Issue 3
Elematic
The World is Our Worksite With over 50 years experience and operations in over 100 countries worldwide, Elematic are now looking to focus their efforts on expanding into Asia Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Mark Warren Elematic has operated in the precast business for over 50 years, acquiring product knowledge that has global applications. Known for their ambitious product development and active search for new markets, the company has been successful in meeting customer requirements throughout changing times. Elematic provides precast concrete producers with the technology, production lines, products and services that make the company a one-stop supplier for these technologies, in over 100 countries across six continents. The company is the global technology and market leader in precast concrete technology for residential and non-residential buildings. Precast – The Complete Building Solution Precast is a smart way to build any type of building, both safely and affordably. Originally developed in the Nordic countries, modular precast is one of the world's most common and resource-efficient ways to build. It ensures faster construction times, lower total costs, higher profitability and better quality, whilst not compromising the requirements of a modern building. "Our customers are in the precast business of floors, walls, frames and foundations - or even all three. With us you can choose from the widest portfolio of precast manufacturing solutions worldwide. This guarantees that you always get the smartest match for your needs. Sometimes it means renewal of a single machine. Sometimes a complete precast plant." Through decades of experience, Elematic have learnt about the varying…
Bella Bulgaria
The Belle of Bulgaria Europe Outlook spoke with Elza Markova, CEO of Bella Bulgaria, in a Q&A discussing its success across Southeast Europe and how the company has become the belle of the Bulgarian food manufacturing industry Writer Matt Bone Project Manager Glen Newton Q: Could you give us a brief overview of Bella Bulgaria? Bella is a market leader in the food industry in Bulgaria, with a portfolio of over 200 products focusing on the creation of meat, milk, oils and pastry products. Since the establishment of the company in 1992, we have been following an upward trend of development, which in 2013 resulted in the company making over EUR 130 million. The company uses advanced technologies to monitor production processes and has implemented systems for Quality Management; namely ISO 9001:2008, ISO 22000 and IFS (International Food Standard) across our facilities. We operate a successful business in Southeast Europe, where we employ 3,000 people in Bulgaria alone, and we export to more than 20 countries worldwide including; USA, Spain, Turkey, Australia, Armenia, Germany, Britain, France, Cyprus, Holland, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and the Lebanon. We owe this success to our excellent business strategy, long term planning and the continuous introduction of global know-how. Q: What advantages do you have over your competitors? Our innovative products are one of our strongest advantages in the complex and ever changing food industry. Consumers are always on the lookout for new products, new tastes and most importantly, variety. With this in mind, our R&D teams work tirelessly to ensure our…
Morgan Motor Company Ltd
Evolution Not Revolution For over a century, Morgan Motor Company has created some of the most elegant sports cars the British car industry has known and 2014 marks the launch of the new Morgan Plus 8 Speedster Writers Emily Jarvis & Matt Bone Project Manager Dave Alexander As the last remaining family-owned and independent British sports car manufacturer, Morgan Motor Company has come a long way during its 105 year life, maintaining a stellar reputation among enthusiasts whilst also upholding the British sports car tradition. Modern pressures such as ensuring both their vehicles and processes are as environmentally friendly as possible means that the company must continue to innovate and implement the latest cutting edge technology throughout both the design process and production stages. With the intricacies of craftsmanship at the forefront of every aspect of manufacturing, employees at Morgan Motor Company continue to be truly driven by their work. Morgan is extremely proud of its heritage and have successfully established themselves as a manufacturer synonymous with pure excellence, reinforced over time by adherence to the company's superior principles, high standards and the best craftsmanship. Leading design capability, an extensive array of luxurious materials and the latest drive-train technologies combine to create an unparalleled driving experience. Remaining Competitive in a Mainstream Market Steve Morris, Managing Director of Morgan Motor Company holds the belief that it is evolution, not revolution that keeps Morgan competitive in an increasingly mainstream market: "When you look back at the classic Morgan cars that have been produced, you see a look and…
Adven
