Europe & Middle East Outlook - Issue 8

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Delivery

DRONES

Can Amazon’s Prime Air concept change the face of on-demand shipping?

NIJHUIS INDUSTRIES 26 Recovering value out of waste, turning a cost centre into a profit centre

MINESTO 32 Deep Green Project to revolutionise tidal energy

AMREST 38 Europe’s leading multi-brand restaurant operator

UNITED CAST BAR 50 Bringing more than 120 years of experience into one group of companies

EME OUTLOOK ISSUE 08 A L S O F E AT U R I N G: C&C G R O U P | H I TA C H I | C E E & T U R K E Y R E F I N I N G A N D P E T R O C H E M I C A L S

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W E L C O M E Introducing Europe & Middle East Outlook

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EDITORIAL

Expanding seamlessly across European borders, one of the world’s leading emerging markets is now joining the bimonthly party as our new EME brand kicks off in earnest to take Outlook Publishing’s already comprehensive global coverage to an even wider audience.

Over the coming months, the integration of Europe and the Middle East will prove testament to the Can Amazon’s Prime Air concept change the face of on-demand shipping? multinational organisations featured across our portfolio over the past two years; forming a natural footprint expansion into one of the world’s most exciting domains.

For some sectors, there is no more lucrative market than the Middle East at present, and we kick-start our presence in the region with a focus on the upcoming CEE and Turkey Refining and Petrochemicals event as a sign of things to come from the oil & gas industry especially.

To make the transition even more seamless, this month’s publication is headed up by one of the most truly global companies around. Amazon’s Prime Air concept looks set to change the face of on-demand shipping via its delivery drones, and Emily Jarvis glances ahead to what the skies of the future may look like.

Hitachi are a similarly international business dictating innovation across the manufacturing sector, and Dr Jörg Putzer teams up with Darragh MacNeill to provide insight into new product development as a performance indicator.

Moving more wholly into familiar European territory, we go East to round up our front-of-book instalment, to dissect a floundering and declining economic slump in Russia, amid a generally upbeat Eastern region which is seeing aboveaverage GDP jumps in neighbouring countries. How long before the powerhouse slips from a recession into a depression?

Drifting into our always extensive showcasing section and this month’s plethora is headed up by Nijhuis Water Technology. The Netherlands-based water use and resource-efficient Company is raising sustainable standards through the production of solid solutions in a fluid world.

Finally, we round off the issue with a look ahead to FachPack 2015, one of the largest and most significant European trade fairs entering its Matthew Staff 36th year.

Editorial Director, Outlook Publishing Enjoy the issue!

Delivery

DRONES

NIJHUIS INDUSTRIES 26

Recovering value out of waste, turning a cost centre into a profit centre

MINESTO 32

Deep Green Project to revolutionise tidal energy

AMREST 38

Europe’s leading multi-brand restaurant operator

UNITED CAST BAR 50

Bringing more than 120 years of experience into one group of companies

EME OUTLOOK ISSUE 08 A L S O F E AT U R I N G: C&C G R O U P | H I TA C H I | C E E & T U R K E Y R E F I N I N G A N D P E T R O C H E M I C A L S

Editorial Director: Matthew Staff matthew.staff@outlookpublishing.com Deputy Editor: Emily Jarvis emily.jarvis@outlookpublishing.com

PRODUCTION Production Manager: Daniel George daniel.george@outlookpublishing.com Art Director: Stephen Giles steve.giles@outlookpublishing.com Advertising Designer: Mandy Farnell mandy.farnell@outlookpublishing.com IMAGES: www.thinkstockphotos.co.uk

BUSINESS Sales Director: Nick Norris nick.norris@outlookpublishing.com Operations Director: James Mitchell james.mitchell@outlookpublishing.com Sales Managers: Ben Wigger ben.wigger@outlookpublishing.com Tom Cullum tom.cullum@outlookpublishing.com Project Directors: Donovan Smith donovan.smith@outlookpublishing.com Arron Rampling arron.rampling@outlookpublishing.com Project Managers: Callum Philp callum.philp@outlookpublishing.com Chris Marsh chris.marsh@outlookpublishing.com Craig Killingback craig.killingback@outlookpublishing.com Eddie Clinton eddie.clinton@outlookpublishing.com Jake Megeary jake.megeary@outlookpublishing.com Joe Palliser joe.palliser@outlookpublishing.com Josh Hyland josh.hyland@outlookpublishing.com

ADMINISTRATION Finance Director: Suzanne Welsh suzanne.welsh@outlookpublishing.com Office Manager: Jen Lloyd jen.lloyd@outlookpublishing.com DIGITAL & IT: Hamit Saka HELPDESK: James Le-May

OUTLOOK PUBLISHING Managing Director: Ben Weaver ben.weaver@outlookpublishing.com Chairman: Mark Weaver

CONTACT Europe & Middle East Outlook Woburn House, 84 St Benedicts Street, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 4AB, United Kingdom Sales: +44 (0) 1603 959 652 Editorial: +44 (0) 1603 959 655 SUBSCRIPTIONS Tel: +44 (0)1603 959 655 Email: matthew.staff@outlookpublishing.com

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In this issue of EME Outlook...

S E C T O R F O C U S

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SHIPPING & LOGISTICS Amazon: A Prime Time for Drone Delivery The airspace debate continues for Amazon’s delivery drones

F O O D

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SHOWCASING LEADING COMPANIES Tell us your story and we’ll tell the world

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C&C GROUP Sustainable Growth on an International Scale

NEWS

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EASTERN EUROPE Russia Misses Out on an Eastern Renaissance

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All the latest top stories across the month from Europe

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Europe’s leading multi-brand restaurant operator

Quenching thirsts across an increasingly widespread footprint

ENERGY & UTILITIES

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& D R I N K

AMREST People, Brand, Scale

NIJHUIS INDUSTRIES Solid Solutions in a Fluid World

Recovering value out of waste, turning a cost centre into a profit centre

The region’s largest and most powerful nation refuses to join the party

HITACHI Measuring Performance in New Product Development

MANUFACTURING

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Hitachi Consulting analyses the NPD trend in sustaining growth and profitability

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MINESTO Low Velocity Tidal Solution

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Deep Green Project to revolutionise tidal energy

MARRIOTT DRILLING GROUP Global Knowledge, Local presence Leading the way across technology and innovation

UNITED CAST BAR Raising the Bar

Bringing more than 120 years of experience into one group of companies

E V E N T

F O C U S

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FACHPACK 2015

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CEE AND TURKEY REFINING AND PETROCHEMICALS

One of Europe’s most significant manufacturing trade fairs

The only petrochemicaldedicated event in the region runs for its 18th year

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Overall, energy consumption in the UAE has been growing at an annual rate of four percent over the past six years. Analysts predicted that the growth rate will increase to five percent through 2020.

The need for implementing measures to address growing Analysts have highlighted the need to implement more energy consumption levels has been highlighted by rapid urbanisation and sustainable measures in order to support the rapid growth population growth in UAE. of electricity consumption in UAE households The number of residents living in Electricity and water usage among consumption will grow even more the country’s city centres has been UAE households has been growing rapidly over the next five years. expanding over the years, with urban significantly in the past few years According to estimates, the UAE’s dwellers representing 85 percent of and will be difficult to manage in gross domestic electricity consumption the country’s entire population. By the future if no effective sustainable will reach 141 terawatt-hours in 2020, 2015, the United Nations predicted measures are undertaken, analysts up from 103 terawatt-hours in 2014. that the figure will reach 91 percent. have warned.

Every resident in the UAE consumes “The UAE, therefore, needs to A study by management about 740 cubic metres of water have integrated infrastructure consultancy Strategy&, formerly a year, which is approximately 50 planning as a pre-requisite to any Booz & Company, showed that percent higher than the world average urban master plan,” Strategy& said electricity consumption alone has of 500 cubic metres. in a report. A great way of doing this more than doubled in the past 10 While the usage is very high, water is through the “smart city approach”, years, “at a pace that will be difficult production is also a costly process for according to Strategy&. to provide over the long-term”. the UAE considering that the amount of “This term typically entails The Company warned that, as the energy required to desalinate seawater integrated infrastructure planning population expands substantially stands at about 30 percent of the that applies digital technologies and the economy grows, power country’s total power consumption. to deliver better services and, critically for the UAE, reduce energy consumption. Smart cities allow city planners and managers to improve efficiency at the intersection of different infrastructure sectors, such as electricity, water, transport, telecommunications, cooling and waste,” said Per-Ola Karlsson, a Senior Partner with Strategy&.

Karlsson said that through awareness programmes, for example, UAE residents can be encouraged to be mindful of their energy consumption. “One of the best examples of this is the launch of Emirates Energy Award by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, which offers monetary prizes for innovative work in projects of all sizes across both the public and private sectors,” he summarises.

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UAE Electricity Consumption on the Rise

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Smart Thermostats to Take off in the Next Five Years Currently standing at $150 million, the European smart thermostats market is to rocket up to $2.5 billion by 2020, driven by climate change targets and mandatory energy efficiency certification for buildings.

This is according to Frost & Sullivan, who says that energy utility companies will be critical value chain partners facilitating adoption of this new technology.

The enforcement of minimum standards for high energy consuming products such as boilers as well as heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems (HVAC) is fuelling opportunities for smart thermostats. The United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands will account for a lion’s share of the

Energy and Environmental Research Analyst, Dhivya Sundara Manohar.

“Moreover, the market is at an advantage since it is not significantly limited by government regulations.”

As competition intensifies, suppliers must deploy effective pricing strategies to stave off rivals.

Consistent innovation will further help manufacturers make headway across countries and customer strata.

“In this technology-oriented market, frequent upgrades to sensors, connectivity, and interface are essential. Manufacturers must also react quickly to the need for bulk volumes by expanding production capacity,” noted Dhivya. market in Europe, while France will be Most importantly, vendors the fastest growing. need to realise that energy utility “Rapidly increasing awareness companies are critical value chain among customers on the userpartners. Capitalising on their friendliness and comfort of smart highly convenient and reliable sales thermostats is spurring demand in channel will facilitate access to the Europe,” commented Frost & Sullivan’s mass customer market in Europe.

