Industry Europe – Issue 25.2

VOLUME 25/2 – 2015

The world of European manufacturing

CMC BIOLOGICS EXPANDS INTO COMMERCIAL MANUFACTURING IGLOOCAR DELIVERS INNOVATIVE TRUCK SOLUTIONS INVESTMENT BOOSTS VIKTOR LENAC’S CROATIAN SHIPYARD

M2M AND IOT – THE REVOLUTION IS HERE

OPINION

PETERMERCER

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On the brink Greece says it can’t – and won’t – pay its debts. The troika says it must. The end of this drama could be tragic.

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all know, thanks to Virgil, that it’s usually wise to beware of Greeks, even when they are bearing gifts. It’s true that the new Greek government is currently offering more threats than gifts – if it doesn’t get relief from what it regards as the impossible burden of its debts it may default, head for the eurozone exit and take its chances – which are not remotely good – on its own. It is betting that the prospects of its disorderly exit from the euro will be so frightening – who might be next? – that the EU, the ECB, and Germany in particular, will do whatever it takes to hold it all together.

Actually though, it was others bearing gifts to the Greeks that caused the disaster in the first place. No one could have mistaken the Greece of the 1990s for a well ordered country that anyone would have been eager to lend to – the interest rates it had to pay on its debts were around 10 per cent higher than Germany’s. Hardly any Greeks had credit cards so the bribes you had to offer public servants to get anything done had to be paid in cash, but at least there was no danger of a consumer credit boom. And most Greeks compensated for the poor service they got from their government by declining to pay taxes.

But then, after the country joined the euro in 2001, a tidal wave of cheap credit hit Greece. Much the same happened in Ireland, where anyone who had a field became a property developer, and in Iceland, where fishermen reinvented themselves as merchant bankers – but in Greece it was not, for the most part, consumers, businesses or even banks that grabbed the chance to borrow at German rates. As Michael Lewis noted in his post crisis tour of stricken European countries (‘Boomerang’), Greek banks did not pile in to dodgy US sub-prime bonds or throw billons at dubious development pro-

jects. It was the Greek government that rode the wave of cheap money and used most of it to distribute to its employees. According to Lewis, in 12 years the wage bill of the Greek public sector doubled in real terms to the point where the average government job paid three times the average private sector job.

Greek railway employees, for example, were earning an average of €65,000 a year and the education system was employing four times as many teachers per pupil as Finland, which got rather better results. The result was that by 2008 Greek government debt had reached around $400bn (plus another $800bn of so in pension obligations), which is quite a lot for a country of only 11 million people. Of this total, €30bn was owed to Greece’s own banks which makes Greece unusual, says Lewis, in the post-crisis world – in its case the banks didn’t sink the country, the country sank the banks.

Now, after four years of cold turkey prescribed by the EU, the ECB and the IMF (the hated troika) as a condition of the €240bn bailout, the Greeks have had enough of misery and have elected a radical government that has vowed to halve the debt and get more time to pay the rest. Oh, and it has also promised to increase pensions and the minimum wage, end privatisations of state assets and hire more public sector workers. The way out of bankruptcy, it seems, is to spend more rather than less. This may be what you would expect from a government of academic Marxists who have swapped their lecture rooms for the corridors of power but the insistence that the way out of crippling recession is not further entrenchment but more growth is pretty much what most European governments – and Britain’s Labour Party – have been saying for years. Mr Tsipras’s ideas may meet a frosty reception in Berlin, Helsinki and The Hague but there may be warmer words in Paris and Rome.

False alternatives But the fact is that Germany does not accept that ‘growth’ is an alternative to deficit reduction or fiscal discipline any more than do its allies in northern Europe or Cameron and Osborne in Britain. For them growth – which everyone wants – can only come from improving competitiveness, curbing excessive government spending and accelerating structural reforms. How else can you hope to prosper, or indeed survive, in the globalised market?

Of course there is one other thing you can do to improve your competitive advantage; you can try to devalue your currency to make your exports more attractive. And this is exactly what has happened to the euro following the ECB’s announcement of its quantitative easing programme.

However the weaker euro will surely do more to make Germany’s current account surplus even bigger than it will to help Greece’s exports.

In truth, even with a weaker euro Greece is trapped in a currency union in which it can never hope to compete – it wasn’t that competitive when it had the drachma. The chances of it ever attaining German – or even Italian – levels of government efficiency and public probity are remote. And thanks to its government’s folly in piling up debt when money seemed to be for nothing, it now seems condemned to endless penury. Outside the eurozone its position would be even worse – who would lend it anything?

Maybe it’s time for Germany to accept that monetary union brings with it the burdens of fiscal union and that underdeveloped countries are always going to need permanent support. Of course Greece would thereby lose much of the right to govern itself. But it wasn’t much good at n that anyway.

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 Advertising Manager Andrew Briggs

Art Director Gareth Harrey

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

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

Above: Telecoms Industry p6

Comment 1 5

Opinion On the brink Bill Jamieson Stand by for great Greek Bake-Off

Telecoms Industry 6

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The wonderful world of M2M and the IOT The new industrial revolution

Telecoms news The latest from the industry Growth on the horizon ETNO report sees new opportunities

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Combining old and new Agrikon Kam Fertile ground for growth RAUCH

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Driving outstanding performance ZF

Building & Construction 48 52

Vertical take-off KLEEMANN Innovative eco-flooring Kronotex

VOL 25/2

Above: Findus Group p78

56 60 63

Building a sustainable future Skanska Building a new urban reality Trimo Group Pioneering particle board technology Sonae Industria

Consumer 66

Above: Asco p26 Below: ZF p38

A sustainable future for P&G Procter & Gamble

Food & Drink 78

New climate for prawn production Findus Group

Above: Golar LNG p98 Below: Vanderlande p106

Heavy Vehicles 82 86

Driving new semi-trailer technology Schwarzmueller Innovation in special purpose truck bodies IGLOOCAR

Industrial Gases 91

Adding value to industrial gases Messer Benelux

Marine 94 Offshore opportunities CRIST 98 Still in front Golar LNG 102 Strong prospects for the future Viktor Lenac

Material Handling 106 Moving solutions Vanderlande Industries

Metal & Metalworking 112 Leader in welding and cutting Lincoln Electric

Above: Fedegari p131 Below: Palram p138

Rail Transport Above: Trimo Group p60 Below: IGLOOCAR p86

116 Moving fast Bombardier Transportation Italy 122 Future mobility solutions

Bombardier Transportation Hungary

Pharmaceutical 126 Validated success CMC Biologics 131 Working to be the best Fedegari Autoclavi

Plastics 135 No limits to quality BMB 138 Up on the roof Palram Industries

Refrigeration 142 Environmentally chilled EPTA Group Industry Europe 5

COMMENT

BILLJAMIESON

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Executive Editor of The Scotsman

Stand by for great Greek Bake-Off Without structural reform in the eurozone QE will not deliver growth.

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risis meetings in Brussels, Greece in turmoil, the euro tumbling: barely had the ink dried on the European Central Bank’s launch of Quantitative Easing to boost business confidence and economic growth than the skies darkened – again.

Greek debt brinkmanship and growing opposition to austerity politics have rendered that bigger than expected €60 billion a month monetary stimulus even more critical to Europe’s fortunes. It will, goes the hope, work to contain the flames of the Greek revolt against the terms of the €240 billion (£180 billion) Troika bailout and help prevent them spreading to Spain, Portugal and Italy.

However, it’s critical to focus on the bigger picture of why this year has begun so dramatically for Europe and why that resort to QE may not work in the manner expected.

The scene-setter to all this was the European Commission’s drastic revision to its growth forecasts, cutting the eurozone forecast to just 1.1 per cent next year, down from 1.7 per cent.

Europe’s problem is by no means confined to Greece. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, blamed a lack of economic reform combined with a reluctance by France and Italy to implement eurozone spending rules for the poor figures. “That leads to great instability,” she told a German business conference.

“This constant positioning of so-called austerity against growth must be absolutely rejected. It’ll lead us astray and won’t bring us any further in Europe.”

The predicted slowdown is most stark in the eurozone’s two most important economies with growth forecasts for France and Germany cut by almost a full percentage point.

On a series of economic indicators, including real GDP, unemployment and fixed capital formation, the commission figures showed the eurozone falling behind non-euro, American and Japanese economies.

Pierre Moscovici, the new French com6 Industry Europe

missioner for economic affairs, warned angry eurozone voters would ‘despair’ of the European project unless growth and jobs picked up, following big gains for populist parties in EU elections last June.

“If during the five years to come there is no clear perception of clear will and strong action towards more growth and creation of jobs, people could despair of the European project,” he said.

“This constant positioning of socalled austerity against growth must be absolutely rejected. It’ll lead us astray and won’t bring us any further in Europe.”

Gross domestic product growth for Germany, previously regarded as the eurozone’s economic engine, was cut from a two per cent forecast in May to 1.1 per cent. For France, it has been more than halved, with a revision downwards from 1.5 per cent to 0.7 per cent. For Italy, the forecast has been chopped from 1.2 per cent to 0.6 per cent.

This bleak outlook is shared by independent forecasters, with accountancy giant Ernst & Young taking its forecast for the eurozone down to 0.8 per cent for 2014, with only a fractional pick-up to 1.2 per cent for 2015.

Growing exports, restored business confidence, rising domestic demand and an improving labour market, it says, should all support growth. But “we are concerned”, it adds, “about the eurozone’s vulnerability…

With 12 eurozone member states’ public debt above 90 per cent of GDP, governments have minimal room for fiscal stimulus.”

QE alone is not the answer So how is QE expected to work? Few believe it will transform the outlook for the

eurozone economies. It could only, said ECB chief Mario Draghi, establish a basis for growth, “but for growth to pick up you need investment. For investment you need confidence, and for confidence you need structural reforms.”

Put another way, QE will not, in itself, increase the chances that eurozone governments will introduce necessary reforms.

Indeed, if anything, it will make it less likely.

The ECB’s narrower objective is to help anchor inflation expectations. Here the forces that have caused inflation to fall last year – principally the oil plunge – may not be repeated: indeed, they may be reversed as the effects of the lower euro work through to higher consumer prices.

As for the impact on growth, the ironic likelihood is that the less effect QE appears to have, the longer the ECB is likely to press on with the programme. It is hard to see the central bank terminating QE on the grounds that it was failing to achieve anything.

It all now rests on the hope that QE will operate primarily through its impact on expectations. But there is not much evidence that the central bank has any idea how its actions will affect the expectations of households and companies. And more worrying, there is no certainty that the ECB’s plan to engage in massive buying of sovereign bonds will help prevent contagion spreading from Greece to other hard-pressed peripheral member states: the transmission mechanism here is political, not financial.

So, that leaves us with this prospect: after several months of nail-biting Brussels ‘deadlines’, grandstanding and brinkmanship, a new variant of the eurozone’s fabulous signature dish will be served up. Propped up by strands of filigreed spun sugar, with a topping of candyfloss to hide the dark, impenetrable goo within, stand by for a massive new dollop of Euro Fudge – and the latest instalment of n the Great Greek Bake-Off.

Industry Europe 7

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF M2M AND THE IOT I used the same headline in 2013, so where are we now, two years on, and where are we heading? It should be clear that we are entering a new era, one that will give us some amazing, innovative applications and services. Should, because media hype about B2C IoT is obscuring the importance of M2M and B2B IoT. The terms have become entangled. Therefore let’s start with a clear, unambiguous definition of the difference.

Caption: The M2M scenario, shown on the left, employs a vertical silo architecture in which three household services are provided by three standalone solutions. This structure is intrinsically rigid. The IoT scenario, shown on the right, enables cross-silo aggregation. Therefore the same services are provided by a single solution.

This structure is intrinsically flexible. Adding more services does not impact on the structure.

Schematic courtesy Ken Figueredo

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he IoT should be seen as an evolutionary development, one that employs M2M communications technology. Although the IoT architecture is different, it is built on a common foundation. A key IoT requirement is the need to decouple data generation from data usage. In an M2M solution they are physically linked: they monitor one issue, a physical parameter or the movement of a machine part, and transfer the data into a single application.

This model cannot deliver the IoT vision.

So what is that vision? It’s vast. Example: Consider the installation of a people-counting sensor on a train; the operating company uses the data to monitor passenger patterns. At a later date the maintenance organisation adds an application that employs the same data in order to move to a usage based scheduling system. This is followed by the catering 8 Industry Europe

company that delivers products to the train, by the stations to warn of approaching passenger loads and then by city or town authorities establishing transport strategies.

It started out as a single, simple app, counting passengers, but ends up as a mix of applications that includes those of third parties: that would not be possible in a solution based on the M2M model. The IoT model is based on an open, flexible architecture that allows multiple device types, monitoring a variety of assets, to interact with each other as well as a diverse range of applications and stakeholders. These are mandatory parameters.

A services centric economy IoT advances the many benefits provided by M2M, but leverages its intrinsic functionality by adopting the decoupled ICT architec-

ture that has been in place for decades in enterprise environments and which is also employed in social networks.

Twitter is a service. Hash tags define topics and users don’t need to know anything about device addresses or the communications architecture. They simply register their interest in receiving messages when hash tag matches their criteria. Data on new topics can be added at any time, new hash tags are generated, but the underlying architecture doesn’t change. We take the functionality of this service for granted and that’s the way it should be, and will be, in the upcoming service-centric IoT era.

The use of a topic-based IoT architecture would allow new data flows (topics) to be added at any time. Applications would register an interest in a topic that contains

the data elements it needs, and then they would receive the relevant information. New data flows coming from new apps would be automatically delivered to the relevant subscribing service.

Is it doable? Yes. In fact Eurotech has done it. To make this concept work an Enterprise Service Bus for Machines is used to decouple data acquisition and data processing and enable virtual connectivity between different device data systems and different enterprise applications. This architecture is employed not only on enterprise ICT networks, but also the World Wide Web. It’s a proven concept, a communications bus that allows different applications to communicate with each other over the bus.

In addition, it allows the system to adapt whenever new topics appear. If a company wants to monitor a new type of asset, for example, then the infrastructure needs to be flexible in order to simply store data from new topics without the need for user intervention or reconfiguration.

Enabling technologies Delivery of the IoT vision comes through the convergence and intersection of recent developments in five key areas: (1) sensors and gateways; (2) intelligent devices; (3) wireless networks; (4) virtualisation; and (5) big data analytics. Leveraging the technolo-

gies in those areas – together with the right architecture – releases the full potential of M2M. It results in a new form of intelligence having powerful, new capabilities that optimise process productivity and the efficiency of corporate decision-making.

Equally, and possibly more important, is the ability to future-proof solutions that employ this powerful combination.

The first three are established technologies that have been considerably enhanced in recent years. At first sight the fourth, virtualisation, might seem to be an improbable development. If so, it comes from an entrenched, hardware-centric way of thinking about how communications devices, systems and networks work. Most tasks can be performed in software and because of developments such as multi-core processors they can now run blindingly fast on commodity servers deployed in private and public clouds. It is a key computing technology and now it is being applied to B2B IoT. At times it seems that we are drowning in data. One estimate indicates that around 90 per cent of the data in today’s world was created in the last two years and the rate at which it is being generated is rising.

Big data analytics represents the ability to transition from raw device data into decisionmaking processes that pinpoint operational and financial trends in real time. Moreover, it’s a

logical development that addresses a generic issue: organizations lack real-time insight into the critical aspects of their business —aspects that are getting increasingly complex in today’s highly competitive marketplace. The findings can lead to more effective marketing, new revenue opportunities, better customer service, improved operational efficiency, competitive advantages over rival organizations and other business benefits.

Rethink your thinking The benefits of data analytics are not restricted to IoT solutions, but the ability to exchange information between applications gives IoT the edge when it comes to the creation of brandnew business models. They are being created right now and many more will follow. Quite a few may appear to be improbable, so step back and consider the implications of adopting the following smartphone scenario and note that there are no technical barriers when it comes to implementing similar functionality in an IoT solution.

You hear a song somewhere when you’re out and about. The smartphone app recognises the performer and the song; asks if you want to download it; you buy it; then the app tells you about an upcoming concert in your area; asks you if you want to buy a ticket and you do. It’s a seamless, transparent process conducted on a handheld device: something Industry Europe 9

that is taken for granted by the target audience. More significant is the fact that it is not seen as a solution: it didn’t address an issue.

The deliverable is a service and services are also the future of B2B IoT. Employing similar functionality in an IoT environment would be amazing – initially – and later on it too would be taken for granted.

We have technology platforms that will enable organisations to optimise their complete asset portfolio, taking in predictive maintenance, production monitoring, asset tracking, asset management, supply chain management, cost management and more. Optimisation can start in one area, e.g. predictive maintenance: others can be added as and when required. In addition, these platforms can handle data from multiple systems and devices, apply rules and business logic, and integrate it into the business processes.

These developments will allow companies to become connected manufacturers. From the supplier, to the plant, to the distributor, to the products – everything in and around the manufacturing operation will be connected, thereby enabling true integration of business processes and technology. This allows organisations to go deeper in the 10 Industry Europe

demand chain, to not only monitor the plant, but also the asset created within the plant as it goes through the distributor/dealer network to the end customer.

With this level of visibility into product data, manufacturers can glean valuable information around service delivery, how the equipment is being used and maintained, as well as other important data to improve the customer experience and boost revenue and the design of their products.

They manage over 35 million transactions per annum and control 72,000 spaces.

There are three models: Pay & Display, where the customer displays a printed ticket on the vehicle’s dashboard; Pay by Plate or Pay by Space, which are ticketless systems.

In this case the customer enters on the meter’s keypad their vehicle’s license plate number or the marked bay number where they parked.

Rethink parking

The breadth and depth of the IoT vision is staggering. Unfortunately it’s surrounded by a lot of hype and that can disguise the fact that the manufacturing world is on the cusp of a major industrial revolution. The following text comes from Bosch Software Innovations.

“Manufacturers are beginning to realise the benefits of not only connecting their plants, but everything around the plant including the supply chain, distributor/dealer networks and the manufactured equipment itself. As a result, organisations are gaining tremendous insights into how their equipment is being used by customers to enhance customer service, drive research and development, reduce labour and warranty costs, create new revenue streams, improve efficiency and much, much more.” n

Parking meters are going online and payment enabled with a credit card. Integrated Technology Solutions, an Australasian company, has developed an integrated parking solution that relies on fast data communications between meters and enforcement devices such as ground sensors, vehicle plate recognition cameras, enforcement handhelds and mobile camera systems for license plate recognition. Features include immediate reporting on revenue, meter faults and service alerts and occupancy data. In addition guidance systems displayed on a phone app or electronic street signage can be added.

Over 10,000 are operating in Australia, New Zealand, UK, Canada and the USA.

Conclusions

NEWS

INDUSTRYNEWS

New developments in the Telecoms industry

Nokia Networks transfers part of wireless network business acquired from Panasonic

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okia Networks has completed the business transfer of a part of the wireless network business of Panasonic System Networks Company Limited (PSN) in Japan. This includes the transfer of fixed assets, employees and relevant contracts from Panasonic to Nokia Networks. The agreement covers Panasonic’s mobile phone wireless base station system business for mobile operators and related wireless equipment system business. This acquisition enhances Nokia Networks’ existing mobile broadband capabilities and is expected to reinforce and further improve efficiency and quality control for product development and R&D, as well as strengthening its market share for base station systems and related wireless equipment in Japan.

Ashish Chowdhary, chief business officer at Nokia Networks, said: “With this acquisition, Nokia Networks will single-handedly contribute towards the domestic and overseas business of Japan’s operators, and also benefit from synergies in terms of efficient product operations and focused R&D efforts. Furthermore, this acquisition provides us with the opportunity to tap the potential of the Carrier Mobile System market – a key focus area for our business in Japan.”

Visit: www.nokia.com

Alcatel-Lucent and Cinia Group to deploy undersea cable system

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lcatel-Lucent and Cinia Group are set to deploy an undersea cable system that will provide the first direct cable link between the Nordic region and continental Europe.

The project, named Sea Lion, calls for the deployment of a new 100G system that will span more than 1100km from Helsinki in Finland, to the Rostock-Ribnitz area in Germany. Expected to be completed in early 2016, the system will play a critical role in strengthening the provision of reliable and secure ultra-broadband connectivity for cloud and data centre applications.

Designed with an ultimate capacity of 15 Terabit per second (Tbit/s), Sea Lion is part of the

Deutsche Telekom and Orange agree on exclusive negotiations with BT

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eutsche Telekom and Orange SA have agreed to enter into exclusive discussions with BT Group plc regarding the planned acquisition of the joint venture EE by BT. This has now been decided by the board of directors of BT as well as by the boards of management of Deutsche Telekom and Orange.

Finnish Government’s strategic plan to enhance the country’s international data transfer capacity.

The data will be then transported across the country through the Finnish fibre-optic network running along the national rail infrastructure.

Philippe Dumont, president of Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks, said: “We are delighted to support the Cinia Group in its rollout of this new cable system, which will be a catalyst to strengthen global digital connectivity. Alcatel-Lucent’s 100G undersea technology will boost the speed and security of Finland’s infrastructure, building a strong digital cluster for data centre connections.”

Visit: www.alcatel-lucent.com The three parties have agreed to continue exclusive negotiations on the potential sale of the 50:50 joint venture EE to BT, based on an enterprise value of GBP 12.5 billion.

“We firmly believe that convergence is the future of telecommunications in Europe. Customers want fixed-mobile converged services from a single provider.

BT to pilot new technology in City of London

BT

has announced trials of a pioneering technique which could deliver superfast broadband to hard-to-access locations in cities across the UK. The new form of ‘fibre to the basement’ technology – developed and funded

by BT – is the first deployment of its kind anywhere in the country and will be piloted in two City of London buildings from next month.

As a result of the trial, 225 homes in the Middlesex Street Estate and around 50 SMEs based at 65 London Wall will have access to download speeds of up to 80Mbps from more than 130 different service providers for the first time.

More than 90% of London’s homes and businesses can access lower-priced fibre broadband which is aimed at consumers, home workers and the very smallest SMEs, but a small minority of inner city buildings are served by ‘exchangeonly’ lines and present a much bigger challenge to serve with this technology.

By integrating fibre broadband kit into a building basement or comms room, the need for street furniture, public civil engineering works and road closures will be drastically reduced – and so will the time it takes for an installation to be carried out.

Visit: www.btplc.com

The proposed transaction with BT offers the chance to further develop our superbly positioned mobile business engagement in the UK and to take part in the outstanding opportunities of an integrated business model,” said Thomas Dannenfeldt, chairman of EE’s board of directors and CFO of Deutsche Telekom.

Visit: www.telekom.com Industry Europe 11

NEWS

New developments in the Telecoms industry

NJJ Capital to purchase Orange Switzerland Telefónica and advised by Apax Partners have agreed to sell Orange Communications SA (‘Orange SwitzerQustodio to deliver F2.8unds land’) to NJJ Capital, Xavier Niel’s private holding company, for a total transaction value of CHF billion (€2.3 billion).The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approval and expected to new generation complete by the end of Q1 2015. Orange Switzerland is one of the leading mobile operators in Switzerland. Under the Apax Funds’ ownership since 2012, Orange Switzerland has carried out a number online family safety of initiatives that have transformed the company into a more efficient and future-proof business while driving EBITDA growth. Over the last three years it has successfully modernised its IT systems, launched its 4G commercial services, now reaching over 90 per cent of the Swiss population, and expanded its store network with 8 store openings in 2014, including a flagship store in Zurich.