Committed to Sustainable Energy WIth the aim of becoming the most desired energy partner in Finland, Sweden and Estonia, Adven strive to solve client's energy needs efficiently, reliably and in a sustainable manner Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager Dave Alexander Adven is a leading energy company that provides customised and cost-efficient energy solutions and district heating in Finland, Sweden and Estonia. Their products include industrial steam and refrigeration, heating, cooling solutions, gas, electricity and other energy products required by customers. Adven pride themselves on their ability to build comprehensive solutions tailored to the customers' needs, delivering energy products in a reliable and cost-efficient manner that minimises environmental impact. Their customers include industry, the commercial and service sectors, the public and municipal sectors and district heating customers across Finland, Sweden and Estonia. Adven pride themselves on their ability to build comprehensive solutions tailored to the customers' needs, delivering energy products in a reliable and cost-efficient manner that minimises environmental impact. Their customers include industry, the commercial and service sectors, the public and municipal sectors and district heating customers across Finland and Estonia. Adven launched its operations in Sweden this year and is currently busy expanding market coverage in these three markets with the hopes of becoming the leading provider of tailored energy solutions in the Northern region of Europe. "Customers focus, sustainability and social responsibility are the cornerstones of our operations" Adven's Vice President Ilkka Niiranen says that the company's success is down to its customer focus: "Customers are our priority and we work very hard each…
Atlas Copco Sweden
Sustainable Productivity on a Global Scale Innovation is Atlas Copco's guiding principle, which drives engineers and designers to develop new technology and revolutionise productivity in drilling, manufacturing and other industrial processes Project Manager Mark Warren Atlas Copco Sweden has been a world leading provider of sustainable industrial productivity solutions for over 140 years. The Group serves customers with innovative compressors, vacuum solutions and air treatment systems, construction and mining equipment, power tools and assembly systems. The world-renowned company develops products and services focused on productivity, energy efficiency, safety and ergonomics. Founded in 1873, Atlas Copco is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and has a global reach spanning more than 180 countries. In Q3 of 2014, the Group recorded revenues of SEK 23.6 billion ($3.3 billion) and currently have more than 40,000 employees. With a tradition of innovation dating back to the Group's founding in 1873, the core business remains much the same, with today's equipment delivering an unparalleled level of efficiency. This level of customer dedication and timely delivery is accompanied by the Group vision; to become and remain First in Mind-First in Choice® of its customers and other key stakeholders. To this end, Atlas Copco continuously searches for external partnerships to build long-term relations with inventors, customers, suppliers, academia, research companies and institutes. So, collaboration is an important key element in the company's innovation process in order to meet customer demands. The Four Technological Areas Atlas Copco's history of product development in its four main technological areas dates back to the turn of the last century,…
Iomart
Our Cloud, Your Way Writer Matt Bone Project Manager Dan Hester Founded in 1998, Iomart has grown to become one of the leading providers of cloud and managed hosting services in Europe, delivering the compute, storage, connectivity and security needed by businesses of all sizes to operate in the digital age we live in. Through its direct ownership of every layer of the cloud, iomart provides industry-leading 100% uptime Service Level Agreements to customers who include Pernod Ricard, Skyscanner, Stagecoach, Truck-Lite, and Liverpool FC. iomart owns and operates data centres across the United Kingdom, connected via an 1860km fast, high capacity fibre network, and has a series of international Points of Presence. It offers the full range of cloud services from bare metal through to private and hybrid cloud; cloud storage, backup and disaster recovery; Hosted Exchange; hosted desktop; business mail; connectivity and network security. From its headquarters in Scotland, iomart employs over 320 staff of whom over 100 provide 24/7/365 technical support to customers. Last year was iomart's most successful yet with revenues reaching £55.6m. Cloud Provider of Choice Angus MacSween, Iomart CEO Q: What does business want from the cloud? The companies who use iomart's services are primarily looking for peace of mind, a secure and stable service and a provider they can trust. Regardless of business size or budget, our clients want a service that is always on 24/7/365 days a year and can be adapted to their needs. One big focus is predictable pricing. In the same way you know what you…
COROMATIC
The evolution of critical facilities Coromatic Group is the Nordic market leader safeguarding business continuity and providing robust critical facilities centred on a simple concept: what does the customer need and how can we meet that need? Writer Matt Bone Project Manager Dan Hester With an interconnected society that is built on reliable access to online services and power, the solutions for meeting such demand in buildings 24 hours a day seven days a week have become critical to companies. Add the increase in businesses using cloud services and requiring larger data storage locations, The Nordic region has seen itself become the new hotbed for data centre and cloud solutions. With an abundance of land available for building upon and temperatures perfectly suited to running thermally dependant hardware, Sweden is the perfect backdrop for Coromatic's burgeoning services. Established back in 1992, Coromatic have been at the forefront of delivering reliable power and critical facilities in the Nordic region, thanks to the entrepreneurial mind set and family oriented values of managers and employees alike. Anders Tollsten, CEO of Coromatic, believes that being an early adopter of security and critical facilities put them in a strong position when the world kept getting more reliant on IT: "Back when the company was set up, the founders wanted to ensure that they offered customers in the IT sector something new and something that would really benefit the client's company. The emphasis was always on customer needs and addressing them. We quickly saw that designing and building secure data centres and…