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Middle East Bucks Asia’s Falling Oil Price Trend The Middle East remains the leading light in what is fast becoming a concerning fluctuation in oil prices across traditionally leading economies.

In mid-August, US crude oil was trading at $42.07 a barrel, 43 cents below their last settlement and close to more than six-year lows.

At a similar time, Asia trading also reported falling prices as Japan’s economy contracted on the back of falling exports and consumer spending, adding to fears that Asia’s biggest economies are starting to slow at the same time.

Japan’s economy, the second biggest in Asia and number three in the

world, shrank at an annualised pace of 1.6 percent in April-June as exports slumped and consumers cut back on spending.

The slowdown in Asia’s biggest economy, China, and its impact on the region have also heightened the chance that any rebound in growth in July-September will be modest, analysts say.

The weak economic data comes at a time when production around the world remains at or near record highs, epitomised by the still thriving Middle Eastern market, as ANZ revealed in an announcement.

“OPEC is expected to boost crude oil production to 33 million barrels a day, the most ever, after international sanctions are removed against Iran,” the Bank said. “Oman, the biggest non-OPEC oil producer in the Middle East, has also increased its production, pumping one million barrels a day in July; a 0.5 percent increase from June’s daily output level.”

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Islamic Finance to Benefit from Wider RFI Development

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Improving Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness of Wind Power According to Frost & Sullivan’s new report titled ‘Impact Assessment of Materials in Wind Energy Generation’, research in wind energy is now more focused on achieving a balance of cost-effectiveness and lightweight materials for easier transportation and manoeuvrability.

High-strength materials including glass fibre and carbon fibre reinforced plastics (GFRP/CFRP) are expected to replace conventional resins and composites due to their durable and lightweight properties. Most material developers for wind energy have already deployed these products to cater to the rising global demand and the need for increased efficiency.

“Traditional rotor blades tend to be shorter and therefore produce power in the range of two to three megawatts (MW), whereas the industry requirement is in the range of five MW or more per unit to match the demand from end users and to improve the efficiency and profitability of the system,” noted Technical Insights Senior Industry Analyst, Aarthi Janakiraman.

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The Responsible Finance Institute (“RFI”), a non-profit organisation, sees potential for Islamic finance to lead convergence around responsible financial principles to make the financial sector support equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic development.

A key aspect of its mission will be exploring opportunities for collaboration between responsible finance solely focused on ESG and an Islamic finance industry that recognises the key overlaps between the principles behind ESG and the principles which guide Islamic finance.

The announcement followed the Institute’s inaugural meeting of its Council of Advisors chaired by Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz and its Board of Trustees led by Chairperson, Prof. Datuk and Dr. Rifaat Abdel Karim who met in Edinburgh, UK on 31 August to finalise a work plan through to the end of 2016.

The RFI’s efforts will be led by its Chief Executive Officer, Blake Goud who will lead the development of its research agenda to map the global scope for responsible finance and opportunities for convergence.

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European Millennials Lagging Behind Global Peers A new report by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) suggests that although millennials are the most entrepreneurial generation, young Europeans aren’t keeping up with their global peers in terms of growth.

With successful role models like Mark Zuckerberg and Evan Spiegel, and a global shortage of employment opportunities among younger generations, millennials are increasingly drawn to entrepreneurship. The report, ‘Future Potential - a GEM perspective on youth entrepreneurship 2015’, says that 18 - 34 year olds are 1.6 times more likely to want to start a business than generation X and baby boomers.

However, millennials from European countries show the lowest levels of entrepreneurial propensity.

By analysing data collected from 2012 to 2014, the report shines light on what drives young entrepreneurs and what impacts on their success - or failure - in five regions: sub-Saharan Africa (SSA); Middle East and North Africa (MENA); South and East Asia (S&EA); Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and the European culture countries (ECC).

Readers can view the full report here.

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E X H I B I T I O N S

MOL to support the CEE and Turkey Refining and Petrochemical Summit With Turkey leading investments and new projects, companies such as MOL are among those leading the way in the CEE region in terms of investing in its downstream portfolio.

C O N S T R U C T I O N

The CEE and Turkey Refining and Petrochemical Summit is the annual meeting place for refiners and petrochemical producers and the only event of its kind dedicated to the CEE and Turkey region.

Taking place in Budapest, Hungary from 13-15 October, the event will feature senior decision makers from across the region and their case studies, delivering unparalleled insight, critical analysis and clarity on the future of refining and petrochemicals in the region.

See more on page 58.

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

Pirelli Announced as a Leading Force in Sustainability Pirelli has been named as the leading automotive supplier in an assessment conducted by Sustainalytics for the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany.

The recent study was based on the DVFA’s (Deutscher Verband der Finanzanalysten) published standard ‘KPIs for ESG 3.0’, which awarded Pirelli 99.60 points out of a maximum of 100 in the Environmental Sustainability category, 99.0 in the Social category and 97.80 in the Corporate Sustainability category. The results of the study show that no other company in the same sector as Pirelli obtained comparable top values.

The analysis involved approximately 100 ESG indicators, covering the fields of the environment, social responsibility and governance (ESG).

T E C H N O L O G Y

KONE Among Forbes’ World’s Most Innovative Companies

Nokia Networks Sign Capacity-Enhancing Deal in Middle East

KONE has been ranked 42nd out of the top 100 most innovative companies in the world by the wellknown business magazine, Forbes.

Out of all European companies listed this year, KONE was ranked an impressive sixth and is the only elevator and escalator Company to be featured on Forbes’ list this year.

“It’s a great honour to be recognised among the world’s most innovative companies for a fourth consecutive year,” said Henrik Ehrnrooth, President & CEO of KONE Corporation. “Innovation and technological advancement have been at the core of our company for decades, and will continue to be moving forward.”

Nokia Networks has won a deal with Ooredoo Qatar to deploy its small cells in hotspots across the Middle East.

The agreement follows a trial using Nokia Networks’ LTE and 3G small cell solution in high-traffic indoor and outdoor locations in the capital, Doha, including the historic Souq Waqif area.

“Nokia Networks’s small cells will enable us to provide just that: more capacity, higher availability and reduced latency,” Waleed Al Sayed, Chief Operating Officer of Ooredoo Qatar said.

The deal marks an important step forward in Nokia’s longstanding

partnership with Ooredoo Qatar, an operator intensely focused on delivering top quality services to its customers.

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TELL US YOUR STORY

AND WE’LL TELL THE WORLD E U R O P E & M I D D L E E A S T O U T L O O K is a digital and print product aimed at boardroom and hands-on decision-makers across a wide range of industries in the EME region.

With content compiled by our experienced editorial team, complemented by an in-house design and production team ensuring delivery to the highest standards, we look to promote the latest in engaging news, industry trends and success stories from the length and breadth of Europe and the Middle East.

Reaching a combined audience of more than 390,000 people, Europe & Middle East Outlook covers a full range of industrial sectors: mining; oil & gas; logistics; resources; manufacturing; construction; engineering; technology; food & drink; retail; finance; and healthcare.

In joining the leading industry heavyweights already enjoying the exposure we can provide, you can benefit from free coverage across both digital and print platforms, a free marketing brochure, extensive social media saturation, enhanced B2B networking opportunities, and a readymade forum to attract new investment and to grow your business.

To get involved, please contact Outlook Publishing’s Managing Director, Ben Weaver, who can provide further details on how to feature your company, for free, in one of our upcoming editions.

W W W. E M E O U T LO O K M A G . C O M Tel: +44 (0) 1603 959 650 Email: ben.weaver@outlookpublishing.com

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Russia Misses Out On An Eastern Renaissance Eastern Europe has enjoyed a higher-than-average GDP jump in 2015, with most countries capitalising on their ‘emerging’ tag to full effect. The region’s largest and most powerful nation refuses to join the party, however Writer: Matthew Staff

comparatively booming global market, or a floundering, declining slump towards a financial depression? The answer when analysing Eastern Europe’s current economic situation is probably both, with the region’s figurehead watching on stubbornly as its neighbours enjoy a so-far fruitful 2015.

A resurgence across the CentralEastern boundary – incorporating the likes of Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Romania – may not be sustainable in the long-term but has provided the region with much-needed respite in the midst of a general, continent-wide stagnation.

Stagnation or unspectacular

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stability is a distant dream for Russia however, as its ongoing veer towards complete independence similarly veers the country towards an inevitable economic depression.

To clarify, it is only a recession, not a depression, as things stand, and there are sporadic reasons for optimism there too. But, in the same way that analysts and forecasters believe the general region’s resurgence to be short-lived, Russian politicians are clinging on to a more faint hope that their country’s struggles are equally temporary.

Daniel Hewitt, an economist at Barclays Plc in London noted in a Bloomberg report: “As long as the euro-zone economy accelerates, Central and Eastern European growth can remain at these levels. But when it reverses, so will growth to the east.”

Russia’s plight

Hewitt’s warning to the region will hardly fall on deaf ears, but it won’t dampen the spirits of countries who are enjoying a break from the familiar economic crisis that has engulfed much of Europe – and indeed the world – in recent years either.

Warnings towards Russia’s current plight are more likely to go unheeded however, even if they weren’t already too late.

The ruble continues to struggle, large conglomerates have suffered as a consequence of international embargos, SMEs are similarly paying the price for the domestic repercussions, in-store prices are rising in a faceoff against dwindling

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disposable incomes among consumers, and even its most trustworthy domestic sectors in the agricultural domain are experiencing a reduction in sales volumes.

The economic decline has been attributed to innumerable causal factors in recent months, spanning an over-reliance on key agricultural and oil revenues, an obvious consequence of its quickening retreat from euro-zone trade, corruption costs to the tune of $500 billion each year, and perhaps most significantly; a complete reluctance to admit that any of these problems exist.

That is except for the most educated people, who seem to be departing the country in their droves in order to avoid the aforementioned offshoots of the current situation.