Xavier Niel, Founder and CEO of NJJ Capital, added: “Since 2012, when Orange Switzerland was acquired by the Apax Funds, my team and I have followed all the developments at the company. We have witnessed the successful transformation at Orange Switzerland under Apax’s leadership. As the new owner of Orange Switzerland, NJJ Capital will provide continuity to Orange Switzerland’s customers, employees and management.”

Visit: www.orange.ch

Apple and IBM deliver first wave of IBM MobileFirst for iOS Apps

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pple and IBM have delivered the first wave of IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions in a new class of made-for-business apps and supporting cloud services that bring IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities to iPhone and iPad users in the enterprise. IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions are now available to enterprise customers in banking, retail, insurance, financial services, telecommunications and for governments and airlines, thanks to the collaboration between Apple and IBM. “This is a big step for iPhone and iPad in the enterprise, and we can’t wait to see the exciting new ways organisations will put iOS devices to

Vodafone and JCDecaux sign a global agreement to roll out small cells

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odafone has signed a global agreement with JCDecaux, the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide, to deploy small cells on street furniture and billboards to further enhance network performance.

The new technology will enable Vodafone to extend network reach, improve voice 12 Industry Europe

work,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vicepresident of Worldwide Marketing. “The business world has gone mobile, and Apple and IBM are bringing together the world’s best technology with the smartest data and analytics to help businesses redefine how work gets done.”

In targeting key opportunities and priorities within industries, IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps take enterprise mobility a level deeper, helping employees access their company’s full capabilities wherever they interact with clients – faster, easier and more securely than ever before.

Visit: www.apple.com quality and increase data connectivity speeds. Vodafone will work with JCDecaux to install small cells on street furniture and billboards sites primarily in cities and other densely populated areas.

Under the terms of the agreement, Vodafone will deploy and manage the technology while JCDecaux will design and manufacture the housing for the equipment.

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elefónica and Qustodio, the Barcelona based security software vendor, have announced an agreement that will make Qustodio’s leading family safety software available to Telefónica customers. The rollout will start in Spain in the coming weeks, with other countries added in due course.

As part of the deal, Telefónica customers will receive preferential access to Qustodio’s complete online family safety suite. The innovative, cloudbased service from Qustodio is a cross-platform, next generation solution that works on all popular devices and is currently trusted by more than one million families worldwide. Qustodio provides unique and easy to use tools to help families protect, understand and manage internet activity and device usage across all connected devices.

Qustodio’s family safety suite includes different apps that allow parents to block harmful content, better control the time their kids spend online, track their child’s device or restrict apps on their devices. Through a secure dashboard, parents are able to view and manage the online activity of their children from anywhere with daily, weekly or monthly detailed reports on the time spent online and social media.

Visit: www.telefonica.com Kevin Salvadori, director of Technology Strategy and Operations for the Vodafone Group, said: “This agreement will enable us to accelerate the deployment of small cell technology by giving us access to locations that in the past have not been available for network installations.”

Visit: www.vodafone.com

INDUSTRYNEWS

Telenor and TeliaSonera to merge Danish operations

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elenor and TeliaSonera have entered into an agreement to merge their Danish operations into a new 50:50 joint venture. The new company will have a combined mobile subscriber base of around 3.5 million. With a combined mobile subscriber market share of

approximately 40%, revenues of more than DKK 9 billion and a significant synergy potential, the transaction creates a robust operator.

The merger of the two operations aims at achieving annual efficiency gains of above DKK 800 million, with full effect from 2019. The largest areas

of synergies are envisaged for distribution, sales & marketing and call centres, general & administrative cost, network and IT. The combination of TeliaSonera and Telenor will also bring substantial benefits to customers in Denmark. It will provide a larger distribution network as well as improved network connectivity and performance.

“Competition in Denmark is intense and we face continued pressure on revenue growth and profitability, making consolidation inevitable. By combining the assets and customer bases of Telenor and TeliaSonera in Denmark, the joint venture will become a robust operator,” says Kjell Morten Johnsen, EVP and head of Telenor Region Europe.

Visit: www.telenor.com

Ericsson first to deliver License Assisted Access A

recent Ericsson ConsumerLab study reveals that only 41% of respondents are highly satisfied with their indoor experience when browsing or accessing social networks. Addressing this app coverage challenge, Ericsson is first to give smartphone users the benefit of concurrent access to both licensed and unlicensed spectrum, by delivering the first License Assisted Access (LAA) small cells.

LAA is an LTE-Advanced technology that can improve mobile data speeds and reduce con-

gestion, benefiting all wireless network users.

Ericsson License Assisted Access, available in its small cell portfolio starting in fourth quarter 2015, enables carrier aggregation of licensed with unlicensed bands to effectively address growth in indoor data traffic.

Using only 4% of the 5 GHz band, LAA can provide up to a 150 Mbps speed increase to smartphone users. Each additional 4% of available spectrum used will increase the smartphone data

speed further. Ericsson LAA also incorporates fair sharing within the 5 GHz band. Fair sharing works on the principle that Wi-Fi and LAA users would have equal access to the spectrum.

Thomas Norén, head of Radio Product Management, Ericsson, says: “One of the great things about LAA is its ‘rising tide’ effect, increasing system capacity and making way for better service to all users in the area.”

Visit: www.ericcson.com

Eutelsat to support Ebola relief effort in West Africa

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utelsat Communications is collaborating with NetHope to improve connectivity solutions for humanitarian organisations mobilised in West Africa since the outbreak of the Ebola crisis.

Satellite broadband equipment that will deliver videoconferencing services, internet access and voice communications has arrived in Accra, Ghana, where the UN has located its Mission for Ebola

Emergency Response. The terminals are now headed to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to be deployed in areas with little-to-no-existing communications capacity.

Communicating direct to a Eutelsat satellite, the terminals will enable doctors and healthcare workers to benefit from a robust communications network that can be self-installed, is up and running in

VimpelCom Russia and MTS to develop and operate 4G/LTE networks in Russia

VimpelCom will build and operate 4G/LTE base stations in 17 regions of Russia. Within the first seven years of the project, VimpelCom Russia and MTS plan to share base stations, platforms, infrastructure and resources of the transportation network, with each operator maintaining its own core network.

Mikhail Slobodin, CEO VimpelCom Russia, said: “We expect the agreement

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impelCom Russia and MTS have announced a large-scale partnership for joint development and operation of 4G/LTE networks in 36 regions of Russia. Between 2014 and 2016 MTS will build and operate 4G/LTE base stations in 19 regions and

less than two hours and can be easily relocated to follow relief organisations working on the frontline.

“Eutelsat’s contributions of equipment and technical expertise will help emergency responders in West Africa to coordinate the delivery of life-saving patient and family care services,” said Frank Schott, NetHope managing director of Global Programs.

Visit: www.eutelsat.com to improve the availability and quality of the services to our customers. According to our estimates, more than half of data service users will migrate to 4G/LTE services by 2019 and LTE smartphones are currently one of the fastest growing categories of handsets with sales doubling over the past year.”

Visit: www.vimpelcom.com Industry Europe 13

The European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO) represents the interests of Europe’s leading telecom operators. Its Annual Report 2014 suggests that a new phase of growth may be in sight for the European telecoms sector. Industry Europe looks at some of the key findings of this report and the implications for the future.

GROWTH ON THE HORIZON E

TNO has long been a strong voice for Europe’s telecommunications network operators and also acts as a barometer for market trends and fluctuations. Its most recent Annual Report, according to its director general Daniel Pataki, suggests there is room for cautious optimism. He makes this claim despite the fact that investment growth in EU telecoms was slightly negative in the year 2012–13 and there is likely to be a contraction of Service Revenue growth in 2014, following on from a similar situation in 2013.

He explains the reason for this optimism: “There is a high level of excitement in the industry that the new market trends – while challenging for traditional business models – bring the promise of a return to growth.

“Our confidence comes from three main facts: first, the figures in this report show how excited consumers are about being constantly connected and being able to enjoy online services; second, ETNO companies do more than just respond to these trends – they are fully embracing them; third, the new EU leadership, which took office in November 2014, has come across as being fully aware of the challenges and opportunities of Europe’s digital economy.”

14 Industry Europe

Key trends In short, whilst revenues have been falling every year since 2009 and the decline even accelerated in 2013 there are signs that things may be changing.

“The downturn,” says the report, “seems to be losing momentum and growth levels in Europe have become less negative than before. In the ETNO perimeter, overall telecom services growth will be -2.7 per cent in 2014 and in the EU-5, telecom services will fall at a rate of -2.5 per cent compared to twice as much the previous year. IDATE expects this improvement to last through 2015 and growth rates to eventually return to positive levels in 2016.”

Mobile, meanwhile, is on the rise with the number of subscriptions approaching the 800 million mark in Europe. Compared to 2012, according to ETNO’s figures, the number of subscribers rose 0.9 per cent to reach 782 million in 2013 and was expected to hit 794 million by year-end 2014. In particular, it says, “the prolonged growth of the overall number of access lines is definitely a promising trend for the industry and a lever for growth in the future.”

The report also draws attention to the ways in which the so-called ‘next-genera-

tion’ access networks are making inroads into the market to increasingly become ‘current-generation’ access networks. “It is also encouraging to see that the adoption of ultra-fast internet access is making good progress. 34.5 million users have subscribed to an NGA-based offer. This corresponds to a take-up rate of 18 per cent of the homes covered, thus slightly more than the previous year’s 16 per cent.”

Revenue, services and broadband In terms of services, the report discusses the continued decline of PSTN/ISDN fixed lines, as IP-based offers and mobile phones are adopted instead. Indeed, by the end of 2014 it there is an expectation that fixed broadband subscriptions will outnumber traditional circuitswitched fixed lines for the first time ever.

The report states: “On the one hand there are still new customers coming to the broadband market, pushing the penetration rate to 27.2 lines per 100 inhabitants in the ETNO perimeter. On the other end of the market, the transition from legacy broadband to ultra-fast access lines continues. In total we expect the number of fixed broadband lines to hit the 170 million mark in ETNO territory by the end of 2014.”

But for the operators, growing demand will not translate into higher revenues as the volume effect of increasing subscriber numbers is outweighed by falling average revenue per access. (In the EU28, for example, mobile ARPU will have lost some 25 per cent of its value between 2008 and the end of 2014.)

Widening investment gap The report goes on to highlight a significant investment gap between the European telecoms market and its counterparts in the US and Japan. However, it goes on to point out that growth in the latter two areas is slowing down. “Whilst it remains solidly positive in the US with 2.4 per cent in 2013 and an expected 1.8 per cent for 2014, growth became negative in Japan in 2013 with -0.4 per cent and is to decrease further in the course of this year.

“The picture is similar with respect to investment. While in the light of falling revenues, Europe’s telcos have been forced to slightly scale back their absolute level

of investment in 2013, their peers in the US have continued to increase their capital expenditures by more than 5 per cent compared to 2012. Investments in Japan increased as well, but at a significantly more moderate rate of 0.4 per cent.”

Of course, that is not to say investment amongst Europe’s telecoms operators has been non-existent: in 2013, €46.7 billion was invested in their networks. They continue to build new ultra-fast fixed and mobile access networks and upgrade their backhaul facilities. In fact, the report states that European operators have largely maintained their investment levels in absolute (-0.4 per cent in the ETNO perimeter in 2013), thereby actually devoting more of their resources to new infrastructures in relative terms as the CapEx to revenue ratio improves. The majority of investments have been in fixed networks (around €26.3 billion) – reflecting the cost of civil engineering works when it comes to deploying them closer to the end user.

According to Luigi Gambardella, chairman of ETNO’s executive board, there are many reasons to be positive but the focus for the future does need to be on narrowing the investment gap still further. “I am a believer in investment as a driver for growth. For this reason, the Annual Economic Report 2014 gives me the opportunity to ask an important question, a political one: is today’s level of investment in networks up to our digital ambitions? Are we thinking big enough here?

“I am truly convinced that even flat levels of investment growth are unacceptable.

They are unacceptable from the industry viewpoint and I believe they are also unacceptable from a political perspective. In this context, I am confident that the new European Commission will help the industry return to growth. President Jean-Claude Juncker and Commissioner Günther Oettinger have been very vocal in underlining how investments and infrastructures will be n the focus of their political action.”

To view the report in full, visit: www.etno.eu

Industry Europe 15

NEWS

New contracts and orders in industry

STG Aerospace wins contract with Thomson Airways

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ircraft cabin lighting specialist STG Aerospace has been awarded a retrofit programme with the UK’s largest leisure airline, Thomson Airways.

The contract will see STG Aerospace retrofit 9 of Thomson’s Boeing 737NG fleet and 14 of its 757 fleet with liTeMood®, a true plug-and-play programmable blue/white LED mood lighting system designed specifically to retrofit commercial aircraft cabins. liTeMood® offers airlines a cost effective, versatile and controllable solution to bring existing non LED equipped aircraft cabins up to the same quality standard as brand new aircraft, helping them achieve impactful brand differentiation.

Quick and easy to install, liTeMood® is a cost-effective upgrade for airlines seeking to improve passenger experience and increase yields across its fleet. It features significantly increased reliability over traditional lighting systems, thereby reducing ongoing maintenance costs and also delivers important environmental benefits. Not only is liTeMood® up to 40kg lighter than original-fit fluorescent lighting, it also consumes 70% less power, increasing both the aircraft’s fuel and electrical efficiency.

Marcus Williams, director of Sales & Marketing at STG Aerospace, commented: “This retrofit programme expands our liTeMood® product

range across even more aircraft and shows that STG Aerospace is leading the way, not just in photoluminescent technology, but in all aspects of cabin lighting.”

Visit: www.stgaerospace.com

Skanska to construct supermarket NCC awarded billionkronor tunnel contract and sports hall in Stockholm N S kanska has signed a contract to construct a supermarket for ICA Maxi and a sports hall for Huddinge municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. The contract is worth SEK 330 M, which is included in order bookings for Skanska Sweden for the fourth quarter of 2014.

The supermarket will consist of one floor with a gross area of 8000 square metres. The sports hall is built on top of the supermarket in three stories with a total gross area of 6000 square metres.

The area, Flemingsbergsdalen, will be developed in phases. Work on the infrastructure in the area has already begun. The first phase includes the now contracted supermarket and sports hall and a rental housing project for 184 apartments sold to Heba, as previously announced.

The building is scheduled for completion at the turn of the year 2016/17.

Skanska Sweden is one of Sweden’s largest construction companies, with operations in

NEL awarded hydrogen electrolyser plant contract

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EL Hydrogen AS, a 100% subsidiary of NEL ASA and a global leader in the supply of large scale hydrogen-based atmospheric electrolyser plants for industrial / energy purposes, has been awarded a contract for production of a new hydrogen electrolyser plant with supplementary

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building and civil-engineering construction.

The business unit has approximately 11,000 employees and revenue in 2013 amounted to approximately SEK 30 billion.

Visit: www.skanska.com

equipment. The plant will be delivered in Norway to a subsidiary of a large and renowned international company.

The agreement has a firm value of approximately NOK 13 million, and is the second significant new contract received by the company in Q4 2014.

NEL ASA is a leading global supplier of hydrogen technology for industrial /

CC has been commissioned by the Norwegian Road Administration to construct the Bjørnegård Tunnel on the E16 expressway between Sandvika and Wøyen in Norway. The order amounts to approximately SEK 1.3 billion.

The E16 is one of Norway’s busiest two-lane highways and the primary link between Oslo and Bergen. The Bjørnegård Tunnel will be part of the new E16 expressway and will help to improve accessibility and enhance traffic safety.

The 2.3km new tunnel will comprise a two-lane dual carriageway. The assignment also includes a 290m connecting tunnel, as well as extensive road works where the E16 joins the E18.

At the construction site, NCC will apply its proprietary Green Construction environmental concept for construction and civil engineering projects, which entails more stringent demands in a number of areas compared with the minimum requirements set by authorities.

Visit: www.ncc.se energy purposes, and its electrolyser technology has been delivered to more than 500 plants in more than 50 countries.

The company’s main products are hydrogen production plants based on water electrolysis, complete hydrogen stations for transport and finally renewable energy storage solutions.

Visit: www.nel-hydrogen.com

WINNINGBUSINESS

Orion contract awarded Alstom and OHL to supply a metro system to Guadalajara in association with CPVM, an OHL Widely proven and constantly upgraded, Urbalis to European industry Alstom, group company, has been awarded a conrepresents the ideal CBTC solution for urban tran-

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he European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus have signed a contract to build the ‘back end’ of America’s new manned spaceship Orion, which will be used to send astronauts to an asteroid and eventually to Mars.

European industry will develop the propulsion unit needed to push the vehicle through space and to carry the humans’ air and water after officials from the ESA and the manufacturer signed the contract, valued at €390m, in Berlin, Germany, witnessed by representatives from the German Federal Government, the German space agency, NASA, and US industry.

In the longer term, it is hoped that this will become a lasting relationship in which every Orion mission is supported by ESA/Airbus hardware.

“The service module is a key element of the Orion vehicle. In fact, we talk about the crew module and the service module making up the Orion vehicle,” said Kirk Shireman, the deputy director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Although the 2017 maiden outing for the European hardware will be unmanned, the mission that follows will carry astronauts, probably on a trip around the Moon.

Visit: www.airbus.com

Sweco to modernise Östfold Line in Norway

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weco has been commissioned by Jernbaneverket, the Norwegian government’s agency for railway services, for an extensive railway project to modernise the Norwegian Östfold Line. The assignment will be executed as a joint venture, with around half of the total estimated

tract by the Secretariat of Communications and Transport of Mexico to supply a full system for Line 3 of the Guadalajara metro. Alstom’s share in the contract is worth around €240 million The line is 20km long and will run through the Zapopan, Guadalajara and Tlaquepaque municipalities in the State of Jalisco. It will provide fast, comfortable and safe transportation to 233,000 passengers daily.

Alstom will supply 18 Metropolis trains, the communication systems, the high-voltage and traction substations and the traffic control systems based on Urbalis 400, Alstom’s CBTC system.

sit operators aiming to maximise performance and capacity and who require traditional interlocking systems for operational needs.

“This commercial success, after the one in Panama, confirms Alstom’s ability in delivering metro systems and develops Alstom’s strong footprint in Latin America. We will bring an efficient and sustainable transportation solution to the country, in order to improve the passengers’ quality of life and reduce the environmental impact,” said Michel Boccaccio, senior vicepresident Alstom Transport Latin America.

Visit: www.alstom.com

Kalmar gains order for zero-emission RTGs

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almar, part of Cargotec, has gained a further order for five of its latest generation zero emission rubber-tyred gantry granes (RTGs) from Gdynia Container Terminal (GCT) in Poland.

The order follows the delivery of two similar machines earlier in 2014. The latest order was booked into Cargotec’s fourth quarter intake with delivery scheduled for December 2015.

GCT opted to specify the Kalmar solution as the 41-tonne capacity E-One2 Zero Emission RTG, which stacks 6+1 wide and 1-over-6 high.

This model produces lower emissions compared to conventional diesel-powered RTGs and requires significantly less maintenance thanks to its simplified design. The electric power system completely eliminates the need for engine maintenance, which translates into much lower downtime and reduced maintenance costs.

The delivery will include the Kalmar SmartFleet process automation solution that improves operational transparency and reduces downtime through remote equipment monitoring

value of more than SEK 100 million going to Sweco.

“This is Sweco Norway’s largest transportation assignment to date. The end result of our work will increase capacity and lower maintenance costs on a section of railway line that is becoming increasingly important with the growth of the Oslo region,” says Tron Kjølhamar, CEO of Sweco Norway.

and reporting. The Kalmar SmartRail automatic gantry steering system is also part of the operational package to improve safety and operator performance as it allows the operator to concentrate fully on driving and manoeuvring the containers.

GCT is a full-service container facility located in the Port of Gdynia on the coast of the southern Baltic Sea. Visit: www.kalmarglobal.com

Sweco’s assignment involves analysing and planning a 10-kilometre-long section of railway line that includes a stop in the town of Moss. The new section will have a double track and run through tunnels in several places. When completed, the railway line will shorten the travelling time between Oslo and Moss and offer more frequent train departures.

Visit: www.sweco.se Industry Europe 17

NEWS

Combining strengths

Elekem acquired by Ensinger

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lekem Ltd, a specialist plastics engineering company, has been acquired by Ensinger Ltd, a market leading manufacturer of engineering plastics, in a transaction managed by international M&A advisor BCMS. Elekem Ltd is a specialist polymer processing and engineering company focused on the fabrication of PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) and PEEK (Polyetheretherketone) products for final machining. The UK-based company employs a range of specifically developed processing techniques to produce its products, which are sold worldwide into a diverse range of industries including energy services, food, fluid handling, paper manufacturing, and chemical plant servicing.

The acquirer, Ensinger Ltd, is a UK market leader in the manufacture of high performance and engineering plastics, semi-finished stock shapes and profiles, and in the machining of plastic finished components. The company operates nine sites across England, Wales and Scotland and is part of the Ensinger worldwide group, which employs a workforce of 2100 across 27 production and sales locations.

Visit: www.ensinger.co.uk

OTUG International BV has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Royal Boskalis Westminster NV (Boskalis) to merge their European harbour towage operations.

The decision is fully in line with KOTUG’s strategy and ambition to develop and increase its harbour towage footprint in Europe. This partnership involves a 50/50 joint venture between KOTUG and SMIT, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boskalis. The geographic scope of the venture covers the European Harbour towage market which relates to KOTUG’s existing harbour towage activities in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK and SMIT’s harbour towage activities in the Netherlands and Belgium.

ABB and Hitachi to form strategic power grid partnership

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BB and Hitachi have announced an agreement to form a joint venture for high voltage direct current (HVDC) system solutions in Japan. The new entity, to be based in Tokyo, will be responsible for the design, engineering, supply and after-sales services related to the DC system of HVDC 18 Industry Europe

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The combination will create a leading provider of harbour towage services in north-west Europe active in 11 ports and 4 countries with a fleet of approximately 60 harbour tugs, generating a total turnover of about €150 million. Besides operational synergies the joint venture will strengthen the market position of both companies.

KOTUG’s CEO Ard-Jan Kooren: “The combined operation will allow us to meet the increasing demands of our international joint clients in order to deliver more efficiency. In a market that is consolidating we can offer competitive services against the highest operational and safety standards within the industry.”

Visit: www.kotug.com

he Devon based design engineering firm, Supacat Group, has acquired local heavy fabrication and machining specialist Blackhill Engineering Services Ltd, providing Supacat with the ability to manufacture large structures.

Supacat is part of the South West Marine Energy Park and the new capability will strengthen the South West’s supply chain in the Nuclear, Renewable Energy and associated markets.

The acquisition expands the in-house capability and capacity available within the Supacat Group and complements Supacat’s key activity of providing innovative engineering solutions to the challenges faced by specialist industries.

Blackhill adds heavy engineering to Supacat’s existing light to medium engineering. It brings a 60-tonne lifting capability, a rare resource in the region, and an additional 28,000 sq ft of workshop space divided between fabrication, assembly and a large and small machine shop.

“The acquisition of Blackhill positions Supacat to collaborate on significantly larger renewable energy, nuclear and marine projects in the South West. It underlines our commitment to continuing the expansion of our renewables and marine business through appropriate teaming agreements, joint ventures or acquisitions,” said Nick Ames, managing director of Supacat Group.

Visit: www.supacat.com

projects bringing in ABB’s latest technologies to the Japanese market where Hitachi will be the prime contractor.

This is the first step of a strategic partnership between the two companies to contribute to the evolution of Japan’s power network. Hitachi and ABB will explore further strengthening of the relationship and address opportunities to

widen the scope for future collaboration.

