre, due to open at the end of 2014, will see Ampacet extend its reach to customers even further and will enable it to offer even more flexibility.

“This is another important stage in our global expansion strategy,” adds Carine Ringlet, director of Supply chain. “We are located at the heart of Europe, close to motorways that go in every direction.

Ampacet continues to expand in comparison to its peers in the plastics industry.

When you look back at the years between 2008 and 2013, when the economic situ-

ation was so difficult, we were one of the only companies that continued growing.

“Our success then and now is because we continue to invest. Our target is to keep growing, beyond the industry rate. As a global company we plan to look more to the Middle East, Turkey and Russia and to look for acquisitions as well as organic growth.

“We recently acquired Allied Color and Additives (ACA), headquartered in Australia, and where there are other new opportunities which will benefit us geographically or from a product point of view we will certainly consider them. We are committed to the business segments we focus on and to growing in Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific as we believe we can have much more global coverage and still offer the same level of n excellence to our customers.”

CONTINUED GROWTH FOR CHEMICAL GIANT The Hungarian Tisza Chemical Group Plc. (TVK) and Slovakian SLOVNAFT a.s. (SLOVNAFT) are an integrated part of the Downstream division within the MOL group, exploiting optimised refinery and petrochemical production processes in accordance with the group’s philosophy ‘from crude oil to plastics’. We asked Mr Sándor Gera, MOL head of Group Polymer Products Sales, about the focus areas, investments, new products and goals for the future.

IE: In which areas are there synergies to

IE: What production facilities do you have?

IE: Petrochemicals is an important pillar in

be exploited between Petrochemicals and Downstream’s other activities?

SG: We have two steam crackers in

the refining of by-products. How will recent investments by MOL Group change the value chain?

SG: There are many interesting intermediate chemicals along the propylene value chain which are currently being revised and may prove to be attractive. However, we would not enter into any derivatives business until the corresponding end-product markets appear to be more promising on the strategic horizon.

Shifting petrochemical feedstock (mostly naphtha) towards lighter composition is another possibility. Regarding the raw materials of olefin production, there might be other options rather than steam cracking, some of which would significantly affect Downstream. However, the examination of such options will need particular caution.

IE: What are your core products?

SG: MOL Group’s crackers produce ethylene and propylene from naphtha and gas oil, then these products are processed further in the polymer units using world-class technology to supply low-, medium- and high-density polyethylene and polypropylene products.

Both TVK and SLOVNAFT are producing commodity polymers in competitive quality for the plastics processing industry, which are fundamental for a wide range of industrial application and for production of a huge number of consumer goods that are essential to our everyday lives.

Tiszaújváros with 370 kt and 290 kt capacities, and one in Bratislava with a 220 kt capacity. We are running two HDPE plants in Tiszaújváros (Hungary): one for unimodal products (200 kt capacity) and one for our bimodal portfolio (220 kt capacity). We are producing LDPE in two locations: the Tiszaújváros site has a 65 kt capacity, while the capacity of the old units in Bratislava is 130 kt. The PP capacity of TVK is 280 kt, while SLOVNAFT has a 255 kt PP capacity.

IE: Have you made any major investments recently or are any planned?

SG: MOL’s management has decided to invest into Downstream activities, so we are facing big changes in the near future.

In Bratislava SLOVNAFT is building a new LDPE unit with a 220 kt yearly capacity. The licensor is LyondellBasell and the planned startup is Q3 2015.

At the same time TVK is building a butadiene extraction plant in Tiszaújváros that provides us with a further option to enter the attractive synthetic rubber market. The construction is going according to plan, so the 130 kt/annum capacity butadiene plant is expected to become operational in 2015.

Following the butadiene plant we will start up a synthetic rubber plant together with the Japanese company JSR in 2017.

SG: The recent investments will extend our value chain, which is actually integrated from crude to plastics. Owing to the lack of lighter gas feedstock available in central Europe, MOL Group’s petrochemical business consumes a mixed feed of naphtha, LPG and gas oil. Thus, we have a higher yields of heavier olefin products.

IE: What about ‘old’ assets? Is there any efficiency/modernisation program in progress?

SG: Regarding petrochemical developments, we must always bear in mind the capital intensity of this industry. If modernisation of an existing older plant requires considerably less capital investment than building a new unit, reconstruction can easily provide superior economics. However, the competitiveness of products must be the decisive factor of a revamp – improved unit cost can hardly compensate for disappearing demand or declining price levels.

In the case of polymer units, this is a major concern for TVK, since Slovnaft is already on track to have two modern, competitive-scale units (PP-3, LDPE-4). At TVK we are facing some strategic decisions in the coming years. As for the olefin plants,

Construction of brand new LDPE unit is in progress

all modernisation must aim at improving profitability through modified feedstock composition and reduced energy consumption. As these units play a key role in refinery petrochemical integration, evaluation of the feasibility and economics of any major intervention will require extensive study.

IE: How do you see the company developing over the next few years?

SG: There is major growth potential in the central and eastern European markets, as the per capita plastic consumption in these regions is significantly lower than at the western European level. We will be able to exploit this opportunity through our favourable geographic location and efficient operations. Our aim is to ameliorate our successfully working product and customer management. We also treat the issue of reducing our biological footprint as a priority, and within that we have, for instance, launched a joint research program with a Hungarian university focusing on developing bio-degradable polymer products. The group also continues to run energy saving and emission reducing development programmes.

IE: How does Petrochemicals affect Downstream’s unfavourable external environment?

SG: Owing to this year’s results and shortterm analyst forecasts, we look to the future with cautious optimism. Butadiene prices are expected to rise from their relatively low current levels. Consequently, the profitability of Butadiene production will be restored to the level that initially made it an attractive investment option. Concerning LDPE-4, we hope a smooth operation will allow us to monetise the development from the very beginning through reduced unit cost of production.

On the sales side, we will definitely have a competitive product portfolio, especially for film grades, the introduction of which will be supported by extensive premarketing. As far as market analyses are reliable, the European LDPE segment is the least threatened by import competition. Further penetration of LDPE grades into film applications will certainly influence market opportunities. Having high quality products is also definitely an advantage from this point of view.

MOL Group Polymers can also be competitive when it comes to the level of services it provides and in its knowledge of CEE

markets. In the latest customer satisfaction surveys, we have found that price isn’t the only important factor for our customers when choosing a supplier. The availability and quality of materials is as important as price, or even more important. As we can’t be competitive with Middle Eastern polymer producers on the cost side, we must focus on the above-mentioned areas.

IE: Are there any new products being developed?

SG: Over the past few years we have implemented several technical innovations and technological developments. Our aim is to continuously follow the new market requirements and the changes to the reprocessing trends in order to maintain a constant product development process and to complete our product portfolio. We focus on the specific demands of our customers and develop so-called ‘tailor-made’ products.

We do believe that a high level of customer service and continuously improving customer satisfaction are the key areas through which we can maintain and improve our current strong market position in the core region. n

FRESH THINKING AND DESIGN One of Hungary’s leading construction companies, the KÉSZ group, has been extending its activities in recent times. In addition to continuing to provide construction services, it has also focused on business development.

2013 brought significant changes in the company’s structure and its procedures and specialist knowledge were diversified. Edina Beale reports.

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stablished over 30 years ago as a family business, the KÉSZ group has gradually developed to become a well-known construction company which today occupies a significant position in the Hungarian construction market as well as being active in foreign markets. Recently the company has changed its structure from a holding company managing nearly 40 subsidiaries to one with central divisions in which are grouped all the current activities.

As a result of this, the company’s core activity of construction services including planning, manufacturing, building and assembling is now part of the Engineering and Technology Competence Centre – the company’s core profit centre. The Business Administration Services Competence Centre deals with back office duties including finance, accounting, marketing, IT, quality management, work safety, document management, translation and other day-to-day business-related services.

The Asset Management Competence Centre looks after all the group’s assets, including the portfolio of real estate. The Lifestyle Service Competence Centre represents the commitment of the KÉSZ group to encourage people to choose healthy lifestyles. Tourism, catering and the hand-made food trade activities belong to this division.

KÉSZ continues to manufacture and assemble steel structures and produce metal sheets in the KÉSZ Industrial Park in Kecskemét. The company also produces electric switchboards in large volumes for export and has explored numerous opportunities in the property development market. In 2005 the group was among the first to get involved in fledgling PPP projects in Hungary enabling it to become a leader in this field.

Since then KÉSZ has won numerous tenders and taken part in most major national developments. The company designed and planned the SkyCourt airport in Budapest

and had a significant role in building the Mercedes factory in Kecskemét. Most recently, KÉSZ has completed a major contract to build Europe’s most striking and modern square, the National Square, in front of of the Hungarian Parliament building. At present the group is carrying out many important industrial construction projects as well as building a sugar factory and a healthy product manufacturing plant.

Focus on innovation The company’s new structure enables KÉSZ to focus on innovation more than ever. It aims to explore new technological solutions in the area of renewable energy, not only to best meet the changing customer demand but to emphasise its commitment to environmental protection and efficient energy consumption. Marketing and communication manager of the KÉSZ Group, Mr Marcell Pintyőke, confirms this: “KÉSZ

Containers that are simple and creative The use of containers to create buildings with various functions is gaining popularity in Europe. The areas of application for office, storage, and sanitary containers are widening, and Mobilbox is at the forefront of supplying these versatile solutions. Advantages of the pre-fabricated modules includes the fact that they are economical, flexibly expandable, easy to dismantle and relocate, and this way of construction is environmentally friendly.

Buildings created from containers are extremely durable and resistant, do not require any special maintenance, and can be set up quickly, within days as the company delivers fully finished modules to the site. These possibilities have already awoken the interest of many architects, engineers from the industrial area and resulted in successful and spectacular projects in several locations. The containers of Mobilbox have been used to build complete production halls, office buildings, changing rooms, classrooms, entry halls, project offices and temporary storage areas. The containers can be also ideal shelters for different technologies (specialist technology containers).

The range of possibilities are wide, nearly infinite, thanks to the combinable modules and the fact that the company can produce and supply containers in a large variety of sizes.

Mobilbox has been delivering temporary and permanent room solutions for many blue chip companies with production in Europe: Audi, Mercedes, Lego, Jabil, Coca-Cola, Robert Bosch, Agip, ÖMV, Holcim etc. and is the main supplier of the major construction companies in Hungary and CE Europe as KÉSZ Kft.

Mobilbox Kft. Tel.: +36 1 887 1088 E-mail: info@mobilbox.hu Web: www.mobilbox.hu

is a leader in developments, in technologies and knowledge transfer alike. The aim is not only to achieve efficiency but technological innovation. At present we are working on a project that provides a totally new aspect of freedom in designing and in using materials rationally. We believe that without innovation and development no one can keep ahead in today’s world. This was the reason that we established the Hungarian Innovative Construction Open Cluster a couple of years ago to join up Hungarian businesses that are particularly committed to sustainable growth and innovative approaches.

The ultimate aim of the KÉSZ group is to maintain and develop its own abilities and to integrate innovation platforms that positively shape not only the company but the environment too. We believe that synergy is the key for the Hungarian construction companies to succeed. We must learn how to think together, develop together and use the expertise that Hungarians have and which we are so famous for.”

The Hungarian construction industry has changed significantly following the recession. There are fewer projects and developments in the market. It is harder for the investors to arrange finance and as a result the preparation process is now more difficult and takes longer. Many market players have diversified without properly

setting up for their new directions, as Mr Pintyőke explains: “There are only two or three companies in Hungary that are able to carry out large scale projects. Most firms are not capable of managing these without using subcontractors but yet they still tend to have a go at it. This impedes the efficient operation of the market. For this reason, our biggest advantages are our own abilities, expertise and our human resources. Our

1500 employees have competences and abilities that add real value to a planning or construction project. A significant number of our partners are large international companies, to whom the added value or value engineering are also very important.

Our international presence is strengthening our market position, too. We are active in more than 12 countries so we are leaving a n significant footprint on the globe.”

WITH A TRUE TEAM SPIRIT The success of GranitiFiandre SpA is based on a number of factors, including innovation, quality, a solid tradition and a high level of skill. It is also fuelled by a true team spirit, allowing the company to be a real partner for its clients. Barbara Rossi reports for Industry Europe.

88 Industry Europe

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ranitiFiandre SpA commenced its activity in 1961 and has since grown into a group which exports ‘Madein-Italy’ excellence to over 110 countries all over the world. The company, which is based near the northern Italian town of Reggio Emilia (Castellarano), is a leader in the production of full-body porcelain tiles for floors and coverings, offering a wide range of solutions for both internal and external use. Through its collections – offering a range of different styles, effects and special materials – Fiandre serves a number of construction segments, including residential, medical and leisure.

Throughout its 50-plus year history it has combined innovation and tradition and has worked in close contact with architects, so as to be able to offer optimal solutions. In fact, architects and designers have drawn inspiration from the natural beauty of the Fiandre products.

Because of its focus on innovation, Fiandre has always employed a high level of technology, positioning itself at the cutting-

edge. It was actually the first company to believe in porcelain tiles and in a 20 x 20cm format, a truly remarkable fact back in the 1960s and one of the many milestones placing the group at the forefront in terms of innovation and quality. Fiandre has experienced a successful growth path and has consolidated its business in all the markets acquired over the years.

Its full body porcelain stoneware is a unique product, made of entirely natural, high-quality raw materials, quarried by Fiandre around the world and processed in Castellarano, one of Europe’s most advanced production works (and the world’s largest polishing plant), where Fiandre produces over 50,000m2 of matt and polished stoneware daily.

The Fiandre production process is vertically integrated, from raw material sourcing to packaging and shipping. The fact that the company has control over the entire process, without any third party involvement, has led to quality and efficiency at all levels, and to an impressive portfolio of clients and projects.

The pureness of the raw materials is accompanied by the most advanced technology and a continuous study of aesthetic trends and forward-looking design, producing outstanding results. Fiandre releases new products and adopts new techniques every year. In fact, attention to new opportunities is what has allowed Fiandre to launch advanced products responding to market needs and the company’s varied clientele.

Large, stylish and clean The company has been celebrating over 50 years in the business with the launch of some exciting new products: the Maximum collection, the Precious Stones collection, and Active Clean Air & Antibacterial Ceramic TM. The Maximum collection offers slabs of large dimensions (4.5m2) offering strength, light weight, flexibility and ductility. The collection (which has recently seen the addition of the new 100 X 100 size) includes a range of finishes and models.

Fiandre was also present at the Rex and Mosbuild Russian exhibitions with its

Industry Europe 89

Precious Stones collection (and particularly with the new Tiger Gold). The Precious Stones collection is inspired by marble and hard stones and is made with absolute perfection, thanks to the employment of the most advanced technology. It is truly able to enhance modern architecture with its uniqueness and elegance.

Active Clean Air & Antibacterial Ceramic TM was launched in 2009 and constitutes a real peak of excellence, thanks to an exclu-

sive process developed by Fiandre. The fact that its products are charged with Titanium Dioxide means that when exposed to light a catalytic reaction occurs and drastically reduces airborne pollutants in the proximity of the surface in question. Titanium Dioxide is employed in micrometric rather than nanometric particles, thus avoiding the health risk factors connected with the use of nano particles. As an indoor solution Active is highly recommended for residential

buildings, spas, hotels, restaurants, gyms, schools and medical centres.

When employed for outdoor surfaces the Active products are dirt repellent. This means that no detergents are required for their cleaning, as rain water is sufficient for this purpose. In addition to this, the photo catalytic process which is triggered when Titanium Dioxide is exposed to light breaks down toxic organic and inorganic substances into harmless compounds. This results in

S.P.C.Glazes for Ceramic s.r.l. was founded in 1984 and from the outset has been producing a wide range of frits, glazes, engobes, screen printing pastes, stains and grits for every ceramic use for the industrial production of floor and wall tiles.

Investing in constant research to ensure the best technical and esthetic results.

Ongoing graphic and structural research as well as constant technical assistance has enabled us to customize tiles in our clients’ plants, and those products have proved to be reliable in every stage of production, always obtaining satisfying sales results.

Prompt deliveries and the rapid solution of technical problems have always distinguished our company on the market in our sector, facilitating our penetration in areas of ceramic production abroad.

In 2011 we acquired the ceramic supply company “Arco divisione smalti Iris”. The Arco plant produces frits, stains for glazes and body, sinterized products, grits, atomized, liquid products, special glazes, metallic and iris glazes, and many other solutions designed for use in the ceramic industry.