A quick look at the statistics signifies the severity of said situation, with data revealing that the country’s GDP has shrunk 3.4 percent in the first six months of 2015 alone, compounded by

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a 4.6 percent economic contraction in just one month.

Capital investment for the year plummeted by 8.5 percent on the previous 12 months to further emphasise the internal plight being endured by industry on a national scale and, for those looking for a direction to place blame, a finger is frequently and firmly being pointed towards the global oil price crisis.

With the country so reliant on the sector in the past, this collision of an industry slowdown and national economic slump has proved too much of a combination to overcome, and the recession seems more and more likely to become a depression if action isn’t taken soon.

Internal optimism

All in all, a desperate and desolate image of Russia is being painted from outside the walls of the country.

However, to ask the people on the other side of the

boundary would reflect a very different picture. Optimism and patriotism is fair enough, but despite the evident challenges that are now affecting the population, there does seem to be a general acceptance and enthusiasm surrounding the philosophy adopted by the government.

Domestic spending and self sustainability is largely preferred over imports and there are examples of it being a successful proposition in isolated cases.

The Guardian reported in September that, despite its previous success in the dairy sector and the subsequent fears around the industry since its distancing from international trade, internal solutions and alternatives have been gathering speed in Russia.

Even though dairy accounted for â‚Ź2.3 billion in export revenue last year, the general consensus seems positive that this will be lost from the annual economy in preference of self sustaining methods. A crumb

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of comfort only perhaps, but it does generate some hope that if Russia is able to stabilise itself – and it is a big ‘if’ – then the nation will certainly have the backing of its population to do so.

Further optimism can also be secured in the oil & gas domain where, despite the drop in crude oil prices, there is the safety blanket of knowing that Russia’s oil producers are some of the most sought-after on the planet.

“When oil goes down, the western companies are hurt more than the Russian companies,” Maxim Edelson, a Senior Director at Fitch Ratings in Moscow told the Financial Post.

“Because Russian tax rates adjust automatically to lower prices, the nation’s companies enjoy a buffer to the slump in crude while a lot of the hit is taken by the government.”

“Production costs in Russia are still among the lowest globally,” added Philipp Chladek, a London-based oil-sector analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, in a September report.

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Sustainable recoveries

Hungary is a favoured destination of foreign investors of automotive industry resulting in the presence of General Motors (Szentgotthárd), Magyar Suzuki (Esztergom), Mercedes-Benz (Kecskemét), and Audi factory (Győr) in Central Europe

Agriculture in Poland has always been an important part of the country’s economy

“When oil goes down, the western companies are hurt more than the Russian companies...”

“Rather than trying to increase the recovery rate in mature fields to keep the oil flowing, Russian companies can still tap new resources.”

Global heavyweights such as Gazprom and Lukoil are subsequently faring better than their Shell or Exxon counterparts, suggesting that there is hope on the horizon for the country’s most tried and trusted economic driver.

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Romanian-based Dacia is well known producer of automobiles and is a major employer in Romania

This more enlightening outlook is the one currently being enjoyed in the noman’s land between Russia and Central Europe, with the likes of Romania, Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary defying continental trends to bask in a consumption boom.

To add perspective, the euro-zone achieved growth of 1.3 percent in the past quarter according to economists, while Poland’s figure is predicted to have been 3.6 percent, Czech GDP rose 3.4 percent and Hungary’s rose 3.2 percent.

Romania’s performance dwarfed the continental average even further though, seeing a 4.8 percent GDP jump to become the EU’s strongest country over the course of those three months.

“Battered for years as Greece’s debt turmoil crippled the continent, Eastern Europe is expanding at rates that have propelled currencies from Hungary to Romania into the emerging world’s best performers,” Bloomberg reported in September. “While a renewed slump in the euro area, a key export market, would snap the turnaround, consumers are reinvigorated by rising employment, lower taxes and cheap loans.”

For Russia, positives still remain as it clings onto optimism surrounding isolated positive fallouts from the recent selfsustainability strategy, but the problem lies in the fact that these elements are just that: optimism and hope.

The likes of Romania and Poland have tangible statistics and market indicators to build a more sustainable recovery around; incorporating strong technological development, outsourcing attractiveness, high education levels, high growth, low inflation and a bilingual population.

Meanwhile, the might and power of Russia has seemingly left any recovery in the hands of a quick oil price recovery or an even more astoundingly quick development of its own internal infrastructures, in order to offset the void in international relationships that is currently edging the country towards a lonely depression.

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Measuring Performance in New Product Development Hitachi Consulting analyses the NPD trend, coming to the conclusion that if you can’t measure it, then you can’t manage it Writer: Dr Jörg Putzer and Darragh MacNeill

ew product development (NPD) is one of the most important strategic and operational levers an organisation can use to sustain growth and profitability. Yet from our experience, there appears to be a disconnect between what organisations are hoping for and what they are getting from their investments in innovation.

According to a report published in 2013 by the Product Development and Management Association, only 61 percent of launched products succeeded in the market. So how can a company improve this measure?

Those aiming to manage the performance of NPD typically apply conventional key performance indicators (KPIs) such as time to market, percentage sales from new projects or return on investment. While important, these KPIs measure success only after a new product or service has been launched and come too late in the process to influence performance.

Successful performance management of NPD needs to involve three key aspects: 1. Organisation: A holistic value chain approach to align the performance of all the interdependent functions involved in the NPD process.

2. Process: A streamlined process managed by a balanced combination

of KPIs that evaluate not just final project outcomes but also input and supporting factors that influence the success of NPD. 3. Data: Capability to use Business Intelligence (BI) as an important enabler to support the management of NPD and drive correct behaviours across the value chain.

Integrated Performance Management Framework: value chain

Organisation: Managing performance along the value chain

The development of new products is a highly cross-functional activity characterised by interdependence across an organisation’s value chain.

Yet, in reality, the required collaboration rarely happens as effectively as it should. This is often due to contradictory objectives, ineffective collaboration and unclear roles and responsibilities among sales & marketing, finance, purchasing, quality, engineering or manufacturing.

Only by assigning clear, shared, cross-functional accountabilities,

measured by KPIs, will an organisation manage to break down silo behaviour and foster collaborative decision making. Clear accountabilities also help to establish performance-oriented behaviours across an organisation and the nature of these accountabilities changes throughout the lifecycle of a project.

For example, purchasing requires input from engineering early in the project lifecycle to lead the strategic supplier evaluation and selection.

Engineering can, therefore, be measured against the on-time in-full delivery of technology specifications.

If purchasing receives these technical specifications in the correct time window, it is able to undertake a proper review of potential suppliers to make the product.

KPIs across the NPD value chain

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Increased clarity of cross-functional interdependencies

During the development phase, purchasing requires detailed drawings from engineering to source components, and those components must meet cost targets. Again, new components will only be available on-time and at-cost if both functions perform against their KPIs.

D E V E L O P M E N T

For example, the number of requirements change requests can be used as a controlling KPI to measure the performance of the requirements management process. A high number of late changes can be an indication that the requirements definition process is not robust enough.

Enabling indicators are about driving cross-functional cooperation and are used to monitor enablers to the process. For example, only if project team members are adequately trained to use the requirements management software available, will they be able to ensure requirements traceability.

Multiple dimensions of performance management

Process: Getting the balance right

Despite the uncertainty in NPD projects, success can, to a large extent, be predicted and performance proactively managed throughout a project’s life. It has been shown that effectiveness is related to the outcome of projects, such as customer satisfaction or financial success.

Although useful in many ways, managing “outcomes” has limited use throughout a project to define mitigating actions to influence success or failure. Efficiency is linked to the multiplicity of inputs that influence those outputs on a day-to-day basis.

Efficiency indicators are “leading” or “input-oriented” and help predict the future outcome of NPD. In order to deliver NPD both effectively and efficiently, we recommend managing new product development projects along four dimensions; lagging, leading, controlling and enabling indicators.

Lagging indicators measure the

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effectiveness of NPD by evaluating success or failure once a product has been launched - e.g. customer satisfaction - whereas leading indicators measure the efficiency of NPD. They are predictive indicators, used to plan and manage critical inputs to activities in the innovation process.

Leading indicators provide early warnings and allow mitigation against any developing weaknesses before problems perpetuate throughout a project’s life.

Controlling and enabling indicators focus on the performance of the different processes that drive the success or failure of projects.

Controlling indicators are operational indicators used to monitor the performance of a process.

The approach taken to achieve those objectives will differ from industry to industry depending on the prevailing competitive situation and an organisation’s NPD objective.

It is also important to remember that a single KPI will never tell you the full truth; you must use a combination of different KPIs to get the full picture.

Data: Closing the loop to drive collaborative behaviours

In today’s data-rich environment, deploying an Integrated Performance Management framework in an NPD context needs to be supported by the ability to access and manage a large amount of information across the value chain in a streamlined and timely fashion.

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A car analogy for lagging and leading indicators

Business Intelligence (BI) provides the necessary collaboration tools to share information across functions and improves data integrity, consistency and accuracy. Business Intelligence encompasses data analytics to take the guesswork out of innovation, while at the same time enabling collaboration across new product development teams.

NPD is sometimes difficult to visualise; therefore, people are often unable to gain a quick understanding of the overall status. A possible solution for this is to set up a “project room”, where the short-interval control and critical issues are on display. Project stakeholders can then meet there on a regular basis to analyse criticality, make decisions and define action plans.

Conclusion

For NPD to be a success in any business there must be a well-defined and robust process at its heart. KPIs are an important part of this system.

These indicators highlight performance issues, but they rarely tell you what the root cause of the problem is. However, used in conjunction with accurate data, KPIs are valuable inputs for decisionmaking and problem resolution.

The performance system will bring rigour to execution. Once in place it will: • Provide the right people with the information they need, when they need it, to base decisions on facts rather than emotion and “gut feel” • Ensure clear accountability for follow-through on decisions • Sustain strong focus, at all operating levels, on fulfilling the business strategy • Break down silo behaviour and foster collaborative decision-making • Deliver the needed insight and analytics to manage business performance and build competitive advantage • Role model the optimal set of behaviours required throughout the organisation to drive a culture of performance

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Integrated performance management based on KPIs aligned across the value chain, supported by a robust BI framework and performancedriven behaviours will enhance a company’s performance management culture and drive competitive advantage through successful NPD.