“ABB pioneered HVDC 60 years ago and has continually pushed the boundaries of this technology,” said Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO of ABB. “We are proud to enter into this partnership with Hitachi, with a solid reputation and extensive, 100-year experience in the Japanese market.”

Visit: www.abb.com

KOTUG and Boskalis to merge European harbour towage operations

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Supacat acquires Blackhill Engineering

LINKINGUP Technip to purchase Zimmer Polymer Technologies

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echnip has entered into an agreement with Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions Germany to purchase all of its Zimmer® polymer technology business. Based in Frankfurt, Germany, the business includes technologies for the processing of polyesters and polyamides, research and development facilities, and a team of around 40 skilled engineers, researchers and project teams.

Technip plans to integrate the new polymers technology business through Technip Stone & Webster Process Technology, the Onshore global business unit formed in 2012 to manage the company’s expanding portfolio of downstream process technologies.

Stan Knez, senior vice-president, Technip Stone & Webster Process Technology, commented: “The state-of-the-art Zimmer polymer technology portfolio and the team’s 60 years of experience in the industry will reinforce our focus on technology as a way to differentiate us from our competitors. We look forward to welcoming this talented group to the Technip team.”

Visit: www.technip.com

Vattenfall and Skandia build wind power together

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Mexichem completes acquisition of Vestolit

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exichem, S.A.B. de C.V. has completed the acquisition of VESTOLIT GmbH. Mexichem completed the acquisition after receiving all relevant regulatory approvals. Vestolit was acquired from funds managed by Strategic Value Partners LLC for a total purchase price of €219 million euros in cash and assumed liabilities.

Based in Marl, Germany, VESTOLIT is Europe’s only manufacturer of High Impact Suspension PVC (HIS-PVC) for weather-resistant windows and is Europe’s second largest producer of paste PVC for floors and wallpapers. VESTOLIT also pro-

duces alkyl-chlorides, a value-added intermediary used for a variety of chemical and industrial applications and is vertically integrated in a single site from Salt through Specialty PVC. Total installed PVC capacity is 415,000 tons per year.

Mexichem views this transaction as an opportunity to expand its European footprint, enter a new market segment and acquire new technology and best practices. VESTOLIT will continue to operate under its current management and with its existing portfolio of branded products.

Visit: www.vestolit.de

Balfour Beatty completes acquisition of offshore transmission project

Thanet Wind Farm, off the coast of Kent, to the onshore transmission grid, generating enough electricity for around 200,000 homes each year. The assets include one offshore and one onshore substation and over 50km of subsea cables. Balfour Beatty’s Services division is responsible for the assets’ operations and maintenance under a licence granted by Ofgem with a 20-year revenue stream.

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alfour Beatty has completed the acquisition of the £164 million Thanet offshore transmission project (OFTO) in the UK. It will invest over £20 million of equity.

The Thanet OFTO, previously operated

by Vattenfall, is the high-voltage electricity transmission system connecting the 300MW

attenfall and Skandia are jointly investing almost two billion Swedish kronor to set up four wind farms in Sweden with a total output of 141 MW. The farms will be run by a jointly owned company. This is the first time that a Swedish pension company is directly financing the construction of new Swedish wind power capacity, and the cooperation enables faster expansion of a sustainable energy system.

“Vattenfall is investing in renewable energy, and the joint investment with Skandia will allow its expansion in Sweden to take place at a faster rate. That is good for our respective customers, and it’s good for Sweden,” says Magnus Hall, Vattenfall’s CEO. The four wind power projects are Hjuleberg (Falkenberg municipality), Höge Väg (Kristianstad municipality), Juktan (Sorsele municipality) and Högabjär-Kärsås (Falkenberg municipality). The first of these is already in operation and was handed over to the joint holding company on 1 January 2015. The other wind farms are being built by Vattenfall and will be handed over to the joint company in the first quarter of 2016.

Visit: www.vattenfall.com

Steve Marshall, executive chairman, said: “For the Investments business, the offshore transmission market is an important part of its strategy to diversify into new markets and achieving financial close on our second project is a great success. This supports our wider strategy of developing our delivery capability in the offshore renewables industry.”

Visit: www.balfourbeatty.com Industry Europe 19

NEWS

MOVINGON

Relocations and expansions across Europe

AXSON opens new technical centre Boliden Kokkola inaugurates for innovative PUR formulations new silver recovery plant

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XSON, a world leader in highperformance polymer formulation, is to open an AXSON MERYLITHE Technical Centre for developing innovative PUR formulations. This centre in Méry (Savoie, France) will enable AXSON customers to carry out tests and trials from early 2015. The new, state-of-the-art technical centre will focus its renowned expertise on both isocyanate formulation and systems. The announcement follows AXSON’s acquisition of Merylithe, a move that has strengthened the company’s expertise in polyurethane elastomer formulations.

By taking over Merylithe, a move in line with the group’s acquisition policy, AXSON is building on its position as a leader in formulations: “By working to expand AXSON MERYLITHE we are complying with the group’s objective to offer our customers every type of formulation solution, whether complex or functional,” said Patrick Blosse, vice-president of Sales & Marketing at AXSON TECHNOLOGIES. “AXSON MERYLITHE is also working on more environmentally-friendly PUR ranges and is currently researching alternatives to petrol and carbon products. Developing bio-sourced systems is a real challenge for the industry of tomorrow,” said Jérôme Duclos, director of AXSON MERYLITHE. Visit: www.axson-group.com

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oliden has officially inaugurated its new silver recovery plant at its Kokkola zinc smelter in Finland. The SEK 250 million investment will result in the production of 25 tonnes of silver annually.

“This new process is of great importance for Boliden Kokkola since it will improve both profitability and raw material efficiency. Silver concentrate will now be one of Boliden Kokkola’s most valuable by-products,” says Jarmo Herronen, general manager at Boliden Kokkola.

The inauguration at Kokkola takes place at the same day as Boliden’s 90 years celebration, which focuses on knowledge and experience.

“The Kokkola silver recovery process, and the recently inaugurated Garpenberg zinc- silver mine expansion, are both in line with our strategy to maximise the metal and by-product production from incoming raw materials,” says Lennart Evrell, Boliden’s CEO. Visit: www.boliden.com

Holmen invests in increased paperboard and pulp production

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olmen has decided to invest a total of SEK 530 million in increasing paperboard and pulp production at Iggesund Paperboard. The production capacity for paperboard at the UK mill in Workington will rise by 10% or 20,000 tonnes through a rebuild of the paperboard machine’s press section. The rebuild, which is expected to be completed during the first half of 2016, will also bring improved product quality.

At Iggesund Mill, pulp capacity will rise by 15% or 50,000 tonnes. The investment will be

Multi-million pound site expansion for Bentley

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entley has announced the latest phase in the biggest site development in the company’s history. A further £40 million investment will expand its headquarters in Crewe, with a new research and development centre, creating over 300 jobs in the process. The new centre, measuring over 45,000m2, will

20 Industry Europe

implemented in stages from 2015–2016. The measures will also improve production stability and cut variable costs.

“Recent years have seen us invest strongly in reducing our energy costs and our dependence on fossil fuels. Now we’re investing in increased production, while also cutting our variable costs, and thus strengthening our competitiveness,” explains Annica Bresky, CEO of Iggesund Paperboard.

“For the mill in Workington, this investment marks a first step in that direction. At the Igge-

sund Mill, our ambition is to increase production by 10 per cent in coming years without any major investment.”

Visit: www.holmen.com

include a dedicated styling studio, research and development offices and a technical workshop. The facilities will house 1300 Bentley engineers and is the latest step in preparing Bentley’s infrastructure to bring the world’s first ultra-luxury SUV to roads in 2016.

Wolfgang Dürheimer, chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors, commented: “With Bentley’s new research and development

centre, we will develop a new generation of Bentleys, which will continue our commitment of luxury, performance, quality and engineering excellence. Bentley is the number one luxury car manufacturer in the world and driving more investment into our headquarters and attracting talent is key to continuing our success.”

Visit: www.bentleymedia.com

NEWS

INDUSTRYPEOPLE Stora Enso appoints Noel Morrin as executive vice-president, Global Responsibility

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tora Enso has appointed Noel Morrin to head the group’s Global Responsibility function and as a member of the Group Leadership Team as of 1 April 2015.

Noel Morrin is an Irish citizen and has held several leadership positions in the field of sustainability and environmental affairs, most recently, since 2005, as SVP for Sustainability & Green Support at Skanska in Sweden.

Before that he worked as Group Environment Director for the world’s largest concrete producer and Europe’s largest quarrying company, RMC Group. Prior to RMC he held senior roles at the UK National Environmental Technology Centre, the British NGO Business in the Community and the global chemical company ICI.

New vice-president Sales & Marketing at Pöttinger

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regor Dietachmayr has taken over as vice-president Sales & Marketing at the Pöttinger. He takes responsibility for Marketing/Advertising, Sales Promotion, Product Management and Sales Logistics. As a result, he is responsible for worldwide machine sales, expanding and developing sales structures and the marketing strategy for international markets.

Mr Dietachmayr has been at Pöttinger since October 2014 and during this time has familiarised himself with its functions and processes very well. “Pöttinger is on a long-term course of steady growth. It will be my job to coordinate the sales organisation and marketing efforts accordingly. The focus will be on partnerships and team-oriented strategies,” he says.

Scania CEO to lead ACEA Commercial Vehicle board

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he Commercial Vehicle board of directors of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has elected Martin Lundstedt as its new chairman for 2015. Mr Lundstedt, president and CEO of Scania, follows Wolfgang Bernhard, head of Daimler Trucks, who took over the chairmanship of ACEA’s Commercial Vehicle board in 2013, and went on to serve a second term in 2014.

Speaking after his election, Mr Lundstedt said: “I am honoured to drive ACEA’s commercial vehicle activities for the next year, when a top priority for our industry will be to continue to address one of our toughest challenges: the further reduction of CO2 emissions.”

Alcatel-Lucent appoints president of Europe, Middle East and Africa operations

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lcatel-Lucent has appointed Willem Hendrickx as its president of Europe, Middle East and Africa operations. He joins the company from Riverbed Technology, where he was senior vice-president, EMEA. At Alcatel-Lucent he will assume overall responsibility for all sales activities and operational management of company activities in the EMEA region.

Commenting on Mr Hendrickx’s appointment, Alcatel-Lucent CEO Michel Combes said: “Willem brings to us vast experience in the broader IT and telecom market. He has the perfect background to support our objectives in executing The Shift Plan in Europe, Middle East and Africa as we apply our strengths in innovation to become a specialist in IP, cloud and ultra-broadband access.”

Heikki Viika appointed Efore’s new CEO

H Heinz Pöttinger (r.) welcomes Gregor Dietachmayr (l.) to the team as vice-president Sales & Marketing

JOT Automation appoints Petri Halonen as CEO

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etri Halonen has been appointed as JOT Automation Ltd’s new CEO. He has previously worked as the CEO of Oulu ICT Oy. Petri Halonen, 43, has versatile experience in managing industrial companies and tasks with responsibility for business results on international markets. Before moving to Oulu

eikki Viika, M.Sc. (Eng.) has been appointed as the new president and CEO of Efore Plc. He will start in this position by 1 July 2015.

Heikki Viika has strong and extensive experience in leading business development, sales and strategy. He will transfer to Efore from Bombardier Trasportation in the United Kingdom, where he has made a long career in various international management positions.

Heikki Viika: “I believe Efore is a company with great potential on the growing power supply market. I am very excited about the opportunity before me and I am eagerly looking forward to starting in this new role.”

ICT, he was the CEO of Kuusakoski Oy, and before that, in various leading positions at Pilkington and Draka NK Cables, for example.

“We believe that Petri’s experience in business management and commercial and technical expertise will offer excellent support for JOT’s international growth strategy,” said Veikko Lesonen, chairman of the board.

Industry Europe 21

NEWS

TECHNOLOGYSPOTLIGHT

Advances in technology across industry

Partnership aims to develop 3D concrete printing in construction

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kanska and Loughborough University have signed a collaboration agreement to develop the use of 3D printing in construction. The aim of the agreement is to allow Skanska to use – under licence – 3D concrete printing technology developed through research at Loughborough University, applying it to real applications.

A team in the School of Civil and Building Engineering at Loughborough, led by Dr Richard Buswell and Professor Simon Austin, have worked on the development of 3D printing technology for the construction industry since 2007.

The team have developed 3D concrete printers fitted to a gantry and a robotic arm, which is now in its second-generation form.

The printer deposits a high-performance concrete precisely under computer control. It works by laying down successive layers of concrete until the entire object is created. The printer can make things which cannot be manufactured by conventional processes such as complex structural components, curved cladding panels and architectural features.

The aim of the initial 18-month development programme is to develop the world’s first commercial concrete printing robot. Working with Skanska are a number of influential collaborators including Foster and Partners, Buchan Concrete, ABB and Lafarge Tarmac.

Dr Richard Buswell from the Building Energy Research Group at Loughborough University comments: “The modern construction industry is becoming more and more demanding in terms of design and construction. We have reached a point where new developments in construction manufacturing are required to meet the new challenges and our research has sought to respond to that challenge.”

Visit: www.lboro.ac.uk

22 Industry Europe

PowerCell converts waste from olive oil production into electricity

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he Nordic leading fuel cell technology company PowerCell has announced a technology developing project to convert toxic waste from olive oil production into electricity. Biogas2PEM-FC is an EU project that PowerCell coordinates. Together with partners from Spain, Greece, Sweden and the UK, a complete pilot plant has been built in Andalucía, Spain.

The waste from olive oil production is environmentally harmful and costly to dispose of. It contains pesticides and toxic organic compounds, it is also acidic and has a high salinity. Currently the waste is turned to landfill, but which is very costly and becomes a major environmental problem.

A three-part subsystem was developed; the primary step is an anaerobic digestion reaction to produce biogas from the waste, the second step is a reformer to convert the biogas to a hydrogen rich gas (reformate), and a last step -the fuel cell system to make electricity from the reformate gas.

“With this concept we solve two problems at once. We deplete toxic waste while producing electricity and heat on a small-scale, environmentally friendly way, without any harmful emissions. This solution has a very high potential. It is estimated that up to 30 million cubic metres of wastewater is produced annually, during a three to four-month period, on an olive oil plant, water that can be used in biogas production. The technology developed in this project can also be used with other agricultural waste”, said Per Ekdunge, project coordinator, and vice-president and CTO of PowerCell Sweden AB. Visit: www.powercell.se

‘Sky Pod’ gives view of life on Earth from ‘edge of space’ A

purpose-designed ‘sky pod’ containing fragile electronic and imaging equipment and carried by helium weather balloon is making regular journeys to the edge of space to provide views of life from 23 miles (38km) high above earth.

The pod has been designed by UK company SentintoSpace and is manufactured from expanded polystyrene – a material recently renamed ‘airpop’ across Europe. It is being developed commercially for use by scientists and photographers – both amateur and professional. Its precision-moulded internal compartments prevent the sensitive onboard equipment from becoming dislodged during the flight whilst at the same time providing thermal protection from temperatures in space falling as low as minus 50°C. Alex Baker from SentintoSpace said, “In the past we’ve used basic styrene containers but we saw the opportunity for a purpose-designed

pod for use by scientists, photographers and teachers who aim to create an engaging learning platform for science education in schools.

Airpop is the ideal material for ‘edge of space’ photography as in addition to thermal protection it offers very low weight for the upward flight combined with very high impact resistance for the return landing on earth.”

Visit: www.sentintospace.com

NEWS

NOTICEBOARD

BeA to showcase Winergy HybridDrive awarded new innovation at as best wind turbine drivetrain UK Concrete Show T

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eA, the manufacturer of fastening technology for industrial and construction applications, has announced its plans for The UK Concrete Show 2015.

The new BeA Casttec adhesive system offers manufacturers of precast concrete the opportunity to significantly boost productivity. It provides a faster, easier and more cost-effective way of fixing structural/architectural inserts and articles to precast concrete forms.

The new system employs hot melt glue technology and entails a simple one step process with no need for primers. The adhesive is applied simply and accurately using a choice of robust, high output BeA glue guns. Once the articles are pressed to the form, the adhesive sets almost instantly to form a bond that is strong enough to withstand the pouring and vibrators used during mould filling.

After the concrete section has set and been removed, any adhesive residue can then be easily removed from the mould using scrapers.

Visit: www.bea-group.com

he new Winergy 3.3 MW HybridDrive with journal bearings has been awarded the gold medal in the category ‘Best drivetrain 2014’ by specialist magazine Windpower Monthly.

Windpower Monthly justifies its choice with the introduction of the journal bearing technology for the HybridDrive and the fact that customers can choose between a permanent or electrical excited generator. “There is a growing interest in gearboxes incorporating journal bearings as operators look for improved reliability and longer operating life. Journal bearings combine compactness with high resistance to (static) impact

loads and long service life,” the magazine writes.

The HybridDrive is combining a two-stage-planetary gearbox and a generator into an integrated drive train. This results in a compact design and highest efficiency in power generation.

Visit: www.winergy-group.com

New construction lights make winter work safer

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ne of the UK’s newest LED safety light suppliers is aiming to reduce the danger of working in the dark with its first range of products designed to improve the safety of any winter construction site. WHI Safeguard offers construction workers premium visibility, pioneering design and energy efficiency with its scaffolding and traffic cone lighting options. Steve Hooper, director of WHI Safeguard, said, “Most sites are dangerous as it is, but long hours in the darkness can make construction sites deadly places to work. It’s imperative for construction managers and companies to effectively illuminate the site, and our innovative LED lighting solutions aim to improve the safety of the industry.”

Every WHI Safeguard product is designed and developed in the UK for ultimate quality. The LED lighting products run on just 2 AA batteries and give in excess 4000 hours of use. On average, the lights can be used for around six months before the need change the batteries. All safety lights also use low power LED technology which helps sites to reduce carbon footprints, save cash and maintain superior visibility at all times.

Visit: www.whisafeguard.com

New Green Floorzone heads to Ecobuild 2015 AN

updated version of the award winning Green Floorzone solution will be unveiled at Flowcrete UK’s stand during this year’s Ecobuild. The environmentally friendly floor build up has been revitalised and refreshed with new systems that boast enhanced green credentials and exciting design possibilities.

New to the Floorzone is the environmentally friendly Isocrete Alpha Screed , a pump applied,

self-levelling floor screed. 95% of the alpha hemi-hydrate calcium sulphate binder used in this solution is reclaimed from waste created by coal power stations, significantly reducing the amount of industrial by-product sent to landfills.

The recently launched Mondèco Arctic systems will also be on display. Featuring three new colours, Alaska, Glacier and Polar, and providing superior UV light resistance, these floors help large-scale

commercial locations to apply and maintain a seamless and visually appealing white floor finish.

The third element in the Green Floorzone, the Isowarm underfloor heating, has been literally turned green. The pipes now match the Isocrete brand and reflect the system’s eco nature, as it is able to deliver energy efficiency savings of up to 30% compared to conventional heating systems.

Visit: www.flowcrete.co.uk Industry Europe 23

EURO-REPORT

FOCUS ON...

Germany Allan Hall reports from Berlin on ambiguous feelings about Germany’s arms trade.

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recent headline in Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine said it all: ‘German U-Boats Invade the Pacific... Again’. But it’s OK to mention the war because Germany’s technical expertise in submarines is boosting its defence industries to the tune of billions of euros.

German U-Boats were the underwater weapons which crippled Allied shipping in the two world wars. Its expertise in creating them was not lost in peacetime and order books are filling up, mostly with demands from Asia for a new fleet of noiseless, durable, non-nuclear subs.

With fuel-cell drive and lithium-ion batteries, ThyssenKrupp’s new Type 218SG submarine can stay deployed at sea for more than 80 days and spend four weeks at a time under the surface. Germany is selling them to Singapore at a price of 1.6 billion euros.

South Korea already has nine Germandesigned Type 209 diesel subs made at the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in Kiel, a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp. Germany is one of many players in the region which has grown into one of the few growth markets for defence firms in recent year.

According to a 2013 report by Swedish research institute SIPRI, three of the world’s five biggest arms importers are West Pacific states: China, South Korea and Singapore.

Germany supports its submarine business with export guarantees because of the huge sums involved in tax revenues.

The submarine business is an area of the arms industry which Chancellor Merkel is keen to support. But critics say her profit motive could torpedo Germany’s image in the long run.

“An arms race is taking place in the Pacific,” said Rolf Mützenich, the SPD’s foreign policy chief in parliament. “We must look into this carefully. Human rights should have priority over security concerns.”

Early last year a former civil servant in charge of purchasing at the Greek defence 24 Industry Europe

ministry admitted pocketing €13 million over 20 years for backing about a dozen projects. Antonios Kantas, the former civil servant, claimed to have received €1.5 million from Rheinmetall for green-lighting the purchase of air-defence system and an upgrade of Greek submarine electronics.

“The (German weapons) industry accounts for billions in revenues and thousands of jobs. But it sits uneasily with many who remember the heavy price Germany paid in blood and treasure in two world wars.”

German tank manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann allegedly paid him €600,000 for supporting the purchase of 170 tanks at a cost of €1.7 billion and he received a similar amount, the official said, by backing the purchase of German submarines from HDW in Kiel.

HDW has exported over 50 Type 209 submarines to a dozen countries, including Argentina, Colombia, Indonesia, Chile, India, Brazil, South Korea, Turkey, and Greece over the past three decades in orders worth an estimated 100 billion pounds.

Shady deals But while the CDU-led coalition government is keen to keep the orders flooding in for German arms, there is an altogether more nasty – and far more lethal – historical export which it is not so keen on publicising.

It is the knowledge that German companies may have helped Syria produce chemical weapons over the course of decades.

Media reports say that for more than 16 months, Chancellor Merkel’s government

has been in possession of a list containing the names of German companies said to have aided Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and his father Hafis in building up Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal over the course of several decades.

Berlin received the list from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The government immediately classified the list and keeps it under lock and key. The government says that releasing the names would “significantly impair foreign policy interests and thus the welfare of the Federal Republic of Germany.”

On another front it has been widely reported Germany has stopped weapons exports to Saudi Arabia because of instability in the region.

The kingdom is one of the most important clients of Germany’s arms industry with 360 million euros of arms shipments authorised in 2013.

But the mood among the people is for an embargo. A survey carried out for Bild newspaper found that 78 per cent of Germans believed Berlin should stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia – and a further 60 per cent want to break off trade ties all together – due to human rights violations.

Karl-Heinz Wehmeyer, a weapons industry specialist, said: “There is always a dichotomy in Germany about weapons and their exports. The industry accounts for billions in revenues and thousands of jobs. But it sits uneasily with many who remember the heavy price Germany paid in blood and treasure in two world wars.

“Many politicians have been only too keen to garner votes at home by striking an anti-martial tone for their supporters while sanctioning the sale of weapons to dubious regimes abroad.

But the electorate, informed by a fast paced Internet, is wising up and wants to see a much more ethical foreign policy when it comes to n arms exports.”

EURO-REPORT

FOCUS ON...

France Ian Sparks reports from Paris on attempts to attract wary tourists and to make sure girls aren’t too thin.

Will that work?

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he French tourist industry has launched a major drive to lure visitors back to Paris after hotel occupancy dropped by ten per cent in the wake of the city’s terrorist attacks in January.

Hotels welcomed ten per cent fewer guests on year-to-year-comparisons between the dates of January 8 to 18 following the massacre of staff at the Charlie Hebdo magazine and the siege at a Jewish supermarket by Islamic extremists, the hospitality research firm MKG Group reported.

Since then, Paris has been on high security alert with armed troops deployed across the city protecting some of its most famous attractions, but the display of force appears to be deterring tourists who fear the city is still at risk of attack.

