Issue 4
Oracle OpenWorld
Oracle OpenWorld San Francisco is the most important annual business and technology conference for Oracle customers, prospective customers, and partners. It offers thousands of educational sessions, hundreds of demos and hands-on labs and exhibitions from more than 450 partners and customers from around the world showcasing applications, middleware, database, server and storage systems, industries, management, cloud, and infrastructure solutions-all engineered for innovation.
Foundation Pärnu Hospital
A Cornerstone for Healthcare Pärnu County has seen the rise of its primary healthcare centre over the past two decades, and can now boast one of the most significant hospitals in Estonia Writer: Matthew StaffProject Manager: Eddie Clinton Pärnu Hospital has realised the development goal it set for itself at the end of the previous millennia to become an important centre of competence in the network of Estonian healthcare, as a regionally liable central hospital.Responsible for providing high quality and round-the clock assistance to all those in need, the Hospital achieves its obligations through a team of 1,297 qualified, motivated and collaboratively oriented people; incorporating doctors, nurses, care workers, healthcare associates and support workers.The rise of Pärnu Hospital is a success story significant beyond the individual successes seen daily within the institution though, as Chief Executive Officer, Urmas Sule explains: “Hospitals with national significance and strategic goals must ensure the availability of quality medical assistance, 24-seven, to everyone in need, and have been established pursuant to a resolution of the Government.“Foundation Pärnu Hospital fulfils the role of a central hospital with regional liability in the West and South-West Estonian region.” Comprehensive healthcareOver the past two decades, the Hospital has strived to introduce a work culture arising from the needs of the patient; a development which has only been able to manifest in parallel to the necessary infrastructural changes that have also occurred.That period of development and construction is now completed however, and Pärnu Hospital is now capitalising on the opportunities created for it to translate its vast potential into a…
Lantech
The First Name in Secondary Packaging Lantech has customer uptime, accessible customer support and the highest machine performance right at the heart of all it does Writer: Emily JarvisProject Manager: Tom Cullum When purchasing a product from your local supermarket or retail outlet, we as consumers rarely give a thought to how it got there safely. From its manufacture to logistical operations, companies have to create balance between timely arrival in-store and the adequate packaging involved to get there with as little chance of damage to the product as possible. Lantech play an integral part in the design, assembly, installation, shipping and service on machines globally in the end of the line packing industry.As a serious contender in secondary packaging solutions, stretch wrappers, case erectors, shrink wrap machinery and palletload conveyors, Lantech remain unmatched when it comes to quality standards. Part of Lantech’s prosperity today can be attributed to its 43 year-long history. Founded in 1972, Lantech now has more than 65,000 machine placements worldwide and more than 150 US and foreign patents for its innovations. Its global network of 175 sales offices and Technical Packaging Centre can provide the stretch wrapping, case equipment, shrink packaging and conveying solutions to improve productivity and reduce packaging costs. Global expansionThrough the fast expansion of its customer base, the Lantech name has become known as a trademark for quality solutions in packing and stretch wrapping solutions. “We believe that service is key. If we go to a new country for example, we try to provide a service and after service akin to world…
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 BoneProject 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 has 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 other critical facilities for…
iStone
Value-add, Long Term Sustainable Solutions in IT IT consultancy iStone strive to be the partner of choice for clients who want to increasethe value of their business critical systems Writer: Emily JarvisProject Manager: Dan HesteriStone is a Swedish business and IT consulting group working primarily with business systems Infor M3, Microsoft Dynamics AX and SAP ERP. With approximately 525 employees in more than 14 countries worldwide, iStone offers market-leading best of breed solutions in Business Intelligence, CRM and ecommerce. A wide selection of products, specialist expertise in every product and service offered, and transparency and responsibility in its relationships with clients allows the company to provide long-term and sustainable IT solutions.Formed in 2006 by “Rego Konsulter”, this international business and IT consultancy is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. iStone guides its clients to the best business support through its in-depth knowledge of clients, sectors and systems. With its best-of-breed solutions and accountable approach, iStone offers a constructive partnership and high service levels. A history of commitmentSince its beginnings, iStone’s stated policy – the customer in focus – has been central to the company’s operations. When CEO & President Markus Jakobson took the company reins in 2007, it was with a clear mission to offer clients comprehensive solutions comprised of the best products on the market. “We supplement the market’s leading ERP systems with cutting-edge solutions in Business Intelligence, CRM, ecommerce and more. The goal was to form a group that compiles the best business solution for each client through our extensive client, sector and system expertise. As a result, we…