Author Bios Dr Jörg Putzer is a Manager at Hitachi Consulting. As the EMEA MCRS® Capability Lead in Hitachi, Jörg has helped a large number of clients in different industries to analyse and improve their management systems and achieve sustainable results. Jörg is also a subject matter expert in product development and engineering. Jörg holds a doctorate in Innovation Management, focussing on performance management in new product development projects.

Darragh MacNeill is a Director at Hitachi Consulting and leads the Operational Excellence capability in EMEA. Darragh has extensive product development experience from the automotive industry and has been instrumental in major business transformations with leading industrial clients. Darragh is a subject matter expert in Engineering and Lean Transformation.

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Amazon: A Prime Time for Drone Delivery In a time when convenience is king, Amazon’s Prime Air concept could change the face of on-demand shipping, once the adequate airspace regulations are agreed, starting with the US market Writer: Emily Jarvis n December of last year, Amazon proudly announced its Prime Air concept to deliver future packages by drone, starting with feasibility research in the Company’s biggest market, America; where the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) is expected to finalise its drone regulations within the next year.

After identifying that there are at least 400 million annual shipments from Amazon to US customers that could be eligible for drone delivery, the multinational giant seeks to change the face of the shipping industry with a new and innovative concept; striving to be a first-mover in a risky and heavily regulated air space.

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FAA

In April 2015, the FAA granted Amazon permission to test drone delivery in the US, with strict flying rules to remain under 400 feet and at speeds that don’t exceed 100 miles per hour.

The crux of the issue in regulating delivery drones in this airspace is that Amazon wants to overturn the line-of sight clause in the FAA’s proposed rules that state commercial drones must remain within the visual line-of-sight (VLOS) of the operator at all times.

This of course would significantly limit the possibilities for drone delivery, ultimately preventing Amazon Prime Air from entering the space.

Amazon’s proposed airspace is to be exclusively reserved for delivery drones

S H I P P I N G

Despite being far from an agreement with the FAA on this, Amazon continues to push on with its plans to utilise this airspace, from 200-400 feet off the ground, with the hopes that this space will be reserved for delivery drones. The next 100 feet above that would be a no-fly zone, acting as a suitable buffer between drones and commercial aircraft; preventing simultaneous altimeter error of a manned aircraft, a GPS error on a drone or human error from a private pilot. This would mean the FAA would

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“We are working diligently to develop a regulatory framework that will allow for innovation while ensuring the safety of other users of the airspace”

have to revise its current 500 feet lowaltitude flying down to 400 feet.

The main issue for Amazon is how high it wants to fly its drones.

“We don’t disagree that it is a more difficult use case to fly drones beyond visual line-of-sight. It is. It requires a higher degree of automation in vehicles, and that kind of technology is being developed. Our respectful disagreement with the FAA is that we believe that that kind of operation can be considered right now on the same risk-based approach,” Amazon Global

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Public Policy Vice President, Paul Misener commented in June.

Weighing up customer convenience with safety, possibility of increased demand beyond the estimates and the possibility of competition from others in this drone airspace are all key factors that are currently being considered.

“We are working diligently to develop a regulatory framework that will allow for innovation while ensuring the safety of other users of the airspace and people and property on the ground,” Federal Aviation Administration Deputy Administrator, Michael Whitaker explained at Amazon’s congressional meeting on Drones earlier in 2015.

These are just a taste of the multitude of complex regulations that would need to be amended in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposed by the FAA in order to match up with Amazon’s demands.

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“From the initial information presented, it seems that Prime Air will be nothing but bad news for drone hobbyists...”

No-fly zone

From the initial information presented, it seems that Prime Air will be nothing but bad news for drone hobbyists, who currently utilise the low altitude fly airspace around the world.

Amazon has proposed that hobbyists can only fly within the same 200-400 feet zone if their drone is equipped with the following five capabilities; otherwise, you will have to take your drone to a reserved airfield in an unpopulated area to be able to use it: • Advanced GPS system to pinpoint a drone’s location in real time along with any nearby drones • A reliable internet connection to maintain communications with that real-time GPS data • Online flight planning to predict and communicate their flight path • The ability to collaborate with other drones to avoid collisions • Sensors to avoid other obstacles such as birds, buildings and cables

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The Company says that the way it can guarantee “the greatest safety” is by requiring the above as standard as the level of complexity in the airspace increases, and with it so should the level of sophistication of the vehicle.

“Under our proposal, everybody has to be collaborative, all vehicles must be able to talk to each other and avoid each other as the airspace gets denser at low altitudes,” confirmed Gur Kimchi, VP and co-founder of Amazon Prime Air, who detailed the proposal at the NASA UTM Convention in California. Limiting this airspace to “well equipped vehicles as determined by the relevant performance standards and rules” is yet another regulation that the FAA would need to amend if it were to allow Amazon entry into the drone market.

Although the above is deemed necessary for safety reasons due to increased volumes of traffic, many will argue that drone hobbyists are a significant community that have long been present before Amazon decided to try and commoditise the space. The five capabilities outlined will pile more cost onto an already expensive hobby that could be said to act as a deterrent for those already using the low

“...there will no doubt be interest from other ecommerce companies in the rollout of a delivery drone service”

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If the FAA gives Amazon clearance, the package delivery landscape could change forever

altitude zone. Moreover, those who have already spent their money on a drone could find it is no longer legal to do so and lead to many disgruntled enthusiasts.

in place by the time any regulations are ready. We are working very quickly,” said Misener.

It is clear that in order for this delivery system to work, both the FAA and Amazon will have to compromise Coming to a compromise and work hard to find a solution that If the FAA gives Amazon clearance for suits both parties. However, the FAA is commercial rollout of its drone delivery responsible for the safety of those on service, it is likely to disrupt traditional the ground, which will always prevail package delivery significantly, but as a much more important factor to benefit the customer with the average consider than receiving a small parcel delivery charge of a two kilogram as quickly as possible. package as low as $1.1 and a delivery time Going forward, if Amazon do that could drop below 30 minutes. succeed in coming to an amicable Amazon has pledged with working agreement with the FAA, confidence to its customers that the there will no doubt be interest from Prime Air service will be ready as soon other ecommerce companies in the as its plans are approved. After years rollout of a delivery drone service. of exploration into the technology, In an era where convenience is king, the Company is taking this venture there is certainly potential to capitalise very seriously and hopes to eventually on this modern and innovative solution use drones to deliver packages to to on-demand shipping, on the other customers at a distance of 10 miles or hand, understandable scepticism will more. “We’d like to begin delivering continue to remain at the prospect of to our customers as soon as it’s a sky filled with delivery drones for a approved. We will have the technology long time to come.

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is a leading business-to-business publication promoting and showcasing the leading companies across an array of sectors in the EME region.

Appearing in both digital and print, the publication is aimed at boardroom members and hands-on decision makers, reaching a combined audience of more than 390,000 business executives.

Every other month we feature leading companies and business executives by profiling their operations and success stories. Covering areas of best practice, capital investments, the supply chain, innovation and continuous improvement, we aim to promote all that is good about the industry and the region, with your company taking centre stage throughout it all.

Producing business profiles across the full range of sectors and every corner of the continent, Europe & Middle East Outlook is the platform to promote your business success.

Read on for this month’s profiles.

Emily Jarvis, Deputy Editor emily.jarvis@outlookpublishing.com

If you want to enjoy the exposure and coverage we can offer, please feel free to contact us to discuss the opportunity further.

Tell us your story and we’ll tell the world.

Matthew Staff, Editorial Director Tel: +44 (0) 1603 959 655 matthew.staff@outlookpublishing.com

N I J H U I S

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Solid Solutions in a

Fluid World Designed to reduce the total cost of ownership and provide a long-term return for customers, Nijhuis Industries’ solid solutions in a fluid world are a response to a greener economy Writer: Emily Jarvis • Project Manager: James Mitchell

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eadquartered in the Netherlands, Nijhuis Industries is a multinational Company with a concerted focus on providing reliable, high quality sustainable water use and resourceefficient solutions that are built to last, in a world where sustainability regulations are constantly changing. With a turnkey performance-based service offering divided across four subsidiaries - Nijhuis Water Technology, Nijhuis Ozone Solutions, Nijhuis H2OK, Nijhuis Sales & Service Centres - Nijhuis Industries is a true solution provider with a global portfolio designed to reduce the total cost of ownership for customers.

“We look at how customers could reduce capex and opex spending by improving sustainability practices

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through the use of our competitive wastewater treatment and water management solutions to boost their business,” notes Menno M. Holterman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Driven by the Company slogan – solid solutions in a fluid world – Nijhuis monitors industry and regulatory developments to create the best and most innovative solution to help customers meet the increasingly demanding sustainability and productivity requirements, lower their environmental footprint, and combine productivity and energy efficiency to ensure minimum lifecycle cost.

As water scarcity is playing an increasing role in influencing measures to reduce water consumption, Nijhuis is successfully expanding into new countries, serving most continents

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around the world to help more customers develop a greener, more sustainable business using innovative industrial concepts.

Creating the best solution for our customers requires the most sustainable, costeffective and innovative product to lower the total cost of ownership” – Menno M. Holterman, CEO of Nijhuis Industries

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Nijhuis Modular Solutions simplify civil construction and reduce the installation and commissioning time

SOLID SOLUTIONS

in a fluid world 2,400 references around the world Satisfied customers Solid product quality and solutions Fluid dynamics to operate in a changing regulatory environment

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Target customers

Over the past 10 years, there has been increasing pressure for industry to seek new methodologies to become more sustainable; in-part due to the growth of the population, increase of drought in some countries and other eco-centric issues. Nijhuis has been able to capitalise on this through its four business units that complement each other to create a one-stop solution with the ultimate goal to help companies become more selfsufficient.