The digital evolution in the tile decoration brought changes in the ceramic sector; due that SPC ARCO has decided to expand its production by a new ecological line named SPC s.r.l. | Glazes for Ceramics | Via Canaletto, 138/140 41042 Spezzano di Fiorano (MO) ITALY +39.0536.845509 | info@spccolor.it | www.spccolor.it

Travel was established in 1996 as a transport and logistics operator.

Goods shipments are carried out using articulated lorries, tow trailers with tubs and palletizable tipper trucks. Open top vehicles are used for full, partial and small loads.

On demand, the company can also supply 4-axis traction vehicles for building site excavator digging. The service is geographically widespread and covers the whole of Italy. At the Sassuolo goods and traffic management centre, Travel can avail itself of a warehouse area equipped with five lift trucks and a covered section for perishable goods.

Travel offers fast deliveries, always complying with agreed schedules and has an average of 1200 operational transport and shipment vehicles on the road every day.

Address: Via Ancora 332, Sassuolo (MO) Italy

improved air quality for the surrounding area, as well as in a visibly cleaner building surface. These benefits are long-lasting, as once installed Active never stops interacting with the surrounding environment. Moreover, Active also qualifies as an anti-bacterial surface covering able to kill dangerous strains, such as Escherichia Coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Staphylococcus aureus.

Active is the world’s only ceramic floor and wall tile to hold the ISO 10678:2010, ISO 27448-1:2008 and ISO 27447:2009 certifications, to which it has recently added a prestigious European patent issued by the European Patent Office. Thanks to their anti-pollution qualities, 1088m2 of Active slabs have been used for paving the new town square opposite the Museo Ferrari in Maranello, where the headquarters of the famous car brand are based.

As well as focusing on quality, skills and innovation, Fiandre also places enormous importance on environmental sustainability.

This commitment first started in the 1980s and is not limited to the use of materials made of natural minerals (with no use of sealers, waxes, epoxies, artificial binders or colour pigments) and to the fact that products are manufactured using up to 100 per cent of recycled materials.

In fact, in addition to these important achievements, Fiandre has installed water treatment

plants, heat recapture systems and 50,000m2 of rooftop solar panels, thanks to which annual carbon dioxide emissions have been cut by more than 2000 tonnes. Waste water recycling procedures have also been put in place.

Fiandre’s products are designed to last a lifetime and are more durable than any other of their surfacing counterparts, as well as requiring very little maintenance (thanks to their high stain resistance).What’s more, porcelain tile materials do not require treatment at the end

Telephone: +39 0536 80 79 87 Fax: +39 0536 80 52 74 E-mail: info@travelspedizioni.it

of their life cycle since, due to their chemical inertia, they do not release harmful substances into the environment.

Fiandre holds a number of certifications: ISO 14001, EMAS and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). LEED is an energy-environmental quality assessment system issued by the Green Building Council for the construction of high-performance ‘green’ buildings, which has been awarded n to over 250 of Fiandre’s products.

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Skanska Sweden, like all the companies in the Skanska Group, is committed to leading the building and construction industry in sustainable technologies and business practices.

IN

early 2014 more than 1000 employees of Swedish construction company Skanska moved into a new global headquarters in Stockholm. The new office building, designed and constructed by Skanska itself, is located in the Western Kungsholmen area of Stockholm, a district that is rapidly being transformed as new homes are built right up to the water’s edge, new restaurants and shops are opening and new offices are going up all along the central boulevard.

The new head office is itself an excellent example of what Skanska can deliver in environmentally friendly design and construction.

It features a carefully controlled indoor climate with Skanska’s own Deep Green Cooling

patented technology through which energyefficient cooling is provided from 144 boreholes under the building. Heat in the summer is also used for pre-heating ventilation air in the winter and waste heat will be reused to provide heating for nearby homes. Environmentally-friendly pool cars will also be available as well as a large bicycle garage.

The facility also includes the latest project visualisation technology, allowing residential customers to experience and add colour to their new homes long before they are actually built; local politicians and planners are able to visualise and explore their ideas for new district developments years before they become a reality.

Globally reknowned Skanska Sweden is one of Sweden’s largest construction companies, with operations in building and civil engineering construction.

Skanska in Sweden is also active in the development of residential construction and commercial premises.

The Swedish operation is, of course, part of the global Skanska Group, founded in 1887 in southern Sweden to manufacture concrete products and now one of the world’s largest construction companies, with some 57,000 employees worldwide. In Europe the Group is active not only in the Nordic markets of Sweden, Norway and Finland but also in Poland, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia,

Hungary and the UK. It also has fast-growing operations in the USA and Latin America.

Skanska’s construction services include the building of large commercial and public buildings – office blocks, hospital, schools, railway stations etc – bridges, roads and private homes. The company develops residential areas to include single-family and multi-family housing and takes care of all stages of these developments, from choosing the location to planning, designing, building, marketing and sales. It sees its core competence as understanding how people want to live their lives and creating attractive new homes to meet these demands.

Recent projects The new contracts awarded to Skanska Sweden in 2014 give a good idea of the range of the division’s capabilities. In July it signed a contract with Locum AB to rebuild and expand Södertälje hospital, Sweden.

The contract is worth SEK 968 million.

The project includes a 22,000m2 emergency hospital, including a delivery ward. In addition, an existing 8000m2 building will be converted into care units with an additional 120 single rooms. The new hospital will meet the highest sustainability standards.

The aim is to certify the building according

to the environmental classification system Miljöbyggnad at the highest level, Gold.

This order was followed by a contract to be the general contractor for Facebook’s data centre project in Luleå, Sweden. Skanska is responsible for all infrastructure on the project, such as utilities and roads. It also constructs all sub-structure, concrete works and builds office and facilities buildings. Skanska UK and Skanska USA Mission Critical group are also supporting the project. The order is estimated to be worth around SEK 530 million.

Furthermore, in October this year Skanska signed a contract with Uppsala Country for the construction of a new healthcare building at the Uppsala University Hospital.

The contract is worth SEK 1.2 billion.

The new building, with a total area of 59,000m2, will strengthen the Uppsala University Hospital and meet the needs of a growing population. It creates new facilities for advanced healthcare and treatment activities in oncology, radiotherapy and surgery.

As with the previously mentioned hospital project, the aim is to certify the building according to Miljöbyggnad at the Gold level.

Construction work will start during the first quarter of 2015 and will be completed in the late summer of 2017.

Helping to build communities Skanska’s roots in Sweden run deep – construction is largely a local activity and the company’s projects place it in numerous communities. It is committed to being a responsible and appreciated community member, based on both how it carries out its projects and on its wider contribution.

Skanska believes that focused efforts are best, so it contributes what it knows and does best. It educates in safety, green building practices, and technical know-how as well n as supporting relevant local activities.

Preem We refine and sell gasoline, diesel, heating oil and renewable fuels to companies and consumers in Sweden and abroad. Preem supplies more than half of Sweden’s industrial companies and one third of the small companies with heating and energy products. Preem has a nationwide service network with close to 600 fuel stations for private and commercial traffic. Preem has over 1,200 employees, of which 900 work at our two refineries in Gothenburg and Lysekil, Sweden.

Including personnel at distributors and partners, over 3,000 employees meet our customers under the Preem brand. Preem had a turnover of sek 89 billion in 2013

OUT IN FRONT

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Royal Dutch Gazelle is one of the oldest bicycle manufacturers in the world and probably the most revered brand in Europe. Industry Europe looks at how the company’s dedication to quality and innovation has allowed it to maintain its leading position.

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oniinklijke Gazelle was founded in 1892 by Willem Kolling, a Dutch postmaster who was one of the first to see the potential of this new mode of transport. His early success led him into partnership with a colleague by the name of Rudolph Arentsen and between them they set the seal on the future of Gazelle, the ‘Rolls Royce’ of Dutch bicycles. From the production of just three bicycles in 1892 to becoming the biggest bicycle brand in the Netherlands producing more than 300,000 bicycles a year, Gazelle has come a very long way during the past 120 years.

Today the company is still based at its original premises in Dieren, near Arnhem, where all its models are assembled and tested prior to delivery. Gazelle Bicycles currently employs around 450 people.

Setting standards in design and efficiency Although Gazelle was founded more than 100 years ago, the company is far from old fashioned in its products or operations. In fact it is the trend setter when it comes to stylish, high quality, smooth geared bicycles. In 1996, the Gazelle quality system was certified according to the ISO-9001 standard. It is, in fact, the only Dutch bicycle manufacturer to hold this certification.

According to Gazelle, its range of bikes offers the ‘perfect combination of smooth cycling, clever design and robust quality’. All of its models are developed according to three distinct criteria: Smooth Cycling – ease and comfort; Smart Design – striking and ingenious; and Robust Quality – durable and safe.

The Gazelle range today is geared to suit every conceivable consumer’s needs. From city bikes and hybrid bikes to folding bikes, racing bikes and mountain bikes, the company satisfies every sector. It is also leading the field in energy efficient ‘E-bikes’ (Electronic-Drive Bikes) which are fast becoming the flagship range of the company as demand for them continues to grow.

Gazelle Bicycles exports its products to most European countries, as well as to the USA and Australia; however, its biggest markets remain Germany and the Netherlands.

The price range of the company’s bikes also reflects its wide variety of models as prices start from as little as around €400, and go to as much as €3000 or more for its custom made hand-crafted racing bike models.

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The importance of sustainability Environmental protection is a high priority for Gazelle. Of course, cycling is in itself an environmentally friendly activity – but the company goes further than this. For example, it only uses water-based paints and also makes a conscious effort when it comes to the recycling process. Furthermore, it also uses FSC-certified paper for all its brochures, packaging and promotional materials.

Gazelle’s range of advanced performance E-Bikes are gaining ground with commuters who prefer to cycle to work. These bicycles were originally designed for the elderly, who wanted to take advantage of the novel electronic drive system that significantly assists propulsion, to help them keep mobile. It was

soon realised however, that in both Germany and the Netherlands, many younger people were attracted to the new E-Bikes. This is because they offered them the possibility of cycling 15–20 kilometres to work with ease and could also save them money whilst keeping fit at the same time. Today, many companies throughout Europe are offering rewards and incentives to their staff to cycle to work because it results in fitter, happier and healthier staff, who are far less likely to take time off due to illness.

Gazelle is also keen to contribute towards making the world a better place ecologically and is doing this by taking a critical look at its everyday actions and manufacturing processes. For example, Gazelle only uses water-based paints and is committed to optimising its recycling processes. Working in close association with Ganswinkel, the leading waste disposal experts, the company has embarked upon a project towards the production of the world’s first 100 per n cent recyclable bicycle.

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A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR P&G The global consumer products giant Procter & Gamble has this year expanded its sustainability goals across its entire operations.

In the future it will continue to focus on creating value whilst conserving valuable resources. Industry Europe looks at what this renewed focus on environmental protection will involve, as well as casting an eye over some of the group’s most exciting product launches over the past year or so.

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ounded in 1837, today Procter & Gamble is a truly global phenomenon, with operations in more than 70 countries and serving more than 4.8 billion people around the world. It has one of the strongest portfolios of quality leadership brands, including Always, Ariel, Braun, Gillette, Lenor, Olay and Pantene to name just a few.

This year, the group announced its plans to sell off its Duracell battery business as part of a long-term plan to give it a sharper focus.

This brand was acquired as part of Gillette in 2005 and has healthy annual sales of $2 billion. But it was thought that it looked out of 100 Industry Europe

place next to the company’s other consumer care products such as shampoos, detergents, paper towels and so on.

Sustainability is key In addition to continued brand development, the future for P&G will see an increased focus on sustainability issues. To this end, in October this year (2014) it announced the expansion of its sustainability goals to continue creating value with consumer-preferred brands and products whilst conserving resources, protecting the environment and improving social conditions for those who need it most.

Since 2010 P&G has been guided by its vision to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy use, 100 per cent renewable or recyclable materials for all products and packaging, and zero consumer and manufacturing waste going to landfills. Its recent announcement has seen the addition of new goals for 2020, with an emphasis on water conservation and product packaging.

For the first of these, it is looking to reduce the water used at its manufacturing facilities by an additional 20 per cent per unit of production, as well as providing one billion people with access to water efficient

products. In terms of packaging sustainability, it will be looking to double the use of recycled resin in its plastic packaging and ensuring that 90 per cent of its product packaging is recyclable or that programs are in place to create the ability to recycle it. In addition to these two expanded goals, P&G is working across its supply chain to develop the capability, by 2020, to replace top petroleum-derived raw materials as far as cost and scale permit.

Unique organisation P&G’s unique organisational structure is one of the key reasons behind its continued ability to grow and achieve new targets.

It combines the benefits that come from being a global $79 billion company with a local focus. This latter point is vital: all of its operations and products can be tailored to meet the needs of its customers wherever they are in the world. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach.

Its four main Global Business Units are: Global Beauty; Global Baby, Feminine and Family Care; Global Fabric and Home Care; and Global Health and Grooming.

P&G’s products include many of its most recognised brands in the areas of beauty and personal care, feminine hygiene, health and grooming. It would be impossible to name every single product that sits under the P&G umbrella, so vast is its sphere of influence, but some of the many highlights include: Aussie haircare products; Dolce&Gabbana, Dunhill and Gucci Fragrances; Gillette; Head & Shoulders; Herbal Essences; Max Factor cosmetics; Olay; Old Spice; Tampax; Pantene and Wella.

One of the more recent product launches in its beauty subdivision is the new Herbal Essences Naked Collection. This range of haircare products is free from heavy residues and provides a custom premium fragrance blend infused with fresh mint. It comes in three varieties: Naked Moisture; Naked Shine and Naked Volume.

Also in the area of haircare, the new Head & Shoulders range with Fresh Scent Technology is a breakthrough anti-dandruff shampoo that provides scalp relief and flake-free hair along with an appealing scent. Head & Shoulders has been a wellknown leader in the anti-dandruff category for over 50 years, developing an innovative approach that combines proprietary scalp technology and proven hair benefits with a water-activated fragrance boost.

P&G also owns one of the world’s biggest feminine care brands, the abovementioned Always. The company regularly updates its product offering and August 2014 saw the launch of the new Always Discreet for sensitive bladders. This is a revolutionary way for women to manage sensitive bladder issues using innovative liners and pads specifically designed to absorb leaks and odours in seconds. The pads are up to 40 per cent thinner than the leading brand.

rior engineering with elegant design. The Braun technical centre at Kronberg is also the group’s Global Centre of Excellence for Devices and cooperates on product development with Gillette.

A significant new product launch in the area of men’s grooming products is the new Gillette Fusion ProGlide featuring FlexBall technology.

Gillette has pioneered shaving innovation for more than 100 years. With this new razor, whilst the blades will remain straight, thin and sharp, the handle itself moves and adjusts to fit the contours of a man’s face. According to P&G it will “change the face of shaving by allowing each cartridge to ride the facial contours for more constant contact.” This FlexBall technology builds on an innovation that Gillette first brought to shaving in 1977 with the first ever razor pivot.

Leading grooming brands Some of the world’s biggest grooming brands are also part of the P&G family, including, of course, Braun and Gillette.

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Greener household products As with the beauty and personal care products, Procter & Gamble’s fabric care, family care and household products include some of the most instantly recognisable global brands. From Ambi Pur, Ariel, Bounce, Downy, Daz, Fairy and Lenor to Pampers, Pepto-Bismol and Vicks, these brands reflect the diversity at play within the group’s portfolio.

But what all the P&G brands have in common, whatever their sector or target audience, is their focus on meeting and indeed exceeding sustainability standards when it comes to both manufacturing and the development of new products. Perhaps nowhere is this best exemplified than in its leading European Ariel brand portfolio, which has long been recognised for its dedication to water saving, sustainable production and social responsibility. Its Research & Development departments have created a global sustainability team to continually explore ways of delivering sustainability benefits through its products without compromising on cleaning results.

Ariel is a strong proponent of the principle that washing at low temperatures is the single most important thing we can do to lower our CO2 emissions while doing our laundry.

Its cold-water washing campaigns such as ‘Turn to 30°C’ have helped reduce around 58,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions by educating consumers on how to save energy.

Furthermore, the launch of Ariel Excel Gel has helped the company to significantly reduce the overall environmental impact of

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its products. The basic principle behind this is that a more concentrated product, such as a gel, can reduce packaging per wash and also clean better at lower temperatures.

One of Ariel’s most recent product launches is its 3 in 1 pods. The Ariel POD is the first compartment laundry liquid tab product.

Thanks to the POD’s super-imposed pouch, ingredients can be kept stable and separate until they reach the wash. It is a unique predosed super compacted liquid detergent that combines 3 actions in 1 product: cleaning, lifting stains and brightening.

