Manufacturing Innovation Pays Off Within One Week
Leading UK-based pressworker Brandauer has invested more than £250,000 into a new Special Products Division (SPD).
Constellium and STELIA Aerospace Partner to Explore 3D Printing Applications
Constellium has formed a partnership with STELIA Aerospace, a world major player in the design and production of aircraft equipped fuselages and CT INGENIERIE, a leading engineering company in technological innovation throughout the product lifecycle, to engage in a research and development project called FAST, focused on topological optimisation of aero structures and additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing.The FAST project is an innovative solution using optimised design and technologies to make large aerospace structures and parts more efficient, cost effective and inventive than ever before. 3D printing offers more alternatives for the design and production of large aerospace components, such as the fuselage. With the existing available technology, the design of large scale modules is currently limited due to cost, size and efficiency constraints. 3D fuselage printing has the potential to transform the aerospace industry, allowing for easy design modification, duplication and customisation at a lower cost. “The goal of the FAST project is to change the way innovative technologies are implemented and to expand the usage of 3D printing. 3D printing will allow us to create metal shapes and properties that were previously impossible to produce,” said Bruno Chenal, Director of R&D, Constellium Research and Technology.FAST is a long-term project that was formed last year and currently remains in early stages of development. Constellium will act as the primary material supplier, while STELIA Aerospace will lead the design and production efforts and CT INGENIERIE will optimise the design. “We are excited to work with one of our customers, STELIA Aerospace, to find innovative alternatives for…
Volvo Introduces Luxury “Excellence Child Seat” Concept
Volvo Cars' design team have completely re-imagined how children could travel safely in cars in the future with its rearward facing seat position that enables either driver or passenger to keep eye-contact with their child during journeys, along with providing extra storage for vital child accessories.The move follows the Shanghai reveal of the XC90 Excellence and the Lounge Console Concept, which marked a bold and luxurious step forward for the Swedish car brand. “We started by asking ourselves if we could make life easier for parents and safer for their children when it comes to the child seat experience. We focused on three key benefits - making it easier to get the child into and out of the child seat from an ergonomic and comfort perspective, providing the child with a safe rearward facing seating position that enables it to keep eye-contact with either the driver or the rear passenger and of course including enough storage for those vital child accessories, such as diapers, bottles, wipes, and so on,” said Tisha Johnson, Chief Designer Interiors at Volvo Cars Concept and Monitoring Centre.According to Tisha Johnson, the idea originated in a conversation with Volvo Cars' owner Li Shufu when he reviewed the XC90 Excellence Lounge Console Concept earlier this year and thought about how else the space left by removing a front passenger seat could be used. The design team at Volvo Cars took on the challenge and in the process re-imagined the way in which small children can travel.The resulting concept enables the parent to swivel the seat counter-clockwise when seating the child and then…
Industry 4.0 Business Ecosystem to Change the Global Industrial Landscape
In the evolution towards the Smart Manufacturing paradigm, end-user requirements are set to evolve and become more complex than ever before.Global suppliers find it increasingly difficult to meet the growing needs of the end-users that are further augmented with a very high degree of complexity. But the current scenario will also provide the biggest opportunity to realign exiting business approaches and forge alliances and partnerships with market participants. The result would be a newly built supplier ecosystem that can effectively address end-user needs for growth in near and long-term perspectives.According to a recent Frost & Sullivan research on the industrial services market, a new wave of influence is disrupting business dynamics between end-user and supplier. This change is founded on new service paradigms that are enabling end-users to achieve high degrees of cost optimisation and enhanced operational efficiency. For instance, end-users and supplier equations are currently being determined by service architectures founded on frameworks defined by advanced ICT. Services based on such advanced ICT concepts, were found to hold more than 75 percent of the global industrial services market in 2014.While spare parts and maintenance still retain a major share of the service revenue models, the growth of advanced services is expected to witness a CAGR of 20 percent over the coming years.“In order to design and deliver such advanced services, industrial suppliers are required to forge partnerships with cloud and data analytics vendors,” notes Frost & Sullivan Practice Director Industrial Automation & Process Control and Measurement & Instrumentation, Muthukumar Viswanathan. “In some end use cases…
Longer Wind Turbine Blades for Higher Production Capacity Bodes Well for Composite Materials Manufacturers
Escalating energy demand and improving wind turbine technologies are fuelling the wind energy market and encouraging wind turbine installations. In turn, this is boosting the consumption of high-performance and lightweight blade materials, such as fibre, resins and core foam materials that can be used to increase blade length while keeping blade weight low. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan - Analysis of the Global Wind Turbine Blade Materials Market - finds that the market earned revenues of $1.94 billion in 2014 and estimates this to reach $3.78 billion in 2021. “While governments worldwide have designed support mechanisms and funding programmes to promote renewable energy such as wind, uncertain aid and financing often delay projects,” said Frost & Sullivan Chemicals, Materials and Food Research Analyst Ankit Mittal. “As a result, demand for blade materials has been cyclic in nature. Additionally, emphasis on the optimum strength-to-weight ratio of blades restricts the use of certain materials like balsa.” Nevertheless, volatile oil prices and the rising profile of environmental issues will push forward alternate energy forms – wind being one of the most viable. It has no fuel cost, allows energy independence from traditional fossil fuels, is permanently available almost anywhere in the world, and is technologically advanced. Wind energy is also much quicker to install; large onshore and offshore wind farms can be installed within a time frame of two years. Taller, lighter and more reliable turbines significantly extend production capacity. These factors will see turbine blade manufacturers strengthen their portfolio to provide a consistent supply of high-performance materials in line with market…
Mergers and Acquisitions Key to Profitability in Europe’s Packaging Industry
The European packaging industry's financial performance has been volatile over the 2010-2014 period. While return on equity, along with other profitability and cost metrics has been unstable over the last few years, liquidity and solvency ratios have remained consistent. Going by the current scenario, financial performance is expected to be flat in 2015. To break out of the current situation, companies in the packaging industry are increasingly looking for merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities in Asia's emerging economies. This will help them increase revenue and strengthen foothold in fast-growth markets.The new study from Frost & Sullivan, Investment Analysis of the European Packaging Industry, reveals that over the 2010-2014 period, the United Kingdom struck the maximum M&A deals, followed by France and Germany.“Heightened M&A activity and the implementation of other strategies have increased the interest coverage ratio and improved profitability margins slightly in the European packaging industry,” said Frost & Sullivan Business and Financial Services Senior Research Analyst E. Saneesh. “While the cash and current ratio values for the industry are stable, the average cash conversion cycle has declined, indicating that the operating efficiency of the entire supply chain is improving.”Further, the European packaging industry has been spending between five and six percent of its revenue on technical innovations and machinery, resulting in consistent earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) margins ranging from 11 to 13 percent. Industry participants are also focussed on bringing down cost metrics as revenue growth is restricted by price pressures and sluggish end-user demand.“For further progress, process improvement and product strategies to cater to consumers’ preference for…
Starco Group : Driving Long-Term Business Strategy
Recent changes to senior management have dictated focus of STARCO in a move to further strengthen both the daily management of the company.
HANNOVER MESSE : India and Industry 4.0 Vision Take Centre Stage
After five action-packed days of industrial innovation, HANNOVER MESSE closes to rave reviews from exhibitors and visitors.
Software Solutions Keep Continental AG On Track
Continental AG is one of the most renowned manufacturers in the global automotive industry with a worldwide presence.
Barco Fredrikstad : Globally Renowned Innovators in Visualisation
Barco Frederikstad is a brand that is known as a leader in its field, boasting state-of-the-art equipment and testing facilities.