“Our longstanding expertise combined with our 2,400 references around the world gives us the capacity to design, manufacture and deliver solid solutions with the highest level of innovation to meet today’s challenges, as well as challenges in the future,” Holterman further highlights.

With strong business contracts across the food and beverage, oil &

gas, agriculture, cooling towers and other prominent industries around the world - accounting for 85 percent of business, with the remaining 15 percent being municipal - Nijhuis now works even closer with its customers in order to identify the ways in which they can reduce their operational costs, by looking closely at how a company could reduce their water and environmental footprint, reuse water and decrease its waste footprint, in line with the applicable laws and regulations for the region or city.

“It is all about recovering value from waste and wastewater; reduce, reuse and recover. In line with this, we have been able to help some of our customers become totally self-sufficient in terms of electricity and heating through our biogas and waste-to-energy offerings, which complement the water and wastewater management solution. Here, we are meeting their requirements and going beyond, as the customer then begins to make money out of their sustainable investment and can see a long-term return on their investment,” he adds.

Menno M. Holterman, CEO of Nijhuis Industries

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“Glocalised” solution

Although the majority of manufacturing is handled in-house from its headquarters in the Netherlands, Nijhuis also works closely with local partners and suppliers relative to where its solutions are deployed. “And the same level of quality is upheld throughout all elements of our outsourcing; not just fulfilling ‘fit for purpose’ standards, but what I call ‘fit for function’, providing a long life product that is supported by us throughout its lifecycle,” Holterman adds.

In order to keep up with demand, Nijhuis has embraced automation as a tool to improve productivity, reduce waste and save money without compromising on quality. He continues: “Automation is the ultimate tool to guarantee a consistently high quality product that is manufactured in the most efficient way. Similarly, the software that we use allows us to design and process much faster than before and it provides us with an insight into ways we can optimise the design of our products so as to use less material in the manufacturing process and is ‘fit for function’.”

Of course, the way that you manufacture a product varies depending on what country you are manufacturing it for and the regulations imposed at the time. This means Nijhuis has had to come up with what Holterman calls a “glocalised” solution. He explains: “We apply global engineering standards that cater for local circumstances; which makes for an interesting challenge. For example, water across the world has different characteristics that we must create the best waste management solution for.

We always have to design something new according to the local needs and requirements. This is where having a local partner is helpful in defining the customer needs in a specific region or country.”

Consequently, Nijhuis has been strengthening its sales and service

Innovative offerings for industry to reduce, reuse and recover, turning a cost centre into a profit centre

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centres around the world to improve its “glocalised” knowledge, deploying these centres across Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, South America, the Middle East and Africa; turning the Company into a truly global player.

Innovative offerings

Continuous innovation is a crucial element of Nijhuis’ successful growth strategy. For example, the Nijhuis modular solutions not only simplify the civil construction but also significantly reduce the installation and commissioning time on site as each containerised system is manufactured, pre-assembled and tested at its own production facility in the Netherlands.

The Nijhuis modular plants secure a minimal footprint and can easily be relocated or extended thanks to their modular design. A growing number

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Nijhuis Ammonia Recovery system

of multinationals aim to relocate production capacity during their economic lifetime anticipating local requirements, changing demands and regulations.

The recently awarded Nijhuis Ammonia Recovery System (NAR) has proven to be a highly efficient and competitive treatment solution for

recovering ammonia from digestate or substrates from digestion. Instead of biological oxidation of ammonia a biobased fertiliser is recovered which is another example of a game-changing Nijhuis waste-to-value solution.

More than ever, Nijhuis is continuing to expand its competitive range of industrial concepts, technological

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solutions and services including design, build, finance, operation and maintenance, a growing fleet of rental systems, innovative waste-to-value systems (Nijhuis AecomixTM and Nijhuis Flotation Fat Recovery System) and online monitoring to reduce lifecycle cost.

Nijhuis Academy

Following the theme of continuous improvement, Nijhuis has its own training academy that provides employees and partners with a global network of facilities which create an opportunity to exchange best practices from around the world and share valuable product information and field experience.

“Ultimately, our organisation is all about the people and their desire to help customers to meet and exceed Company sustainability, productivity and cost targets. As a world market leader, we have to comply with regulations while making sure that the customers remain satisfied throughout the design and planning phase, right through to the operational phase and aftersales support over the lifetime of the Nijhuis solution which can easily be up to 20 years of seamless operation,” emphasises Holterman.

Nijhuis Academy customer training exercise

Ultimately, our organisation is all about the people.

As a world market leader, we have to comply with regulations while making sure that the customers remain satisfied throughout the design and planning phase, right through to the operational phase and aftersales support

Not only does the Academy function as a centre for internal training for employees, but customers are also encouraged to take part in educational sessions at local academies, designed to help them to better understand the value of waste and to shorten the installation and commissioning time on site.

Holterman further explains: “This is useful in countries which have a very high turnaround of staff, as we can regularly return and exchange best practices in order to make sure local operators and decision makers have the most up to date information.

“Our academies around the world each function as a unique opportunity to monitor global waste management trends around the world, and also help us to develop a better personal relationship with the customer.

“This educational sales process helps companies to see the importance of smart waste and water management and ensures that the adequate solution can be applied to their business, wherever they are in the world; and we can provide a flexible step-by-step process to adapt or upgrade their systems.”

All of the above serves to secure Holterman’s personal mission to “stay with customers for life” and by implementing all of the right tools for success, Nijhuis sustainable water use and resource efficient solutions will continue to benefit customers around the world who want to turn a typical cost centre into a profit centre.

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Low Velocity Since securing a promising €13 million investment from the Welsh government, Minesto has begun to put the wheels in motion for its low velocity tidal project, Deep Green off the coast of North Wales, UK Writer: Emily Jarvis Project Manager: Ben Wigger he UK has long since been identified as a significant market for offshore renewable energy projects, and there are a growing number of developers from across the globe who are showing a more active interest in developing projects, particularly in Welsh waters.

Over the past 12 months, Wales has been increasingly identified as a potential location for marine energy projects and investors have been attracted by Wales’ excellent wave and tidal stream resource and the Welsh government’s willingness to develop the marine energy sector. One such Company that has secured funding for its tidal energy solution in North Wales is Swedish marine energy company, Minesto.

“The €13 million investment will help to establish a Minesto UK headquarters in North Wales and

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Anders Jansson, CEO of Minesto Anders Jansson has a proven entrepreneurial track record focusing on business development, commercialisation and funding. He has led the company through several successful rounds of capitalisation and his focus on business development has gained traction in all continents giving the company a global network within the renewable energy sector. He has received several awards for his work within venture creation proving the skills of taking a high-tech, startup Company towards commercialisation.

support commissioning of the first commercial Deep Green project and the roll out of marine power plants in Wales,” highlighted a recent press release from the Company.

“Wales has extensive raw wave and tidal energy resources along our shorelines, and Minesto’s Deep Green project is an excellent example of commercial solutions being developed in Wales to help drive our potential to be a world-leader in the marine energy market,” added Welsh First Minister, Carwyn Jones.

Established in 2007 by Managing Director, Anders Jansson, in collaboration with Saab Group and Chalmers University of Technology, from its two bases in Gothenburg, Sweden and Northern Ireland, UK, Minesto started the Company after identifying a gap in the market for a tidal solution that can operate at low velocity sites; which are much more common than high velocity sites around the world.

Minesto’s award-winning product, Deep Green, is the only known marine power plant that operates cost efficiently in areas with low velocity currents. Resembling an underwater kite with a wing and turbine, the tidal solution is attached by a tether to a fixed point on the ocean bed, moving swiftly in a figure of eight trajectory in the current.

Deep Green

In recent years, the Welsh government has been keen to exploit the marine energy resources along its 1,200

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ELITKOMPOSIT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MINESTO

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litkomposit is a key technology provider to Minesto on their journey from conceptual idea to

developed product.

“We have a solid reputation as problem solvers” says Magnus Abelsson, CEO. “The technical challenges we face together with Minesto have really set our development teams off! We are applying and combining the skills from our space and sub-sea divisions to meet the technical requirements. In addition we use our experiences from the automotive sector to create the most cost effective and scalable solution for volume production.”

Elitkomposit acts as the hub in a network in which the customer can get access to the latest findings in materialand process technology. Focusing

1. Wing; 2. Turbine; 3. Nacelle; 4. Rudder; 5. Strutts; 6. Tether

kilometres of coastline by taking advantage of low velocity tidal currents that are estimated to have the potential to supply more than five percent of the UK’s total electricity demand. According to a report commissioned by the Welsh government, marine energy could boost the Welsh economy by up to £840 million annually after 1GW of capacity has been deployed; and Minesto’s Deep Green tidal solution has the potential to be the perfect fit.

As opposed to other traditional and renewable energy sources, tidal and ocean current energy are considerably more predictable and reliable; with minimal visual, noise and environmental impact. “Deep Green, with its low weight and ability to operate in low velocity currents, has

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from the start on products that require technical boundaries to be pushed ahead, the company has accumulated a unique set of development tools for advanced composites and a deep understanding for the customers´

Deep Green, with its low weight and ability to operate in low velocity currents, has several advantages compared to other tidal and ocean current power plants

various needs and preconditions.

Services offered range from product development and prototyping to the set-up of production lines and serial production. Typical products range in size from a few grams to 1400 kg.

Elitkomposit is both a producer of components to specification and a system integrator.

T +46-522-65 77 60 E info@elitkomposit.se

www.elitkomposit.se

Regardless of whether your products go deep under water, out into space or anywhere in between - you can rely on us!

Supplying quality composites to demanding customers around the globe.

M I N E S T O

several advantages compared to other tidal and ocean current power plants; the catchment area is much larger, and service and maintenance is more cost efficient, resulting in low electricity production costs, comparable with traditional energy sources,” explained Minesto in 2014.