Matthews Asia Hires New Head of Business Development in UK
Based in London, Neil will be responsible for directing the firm’s business development and client service activities in the U.K. and select European markets. Neil has extensive experience working with institutional and professional investors, including local authorities, discretionary wealth managers, private banks, and global financial institutions, as well as leading platforms, including 10 years at Aberdeen Asset Management where he served as Head of U.K. Discretionary Sales. Reporting to Jonathan Schuman, Head of Global Business Development, Neil’s hire marks an important step in the continued build‐out of Matthews Asia’s global operations and highlights the company’s long‐term commitment to the U.K. and European marketplace. Neil Steedman, Head of U.K. Business Development, said: “I am excited to join Matthews Asia as it continues to grow its business in the U.K. and Europe, and thrilled to be part of the team that will bring the firm’s distinctive investment approach and long-term focus on Asia to U.K. and European-based investors. Matthews Asia’s extensive product line‐up and the firm’s long‐term, fundamental approach to investing are ideally suited for institutional and professional investors’ portfolios.” “Neil’s appointment reflects Matthews Asia’s strategic commitment to provide distinctive Asian investment strategies and high‐quality service to our partners and investors across the U.K. and Europe. We are pleased that a growing number of investors have recognized Matthews Asia’s specialist capabilities. The expansion of our local presence in Europe reflects the long-term importance that we place on providing quality products and service to our clients,” commented Jonathan Schuman, Head of Global Business Development.
Siemens Reports 9% Increase in Patent First Filings
In fiscal 2014, Siemens filed 4,300 patent applications – a year-over-year increase of nine percent. In addition, the company intends to boost investments in research and development (R&D) by around €400 million. In fiscal 2014, R&D expenditures totalled roughly €4 billion. Twelve Siemens researchers and developers who together account for more than 900 inventions and 842 granted individual patents played a leading role in the company’s success. They were honoured by Siemens as Inventors of the Year 2014 in Munich on December 3. “Innovation is a cornerstone of our Siemens Vision 2020,” says Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG. “Valuable creative ideas are the basis for our innovations. With their ingenuity and their drive to create new technology solutions, these 12 inventors and their 30,000 colleagues worldwide have played a key role in safeguarding our company’s technological future and market success.” Eight of the Siemens researchers honoured are from Germany; the others are from the U.S., Denmark and China. Their inventions range from wireless sensors that monitor rail-car position on the track to a new cooling system that enables wind power installations to generate more electricity to a gas turbine whose components have been recombined, thus making turbine production considerably more economical than in the past. Siemens has been presenting the Inventors of the Year award annually since 1995 to honour the organisation's outstanding researchers and developers whose inventions make major contributions to the company's success.
Ben & Jerry’s Becomes First Company to Turn Ice Cream into Energy
Ben & Jerry's has become the first ice cream company in the world to power one of its factories using the by-products of ice cream. The values-led company has announced the launch of the new BIOPAQ®AFR Biodigester (AKA 'The Chunkinator') at their European factory in Hellendoorn, Holland after a year of testing and eighteen months of trial runs. The Willy Wonka-esque contraption will convert wasted milk, cream, syrups and pieces of fruit from the production process into energy. Now for the "Clever Cookies" science bit…Designed to cut down on lost energy, the Chunkinator, an anaerobic flotation reactor, is fed ice cream waste into its tank, where 24 billion natural micro-organisms break down the particles turning them into biogas. At the same time, waste water, created as a bi-product of keeping the creation station's machinery sparkling clean, is also fed into the tank, which acts like a battery by insulating water at the correct temperatures for ice cream creation and dramatically reducing the need for natural gas to heat the plant. The novel machine is an innovation in the field of purification of fat-containing wastewater. The innovation comes from wastewater streams that contain fat and oil being treated in one compact reactor, together with the degradable particles - whereas in conventional systems this is only possible by going through a number of processing stages. The machine has powered 16 million pints of Ben & Jerry's in the past year, from "Cookie Dough" to "Phish Food", and came out of test mode in June to be fully operational.…