Sweet dreams Meanwhile, in the US market, P&G has been demonstrating its dedication to social responsibility with the launch of its newest fabric care regimen, the Sweet Dreams Collection, to support the US National Sleep Foundation’s Sleep Awareness Week 2014. The line of products is formu-

lated with ingredients to clean, soften and freshen bedtime fabrics, from bed linens to nightwear, helping to create a relaxing sleeping environment.

The regimen, all of which are official products of the National Sleep Foundation, includes Tide plus A touch of Downy Sweet Dreams, Downy UNSTOPABLES Dreams, Downy Infusions Sweet Dreams and Bounce and Sweet Dreams.

This initiative is in line with the findings of a survey conducted by Healthcare Research and Analytics (HRA), in which 100 per cent of doctors agreed that an appropriate sleeping environment is critical to aiding a person’s ability to relax so they can fall asleep.

Revolutions in cognitive science for fabric care Indeed, innovative fabric care products will continue to be a major focus for development at P&G, as was demonstrated at its

recent Future Fabrics forum held in Berlin.

This was primarily to showcase the latest advances from its Ariel and Lenor/Downy fabric care brands and brought together a number of fashion, fabric and human psychology experts to talk about how our unconscious decisions affect our perceptions of clothing.

John Turner, P&G’s Research & Development director, explained that the company’s fibre scientists are introducing new advances in the Ariel 3-step FibreSCIENCE approach – to Clean, Protect and Enhance – with a focus on prolonging and improving the multi-sensorial fabric properties (the look, the feel and the smell) that influence how people perceive their clothes.

He said: “Our closets are full of clothes, yet we only wear 20 per cent of them 80 per cent of the time, so why aren’t we wearing the rest? P&G is looking at Fabric Care from a new angle to find out the answer. We’re breaking new ground by applying the latest research in the cognitive science of human perception to understand WHY we reject a garment and how or relationship with clothes changes over time.

By applying this knowledge to our FibreSCIENCE expertise we are redefining what Fabric Care means for consumers and their clothes.”

Leaders in baby care But of course, P&G’s Household Products division doesn’t only cover cleaning products.

It is also one of the world’s leaders in babycare

products, with its Pampers brand being one of the most obvious examples. This brand continues to lead the field and develop new and innovative solutions.

November 2014 saw the introduction of the new Pampers Premium Care Pants with allround elastic that can be pulled on like underwear. The soft belt fits the baby no matter how much he or she moves during the night and its stretchy, ultra-soft materials provide an all-round softness that is gentle on the skin.

Its 1,000,000 breathable Micropores allow humid air to escape and let the skin breathe, which helps keep the skin dry and comfortable. These pants have been designed using the company’s proprietary technology, which includes the unique extra dry layer.

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Global reputation for development

Innovations in beauty products

With such a vast array of brands, Global Innovation is a constant focus for Procter & Gamble. This dedication to delivering a strong innovation portfolio means that each year the companies in its stable are responsible for some of the world’s most talkedabout product launches.

The success of this approach was proven yet again this year when the group became the biggest winners of the 2013 New Product Pacesetters list, launching seven of the top 10 most successful non-food products of the year. P&G innovations that made the list were Tide Pods (# 1), ZzzGuil (#3), Vidal Sassoon Pro Series (#4); Downy Infusions (#6), Always/Tampax Radiant (#8), Secret Outlast (#9) and Puffs Basic (#10).

In fact, P&G was able to capture 73 per cent of the total sales of the top 10 Pacesetters in non-food categories. The year 2013 thus marked its best performance on the list in the 19 years it has been published. In this time, P&G has had 155 products make the top 25 Pacesetters list in non-food categories – more than its six largest competitors combined.

Whether it is for its beauty, grooming or household care divisions, the group’s Global Innovation activities result in a steady stream of new and exciting product launches. For example, the new Max Factor Masterpiece Transform Mascara has been designed to capture and volumise each lash, making them appear instantly fuller and thicker. It reverses the ‘bigger the mascara brush, the bigger the lashes’ concept with a small mascara wand which is easier to control than the bulkier designs to create more precise make-up.

Furthermore, the shorter bristles of the unique Masterpiece Transform brush allow the lashes to get into direct contact with the mascara formula, coating them on the first stroke. Meanwhile rows of rotating bristles ensure that, as the lashes are brushed through, every one is captured and coated.

Originally available in Germany, Russia and Sweden, this product will be sold in other markets from 2015.

Another new product making headlines in the beauty press is the COVERGIRL + Olay FaceLift Effect Firming Makeup,

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currently targeted at the US market. This breakthrough makeup was developed specifically for the ‘Boomer’ population, which is expected to grow by 35 per cent over the next 10 years. It combines flawless coverage with the hydrating effects of a night cream. The result, according to Olay, is ‘firmer-looking skin for an instant facelift effect’.

This new collaboration between COVERGIRL and Olay combines the latest and most innovative technologies to create products to meet women’s specific needs.

Because it doesn’t contain a powder system, FaceLift Effect has a lightweight feel to provide natural coverage and improve tone without feeling heavy. The exclusive Olay FaceFirm technology is infused with a concentrated vitamin complex for all-day hydration to plump and lift the skin. The principle is that, as the foundation hydrates over time, the skin becomes more elastic or firm and lifted.

Another product introduced by Olay last year was the new Pro-X Mircodermabrasion and Advanced Cleansing System. This is meant to offer professional skin care results

at home for a fraction of the price. It has been designed to help reduce the effects of UV exposure, pollution and other factors of daily life that contribute to dull, dry skin.

This device comes with three speeds: the first two allow for daily gentle cleansing or daily deep cleansing. The rotating tool’s new third speed, Microdermabrasion Foam Head and

Thermal Crystal Polisher exfoliate to remove discolouration and even up the skin tone.

This system has been available wherever Olay products are sold since August 2013.

Advances in clothing care In the area of fabric care, a recent product introduced for the US market is the revolu-

CSi As a worldwide leader in the design and implementation of palletising solutions, CSi has developed a new standard platform for automatic robot palletising in close co-operation with P&G. This platform provides a modular solution of reliable and affordable automatic palletising for all P&G’s business lines.

The platform offers an end of line solution that delivers full operational flexibility. Due to the small footprint, the palletiser has a layout that fits almost any situation while maintaining optimal accessibility.

The design of the robot palletising units allows for extremely short delivery and on-site installation and commissioning periods, resulting in hardly any intervention in ongoing production.

The rigid design requires low maintenance and provides easy operation and high reliability. The palletising robot has a basic design which can be configured to suit specific palletising needs.

tionary new SWASH clothing care system which reduces wrinkles, refreshes fabric, restores the fit lost after wear and preserves clothing with just the push of a button. This system was developed through a collaboration between P&G and Whirlpool Corporation.

SWASH uses an integrated tension system to gently hold clothes in place, while an advanced spray technology applies a unique designed solution to the clothing from the SWASH PODS cup. Following this, a rapid thermal drying function combines an express heat system with airflow recirculation to dry clothes quickly. It is highly convenient as it can be plugged directly into a standard wall outlet and requires no water, plumbing, pipes, vents or professional installation. It is also energy efficient, using 1300 watts which is less than most hairdryers.

With all of the above product launches and more, it is easy to see why Procter & Gamble remains one of the world’s consumer goods superpowers. Its product development teams are always ready to respond to the latest consumer demands as well as meeting n global sustainability criteria.

HEATING BUDAPEST CITY In 2011 the Hungarian government made radical changes either in the former feed in tariff system or the price regulation and funding system for companies in the Hungarian district heating sector. The government’s utility overheads reduction programme, which was started in 2013, has also increased competition among the industry players. In order to overcome these challenges, and to increase the value of the district heated flats, Főtáv Zrt has been focusing on three objectives: cheaper and greener heat production; market expansion and increasing efficiency in all areas of its operations. Edina Beale reports.

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stablished in 1960 as Budapest DH Works by the previous Local Government and still 100 per cent owned by a municipality of Budapest-owned holding company, Főtáv Zrt provides district heating, domestic hot water and space heating for 238,000 households and 7000 non-residential customers throughout the whole of Budapest. The heat supply of the company’s 550km pipeline network is fed by four combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants, five heat-only plants, one waste incineration plant, many gas engines and one gas turbine power station.

According to Mr Tibor Orbán, deputy CEO of Főtáv, the company has spent the past 2-3 years working on rationalisation, replanning and renegotiating contracts, expanding the market and implementing effective cost saving measures. The company has also carried out major investments to increase the utilisation of its more efficient and cheaper heat

sources, and to improve energy efficiency. It began a flue gas heat recovery programme, and the first element of this was to implement flue gas utilising technology in the Rákoskeresztúr heat-only plant and the second in Füredi heat-only plant.

Another significant project in this field was the establishment of the North-Pest– Újpalota heat cooperation system. Involving an investment of around 5 billion HUF, which will be completed at the beginning of next year, this will allow Főtáv to increase the utilisation of heat produced from burning communal waste for heat supply and reduce its heat purchasing costs significantly. A future project to build a second waste to energy plant in Budapest is currently in the first phase of development. “The realisation of the South Budapest heat cooperation system project is backed up by the Hungarian government as well as other public

utility companies as a joint effort is needed to cover the 60–70 billion HUF cost of this development,” explains Mr Orbán.

Főtáv currently owns and operates 3500 consumer substations and their modernisation is a continuous process; the company renews more than 100 substations every year. In previous years, the equipment and implementation of the substations was carried out by subcontractors. In the past two years, Főtáv has developed its own technology to manufacture the module units and established a production factory which is now manufacturing products not only for the company’s own use but also for sales. In 2013 the introduction of remote control systems in 700 substations was a major step towards focusing on the consumer and saving energy and labour costs. The company aims to carry out this development for all its substations in three phases over the next 3–4 years.

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Főtáv puts great emphasis on environmental issues and one of its latest small investments demonstrates its commitment to providing a greener energy supply: It has built a 35kW household size power station on the roof of its office building and is now planning to find a solar system solution to replace some of the electric power drives to operate the main circulation pumps. The company is also carrying out reconstruction programmes to replace old pumps with newer, more energy-efficient ones.

Similarly, Főtáv spends about 1 billion HUF every year on replacing heat-losing pipelines with more modern, well-insulated ones.

Great prospects In the heat market competitiveness is mainly dependent on price, as customers tend to go for the cheapest supplier of heating solutions. Mr Orbán said the government’s overheads reduction scheme has helped the

company to offer more competitive prices: “As a result of this programme either fixed or variable monthly fees were reduced for our customers whilst our biggest rivals, gas users, have only enjoyed reductions in their gas bills; the price and maintenance of their individual boilers have remained unchanged.

On the other hand, we believe that we have vast potential for development and progress in staying ahead of our rivals, but we need the opportunities to find those.

“District heating is a comfortable and environmentally friendly energy source, and today offers competitive prices. Our job is to improve the image of district heating so we can expand our markets, and to break the communication barrier with the residents and convince them that district heating is in fact a value increasing factor of their property.”

Főtáv has played a part in many large property development projects in the

past few years. It implemented a district heating system in the recently refurbished Ludovica Military Academy and has won many projects for trading centres and office buildings owned by foreign companies who are environmentally conscious. “District heating has a vital part to play in Hungary’s national energy strategy to 2030,” says Mr Orbán. “Based on this, we are on a significant development path in the future. This is supported by the 2014–20 EU resources for development, from which district heating may receive at least 60 billion HUF if we can show plans for large projects like the South Budapest heat cooperation project.

Once an integrated energy plan is implemented in Budapest, district heating will have to go on a significant development journey in the capital city and beyond its borders. For this reason I am looking to the n future with optimism.”

Terra-21 Kft has been acting as a contractor of Főtáv Zrt since 2002. The company’s initial and only activity to build outdoor heating pipes has extended by now. For the request of Főtáv Zrt, our company has completed the refurbishing of the Gazdagréti Pumphouse, demolished the Óbuda Heating station, is taking part in a heating centre development and refurbishment program, is clearing heating centres that had been discarded and is providing maintenance and installation services for present and future clients in Budapest.

This requires complex, fast and high standard work commitment from the planning stage to implementation.

Terra-21 Kft employs experienced engineers and a team of professionals as well as having high standard machinery and a well developed network system.

Besides Főtáv Zrt, the company is proud of their stable, long term customer base that was acquired not only in Budapest but lately outside of the capital city too.

STEP ON THE GAS A world leader in complete storage and transport systems for gas and fuel cylinders for compressed natural gas, Hexagon Raufoss is investing heavily to ensure its highly automated solutions are more than ready to meet its recentlyawarded major global contract.

Emma-Jane Batey spoke to director of sales and marketing Jørn Helge Dahl to find out more.

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art of the globally-active Hexagon Composites group of companies, Hexagon Raufoss is dedicated to providing high pressure technology for the storage and transportation of gas and compressed natural gas. One of three companies that make up Hexagon Composites, Hexagon Raufoss, along with Hexagon Ragasco (designing, testing and manufacturing of composite LPG cylinders) and Hexagon Lincoln (designing, testing and manufacturing of high-pressure composite cylinders) is a fully-owned subsidiary that benefits from the global footprint and impressive network of the parent company.

Hexagon Raufoss is one of the world’s leading providers of complete storage and

transport systems for gas and fuel cylinders for compressed natural gas (CNG and Hydrogen) powered passenger cars and commercial vehicles. It develops and produces composite cylinders and complete storage systems for compressed natural gas (CNG) and biogas and is based in Raufoss, Norway where it employs around 50 people.

Hexagon Raufoss and sister company Hexagon Lincoln, which is based in the US, work particularly closely together. Both are focused on the safe and effective transportation of gas, with each company having its own specialist area of expertise. Director of sales and marketing Jørn Helge Dahl explained, “We are both focused on high pressure technology, but

while Hexagon Raufoss’s key focus is smaller cylinders in high scale, Hexagon Lincoln is focused on larger cylinders so we are divided by both our product and our market. We aim for the passenger car market within Europe and expanding markets and our colleagues at Hexagon Lincoln are dedicated to heavy duty automotive and transportation products for the US and the global market. This means that there is always a gas transportation solution to be found under the Hexagon umbrella.”

Automotive partner Hexagon Raufoss’s clients are mainly to be found in the global automotive OEM sector.

It works with some of the world’s biggest

Photos by: Hexagon Raufoss Industry Europe 113

names, including Daimler, Opel and Ford.

Producing small gas tanks for automotive customers is its core competence, for which it is able to deliver reliable, efficient technology from its state-of-the-art facilities. The Hexagon Raufoss automotive portfolio is centred on agile, lightweight and ecologically-sound gas cylinders that deliver benefits including considerable weight savings (up to 70 per cent compared to traditional steel cylinders), improved vehicle safety (no corrosion issues and better vehicle crash performance) and impressive cost savings (up to 40 per cent against petrol vehicles and lower congestion charge ratings).

Mr Dahl told Industry Europe how Hexagon Raufoss’ activities in the global automotive sector are key to its current and

future success. He said, “Combining carbon fibres with glass fibres to optimise strength for gas cylinders for the automotive sector is at the heart of Hexagon Raufoss. We label with robots and have a highly automated production process that guarantees the best quality, most accurate product. It’s also very lightweight, which is increasingly important across the automotive sector as it helps to lower the overall weight of the car and reduces emissions and transport costs.”

But whilst Hexagon Raufoss’s facilities are certainly equipped with the very latest, most advanced automated technology, it is actually relatively small in terms of size.

This adds an interesting dimension to its productivity, as Mr Dahl explained, “We’ve invested a substantial amount of money into

our production capabilities in recent years.

We have world-class facilities for producing composite cylinders for the OEM car manufacturing industry. We’ve been really smart in our investment and in our organisation of the production site as the relatively small area we occupy is perfectly formed to deliver on our high production values.

We have an impressively large capacity as we have the most modern equipment and machinery all carefully and purposefully organised to make the best product in the best manner.”

Further growth The future of Hexagon Raufoss is already set to be every bit as successful as its past and present. In July 2014 the company con-

All other photos by: Per-Erik Bjørnback, Profilhuset Grafisk 114 Industry Europe

firmed that it has been nominated by a major international car manufacturer to supply large volumes of Type 4 high pressure compressed natural gas fuel tanks. This cooperation is currently in its initial development phase and is expected to run for up to seven years.

Mr Dahl added, “This nomination puts us in the lead position as the Type 4 CNG tank supplier to the passenger car segment and contributes to growth for the company in the following years. It also gives further traction to CNG as an alternative fuel solution.”

With its large-scale investments in its smart production facilities and core competences, Hexagon Raufoss is more than ready to increase its capacity and take on more projects that utilise its experience and n proven track record.