“Compared to other tidal solutions, we weigh on average 14 tonnes per MW, whereas other solutions can weigh up to 300 tonnes per MW,” the Managing Director said. “As you can imagine, the significant reduction of material required to construct the tidal power structures also means that the capital cost per MW is lower, benefitting Minesto investors and shareholders BGA Invest, Midroc New Technology, Saab Group and Chalmers University of Technology, amongst others - but more importantly, the electricity consumers.”

2016 >

Minesto will continue to run through the motions to ensure the smooth installation of the first commercial scale 0.5MW power plant in Holyhead Deep

Conceptual illustration of Deep Green ocean current array

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Deep Green tidal array

Developing opportunity

In support of its recent developments in North Wales, Minesto has also announced additions to its senior management team to complement this new growth and prepare the Company for a future boom in the tidal energy industry. Announced in September, Fredrik Ahlström has been named Minesto’s Chief Financial Officer, succeeding CFO Charlotta Ekman who will take up the position as Minesto’s Chief Operating Officer.

Commenting on his appointment, Ahlström said: “Minesto offers an innovative technology in an industry with growing importance and global reach. To be part of and contribute to how this completely new approach to renewable energy is developed, implemented and becomes cost effective, feels extremely inspiring. I am very proud to become a member of this dynamic and entrepreneurial team.”

Accompanying this more comprehensive management team comes the promise to accumulate the

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Minesto offers an innovative technology in an industry with growing importance and global reach

required skills and experience in the maritime renewables sector in Wales, where Minesto plans on providing around 30 direct jobs in the Anglesey area, “followed by hundreds more valuable opportunities in the longterm in the associated industries like manufacturing, offshore operations and new project development”.

Going into 2016, Minesto will continue to run through the motions to ensure the smooth installation of the first commercial scale 0.5MW power plant in Holyhead Deep, persisting with additional deployments in what will eventually be an array with a total capacity of 10MW, expected to be operational in 2019. When completed, the 10MW array will supply electricity to the equivalent of 8,000 households and will not only create significant employment opportunities in both the construction and operational phases, but demonstrate a new and innovative low velocity technology’s potential to combat climate change.

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Through the application of its unique business franchise model, AmRest has been able to acquire a significant and scalable share of some of the world’s most recognised power brands in the quick service and casual dining industries Writer: Emily Jarvis Project Manager: Ben Wigger ith 854 restaurants and counting, AmRest Holdings continues to maintain its status as the largest independent restaurant operator in Central and Eastern Europe. Backed by a solid franchise model and joint venture partnerships, the Company has built a portfolio of well-recognised power brands in the quick service and casual dining industries; comprising KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, La Tagliatella and Starbucks.

In addition to its strong European presence, AmRest has also widened its reach to pastures new via its Blue Frog and Kabb brands acquired in China, along with a growing presence in American markets.

This year, AmRest has been expanding its portfolio via merger and acquisition opportunities, ensuring continuous investment in its franchise of restaurant chains in order to grow its competitive edge.

Merger and acquisitions

January this year marked a significant milestone for the Company, starting with the opening of its 800th restaurant in Żarska Wieś near the town of Zgorzelec, Poland; situated on

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the border with Germany. “December 2014 was an extraordinary month for our Burger King team, who in only four weeks managed to open four new restaurants, bringing our total under operation to 40; 32 in Poland, seven in Czech Republic and one in Bulgaria,” highlighted AmRest in a news release.

Moreover, earlier in 2014, Starbucks overtook Coffeeheaven as the bestrecognised brand in Poland according to a survey by ARC Rynek i Opinia. The survey also pointed towards increasing brand loyalty among cafe-goers in the country, meaning AmRest’s further penetration of the market could not have come at a more crucial time.

This achievement was swiftly followed by the acquisition of the Bulgarian and Romanian business of Starbucks in March 2014, in a deal worth €16 million. “The acquisition of Starbucks in these two countries is a perfect fit for AmRest’s strategy,

In December 2014, AmRest increased its total number of Burger King restaurants in Poland to 40

December 2014 was an extraordinary month for our Burger King team, who in only four weeks managed to open four new restaurants

providing entrance into the Romanian market, the second largest country in Central Europe with a dynamically growing economy. Acquiring coffee shops in Bulgaria will strengthen our presence and scale across Central Europe as well,” the Company further explained.

The Starbucks brand has been part of AmRest’s portfolio since 2007, when the first coffee shop was opened in Prague. Before the above acquisition, the Company operated 67 Starbucks in three countries: Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary. “Our 14 additional locations in Romania and

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five in Bulgaria will be able to leverage AmRest’s vast expertise in operating a coffee business, and Romania in particular will benefit from our top locations, strong customer demand and thus, profitability.”

Designed to strengthen the leading position of AmRest in Central Europe’s restaurant industry, the acquisition of Starbucks in Romania and Bulgaria will contribute to value creation for its shareholders, demonstrating how well its unique franchise model works.

Pizza Hut Express

Coming up with new and innovative

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ways to better answer customer needs has always remained at the forefront of AmRest’s vision and mission, ensuring operational excellence throughout its franchise businesses.

In line with this, the Company opened its first Pizza Hut Express restaurant at Galeria Sfera in Bielsko-Biała, in the south of Poland; a new overthe-counter concept with speed of service equivalent to a quick service restaurant.

“In Pizza Hut Express, customers can see the production process, as their pizza is freshly made in front of them using local ingredients and at a cost-competitive price,” stated the Company.

With more Pizza Hut Express locations opening up this year, these smaller format quick service restaurants not only complement the casual dining experience that customers can already receive from AmRest’s chain of Pizza Hut restaurants, but strengthen the brand by creating a new way of dining

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for a limited capital expenditure requirement.

People, Brand, Scale

AmRest recognise that profit is not the sole purpose of the business and its 23,000 employees ensure the delivery of not only delicious food, but an exceptional service level. “With more than 120 million transactions made a year in our restaurants, it is not just about the money that changes hands,” stated AmRest’s Executive Director, Wojciech Mroczynski in 2014.

“Operational excellence is what distinguishes a good player from a great player, and we believe this is one of the reasons we have been so successful. This can only be achieved by bringing the right people on board and providing them with the right systems and tools to ensure excellence in how we operate,” he added.

The second part of AmRest’s distinctive sales proposition is leading brands. By making sure to always choose to work with reputable brands who are leaders in their respective categories and that conform to the Company’s unique business model, AmRest has been able to secure scalable business opportunities.

“People and brands are indispensable to drive our growth and ensure the necessary scale, our third component of success formula. Scale also opens up a lot of new growth opportunities for our people and our shareholders,” Mroczynski said.

In summary, the longstanding significance of the Company’s “Everything is Possible” mantra emulates the entrepreneurial spirit of AmRest and its founders, and its ambitious international and intercontinental growth plans going forward. As a consequence, AmRest hopes to catch up with the world’s biggest player in the quick service industry, McDonalds, by 2032; fuelled by its current growth margins and its long-term vision.

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Nature

makes the best

McCain is the world’s largest manufacturer of frozen french fries and potato specialties being proud of the active partnership with Amrest company.

French fries

We at McCain work closely together with our farmers. From field to fork, there are only five steps. The best potatoes are carefully selected, washed, peeled, cut and cooked in McCain sunflower oil. That’s it and that’s why McCain French fries are naturally delicious!

Find more information at: www.mccain.com

AmRest has also widened its reach to pastures new via its Blue Frog and Kabb brands acquired in China

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C & C

G R O U P

Sustainable Growth on an

International C&C Group has spent much of 2015 prioritising its portfolio and streamlining its processes as part of a strategy that looks to encourage a strengthening global presence into 2016 and beyond Writer: Matthew Staff Project Manager: Ben Wigger

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&C Group is responsible for producing some of the most renowned alcoholic beverages in Europe, and indeed the world, and is already laying out its plans for 2016 in order to continue quenching the thirsts of one of the industry’s most loyal customer bases.

The manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded cider, beer, wine and also soft drinks has diversified its range and business proposition extensively over the past few years, from its headquarters in Dublin, to comprise not only its core manufacturing arm - producing Bulmers and Magners cider brands

- but to also comprise ownership and distribution segments to further spread its influence.

This influence, and ongoing strive to amplify its product range, has subsequently led to a comprehensive international expansion; now exporting to the likes of North America as well as its core European markets.

Add the unlimited array of export markets to the fold and the C&C offering takes on an even more global dimension; contributing largely to the positive past 12 months enjoyed by the Company, especially in regards to its cash generation success. “Our core businesses are strongly cash generative. We therefore focus

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on cash,” the Company confirms on its website. “We critically review the value for money of all brand and capital investment. Our current emphasis is on investment at the customer interface, to drive revenue.

“Group management relentlessly drives to reduce costs; in production, distribution and commercial overheads.”

This stable and sustainable foundation facilitated key progress in its core Irish and Scottish markets in 2015, which saw the launch of Drygate as well as two new products, volume growth across its Anheuser-Busch Inbev brands, and concerted investment into its staple Bulmers and Tennent’s products.

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2016 Expansion

Exporting to the likes of North America as well as its core European markets

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C&C Group cider brands continue to grow strongly outside of their traditional UK and Ireland markets

IMAGE: WWW.BULMERS.IE

Driving value

The Company’s full-year dividend of 11.5 percent per share signified a 15 percent year-on-year increase to further emphasise this enhanced confidence in both the business model and C&C’s cash generation capability.

This isn’t to say that the past 12 months hasn’t been proactive in ironing out necessary improvements also though. A more concerted focus on simplicity formed the crux of the business’s philosophy towards the

15% Increase The Company’s full-year dividend of 11.5 percent per share signified a 15 percent year-onyear increase to further emphasise its value

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The medium-term strategic goals for the Group are to maintain strong brand market combinations in core geographies through brand and customer investment and by developing our brand-led wholesale platforms

back end of 2014 and continued into early 2015 through a prioritisation of its portfolio.

Complementing its Woodchuck Hard Cider brand in North America, C&C Group’s core offering in its native Ireland, and Scottish domains have been on the receiving end of a refinement in not just production techniques, but significantly through its logistical and distribution strategies; ensuring that the end product is as cost efficient as possible.