On an average year, almost 85 million foreigners a year visit France to create a 150 billion euro tourist industry that delivers seven percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, French government figures show.

With tourism such a critical part of the French economy and 550,000 jobs linked to tourism in the Paris region alone, Le Comité Régional du Tourisme Paris Ile-de-France, Paris’ regional tourism committee, is sending out advisories that the monuments, museums, malls, and other attractions in Paris are protected.

The committee’s managing director, François Navarro, said that the committee will also embark on a world tour to reassure tourists and travel agents that Paris is safe and open for business.

Like the Paris committee, the European tourism industry is also working on ways to protect and strengthen its tourism market with airlines, hotels, tourist boards and tourist attractions working collectively to come up with marketing strategies to help the industry through one of the most challenging periods in its history.

Georges Panayotis, president of the MKG research group said: “The political and security environment is a key factor for international tourism. The curve is heading downwards since the attacks against France. It’s a new phenomenon that may add to security fears weighing on bookings.”

Europe’s largest hotel group, Accor, which operates hotels ranging from luxury Sofitel to budget Ibis, said in January that it remained cautious on the French market this year – also in view of the constrained economic climate. Chief financial officer Sophie Stabile said: “We have not seen massive cancellations at Paris hotels but we remain watchful of any development.”

Body laws The French government is meanwhile drafting a new law that could have major repercussions for another of the country’s most profitable industries – by banning ultra-skinny models from fashion advertising and the catwalk.

The new bill currently being drafted would outlaw ‘inciting extreme thinness’ and is aimed specifically at closing down websites that advise anorexics on how to starve, but industry experts believe it will also have a significant impact on the use of female models in fashion and the media.

The proposed law will state that it is illegal to ‘provoke a person to seek excessive weight loss by encouraging prolonged nutritional deprivation that could lead to health risks or death’. Offenders would face fines of up to 50,000 euros and three-year prison sentences, the bill states.

Fashion industry experts said that, if passed, the law would be the strongest of its kind anywhere and could ‘transform the fashion industry worldwide’.

Didier Grumbach, president of the influential French Federation of Couture, strongly disapproved of legislating body weight. He said: “Never will we accept in our profession

that a judge decides if a young girl is skinny or not skinny. That doesn’t exist in the world, and it will certainly not exist in France.”

But Juliette Menager, casting director for Joule Studio in Paris, said clearer guidelines on model weight could be a good thing, adding: “There is definitely an enormous problem.

Some models lose so much weight for the fashion shows that it can be really scary, like a concentration camp.”

The bill’s author, right-wing MP Valery Boyer, said she wanted to encourage discussion about women’s health and body image.

She added: “The proposed legislation would enable a judge to sanction those responsible for a magazine photo of a model whose thinness altered her health.”

French health minister Roselyne Bachelot who backs the law said websites that encourage young girls to starve should not be protected by freedom of expression.

The bill comes after countries including Spain, Italy and Brazil have all clamped down on skinny models at catwalk shows.

Spain has barred models below a certain body mass index from the Madrid fashion shows. Italy has insisted on health certificates for fashion show participants. And Brazil is considering demands to ban underage, underweight models from its catwalks.

Medical experts around the world have warned against the dangers of ultra-skinny catwalk models, and images airbrushed to make girls look thinner, which they say encourage anorexia in girls as young as six.

Fashion guru Giorgio Armani said recently that the fashion industry had a duty to “work together against anorexia.” He added: “The industry has to recognise the link between its preference for abnormally thin models and the growth in eating disorders among young women.”

France’s proposed law goes before the upper house of parliament, the Senate, for n approval next week.

Industry Europe 25

EUROPE’S LEADING GEOTHERMAL ENERGY EVENT G

eoTHERM will be taking place in Offenburg for the ninth time on 5–6 March 2015. In 2014 191 exhibitors, as well as 3513 visitors from 38 countries, benefited from the chance to make valuable contacts. The extremely high level of competence of both visitors and exhibitors is particularly worth mentioning here. This expertise makes the event the ideal setting to meet new business partners and explore further market opportunities.

The event also includes a high-quality congress programme covering the areas of shallow and deep geothermal energy. Visitors can gain access to the latest research and knowledge in these areas in order to improve their working practices. It also acts as the perfect platform for knowledge sharing and networking. GeoTHERM is the only place where

26 Industry Europe

the most dynamic players, the highest quality standards and the latest technologies in the geothermal market combine in the perfect setting.

Leading figures from politics, science and industry alike have been convinced by the value of the event and have actively supported its development. Furthermore, it is a pleasure for the Exhibition Center Offenburg to announce Iceland as Guest of Honour at GeoTHERM 2015.

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.

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Carpenter’s strong commitment to product innovation is evidenced by its research and development center, where metallurgists and technicians continually develop new products and improve existing products and processes. The Company also offers experienced and knowledgeable technical and product specialists help customers solve their most difficult materials challenges.

For more information visit www.cartech.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

A.T.L.A.S. Aeronautik is specialized in the production of components used in wing/fuselage structures, doors, actuation systems, engines and landing gears.

More specifically, A.T.L.A.S. possesses a highly sought-after expertise in: - CNC machining of all metals, all sizes; - Complex gear cutting; - Sheet metal fabrication; - High-volume, small parts manufacturing; - Assembly.

Being located in a major aerospace cluster, we offer innovative solutions that integrate engineering, manufacturing, assembly and supply chain management. Please contact us to discuss how we can help you achieve success in your Aerospace program.

The A.T.L.A.S. Aeronautik Team would like to wish ASCO a happy 60th anniversary and another 60 years of solid growth and success! Thank you for a great partnership!

ATLAS Aeronautik Structures – Actuation – Landing Gear - Engine Components 420 rue Edouard, Granby, Québec, Canada, J2G 3Z3 Phone: +1 450.378.8107 sales@atlasaeronautik.com www.atlasaeronautik.com

Industry Europe 29

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

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.

Industry Europe 31

S

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

32 Industry Europe

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-

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 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 components. 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 opportunities for n our workforce.”

Industry Europe 33

FERTILE GROUND

FOR GROWTH

When it comes to the metering and distribution of granules, RAUCH’s expertise and innovative prowess is second to none: Innovations and awards mark the path of the German specialists. Julia Snow spoke to marketing manager Jens Hille to get an update on the latest developments.

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A

round the globe, farmers and agricultural contractors depend on the high quality standard of RAUCH products.

Founded in 1921 in Sinzheim, near BadenBaden, Germany, to produce agricultural machinery, RAUCH developed its first fertiliser spreader in 1932. Today the company employs around 395 people and produces some 16,000 machines each year, both for the home and export markets. RAUCH operates its production and assembly in a single €20 million factory at the Baden Airpark site.

Owing to its key strategy of ‘innovation and investment’, the company has won many national and international awards and has registered more than 150 patents. This continued international success story is made possible, in large part, thanks to the successful and long-term cooperations RAUCH maintains with its key suppliers.

According to Mr Hille: “We must emphasise the importance of our company’s cooperation with its business partners and suppliers, who play a vital role in shaping our image, strong market position and future plans. Our experience, dedicated staff, strong market position, use of the latest technologies and continuous innovation, combined

with this support from our reliable suppliers will enable us to further expand our global presence. The companies we work with are known throughout Germany and the world for their high quality and advanced technological solutions.”

AXMAT scores brilliantly in field tests Last year RAUCH introduced the revolutionary, gold medal winning AXMAT self-adjusting fertiliser spreader, which was the first spreader in the world to feature fully automatic adjustment of the spreading pattern for the required working width via an online monitoring system. The market response was enthusiastic, says Mr Hille: “By now we have five machines in operation, and the feedback from the farmers is 100 per cent positive. Concurrently we conduct intensive test runs, and the result is that AXMAT fulfils the highest requirements in terms of precision and comfort of use. The official full market launch is therefore planned to coincide with the AGRITECHNICA 2015 show.”

And there is more product news: “We achieved a step-change in twin disc spreaders: the new AXIS-M 30.1 EMC +W V8 is

the first shaft driven spreader to offer an automatic adjustment of the spreading width in eight steps. The 8-times automatic section control VariSpread V8 enables the use of the spreader on wedge shaped areas or with uneven borders.

“Also, we have been very successful with our newly introduced large area spreader AXENT. Twenty AXENT spreaders have been delivered to major farming enterprises, and the concept of combining two precision spreading modules for mineral and organic fertiliser seems to have gone down really well. All users report back on the huge saving potential of this solution.”

Strengthening the company The company recently invested around €3.5 million in a new training centre at its headquarters. The centre (looking after 35 apprentices), and the 15-strong RAUCH service team will move into this modern environment – improving RAUCH’s aftersales performance and the technical training of its distribution partners.

In October this year the company started using its new photovoltaic system, which represented an investment of €500,000.

Industry Europe 35

“1720 solar modules can produce up to 440 kWp of energy, meaning we can produce 12 per cent of the electricity we require in a carbon-neutral way.

“At the moment we are particularly pround of winning the ‘Große Preis des Mittelstandes’ (Grand Prix of SME) of the Oskar Patzelt-Foundation in September 2014.”

This award, given annually, is the most important award of its kind in Germany.

Strong growth across different segments “We see exponential growth in the twin disc segment with the patented EMC automatic metering, the automatic section control VariSpread V8 and the highly advanced ISOBUSelectronic control. In the large working width spreaders the highest growth is shown by the AXENT model.”

In the niche market of vegetable farming RAUCH has grown to be the company with the largest range of spreaders. The model range UKS offers the ideal solution for the precision fertilisation of crops in beds or 36 Industry Europe

rows – there is a strong focus on promoting this offer intensively together with distribution partners worldwide.

Key role for fertilisers “The pressure on the global farming industry to increase efficiency is growing all the time.

As populations grow and agricultural areas are destroyed, the clear aim is: More yield per hectare. The fertiliser industry becomes a key player in this equation, and the high prices of fertiliser call for the use of precise, high-tech spreader technology,” explains Mr Hille.

RAUCH is currently preparing for the industry’s leading trade shows: EIMA (in Bologna,

Italy) and SIMA (in Paris, France), as well as the AGRAMA in Switzerland and Denmark. During these events the RAUCH AXIS models with AXMAT will be in the spotlight. RAUCH’s R&D experts are currently working on software and on GPS Technology, and a number of projects in the pipeline will up the stakes in precision and user-friendliness, says Mr Hille: “We expect to set off a real firework of innovations at the next AGRITECHNICA.”

Positive outlook For RAUCH, the next few years will see organic and steady development with a growth in turnover from the current €78

million up to €100 million in 2020. The company’s export business is strong, with the markets of North America remaining particularly important, says Mr Hille: “More and more farms in the USA and Canada are developing further and have switched from single to multiple fertilisations per year. This continues to create lucrative opportunities for fertiliser tehnologies like ours.”

At the same time, South America is gaining in importance. A local joint-venture has allowed RAUCH to participate in the success of the Brazilian farming industry. “North and South America are the twin motors for growth for our company at the moment,” he concludes. n

ANEDO ANEDO acts as an OEM-supplier for electronic control and operating devices in mobile machinery. The core competence of the company is the production of these electronic-systems, hard- and software-development.

Additional system design support is done by Field Application Engineers. ANEDO is one of the leading providers of customized and integrated electronic-systems in the European agricultural technology.

RAUCH and ANEDO are working together on innovative and trend-setting topics across the ISOBUS for many years. One successful example of this partnership is the development of the RAUCH FertChartApp for the CCI-ISOBUS-Terminal. Based on an extensive fertilizerdatabase on the terminal, the machine-parameters can be adjusted automatically. This feature results in more comfort for the operator caused by the economized adjustment. Large amounts of expensive fertilizer can be saved by the exactly calculated application.

Industry Europe 37

DELIVERING OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE

ZF is a global leader in driveline and chassis technology and it attributes much of its success to the innovative and dedicated support of its suppliers. Philip Yorke takes a closer look at these outstanding companies, their individual contributions and the latest ZF joint ventures and acquisitions that will shape the future of the company, which in 2015 will celebrate its centenary.

F

ounded in 1915 in Germany, ZF began by producing transmissions for airships and land vehicles. Today the group’s product range includes transmissions and steering systems, as well as chassis components and complete axle systems and modules. In 2013 the group employed over 72,000 people worldwide and recorded sales of more than €416.8 billion. About 5 per cent of its revenues are invested each year in research and development, amounting to around €1 billion, in order to further strengthen and expand ZF’s leading global position.

100 years of leadership In 2015 ZF will celebrate 100 years of development in the production of driveline and chassis technology. CEO Dr Stefan Som-

mer explains the significance of this event: “Throughout the entire year, all employees should sense that we have achieved something extraordinary, something that very few companies achieve. During the anniversary year, we will fittingly acknowledge the past in various ways. Ultimately, we have already achieved a great deal. However, we also wish to use the anniversary year to look forward and to prepare ourselves for the challenges that we will face in the future.”

Matthias Lenz, executive vice-president, adds: “All ZF employees should celebrate this special event. We wish to make use of this to address the employees of the locations that have become a part of our group during the course of our 100-year history as members of the large ZF family. Consequently, this birthday

can also positively contribute towards an even stronger integration within the ZF Group.”

The event will be marked by a ceremonial gala on September 9 at the Rothaus Hall at Messe Friedrichshafen. This date corresponds to the entry of ‘Zahnradfabrik GmbH’ into the Commercial Register at the Tettnang local district court exactly 100 years before. Approximately 1500 guests from politics, commerce and society will be invited.

Furthermore, on July 26, all interested parties wil be invited to a special ‘open house’ event where they will be given the exclusive opportunity to visit the production and assembly halls in Plant 2 as well as the R&D centre. The company will also take this opportunity to present the ZF Training Centre which provides young people from the region,

It was 1984: more than 30 years have passed since Valbormida first made a supply to the ZF plant in Friedrichshafen. Over the years, collaboration has grown to include other sites of the ZF group, which has become an important customer and reference point with regards to the constant growth of our company.

In fact, currently Valbormida counts on 3 manufacturing sites - Bubbio (Asti) and Busano (Torino) in Italy and Sumaré (San Paolo) in Brazil – providing a total of 18 lines for hot steel forging, modern heat treatment systems and equipped machining workshops.

After an initial period characterized, in particular, by gear forging in different shapes and sizes for industrial vehicles, the range increased with additional parts for the agricultural, earth moving and automotive sectors.

In 2010 ZF decided to reward Valbormida’s commitment, professionalism and constancy with a Supplier Award: recognition, in our case, as best supplier of the year of forged and semi-finished products.

It is, therefore, an honour and a pleasure to participate today in celebrating the 100th anniversary of a worldwide Group leader of component construction in the transport industry.

For more information and further details on our Company, please visit our website: www.valbormida.com

as well as other visitors, with information regarding the various job opportunites at ZF and paths to successful applications.

The company’s specially-selected inhouse organisational team has been working on a number of other ways to commemorate this important event. These will include an online anniversay portal, anniversary pub-

42 Industry Europe

lication for employees, anniversary calendar, the publication of a company history as well as a technological presentation.

Top notch success This year six companies have been selected to receive ZF’s coveted ‘Supplier of the year’ award. The latest presentation took place

at the ‘Materials Management Symposium’ in Friedrichshafen, Germany in November 2014 and was the seventh such event that the company has hosted.

This year’s award for the most innovative supplier went to Elring Klinger AG. The company, which is headquartered in Dettingen, Germany, supplies ZF with speciality gaskets, plastic modules, thermal shielding parts and control plates for automatic transmission systems. In the jury’s view, an innovative sandwich intermediate plate, which allows additional inserts and functions to be integrated, was of particular merit. This is the second time that Elring Klinger has received the coveted award, which was last presented to them in 2007.

In the specialised area of production materials, the ZF supplier award goes to three companies: In the iron-casting category, ZF honoured M.Busch GmbH as an outstanding supplier, in terms of both delivery and cost.

The Sauerland-based company was a strategic partner for ZF’s latest variable ‘Cpower’ transmission system, which delivers fuel savings of up to 25 per cent.

In the area of electronics, Hirschmann Automotive from Austria was rewarded for its top quality products and innovative strength, whilst Metaldyne GmbH & Co. KG is also recognised for its networked support

for ZF around the globe and as a technology leader in forged automotive parts.

Another award winner was Kuka Systems – one of ZF’s leading providers of automatic production and assembly solutions and an importatnt partner for the industrial assembly of ZF’s 8HP and 9HP automatic transmissions. Finally, the prestigious ‘Global Award’ went to a long-standing partner of

ZF: Siemens AG. In addition, the Dax Group supplies ZF with a range of goods that include electronic components and plant and equipment solutions.

Wilhelm Rehm, who is responsible for the company’s Corporate Materials Management and Industrial Technology on the ZF board of management, said: “Any company like ZF that is looking to shape a global

value chain needs innovative and, at the same time, reliable partners. The winners of this year’s Supplier Awards meet these requirements in an outstanding fashion.”

Asia Pacific expansion ZF was one of the first international corporations to invest in the emerging Asian markets, which has paid major dividends.

To be ahead of one’s time ZML Industries S.p.A., thanks to a forty-year experience in the field of aluminium high pressure die-casting, is now proposing itself as a leading firm in supplying systems for the European automotive industry.

ZML Aluminium is able to support the Customer in analysing the extension of high pressure diecasting to parts up to 20kg, traditionally produced with other technologies.

• Codesign • Tooling Development • Filling Simulations • Raw and Machined Parts

Viale dell’Industria, 10 Tel: +39 0427 708275 33085 Maniago (PN) Italy Fax: +39 0427 708284 www.zml.it Email: info@zml.it

Polyax’s production capacity mainly consists of manufacturing middle and high serial precision parts. The competitive edge of Polyax Kft. is that we can take care of the whole production process for our customers, from purchasing the raw material through to the delivery of finished parts. Polyax can undertake turning, grinding and induction hardening processes. Currently the firm accomplishes the assignments of the surface treatment with the help of sub-suppliers, but in the near past Polyax expanded its services with setting up a hard chroming factory in house.

Our services include: • Turning, milling, grinding • Induction hardening • Hard-chroming Polyax gained the MSZ EN ISO 9001:2001 automotive certification in the area of Machining precision components. In April 2014, the company successfully achieved the ISO/TS 16949 and 14001 certifications, which presents the continuous improvement of the management system with regard to quality and the environment.

Hungary 8000 Székesfehérvár Bárándi u. 26-28 Phone: (36) 22 500 597 • info@polyax.hu • www.polyax.hu

In 2013 it generated sales of more than €3 billion in the Asia Pacific region, with over 7500 employees in 37 locations and in 14 countries. This was an increase of 15 per cent compared with the previous year. ZF has been active in the Chinese market since 1980 and has been manufacturing locally since 1994. Today its extensive R&D centre in Shanghai, which was established in 2005, is one of the technology company’s eight main development locations worldwide.

To further enhance its presence and influence in the region, ZF has entered into a joint venture with the Chinese automotive manufacturer, BAIC. The new joint venture in which ZF holds a 51 per cent share will be located in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Area (BDA) to

the south-east of China’s capital. Starting in 2015, engineers and plant planners will begin development work and prepare the installation of production equipment for the launch of the next generation of chassis modules.

The new state-of-the-art plant will have an initial capacity of 200,000 units for ‘just-insequence’ delivery. The customers will be the various car brands of the BAIC Group. The two partners are investing more than €10 million each in the new facility, which will cover an area of more than 16,000 square metres.

Combining new technologies In a separate move, this time much closer to home, ZF announced the acquisition of TRW Automotive of Germany, thus forming a combined company with sales of more than

€30 billion and 138,000 employees. Stefan Sommer, CEO of ZF said, “The acquisition of TRW fits perfectly into our long-term strategy. The transaction combines two highly successful companies that have remarkable track records of innovation and growth and solid financial positions. We are strengthening our future prospects by enlarging our product portfolio with acknowledged technologies in the most attractive segments.”

Today ZF is recognised as an important player in driveline and chassis technologies, whereas TRW is a significant supplier of active and passive safety technologies, including n advanced driver-assistance systems.

For further details of ZF’s latest innovative products and news items, visit: www.zf.com

VERTICAL TAKE-OFF Sales continue to take off at the Kleemann Group as its vertical transport solutions are adopted increasingly by industries worldwide. Kleemann is one of the largest lift companies in Europe. Philip Yorke takes a closer look at the group’s latest products and its ambitious strategy for growth.

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ounded in Kilkis, northern Greece in 1983, KLEEMANN Hellas has achieved a remarkable market share of 72 per cent nationally and is a major player in other key markets worldwide, generating a turnover of about €100 million in 2013. KLEEMANN has subsidiaries and sales offices in 13 countries: Greece, Turkey, Serbia, Romania, China, United Kingdom, Russia, Poland, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and France. The company exports its lifts to 98 countries worldwide through its offices and authorised partners as well as through its network of dedicated sales agents.

Whilst the company’s main production facilities are based in Kikis, Greece, it also operates state-of-the-art manufacturing plants in China and Serbia. The company’s continuous investment programme is also designed to cover the increasing demands of the industry and meet all its projected growth figures.

Focus on complete solutions Today, KLEEMANN Group is mainly focused on the manufacture of complete vertical transportation systems and solutions for both residential and commercial applications. The company’s R&D department is staffed by highly qualified engineers that combine innovation with in-depth expertise to develop world-class solutions.

The company’s commercial manager, International Sales Mr G. Moschovakis said, “Our vision is to be the first choice in lifts in all markets where we are conducting business.

Consequently our aim is to expand our share in all lift markets worldwide. Therefore, we have a strategic plan including many investments around the world, like the recent inauguration of the sales offices in Azerbaijan and France.

In addition, we have recently completed a new logistics centre of over 7000 square metres in Turkey to further enhance our overall range of customer services. We would like Turkey to lead our expansion in central Asia. Our ambition is to become the sector’s No.1 brand when it comes to design. After our successful cooperation with the famous industrial designer, Mr Andreas Zapatinas, we have made the decision to further extend our relationship. Our target is to introduce completely different and unique solutions that make a statement in our sector and the design world.”

In order to be able to test its new technologies and innovations, KLEEMANN has invested over 5 million euros in a high-rise, high-speed 61-metre lift testing tower.

New markets The KLEEMANN Group plans to grow mainly through organic expansion by taking one step at a time to achieve its goals.

KLEEMANN has achieved impressive growth rates by improving its offerings to its existing networks as well as through its entry into new markets. Today the company’s exports account for 85 per cent of the group’s turnover and this percentage is expected to increase in the years ahead.

The company’s enviable examples of design efficiency and reliability around the world serve as strong proof that it has the technological background and know-how, as well as the versatility to produce cuttingedge solutions for every industrial sector.

KLEEMANN’s newest production facility is located in China from where it expects to rapidly expand its market share in the northeast Asia and the Oceania markets. China accounts for approximately 60 per cent of the annual global demand for new installations which demonstrates the potential of the Chinese market alone. Furthermore, KLEEMANN has also been experiencing

Industry Europe 49

strong sales in Australia and is planning to build upon its success in other growth markets such as the former Russian federation countries and the Middle East.

Diverse product range The company’s product range is diverse and includes complete MR and MRL lifts, moving walkways and escalators. Those, in addition to special products such as car parking systems and stair lifts, can be adjusted to suit every industrial or domestic requirement.

KLEEMANN’s products have been installed in a wide variety of buildings including airports, metro systems, museums, stadiums, high-rise buildings and office blocks.

Today KLEEMANN’s products are distributed mainly through installation and lift maintenance companies with which it has long-established relationships. In order to maintain these strong partnerships the company offers the best possible solutions, n terms and conditions.