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THE POWER OF COMMITMENT Mr Roman Nota, president of the board of management of Croatian Končar Generators and Motors Inc., speaks to Vanja Švačko about the company’s operations and the latest developments since we last featured the company a year ago.

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a part of Končar Group, Končar Generators and Motors Inc. is a leading Croatian manufacturer of equipment for the generation of electric energy. The core products are large and medium sized generators as well as motors.

The company also deals with servicing, including overhauls, upgrading, revitalisation and modernisation of its own equipment, as well as of large hydroelectric power stations in need of new generators.

The products are manufactured according to specific customer needs. This means that its product development is dependant to a large extend upon current market trends.

Since the company serves many different industries (for example oil and transport), its product range includes engines for various purposes, such as those for tow vehicles, trams and trains.

When asked about the importance of suppliers, Mr Nota says: “We manufacture all our products in-house and have partnerships with material suppliers. We also need

suppliers for certain components of our products. However, in Croatia we are facing a problem since many suppliers have stopped working, changed their scope of business or have not invested in modern technology. We cannot meet all our needs by outsourcing since it also has to be logical and sustainable.”

Necessary transition Croatia is currently going through a period of de-industrialisation and the attempt to restore the reputation of its industrial production represents a huge challenge. The whole process has had an overall impact on local businesses, including Končar GIM itself.

Mr Nota explains, “Although nothing has significantly changed in the past year and market circumstances have been relatively stable, different situations are affecting various market segments in different ways. Owing to the fall in energy prices or some political and security reasons, certain projects get deferred or cancelled.

“Similarly, what has fundamentally changed in the past decade has been the investment structure. There are a growing number of smaller investors among dominant buyers of electrical energy who frequently grapple with getting concessions and licenses. Many of them continue to suffer major strains on their budgets, which eventually pushes our projects aside. Luckily, this has not had a dramatic impact on our business since the interest in our hydrogenerators is relatively stable.”

The company will need to transition away from local economic problems in order to create an environment of self-sustaining growth, marked by investments.

In pursuit of fresh knowledge Končar Generators and Motors Inc. is aware that achieving such a strategic shift requires heavy investments in science and engineering. Having access to the group’s institute for electrical engineering helps the company to address the most important issues concerning production.

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“We want to attract young people to take part in production – from workers to engineers to designers and IT experts. New products require new materials, fresh knowledge and updated methodologies. Our goal is to rejuvenate our teams and to share the knowledge we have gained in the field,” says Mr Nota.

“At this particular moment we are very cautious about investments. We have to consider our long-term prospects and look five to seven years ahead. We have managed to keep pace with market demands and to deliver satisfactory products in a battle with competitors.”

The preliminary planning has been completed and investments in technological pro-

cesses are in progress. Next year, additional investments are to be made in reconstruction, which is expected to boost quality and increase productivity.

Sustaining the investment cycle Končar’s customer base has traditionally been centred in and around Croatia, but owing to the suspension of many domestic projects about 80 per cent of its revenue has come from exports over the past 10 years. It is present in almost 20 markets worldwide today.

The company has recently signed a €16 million business contract with a client in Scandinavia, covering the revitalisation and upgrading

of two generators and the possible refurbishment of a third one. It came about as a natural collaboration after Končar successfully completed a job for the same client in Finland.

Mr Nota claims, “We have always had good relationships with our Scandinavian partners and now a number of parallel projects are operating in the region. This is a very important and reliable market for us.”

Končar GIM has also completed many power station projects in Africa and India.

According to Mr Nota, “In many jobs our company depends on its own strengths, but also on partners who deal with more complex products and who, after seeing our

excellent references, deploy us to work with them on projects with specialised agendas.”

Turbine manufacturers are also logical business partners for Končar GIM. “When it comes to hydroenergy, there are a number of environmental initiatives in many countries to start operating small hydroelectric power plants. Here we also depend on partners with a complete solution and access to big investors, but our advantage lies in the fact that for those potential projects we also have our own competitive product to offer,” n concludes Mr Nota.

Visit: www.koncar-gim.hr

ENERGY EFFICIENT POWER SOLUTIONS

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The Finnish company Wärtsilä is a world leader in power solutions such as engines for ships and power plants for electricity generation. The company is also a major supplier of heavyduty engines for the production and transport of oil and gas.

W

ärtsilä produces complete lifecycle powers solutions for the marine and energy markets, including power plants for oilfields, engines for crude oil pumping and compression solutions for gas gathering and processing. As a means of power generation, Wärtsilä’s engines provide a higher level of efficiency than traditional alternatives.

“Compared to gas turbines, our engine technology is very efficient. A 10-megawatt gas turbine has a 30 per cent electrical efficiency, but a 10 MW unit from Wärtsilä gives you an electrical efficiency of about 45 per cent,” said a company spokesperson.

In 2013 the group’s net sales totalled €4.7 billion with approximately 18,700 employees. It currently has operations in more than 200 loations in nearly 70 countries around the world.

Technology leader In the oil and gas industry, the consequences of a fault can be ruinously expensive. Wärtsilä’s engines are therefore designed and built for continuous reliability. Production is based at the company’s factories in Vaasa and Trieste. “We supply the whole world from these factories,” said a

company representative. “We developed the first heavy fuel oil engine back in the 1970s.

We continue to develop the technology of our engines in order to improve their ability to run on complex fuels.”

The acceptance of complex fuels is one of the key advantages of Wärtsilä’s engines, which are designed to use the fuel from the well. The engines can run on different kinds of fuels, both the crude oil from the well and the associated gas. Wärtsilä’s engines function in desert temperatures as well as in cold climates and can be powered by a combination of liquid and gaseous fuels.

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Common Rail Piping System High-quality large engines increasingly rely on Common Rail System technology as it is key technology enabling significant improvements.

No matter whether the engines are used to power ships, locomotives, large commercial vehicles or gen-sets, with common rail piping systems from NOVA SWISS®, modern engines become cleaner, quieter and on top of that, help to protect the environment.

NOVA SWISS® Common Rail Piping Systems are designed for today’s sophisticated engines running on diesel, gas or in dual fuel mode, offering total flexibility because of its modular design. It can be adopted to virtually any engine’s requirement.

Pipes and Manifolds for gas engines NOVA SWISS® gas pipes and manifolds are custom made. The sheathing concept sheaths simply and cost-effective and thereby conforms to classification societies.

The precise design allows simply assembly on engine.

• engineered to your needs • sheathed and unsheathed up to DN80 • up to 500 bar operation pressure • stainless steel, other materials upon request • classification society compliant • accredited welding processes Nova Werke AG, Vogelsangstrasse 24, 8307 Effretikon, Switzerland | Tel. +41 52 354-1616 | dk_sales@novaswiss.com | www.novaswiss.com

Because an oil well’s output is variable, Wärtsilä offers engines that can be adjusted to burn gaseous and liquid fuels in different ratios. The quality of the fuel changes over time but with our technology the engines will cope with these changes.

Minimising emissions Environmental efficiency is also key for Wärtsilä and one of its recent projects have been aimed at minimising emissions. In September this year (2014) it initiated the HERCULES-2 research project alongside MAN Diesel & Turbo, another leading European engine manufacturer. This follows on from the original 2004 HERCULES R&D programme to develop large engine technologies.

The HERCULES-2 project is aimed at developing a fuel-flexible marine engine that is optimally adaptive to its operating environment. The work will focus on four areas of integrated R&D divided into Work Package Groups (WPG), as follows: WPG 1 – a fuel flexible engine; WPG II – new materials (for engine applications); WPG III – an adaptive powerplant for lifetime performance; and WPG IV – a near zero emissions engine.

This work will build upon and surpass the targets of the previous HERCULES projects by going beyond the limits set by the regulatory authorities. By combining the 126 Industry Europe

very latest technologies, and through the use of integrated solutions, the new project aims to achieve significant reductions in fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. The project includes several full-scale prototypes and shipboard demonstrators that will speed the development of commercially available products. This co-operation between Wärtsilä and MAN Diesel & Turbo will also involve a number of other European companies, as well as universities and research institutions.

Utilising recovered gas A particularly significant innovation from Wärtsilä is its GasReformer – an efficient and flexible solution for utilising associated gas or VOCs recovered from oil production. With this solution, gases that were previously considered as waste can now be converted into a valuable source of energy. Together with the Wärtsilä dual-fuel (DF) engines, this is the most efficient and flexible solution for utilising gas or VOCs. The main application area for this is in offshore oil and gas production. Here, the traditional way to get rid of associated gas or even recovered VOCs (volatile organic compounds) is either flaring, venting, or burning in boilers or gas turbines with high operational costs and low efficiency. The GasRe-

former has been developed and designed to meet the standards of the oil & gas industry and is the first of its kind in the world.

The GasReformer technology is based on steam reforming (SR), a catalytic process known from the petrochemical industry and refineries, where traditionally hydrogen is produced from various hydrocarbon feeds.

A milestone order This year Wärtsilä received an order to supply Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) on behalf of a collaboration between SK Shipping and Marubeni with its 6-cylinder 2-stroke dual-fuel engines. This is a milestone order for the marine sector as these will be the first large LNG carriers featuring Wärtsilä’s 2-stroke dual-fuel technology.

Wärtsilä has already supplied more than 150 ships with its 4-stroke, low pressure dual fuel engines. The 2-stroke development was introduced in November 2013.

This engine technology combines efficient fuel consumption and low investment costs. The benefits already proven with the Wärtsilä 4-stroke dual fuel engines can now be applied to 2-stroke engines, which are widely popular in merchant vessels.

Importantly, both the Wärtsilä 2-stroke and 4-stroke, low pressure dual-fuel engines are compliant with the IMO’s Tier III regulations

without need of secondary exhaust treatment systems.

The scope of supply for these ships includes two 6-cylinder Wärtsilä X62DF main engines per vessel together with the required electricity generator sets powered

by Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines. The main engines will be built by a Korean licensee and the deliveries are scheduled for the first quarter in 2016. The first ship is due for delivery in the first quarter of 2017.

Major Aquarius order The company’s recent slew of major orders from the Asian market continued when it won the biggest ever single owner order for Ballast Water Management Systems. A total of 22 bulk carriers, being built by Yangzhou Guoyu Shipbuilding Co. Ltd in China for

Singapore-based Pioneer Marine will feature Wärtsilä’s Ballast Water Management Systems (BWMS). These systems will enable the vessels to comply fully with the IMO’s ballast water convention.

Each of the 38,000 DWT vessels will be fitted with two Wärtsilä Aquarius UV BWMS, and the scope of supply also includes the commissioning and sea trials of the equipment. The contracts thus involve a total of 44 Wärtsilä BWMS units, which represents the biggest ever single owner order to date for any BWMS manufacturer. It is expected that all 44 systems will be delivered before the end of 2015.

The Wärtsilä Aquarius UV is one of only four systems tested and approved for fresh water operation under the United States Coast Guard’s AMS (Alternative ManageIndustry Europe 127

Katsa – Geared for You Katsa Oy is a power transmission supplier. Over the years Katsa has become one of the leading supplier of high precision gear wheels, variety of turning devices and customized gearbox solutions.

Main customer segments of Katsa are marine & off-shore, vehicles & rail, mining & construction, pulp & paper, steel & metals, energy & wind and general machine building. Typically Katsa’s products are for demanding applications. Integrated engineering, manufacturing and assembly capabilities lead to flexible, cost efficient, reliable and on-time deliveries.

Gearbox designs include cylindrical, planetary, conical and worm gear type of gear designs and their combinations.

Katsa has references of high-speed gearboxes with several thousands of rpm, but on the other hand there is an extremely large install base of different turning devices with slow speed features. Operated power can vary from low to 3-7 MW depending of the operating speed. Current assembly capacity supports gearboxes up to 15000 kg. www.katsa.fi/en

Dedicated products At Federal-Mogul a huge team of large bore engine ring experts solely focuses on the special needs arising from large engine operation at sea, in power generation, rail and other heavy-duty applications. Between these main areas of use, Federal-Mogul covers 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines alike and modifies the rings for heavy fuel oil (HFO), gas or distillate fuel oil (diesel). Federal-Mogul piston rings for large bore engines have ex-

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ceptionally good durability. In addition to a wide choice of ring materials, Federal-Mogul offers a large range of high performance coatings (e.g. CKS® Chromium Ceramic Coating, GDC® Chromium Diamond Coating, plasma coatings, etc.). By combining process know-how with the long background in ring materials and high performance coatings in many industry applications, Federal-Mogul has the clear advantage.

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www.jmcengine.fi

JMC Engine Oy is a specialist provider of highly automated machining and system assembly services.

For example, for engine manufacturers we are specialists for cylinder heads, guide blocks, injection tappets and valve tappets.

We take pride in delivering top-quality products to our customers on schedule. Our advanced production methods guarantee cost-effective manufacturing as well as business partner satisfaction.

All-inclusive services We serve our customers by effective management of the entire production chain, which includes the subcontractor network, acquisition of materials and services, production and manufacturing methods, and assembly services.

We have developed into a strategic contract manufacturing partner of international operators, specialising in the manufacture of precisionmachined cast-iron parts and deliveries of readyto-assemble systems.

ment System) criteria. This approval was cited as being an important factor in Pioneer Marine’s decision making process when selecting a BWMS supplier.

According to Dr Joe Thomas, director of Wärtsilä Ballast Water Management Systems: “This is an important order and is indicative of the growing need for ballast water discharging to be properly managed. These vessels will operate in and around US waters, and it was imperative that the selected BWMS have the appropriate approvals. Wärtsilä has a strong track record in this field, and the components used have been thoroughly tested in the marine environment for many years.”

A first in bio-LNG Another area in which Wärtsilä continues to prove itself a pioneer is LNG plants. The company has delivered plants with capacities ranging from 20,000 to 85,000 tons per year and has also developed solutions for capacities up to 1 million tons per year.

At the other end of are Wärtsilä’s mini LNG plants that are particularly suitable for the liquefaction of biogas, and the production of LNG as a vehicle fuel.

An outstanding example of Wärtsilä’s expertise in this field is the Wärtsilä biogas liquefaction plant in Oslo, Norway. The plant converts household food waste into biomethane that is then used to fuel the local buses. The plant 130 Industry Europe

Partnership Our business operations are based on long-term partnerships. Openness, a quality which is highly

treats 50,000 tons of garbage per year, which produces enough fuel to run 135 buses. The environmental benefits are extremely significant with annual CO2 emissions being reduced by as much as 10,000 tons. Additionally, nitrogen oxides (NOx), noise levels, and particulate emissions are also considerably reduced.

In October this year, Wärtsilä signed a joint development agreement with two Indonesian partners with the aim of created the first ever bio-LNG plant in Indonesia. The co-signers of the agreement are PT Pertamina (Persero), a national energy company, and PT Godang Tua Jaya (GTJ), a waste utilisation sector specialist company.

“Renewable energy is an increasingly important global requirement, and we are proud to be involved in this landmark project.

valued by our partners, is the best guarantee for business reliability. Because our partners can trust us to fulfil our obligations, they can concentrate on organising their own business operations.

Quality JMC Engine Oy’s quality operations are based on a certified quality system according to the quality management standard ISO 9001:2008. JMC Engine Oy’s environmental operations are based on a certified environmental system according to the environmental management standard ISO 14001:2004.

We recognise our environmental responsibilities!

Wärtsilä has the experience and technological expertise in this area to turn solid waste into a valuable resource that can benefit the community,” said Mr Sanjay Verma, area sales n dirctor, Wärtsilä Ship Power.

END-TO-END ELECTRICAL SOLUTIONS CG is a global player in products for the management, application and sustainable production of electrical energy. Industry Europe looks at the latest from the company, including recent major contract wins, investments and capacity expansions.

CG

is one of the world’s premier engineering corporations and part of the giant US$ 4.2 billion Avantha Group of India. CG was established in India in 1937 and has since grown to become the leading pioneer in products for the efficient and sustainable production of electricity. CG’s headquarters for its end-toend power solutions is based in Mechelen, Belgium. The company’s diverse portfolio includes transformers, switchgear, circuit breakers and network protection and control gear. CG operates three distinct business units: power systems, industrial systems and consumer products.

Since 2005 CG has embarked upon an ambitious globalisation strategy, growing organically and through strategic acquisi-

tions of such large international companies as Pauwels, Ganz, Microsol, Sonomatra, MSE and PTS. These acquisitions have strengthened the company’s manufacturing capabilities and its product and service offering. CG now has major manufacturing plants in Belgium, Canada, Hungary,

Indonesia, Ireland, France, UK and US, in addition to more than 20 locations in India and employs over 15,000 people worldwide.