Reach Subsea
Industry Leading Subsea Engineers With a vision to be the preferred operator by those who need the best possible subsea partner, Reach Subsea strive to be a business that will always perform above expectation Writer: Emily JarvisProject Manager: Scott Hay Founded in 2008, Reach Subsea ASA is an integrated offshore service company, providing subsea services in Norway. Headquartered in Haugesund, it offers construction and installation; inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR); survey and pipeline inspection; and decommissioning services to the oil industry. The company operates construction and multipurpose support vessels with remotely operated vehicles (ROV); and a survey ROV for high speed acoustic pipeline surveys. Prior to December 2012, the company was formerly known as Transit Invest ASA and since this time, Reach Subsea has gained an expansive knowledge of subsea operations which it is known and respected for in the offshore industry. Boasting world-class engineering status and state-of-the-art remotely operated underwater vessels (ROVs), Reach Subsea proudly provide comprehensive services to the oil industry with both a flexible team of staff and competitive products in hand. “Our human resources are first class and contribute towards the impressive reputation of the business,” says the company. HSEQ measuresReach Subsea has a strong belief in the systematical implementation of HSEQ measures (health, safety, environment and quality), evolving from an early project risk assessment and continuous risk assessment processes. “We in Reach Subsea believe that a good HSEQ culture arises from a respectful and positive dialogue in between people. Our leaders shall not only be technically qualified, but also have high interpersonal skills,” the company comments.Subsequently,…
Stockholm Vatten
World-Class Drinking Water Sweden has some of the world’s best drinking water. Stockholm Vatten, a water and waste water management company, is responsible for its delivery to more than one million people Writer: Emily JarvisProject Manager: Dave Alexander Stockholm Vatten AB (the Stockholm Water Company) is an environmental and engineering company that produces and supplies drinking water to more than one million people in Stockholm and Huddinge, and to a further nine neighbouring local councils. The company is characterised by its holistic approach and the desire to create the necessary conditions for adequate delivery of water and an improved waste environment, not only in the Baltic region, but also through its cooperation with other local councils in the Stockholm region and through international joint projects. “We have some of the world’s best drinking water, which is always carefully controlled and purified in several stages. This gives us drinking water of the highest quality, according to the Swedish National Food Administration,” says the company.As a municipally-owned organisation, Stockholm Vatten houses two divisions, one which handles the operations of water and wastewater treatment, and the second running other business operations such as the selling of biogas back to industry. The company own and operate the Norsborg and Lovö waterworks and the two sewage treatment plants at Henriksdal and Bromma, as well as the tap water and sewage mains networks, pumping stations and water reservoirs in Stockholm and Huddinge. “We take care of and purify our sewage water in the most advantageous way possible from an environmental point of view,” says the…
Turku Energia
Energy for Life, Living and Entrepreneurship Turku Energia aims to be recognised as one of the industry’s leading heat and electricity producers in Finland as it pushes towards its 2020 green energy goalWriter: Matthew StaffProject Manager: Dave Alexander Turku Energia is already the leading power supplier in southwest Finland but refuses to rest on its laurels as it looks to leverage its competitive prices, competent personnel, service reliability, profitability and environmental friendliness to increase the usage of green energy in the region by 50 percent over the next five years.As one of the oldest energy companies in the country, Turku Energia has honed its core businesses over more than a century in areas of procurement, distribution and sales of electricity and heat, as well as the development, construction and maintenance of power plants and distribution networks.It is this influence that the company has on the wider industry and communities in Finland which Turku has become renowned for, and the business’s Vice President of Heat, Jari Kuivanen is optimistic about capitalising on this reputation moving forward.“We are known as a reliable and customer-oriented power company that sells energy mainly generated from renewable energy sources,” he explains. “The company started in 1898 and some other company milestones include 1976 when district heating started in the Turku area, and 2012 when local energy solutions for the Turk region started.”These developments proved to be the platform for an extremely successful 2013 which saw the company employ 300 people within its workforce, and enjoy investments in the region of €13 million; culminating in…