Total CEO de Margerie Killed in Moscow Plane Accident
The Chief Executive of French oil major Total, Christophe de Margerie, was killed in an airplane collision with a snowplow at Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport, airport spokeswoman Elena Krylova said today. "Tonight, a plane crashed when it collided with a snow-clearing machine. Three crew members and a passenger died. I can confirm that the passenger was Total's head de Margerie," she said. The collision occurred during takeoff of the Dassault Falcon business jet in which de Margerie was a passenger late on Monday, just minutes before midnight Moscow time, an airport statement said. The plane was due to travel to Paris. De Margerie was on a list of attendees at a Russian government meeting on foreign investment in Gorki, near Moscow, on Monday. De Margerie, 63, a graduate of the Ecole Superieure de Commerce business school in Paris, became Chief Executive Officer of Total in February 2007, taking on the additional role of chairman in May 2010, after previously running its exploration and production division. Total SA is France's second-biggest listed company with a market value of 102 billion Euros and the West's fourth biggest oil and gas group. The company cut its 2017 oil output goal last month and said it would step up asset sales and overhaul exploration. Like other big oil companies, Total has been under pressure from shareholders to cut costs and raise dividends as rising costs in the industry and weaker oil prices squeeze profitability. De Margerie said in July that he should be judged based on new projects launched under…
Microsoft to Phase out Nokia Name on Smartphones
Microsoft is ditching the Nokia brand name from new devices, less than a year after acquiring the Finnish mobile firm. New Nokia Lumia smartphones will instead be known as Microsoft Lumia, the company said. Nokia's non-mobile division, which is not owned by Microsoft, will continue to use the name. The mobile operation was bought by Microsoft in April in a deal worth $7.2bn (£4.6bn). Since then, Microsoft has quietly shifted away from the Nokia brand. A post on Nokia France's Facebook page confirmed the branding shift. The renaming will roll out globally in due course, Microsoft has said. The announcement comes despite Microsoft agreeing to a 10-year deal to use the Nokia name on mobile products. Microsoft is currently having a big shake-up. In July, Chief Executive Satya Nadella announced the cutting of 18,000 jobs. The bulk of the cuts, around 12,500, will be from staff taken on after the Nokia acquisition. SOURCE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-29724072
Toyota Global Sales Rise 2.8% in Tight Race vs VW
Toyota Motor Corp. said global sales climbed 2.8 percent in the first nine months of this year as the carmaker battles Volkswagen AG for leadership. Worldwide deliveries for Toyota, including its Hino Motors Ltd. and Daihatsu Motor Co. units, climbed to 7.6 million vehicles through September, a company spokesperson said. Volkswagen reported a 5.3 percent gain in sales to 7.4 million vehicles, excluding results for its two heavy-truck units. The tight race between global giants is playing out as automakers, their customers and regulators contend with mounting recalls and rising scrutiny over the safety of vehicles. The industry-wide struggle with defective cars poses risk to both Toyota and Volkswagen, which are benefiting from increasing demand in the China and U.S. markets. "It's a fantastic race, with their strengths coming in different parts of the world," James Chao, a Shanghai-based director at IHS Automotive, said by phone. "You see the U.S. coming back quite strongly for Toyota, and then you see the great engine of growth for Volkswagen being China, which is continuing to perform." President Akio Toyoda told shareholders the company was "advancing into uncharted territory" in the annual report the Toyota City, Japan-based carmaker released last month. Toyoda, 58, noted the unprecedented milestone of selling more than 10 million vehicles worldwide last year, a mark both his company and Volkswagen are on pace to exceed again in 2014. Record Sales The industry is selling record numbers of vehicles globally as crises involving auto safety swirl. Air bags made by Takata Corp. are linked to at…
BMW Third-Quarter up as SUV Demand Outpaces Electric Cars and Mini
German luxury carmaker BMW said its third-quarter operating profit rose 17 percent, ahead of forecasts, as surging demand for sports utility vehicles like its X5 model helped by cheap fuel prices more than offset slow electric car sales. Quarterly earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) came in at 2.26 billion euros (1.76 billion pounds), BMW said on Tuesday, well ahead of the 2 billion euros forecast in a Reuters poll. "BMW continues to deliver very strong earnings and the outlook for the rest of this year remains very encouraging in our view," analysts at Evercore ISI said in a note on Tuesday. Sales of BMW branded cars rose 6.9 percent in the quarter, as demand for X1, X4 and X5 sports utility vehicles helped to lift BMW's automotive EBIT margin to 9.4 percent, higher than the 8.6 percent achieved by rival Mercedes-Benz Cars or the 9.2 percent seen at Audi. Sales of the i3 electric car reached 10,199 vehicles by end September. In February, BMW said it had received "more than 11,000 orders" for the all electric i3 hatchback. Between January and September, sales of new sportscars improved in all regions, including Europe, Asia and the United States, despite a 7.5 percent slump in sales for the Mini brand, and lower sales of the ageing BMW 3-series model. Sales of new models like the X5 sports utility vehicle jumped 34 percent, keeping BMW's auto EBIT margin at the upper end the company's target of between 8 and 10 percent. SOURCE: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/11/04/uk-bmw-results-q-idUKKBN0IO0GG20141104