It also has a worldwide marketing network of more than 150 representatives, offering the entire range of CG products, solutions and services.

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Products and services CG’s range of power systems, industrial systems and consumer products is so vast it would be impossible to list them all here in great detail. In the area of power systems it offers transformers, switchgear, circuit breakers, vacuum interrupters, network protection & control gear, as well as design, servicing and execution of turnkey T&D and substation projects and solutions. The company enjoys a global presence with these products.

Its industrial systems activities are concerned with the business of power conversion equipment; a wide range of high and low tension rotating machines (motors and alternators), stampings, as well as railway

transportation & signalling products. This segment is largely focused on the Indian market although CG also caters to other markets through its facilities in Hungary.

Consumer products is one of CG’s fastest gro wing businesses. Its products in this area include fans, lighting, pumps and household electrical appliances such as geysers, mixer grinders, toasters, irons and electric lanterns.

For many years CG has been investing heavily in R&D, as well as in product certification, product quality and operational excellence. The company’s global research and development centre is located in Mumbai, India, and has been recognised many times for its innovation in the electrical

engineering sector. In order to unify all CG manufacturing and service facilities across the world, the company has also taken action to ensure that its customers receive a consistent, ‘One-World-Quality’ standard for all CG products and solutions in all parts of the world.

A company spokesperson said, “Since we went global in 2005 we have grown through acquisition and innovation to become one of the leading transmission and distribution engineering companies in the world. We are fully committed to the development of ‘Smart Grids’ using more intelligent systems and developing more efficient integration of renewables as well as focussing on the security of supply.

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“We are also committed to sustainable production technologies and offer products and solutions that are optimised at all levels.

We are fully certified to ISO 14001 and strictly monitor and measure our consumption of both water and energyto minimise energy waste. This is particularly true when it comes to our growing involvement in the design and manufacture and service of substations. Here we offer total ‘smart’ solutions which are the benchmark of the future, where we can drive the systems harder and become much more efficient in all areas of our power supply system technology.”

Major contract wins Over the past few months CG has continued to win a steady number of high-profile contracts. In September this year (2014), for example, it announced a new $25 million contract for the design, construction and delivery of 16 mobile substations. The order was placed by the General Directorate for Transmission, Upper Euphrates Region, Ministry of Electricity in Iraq. This includes the engineering and supply of 16 mobile substations containing 31.5 MVA transformers delivered by CG’s Power Transformer factory in Hungary, auxiliary/earthing units manufactured in the Distribution Transformer

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factory in Belgium and control and protection equipment provided by CG’s automation arm ZIV. In September, the company was selected

by ERDF – Electricité Réseau Distribution France, the public electricity distribution company managing 95 per cent of the electricity distribution network in continental France, as one of the six suppliers to manufacture the first three million of its new generation Linky smart meters. This initial order is the first phase of a 35 million unit rollout by 2021. According to ERDF, the Linky program is a major industrial program that will create 10,000 jobs located in France.

By modernising the distribution grid, it will bring important benefits for the consumers, helping them to better understand their electricity bills and reduce consumption.

Expanding design capabilities In June this year, Avantha Group CG opened its first Global Design Centre, or GDC, in Bhopal, India, thereby boosting its support to customers globally to meet the ever-evolving market needs in oil & gas, cement, mining & metals, water treatment, electric mobility and power, to name just a few. The Design Centre’s key markets will include countries across South East

Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

The Centre is unique in that it is the nerve centre of the design and development of advanced technological solutions for CG’s projects globally. It will synergise teams across regions, cross-pollinate ideas, co-create and deploy best practices. Its product portfolio will cover commercial motors and highly engineered medium voltage motors and generators that will be developed as per customer demand in a single location. Other offerings include LV/MV motors up to 25MW, synchronous machines up to 70 MVA and the LV/MV development of AC drives.

CG’s Global Research Centre in Mumbai is the hub of technology development for all CG’s businesses. By integrating the GDC in Bhopal, it further reinforces CG’s global network of centres located in Canada, Belgium, Spain, Hungary, Germany, Sweden and India.

Speaking at the time of the inauguration, CG’s CEO and managing director Laurent Demortier said: “The Global Design Centre reiterates CG’s commitment towards developing energy-efficient and technologically advanced products of a high quality that require a minimum long-term investment and n that reduce lead times in the market.”

Quality made of steel is our motivation.

Welding specialists PREIS is a specialist in the production of high quality welded constructions. The company can call on many years of experience in construction of oil-tight containers – especially for the transformer sector. We create tailor-made solutions in close co-operation with our clients and we offer our services from the start of the design phase. Our expertise is not limited to welding: we also have specialists for assembly, corrosion protection and machining.

Integrated management system In the interest of our customers we strive constantly to improve and continuously optimise our performance sustainably. The integrated quality management system fulfils all requirements for product quality, production processes and work flow in addition to health and safety at work and environmental protection. Our basis is exact oversight coupled with high quality standards, which are certified by multiple instates. ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2009, BS OHSAS 18001:2007, DIN EN 15085-2 CL1, DIN EN ISO 3834-2 Power transformer tanks PREIS has many years of experience as a producer of transformer tanks for power transformers. The common sizes range from small units through medium voltage transformers to the biggest and most complex systems.

In addition to the standard steel tanks we have gained many years of experience in the production of specialized projects such as “Brückenmittelstücke” – compact high-power transformers for semi-autonomous rail transport, phase-shifters and,

more recently, transformers for off-shore applications. To round off the package we offer a range of extra services to our customers such as preparation of the production documentation, identification of cost-reduction potential and technical expertise in areas such as welding and corrosion protection.

Traction transformer tanks Traction transformer tanks are used in locomotives, urban railways and high-speed trains. PREIS produces welded components for railed vehicles.

Distribution transformer tanks PREIS supplies oil-tight corrugated tanks for distribution transformers and chokes to customer order and design and according to all relevant standards. The individual panel sizes and forms are defined by the needs of our clients. The surface finish and corrosion protection are carried out as given in DIN EN ISO 12944. If required we can also offer zinc coatings or hot dip galvanising.

Welded constructions We produce steel components for other branches of industry in addition to our core business as manufacturers of transformer tanks.

PREIS & CO GmbH | Josef Nitsch-Straße 5, A-2763 Pernitz, Austria Tel.: +43 (0)2632/733 55-0 | Fax: +43 (0)2632/729 76 Email: office@preis.co.at | www.preisgroup.com

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Vénusz, one of the most renowned brand names in Hungary, belongs to Bunge Zrt, a large cooking oil and (through a subsidiary) a margarine producing company, which operates in Hungary as part of the global Bunge Limited group. Vénusz sunflower cooking oil has been present in the Hungarian market since 1952 and served generations of housewives. Throughout its long history the company’s main focus has always been on quality and major investments have been made regularly to meet the changing market needs. Edina Beale reports.

QUALITY COOKING OIL FROM HUNGARY T

he predecessor of Bunge Zrt was a state owned Vegetable oil and Detergent Manufacturing Company which was established in 1964 as a joint venture of many small vegetable oil factories in Hungary. At that time the company covered many segments including the manufacturing of vegetable oil based food and margarine, protein forage, soap, detergent and cleaning products, candles and other chemicals, but by the 70–80s the most dynamically developing sector was the vegetable oil manufacturing.

In 1991 the company changed to a public limited company, and most of its shares were acquired by Cereol Holding, an oilseed processing company that had significant market positions in western Europe. The name of the company changed to Cereol Növényolajipari Rt Magyarország and it operated as part of the Eridania Béghin-Say Agrarian Group, which owned majority shares of many sugar factories in Hungary. Cereol focused on processing sunflower and rapeseed oil as well as producing and packaging cooking oil. Products included crude vegetable cooking oil, packaged cooking oil, forage sleet and cooking lecithin.

After privatisation the company underwent a major technological development with the focus on all areas of the manufacturing process and the packaging. In 1993–94 a modern cooking oil refinery was established and a 1 litre PET base packaging unit was built in Martfű; as a result of this development, the company has become one of the most modern manufacturing firms in terms of capacity and quality in Europe. This created new opportunities for the firm to serve the domestic and export markets to the highest standard.

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Global support The American Bunge Limited, one of the biggest oilseed processing companies in the world, acquired Cereol in 2003, and since then the company has been operating in Hungary under the name of Bunge Zrt. Besides Europe, Bunge Limited is also active in the USA, Canada, South America and in Asia.

In 2008 Bunge made a significant investment to improve the facilities and increase capacities in the Martfű factory. The current processing capacities are suitable to satisfy the complete domestic market demand for cooking oil. In order to guarantee excellent quality, Bunge introduced the IFS quality assurance system into its operations. The company has always been committed to protecting the environment and complies with the requirements of the ISO 14001: 2004 Environmental System.

Bunge acquired the margarine producing Royal Brinkers Hungary Kft in 2010. This subsidiary is now called Natura Margarin Kft and produces private label products as well as low price margarine products in the factory located in Tatabánya, south-west Budapest.

The company also offers the well-known Bords Eve margarine in the premium category and in September 2011 extended its portfolio with the Vénusz margarine family range.

Innovative solutions As one of the leading innovators of the Bunge group, Bunge Zrt has always put great emphasis on healthy and environmentally friendly developments. This commitment is also evident in the design of its packaging solutions.

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Codema BUNGE has been a very important customer for Codema, especially since choosing us as a preferred supplier of Sunflower Seed Decorticators.

Most recently, Codema supplied the decorticators for BUNGE plants in Buzau Romania, Bordeaux France (partial BUNGE), Martfu Hungary and BUNGE Ukraine (not started up yet).

I think BUNGE appreciates that our machines have durability and that Codema is always willing to support BUNGE with prompt service, spare parts, and even to implement some Bunge design preferences for future machines. The minimal creation of fines by Codema Decorticators helps BUNGE maintain high yields.

HF Quality and trust in each other’s competence are keys to a successful partnership.

HF is the world market leader for screw presses (formerly known as Krupp-Presses, a synonym for high performance and high quality equipment) but is also considered and world-wide acknowledged as competent technology provider in other fields of oilseed processing, for crude oil refining and animal waste processing (rendering). HF’s business relationship with Bunge’s Martfü plant began more than 35 years ago with the supply of numerous components for all different plant sections.

The delivery of the screw press with serial number 2,000 to the Polish Bunge plant in Brzeg has been yet another milestone for the Bunge – HF relationship. Today Bunge operates more than 40 HF screw presses in locations in Austria, Canada, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine.

We are looking forward to strengthen and deepen this outstanding partnership.

FLOTT-TRANS KFT. predominantly specializes in national and international road haulage, warehouse logistic services and commercial vehicle repair.

Our average daily shipping request in Hungary is 3-3500 pallets and we provide FTL, LTL and collection freight shipping methods.

In the international markets, we complete around 4500-5000 shipping requests and also provide FTL, LTL and collection freight shipping methods in all European countries.

meet today’s highest quality requirements and satisfy specific customer needs. Our easy to reach warehouse centre is situated in Gyal, a few kilometres from Budapest, and is facilitated with a roofed industrial train track.

In addition to our logistic services, our 25 years old company also manages a car repair service, that were operating as an official VOLVO truck service in Eger for many years.

www.flott.hu

In the field of warehouse logistics we supply professional and tailor made solutions that National freight shipping: belfold@flott.hu International freight shipping: nemzetkozi@flott.hu Warehouse logistics: gyal@flott.hu Vehicle repair service: szerviz@flott.hu

INSIDE VIEW

Sunflower Seed Decorticator Model SSH-200.

ADVANTAGES

✔ Surgical accuracy - industrial rates ✔ Soft impact ✔ Not fines generation ✔ Friendly operation ✔ Easy adjustment ✔ Less energy consumption ✔ Reliability operation

www.codemallc.com

“Currently trends in the food industry are more and more towards healthy, natural solutions,” confirms Mrs Ildiko Frikton, brand manager of Bunge Zrt. “Consumers now demand near natural ingredients, humane manufacturing processes and environmentally friendly packaging materials.”

The company’s own development centre, Kővári Katalin Innovation Centre, was founded in 1947 as part of the Vegetable oil and Detergent Company. In 2010 the Innovation Centre was re-established in a new location and now it operates in a business park in Budapest. The laboratories of this centre are equipped with modern laboratory and analytic equipment, tasting room and experiments kitchens that are all used for developing processes.

The mission of the Innovation Centre is to provide a national environment for the industry professionals to join their expert knowledge and work together to develop new products, new packaging ideas, new food processing and industrial operations

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and innovative solutions that will add value for customers. Products such as packaged, bottled and loose cooking oil, soy, sunflower and rapeseed sleet, grains, margarines and vegetable fats are distributed in a number of European countries, as well as in the Middle East and in North Africa.

Bunge Zrt has a strong foundation and now operates with the support of a large international corporation. Meeting customer demands will always have to remain the main priority, as Mrs Frikton says: “Since 1818 Bunge has been one of the leading agribusiness and food manufacturing companies in the world. The activities of Bunge are integrated from the fields to the table. The aim of the company is to improve people’s lives by developing the global agricultural and food industry production chain – helping to produce more crops for farmers, processing and distributing these products efficiently and safely, and creating affordable, excellent quality food products that people can trust to buy n and consume with pleasure.”

TRADITION AND INNOVATION IN ITALIAN WINES Fontanafredda is a prominent Italian company specialised in wine production. The company is well anchored in its local territory, the Piedmont region, a traditionally prolific region in terms of exquisite high-end red wines, such as Barolo. The history of Fontanafredda goes back to 1858 and is intertwined with the history of Victor Emanuel II, the first King of Italy and the founder of the estate. Eugenia Fiusco talks with Mr Roberto Bruno, CEO and sales director of Fontanafredda about the future direction of the company.

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B

arolo wine has played a significant part in the success of the company. As Mr Bruno explained, Fontanafredda was able to make the most of the local resources, the excellent Nebbiolo grape, and turn it into an internationally acclaimed product. “Our production is focused on those wines that can be produced from Piedmont’s indigenous grapes.

We produce, among the reds, wines such as Barolo, Barbera and Dolcetto; white and sparkling wines are produced from grapes such as Moscato, Arneis and Cortese.” Annual production amounts to around 8 million bottles that are then exported to more than 75 countries around the world.

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Investing towards a sustainable future Fontanafredda particularly values the cooperation of a wide range of suppliers, including farmers and vine growers, wine producers, after sales services companies and packaging and raw materials suppliers. “Along the years, we have established fruitful partnerships with our suppliers, meaning that we promoted many innovative projects together aimed at the realisation of more sustainable production and consumers protection,” said Mr Bruno.

The goal is the care of the local territory and the protection of the biodiversity of the soil, which are both vital to the production of excellent wines. “For example, we aim to reduce

the use of chemical fertilisers and weed-killers and employ packaging and material that have a low impact on the environment or by using recycled materials.” Among the Italian winery’s strategic partners there are Syngenta (agricultural solutions), Eurostampa (labels), Verallia (glass bottles), and Nomacorc (corks).

A network of wineries Fontanafredda is at the centre of a wider network of 13 wineries that are spread over seven Italian regions. These wineries have full control over their production and aim to preserve their identities and reflect the characteristics of the region in their wines. “On the other hand, we

have created a very strong synergy in terms of distribution, marketing and communication.

Being the biggest company among the group, we took upon ourselves the responsibility to coordinate all these operations,” explained Mr Bruno. “As a result, we have a vast assortment of exquisite wines that are dispatched from our main plant in Serralunga D’Alba to both the domestic and international markets.”

A considerable amount of funds and efforts is being put in the ‘Vino Libero’ (free wine) initiative. This project stems from the collaboration of Fontanafredda with the other 12 wineries of its Italian network, all committed to the preservation of the soil and the unspoiled quality of their wines.

Geographical markets and future goals Fontanafredda has always distinguished itself for its strong link to international markets and producing and distributing a widely known wine, and the Barolo has certainly contributed to the brand recognition abroad. In particular, the Italian company exports to 75 countries.

However, the national market is still very significant, according to Mr Bruno: “The Italian market absorbs 50 per cent of our production. Among the most important international markets there are Canada and North America, some North European countries, in particular Scandinavia, and in Asia we have a wellestablished business connection with Japan whilst the link with China is getting stronger.

Food and wine are the trademark of our country, one of the most important heritages to be exported abroad. We are optimistic about the future and the growth of our products in new emerging markets.