TSE (Turun Seudun Energiantuotanto Oy)
Experts in Energy By using the most advanced technology available, TSE strives to produce sustainable and cost effective heat and electricity solutions for Turku and the surrounding areas Writer: Emily JarvisProject Manager: Dave Alexander Turun Seudun Energiantuotanto Oy (TSE) was founded in 2001 with the sole purpose of building a new CCGT power plant in Naantali for the district heat production to service the Finnish city of Turku and the surrounding municipalities.TSE combines local expertise in the energy sector and expert knowledge from the Nordic energy industry to ensure that the Turku region receives its basic heating systems in an economic, efficient and sustainable way.In 2001, Finnish NG company Gasum had a plan to construct a natural gas pipeline from central Finland to the Turku area, designed mainly for industrial use and energy production. However, the plan was never realised at this time. In 2011, the decision was then made to merge base energy production of Turku Energia Oy and Fortum’s local power plant into one company - TSE Oy - where these production assets were transferred, and the dream of creating a sustainable way to meet the heating requirements of the Turku area were born.Today, TSE has an annual turnover of €150 million, which promises to remain steady into the future. “The existing CHP-capacity at the Naantali coal fired power plant will be replaced with more sustainable forms of energy generation in the form of the new NA4 CHP project. This project has reached the engineering phase with process and layout design nearing completion. The project is running on…
Kraftringen
Striving to Achieve Long-Term Sustainability Having listened to what customers want, Kraftringen is totally committed to its mission of generating and distributing carbon neutral energy across various regions in Sweden Writer: Christopher DaviesProject Manager: Nick Norris Today, we live in a world where natural resources are running out. What’s more, fossil fuels are damaging the environment beyond repair, causing climate change and global warming along the way. For these reasons, an increasing number of people are pursuing a more eco-friendly existence. This trend has not gone unnoticed by Swedish energy group Kraftringen, who firmly believe the future will be both sustainable and carbon neutral. Thanks to recent organisational changes and a customer-focused strategy, Kraftringen’s ambitious aspirations look like they will become a reality. Ownership and organisationKraftringen is owned by four municipalities in the region of Skåne; Lund, Eslöv, Hörby and Lomma. Although the company was founded almost a century ago, its recent history is particularly interesting, mainly due to the changing face of Sweden’s energy sector. Before the market deregulation in 1996, energy companies were usually owned by the municipalities responsible for local areas and regions. But as the market was completely deregulated, international players started to enter the industry followed by a period of consolidation and buy-ups. Today there are 170 energy groups in Sweden and Kraftringen is around the fifth largest. However, as CEO Sylvia Michel reveals, the four municipalities that owned Kraftringen benefitted from keeping their ownership. “We would like to highlight how wise their decision was,” says Ms Michel. “With ownership comes the right to…
Danfoss IXA
Sensing a Gap in the Market Danfoss IXA’s latest Dynamic Ventilation System and Marine Emission Sensor both contribute towards cost efficiency and energy saving in the maritime industry Writer: Emily JarvisProject Manager: Dave Alexander Danfoss IXA has enhanced its product range and business networks to become one of the most innovative and forward-thinking players in the international maritime sector.As a daughter company of Danfoss Group, which still maintains 60 percent ownership, Danfoss IXA has been able to capitalise on the extensive business networks enjoyed by the parent Group, who already has a reputable number of products on the market and an established customer base. One such product stemming from the Group’s hard work in 2005 was a heating solution to innovate and measure air quality; a brainchild which developed even more prominently in 2008 under its Danfoss Ventures subsidiary.“We started with the purpose of measuring the air quality inside office buildings and we formed the principals of what would become Danfoss IXA A/S,” explains Danfoss IXA’s Sales and Marketing Director, Peter Hansen. “This progressed into a fully-fledged company by the following year on 1st April 2009.” Five years on and the fully-fledged company has taken the Dynamic Ventilation System concept to new levels, and has complimented this product with a state-of-the-art emissions sensor; ensuring that the company is not only on the radar of the top five global shipping operators, but is also bringing innovative environmental and cost-effective solutions to the maritime industry and beyond. Dynamic Ventilation SystemThe inventive air quality innovation, the Dynamic Ventilation System, is enriched by…
Mind the Capacity Gap – Part One