Driving value is the ultimate ethos garnered from such an approach, and has already seen positive results in the form of an expanded footprint into Europe, as well as an accelerated presence across Asia and Africa in regards to its export credentials.

For the former continent especially, both Magners and Tennent’s saw as much as 30 percent rises in saturation, while previous downturns in Australian custom were also rectified during 2015.

As a consequence, the Company

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achieved a very strong balance sheet for the year, achieving the combination of short-term gains aligned with longterm sustainability.

Sustainable and international

Looking forward to 2016 and the business is in a prime position to capitalise on the slight streamlining and expansion that has occurred in 2015; its primary goal of simply continuing the progression of core business transformation reflecting the lack of need for any drastic developments.

Additionally, however, the Company has also earmarked further cost reduction initiatives for the next 12 months, compounded by a further drive into export markets for its Bulmers and Tennent’s brands, as well as an increased sales and marketing influence in the US. Continuing to grow outside of the UK and Ireland, the vision subsequently remains a solidification of its balance sheet by leveraging its cash generation philosophy, as core markets are expected to facilitate stronger sales performances in the months and years to come.

“The medium-term strategic goals for the Group are to maintain strong brand market combinations in core geographies through brand and customer investment and by developing our brand-led wholesale platforms,” C&C Group explains. “They are also to transform our international business through investment in brands and infrastructure and through the development of strategic alliances and acquisitions; thus enhancing future earnings growth and maximising shareholder value.

“We seek to generate high free cash conversion and maintain a sound and efficient balance sheet.”

The Company adds: “Our longterm strategy is to build a sustainable international cider-led, multi-beverage business through a combination of organic growth and selective acquisitions.”

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Proud to support the C&C Group A leading supplier of both native and speciality starches.

Intensive Teamwork dedicated to customer needs.

ROQUETTE FRERES 62080 LESTREM - France Phone: + 33 3 21 63 36 00 Fax: + 33 3 21 63 38 50 www.roquette.com

Transforming the Company’s international business through investment in high-quality infrastructure

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M A R R I O T T

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GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE,

LOCAL PRESENCE

Marriott continues to capitalise on its position as the UK’s largest onshore deep drilling Company through a balanced progression of both its international projects and its internal procedures Writer: Matthew Staff Project Manager: Arron Rampling

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s the UK’s largest onshore deep drilling Company, Marriott Drilling Group continues to go from strength to strength in expanding its portfolio of international projects, completing assignments with the same core philosophies and commitments to operational excellence that helped establish the business nearly 70 years ago.

Incepted in 1947 by Richard Marriott, the Company’s longstanding and ongoing success emanates from the family name that still influences its growth to this day; three of the founder’s grandchildren still occupying management spots within the Group.

A consistency and enthusiasm to continuously improve has subsequently become synonymous with the business, across not only its 20 operational drilling and workover rigs, but also a wide range of drilling and associated services to the oil, gas, shale gas, gas storage, coal, CBM, mining, water and geothermal sectors.

And, just as the industry footprint has expanded, so too has the geographic footprint, now catering for projects across mainland Europe, as well as international markets spanning as far as North America and Africa.

“Marriott offers a selection of business arrangements from traditional day-rate type contracts to incentive contracts, alliances and partnerships to provide clients with a wide range of services, particularly for special and long-term projects,” the Company emphasises.

Director, Jonti Hobday added: “For almost 70 years, the Company has been offering a range of specialist drilling and associated services to a range of industries and projects.

“Above all, it is a team philosophy working together with clients and service providers to ensure the project objectives are met.”

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Leading service providers

Close client collaboration and versatility have been trademarks of the Marriott service offering over the years, despite the added complexities that stem from the widespread projects facilitated in the 21st century.

Careful, yet proactive, organic growth has been the strategy from which this success has been achieved, evolving the model from being a specialist service for the construction of groundwater abstraction wells and investigation boreholes for coal deposit evaluation, to the allencompassing variety of services that exists today.

“The period from 1980 to 1990 was characterised by significant investment in new drilling plants and associated equipment to exploit contracts offered by oil & gas customers, water companies and major industries,” the Group recalls. “Since 2000, further investment has given the Company the additional capability to provide high capacity and the latest drilling equipment for the deep drilling industry and the water sector.

“Today a professional team of business, financial and technical managers together with dedicated team of engineering, technical and HSE specialists provide the professional support required to fulfil the needs of a wide variety of clients.”

Marriott HQ, Chesterfield

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M A R R I O T T

D R I L L I N G

Actively involved in developing bespoke and turnkey drilling and service packages for long-term contracts across its international domain, Marriott Group also involves itself in oil & gas exploration and development to further enhance its value proposition, motivated by its primary objective to achieve growth via a methodical expansion of its rig fleet, service portfolio and technological capabilities.

As a consequence, “Marriott aims to become one of the leading services providers to the oil, gas, geothermal and water industries both in the Europe and in selected markets overseas”.

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Recovering potash core, North Yorkshire

Highest standards

As an influential member of the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) and the Well Drillers Association (WDA), Marriott’s reputation and standing within the wider industry is comprehensive, adding further weight behind its drive to attain future contracts.

From an internal perspective, this also allows the Company to form the most prevalent business partnerships in formulating its supply chain, and asserts the Group’s position as an employer of choice in the UK’s sector also.

This potent combination ultimately ensures that Marriott’s equipment and operations are up to global standards in terms of modernisation and capacity.

“Richard Marriott had an aptitude for designing equipment for particular applications and, in the 1970s, he designed and patented an eccentric bit for drilling and casing wells simultaneously through overburden and unconsolidated formations of a type which revolutionised the shallow drilling business worldwide,” the Company notes.“He also developed casing jacks up to 800 tonne capacity for extracting casing and participated in the development of down-holehammer technology.

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Oil exploration, Northern Kenya

Richard Marriott set the highest standards of equipment maintenance and customer satisfaction, characteristics which are key factors in the culture and success of the Company today

“Richard Marriott set the highest standards of equipment maintenance and customer satisfaction, characteristics which are key factors in the culture and success of the Company today.”

New generation rigs are regularly added to the portfolio to ensure Marriott maintains its position ahead of the industry curve, adopting the newest available technologies in each case to not only improve the quality of its operations across long-term projects, but to also ensure it adheres to the very latest industry trends and expectations.

“For long-term projects, the rig fleet will continue to be expanded by new bespoke rigs including equipment suitable for remote operations in the international market, rigs designed and built to Western European standards which fully conform to the latest EU regulations, and rigs suitable for pad drilling for development projects including skidding or walking systems,” Marriott adds on its website. “Marriott also prides itself in achieving some of the lowest downtime statistics in the industry through comprehensive maintenance and refurbishment programmes, spares holdings and experienced on-site mechanics and electricians.”

Ambitious growth strategy

Health & safety features prominently in this adherence to operational excellence, placing the welfare of Marriott’s employees, clients and service company personnel as a priority across all operations.

Certified to this end, and compounded by the ongoing tailoring of quality programmes to keep in accordance with ISO 9000 standards, the Company’s most recent review in relation to a familiarly fruitful 2014 suggests that Marriott is not ready to relinquish its lofty market positioning any time soon.

“It was a busy year for the Marriott

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Proudly associated with Marriott Drilling Group

Drilling Services Ltd | Foss Farm | 2 Dyke Drove | Bourne | Linconshire | PE10 0BL, UK T: +44 (0) 1778 392 555 | F: +44 (0) 1778 392 618 | E: sales@drilling-services.co.uk

Group including successful operations in the UK, Kenya and Guatemala. Noteworthy is the excellent record for health & safety with two rigs winning customer awards and one of the UK rigs reaching over 900 days without a lost time accident,” the Group stated in its end-of-year summary.

Awards for its Rig 16 safety record and its Rig 46 one-year, zero LTI (lost time injury) achievement in Kenya epitomises the Marriott model, while 2015 looks set to witness the 1,000 day LTI-free landmark at Rig 50; the Company subsequently paying due credit to its valued employees across the board.

With targets such as this firmly within sight, and a general continuous improvement process that has been refined for the best part of 70 years, Marriott looks as well placed as ever before to sustain Richard’s initial vision of fostering an internationally successful and progressive oil & gas contractor.

The Company concludes: “The Marriott Drilling Group has an ambitious growth strategy including plans for increasing the rig fleet by adding state-ofthe-art equipment where opportunities arise, and developing further international markets.”

Drilling for potash, North Yorkshire

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Raising the nited Cast Bar (UCB) is setting increasingly impressive standards in 2015 as it continues to raise the bar; even for a Company that had already become so synonymous with leading the way in iron bar manufacturing.

As the home of Unibar Continuous Cast Iron, the business was formed in 1998 as a merger of three of Europe’s most prestigious iron bar foundries across the UK and Spain, and has since gone from strength to strength in expanding its range of products and services to an ever-growing and expectant footprint of customers.

“Bringing together more than 120 years of experience into one group of companies, United Cast Bar developed a synergy for technical and manufacturing procedures, quality systems, control parameters, commercial rationalisation and supply logistics,” the Company notes in relation to its evolution over the past 17 years. “From this base, United Cast Bar has created the Unibar brand of products.”

Available in a range of grades, and suitable for an array of application demands, Unibar is produced to bespoke specifications; a key business model to have influenced UCB’s success over the years, lending themselves to produces ranging from break discs, to hydraulic manifolds, to pistons, plate moulds and many, many more.

UCB’s Unibar product range is one of the most successful in the industry on a global stage, but the UK-based manufacturer refuses to rest on its laurels as it continues to break records and strive for leaner processes Writer: Matthew Staff • Project Manager: Ben Wigger

James Brand, Managing Director, UK

With distribution arms spanning much of mainland Central Europe, and even Turkey and South Korea further afield, UCB is now perfectly positioned to fulfil its initial aims and visions on a larger scale than ever before.