“The future goal of the company is to strengthen our links with the wineries in the region and to further develop our network through acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships. At the same time, we want to keep investing in our current network of companies by bringing new projects to life that are innovative and far-reaching,” concluded Mr Bruno. n

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

IT GROWS ON TREES Balcas is not only one of Britain and Ireland’s largest wood suppliers, it is also pioneering biomass renewable energy with wood pellet fuel. Peter Mercer reports.

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alcas is a Northern Ireland based supplier of timber products. Since its first sawmill began operating in 1962 it has grown organically and through acquisitions to become a major supplier of construction timber, fencing materials, pallet wood components and MDF mouldings to markets in the UK and Ireland. But what sets Balcas apart is that it has also pioneered the development of biomass renewable energy in the British Isles.

Its ‘brites’ branded wood pellets are today widely recognised as a convenient sustainable fuel and a wholly practicable alternative to oil and gas heating. In fact thousands of the company’s wood pellets are regularly used in wood fuel boilers and wood burning stoves in homes, businesses and institutions throughout the UK and Ireland.

Now Balcas has taken its renewable energy business into a complete new dimension by offering Energy Supply Contracts to industrial customers that include not only the supply of brites fuel pellets but also the installation of biomass boilers to replace oil or gas burning equipment. In February of this year the Tomatin whisky distillery near Inverness became the first company to benefit from what Balcas now calls its Integrated Energy Proposition.

It began with self-sufficiency Despite these radical new ventures, conventional timber products still account for the greater part of the company’s business.

Balcas currently operates two sawmills – a 72 acre facility at Enniskillen, in Northern Ireland, that has an annual capacity of more than 260,000 cubic metres of sawn timber

a year and a 30 acre site at Vaida, in Estonia, that can produce more than 70,000 cubic metres of sawn timber a year. MDF mouldings for the architectural and house building sectors are produced at a 12 acre site at Kildare, Ireland, Wood pellet production takes place at the Enniskillen site and at Invergordon in Scotland; at both sites combined heat and power (CHP) plants deliver heat to produce the pellets and significant quantities of electricity.

“We began construction of our first biomass CHP plant at the Enniskillen sawmill in 2004,” explains Sales & Marketing Director Richard Greenaway. “We wanted to become self-sufficient in power for the plant – sawmills use a lot of electricity – and we had a great deal of waste raw materials sitting there that we could use as fuel. Then we realised that we could use the residual heat output from the CHP unit to dry locally sourced woodfibre which could then be processed into high-energy fuel pellets. These pellets were marketed under our brites brand and are now replacing some 750 million litres of oil fuel in homes, commercial premises and industrial sites, “This venture was so successful that in 2007 we began construction of a CHP plant at Invergordon, in Scotland, that was wholly dedicated to producing electricity and brites pellets. Today the Enniskillen plant produces around 50,000 tons of brites a year and Invergordon some 115,000 tons. We set up a brites bagging facility at Enniskillen in 2007 so we can supply brites to both northern and southern Ireland in bags or in 3 ton loads. Our wood pellet fuel is widely used

not just in homes but also hotels, schools and hospitals; Enniskillen hospital, for example, uses 7000 tons of our brites pellets a year to meet all its heating requirements, replacing its former gas boilers.”

The invergordon plant is focused on producing brites primarily for biomass boilers in businesses and institutions such as distilleries, hospitals, hotels and bakeries, where there is a need for a sustained heat load.

Some production is currently exported to Holland and Denmark but it is expected that by mid-2015 Balcas will have developed its commercial and institutional markets in Scotland and the rest of the UK to the point where they will absorb all of Invergordon’s pellet production.

The Estonian mill Balcas acquired its sawmill in Estonia in 1996, primarily to extend its range of structural timber products for the construction market. “Irish pine and spruce trees are relatively fast-growing and provide timber only up to grade C16,” explains Richard Greenaway. “That’s fine for house-building but you need slower grown stronger timber for large load bearing spars, for example. Baltic pine and spruce is significantly slower growing – around 35 years against 25 for Irish trees – so we looked around and found an old mill near Tallinn. We invested in new kilns, cleaning and grading equipment and the mill is now turning out around 72,000m3 a year of C16, C24 and TR26 grade timber products. This output completes our offer of construction timber to the UK and Irish markets.”

Greif

Suppliers of Industrial Flexible Bulk Packaging & Woodcovers for Timber www.greif-flexibles.com Ireland Office: Greif Flexibles Ire Ltd, 3003, Euro Bus Park, Li le Island, Co. Cork, Ireland.

Tel: +353 21 4353017

UK Office: Greif Flexibles UK Ltd, Dalton Airfield, Dalton, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, Y07 3HE. Tel: +44 1845 577464

Lonza BALCAS now uses next generation TANALITH E wood preservative from Lonza in their timber treatment operations to produce high performance TANALISED fencing and construction timbers for their customers. BALCAS has used TANALITH brand preservatives for over 50 years to provide assured long term protection against decay and insect attack and the use of this latest generation formulation together with their quality treatment procedures has gained BALCAS the coveted Treat-Right accolade from Lonza.

BALCAS has also invested in the latest EXCALIBUR incising technology from Lonza to help provide the very best performance ground contact fencing timbers for their markets.

Greif Flexibles Products and Services was created in 2010 through the acquisitions of Storsack, Litgermot, Sunjut and Unsa. Greif Flexibles Products and Services provide FIBC’s, Woodcovers, Shipping sacks, and other Flexible packaging for the chemical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, wood industry and many other sectors. We also offer a full portfolio of technical textiles and other flexible industrial products. We are committed to being our customers productivity partner, bringing efficiency to their supply chain through a comprehensive and innovative product portfolio, an extensive and integrated manufacturing network, technical expertise and local customer service. With our extensive manufacturing and customer service network, Greif Flexibles can supply products where and when you need them. With our Technical, Quality and Account Management teams, our products consistently meet your most challenging needs. We possess the experience, knowledge and resources to be your productivity partner.

Renewable energy for Tomatin This February, Tomatin whisky distillery, near Inverness, became the first Scottish distillery to benefit from Balcas’ new Energy Supply Contract offer, in which the Northern Irish company not only supplies the biomass fuel

but also carries out the installation of a sustainable biomass-burning boiler. The new boiler replaces the distillery’s previous heavy fuel oil boiler to produce heat and steam for the whisky making process, enabling it to cut its carbon emissions by 80 per cent, a reduction of 4000 tons of CO2 per year. That’s equivalent to taking 1200 family cars off the road.

Ernest Kidney, managing director of Balcas, and Robert Anderson, chief executive of Tomatin Distillery, presented an overview of the environmental and economic benefits of the new biomass steam boiler to Lord Smith of Kelvin, the Chairman of the UK’s Green Investment bank, which part-financed the project. Mr Kidney said, “Tomatin is the first

company to benefit from our unique integrated energy proposition and I congratulate than on achieving their carbon reduction targets for 2050 – 36 years ahead of schedule!

Given that the government’s Renewable Hear Incentive is for the next 20 years, we believe that having a world class solution for the supply of steam in an industrial or commercial setting, backed with security of supply for the next 20 years, will be a decisive factor for many customers in the marketplace,” In fact, Balcas already has another five Scottish distilleries signed up for its Energy Supply Contract so it looks like there is a bright future for its sustainable n biomass pellets.

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Baking oven door with SCHOTT® MetalLook

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SCHOTT® Smart Touch - for intuitive control of switches

CREATING SMARTER GLASS TECHNOLOGY SCHOTT Flat Glass is a division of SCHOTT AG and a global leader in glass solutions for home appliances and commercial refrigeration. Philip Yorke spoke to Astrid Rotarius, the company’s global director Marketing, about the many innovative products being launched and its continuing investment in new technology.

SCHOTT Glass & Electronics solutions

SCHOTT® MetalLook

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CHOTT is headquartered in Mainz, Germany, and has more than 130 years’ experience in the manufacture of speciality glass and advanced technology materials. Its core markets are the home appliance, pharmaceuticals, electronics, optics, transportation and architecture industries. SCHOTT Flat Glass’s main activity is the production of speciality glass for home appliances such as ovens, cookers and refrigerators as well as glass door systems for commercial freezers for supermarkets. With many decades of knowhow in glass processing and customised solutions, SCHOTT Flat Glass is the preferred partner in the home appliance and commercial refrigeration industry worldwide.

The SCHOTT Group maintains close proximity to its customers with manufacturing facilities and sales units in over 35 countries worldwide. In 2013 its workforce of around 15,500 employees generated sales of more than €1.8 billion.

Innovative glass solutions SCHOTT Flat Glass continuously develops new products that add to the convenience of consumers and the aesthetic appeal of

SCHOTT Glass & Electronics solutions

home appliances around the world. One of the company’s latest innovative products is SCHOTT® CleanPlus – an easy-to-clean inner oven door, which is designed to ensure that virtually nothing sticks to the inside of the oven window, thus saving time and making oven doors much easier to keep clean.

SCHOTT is now offering its customers a clever way of upgrading their standard appliances into ovens that feature the comfort function ‘easy to clean’. Another innovation is SCHOTT® MetalLook: this special glass has a metal-like appearance printed on glass similar to brushed stainless steel and brings trendy design into the home, allowing for completely new design approaches.

The glass is easy to clean, and the ability to include very fine and complex graphics are just two of the many advantages offered by this innovative material.

Rotarius said, “We are always looking for ways to meet new market trends. One of our other innovation topics is SCHOTT® SeeClear for mirror-coated glasses. This new technology combines transparency and reflection in one glass surface which offers designers a whole new range of creative

options including 3D effects. It’s already in use in a baking oven front and also as a control panel in a professional coffee machine.

“Yet another big area for us is what we call ‘Glass&Electronics’ solutions. In this area we offer a wide variety of glass covers for Human Machine Interface solutions that connect with electronic components. This involves special printing options where we print circuits on the glass control panel for connection to electronic components. With this technology thinner control panels are possible, because part of the function is integrated onto the glass. In addition, our SCHOTT® SmartTouch technology offers intuitive control of switches. We have put a groove in the glass, which acts like a modern on-off button. All these new technologies are about ease of use and attractive design.

“We have also developed products for some brand new applications as glass is becoming more popular. Currently there are two new areas for us: the first is coffee machines which go towards glass control panels with bigger displays; and the second is sanitary products. Surprisingly this glass is not for shower cabinets, but we have develIndustry Europe 149

Ideal partner for tightly controlled thermal processes Eisenmann is a leading global industrial solutions provider for surface finishing, material flow automation, environmental engineering and thermal process technology. The Process & High Temperature Technology business unit offers a comprehensive range of products – from simple chamber kilns to gas-tight roller-type kilns with vacuum doors, and from test facilities to fully automatic production lines.

We would like to congratulate Schott on its 130th anniversary, and look forward to continuing our positive and productive working relationship for many years to come.

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Coffee machine with a control panel with SCHOTT® SeeClear

Glass hob top for gas cookers including assembly

oped a glass for the back of WCs in which the flush can be activated without actually touching the glass. It is our in-depth experience and commitment to innovation that keeps us well ahead of our competition.”

Energy saving door systems Another focus area for the company is glass door systems for commercial refrigerators and freezers for supermarkets. The glass door systems from SCHOTT Termofrost® make chilled products more appealing and save up to 60 per cent more energy, the company says. These glass door systems meet the needs of food retailers by enabling products to be displayed in an attrac-

SCHOTT Termofrost® solutions for commercial refrigeration

tive manner inside the coolers, and this significantly reduces electricity costs. The SCHOTT Termofrost® AGD3 offers a perfect view of food products thanks to its slim design and new technology. The company also launched its latest sliding door system – the ‘Termofrost® SDS2. Both of these new systems can reduce energy use by up to 60 per cent compared with the standard open refrigeration cabinets in use in supermarkets.

With its self-closing condensation-free door systems, SCHOTT helps the retail food industry to present foods in a more appealing way. The new door and frame systems from SCHOTT consist of single, double or triple insulating glass and are

ideally suited for refrigerated products up to +2C and for deep freeze products down to –25C.

Global investments SCHOTT Flat Glass is very much a global business with 13 production facilities located in 10 countries. Recently the company has expanded its operations in Brazil, Turkey and China. “North America and Europe are still our biggest markets, however it is South America, Asia and Turkey that are driving our n global growth” added Rotarius.

For further details of SCHOTT Flat Glass’s innovative speciality glass products and services visit: www.schott.com/flatglass Industry Europe 151

TRANSPARENT SUCCESS Italian market leader in glass production Sangalli Group has announced a strategic transaction with the Glasswall Group to expand its international presence. Daniele Garavaglia talks to CEO Franscesco Sangalli to find out more.

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he family-run Sangalli Group is a leading manufacturer of glass products, with four facilities based in both northern and southern Italy. A recent agreement signed between Sangalli and leading glass company Glasswall is designed to support the revitalisation of an important historical sector: the Italian architectural glass industry.

Under the terms of the agreement, Glasswall has become a 50 per cent shareholder of the Sangalli Group, securing equity investments into the company and ongoing financial support. The two parties will combine their resources to strengthen the financial position of the Sangalli Group, expand its presence in the European market and invest

in the development of value-added products in areas such as acoustic control, thermal insulation, safety, solar control and design.

Concrete basis for future growth CEO Mr Francesco Sangalli commented: “Over the past decade, Sangalli Group has been building up production capacity

alongside our market share. This partnership with the Glasswall Group strengthens and consolidates our current financial and operational position and creates a solid basis for future growth.”

It is the company’s intention to use the proceeds from the transaction over the next two years to complete a comprehensive financial and business restructuring in order to withstand any potential market downturns in the medium term. Besides providing financial support, the Glasswall Group is also bringing its expertise in the marketing and distribution of glass products which will enable the Sangalli Group to both increase its domestic market share and expand its presence in neighbouring markets.

In the longer term, the primary goal of the partnership is to focus on the development and implementation of advanced technologies in glass coating and processing. Using their joint experience, the companies are now taking the first steps towards achieving this.

Long-term market leaders History of Sangalli Group’s expertise in glass trading dates back to 1896. In the 1950s, Mr Giorgio Sangalli led the upstream integration of the group into glass processing by setting up an insulated glass unit, tempering and lamination facilities in Susegana, Vittorio Veneto, Modena, Perugia and San Vito al Tagliamento. Over the past decade, the group has moved into the area of float glass production and consolidated its position as the second largest independent float glass producer in Europe. In 2002, the group opened its first float glass line in Manfredonia and in 2011 it doubled its production capacity by launching a highly automated float glass line in Porto Nogaro. Continuous investment into R&D has also enabled the group to achieve a leading position in satinated and laminated products, as well as various environmental awards with total investments exceeding €270 million.

In 2012, the Sangalli Group produced over 300,000 tons of float glass, giving it a 35 per

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cent share of the domestic market. That year, its revenue amounted to over €100 million and it employed over 370 people in Italy.

The Glasswall Group, meanwhile, consists of several leading businesses in float glass production, processing and logistics in Russia and the CIS. The group was founded in the early 1990s by Mr Dmitry Sulin as a glass processing business (STiS) and, within a decade, it had grown into the largest glass processor in Europe. The company currently operates 35 processing and two tempering lines, processes over 120,000 tonnes of glass and employs over 1600 people. The combined revenues of all its businesses total some €300 million.

Strategic restructuring The alliance with Glasswall has allowed Sangalli to redefine its strategy in the Italian market. “With regard to the continued challenging conditions within the Italian architectural and building sector, Sangalli Group is taking action to reduce its production capacity and output to match the requirements of our customers,” Mr Sangalli explains.

“Our Manfredonia furnace, for example, is approaching the end of its working life and will be cooled down in December 2014.

Following this, we are planning an extended cold repair. We will ensure the continuity of supply from the Porto Nogaro site and maintain the group’s position in our core markets.”

Energy efficiency and glass engineering In addition to reorganising its operational structure in Italy, the Sangalli Grup has just announced the beginning of production and commercialisation of the Climax T, the new temperable Low-E magnetronic glass and the latest addition to the company’s

well-known Climax range. Available in thicknesses from 3-12mm, the Climax T is particularly suited for those specific project applications in which the need for thermal glass is combined with the need for tempered glass to ensure safety.

Both standard Climax and Climax T products can be used in the same application without any difference in colour.

Mr Sangalli concludes: “We are very focused on energy efficiency and glass engineering – cooperating, for example, on the latest generation of energy-saving glass – because these are two key global drivers n of innovation.”

SHEER PERFORMANCE CIDAN Machinery is a market leader in the manufacture of metal fabricating machinery and continues to build upon its success in key world markets. Philip Yorke talked to Peter Tafazoli, the company’s CEO, about its latest products, the distribution of non-CIDAN brands and how its growing number of global partnerships are paying dividends.