Google should be broken up, say European MPs
The European Parliament has voted in favour of breaking Google up, as a solution to complaints that it favours its own services in search results.Politicians have no power to enforce a break-up, but the landmark vote sends a clear message to European regulators to get tough on the net giant.US politicians and trade bodies have voiced their dismay at the vote.The ultimate decision will rest with EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager.She has inherited the anti-competitive case lodged by Google's rivals in 2010.Google has around 90% market share for search in Europe and rivals asked the commission to investigate four areas:The manner in which Google displays its own vertical search services compared with other, competing productsHow Google copies content from other websites - such as restaurant reviews - to include within its own servicesThe exclusivity Google has to sell advertising around the search terms people useRestrictions on advertisers from moving their online ad campaigns to rival search enginesPredecessor Joaquin Almunia tried and failed to settle the case. A series of concessions made by Google were rejected, leading Mr Almunia to suggest that the only option was a fine. This could be up to $5bn.The Commission has never before ordered the break-up of any company, and many believe it is unlikely to do so now.But politicians are desperate to find a solution to the long-running anti-competitive dispute with Google.The motion brought by Andreas Schwab, a German Christian Democrat, and Spanish liberal Ramon Tremosa stated that the best way to resolve the row with the net giant was to…
United Cast Bar Sets Yet Another World Record
United Cast Bar has again taken the lead in the manufacture of large section continuously cast Iron, increasing its already large portfolio of sizes. In December, UCB successfully produced 150 tonne cast iron bar of 680mm diameter in both flake and nodular grades, yet another world record, with much of it sold on pre orders. Material is available in the as cast / raw condition or can be lathe turned to meet your specific demands. A cast iron bar (Unibar) can be produced in a multitude of forms to meet customer design requirements. It is commonly used in general engineering applications, but primarily in hydraulic, fluid power and pneumatic equipment. United Cast Bar is one of the world’s largest manufacturers in Europe of continuously cast iron bar, with production sites in the UK and Spain, and a wholly owned distribution network across Europe and a site in South Korea. Inspiring a GenerationThe metal’s manufacturing sector can sometimes carry a negative and industrialised image. UCB are trying to change this within the local community in Chesterfield; breaking down those barriers to the stereotypes our industry carries in the hopes to drive the business forward, whilst simultaneously helping the public form a better understanding of what they do. “I don’t believe in closing our doors to the local communities in which we operate,” says James Brand, Managing Director of UCB. With support from the local government, UCB are on their way to breaking down these barriers, proud to be one of the best at what they do. As a consequence, Brand sits on the…
Corporates Missing Out on Over £63 Million of Energy Savings
With 365 days until large UK organisations must comply with new Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) legislation, one of the UK’s leading energy and water consultancies, Utilitywise, has issued a warning that the business impacted may be missing out on over £63 million of energy savings. Based on preparatory work with over 400 businesses Utilitywise has identified that the average firm that is required to comply with the mandatory scheme could save 13% of their energy costs, but only if audit findings are used as a springboard to minimise consumption. ESOS is an energy assessment and energy savings identification scheme for large organisations in the UK. Whilst public bodies are not affected large organisations of more than 250 employees, or those that have an annual turnover of £40 million and a balance sheet of more than £34 million must comply with the new rules. The legislation requires those affected to be compliant, having undertaken an ESOS audit (or obtaining an alternative route to compliance), by 5 December next year or facing fines of potentially tens of thousands of pounds. In order to be compliant companies must cover all process, transport and energy use. This can be achieved either by specifically commissioning an ESOS Audit, holding or gaining ISO 50001 certification, holding a valid Display Energy Certificate (DEC) accompanied by a recommendation report for each building or having a Green Deal assessment for each building. Yet, the recommendations in every audit are voluntary. Commenting on the one year to go deadline Tim Hipperson said: “With only 12 months to be compliant this…