For further details of the KLEEMANN Group’s innovative products and services visit: www.kleemannlifts.com

Industry Europe 51

INNOVATIVE ECO-FLOORING The Kronotex Group of Germany is a global leader in the development and manufacture of laminate flooring and insulation materials. Today it is setting new standards in the production of eco-friendly products, as Philip Yorke reports.

52 Industry Europe

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ronotex began life as a manufacturer of medium density fibreboard (MDF) and was founded in Heiligengrabe, Germany in 1993. The company expanded into the manufacture of laminate flooring in 1995 and has continually increased its capacity, whilst at the same time improving product quality and introducing new, innovative products.

Today Kronotex remains a privately owned, family managed business that offers customer-focused eco-friendly wood-based products. The company has seen consistent growth and has become a major global player with 12 manufacturing facilities in seven countries that between them produce more than 70 million square metres of laminate flooring per year. The Kronotex Group constantly re-invests its profits in order to provide customers with optimal quality and

innovative eco-friendly products, which are supported by a wide range of consulting and after sales services.

Multi-functional eco-insulation Recently Kronotex launched its latest groundbreaking product: the Silverline range of ecofriendly wood fibre insulation for floors, walls and roofs. Thanks to its excellent insulation properties it is ideal for installation beneath laminate flooring for highly efficient soundproofing. This multifunctional capability is down to a special aluminium lamination layer that is attached to one side of the material without the use of adhesives.

The new wood fibre floor insulation offers a wide range of user benefits, the most important of which is its ability to reduce attenuated footfall sound by as much as 20dB,

thus significantly decreasing the noise levels in rooms below. In the case of reflected walking sound from noise within the room itself, these are reduced to lower ranges that are less audible to the human ear. The aluminium lamination also acts as a vapour barrier, making it possible to dispense with the need for additional PE sound membranes.

Kronopoly Silverline from Kronotex is currently the only eco-friendly wood-fibre insulation that is effective in blocking ‘electrosmog’, which means that it reduces electromagnetic radiation by at least 99.999 per cent. As a result it has been awarded the coveted IGEF test mark for its effective shielding effect. “No other wood fibre insulation performs as many functions as our natural healthy product,” said Uwe Jost, managing director of Kronopoly and Kronotex. “It combines highly effective Industry Europe 53

insulation, a vapour barrier and protection from electrosmog and therefore meets the needs of architects, planners, users and builder-owners.”

Balanced innovation In addition to its successful Silverline range of eco-friendly insulation products, Kronotex has launched its Greenline eco-range, which is a new ultra-thin acoustic insulation material.

Boasting a precisely balanced combination of the optimal thickness (just 1.8mm thick) and density (384kg/m3), Kronotex Greenline insulates on all levels, significantly reducing impact sound by as much as 22.2dB, and reduces reflected walking sound by more than 42 per cent.

Wood and vegetable starch are the raw materials used in the manufacture of Kronotex Greenline and it is produced using an ecofriendly process. The boards are extremely durable and completely compostable. This 100 per cent natural product contains no contaminants and releases no emissions whatsoever, making it ideally suited for bedrooms and nurseries. The Greenline’s guaranteed anti-static properties also qualify it for rooms in which computer systems are in operation.

‘Floors for Living’ To mark the 20th anniversary of its state-ofthe-art production facility at Heiligengrabe, Germany, Kronotex has unveiled a new logo that incorporates the phrase: ‘Floors for Liv54 Industry Europe

ing’. This will be on display at the forthcoming Bau-Munich trade show in January 2015.

Innovation and tradition go hand in hand at Kronotex and the company continues to optimise its research and development activities.

This yields a steady stream of value-added, eco-friendly and innovative products that are readily adopted by world markets.

Today Kronotex offers laminate flooring that is rugged, eco-friendly and compressionproof. They are also abrasion resistant, flame retardant, lightfast and non-staining, as well as being easy to install and clean. “Our world is innovative and eco-friendly, colourful and communicative. This finds expression in our ambitious designs and a plethora of value-added products designed for healthier living,” said Jost. Kronotex also places a high priority on the quality of its raw materials and the companies that supply them, as well as to those carefully selected companies that provide it with machinery, packaging and logistics services.

Dedicated customer services Kronotex has an unusually large customer mix and is able to cater for the specific needs of any of its diverse range of customers. It also has its own Innovation Centre in Germany so that clients can trial and test their own products before rolling them out into their own specific markets. Kronotex believes that new product development and dedicated customer services are the key to the future of its business. It operates twelve facilities in Europe including two in France and one in the Ukraine and is represented by its network of distributors worldwide. Jost added, “Looking ahead, we will continue to foster a highly motivating climate of creativity in order to successfully introduce new, progressive ideas to the market in eco-friendly, n wood-based materials.”

For further details of Kronotex innovative products and services visit: www.kronotex.com

Industry Europe 55

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.

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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.

BUILDING A NEW URBAN REALITY Trimo Group is one of the leading European providers of building envelope solutions. Sales director Jure Gošte tells Vanja Švačko what makes Trimo such a strong business partner.

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or more than 50 years Trimo has been offering sustainable and complete solutions for building envelopes, steel construction and modular space. With its expertise in steel buildings, façades, roofs and containers, the company has customers in more than 50 countries, agents and representative offices worldwide and production facilities in Slovenia, Serbia and Russia.

Trimo’s clientele includes companies and brands of all sizes with a wide range of architectural and business development needs.

Many are high-profile global brands with which it has developed close, long-standing and profitable relationships. Trimo’s portfolio of partners includes companies such as Airbus, Heathrow Airport, Nestlé, Philips, DHL, Porsche, McLaren, IKEA, Prologis, Mercedes, Coca Cola and many others.

Although in the past few years Trimo has been experiencing a downturn in trading because of the turbulent economic situation throughout Europe, the company has managed to stay ahead of the competition thanks to its product quality, technical support and services offered to its clients.

Mr Gošte explains, “Europe is our dominant market place. There is currently a heavy price battle in the construction sector, which forces us to accommodate to those conditions. Customers recognise the quality not only of our products but of our service as a whole. They entrust us with their projects although it is of course necessary for us to match our competitors’ prices.”

Reaching milestones Trimo has managed to achieve each milestone it has set itself through its multidisciplinary approach, consulting experts from the fields of architecture, mechanical engineering, chemistry, electro technology and so on. Major highlights in Trimo’s portfolio have been the development of modern alternatives to conventional built-up and curtain wall systems – the modular façade system Qbiss One and the energy efficient glass curtain wall system Qbiss Air. “Regardless of the fact that we basically produce steel structures, our philosophy is based on providing highly efficient, innovative and sustainable solutions to meet the varied

needs of our clients,” says Mr Gošte. “That is our primary focus in terms of R&D activities and investment strategy. Qbiss One, launched a few years ago, was Trimo’s major attempt to enter the segment of façade systems with a modern design, which effectively replaced the traditional aluminium type of rain screen system. The second big milestone for Trimo is Qbiss Air, which is a pioneering new method of curtain walling .”

Although Qbiss One is a metal phased mineral wool insulated prefabricated element (with integrated fire protection), it gives the façade a higher aesthetic value in comparison to conventional rain screen systems.

For example, its elements have rounded corners which are free of any visible cuts or folds. This system can be accompanied by the award winning and non-penetrating ‘ArtMe’ surface design treatment, that can produce various kinds of visual effects on the external envelope.

Whilst Qbiss One is similar to the standard range in terms of material choice, Qbiss Air inhabits a segment of its own. Made from glass, it boasts a superior thermal

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performance, high energy efficiency and allows the maximum penetration of light into the building.

Focused on innovation All of Trimo’s innovation activities are carried out with a view to both improving products according to its customers’ needs and controlling costs.

Mr Gošte continues, “As far as Trimoterm fire proof roofs and façades are concerned, there have been some improvements in the past two years. Together with our major supplier Knauf Insulation, we have advanced the characteristics of this insulation core and come up with two new types. One of these is Trimoterm Power T – a mineral wool insulated panel that provides higher thermal insulation value with the same insulation thickness. Trimoterm Power S provides

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higher structural and spanning capabilities within the same panel thickness.”

Last year the company intended to make improvement on all the interfaces and details of Qbiss One after growing governmental regulations on increasing the building’s thermal efficiency. Instead of increasing insulation thickness, Trimo paid attention to detailing in the interface and by using some additional sealing tapes achieved perfect thermal balance.

Stronger than ever Mr Gošte concludes, “Over the past couple of years, Trimo has been subject to a financial restructuring process which was

successfully concluded. We believe that the measures implemented in recent months and the current measures have built vital pillars for sustainable growth. They offer great potential for innovation and the development of advanced products and solutions as well as helping us to build a strong position on global markets, all of which will provide the company with opportunities to successfully n continue its story.”

Visit: www.trimo.si

PIONEERING PARTICLE BOARD TECHNOLOGY Sonae Industria is a global leader in the design and manufacture of wood based panels including particleboard and medium density fibreboard. Philip Yorke looks at the latest developments that are taking place at the company.

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onae Industria was founded in 1959 in Maiai, Portugal, which remains the site of its headquarters today. Initially the company focused on the production of high-pressure decorative laminates.

However, its expansion and diversification began in 1971 when it took control of Novopan, a leading particleboard company located near Oporto, Portugal. At the same time, the first melamine surfacing production line was installed and the company began components production for the furniture and interior decoration industries. Following consistent growth over the years, it has become one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of wood-based panels.

Today Sonae Industria operates 34 plants located in nine countries on three continents, with almost 5000 employees and a consolidated turnover of more than €1.3 billion.

Multi-faceted producer Sonae Industria is one of the world’s largest and most diverse operators in its sector and is completely focused on the production of wood-based panels. The company operates three core divisions which cover raw board products, high value-added products and production processes. In the raw board products sector Sonae manufactures particleboard (PB), medium density fibreboard (MDF) orientated strand board (OSB) and

hardboard. The company’s high value-added products include melamine-faced boards, high pressure laminates and flooring.

Particleboard is at the core of the company’s product range and is the most common type of wood-based panel in the world. This is because it is a very versatile product in terms of its potential uses and applications. The standard particleboard from Sonae offers a uniform, smooth and clean surface on a conventional three-layer panel. It can be used raw, or surfaced with wood veneers, melamine decorative papers or even thin foils and is available in a wide range of sizes and thicknesses.

The company’s melamine faced boards also offer very flexible solutions with regard to colour, pattern and size for both furniture and

interior decoration applications. This is coupled with a high resistance to chemical and mechanical agents. Another key Sonae product is its orientated strand board (OSB) which is engineered for structural and non-structural use in the building industry. The three bonded layers of resinous wood strands arranged at right angles to one another, provide a strong and stable panel that is free of defects and offers a high resistance to moisture.

UAE opens doors The Middle East has always been an important market for Sonae Industria and this was highlighted recently when it won a major contract to supply materials to the Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi. This is a luxurious

hospital complex located in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, that will open its doors shortly to over 5500 doctors who will serve 175 medical departments.

In addition, the Cleveland Clinic is also building high-quality residences for the many thousands of top professionals to be employed by the hospital. The special materials provided for this major building project include Sonaepan MDF FF (with no added formaldehyde) coated in melamine paper. This solution has many versatile applications for architects and planners alike and Sonae Industria is one of the few exclusive suppliers of this type of MDF in the Persian Gulf market. It is also one of a very limited number of worldwide manufac-

turers of this material, which is becoming increasingly popular as a result of it being more environmentally friendly.

Nuno Magalhaes, commercial manager of the UAE market, said: “Sonae Industria has the technology, but above all the quality that makes them desirable in markets and projects of reference. The United Arab Emirates projects have been successful, which permits us to start consolidating this position of reference.”

Thanks to its strategy of market diversification, Sonae Industria has been successful in winning a number of other major contracts in the UAE. This includes the supply of materials

for the new head office of a leading American oil company in Abu Dhabi. Today Sonae Industria’s ongoing investments in the UAE continue to pay dividends.

New biomass plant In another move to increase its product diversification, Sonae Industria has been contracted to build a new forest biomass plant in Magualde, Portugal. The new agreement was concluded following a proposal made for a public tender process launched by the DGEG (The Portuguese General Directorate for Energy and Geology). Under this agreement Sonae Industria will be responsible for

the construction of a new forest biomass plant in Magualde, at the same location where it has already installed a modern MDF plant. The thermal energy created by the new biomass plant will fuel the company’s MDF plant at the same site.

The new biomass plant will also be able to inject up to 10MVA of electricity to the public grid. This is another major project for Sonae Industria and represents an investment of more than €22 million. n For further details of Sonae Industria’s innovative products and services visit: www.sonae-industrias-tafisa.com

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.

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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.

ELIF; Éltex Ltd; Encapsys; FDK Corporation; Fibria Celulose; FIRMENICH; FLUOR Industrial Services; FOBOHA GmbH; Givaudan Fragrances; Gulsan; Havpak Inc.; Hitachi Metals Ltd; HPV Engineering s.r.o.; JLL; Kang Na Hsiung Enterprise Co. Ltd; Lingaro; Model Kramp; Mondi; NIPPON SHOKUBAI Co. Ltd; Novozymes; One Asia Network; PwC; QPSI / RockTenn; Quality Associates, Inc.; Rialto Enterprises Pvt. Ltd; Saatchi & Saatchi X; Sasol Performance Chemicals; SCHNEIDER NATIONAL CARRIERS, Inc.; SelectNY; Shandong Tianli Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd; Starcom UK TV &

Honouring key suppliers Each year, P&G recognises the importance of its suppliers with its prestitious Partner of the Year awards. The most recent event took place in January 2015 and saw seven companies honoured with the coveted External Business Partner of the Year award. These were: EY; Monosol, Kuraray WS Film Division; PEGAS NONWOVENS; Rising Display Products (Zhongshan Co. Ltd); RONCHI MARIO SpA; SUPERPAC Inc.; and Yamada Electric.

In addition to the above winners, 51 companies received Excellence Awards for consistently high performance. There were: Albany International Corp.; AMPACET CORPORATION; Arkay Packaging; Bilfinger Industrial Services Inc.; Breakthrough Fuel; Carat NA Planning; Cartus; Cellfire Inc.; Chase Design Group; CHEP; Citizen Relations; D.Cloostermans-Huwaert NV; DAWSON Integrated Marketing Communications Co. Ltd; Diamond Packaging; Diversified Supply Inc.; ECS European Containers NV; Industry Europe 67

HUSKY Avery Dennison Closure Solutions Avery Dennison is committed to making a difference with our customers in each region throughout the world.

We rely on our extensive R&D capabilities to create increasingly better and more sustainable nonwoven closure solutions that cover the full range of diaper tiers and feminine care packaging needs.

Avery Dennison cost-effective innovations include high performance pre-combined closures with hook elements and pressure-sensitive reseal tapes.

Visit: www.tapes.averydennison.com

Today’s consumer packaged goods companies are focused on sustainability through less plastic consumption, while increasing demand for more sophisticated closures for differentiation in the market. This requires higher accuracy and precision in plastic closures dimensions.

Consumer packaged goods companies are seeking unique molding solutions partners, like Husky, that can provide high precision, reliability, and performance over time. Additionally, the highly dynamic and competitive global market makes product launch time more critical than ever. Husky Injection Molding Systems has vast experience in specialty closures, with a large global footprint and high capacity, placing the company in a unique position to provide on-time delivery of high quality, consistently performing molds that have long life cycles and require low maintenance. Husky is the only company in the world that can offer complete manufacturing solutions, including molds, hot runners, controllers, and injection molding machines, allowing for risk-free operation and providing you the confidence to lead.

Digital Activation Team; Technimark LLC; THE SHIBUSAWA WAREHOUSE Co. Ltd; Van Genechten Packaging and WEYERHAEUSER COMPANY. Two of these companies, CHEP and FLUOR Industrial Services, were specifically reocgnised for their efforts and results in the area of Supplier Diversity.

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.

Headquartered in Germany, Braun’s small electrical appliances have long been famous for their successful combination of superior 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

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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.

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 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 formulated with ingre-

dients 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

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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.

Global reputation for development 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.

Innovations in beauty products 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, currently

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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 revolutionary 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.

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NEW CLIMATE FOR

PRAWN PRODUCTION The Findus Group is one of Europe’s largest frozen food and seafood companies. It is an iconic brand that was founded in Sweden in 1905. In keeping with its tradition of providing healthy, natural frozen foods the company is pioneering ‘climate-grown’ tiger shrimps and prawns in its plant at Bjuv in Sweden, as Philip Yorke reports.

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he Findus Group is a premium Nordic brand that brings together a leading frozen food business in Scandinavia, a major frozen and chilled seafood company in the UK and a fast-growing frozen food business in France. In the Nordics Findus is a revered brand that delivers premium frozen food across all major categories of fish, vegetables, meals and bakery products.

In the UK, Young’s Seafood Ltd is a clear brand leader and supplies most of the UK’s major retailers with private label, chilled seafood. In southern Europe, Findus is also a market leader in frozen foods and in France and Spain it leads in sales of frozen vegetables.

The company is proud of its record for responsible fish sourcing and vegetable growing, as well as for its care for the envi-

ronment and promotion of a healthy diet.

Today the Findus Group employs more than 6000 people and in 2013 recorded sales of over €1.5 billion.

Fresh-frozen products Findus Sverige AB is a key part of the global Findus Group and along with other strategic Findus locations in Norway, France and Thailand, the Swedish operation is carefully developed to deliver a healthy range of frozen foods that include ready meals, vegetables and fish, as well as groceries, soup, pasta and mayonnaise. The healthy aspect of Findus’s frozen food products forms a major ingredient in its sales and marketing strategy, as fresh-frozen products can contain considerably more nutrients than poorly-kept fresh products, particularly vegetables.

All Findus fish is frozen on the boat the moment it is caught, thus keeping it in prime condition until it is cooked by the consumer.

In addition, the Findus Group has a companywide programme called ‘Vision Zero’, which highlights its passion for no preservatives in its foods. The company says that freezing is such a natural way to preserve food there is no need to add anything at all to its products.

Climate-grown Climate-grown tiger shrimps and prawns may soon become a reality at the Findus plant in Bjuv, Sweden. Recently Findus and Vega Fish of Sweden signed an agreement for a long-term cooperation. This joint-venture and the establishment of a new plant will make it the first of its kind in the world. The global supply of environmentally-friendly farmed tiger

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prawns and scampi is currently very limited, thus making this a very exciting project for the companies involved and consumers alike. “At last consumers can get a really good environmentally-friendly option,” said Henrik Nyberg, director of business development at Findus.

At the Bjuv facility in Sweden, Findus will be responsible for the freezing, sales and marketing of the products under the brand

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name Findus. As the producer, Vegan Fish is currently starting a pilot plant for shrimp farming in Uppsala, Sweden where initially prawns will be cultivated. In the latter part of 2015, tiger prawns will be introduced and cultivated. What makes the planned shrimp farming project special is that the prawns are climate-grown and based on a closed, land-based system that uses waste heat for heating and prawns

fed with sustainably produced feed with no chemicals or antibiotics involved.

“To cultivate in this way here in Sweden combines the best of both worlds. We use the most proven and sustainable systems, under strictly controlled conditions. Meanwhile we utilise waste heat and nutrients that would otherwise be lost,” said Matilde Osborne, CEO of Vega Fish.

Furthermore, Findus Sverige AB says that its unique cultivation process offers many other advantages, including minimal emissions and no risk of contamination from the surrounding environment.

Improving market During the economic turndown Findus Sverige AB, along with many others, experienced challenging market conditions for its fish and vegetable sales at home and abroad. However, since the beginning of 2013 the company has seen a steady rise in its sales as it continues to highlight the nutrition and cost benefits of its frozen food products. Its on-going introduction of more one-portion meals and additional lighter frozen food selections has also made a difference. Findus is optimistic about its continued organic growth thanks in part to maintaining its unrivalled ‘pure n good food’ promise.

For further details of Findus freshfrozen products and services visit: www.findusgroup.com

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The Schwarzmueller Group is one of the world’s largest providers of premium, custom-built trailers and semitrailers. As a global technology leader, the company continues to set new standards throughout the industry.

Philip Yorke reviews three new vehicles presented by Schwarzmueller at the recent IAA trade fair in Hannover and looks at its strategy for future growth.

DRIVING NEW SEMITRAILER TECHNOLOGY S

chwarzmueller is a privately owned company that was founded in Passau, Germany in 1870, and stands out as one of the largest, premium suppliers of towed commercial vehicles in Europe. The company’s success is founded on a long track record of innovation and reliability. Currently, Schwarzmueller is operational in more than 20 countries, mostly in central, eastern and southern Europe. The company develops, produces and services premium vehicles for customers that require tailor-made, addedvalue transport solutions.

In addition to its state-of-the-art production facilities in Hanzig, Austria, Zebrak in the Czech Republic and Budapest, Hungary, the company provides an international network of over 260 specialist service centres.

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Today the Schwarzmueller Group produces more than 7000 bespoke commercial vehicles every year and currently employs over 2000 people. In 2014 the company recorded sales of more than €260 million.

New lightweight semi-trailers At the recent IAA commercial vehicles trade fair in Hannover, Schwarzmueller unveiled not one, but three new transportation concepts – thus demonstrating its innovative strengths in custom-built trailers and semi-trailers. These included the next generation of tipper semitrailers: the Thermo-Mulde. This thermally

insulated tipper semi-trailer is now available in a special lightweight version with a deadweight of 4700kg upwards, offering a potential payload of 28 tonnes, depending upon the tractor unit selected. The new ThermoMulde already incorporates all known future EU requirements. For example, from 1 January 2015 manual temperature monitoring in insulated tippers is a legal requirement and from 2016 this facility must also be available on all transportation vehicles.

The new Thermo-Mulde has five builtin temperature sensors and its measuring apparatus for recording temperature data and

its mobile printer for logging this information means that all these requirements are met.

Using ultra-modern moisture-inert insulation in the tipper and thermal tarpaulins with heat tolerance up to 200oC, temperature losses during transit are reduced to a minimum. These features make the new Thermo-Muldo semi-trailer ideally suited for the construction industry.

More flexible options Schwarzmueller has scored another competitive first with its latest Tele-Mega platform semi-trailers. These offer optimal flexibility thanks to a special, variable configuration,

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which allows long goods, manufactured parts, construction equipment and containers to be transported with ease. What is more, the removable central frame and low trailer height further guarantee its exceptional, multifunctional capability.

Additional equipment for this latest model includes ExTE and tubular stanchions as well as strengthened point-loads, which in turn allows for heavy payloads to be placed on a small surface. This new Tele-Mega platform semi-trailer from Schwarzmueller can be used for transporting containers ranging from 1X20ft to 1X30ft, and from 1X40ft to 2X20ft.

Lightweight innovation As a pioneer in lightweight semi-trailer construction, it comes as no surprise that the company has launched another first in its sector. At the recent IAA trade fair in Hanover, Schwarzmuller announced that it has completely re-designed its advanced ‘Ultralight’ semi-trailer. This has been developed in order to meet the market’s increasing demand for ever more lightweight trailers and bodies. With a deadweight starting at 4850kg, the new design offers enormous payload benefits along with a high degree of stability.

The all-new lightweight construction also means that operators can benefit from improved fuel consumption and reduced CO2 emissions. This adds up to an efficient contribution to the overall reduction of transport costs and to improved protection of the environment. In addition to these benefits, this new semi-trailer is equipped with a rapid-opening tarpaulin system, which allows the opening and closing of the tarpaulin to be achieved in less than ten seconds.

This unique, lightweight semi-trailer from Schwarzmueller is now available in cargo, coil, paper and mega versions and is optimised for long distance haulage and for the construction industries.

