Industry Europe – Issue 30.1

Volume 30/1 – 2020

Alphacan – Offering a window on The Gulf The latest in machine tools from LNS How Petrofer is greasing the wheels of industry

Limitless energy? Building the world’s biggest fusion project

EDITORIAL

STEVENGISLAM

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Industry 4.0 - Fourth time’s the charm?

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020 has such a nice ring to it. Calendrical alliteration only comes around once every 101 years, and one month in, it’s looking eventful. We’ve been brought to the brink of a US-Iranian war. The coronavirus has China under lockdown. Australia is simultaneously gripped by raging bushfires and flash floods.

Brexit “got done” amidst scenes of misery and jubilation. In an unsettling sign-of-the-times, there’s a plague of locusts in Kenya. It’s all getting a bit Book of Revelations lately. All we need is another horseman, a Whore of Babylon and we’ve got ourselves the kind of party you don’t really ever recover from.

But there is good news. Away from all the political manoeuvring, endless conflict, environmental disasters and, of course, Harry and Meghan, a relatively quiet revolution is underway which might help save our species’ skin just in the nick of time. What’s more, it’s a revolution that most people don’t realise is happening.

I speak, of course, about Industry 4.0 – the Fourth Industrial Revolution with the postmodern name - and it’s going to change everything.

We’ve come a long way since James Hargreaves’ spinning jenny helped kickstart the first Industrial Revolution back in 1764. The societal changes that industrialisation gave rise to are well documented. Eventually, it led to the complete upheaval of the means and methods of production, and brought humanity into a new era, fundamentally and permanently changing every aspect of life.

A century later, the Second Industrial Revolution brought the widespread use of electricity, steel, and petroleum, again changing how things were made and society with it – by essentially giving steam power an electrical upgrade.

The mid-20th century saw yet another significant change. The Third Industrial Revolution, or Digital Revolution, saw a massive shift from analogue and mechanical technology towards digital electronics. The invention and adoption of computers, microprocessors, and IC chips improved production techniques, heralding the dawning of the Information Age. Which brings us to today. The digital transformation that we’re living through has become so

compelling that it’s been given a self-referential moniker that could easily be dismissed as a buzzword that came from a late-night pizzaand-cocaine-concocted brainstorming session in some expensive PR company’s boardroom.

However, Industry 4.0 is more than just a soundbite – it is honing and streamlining the computerisation that began in the post-war era – and changing our lives in the process.

The electronic devices that aided most aspects of society are now being connected in a way that allows them to communicate with one another through a complex network of semi-physical, semi-virtual systems known as the Internet of Things, or IoT, and it lies at the heart of Industry 4.0.

IoT is tweaking, upgrading, improving our manufacturing methods, energy systems, healthcare, educational establishments and governmental institutions. This constant data sharing is making smart machines even smarter as they accumulate more information. It’s making factories more productive, more efficient, and less wasteful. And it can, and almost certainly will, be adapted to every aspect of wider society including how we work, live, socialise and consume. Industry 4.0 will ultimately make everything – not just machines – smarter.

Last November, Singapore was named the world’s smartest city in the IMD Smart Cities Index, which looked at how successfully world cities were adopting digital technologies to improve citizens’ lives. The index covered such aspects as governance, public safety, health, and mobility, and measured cities’ performance on improvements to institutional functionality, upkeep of green public spaces, the digitalisation of employment access, and citizens’ security.

Singapore is just the first. Our cities are getting smarter just like our factories, hospitals, houses, vehicles, phones and refrigerators.

As with any world-changing technological development, there is the risk, indeed the certainty that it will be misused and abused for criminality, and political control. If everything is connected, then everything can be hacked.

This issue should not be underestimated. It may come to pass that companies and institutions follow the Kremlin’s lead which, back in

2013, apparently reverted to using typewriters and heavily guarded filing rooms instead of computers and data storage systems to avoid leaks of sensitive information.

Fear of the future is an inevitable by-product of technological change. Back in the 15th century, certain clergy members feared the newfangled printing press would encourage laziness in monks, robbing them of the characterbuilding experience of handwriting copy, stealing their jobs and imperilling their souls.

Nonetheless, in a world that is moving exponentially faster with each passing year, the shift towards a more connected planet seems not just inevitable, but imperative.

We face global issues that know no national borders and require collective action in a way never before seen. Public opinion is beginning to represent that understanding too.

The security issues of connectivity will be an ongoing battle, like with many new technologies. Those of us who remember the world pre-internet, could easily fall into the regressive belief that things were wholly better in the good old days, especially when faced with a pace of change that makes the average 30-year-old feel like a dinosaur.

Humanity stands at a crossroads. Whatever happens, we can’t go back. The planet won’t allow that. The bridge has been burned. So, forge ahead we must. Industry is a force with the power to change the world and will be at the forefront of the next move forward, as it has been for the last 250 years. Industry leaders shoulder great responsibility. They must be equal parts tech savvy, progressive, ethical, and able to persuade shareholders that profit can no longer be its sole guiding force.