By Tim Emrich, CEO, UK Power ReserveThe capacity gap between UK power generation and demand has never been so narrow. Both demand and supply can fluctuate wildly so the narrower the gap between them becomes, the less room for error the National Grid has, and the greater the chance that supply falls short.Fortunately, the UK energy system is relatively resilient to energy security challenges. Nevertheless, it faces ongoing risks from severe weather, technical failure, terrorist attacks, and industrial action.It can be difficult to predict exactly when blackouts will occur with any level of accuracy. While these risks can be mitigated, it is impossible to eliminate them entirely, particularly when forces of nature strike. Everyone remembers the storms that hit the UK’s South-East last Christmas. Tens of thousands of homes were left without power, with many suffering blackouts into Boxing Day.More recently, National Grid warned that its capacity to supply electricity this winter will be at a seven-year low due to generator closures and breakdowns. Spare electricity capacity will be close to four percent over the winter months this year, compared to five percent last year and 17 percent three years ago.During an average cold spell (ACS), the gap between available generation (58.2 GW) and demand (55 GW) plus reserves (0.9 GW) might shrink to as little as 2.3 GW this winter (4.1 percent of the forecast peak demand). This means that the margins are very tight and, should a “Didcot B” style blaze occur, companies that can supply emergency reserves of power will make the difference…
Mind the Capacity Gap – Part Two
By Tim Emrich, CEO, UK Power ReserveThe changing UK energy landscapeThe UK’s energy system is changing, and presenting new challenges for UK energy security. Existing infrastructure closes, domestic fossil fuel reserves are in decline and the system needs to adapt to meet low-carbon objectives.The Department of Climate Change and Energy recently estimated that the current combined capacity of UK power stations is approximately 90 million kilowatts (KW). However, nine fossil fuel power stations are due to close by 2015, under European directives aimed at reducing pollutants such as oxides of sulphur and nitrogen.Furthermore, nine of the UK’s 10 existing nuclear power stations are scheduled to close by 2023. Some of these may continue operating after the scheduled shutdown date, provided the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is satisfied that this is safe, but eventually they will need to be replaced.The closures will deprive the UK of about 20 million KW of capacity. The remaining UK power stations would then need to operate at full capacity during periods of high electricity demand or risk a potential shortfall between supply and demand. This is without taking into account increased demand, which is expected to rise as electricity is increasingly used to power transport and heating.National Grid performs an excellent job of managing the country’s needs. They have essentially, through their many Ancillary and Balancing Services, created a de facto strategic reserve to solve the country’s issues. This will of course only go so far in a catastrophic series of failures across multiple major plants, which is the void…
Mind the Capacity Gap – Part Three
By Tim Emrich, CEO, UK Power ReserveThe future The UK has the ability to develop and deliver vast quantities of distributed generation that can complement the generation mix and serve to reduce overall costs to the end consumers. Distributed generation, along with all demand management and STOR programmes, crowdsources the spare capacity – whether by reducing demand so that capacity is freed up for more critical uses, or by contributing extra power to meet demand.This plays into the smart grid revolution and making our networks smarter and more active than passive, using our existing distribution networks and capacity more wisely instead of building bigger more expensive and less efficient networks.Distributed generation has a significant part to play in this over the coming years and will change the large utility model which has historically dominated the UK energy market.National Grid forecast an increase in STOR requirement to 4 GW (mid case) and 7 GW (high case) per annum by 2020. This is due to an unprecedented rate of expansion of intermittent renewable generation (particularly wind), resulting in the retirement of mid-merit coal and gas plants.In the first half of 2013 renewable sources produced 10.3 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, according to figures from DECC. However, the variable or intermittent nature of renewable energy requires more firm capacity to be available on a stand-by basis to cover shortfalls in renewable energy production.Driven by cost reductions, government incentives, and rising interest in replacing fossil-fuel sources of energy, the global market for distributed electricity generation is expanding at a rapid pace…
Smartphones and 3D Printers Expected To Flourish In 2015