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IN

one form or another, CIDAN Machinery of Sweden has been manufacturing industrial equipment since 1907 and producing highperformance metal fabrication machinery since the 1940s. CIDAN is a leading sheet metal machine manufacturer in the Nordic markets with a strong presence in the USA, Asia and other key world markets.

The company produces and markets two well-known brands: CIDAN and Göteneds.

Following a step-up in activity at the beginning of 2013, Petersen Machinery included CIDAN Machinery Inc. as a fully owned subsidiary of Petersen Machinery Denmark AS. In conjunction, all companies in the group were re-aligned under the name ‘CIDAN Machinery’ in order to link them under one of its strongest brand names.

Today CIDAN’s product portfolio extends to machines covering up to 8mm thickness in mild steel but for which the largest demand is for up to 4mm. The company operates state-of-the-art facilities in Götene, Sweden, and has its own dedicated companies in Denmark, the USA and China. In the last fiscal year CIDAN Machinery recorded sales of more than €20 million.

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Optimised performance CIDAN continues to offer a wide range of machines and custom-made equipment that cover a diverse range of products, which include the latest CNC power folding machines, motorised guillotine shears, compact sized cut-to-length lines with straightening, slitting and shearing lines, decoilers and recoilers. These advanced, high-tech machines set the industry standard in terms of durability and ease of use for its operators.

They provide flexible, energy-saving solutions that are optimised to increase efficiency and cut costs.

Mr Tafazoli said, “Many of our customers around the world still remember us as Petersen Machinery, Göteneds and another brand that was used in the US during the initial phase of our success there. Those are virtually phased out now with the exception of a few countries such as Sweden, Poland, Norway and Finland where the brand Göteneds is still a strong market leader. Today CIDAN is the dominant global brand and has always been the premier one that people acknowledge as leading the field in both quality and innovative technology. Recently we have been upgrading and

enhancing the performance of existing ones to new levels of efficiency and reliability.

“The latest products to evolve from these technological advances were launched at EuroBLECH in Hannover, Germany, at the end of October. We showcased our latest EVO mechanical shearing guillotines there, which offer exceptional flexibility for our customers. Furthermore, a new series of gauging systems and operational controls for power folders were successfully shown at the fair. The new software is unique for CIDAN Machinery and has been developed in-house in collaboration with selected outside suppliers. The major principle in the development was to have a control that was intuitive for new users to operate, while advanced users could have the option to make more complex individual adjustments if required.

Mr Tafazoli added, “A strategy that has paid big dividends for us recently has been the decision to distribute top-tier competitive brands which complement our own portfolio of products. One of our biggest success stories is our partnership with the Swiss manufacturer of long and double folders, Thalmann. Today we are their biggest customer, selling their advanced machinery

products in Scandinavia, North America and recently a large part of Asia. Our two companies are involved in frequent, open discussions on how to gain mutual benefits and grow even stronger through collaboration. Our global partnerships with other manufacturers are also adding to our ability to reach new markets and increase our presence in existing ones.

“Our well-established and diverse partnership networks help us to satisfy the different market needs throughout the world. We are now also developing tighter relationships with our dealer networks and these are dedicated and fully trained dealerships that are capable of providing the same quality solutions for our customers as we do”

Expanding global reach The company continues to invest heavily in its key growth markets such as China and North America. Sales in North America have

been steady for many decades, but with the creation of its ‘Americas’ division, the expert sales unit now responsible for North and South America, CIDAN has high expectations for the company’s future sales there.

With its extensive office, showroom and warehouse facilities in Peachtree City, Georgia, USA, the company has achieved great success with its sales of CIDAN machines in the US market. It now has a steady stream of container shipments rolling out of Gothenburg carrying CIDAN machines destined for the American continent. “Our well trained and qualified sales and service staff in our US office have already secured remarkable growth in the US and we have great confidence that CIDAN will become the natural brand of choice for the Latin American sheet metal industry,” commented Mr Tafazoli.

In China the company continues to build upon its facilities there and has now moved

to larger premises in Greater Shanghai with a bigger showroom and better facilities for the handling of its machines. CIDAN Machinery Trading Shanghai has been showcasing CIDAN Machines at many important trade shows in China over the past year and every show has been successful for the company. The plan is to establish the CIDAN Machinery company in Shanghai as the regional hub for the surrounding area in Asia. It has recently hired a new general manager and other staff to support this initiative. Even though the company has a more than 100-year history, the CIDAN machines and CIDAN brand are still seeing rapid growth all over the world. n For further details of CIDAN’s innovative metal fabricating machinery and dedicated customer services visit: www.cidanmachinery.com Industry Europe 157

COMPLETING THE CIRCLE Corinth Pipeworks of Greece is a market leader in the manufacture of large-diameter, welded steel pipes for the oil and gas industry. With its latest major investment in a new JCOE® pipe mill, Corinth Pipeworks is now completing its range of advanced products and manufacturing techniques for large-diameter steel pipes. Philip Yorke reports.

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orinth Pipeworks SA began its operations in 1969 just north of Athens and steadily grew into a successful global operator. Today Corinth manufactures medium and large-diameter steel pipes that are used to transmit oil, natural gas and water. The company also manufactures hollow structural sections for the construction industry. The main Corinth Pipeworks production plant operates in the industrial area of Thisvi, Viotia and is widely acknowledged as one of the leading state-of-the-art steel pipe manufacturing plants in the world.

Corinth’s ultra-modern plant was constructed in 2002 and the facilities include two

large production units, two exterior coating units and one internal lining unit. As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of large diameter pipes, and with its advanced manufacturing capabilities, Corinth Pipeworks is positioned to capitalise on the world’s booming oil and gas industry.

Within the industrial area of Thisvi, where the Corinth plant is located, there is a modern port equipped with dock and port cranes, fork-lifts and other cargo loading and handling machinery. The unrestricted use of the port guarantees Corinth Pipeworks reduced delivery times for raw materials and the despatch of its

final products. This is in addition to providing lower delivery and storage costs for its international customers.

Today, the company’s plant at Thisvi produces a diverse range of steel welded pipes including pipeline pipes, casing pipes, hollow structural circular sections and square or rectangular steel grades. The plant is fully certified to ISO9001 and ISO 14001, and a health and safety management system is in place that is certified according to OHSAS 18001: 2007.

As part of the global Sidenor Group, Corinth Pipeworks has its own privately owned port and since 2015 Sidenor has integrated the operations of its pipe-manufacturing sites

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in order to ensure the transfer of know-how and specialised expertise and to improve the utilisation of its commercial network.

Expanding product range In 2013 Corinth Pipeworks SA signed a memorandum of understanding with the leading German manufacturer of pipeline manufacturing equipment: SMS Meer. This was for the supply of a new pipe mill that will have a capability of producing natural gas and oil transmission pipes with external diameters ranging from 18” to 56” and with wall thicknesses of up to 40mm. These large diameter steel pipes will also be produced in lengths up to 18.3 metres and with steel grades up to X100 using the advanced LSAW/JCOE production technique.

In making this significant investment, Corinth Pipeworks will expand its product range and be positioned to capitalise on the increasing demand for high-strength pipes used in the offshore and onshore natural gas and oil industry. These new, heavy-duty products meet strict quality criteria and their inclusion in the company’s product range will provide Corinth with a unique and unparalleled product portfolio. The company’s latest large-diameter pipes are destined to satisfy the growing markets in the Mediterranean region, Gulf of Mexico. Latin America, West Africa and the North Sea. The all-new JCOE plant will be fully operational early in 2015 and will be producing Longitudinal Submerged-Arc Welded (LSAW) pipes with outside diameters ranging from 18 inches to 56 inches with an annual capacity

of more than 4000,000 tonnes. These heavyduty, large diameter pipes are designed to be used by customers to facilitate future energysupply projects across the world. With the unique JCOE® forming process an openseam tube is produced and subsequently welded in one simple process.

Integrated expertise Today the company’s strong position in the market place is enhanced by its integrated manufacturing facilities and in-depth expertise. The Corinth Pipeworks facility occupies a total area of more than 49.6 hectares, almost 10 hectares of which are devoted to covered production space. This flagship facility has a workforce of around 600 people and a production capability approaching 850,000 tonnes per year.

Corinth Pipewroks initially operated two facilities, in Thisvi and Corinth, before moving

production from the company’s historical home at Corinth to its new base in Thisvi. Since its commissioning, the plant has been manufacturing HFIW and SSAW pipes to the highest standards. It also produces the widest range of hollow sections in Europe, with customers able to choose from sections with an outside diameter of 180mm X 180mm, and up to 500mm X 500mm. In addition, the Corinth Pipeworks SSAW sawmill is able to produce pipes from 610mm to 2.5 metres.

Corinth is also unique in that it has its own in-house coating facilities, and these meet all the requirements and regulations in terms of both internal and external coatings, thus making it a one-stop shop for n the energy industry.

For further details of Corinth Pipeworks latest innovative products and services visit: www.cpw.gr

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ACTIVE EVEN IN CRITICAL TIMES

Mitko Kocovski, Sc. D

The best way to understand the current situation in the Macedonian steel industry and its involvement in the modern European economy is with the transitional experiences of ‘Makstil’, the country’s leading steel producer that is now a member of the Duferco Group.

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lthough the production of steel in the Republic of Macedonia has a 50 years long tradition, in the late 1990s, when the transitional processes in the region were leading to significant system transformations from public and parapublic economies to modern free-market economies, the Swiss corporation Duferco showed an interest in becoming the major shareholder in the leading operator in the Macedonian steel industry. It was the first significant acquisition of a an important industrial company in the Macedonian state economy and the relationship between Makstil and Duferco has become a measure for Makstil’s successful positioning in the multinational production and trade structure of the Duferco group and a guarantee for its future growth.

The aim of Duferco was to extend the production cycle from their own steel semi-products to final rolled products in

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order to achieve optimal economic production and to become financially stable.

It was the only logical response to the privatization of the big steel producers in the industrially developed countries and to the later privatisation of the national steel industries in the central European countries. Therefore Duferco managed to establish Makstil as a solid business by taking over the arrangements for financing the technological and ecologic restructuring, improving the processing equipment, providing basic production inputs, product marketing and retail credit facility.

Meeting EU requirements Part of Duferco’s strategy in taking over Makstil, along with the objective of increasing the group’s production of steel semi-finished products to provide the necessary balanced

quantity, was to comply with the EU regulations for the steel and steel products trade.

It was also important to improve the production quality through implementing new technological solutions and to upgrade the processes of the whole production line, to expand the range of products (in both dimensions and quality) in accordance to the new standards and procedures in metallurgy and according to the future expected needs of the consumers, and to adjust costs in accordance with the current cost standards in the world steel industry, Duferco was also guided by new European standards for environmental protection, that is to say the realization of the environmental and regulatory demands of the integrated environmental permit. This last concern was a key business imperative in the implementation of the transformation strategy in accordance

with the best available techniques. All of these changes are to be implemented in two consecutive investment cycles (the first is estimated around 15 million dollars, and the second is estimated around 39 million euros); this investment will provide the necessary level of competitiveness that Makstil will need to succeed in the highly competitive market of today.

With a credit support of 15 million dollars provided by the European Bank for Recon-

struction and Development and a warranty provision by Duferco, a whole range of elements of the plan for reconstruction and modernisation of the manufacturing facilities have already been realised.

National strategy This reconstruction programme is entirely in harmony with the aims of the Macedonian national strategy at the beginning of the new century to reconstruct the country’s

steel industry; this strategy was one of the requirements in the Agreement with the EU for association and stabilisation, whose basic intention was to establish the conditions in which a functioning market economy could thrive in the region and throughout the world.

At the beginning of the new millennium, the rise of the world economy set new business imperatives, so there had to be a suitable response with a new investment cycle in order to increase produc-

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tion capacity and then to enhance energy efficiency and to optimise cost structures.

Thus the new development goals centered on the new investment programme (as mentioned above, of more than 39 million euros); this was a precondition for the company to be able to sustain its operations not only in the immediate crisis but also in normal business conditions in the long run.

In the period before the crisis, serious measures had already been taken towards the necessary preparations for meeting the deadlines and conditions to obtain the integral environmental permit through the implementation of the best current practices required by the environmental standards.

Surviving the crisis However, as the crisis has continued, business conditions have become increasingly difficult, while expectations for the following period are still unstable and disturbing. For

164 Industry Europe

the past five years the world steel industry has been facing the biggest crisis since the beginning of the industrial manufacturing of iron and steel and in recent history there has not been before such serious and long-lasting disruptions in the global economy plan.

Therefore the situation in the Macedonian steel industry and at Makstil, as its leading producer, has been even more difficult than that of the global industry because of the various specific problems (for instance, problems with energy, transport, politics, additional burdens preceding the period of the acquisition, property issues and technologically neglected process lines).

Nevertheless, the problems thrown up by the world economic crisis have not deflected the company from its long-term strategy to face the challenges and to confront the problems through its new development programme. Instead of accepting the current situation, it has set out a proactive and creative approach which has been directed towards discovering new development options, new possibilities and practices in solving the problems which certainly would have been fatal if the new investment had not been realised. As it is, Duferco’s commitment to the restructuring of Makstil has enabled the company to withstand the immense pressures of the crisis and to gain a position in the international markets with a range of high quality products, short deadlines, and the commercial advantages arising from a n relatively low cost production base.

THE ALTERNATIVE TEAM FOR STEEL COMPANIES’ EQUIPMENT. info@stggroup.it • sales@stggroup.it • www.stggroup.it

Industry Europe 165

GEARING UP FOR

NEW MARKETS

TTN Veneta is headquartered in Nervesa della Battaglia, in the province of Treviso, and is a leading Italian company providing heat treatments on dies, cylinders, mechanical parts and all steel parts in general for several markets. Eugenia Fiusco spoke with Mr Renato Gatti, the managing director of TTN Veneta.

T

TN Veneta is part of the TTN Group SpA, set up in 1978 by Mr Ernest Pirovano, and is now one of six divisions spread over the north of Italy. TTN SpA has over 35 years of history in the field of heat treatment of steel parts and has become one of the leaders in the market by focusing on the development and application of the most advanced technology. The six companies that make up the group are TTN Veneta, TTN Piemonte, CRT (surface coatings), TTC (hardening and tempering, carbonitriding and gaseous nitriding), TTN Nerviano and

TTN Vittuone. CRT offers the widest product range of PVD and CVD coatings on a large scale and with certified qualities of thickness, adhesion and roughness.

The group employs around 450 people across the seven divisions. The sector dedicated to vacuum treatments represents the leading field for the group both in terms of investments in new facilities and the development of quality control measures that, thanks to a computerised system, oversee all operations and production cycles. All plants are connected via a data management system

allowing the control of all production operations through PC and the record of thermal diagrams is automatically saved on the quality certificate in order to explain clearly and easily all operations performed.

Specialised heat treatment TTN Veneta specialises in the provision of heat treatments for steel parts. “In particular,” explained Mr Gatti, “our division mostly serves the automotive sector providing different types of heat treatments on lamps, dashboards, handles and so on. We have

Industry Europe 167

Toyo Tanso Europe is part of Toyo Tanso Corporation, founded in February 1941.

Toyo Tanso Europe (TTE) is the Italian facility, located in Roncello (MB), close to Milan.

Toyo Tanso is the biggest producer of Isotropic graphite worldwide and is present with more than 30 location in five continents, with a total net sales of approx. €135 million.

TTE Core business is dedicated to Carbon Brushes for electrical motors (Power Tools, Washing Machines, Vacuum Cleaners and so on) and represents approx. 65% of total turnover.

Toyo Tanso business are related to: 1. Production and sale of isotropic graphite and specialized carbon products for general industries and related processing.

(EDM, Concast, Heat Treatment, Solar, Mechanical seals…)

2. Production and sale of composite materials made from carbon and ceramic, metal or organic materials and related processing.

(Heat treatment…)

3. Production and sale of carbon electrode for fluorine electrolysis and business of surface treatment on various materials with fluorine gas.

On the other side, in the last years, TTE invested a lot in order to increase its share in “Special Graphite” applications: EDM, Continuous Casting, Heat Treatment, Hot Press, Bearings, Mechanical Seals and any many more, growing more than 60% in 5 years.

Next targets are to grow in carbon brushes as well as special graphite, especially in Heat Treatment and Transportation, thanks to new materials developed in Japan and new automatic production solutions installed in Italy.

Phone: +39.039.62784.66 | Fax: +39.039.695202 www.toyotansoeurope.com

five specialised departments dealing with induction hardening, treatments for mechanical parts, surface coating, heat treatments for engine parts such as cryogenic treatments, sandblasting and, finally, ion and gaseous nitriding to harden finished parts.”