New sector priorities

Following a record year for sales in 2013 of over €235 million, the company is expected to exceed its target of more than €260 million in 2014. The reasons for the continuing growth in sales may be found in the economic recovery that started in this industry sector in the summer of 2013 and in the transition from Euro 5 to Euro 6 engines, which has since been taking place across Europe.

The resulting increased weight of the tractor units has been compensated for by the devel-

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opment of lighter trailers and truck bodies.

Another driver for growth is the company’s decision to include the construction industry in its portfolio, in addition to those of oil, food and timber.

The role of Schwarzmueller’s key suppliers is also recognised as a factor in the continuing success of the company and underpins its reputation for quality and reliability. “We are very happy with the path we have embarked upon. Our strategic realignment, which we have been putting

in place since 2013, is already reflected in our figures. Our forward looking strategy for growth, as well as the support of our key suppliers will continue to play an important role in helping us to meet our goal, which is to double our turnover by the year 2020 to €420 million,” said Jan Willem Jongert, CEO n of the Schwarzmueller Group.

For further details of Schwarzmueller’s innovative products and services visit: www.schwarzmueller.com

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INNOVATION IN SPECIAL PURPOSE TRUCK BODIES IGLOOCAR is the largest manufacturer of special purpose truck bodies on the Polish market. With 39 years of operations and business experience, the company continues to grow dynamically and achieve excellent year-on-year results. Piotr Sadowski writes for reports.

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he development of IGLOOCAR has been closely associated with the economic growth of Poland and this was certainly been the case in 2014, when, alongside the economic upturn, the company’s sales also significantly increased. “Part of our strength lies in the fact that even in more challenging economic times the company’s market share and cash flow do not suffer,” says Krystyna Jaskowska, member of the board and operations director. “The company’s stability is appreciated both by suppliers as well as our staff, who work in a safe environment and receive competitive remuneration. Looking at the results of the first two quarters of 2014, we expect our sales to grow further in 2015.”

IGLOOCAR is perceived as a good and responsible employer, offering safe jobs and a competitive bonus scheme based on individual results, which introduces production improvements driven directly by staff feedback.”

IGLOOCAR is one of the three leading Polish manufacturers of enclosed truck bodies and despite economic challenges over the past few years, annual sales have been reaching PLN 40–50 million. The company’s high

production standards are regularly confirmed by technical audits, while truck manufacturers always point out how innovative the products are, many of which are custom-made according to individual requirements.

“Our strong market position also results from many years of utilising a cost control mechanism set out by the Consolidated Results Card, which ensures our truck bodies are competitively priced and maintain high quality,” adds Ms Jaskowska. “The Card has proved to be an effective management tool, which we are continuously improving.” In fact FORBES has included IGLOOCAR in its ranking of companies which are gaining value most rapidly in the PLN 5–50 million sales range. The company has also been placed amongst the ‘Golden Hundred’ companies of the Podkarpacie Region of Poland and has received the ‘Business Gazelle’ title from the leading Polish business magazine ‘Puls Biznesu’.

Latest innovations Introducing innovative solutions is written into the company’s everyday operations.

IGLOOCAR addresses the needs of its clients

and is inspired by components and production materials offered by its suppliers. The company launched the production of a ‘plywood’ type truck body for transporting small goods, which has been received particularly well by logistics and distribution companies. Another solution, the very light 3.5 tonne DMC truck body with ‘honeycomb’ type side walls is excellent for transforming light items of high content volume. Another innovative product is a solution for transporting flowers, in which channels installed in the floor distribute heat for protecting plants during transportation. In addition, IGLOOCAR has launched the production of the small distribution vehicles Fiat Doblo and Fiat Scudo based on specialist undercarriages.

An important factor which constitutes an ongoing part of all product development work is the need to reduce the weight of truck bodies, using lighter materials and construction solutions. Depending on the type of truck body the company uses lighter, yet highly resistant, laminates. New, more affordable and lighter insulating materials which nevertheless retain their excellent insulation qualities have been introduced to

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HORPOL J.I.A.T. Horeczy Sp. J. HORPOL company has more than 35 years of experience in making car lamps and reflective devices. Our products are designed primarily for trucks and vans, buses and agricultural machinery. In addition, our lighting can also be used for trailers, tow trucks and special vehicles.

The beginnings of our cooperation with IGLOOCAR go back to 2008.

At that time, we proposed to install our LWD 535 LED interior lighting lamps into the IGLOOCAR specialist bodyworks. From the very beginning HORPOL did its best to meet the high demands of its customer on product quality and timely delivery.

Compared to conventional incandescent lighting our lamps consume less power and produce more light. Their prices are also competitive due to the good optimization of design and production process maintaining high standards. This is why, the HORPOL products are installed in the IGLOOCAR bodyworks to this day.

With the enhanced photometric laboratory we are able to carry out advanced research and measurements of the most important lamp properties (including lighting measurements, colour measurements and light spectrum measurements). Our highly qualified team of professionals takes care of the continuous improvement of our products performance and their innovation in terms of design.

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HORPOL also has its own tool department, which performs all the moulds, dies, etc. required for the production of lamps. It is a very big advantage, since we are able to design and make a product dedicated specifically to our client, or to make quick changes in the product to adjust it to the individual customer needs.

All lamps from our range of products are manufactured in our factory. We place great emphasis on quality and excellence in the creation of a product at each stage of the production. We carefully select suppliers of materials and components used in the manufacturing process. During the implementation of a new lamp on the market we follow the analysis of customer needs and the latest trends in the automotive industry. Our car lamps and reflective devices enjoy huge popularity both in the domestic market as well as abroad. We are committed on improving the quality and innovation of the lamps. We appreciate the confidence that our partners place in us and long-term cooperation.

Therefore, we introduce new products systematically: car lamps: marker, fog, reversing, stop, number plate lights, indicators and reflective devices, interior lighting, multifunction lamps and working lamps.

smaller truck bodies, which has resulted in lower weights and production costs. “These are difficult challenges as the construction needs to ensure the required heat insulation and resistance to difficult road and climate conditions,” explains Ms Jaskowska. “Our suppliers are aware of this and are offering very thin yet reinforced materials. Lower weights have also been achieved by using special aluminium profiles for thr construction of some truck bodies.”

In 2013 new legislation on European homologation came into force, which has meant that previous national homologations became invalid. IGLOOCAR has carried out all the relevant tests on its vehicle solu-

tions to ensure they are fully compliant with the European Directive. The resulting EU homologations have strengthened the company’s market position and will drive even higher sales in Poland and abroad. “We are also finalising works on modernising our IT system by integrating ERP-class solutions,” adds the operations director. “It will take our management standards to a higher level.”

This modernisation is part of the ongoing investments at IGLOOCAR. These were particularly significant following the floods of 2010 which destroyed a lot of installations at the company and led to major renewal of equipment as well as production halls. Heating, lighting and ventilation systems were all

replaced and have led to IGLOOCAR having a highly modern, safe and staff-friendly working environment. The company’s website and intranet were revamped, while telephone systems were changed to a digital IP Internet integrated solution, including Web Access, which reduced costs and improved the quality of communication connections.

Maintaining a strong brand and market position The company has excellent direct relations with central offices and dealership networks of importers of service vehicles in Poland. It participates in the preparation of demonstration and testing vehicles, including with truck hire

Since 1988 market leader for truck’s bodies components HEWEA SP. Z O.O. Byków, ul. Przemysłowa 1 55-095 Mirków (k. Wrocławia) Tel: +48 (0)71 345 60 00 E-mail: info@hewea.com www.hewea.com

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companies. A key role in maintaning a strong brand is played by the company’s own trading and service offices located throughout Poland, with new ones being opened every year. “Our strong brand and well-earned reputation is crucial for our business,” says Ms Jaskowska.

“90 per cent of our production consists of insulated (isothermal and refrigerated) truck bodies, which means that our main customers are companies involved in the wide-ranging distribution of food items, as well as food producers themselves. Around 80 per cent

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of sales are generated in Poland, while the remaining 20 per cent is sold to Scandinavia, through a Danish partner, Ukraine and Latvia, with single product sales to Germany, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary.”

The excellent reputation that IGLOOCAR has amongst its customers also applies to the relationship with its key suppliers. These include well-known businesses such as: BASF Polyurethane Poland Ltd (PUR foam), Kęty Group (aluminium profiles), INTERCAR Ltd (Marocol glue, laminate), LOCK

SYSTEM (door and truck body accessories), PECOLIT Poland Ltd (laminate), POMMIER Poland Ltd (door and truck body accessories), RAMM Ltd (metal sheet with polyester coating), STOMIL SANOK (seals), ThyssenKrupp Energostal (steel and aluminium foundry products).

“Close and effective cooperation with clients and suppliers will continue to be a very important element of our ongoing organic growth, supported by the positive economic growth of the market,” concludes Ms Jaskowska. n

ADDING VALUE TO

INDUSTRIAL GASES

Messer Benelux is the service leader in the supply of industrial gases. Philip Yorke spoke to Frank Borgenon, the company’s commercial & technical director, about its innovative customer services.

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esser is the largest owner-managed industrial gas company in the world and has been associated with the industrial gas industry for more than 115 years. Its subsidiary for The Netherlands, Messer BV, celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. The Messer Group manufactures and supplies a wide range of gases including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and helium. In addition, the company produces inert welding gases and special gases for medical use and tailor-made gas mixtures for highly specialised applications. The variety of gases available from Messer is as broad as the type of industries that utilise them.

These include the steel and metal industries,

chemicals, food and pharmaceuticals, as well as the automotive, electronics and high-tech environmental industries.

Today industrial and medical gases are indispensable in a large number of sectors and Messer supplies them on a customised basis by developing innovative application technologies. In addition to its core business, Messer also provides components for producing, storing and using dry ice, as well as supply systems, cutting systems and oxyfuel technology. In 2013 the Messer Group employed more than 5400 people and recorded sales of over €1 billion, of which €200 million was invested in a new plant and new technology.

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Evolving products and services Messer Benelux is leading the field in the process of evolving from a traditional gas company to a full-service supplier in the gas market.

“We want to make the lives of our clients as easy and efficient as possible by decreasing their administrative costs and by providing key information for them where and when they need it. It’s an opportunity for us to help them to optimise their resources,” said Borgenon.

Messer Benelux has developed service packages for its food clients. The company ensures the extended shelf-life of its clients’ edible products by delivering food gas mixtures and an after-sales service package to follow it up.

Borgenon added, “We are able to make a difference by offering a complete service, 92 Industry Europe

including installation. Besides delivering gas into storage tanks, we also deliver gas in cylinders and have managed to ensure that each cylinder has a barcode. With our ‘cylinder tracking system’ our clients can follow the lifecycle of each individual cylinder.

“Today we have our Benelux headquarters in the Antwerp harbour area, which is a strategic location for the many chemical manufacturing companies. The gas market is a very mature one and as such it is also very competitive. Our aim is to achieve a 2 per cent growth rate on top of the market evolution. We can achieve this by being more efficient than our competitors, and by being closer to our clients.”

“As part of our growth strategy we have established a new ‘cylinder filling facility’ at Antwerp. At this plant we can fill up to

600,000 cylinders a year. We have also invested in a CO2 recovery facility. Our bECO2 plant is the largest CO2 recovery plant in Belgium. We are making high purity CO2 for a variety of applications: freezing edible goods, fertilisers in greenhouses, transport cooling, food gas mixtures and so on.

“We are also the market leaders in water treatment for the consumer market. We dissolve CO2 into drinking water to ensure optimal Ph levels. Furthermore, with our cryogenic gases (liquid nitrogen) we are able to freeze down to -191ºC. “Today we have more than 22,000 clients, ranging from consumers who need one cylinder a year to manufacturing companies to whom we deliver three times a day. This wide variety demands a client-specific approach.

On-going investments Like other subsidiaries in the Messer Group, Messer Benelux has an on-going programme of investment in new plants and technologies.

Recently the company invested over €7 million in a new cylinder filling plant in Antwerp, which followed a €17 million investment in a state-ofthe-art CO2 recovering installation situated at the same site. In Belgium, the company operates a modern filling station for all industrial and food gas mixtures and its bECO2 CO2 recovery plant recovers over 100,000 tonnes of liquid CO2 per year. In The Netherlands there is also an extensive cylinder filling station, n as well as a modern Acetylene plant.

For further details of Messer Benelux’s innovative products and services visit: www.messergroup.com Industry Europe 93

Photo: Piotr Wittman

OFFSHORE OPPORTUNITIES CRIST SA of Poland was established in 1990, initially with just two people, but since 2010 it has been a steadily growing joint stock business venture. Shipbuilding, offshore constructions, steel structures, marine and civil engineering – these are the fields of the company’s speciality. It is the only shipyard in Europe to have constructed already three units for the installation and servicing of off-shore wind farms.

Piotr Sadowski writes for Industry Europe.

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Photo: Piotr Wittman

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wenty years after it was founded, CRIST became a joint stock company, so 2010 was certainly a very important year for the business. Five years earlier, in 1995, it signed its first independent contract for six tugs for the Dutch company Damen; three years later, it built a fully-equipped trawler for an Icelandic client.

“A new chapter in the company’s history was the purchase of the yard of the former Gdynia Shipyard in 2009,” recalls Ewa Kruchelska, president of CRIST. “In 2009–2010 three new locks were added to the expanding Bremerhaven port, which marked the first successful entry of CRIST into the hydro-technical market.”

Initially the activities of CRIST Shipyard were focused on ship building and repairs, steel constructions, fishing vessels and ro-ro type

vessel hulls. The company then expanded into offshore constructions, specialist coastal constructions and vessels for the extraction of marine resources. The first contract for a ship used for installing wind farms (THOR jack-up type platform) was signed in 2009. “In 2009 we bought the first plot of the former Gdynia Shipyard, followed by the second one in 2010, including a dry dock, which significantly increased our output capabilities,” says Ms Kruchelska. “In 2013 we moved our headquarters from Gdańsk to Gdynia.”

Robust market position The company enjoys a very stable situation with an impressive portfolio of orders, which are always completed on time thanks to massive production resources. These include a dry dock (379 metres long, 70 metres wide

and 8 metres deep), designed for the final assembly of vessels, as well as a gantry crane – one of the largest on the coast of the Baltic Sea (1000 tonnes lift and 153 metres span).

CRIST’s strength also lies in its approach to customers. “We work not only to meet their expectations, but go beyond them, always offering the most advanced technologies and tailored solutions,” explains Ms Kruchelska.

“As a result, CRIST Shipyard has become a European leader, with over 300 completed projects, 1500 staff and engineers, specialist production lines, the latest technologies, as well as a capacity for processing up to 50,000 tonnes of steel every year.”

All of the vessels produced by CRIST are completed on a turn-key basis and this is what differentiates the shipyard from its competitors. Most recently, it has built many

Photo: Kacper Kowalski, aeromedia.pl Industry Europe 95

HYDROMEGA HYDROMEGA is a company, which since 1988 has been designing and manufacturing the advanced solutions in the field of power hydraulics and drives. From the very beginning, it is bound up with the maritime and off-shore industries through cooperation with a number of shipyards in Poland and abroad.

The Hydromega’s strength is its innovative approach expressed in dozens of prototype devices produced each year.

The company has also strong HPUs production department and service division.

Based on its experience in the construction of hydraulic power packs Hydromega systematically implements new features of hydraulic power packs for the production.

Currently, the company’s offer includes a wide range of

oil tanks, oil level indicators, return and breathing filters, inspection covers and other items. An interesting novelty are marine oil level indicators with type approval for use on ships.

Hydromega also has the extensive experience in servicing of hydraulic power systems and construction of new systems/ pipelines. Thanks to this experience Hydromega has developed technology of high-efficient hydraulic pipelines flushing, which significantly reduces the flushing time while increasing the purity parameters. The HAMER technology has been used for more than 10 years in the majority of Polish shipyards and shows very good results. The company’s experience in the field of clean hydraulic systems also led to the creation of oil filtration equipment, such as, for example, handy oil transportation pumps with high efficiency, which are basic equipment of maintenance services and manufacturers of hydraulic power systems.

Photo: Piotr Wittman

jack-up type vessels as well as vessels for transporting feed stuffs. An interesting recent construction has been a Multi-Lay Vessel type ship, a multi-task ship used for installing pipelines on the bottom of seas and oceans, called Ceona Amazon. “In order to be able to meet new challenges and offer services at the highest possible level, we invest significantly in our equipment,” says CRIST’s president.

“For example, we are building a technological line for the production of thick-walled pipes, with an outside diameter up to 7 metres and maximum wall thickness of 120–150 millimetres, depending on the type of steel.

These are used for the production of wind towers or ‘legs’ for jack-ups, as well as other offshore subsea type constructions. We are also in the process of building a warehouse for equipment devices used in vessels built by the company. In 2014 we have prepared a specialist embankment for building modules for oil rigs weighing up to 10,000 tonnes.”

Strong export activities As Ms Kruchelska points out, what promotes CRIST best are its products. The company constantly ensures the highest quality and introduces ISO procedures. In 2014 it has secured the ISO 9001:2008 certificate, the quality management system for designing, building and equipping ships. CRIST operates in a very specialist industry, where standard forms of promotion are not applicable.

Instead, the company regularly takes part in international trade conventions, in Hamburg, Rotterdam, Baltexpo in Gdańsk and in Oslo. As a result, almost all of the company’s production reaches customers abroad, in the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Iceland.

Polish clients generate around 2–3 per cent of the overall income.

“We deliver the best solutions using the best construction materials,” says Ms Kruchelska.

“Over the years we have established the best possible contacts and cooperate with reliable

suppliers. It is difficult to mention all of them, but certainly I would like to note the excellent cooperation with the Gdańsk-based design studio StoGda, as well as the company FAST SA. Together with these suppliers we have completed numerous projects and our cooperation has always been very successful.”

Outlook for the future The key goal for CRIST is to become a stock market listed company, which is expected to happen in the next five years. The ongoing development of the business is based on organic growth, on securing new orders resulting from successfully completed projects.

“We are an increasingly recognisable brand in the market,” concludes Ms Kruchelska.

“We would like to strengthen our business in the offshore market. We will continue to be visible through international trade fairs and are currently considering taking part in a trade convention in Aberdeen in Scotland.” n

Photo: Kacper Kowalski, aeromedia.pl

Photo: Piotr Wittman

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STILL IN FRONT Golar LNG is one of the world’s largest independent owners and operators of LNG carriers with over 30 years of experience in the business. Industry Europe looks at the story of its development and highlights some of its biggest recent contracts.

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ith decades of experience, Golar LNG is in a strong position at the forefront of the LNG shipping industry. The company developed the world’s first floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) projects, based on the conversion of existing LNG carriers, and today has four FSRU projects “Our strategy is to grow our fleet on a profitable basis and build upon our industry leading position as a ‘midstream’ solutions provider,” explains Oistein Dahl, managing director of Golar Wilhelmsen Management and COO of Golar LNG. “We will do this via operational excellence, customer relationships and our experience.

“We are an experienced and professional provider of LNG shipping that places value on operating to the highest industry stand-

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ards of safety, reliability and environmental performance and our success is directly linked to the service and value we deliver to our customers. Our customers and partners include some of the biggest participants in the LNG industry.”

He adds: “We are now progressing plans to grow our business further upstream via floating liquefaction (FLNG). Our strategic objective is to become an integrated midstream player in the LNG industry.”

Company background Golar LNG was formed on May 10, 2001 from its predecessor, Osprey Maritime.

Today it focuses on the acquisition, ownership, operation and chartering of LNG carriers and FSRUs through its subsidiaries.

The business was originally founded in 1946 as Gotaas-Larsen Shipping Corporation. Gotaas-Larsen entered the LNG shipping business in 1970, when it ordered the LNG Carrier Hilli, which is still part of the fleet today.

“Gotaas-Larsen was acquired by Osprey Maritime Limited in 1997 and then in May 2001, World Shipholding Ltd, a company indirectly controlled by trusts established

by John Fredriksen for the benefit of his immediate family, our chairman and president, completed an acquisition of Osprey – acquiring the LNG shipping interest of Osprey,” says Mr Dahl. “World Shipholding remains our largest shareholder.”

Making the most of opportunities Golar’s FLNG strategy focuses on the development of low capital cost, rapid deployment floating facilities, utilising the conversion of high quality existing LNG carriers, floating technologies for the liquefaction of pipeline quality gas or associated gas (requiring minimal processing) and other innovative LNG solutions.

“This strategy complements our industry leadership position in floating LNG regasification facilities development,” he says. “In an era of intense competition in the LNG industry and the high cost and long lead time of land based LNG facilities, we believe our highly cost efficient approaches, based on floating LNG liquefaction, storage and off-take, shipping and regasification facilities of the types now being developed by the company, will be key to substantial additional growth opportunities.”

Midstream floating solutions Since 2001, Golar has grown from a fleet of six LNG Carriers purely focused on LNG transportation, to a fleet dedicated to both LNG transportation and midstream floating solutions.

Its strategy to become a midstream floating solution provider began in 2002 when it undertook a study with Saipem/Moss Maritime to consider the conversion of an existing LNG Carrier into a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) and in 2004 a similar study for the conversion into a Floating Power Generation Plant (FPGP).

“In April, 2007, Golar was awarded its first firm FSRU commitments via the award of two long term leases by Petrobras to employ Golar Winter and Golar Spirit as FSRUs.”

New-builds In 2013 Golar was awarded two new FSRU contracts in Kuwait and Jordan. A shipbuilding project to add new vessels to the fleet is currently underway.

“We have now received the first LNG Carrier. The new-building program consists of totally 13 vessels of which 10 are carriers and 3 are FSRUs. Scheduled for delivery by

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Diesel, In-Situ, and Green Technology Specialist

Goltens Co. Ltd. Dubai Branch Dubai Maritime City, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 4376555 Fax: +971 4 4376556 E-mail: dubai@goltens.com

www.goltens.com

January 2015, all 13 160,000 to 170,000 cbm membrane type new-builds will feature the latest energy efficient tri-fuel (gas/diesel/ fuel oil) engines, a 0.1 per cent boil off rate and 19.5 knot design speed,” says Mr Dahl.

In July 2014 Golar announced that it had entered into key agreements for conversion of the 125,000m3 LNG carrier Hilli to a floating liquefaction vessel (FLNGV). The primary contract for the vessel was entered into with Singapore’s Keppel Shipyard Limited.

This contract represents a key step towards the full implementation of Golar’s floating LNG production strategy. It is scheduled to be completed in February 2017. In addition, the company has also secured two firm options for the conversion of two additional vessels which can be delivered from the yard in the third quarter of 2017 and the n first quarter of 2018.

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STRONG PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE With more than a century of experience in the shipping industry and a stable Mediterranean market position, Viktor Lenac is a reputable and modern Croatian shipyard that is able to take on the most demanding tasks within its domain. Vanja Švačko talks to company president Robert Škifić to find out more.

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a difficult economic situation that has seriously shaken the Balkan region in the past two decades, Viktor Lenac has emerged in 2008 from bankruptcy and started with a new ownership structure. Within this new structure, the Croatian company Tankerska plovidba from Zadar has become a 37 per cent shareholder whilst the Uljanik shipyard holds 35 per cent of the shares. The rest of the shares belong to HBOR, the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a few other small shareholders.

Viktor Lenac operates three floating drydocks at Martinšćica Bay near Rijeka, the largest port on the Adriatic Sea. The company is known as a pioneer in ship lengthening and is currently offering ship repair, conversions and offshore services. All three businesses contribute equally towards the company’s annual revenue.