In 2015, the top three most influential technology items will be smart phones, tablets and 3D printers, according to a survey of consumers conducted for the IEEE – the largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence – by YouGov.Digital music devices, digital cameras and wearable technologies were considered the three technologies most likely to be redundant or unnecessary this year.The online survey, conducted in late December 2014, questioned more than two thousand adults in Great Britain to understand their perception of influential and redundant technologies in 2015.When asked - from a list of technologies that included laptops, e-readers and music streaming services - which, if any, would be significantly influential in 2015, 42 percent picked out smart phones, 37 percent tablets and nearly a third said 3D printers. Home automation also rated highly at 27 percent.From the same list of technologies respondents were asked which, if any, will be redundant/unnecessary this year.Digital music devices and digital cameras tied in joint top position at 16 percent. Wearables divided opinion with 19 percent picking them from the influential list and 11 percent from the redundant list – making this relatively new technology the third ranked redundant/unnecessary for this year.Respondents demonstrated a general appetite for technology overall with nearly a third of respondents believing none of the listed technologies will be redundant or unnecessary in 2015. On balance, respondents believed the electric car will also be influential this year, with 19 percent rating it so and only five percent believing it would be redundant/unnecessary.IEEE held similar research…
Seven-Year High for the Pound Holds Risks for British Businesses
News that the Euro has tumbled against the Pound, hitting an 11-year low, has sparked concerns over the export potential for UK businesses, says the Association of Translation Companies (ATC).The Euro weakened to $1.1115 against the Dollar last weekend, while the Pound reached a seven-year high of €1.34. While this may be good news for Britons who are looking for a cheap European holiday, it may make exporting abroad to these markets more difficult.This is part of a wider national challenge where the UK is losing out on 3.5 percent of GDP in lost exports, due to a lack of language and cultural skills. The ATC has launched a campaign to help raise awareness of the value of foreign language skills when UK businesses are exporting.Geoffrey Bowden, General Secretary of the ATC, explains his concerns over the stability of British SMEs: "With products and goods now more expensive to buy for consumers on the continent, UK exporters will have to take steps not to fall behind in the tougher climate.“There is still an assumption by many UK businesses that everyone speaks English and that there is no need to translate business and marketing documents into local languages, but with a weaker Euro, many SMEs who have fewer resources will be at risk of losing out on these opportunities, and it is therefore important that specialist language skills in these European languages are prioritised.“To know the language and understand the culture of the people you are trading with will give you an advantage because companies like to do business in their…
Shell to Lower Overall Spending by $15 Billion Over Three Years
Royal Dutch Shell has explained that it will be lowering its capital investment in 2015 and curtail overall spending by a total of $15 billion (£10 billion) over the next three years in response to lower oil prices. The company reported fourth-quarter 2014 earnings on a current cost of supplies basis at $4.2 billion, compared with $2.2 billion for same quarter a year earlier, and in line with forecast expectations. It said it kept its dividend stable for the quarter at $0.47 per share and would keep it the same in the first quarter of 2015. Chief Executive Ben van Beurden warned against an overreaction to the oil price drop, while maintaining dividends to soothe investors. “We are taking a prudent approach here and we must be careful not to over-react to the recent fall in oil prices,” he said. The spending cut, which will involve cancelling and deferring projects, represents a 14 percent cut from its 2014 capital investment of $35 billion. Energy companies are being forced to adapt to the new oil price environment and Shell is not excluded from this. The company had said in October it would keep its 2015 spending unchanged, and yet this has now changed in the most recent announcement to cut capital investment in one of the largest cuts seen in the industry. “Shell is considering further reductions to capital spending should the evolving market outlook warrant that step, but is aiming to retain growth potential for the medium term,” it said in a statement. Oil prices have fallen by almost 60 percent since June…
Amsterdam Seeks to Encourage Uptake of Electric Cars
In Amsterdam, authorities believe electric cars could be the solution. The city is the home of the Amsterdam Electric initiative, which seeks to encourage the uptake of electric cars amongst its residents. By 2020, the city has high hopes that it will have 40,000 electric vehicles on its roads. If all goes to plan, by 2040 that figure could reach 200,000. An extensive charging infrastructure, an electric car sharing scheme with 'on demand' car hire company car2go, and preferential treatment when it comes to waiting lists for sought after parking spaces are all being used to drive the uptake of electric vehicles. "At first it was several cars, now we have… almost 10,000 unique users in Amsterdam making use of the charging infrastructure, but it's still the beginning of the… transition to cleaner and smarter mobility in the city," Bart Vertelman, Project Manager for Electric Mobility in Amsterdam, told CNBC in a recent report. Amsterdam is just one of several major cities embracing green transport. Europe’s largest city, London, hydrogen fuel buses, electric hybrid buses and over 1,000 electric charging points highlight a commitment to going green. It is hoped that by 2025 greenhouse gas emissions in London will be cut by 60 percent when compared to the levels in 1990.