The treated parts are then assembled by TTN Veneta’s clients and supplied to the major car manufacturers in Europe. Furthermore, TTN Veneta has a dedicated department for quality control and testing. “We can offer treatment for large dimension parts, thanks to the support of the other companies of TTN

SpA,” said Mr Gatti. “The Nerviano division is equipped with two of the biggest furnaces in Europe; those furnaces can handle parts with dimension of up to 14 metres.”

Conquering space The expansion into further geographical markets is part of the future plans of the company, although as Mr Gatti explained, this process is well under way. “TTN Veneta was set up in 2000 and, thanks to our growth policies, it has 80 employees and a yearly turnover of €10 million after only 14 years of activity. Unfortu-

nately, the current economic situation is unstable and does not allow businesses to make all the investments that they would like to. We have to proceed more carefully.” Nonetheless, TTN Veneta is in the process of developing a new system to treat large dimension parts to the value of €1 million. “This new system will handle a maximum weight of around 3500 kilos. There are currently few companies offering this type of service,” said Mr Gatti. “As for new sectors, we are looking at the automotive industry.” In order to achieve this goal, TTN Veneta is investing in quality management

systems, such as the ISO/TS16949, whose aim is to improve the system and process quality to increase customer satisfaction, to identify problems and risks in production processes and the supply chain, to eliminate their causes and to examine corrective action undertaken and preventive measures for their effectiveness. The company aims to achieve the certification by the end of the year. “This is particularly important because ISO/TS16949 is the first step towards obtaining the NADCAP certification, which is fundamental for the n aerospace industry.”

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ENVIRONMENTALLY

CHILLED

170 Industry Europe

The EPTA Group is a global leader in the design and manufacture of commercial refrigeration units and systems. The company is a widely respected partner for the world’s largest food retailers. Philip Yorke looks at how EPTA is leading the field in the development of new technology and the drive towards more environmentally friendly refrigeration systems.

E

PTA is a multinational group that specialises in commercial refrigeration with a worldwide presence and well established brands such as Costan Bonnet Neve, George Barket, Eurocryor, Misa and Iarp. The company is a unique partner for the realisation of structured, turnkey projects on a global scale, based upon the integration of specific product lines. These can range from traditional refrigerating cabinets, positive-temperature vertical and semi-vertical counters, plug-in cases and medium and high capacity refrigeration systems and cold rooms. At Euroshop 2014 the company presented a new innovative concept, ‘Eptology’, which sums up its corporate calling for the promotion of sustainable devel-

opment and leverages its four major business platforms: Experience, Efficiency, Excellence and Evolution.

Based in Milan, the company employs over 4000 people who are in turn supported by a worldwide network of sales agents and dedicated distributors. In 2013 the company recorded sales of more than €670 million.

Custom-built efficiency The EPTA Group’s core business is the production of complete turnkey systems for commercial refrigeration. Thus it provides a vast range of solutions for the preservation and display of fresh and frozen food products.

These systems are specially designed for retailers who prefer to rely on a single competent partner for the production of structured turnkey systems on a global scale.

Technological innovation has always been a priority at EPTA, which for many years has

been focused on energy conservation and the environmental advantages of the use of F-Gas compliant natural refrigerants. In addition, the group ensures the highest degree of custom-built efficiency so that each product stands out from the crowd wherever it is installed, with optimal functionality.

Alongside its commitment to the environment, the company’s extensive R&D department is also focused on the all-important issue of food safety and hygiene. To enhance its manufacturing processes, the company also offers a special anti-bacterial treatment for the traditional refrigeration units that use silver ions. With this solution, the materials inside the unit are treated during the extrusion and coating process, while internal parts are coated with a special paint that exploits the properties of silver ions. In another move towards increased efficiency EPTA has introduced a remote monitoring service, which

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allows its customers to guarantee cold chain consistency in stores and ensures significantly reduced energy consumption.

Sound green energy In its drive for greener energy and greater efficiency, EPTA has also introduced a new strategy for growth: ‘Sound Green Energy’.

This includes a unique, plug-in unit that is designed to reduce energy consumption to a minimum, based upon the use of a 100 per cent natural refrigerant. In fact the latest built-in counters with top covers are marketed under the famous ‘Constan’ brand, which uses propane, a gas that replaces the traditional HFCs, thereby guaranteeing more efficient performance and providing a considerable reduction in CO2 emissions. This can amount to more than 1kg per day for the same refrigeration capacity. Having been fitted with a new inverter, it is now possible to save in the region

DDL Stampaggio was established in 2010. The founder’s partners all operate in the areas of planning and equipment manufacture.

This is in order to coordinate and create group synergies to better meet the needs of clients.

It operates in the sector of die construction and cold plate stamping, using an office for planning, toolmakers for the construction of dies and different departments for stamping.

The society’s structure is adequately covered in all of its main functions: • management • financial • buyers

• sales • planning • quality insurance

The company’s quality system is certified to the VISION 2000 standard according to the criteria required by the automotive sector.

Besides this, the production processes of all its departments are certified according to the ISO 9001-2000 standard for quality.

D.D.L. Stampaggio S.r.l.

Via Casnedi, 78–23868–Valmadrera (LC) E-mail: acquisti@ddlstampaggio.it www.ddlstampaggio.it

of 25 per cent of energy when compared to other counters in the same category.

This is also a ‘green’ solution as far as the cabinet structure is concerned as it now uses foam with carbon dioxide as the expanding agent, which is not flammable and is completely natural, unlike the traditionally used foam based products used by others. EPTA’s ‘Sound Green Energy’ products are ideal for displaying and promoting packed ice cream as well as frozen, fresh and pre-packed products of all kinds.

New cold service In July 2014 EPTA announced another strategic move when it acquired the leading UK-based ‘Cold Service Group Limited’. This company specialises in the design, installation and maintenance of turnkey refrigeration and air-conditioning systems in the UK. This is a significant strategic transaction for the group, which perfectly positions the company as a national service provider, in line with the retail industry’s demand for even greater national coverage. A well- established business with strong local roots, Cold Service is comprised of four key divisions: Commercial, Local, Central and Distribution. Its extensive UK customer base includes such flagship retailers as Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Morrisons, Pret-a-Manger and Greggs.

EPTA’s chairman and managing director said, “We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Cold Service. This agreement expands our portfolio and aims to optimise the resources used, in the frame of an expansion plan that will integrate the skills and technological know-how of our two companies.”

The EPTA Group is well positioned for future growth. One of the biggest events to affect the food retail industry in recent years has been the French government’s legislation that all food

retailers will have to display cold foods such as meat and cheese behind glass door units by the year 2012. This arrangement is in contrast to the open chilled cabinets that are currently utilised. With EPTA able to design and supply these units, it is in a strong position to take advantage of the new green EU initiative. n For further details of the EPTA Group’s innovative refrigeration products and services visit: www.eptarefrigeration.com

174 Industry Europe

INNOVATIVE

COMMUNICATIONS

The emphasis is shifting in the increasingly complex world of communication technology – and Danish specialist GN Netcom is eager to take up the opportunities. Felicity Landon reports.

GN

Netcom supplies a range of headsets and other equipment solely under the Jabra brand. Based in Ballerup, about 20km from Copenhagen, its history goes back to 1869, when the Great Northern Telegraph Company was founded.

The company does not have its own manufacturing facilities, but works with a number of subcontractors in China, with which it has a very close relationship. Its biggest markets have traditionally been North America and western Europe, but new markets are emerging and growing rapidly, including China and Russia.

New product line In October 2014, GN Netcom launched its newest product line, Jabra Evolve. Of course, this new series of five headset models offers a variety of features and benefits – but the sig-

nificance of this launch was far greater than one or two new features. The Evolve range has been designed and built for the burgeoning Unified Communications sector, which GN Netcom has identified as a key focus area.

“The Evolve product is interesting in many ways but first of all it is really a solution to address the needs of the ‘knowledge worker’, so we can help people working in the office environment to boost their productivity, and drive the adoption of headsets in these areas,” says GN Netcom’s chief technology officer, Leo Larsen.

“A couple of years ago we started investigating various markets. The trend towards Unified Communications is a major trend and a big opportunity for a company like ours.

UC says you leave behind the old phone system – the days where you had a piece of covered wire going from A to B are definitely

gone. And UC isn’t only covering voice, but also messaging. It’s about integrating it all on one platform, one network. You move from terminal to PC-based phone – and then you need some tools for your phone system which is, hopefully, in most cases a headset or hands-free device.”

Identifying priorities GN Netcom did a major study worldwide, asking some of its biggest customers what they needed for their ‘knowledge workers’ who were often working in open plan offices and sometimes at home.

Jabra Evolve was developed as a direct result of the research and is sold through Jabra Business Solutions partners. A key feature is advanced noise-cancellation technologies, designed to enhance productivity by offering a unique personal ‘concentration

Industry Europe 175

Our market segmentation ranges from automotive, hard disk drive, cellphone and communication, industrial and medical to consumer products.

Dong Guan C&I Metal Limited is a metal product designer and manufacturer.

In addition to advanced production equipment and testing instruments we have a strong R&D team with exceptional technical capabilities.

We adhere to a “customer first, quality first, pragmatic and efficient” concept, for many high-end customers with high-quality, high-tech metal products.

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Topsearch broad range of product capability allows you to enjoy the fabrication of all your products in one place. We support technology from aluminium, double sided to level 3 HDI along with VOP and Hybrid Boards.

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Walsin, the RF component supplier trusted by GN Netcom Walsin, the primary source of RF devices for GN Netcom, specializes in providing customized RF component solutions such as balanced filter, chip antenna and more to satisfy customer-specific requirements.

Excellent in performance and reliability, Walsin’s RF is no doubt the ideal choice for space-conscious and quality-committed wireless communication solutions.

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zone’ which effectively minimises disturbances in an open office. This, GN Netcom found, significantly improves concentration and productivity in noisy work environments – 69 per cent of those questioned said that disturbances in the office had a negative effect on their performance.

Jabra Evolve is also designed to meet the increasing demand for music headsets in offices, by featuring Bluetooth or jack connections to deliver plug-and-play options for PCs or mobile devices, while still providing top quality for phone conversations. That also provides the option for users to tune into a training video, content on YouTube or promotion material while also taking phone calls.

In essence, the range is designed for the way we work today – flexibly, often in noisy open plan offices, maybe at home, and often doing more than one thing at a time. As well as the noise cancellation ear cushions, there is a ‘busy light’ built into the headphones, signalling whether the user is available to colleagues or not. And the range has been designed with mobility in mind – the Evolve headset can be hooked up to cell 178 Industry Europe

phone or PC, or disconnected and hooked to another portable device as required.

Among other recent developments has been the Jabra Pulse, a Bluetooth headset with integrated pulse monitor – so the user can, for example, run, listen to music and measure their pulse at the same time. The pulse monitor can also work with the user’s smart phone via a special App. “This is a brand new product which we have just introduced to the market,” says Mr Larsen. “It is a good example of current developments and demands in that a lot of things are happening within one device. That is the clear trend – sensors have become so smart and so inexpensive, you can use them in a number of different ways. People are using their

devices everywhere – including outside in the wind and rain, so there is also a lot of focus on making devices waterproof and resilient.”

Constant evolution All of this adds up to constant challenges for GN Netcom’s development team. “Communication these days involves a lot of different technologies,” says Mr Larsen. “Where in the past you would have expected to call your hardware company to discuss a problem or solution, now we also call the software company. And products are typically a solution combining hardware and software. Software is definitely taking up more and more of our resources – that is where our investments are increasingly focused, as we have to sup-

port different platforms and develop apps to support our products. This is a major shift in emphasis and expertise.”

The company has a ‘fairly aggressive’ growth strategy for the next three years, says Mr Larsen. “It is definitely our plan to grow; we do see substantial growth coming from these UC products but we also expect growth from other new products. We have done some investment in the music market and moving forward you will see further developments along the lines of the Jabra Pulse range.

Our development team never stops; we are constantly adding new features and doing things better – driven, of course, by what is demanded by the market and what some rapidly developing technologies can offer us.” n

Industry Europe 179

PIONEERING SMARTER VENTILATION SYSTEMS Salda UAB is a European technology leader in the design and manufacture of ventilation systems and equipment. Philip Yorke takes a closer look at a company that is setting new standards in ventilation efficiency and service.

S

ALDA was founded in Lithuania in 1990 and began its life as a supplier of ventilation equipment before becoming involved in its production. Following large investments in new manufacturing equipment and technology, the company began to develop its own high-efficiency, low energy consumption products and services according to the standards and requirements of a fast-changing industry. The formula for its success was based upon the knowledge of

what the new, expanding market required and its ability to satisfy that demand with more efficient, cost-effective products.

Today SALDA offers a wide range of modern ventilation solutions. Its latest compact air handling units are certified in accredited EU laboratories and are exceptional not only owing to their wide variety of sizes and air flow ranges, but also because they are designed to be flexible enough to be installed in the most restricted areas. In Lithuania, the company’s

production and warehouse area covers over 40,000 square metres.

In addition, the company’s fans – which are available in different diameters and with a diverse range of air flow options – all meet the European ErP 2015 directive.

These advanced products from SALDA are designed for installation in duct systems, on roofs and in kitchens and are supplied with a wide range of accessories to meet each customers, individual needs.

N E M I SPEC

Smarter way to handle air SALDA UAB is justifiably proud of its latest modular ventilation systems: the ‘SmartAir SW50+’ is rated and recognised by the Eurovent European Committee of HVAC & R Manufacturers as being the most efficient on the market.

Furthermore, SALDA offers all the necessary air transportation parts along with an extensive range of accessories. As a leading metalworking and machining company,

SALDA also provides metal processing services, punching, laser cutting, sheet steel bending and stamping.

SALDA has a large, independent R&D department, which is constantly delivering solutions to improve its products. This is in response to the changes in economic, social and competitive environments dictated by the changing marketplace.

Currently SALDA is developing a special product range – known as the ‘Smarty’

range – that is the most efficient option for air handling units to date and is designed for residential buildings certified by ‘Passive House’ and DIBt institutes. Thanks to its continuing investment in new technology the company continues to extend its customer base in western Europe and overseas.

Expanding global reach Since its early trading, SALDA has been serving the Middle East markets, but in

182 Industry Europe

recent years attention has been turned to achieving a greater presence in the Scandinavian, French and Polish markets.

The company has also been seeking to extend its global reach and since 2010 has been present in the Indian market, where sales of its standard range of products have seen consistent growth. Notably, in 2013 the company gained a foothold in South America in the Chilean market.

To support this consistent growth, there has been a continuous investment in manufacturing optimisation, logistics and sales procedures. Investments in 2014 doubled in comparison with 2013 to reach a record €6.23 million. The company anticipates that it will continue to grow through organic expansion with the development of new products, and a broadening of its sales and services outside of its domestic market. In 2015 it will launch its new remote control device, the ‘P-Touch’, and its remote control ‘MB Gateway’ solution, which is designed to allow the control of ventilation equipment using the customer’s chosen remote device, such as a PC or smart phone.

Focus on energy efficiency Energy efficiency and ease of operation are both vital components in today’s ventilation market. These are underscored and driven by various EU directives and regulations. SALDA

has always worked to stay one step ahead of these requirements and today its product range, marketed with the ErP 2015 label, has achieved a 20 per cent reduction of primary energy consumption, enables a 20 per cent increase in the use of renewables, and a 20 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions. All the company’s current products are fitted with the latest energy-saving EC class motors.

The company’s air-handling units with heat recovery save up to 94 per cent in terms of thermal energy recovery.

Today SALDA is represented in more than 30 countries and its strong market position is down to a combination of product innovation, flexibility and dedicated customer support.

Each country has its own local differences in terms of design and product appeal and SALDA products are designed to satisfy the many market variations that it encounters in its n export markets.

For further information about SALDA’s innovative ventilation products and services visit www.salda.lt

ADVERTISERSINDEX

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Lenze AB Lonza Wood Protection Luvata Söderköping AB

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H Handtmann 29 Heinz Arens GmbH 67 Henkel 60 HF Group 138 HPV Engineering 102

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M MadiGroup 169 Makino 31 Mobilbox Kft 86 Moderne Tech Corporation 98 Muhr Metalltechnik 66 Mürdter Dvořák 70

119

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Recutech Redcliffe Precision Ltd Reichhold

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Tec-Norm GmbH & Co. KG Terra-21 Kft Thrace Polybulk Topsearch Toyo Tanso Europe Travel Trasporti Srl TT Gaskets

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