Lucrative investment scheme The company’s current stable position is the result of a series of investments. Mr Škifić explains, “At the time of the bankruptcy the new owners had a lot of work to do in order to restore the shipyard. Launching Dock No. 11 in 2009 (with 261m of overall length and 53m of beam) for accommodating large ships of the Suezmax size enabled us to attract new clients. We purchased dock cranes with a maximum lifting capacity of 25T. In the past seven years we have invested more than €30 million in facilities and equipment. We are introducing advanced, healthy, environmentally friendly technologies such as ultra high pressure waterblasting as an alternative to grit blasting.”

Another important investment was the new Dock RI-38 purchased from Ukraine in 2012 (with a length of 155m, beam of 24m and lift-

ing capacity of 8500T), which finally widened the range of vessels and type of services that Viktor Lenac could offer to its clients.

The company has worked on large-scale projects with some of the best-known companies in the marine industry, including Prysmian, Zafiro Marine/Carval, Micoperi, Saipem, Helix Energy Solutions, MSC, Rosetti Marino, Ilva Servizi Marittimi, Minerva Marine, and so on.

Full order book Although repairs have always been the mainstay of Viktor Lenac’s business, in the past decade the company has been carrying out an increasing amount of offshore and conversion work. Mr Škifić says, “Our newest gas production platform, intended for gas field exploitation in the North Adriatic, has just been delivered to the joint Croatian-Italian

company INAgip. This year our company won a contract for the conversion of the Cable Enterprise barge for Prysmian Powerlink Services Ltd, UK. The conversion will be completed in February 2015. As for other activities, we currently have the maximum number of ships under repair (about 80), which means that our facilities are fully utilised.”

Next year (2015) will see an even large number of repair projects. In January, for example, the company is expecting the arrival of the 6th fleet flagship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) for extensive ship repair, modernisation and dry-docking. This highly complex and demanding project will take at least six months to complete.

Looking to the future, the company is also preparing for the newly-amended BWT (ballast water management) regulations, which are intended to gradually increase the global market for BWT systems, as well as exhaust gas cleaning systems or scrubbers according to new IMO regulations. Something Viktor Lenac is hoping will work to its advantage.

Identifying market opportunities When asked about the company’s strategy for building its client base, Mr Škifić said: “Our clients are mostly sailing the Mediterranean and if they happen to be in the Adriatic our chances of being chosen by them are very high. We are happy to see more Greek ship owners amongst our client base. Our long-term customers tend to be German shipping companies who believe in the quality of our services and strict deadlines, as well as Italians who find the Lenac yard to be a convenient choice owing to its promixity to Italian coastal waters.”

As it is primarily a repair company, Viktor Lenac does not have a great deal of competition when it comes to commercial ships in the Adriatic. As far as the

Mediterranean is concerned, the company is in competition with western European shipyards. “What we offer in the repair domain is very attractive for the shippers who are trying to make the most of every penny when investing in overhauls,” says Mr Škifić.

When it comes to conversion projects, the company has little competition. Indeed, the crisis in the Mediterranean offshore platform construction market has served to improve its business prospects further. “We have an adequate offshore area for that kind of production,” continues Mr Škifić, “and our proximity definitely plays an important role. At the moment we are relying on the positive implications of a strengthening US dollar, which puts Viktor Lenac in a favourable position amongst its competitors – especially when it comes to the dominant Turkish shipyards that are keeping their prices in dollars.”

With 95 per cent of its annual income coming from serving foreign clients and facilitating customs regulations within the EU, Viktor Lenac is fast becoming one of the strongest shipyards in the Mediterranean region. n Visit: lenac.hr

TE-MARINE d.o.o.

Sostariceva 4, 10000 Zagreb Croatia info@temarin.hr www.temarin.hr

Engineering Turnkey delivery – interiors and deck access

MOVING SOLUTIONS Whether it’s handling baggage at airports or automating warehouses and postal sorting facilities, Vanderlande Industries has the solution. Industry Europe looks at the activities of a Dutch company that is helping to speed things up all over the world.

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anderlande Industries is a worldleading specialist in material handling systems for airports, warehouses, postal and postal sorting facilities.

Founded in 1949 in Veghel, the Netherlands, mainly to supply conveyor systems to load agricultural produce on to ships in the nearby canal, Vanderlande is now a global operator and one of the largest and most advanced in the market. Its core businesses provide automated material handling systems for baggage handling at airports, automation systems in warehouses and distribution centres and sorting solutions for parcel and postal facilities.

Vanderlande implements material handling systems of all sizes, from local sorting depots up to the world’s largest facilities.

All its systems and services focus on improving customers’ logistics processes; Vanderlande works closely with all its customers, from the initial analysis of the underlying business processes through to total life-cycle support. Its services range from logistics concept and system design, through engineering, software development, supply chain management and manufacturing, to project management, system integration and customer services.

“Over the years we have moved from being essentially a manufacturer of machines for material handling into a high tech systems integrator that develops a wide range of products, technologies and concepts through our own Research & Development and Systems Group,” explained a spokesperson for the company.

“We still have our metal manufacturing plant in Veghel, where we make conveyors, sorters, shuttles and work-stations, but these days we produce much of our equipment at suppliers with whom we have very close and long-standing relationships. We have a global supply network, covering Europe, the USA and Asia.”

Vanderlande’s expansion is set to continue following its acquisition in October 2014 of Smatec GmbH with immediate effect. The takeover of the German company will extend its product portfolio and

create a knowledge centre for new product development in its key markets. Smatec has over 25 years of experience in the development of warehouse automation technology and concepts. The Bielefeld-based company’s primary focus is to develop innovative warehouse automation systems in many variants, such as the pocket sorter.

Vanderlande CEO Govert Hamers said at the time: “The acquisition of Smatec fits perfectly within Vanderlande’s business development strategy and supports the ambitious plan to increase our presence in key warehouse automation market segments. The Bombay sorter is a good example of the new opportunities that this takeover brings to our impressive and expanding portfolio of integrated systems.”

A focus on services Over the past few years, Vanderlande has also enhanced its reputation by developing its service concepts to customers. This business area is growing, both in impact as well as in activities. Traditionally, the focus was on mechanical maintenance and spare parts. It has developed towards an approach in which continuously improving business performance is the main driver.

Topics like pro-active maintentance, remote monitoring and diagnostics and focus on the end-to-end process performance have become paramount. At this moment, Vanderlande worldwide operates 800 service contracts simultaneously across all their business areas, adding value to their customers’ logistics performance.

Indeed, Vanderlande is an award-winner when it comes to its service concepts. In April this it received the Innovation Award 2014 at the congress of NVSM, the Dutch Association for Service Management, in Eindhoven. This award is granted to a company that has achieved a remarkable improvement or innovation in the services business. Vanderlande was nominated because of the proactive research in the field of virtual reality with regard to service and product development. In close cooperation with Fontys University of Applied

Sciences Eindhoven, it has developed a virtual version of the ergonomic order picking workstation PICK@EASE in the 3D cave at Fontys. The complete product is virtual – buttons, displays and arriving and departing of product totes – all is shown in virtual reality.

Baggage handling Vanderlande’s airport baggage handling systems take care of all stages of baggage transit, from check-in to the aircraft hold and from arriving flights to the reclaim carousel.

Its baggage handling systems are designed, built and serviced for airports of all sizes.

Belt, tub and/or track solutions combine operational effectiveness, short connection times and high conveyability together with effective integral control of the whole baggage operation. The company claims that its proven technology, in-depth business knowledge and industry best-practises enable it to deliver the highest availability and capacity, transportation speed, reliability and the lowest costs per bag. Systems design includes redundancy, guaranteeing uptime.

To give an example of some of Vanderlande’s recent work in this area: in July last year it entered into a long-term agreement with Cardiff Airport to update its baggage handling system over a period of five years.

The plan comprises eight projects, including a renewal of the system’s parts that require replacement. Along with a belt replacement programme and a five-year maintenance contract that includes a spare consignment arrangement, the work will improve the reliability of Cardiff Airport’s baggage handling system and utilise its existing capabilities and capacities. The work will be carried out in a live environment and will be carried out in such as way as to minimise disruption to the airport operations and passenger experience.

Warehouse automation Vanderlande is also one of the world’s top suppliers of automated logistics systems for warehouses and distribution centres, with a track record of automation of more than 1000 such facilities in recent years.

It provides solutions for a wide range of industries, including food, fashion, parts, automotive, 3PL and e-commerce as well as for all kinds of parts and components.

The company’s projects focus on the entire flow, from goods receiving, storage, order picking, shipping and all related information flow. Its automated systems include warehouse management systems, warehouse control systems, order picking and fulfilment systems, automated storage and retrieval systems, sortation systems and conveyor and internal transport systems.

Vanderlande regularly wins high-profile contracts for this particular aspect of its business.

In May 2014, for example, the Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn chose Vanderlande to install an automated distribution centre for non-perishables. By creating more capacity in the same space, Albert Heijn hopes to better accommodate the future demands of its customers and supply its stores more efficiently.

The fully automated distribution centre will be

located on the site of its regional distribution centre in Zaandam and is expected to be completed by the end of 2017. The contract will initially be for one mechanised distribution centre to supply around 300 stores.

Parcel and Postal systems Vanderlande’s automated parcel and postal sorting systems provide solutions for hubs and depots of all sizes. With over 500 systems installed, the company focuses on providing real-time process and systems intelligence using IT solutions that enable customers to maximise the efficiency of their sorting processes and continuously improve their operations. Its systems cover the entire door-to-door process from arrival and unloading, through sortation up to loading and departure.

As with its baggage handling and warehousing solutions, Vanderlande’s parcel and postal sorting systems are supplied to customers all

over the world. It recently supplied two fully automated sorting solutions to Australia Post for installation at its Melbourne and Sydney parcel facilities.

The largest systems currently up and running in the western hemisphere, at their heart is Vanderlande’s CROSSBELT sorter.

The CROSSORTER provides a highly flexible solution to handle a wide range of products: from very small packages, such as 2mm-thick mailers and shrink-wrapped products, through to bulky items including odd-shaped packages and totes. Its sophisticated control mechanism balances the flows over the different inducts and outputs, minimising recirculation and further increasing the operational capacity.

Up to the challenge Vanderlande’s confidence in maintaining its growth performance rests upon the simple facts of consumer choice across the

global economy. “As the average wealth of people around the world increases they want to travel so air traffic will continue to grow strongly, airports will have to expand to accommodate more flights and all that baggage will have to be handled,” said the company spokesperson.

“At the same time people across the world want to buy more and more products on-line and all those goods need to be stored and distributed from automated warehouses. Then they all have to be delivered through parcel sorting facilities.

Vanderlande will continue to supply ever more intelligent logistics systems for all three of these functions. The trends are our friends. People want to fly more, they want to buy more on-line and they need their goods delivering; we are the people who can supply the systems to make sure n it all works smoothly.”

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LEADER IN WELDING AND CUTTING The US-based Lincoln Electric group is a globally-renowned company with 116 years of experience of market operations and subsidiaries all over the world, including 10 scattered throughout Europe. Its Polish subsidiary Lincoln Electric Bester has been operating as a part of the group since 2002.

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F

or over 119 years, Lincoln Electric has been a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment. It also has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market. Today it serves customers across a vast range of industry sectors, including automotive, offshore, pipelines, power generation, LNG, nuclear energy, pressure vessels, thermal energy and shipbuilding.

Lincoln Electric Bester Sp. z.o.o. is based in Bielawa, 60km south of Wroclaw. The original welding equipment company was established in 1946 on the premises of the former Krupp factory. In January 2002 it was taken over by Lincoln Electric and became part of the group.

This also represented Lincoln Electric’s first investment in the Polish market. Since then the company has been able to substantially increase its sales. Today the majority of its sales are to the US and the Middle and Far East, although its products are also sold in

Germany, the UK, France, Sweden, Spain, Greece, Egypt and Australia.

Lincoln Electric Bester offers a wide range of welding products for professionals and hobbyists, as well as the accompanying chargers. It is part of Lincoln Electric Europe,

which comprises four different brands: Bester, Spawmet, Lincoln Electric and Harris. This is in line with the group’s drive to increase its retail channel throughout Europe, forming part of its Welding, Cutting, Tools and Accessories business division.

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Ewmar-Ness is a company that has been operating on the market since 1991. – It is focused on the distribution of winding wires, bearings, bearing accessories and steel products.

In terms of winding wires we have cooperated with the world’s largest producers such as: ESSEX, DAHRENTRAD, LWW ŚLĄSKA. We have more than 1000 items, within the scope of copper and aluminum winding wires, round and profiled. We supply wires to the biggest producers of electric motors and transformers. We also offer glass insulated wires, Nomex, Kapton, etc.

P.H. EWMAR-NESS Sp. z o.o.

Ul. Zaruskiego 3, 41-219 Sosnowiec, Poland Phone: +48 32 296 11 11 Fax: +48 32 296 11 41 E-mail: wyrobyelektrotechniczne@ewmar.com.pl Web: www.ewmar.com.pl

Impeccable service “Our company employs only the leading experts in welding activities – they are specialised professionals fully engaged in solving problems and tackling challenges in individual area of the welding industry,” explained a company spokesperson. “Lincoln Electric possesses exhaustive knowledge about the market and its mechanisms, which enables it to rapidly and effectively react to all changes taking place.”

Every client that approaches the company is offered a wide choice of solutions. It is also

important to note that the enterprise does not only deliver products, but also technologies.

Furthermore, the reliability of solutions provided by the company is also confirmed by the fact that 70 per cent of appliances come with a three-year guarantee.

Lincoln Electric has a very clear sales strategy and is also a very responsible supplier, with absolute loyalty assured to its customers.

To further support them, Lincoln Electric has created a specialist training and technological centre, called Weldtech. The company also delivers cost-reduction programmes

in order to help its customers to save their costs. “Customer service for us does not just stop with the purchase of a product. In fact, it is just the beginning of a common journey.

We operate with passion and always strive to keep our promises.

“Through our Weldtech technological centre we offer a modern training facility where we equip clients from across Europe with new skills and knowledge. Our R&D Department offers access to the most modern welding technologies in the world. We also have a well-established sales team which has access

THE AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTOR OF THE ZAE ERGOM Ltd PRODUCTS. www.ergom.com The profile of activity: • electrotechnics • technical gases • welding • metal machining (CNC turning milling) For more information, visit our website www.elhurt.opole.pl or send us an email info@elhurt.opole.pl

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to the entire portfolio of products, ranging from the simplest electrode to the most advanced robotic and mechanised welding stations.

Our aim is to be a company which delivers complete solutions and not just individual appliances and materials. All in all, what differentiates us from our competitors is technology, advanced engineering and solutions, knowledge and skills in sales and marketing.”

further robust growth. We are carrying out significant investments in the energy sector, further develop networks for sending LNG gas, expanding in steel constructions and infrastructure and last but certainly not least, we are focusing on developing renewable n sources of energy.”

Market leader The robust scale of operations of Lincoln Electric Bester is also reflected in the fact that the company delivers its products to every single market across the continent.

Solutions are targeted at four key industrial sectors: energy, automotive, steel constructions and the building industry.

Poland is of course one of the most important markets for the company, but at the same time Lincoln Electric continues to ensure that its products reach customers across the width of Europe. “We are currently focusing on a number of areas to guarantee Industry Europe 115

MOVING FAST As part of the world’s only manufacturer of both planes and trains, Bombardier Transportation Italy SpA has a strong position on the domestic market, where it is currently the leading producer of electric locomotives. Barbara Rossi reports.

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ombardier Transportation Italy is part of the Montreal-headquartered Bombardier Group, which is active in both aerospace and transportation. In fact, the group can offer the world’s most comprehensive aircraft portfolio, as well as being a global leader in the rail industry. In aerospace it ranks at number one with regard to business and regional aircrafts, while in transportation it has 63 production and engineering sites in 26 116 Industry Europe

countries, plus 19 service centres across the world. Its extensive portfolio of mobility solutions benefits from the crossover between the two sectors in which it operates.

As the name suggests, Bombardier Transportation Italy is part of the transportation division of the group, which offers a full spectrum of rail solutions, including complete trains, sub-systems, maintenance services, system integration and signalling.

The Italian company has an outstanding level of know-how in the high- and very high-speed sectors and operates from two engineering and manufacturing sites in Italy (alongside its offices in Rome and Palermo). These two operational sites are based in Vado Ligure, near Savona, in the Liguria region of north-west Italy and Rome. The Rome site is an engineering centre, in which a wide range of control

systems are developed. Vado Ligure, on the other hand, contains both engineering and manufacturing facilities. With a total area of 60,900m2, this plant has a history dating back more than 100 years. It is where the first Italian electric locomotive was built in 1905.

Today, continuing with this pioneering tradition, the Vado Ligure site is at the centre of the production of locomotives for passengers and freight transport, in addition to being the base for the company’s Services division. The latter takes care of total after sales activities, including fleet maintenance, technical support, materials management, vehicle refurbishment and modernisation and overhaul of systems.

Its scope of activity is not limited to Italy, as it also covers many other Mediterranean countries. The Mainline and Metro division leads the production, development and promotion of passenger vehicles (regional trains, highspeed trains and trams).

Recently, Bombardier Transportation Italy SpA saw a very important change at the highest managerial level when Mr

Luigi Corradi was appointed its new MD. Mr Corradi, who succeeded Mr Roberto Tazzioli, was previously the general director of the Vado Ligure plant.

Recent and ongoing projects Bombardier is working on several interesting and innovative rail projects. First of all, it is involved in the supply of electric locomotives and high-speed solutions to various Italian rail operators. Examples of high-speed solutions are the Frecciarossa 1000, which has been developed in partnership with Ansaldo Breda, and the Etr500, to which Bombardier contributes as a member of the Consorzio Trevi (Trevi Consortium).

Speed is very important to the company: thanks to its know-how in high- and very high-speed trains, it has developed trains that can travel at up to 360km/h, such as the ZEFIRO380, which in 2009 was supplied to the Chinese Ministry of Railways through an order worth over one billion euros. All the ZEFIRO models offer speeds between 250 and 380km/h and the highest levels of

comfort and capacity, alongside low operating costs and diverse application options for different countries and railway networks.

Other projects in which Bombardier is involved are the Innovia People Mover for Rome Fiumicino airport and the Flexity trams for Milan (Lombardy) and Palermo (Sicily).

Working together In addition to the above, Bombardier is the leader of a consortium (which also comprises Finmeccanica-owned Ansaldo Breda) which has recently won a ten-year fleet maintenance contract from Trenitalia, the leading Italian rail operator. Bombardier has a €154 million share of the contract and its aim is to optimise the availability and reliability of the new vehicles thanks to a maintenance programme (including preventive maintenance) which will start as soon as these vehicles become operational in mid-2015.

The new Bombardier double-decker longdistance trains for FSS should also become operational in 2017. Overall Bombardier will supply 65 new trains.

Furthermore, through a consortium with Thales, Bombardier has been awarded a contract for the modernisation of the Mediterranean Corridor by the Spanish company Adif (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias), which manages the Spanish rail infrastructure network. The overall value of the contract is about €44 million, Bombardier’s share of which is worth about €27 million.

Another interesting development for Bombardier was the recent drafting of a €33 million contract with Akiem, a French leasing company, for the supply of 10 Bombardier TRAXX locomotives. The contract also contains an option for the supply of an extra 10 locomotives. Taking this option into account, the potential value of the contract would rise to about €65 million. The delivery of these vehicles, which would be employed for freight transport in Italy and Poland, is expected to take place between the third trimester of 2015 and the first trimester of 2016. Thanks to this, Akiem will be able to expand its TRAXX fleet, which is currently made up of n 15 locomotives purchased in 2013.

FUTURE MOBILITY SOLUTIONS Bombardier Transportation is the No. 1 solution provider in the railway industry. The company has won a large percentage of the biggest orders in the world in the past few years and is the leading provider of innovative products and solutions for the mobility challenges of today and tomorrow. Edina Beale reports.

B

ombardier has an optimistic outlook for the future. Over the next few years the company expects to see continued growth in the rail market as the fundamental drivers for the rail industry, such as the global trend towards urbanisation and a rising need for mobility, remain positive. Numerous turnkey projects in emerging markets, in addition to large fleet replacement projects in mature markets – such as eastern Europe – are encouraging indicators for the future development of the industry.

With its double deck TWINDEXX Vario and the double deck wide-body OMNEO trains, both of which are suitable for urban and regional traffic, Bombardier has the right products to meet the increasing challenges of urban congestion.

One solution to meet these challenges is the BOMBARDIER INNOVIA Monorail 300.

It bridges the gap between low capacity light rail systems and high capacity heavy metro systems. The INNOVIA Metro 300 system has been optimised to reduce costs, infrastructure requirements and environmental impact. With its compact vehicles, it uses dedicated, slender guideways that integrate seamlessly into cities and urban areas.

At this year´s InnoTrans, Bombardier yet again set new efficiency standards for products and services. On display at the event was the energy efficient TRAXX F140 AC locomotive with the Last Mile feature, the innovative FLEXX Eco bogie and the ground-breaking FLEXX Tronic WAKO system.

New structure Bombardier Transportation is part of the Canadian multinational Bombardier and currently employs about 38,000 people worldwide. The group’s revenues totalled $8.8 billion for the year ending 31 December 2013, compared to $7.8 billion for the previous fiscal year. Mátranovák in Hungary is a vital site for Bombardier’s European operations. Bombardier Transportation Hungary Kft manufactures bogie frames and primary parts that are then delivered to Bombardier’s bogie final assembly sites in Crespin, France and Siegen, Germany. The Mátranovák factory is the largest bogie making plant within the Bombardier Group, in which more than 560 staff are employed to manufacture 1200 bogie frames every year.

In 2013, Dr Lutz Bertling was appointed the new president and COO of Bombardier Transportation. This appointment was followed by the launch of a new organisational set-up, OneBT, to further empower project management, reduce organisational layers and overhead costs, speed up decision making, implement leaner processes and foster upfront product development and standardisation. “Bombardier’s new organisational structure is an initiative aimed at securing our long-term competitiveness and improving our cost structure.

Commitment to customer support and flawless execution remains Bombardier’s focus,” confirms Mr Kurt Lievens, managing director of Bombardier Transportation Hungary Kft.

Major contracts In 2013 Bombardier Transportation signed significant contracts across all its product segments and geographic regions and the company is well positioned for future growth.

The group recently concluded agreements to deliver 130 BOMBARDIER TRAXX electric locomotives and 18 electric double-deck multiple units (EMUs) to Deutsche Bahn, for a total value of $1 billion. The Stockholm Public Transport Authority of Sweden granted a contract for 384 BOMBARDIER MOVIA metro cars valued at $771 million, while S-Bahn Hamburg GMbH signed an agreement for 60 single and dual-voltage commuter trains valued at $427 million. Bombardier Transportation has also entered the growing tram market in China through its technology-licensing

agreement with CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Co. Ltd. (CSR Puzhen). So far, CSR Puzhen has won orders for 18 low-floor trams and 15 catenary-free low-floor trams using BOMBARDIER FLEXITY 2 technology.

Furthermore, as part of a consortium Bombardier Transportation recently entered into a

contract valued at approximately $4.1 billion with the State of Queensland, Australia, for a New Generation Rolling stock Project. The group’s share of the contract, involving the supply of 75 EMUs, the construction of a purpose-built maintenance centre and 30 years of maintenance services, is valued at $2.7 billion.

Bombardier Transportation has been recommended as the winning bidder for the Crossrail rolling stock and depot contract in the United Kingdom.