“United Cast Bar has strengthened and extended its sales structure and logistics network over the years by providing a manufacturing base to produce more than 80,000 tonnes of Unibar, with more than 20,000 tonnes permanently held as standard stock in its foundries and distributors, throughout Europe, North America and the Far East,” the Company explains. “Our aim with Unibar is to establish standards of quality, consistency and customer service that exceed current market demands, and to provide the best technical and commercial support.”

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TYROLIT TYROLIT is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of grinding, cut-off, sawing, drilling and dressing tools to a wide range of industries including foundry, aerospace, automotive, gear, medical and tooling.

TYROLIT’s comprehensive quality assurance systems and modern manufacturing methods and production facilities ensure ultra-precise tools tailored for any application.

Unibar is available in a range of different finishes and all UCB centres can offer various different machining capabilities, from sawn cut lengths to full six-side milling Best practice

UCB’s business model stemmed from its Group-wide philosophy of ‘Procedure for Best Practice’, complemented by an efficient cost structure in order to sustain consistent quality in a competitive market.

This ethos originates in the manufacturing process in optimising lean practices to create an array of benefits.

The Company explains: “The Unibar horizontal continuous casting machine consists of four major units: in the closed system a liquid-cooled die is built into the holding furnace so that the liquid metal enters the die without coming into contact with the atmosphere.

“Because the bar is pulled horizontally, the metal flows more uniformly and is always subjected to a much higher ferrostatic pressure than in sand castings.

“This, combined with rapid cooling in the die, ensures superior soundness,

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good surface finish and homogenous structure as well as excellent structural cohesion throughout the section.”

A stronger and more durable product is formed as a consequence, and enables flexibility within the business to unveil new grades, such as those being launched to the glass industry in 2015 through the expansion of its original flake and nodular iron products. This flexibility also epitomises a material processing model which meets similarly lean standards.

UCB continues: “United Cast Bar offers various services to deliver premachined products to your yard. Premachined materials save you valuable production time, eliminates waste in your production and allows you to focus on the key design elements of your products.”

Material advantages

Another area in which UCB has thrived over the years is in technical

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With on-site technical support and training, TYROLIT offers a holistic approach to the review of grinding and cutting applications to help you get the best from your processes, save money and increase productivity.

T 0845 6868 200 E gb_enquiries@tyrolit.com

www.tyrolit.co.uk

marketing, ensuring that the Company is not only producing the very best portfolio, but is tailoring its core products to the right places, backed up by the right expertise.

“The Unibar range of products, with its material properties, is an ideal material to substitute other, more expensive material solutions in various applications,” the Company says.

“Unibar products are - depending on application - well suited to replace aluminium, steel, sand castings, and brass or bronze.”

The material advantages that are achieved throughout the Unibar range lend themselves to a series of different sizes, grades, regional requirements and trends, and even shapes following close consultation with customers to distinguish each client’s demands.

“Unibar is available in a range of different finishes and all UCB centres can offer various different machining capabilities, from sawn cut lengths to full six-side milling,” the Company states.

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夀伀唀刀 倀䄀刀吀一䔀刀 䤀一 吀䠀䔀 䘀伀唀一䐀刀夀 䤀一䐀唀匀吀刀夀

吀栀攀 甀氀琀椀洀愀琀攀 猀漀氀甀琀椀漀渀 昀漀爀 最爀椀渀搀椀渀最 愀渀搀 挀甀琀ⴀ漀昀昀 愀瀀瀀氀椀挀愀琀椀漀渀猀 椀渀 琀栀攀 昀漀甀渀搀爀礀 倀爀漀甀搀 猀甀瀀瀀氀椀攀爀 漀昀 愀戀爀愀猀椀瘀攀猀 琀漀 唀一䤀吀䔀䐀 䌀䄀匀吀 䈀䄀刀 眀眀眀⸀琀礀爀漀氀椀琀⸀挀漀⸀甀欀 㠀㐀㔀 㘀㠀㘀㠀 ㈀

The material advantages that are achieved throughout the Unibar range lend themselves to a series of different sizes

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In July, UCB produced more than 180 tonnes of 700mm diameter flake and nodular grades

“United Cast Bar has a team of experts to advise you on best material selection for your particular application needs and our professionals will help you from initial analysis to delivery of the best Unibar product for your trials.

“Many of the advantages of Unibar over other materials can be attributed to the two phases present in the structure; an iron metallic one - similar to steel - and a graphitic phase with graphite in flake of sheroidal form.”

World record

Unibar products are renowned not only for their physical properties

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United Cast Bar has a team of experts to advise you on best material selection for your particular application needs...

but also their cost efficiency and even their commercial advantages.

Meanwhile, United Cast Bar as a Group is strengthening its wider reputation year on year through an enthusiasm and commitment to setting new sector standards.

“United Cast Bar has again taken the lead in the manufacture of large section continuously cast iron, increasing our already large portfolio of sizes,” a Company press release declared earlier in the year. “During July, UCB successfully produced more than 180 tonnes of 700mm diameter flake and nodular grades; yet another

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world record, with much of it sold on pre-orders.”

James Brand, Managing Director of the United Cast Bar UK facility added: “This production run marks the culmination of many years’ hard work in design of equipment and process flow. It supports and expands the already broad product portfolio, opening up yet more doors for our sales people.”

Group Managing Director, Alessandro Rottach also praised the UK operation for the development and added that “United Cast Bar’s balance of efficiency and flexibility,

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United Cast Bar has again taken the lead in the manufacture of large section continuously cast iron...

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coupled with our broadest product offering for the market from both our UK and Spanish operations, make UCB an invincible force in the continuous cast iron market”.

This invincibility is compounded by a dedication to never rest on its laurels, while keeping a close eye on global industry trends through the attendance of events including Hannover Messe and MECSPE, cementing its position as the only company in the global market place to attempt the scales of production achieved by UCB year after year.

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F A C H P A C K

2 0 1 5

E V E N T IN ITS 36TH trade fair year, FachPack can look back on a magnificent success story: what began in 1979 with 80 exhibitors and around 2,000 visitors, has long since become one of the leading European fairs covering everything to do with packaging.

Nearly 1,500 exhibitors and 34,598 visitors are expected in 2015.

As one of the most significant European trade fairs, its popularity will be evident once again this year, from 29 September to 1 October, as the exhibition in Nuremburg, Germany, covers areas of innovation, marking and labelling, and multi-channel communications.

Complementing the established elite attending the event, young and innovative companies from Germany will also be provided with the opportunity to present themselves to visitors as part of an all-encompassing, innovative and well-frequented diverse support programme.

All told, the 37,000 trade visitors will be spoilt for choice, and while the 1,500 exhibitions will cover a range of services across areas of packaging, technology, finishing and logistics, the main focus of this year’s event is the theme of ‘Marketing and Labelling’.

This follows on from 2013 where the event enjoyed 350 suppliers showcasing their solutions based on this multi-sector theme and also leads in seamlessly to its secondary focus on packaging for multi-channel communication.

Specifically, this element will focus on structural change in the retail trade prompting new challenges; innovative solutions across the packaging process chain; and the aforementioned labelling and marketing, multi-sector, technology.

The second of those facets - the process chain - will arguably be the most prominent system to benefit

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F O C U S

In its 36th trade fair year FachPack can look back on a magnificent success story 1,500 exhibitors 37,000+ visitors 350+ suppliers 100s of technical presentations

from the three days, as FachPack itself emphasises: “The future begins with innovations from 29 September to 1 October at the exhibition centre in Nuremberg. This is because we are expecting trail-blazing, new and further developments in the packing industry from the approximately 1,500 exhibitors at FachPack 2015.

“The total of around 37,000 trade visitors will experience innovations across the packaging process chain, and thus in all four FachPack segments: packaging, technology, finishing and logistics.”

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WHEN: 29 September – 1 October, 2015 WHERE: Exhibition Centre Nuremberg, 90471 Nürnberg, Germany WEBSITE: www.fachpack.de

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Who should attend?

Transport & logistics Consultants Software companies Equipment & handling Catalyst EPC Refiners & Petrochemical producers

T H I S Y E A R , with the support of MOL, the World Refining Association’s CEE and Turkey Refining and Petrochemical conference is back for the 18th year; taking place in Budapest, Hungary.

The only event of its kind dedicated to CEE and Turkey, the meeting will deliver unparalleled insight, critical analysis, and clarity on the future of refining and petrochemicals in the region.

For the first time, a whole day will be dedicated to operational excellence to address how to achieve efficiency and sustainability. The issue of oil price will be tackled head on through ‘The Big Debate’ as well as market perspectives of global and regional supply and demand dynamics and how these are impacting on the industry. Case studies from MOL, SOCAR and ENI will also look at new innovative technologies and how the CEE can survive and change in a competitive time.

On average, the event is expecting similar attendee levels to last year, comprising both operators

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Key topics Market perspectives and oil price Petrochemical spotlight Turkey and Hungary spotlights Technology, R&D and innovation Energy efficiency Operational excellence

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D E TA I L S

WHEN: 13-15 October, 2015 WHERE: Budapest, Hungary

Notable presentations Oil price debate Presentation from SOCAR Turkey CEO, Kenan Yavuz STAR Refinery integration project update MOL Group polyolefin development

(40 percent) and service companies (60 percent) and consisting primarily of personnel in roles including: CEOs; R&D; tech; operations; projects; sales & marketing; procurement; engineering; processing; GMs; VPs and strategists.

CONTACT: Rosie Brewster, Communications Manager Tel: +44 (0) 20 7384 8013 r.brewster@theenergyexchange.co.uk

WEBSITE: http://www.wraconferences.com/ event/cee-and-turkey-refining-andpetrochemicals

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NOTE is a leading Northern European manufacturing and logistics partner for high mix electronics production. In partnership with our customers, we turn their product ideas into reality, and safeguard their value chains.

We manufacture PCBAs, sub-assemblies and box build products on assignment from customers. Our services extend throughout the value chain, from design to aftermarket.

We add value at every link in the chain, reduce the overall cost, and create new opportunities for higher growth and better profitability for customers.

Our production units are located across Europe and Asia and provides electronics for more than 200 customers around the world.

Learn more about us, and find contact information to all our units, at www.note.eu.