New Bogie Technical Centre Bombardier continuously invests in new technologies. One of the biggest invest-

ments in 2014 was in its new Bogie Technical Centre (BTC). “This Bogie Technology Centre confirms the leading position of Bombardier in terms of bogie technology and will ensure that we continue to pave the way in terms of new developments and technology. The BTC also gives us the possibility to do much more upfront testing,” adds Mr Lievens.

The Bogie Technical Centre is a long-term project. The first step will combine a Test and Validation Centre with a Business Unit hub welcoming international engineering and associated functions to come together and work on the innovations and products of the future in a modern, innovative and

open landscape office. It will invite people from different sites and functions, customers and suppliers to cooperate and communicate. The Bogie Technical Centre will also be the link to the outside world, a place known by customers, suppliers, certification bodies and the academic world. It should attract new employees and new ideas. “Bombardier is No.1 in bogies and aims to remain in this position. The BTC will create a substantial competitive advantage and bring the necessary tools to the engineering experts to develop even more reliable and safer FLEXX bogies meeting the requirements of n the future.”

AKG Alföldi Kohászati és Gépipari Zrt Manufacturing of steel castings in various material composition, carbon steel, low-alloyed, alloyed, heat resistant and stainless steel, in the weight range between 15-2500kg.

Machining shop with NC and CNC machining centers and audited welding shop with welding subassembly.

As the supplier of the leading railway manufacturers in Europe we have all the necessary certifications.

Certificates: ISO9001, IRIS Rev2, 15085-2 CL1, 3834-2, AD2000 Merktblatt W0.

Customer Audits: DB HPQ, SNCF, MÁF Gépészet, PED 9723/EC 0525 Modul H Po. Box.: 5901, Orosháza, PF85, Hungary Tel.: +36-68-510-420 Fax: +36-68-510-450 Email: akg@akgrt.hu Web: www.akgrt.hu

126 Industry Europe

VALIDATED SUCCESS CMC Biologics is a global technology leader in the development and manufacture of biopharmaceutical products. Philip Yorke talked to Patricio Massera, the company’s site head and general manager in Copenhagen, and Stacie Byars, director of global marketing, about the company’s recent business development successes and move towards more commercial manufacturing.

C

MC Biologics AS was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2001 in order to provide faster and more effective solutions to the biopharmaceutical industry and to satisfy the need for outsourced development and manufacturing resources. In order to meet these growing global requirements, CMC Biologics expanded into the US market in 2008 through the acquisition of the ICOS Corporation in Seattle, and in 2012 with the acquisition of the Xoma facility in Berkeley, US. Today CMC Biologics employs more than 400 people with experience in 115 molecules to provide solutions to 85 customers on five continents.

CMC Biologics offers its clients a full suite of specialised contract services from DNA to API, and leverages its technical acumen to transform these services into solutions that perfectly meet its customers’ near- and longterm bio-manufacturing objectives. With its cGMP compliant facilities in Europe and the US, every project is performed to meet

precisely its customers’ contracted requirements. As the largest dedicated, independent biologics contract manufacturer in the world, CMC Biologics has an enviable track record for validated clinical success.

Diverse production capabilities CMC Biologics operates cell culture production in Seattle, and both cell culture and microbial facilities on a broad scale in Copenhagen. Furthermore, its diversity of production methods provides its clients with the capacity and flexibility they need to achieve their manufacturing goals throughout a product’s life cycle. At its global manufacturing facilities, CMC Biologics operates multiple cGMP manufacturing lines as well as a variety of scales. The company’s uniflow design allows for technological flexibility and the adoption of single-use systems, whilst ensuring full compliance with current ICH guidelines. Whatever the challenge, the

diverse facilities available at CMC Biologics’ state-of-the-art global facilities ensure that the optimal clinical and commercial solutions are achieved.

Massera said, “We have upgraded and expanded our facilities both in Denmark and the US with a vision of becoming a major player as a commercial manufacturer. We are well known for our expertise in providing material for development in clinical trials and are now authorised by regulatory authorities for commercial manufacture. Our first commercial manufacturing project in Copenhagen is scheduled for filing early 2015. Today we manage projects from DNA to API, including cell-line development, upstream and downstream process development, analytical and formulation development, and clinical and commercial manufacturing services.

“In 2013, CMC Biologics made an important capital investment in the Copenhagen biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility

which optimises segregation of unit operations and improves flow of materials and personnel. The enhanced layout now maintains a fully unidirectional return corridor and exit airlocks to achieve exceptional manufacturing quality standards. As part of the upgrade we also improved our HVAC units and implemented new disposable transference lines. A similar investment was carried out in 2011 in our Seattle facility to increase capacity and support commercial manufacturing; and it is anticipated to expand further in 2015 to satisfy a recent large customer to produce its commercial supply.”

Massera added, “We differ from our competitors in many respects. We are able to manage very complex issues and in many instances have projects referred to us because others cannot match our science.

We are also different in the way we work with our customers as we provide complete solutions and go well beyond the scope of everyday customer services. Helping our clients balance their manufacturing risks and rewards requires much more than engineering a production cell line, or completing a cGMP validation run. It means understanding how CMC Biologics can deploy its capabilities throughout a molecule’s life cycle and working in partnership with clients to assemble our combined resources in order to meet their manufacturing needs precisely on time.”

Advancing process development In July, CMC Biologics entered into an agreement with Portola Pharmaceuticals, one of the largest strategic engagements of CMC Biologics’ history. Under this agreement, Portola

will expand its manufacturing commitment at CMC Biologics to include commercial supply for a Biologics License Applications (BLA) filing, which is expected to be filed at the end of 2015, and initial product launch in the United States. Portola is impressed by the quality of CMC Biologics’ infrastructure and demonstrated expertise in manufacturing complex proteins and coagulation factors. Massera adds, “We deliver on our promises to our customers, and are committed to providing solutions to our customers.”

Recently CMC Biologics and Zymeworks of Vancouver entered into a significant agreement for process development and the clinical manufacture of Bi-specific Antibody Product Candidate. Zymeworks is a world leader in the development of anti-body therapeutics and is known for developing ‘best-in-class’ protein therapeutics. Through the new agreement Zymeworks and CMC Biologics will work together to advance the frontier of bi-specific antibody develop-

ment platforms and bring novel therapies to patients in need worldwide.

This new area of activity complements CMC’s existing range of contract services, which include cell line development, process development, analytical development, formulation development and stability studies. In addition, the company offers clinical manufacturing and commercial manufacturing as well as a well-defined range of quality services.

Byars said, “CMC Biologics is leading the industry among our competitors and we have a global multifaceted marketing platform which is designed to demonstrate our technical acumen and focus on customer satisfaction, bar none. We are very proud of our unprecedented growth rate, but in particular, our sterling reputation across the n biologics community.”

For further details of CMC Biologic’s range of products and dedicated biopharmaceutical services visit: www.cmcbio.com

WORKING TO BE THE BEST Fedegari Autoclavi SpA is an extremely successful company, with outstanding know-how in steriliser production technologies for the pharmaceutical industry. R&D plays a fundamental role in its success and the company has recently developed a number of highly innovative technologies and solutions. Barbara Rossi reports.

Industry Europe 131

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edegari is headquartered in Pavia, northern Italy, where it was established in 1953 by two brothers: Fortunato and Giampiero Fedegari. Over the years the company has grown into an international group with subsidiaries in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, the USA, Singapore and Russia.

A real leader in the field of sterile and clean processes for the pharmaceutical sector, in recent years it has also begun to offer products and solutions to the food industry. Fedegari’s mission is to build the best sterilisers and decontamination solutions for its clients throughout the world. It is still managed by the founding Fedegari family, who maintain operational control of the whole group.

The range of products on offer includes machinery for moist and dry heat sterilisation, aseptic processing (decontamination and isolators) and washing (fows); as well as laboratory solutions (vertical and horizontal chamber sterilisers), components, accessories and pre-owned or refurbished

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equipment. Moreover, Fedgari’s Thema 4 process controller manages all the industrial machines manufactured by the company, guaranteeing total integration. It also supplies after-sales support, training, feasibility analysis and documentation services.

Production takes place in both Italy and Switzerland and all solutions can be customised to meet specific client needs.

For the same reason, the work of the R&D department is fundamental to establishing and maintaining relationships with clients, particularly in the initial stage, when there is the need to establish how the machine or product itself needs to be processed. The R&D department also works closely with clients when they decide to launch new products or make changes in terms of packaging.

Focused on R&D One of the projects recently developed by Fedegari has been a fully integrated solution for the food industry, specifically for

the optimisation of the sterilisation process at one of the biggest European tuna can manufacturers. The challenge was to overcome temperature fluctuations and overheating, guaranteeing homogeneous heat distribution throughout. Furthermore, it included developing a fully integrated solution for treating different tuna can formats, increasing productivity and reducing operating costs. Fedegari has been supporting its customer with in-depth knowledge in sterilisation processes, developing a solution which allows it to increase its productivity at the end of every cycle and reduce the number of rejected cans to zero.

Another interesting innovation developed inhouse by Fedegari is its FTCS series of sterility test isolators. These products are equipped with a revolutionary built-in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) vaporiser with control loop. The isolator offers different modularity options and can be integrated with a chemical bio-decontamination chamber (transfer hatch). The new

FCTS series is equipped with an innovative PID-based hydrogen peroxide vaporiser and gloves. Leak testing is managed entirely by a Thema4 process controller.

Fedegari is also active in innovation in biological indicator evaluator resistometer vessel technology. Information about the process resistance of the biological indicator and bioburden in sterilisation is essential to be able to understand aseptic process effectiveness. In fact, over- or under-estimating the resistance of either the indicator or the indigenous bioburden can lead to failed validation studies, potentially contaminated batches, sterility failure investigations, and other serious situations.

In addition to this, the Fedegari R&D department is actively working on emerging gloveless robotic technologies in aseptic manufacturing. Fedegari believes that there will be a growing trend towards this technology in the pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturing industries in the years to come. The

Industry Europe 133

group is developing an advanced compact solution for the aseptic fill/finishing of cytotoxic drugs. The new equipment is a gloveless isolator in which all the operations are handled by a GMP-compliant stainless steel robot arm. This solution is chosen because an environment free of human presence is expected to be cleaner. Furthermore, considering how dangerous the handling of cytotoxic drugs is,

a robotic solution increases process safety, as the operator is not directly involved in the manufacturing equation.

Moreover, the Fedegari Group is implementing advances in the field of robotised systems in general, offering integrated projects where various process machines interact with robotised handling systems for fully automatic high-throughput manufacturing lines.

Technical parameters When it comes to research, Fedegari has also published a paper summarising the concept of FO and its related parameters, and explaining essential notions regarding sterilisation kinetics.

The idea of physical and biological ‘equivalent time’ is also presented in this paper, which then discusses its application in the moist-heat sterilisation processes.

Linked to the same topic, Fedegari has produced an e-book on the F0 value,

134 Industry Europe

discussing its meaning, calculation and use in sterilisation processes. This e-book can be downloaded for free from the Fedegari website. The F0 algorithm was firstly introduced in 1968 in line with international food industry practices, and proposed by the FDA in 1976 for the pharmaceutical sterilisation of large volume parenterals. It is now officially included in most pharmacopoeias. Yet F0 is still regarded with some suspicion from a conceptual point of view and frequently misinterpreted. It is always necessary to remember that F0 was invented for the purposes of the heat sterilisation of products containing water. The purpose of these Fedegari technical notes, first distributed in 1988 and now revised, is to clarify the nature of FO and its related parameters (D, z, PNSU/SAL), and to explain their use and limits for the setting, adjustment, control and validation of moistn heat sterilisation processes.

KW1500 /2x1300 +2x2200 RT 4-injection press

Rotating platen mould, part of the KW 1500/2x1300-2x2200 RT 4-injection press

NO LIMITS TO QUALITY

With a strong focus on quality and innovation, BMB has been growing and evolving right from the start. Today the company offers a range of hydraulic, electric and hybrid injection moulding machines and solutions for plastic materials. Indeed, it sets no boundaries to the market sectors it serves, as Barbara Rossi discovers from sales director Adriano Zucchelli.

B

MB was established in 1997. Right from the start it has been known as a hi-tech company with a strong level of ‘human know-how’, able to innovate, evolve and remain ahead of the times. Its founder, Egidio Bugatti, and his son Marco have a very clear vision of how BMB should operate. Its aim is to offer customised machines and solutions to meet any plastic injection moulding need.

“We could say that in its 45 years of activity BMB has always been growing, both in terms of production quality and profit,” explained Mr Zucchelli. “To achieve this level of success obviously requires a high level of technology and innovation, but being able to rely on a strong and united team with common values is equally important.”

The pursuit of quality has been the primary concern for the company throughout its 40 years in the business. Because of this, today BMB is a forward-looking company that is highly competitive on the global marketplace and equipped with significant strategy resources.

Investing in expansion BMB SpA is based in the Brescia industrial district (northern Italy), where it has three production units, alongside its functional and modern offices. These, together with its network of sales and post-sales service branches located in all its major commercial hubs, form an efficient customer-focused network. One of these branches is UK-based

BMB Plastic Machinery Limited, which since 2013 has been led by MD and commercial director Nigel Baker. He is flanked by a skilled team, including a technical service assistant whose task is to supply UK-based customers with a fast service. The BMB site in the UK is new and comprises a sales and a service/ spare parts office.

BMB SpA has recently made another important investment. It will soon be opening a new site in the Toronto area (Ontario, Canada) which will operate both at commercial and technical level, thanks to a team of highly-trained staff.

“While we mainly supply our products to the packaging sector, we do not set any boundaries to the range of industries that we

Anthropomorphic robot for collecting moulded components. Part of the KW 1800/7000+5500 TR bi-injection press.

KW 1800/7000+5500 RT bi-injection moulding machine

Cars light clusters moulded using the following special multi-injection presses: KW 1800/7000+5500 RT e KW 1500/2x1300-2x2200 RT

serve, as we can mould any plastic material product. Lately we have seen an increase in demand from the automotive sector and the synergies we have developed with our clients have allowed us to create machines which are totally unique in terms of power, sturdiness and precision. We also serve the medical segment.”

Geographically speaking, the key markets for BMB are currently the UK and Latin America (especially Brazil and Mexico) but also continental Europe as a whole. The opening of the Toronto branch will be the first step to entering the North American market.

Developing production profile The company’s product range covers electric, hydraulic and hybrid solutions for plastic injection moulding. Its flagship

models for the fully hydraulic machines are the KW series (ranging from 160 to 3500 tonnes) and the KWPi series (ranging from 160 to 850 tonnes). The latter is ideal for packaging products.

“In terms of hydraulic machines, we also offer the KX series for high tonnages (from 1400 to 3500 tonnes) but nowadays the market demands hybrid and completely electric solutions, for which we can offer the following series: eKW hybrid, eKW Pi Full Electric and eMC Full Electric. The eKW Hybrid series offers machines specifically for packaging and technical products, featuring a clamping strength ranging from 200 to 2200 tonnes. The eKW Pi Full Electric machines are specifically designed for packaging products and have a clamping strength varying from 100 to 1150 tonnes, while the eMC Full Electrics are mainly used

BMB2. Low/medium tonnage department (from 70 to 400 tonnes).

for technical products and offer a clamping strength range from 70 to 200 tonnes.”

Over the past two years the company has been developing and manufacturing special multi-injection machines, mainly for the automotive sector. “We have been ready to respond to demands with regard to multicolour and multi-material processing. Almost every industry today employs this technology, for many different purposes. The final aims are extremely diverse, but may be summarised as follows: aesthetic and functional (or sometimes a combination of the two).

“Our multi-injection presses feature two or more injection units which can be set with different configurations. According to the product to be moulded the injection units can be employed to carry out multicolour processing (using the same polymer with

KW 250/2VP 700 bi-injection moulding machine

Lids in two or more colours or components moulded using the eKW25Pi/1300+330 Full Electric press

different colours) or its multi-material version, employing two or more different polymers.

Currently our presses can be equipped with up to four injection units, especially when they have to mould complex products such as light clusters for cars. On the other hand, the clamping unit is customised according to the application, varying in terms of clamping strength, weights and passage between columns. Usually a multi-injection press clamping unit can feature many solutions: rotating platen, stack-mould and Index system.”

BMB’s technical office is working towards innovation on three different levels: mechanics, electronics and software. The main aim is to meet any moulding need, even of the most complex nature. In fact, owing to its skilled, innovative and passionate technical staff, BMB is able to take on any customer’s project,

transforming it into a success and thus into a new opportunity for growth. This is possible thanks to the synergy between BMB and its clients and the employment of 3D modelling systems and FEM structural analysis to best optimise machine design. With regard

to electronics and software, BMB can avail itself of a close and continuous partnership with HEIDENHAIN and MOOG, two very well-established multinationals engaged in innovation on a regular basis. Thanks to this, BMB can always be at the cutting edge. n

60th Anniversary 1955-2015

Ferramenta Bresciana has over 60 years of experience in the manufacturing and distribution of tools, screws and bolts. The presence of the Italian firm’s large storehouse (more than 1000 square metres) ensures the availability of a wide range of products, including high resistance screws and special tools.

In the last few years Ferramenta Bresciana has specialised in maufacturing of customisable hot stamped screws and bolts, giving the customer the possibility to choose each product’s shape and size. Ferramenta Bresciana can also design new products according to the customer’s needs.

FERRAMENTA BRESCIANA 25126 Brescia, Via Milano 68/B-70, ITALY T: +39 0303 2411124 | F: +39 030 2416176 | E: ferramentabresciana@libero.it

eKW25Pi/1300+330 Full Electric bi-injection moulding machine with a 330 oblique injector

UP ON THE ROOF

Leading multinational manufacturer of semi-finished extruded thermoplastic sheets Palram Industries has both 50 years of experience and a fresh approach to new product development. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to marketing director Hanock Goldman to find out more.

F

ounded in Israel in 1963, Palram Industries has grown to become a leading multinational provider of semi-finished extruded thermoplastic sheets and finished products. Its extensive portfolio all centres around its over half-century of knowledge of both polycarbonate and PVC sheets. As the world’s only manufacturer in its field that offers both materials in this form, Palram Industries is proud to promote its unique offer.

Designed to suit a diverse range of applications in various markets, the Palram

portfolio includes panel sheets and panel systems that are manufactured from polycarbonate and PVC and meet all of the relevant internationally recognised quality standards. Primarily active in the agriculture, construction, architecture, sign & display, Do It Yourself (DIY) and fabrication sectors worldwide, the company’s advanced products and services are all carefully created to meet the specific needs of each industry.

Marketing director Hanock Goldman spoke to Industry Europe to explain how the

company’s 50-year history has contributed significantly to its success today. He said, “Our unrivalled production and application experience is expressed through our extensive product offering that includes architectural panel systems and finished consumer products. We have a unique corporate culture too; we always have the courage to think outside the box and we really make things happen. For over 50 years we have been forging the way forward in developing and producing thermoplastic sheets and I believe it is thanks to the combination of hard work, a positive attitude, creating high performance products and truly listening to customers.”

Expand and develop Its ability to offer unique, high performance products is what brings customers back to Palram Industries time and time again. With a reputation for delivering on time and on budget, the company knows that customers must be totally satisfied with its products in order to maintain its market leading position.

Mr Goldman continued, “We continually strive to meet our customers’ needs while maintaining our agility as a key differentiating factor. We provide our customers with competitive products that deliver on quality and value. It is only by adapting existing products and also creating new ones that we can be

sure that we are meeting the demands of an ever growing and evolving market.”

Palram Industries’ focus on production technology and product innovation is also integral to its ongoing achievements. With a continual product and plant development culture, the company’s portfolio is an evolving offer. Its product segments are broadly flat sheets, corrugated sheets, panel systems, speciality products and finished products, with its well-known brands including the Sunglaze panel systems and Suntuf Rooflights corrugated sheets.

With eight production sites strategically placed worldwide, Palram Industries is able

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to service its customers’ needs wherever they are located. Currently its core territories are Australia, America, Europe and the Far East, with rapid development ongoing in Asia and India. Mr Goldman explained, “We’ve been working on some really exciting projects across the world and we are open to discussing any project wherever it may be. Even though the Israeli national football team didn’t qualify for the 2014

World Cup in Brazil, Palram Industries was very proud to be there, as our Suntuf 2mm thickness roofing panels covered the Arena Castelao in Fortaleza. The stadium was revamped for the competition and the Palram Project Support Team was asked to provide an architectural solution for the roof skylight – a 7000m2 transparent front-edge roofing specially designed to be completely watertight yet let in natural daylight.”

Positive people Investing in people is also a major consideration at Palram Industries. The company puts a lot into the education of its employees to encourage continued excellence in their specific fields. A dedicated Palram College was established to achieve this objective, providing both entry level programmes for new employees and programmes that advance the skills of management and senior production staff. Mr

Goldman noted that this helps to preserve the existing knowledge within Palram and also helps to support employees in their professional development.

Palram Industries’ expectations for the coming years are every bit as ambitious as its achievements over the last half-century.

Plans to add specific new solutions for the global signage industry are almost ready to be launched on to the market and 2015 will also see new products for industrial appli-

cations. Mr Goldman concluded, “We’re adding special solutions for profiles for roofing to our portfolio soon and we have quite a number of new items in our pipeline for the coming year. We’re also going to keep supporting our customers in building interesting projects with Palram products.

We’re ready to talk to customers directly whether they’re building a balcony or a massive industrial roof. Our expertise adds n value to our products.”

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ENVIRONMENTALLY

CHILLED

142 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.

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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 development 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

Industry Europe 143

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 allows its customers to guarantee cold chain consistency in stores and ensures significantly reduced energy consumption.

inverter, it is now possible to save in the region 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.

Sound green energy

New cold service

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

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

ADVERTISERSINDEX

A

I

S

AKG Alföldi Kohászati és Gépipari Zrt 125 Anedo 37 Arla Foods 80 ATLAS Aeronautik 29 Avery Dennison 75

Imatech 101 Interroll Holding AG 109 IVT Italy 145

Sartorius Stedim 130 Schlösser GmbH 46 Siecab 121 Siemens 104 SOR Iberica 84 SPII 119 Śrubtex 89 Swiss Feed AG 114

J.G. Weisser Söhne J.P. Klausen

B Burocco Inoxvalvole

45 81

134

K

C CAAC Pioneer Logistics Carl Cloos Schweisstechnik GmbH Carpenter Technology Corporation Cazenave

J

5 33 29 29

D Datalogic Automation 110 Dow 141

E Elhurt 114 ElringKlinger AG 43 Ewmar-Ness 114

F Ferramenta Bresciana 137 Fisa Srl 118 Frigipol 89

G GE Healthcare 129 Göcke 125 Goltens 100

H Hewea 89 Hoppecke 120 Horpol 88 Hueck Rheinische 55 Huntsman 55 Husky Injection Moulding 69 Hydromega 96

Kaneka 140 Knorr-Bremse 85 Koki Technik 46 Konecranes 124

L Lisa Schneider Steuerungstechnik GmbH 50

M M.Busch 41 Metaldyne Zell GmbH & Co. KG 40 Mettler Toledo SAS 108 Mondi Outside back MSA 121 Mubea - Muhr und Bender KG 43

O Officine Rami 145 Officine Vica 44 OLAB 118 Orient Research 76

P Picotec BVBA 93 Polyax 46 PPG Austria Handels GmbH 85

R Reich 40 Richshore Marine Supplies 100 Rockwool 62 RPC 73

T Technocell Dekor TE-Marine Tesio Cooling Trasfor SA

65 105 118 119

V Valbormida SpA Val Giovanni & Figli Volvo Construction Equipment

41 42 58

W Wärtsilä Polska

96

Z ZMDI 5 ZML Industries SpA 46