Industry 4.0 brings with it many opportunities to connect our planet, cushion the impact of climate change, and to help create a society that is fairer and more transparent. Whether or not we fully embrace those opportunities remains to be seen.

It’s still possible that, in a few decades, when enough time has passed to give us 20/20 hindsight about the 2020s, we’ll look back on a decade when humanity “smartened” up its n act, in every sense of the word.

Industry Europe 3

CONTENTS Editorial Director Steve Gislam Profile Writers Romana Moares Barbara Rossi Dariusz Balcerzyk Edina Beale Philip Yorke Emma-Jane Batey Eugenia Fiusco Piotr Sadowski

Managing Partner & Production Director Stephen Moore Sector Managers Oliver Clements Michael Hudson Szidonia Hajdu

Katarzyna Pozoga Milada Preslova

Above: Groupe VINCI p6

Art Director Leon Esterhuizen

Comment

1 Editorial Industry 4.0 - Fourth time’s the charm?

Operations & Finance Director Tania Balderson

Construction & Engineering Industry 6

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World’s largest fusion machine building completed Limitless energy? Building the world’s biggest fusion project

Construction & Engineering news The latest from the industry

News

10 Winning business New orders and contracts 12 Linking up Combining strengths 14 Moving On Relocations and expansions across Europe 15 Technology spotlight Advances in technology

Industry Europe Alkmaar House, Alkmaar Way, Norwich, Norfolk, NR6 6BF, United Kingdom

Agriculture

Tel: +44 (0)1603 414444 Fax: +44 (0)1603 779850 Email: studio@industryeurope.net Web: https://industryeurope.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/IndustryEurope

Automation & Robotics

© Industry Europe 2020 No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form for any purpose, other than short sections for the purpose of review, without prior consent of the publisher.

18 Masterclass in bio-energy efficiency The Bunge Group 22 At the heart of the digital revolution Aspocomp 25 Engineered precision for ceramics SITI B&T

Automotive & Heavy Vehicles 28 31

Houses on wheels The Elcamp Group Pioneering greener auto-system solutions HiLite

Chemicals, Biochemicals & Offshore

34 Committed to environmental protection Nuova Solmine 38 Lubricating the Wheels of Growth PETROFER

Construction & Engineering 44

New profile technology lifts the Gulf Alphacan

Energy and Utilities FOCUS MEDIA GROUP LTD.

4 Industry Europe

48 Switched-on efficiency Lovato 52 Energising hydro-turbine eco-technology Rainpower 56 Innovative energy solutions Standardkessel 60 First call for fire suppression systems Marioff

VOL 30/1

Above: Lovato p48

Furniture & Upholstery 63

Sound sleep solutions BekaertDeslee

Home Appliances, furniture & HVAC 66 69 72

Redefining ‘comfort heating’ Ariston Thermo Group Pioneering refrigerated convection Snaigė Building a global future Strix

Hygiene, Medical & Pharmaceutical Above: SITI B&T p25 Below: Elcamp Group p28

76 Global strategy to serve local markets Ontex 80 Leading the world in surface finishing Atotech 83 Sector Innovator LINET 86 The beauty of botanicals Joanna Cosmetics

Above: Ontex p76 Below: Vanderlande p89

Logistics & Transport 89 92

Go with the flow Vanderlande Where mobility meets sustainability BredaMenarinibus

Metals, Metalworking & Mining

95 A European leader in electrical laminations Sitem 98 Optimising machine tool efficiency LNS Group 102 Same values, new profile Profilglass 106 Smarter sustainable telecoms Prysmian

Paper, Packaging & Printing

110 Definitive beauty in print Arctic Paper 114 Recognising excellence Henkel 118 Revolutionising industrial thread technology Coats

Plastics & Rubber

121 Sustainable solutions enhancing performance Dow

Paper, Packaging & Printing 124 A legendary brand Strellson

Above: Alphacan p44 Below: Rainpower p52

Above: Prysmian p106 Below: Henkel p114

Above: LINET p83 Industry Europe 5

World’s largest fusion

machine building completed The end of last year saw civil engineering work on the ITER Tokamak Building in France completed

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usion For Energy (F4E), the European Union organisation responsible for the European contribution to the ITER programme; and Groupe VINCI, leader of the consortium in charge of constructing the main buildings at the site, have now completed the civil engineering works on the ITER Tokamak Building at the Saint Paul lez Durance/Cadarache site in southeastern France.

This major project milestone was symbolically reached with the final concrete pour, on 7 November 2019, of the upper part of the building in which the ITER Tokamak will soon be assembled. With the on-time completion of the Tokamak Building civil engineering works, the metal frame of the

6 Industry Europe

roof can be installed and the ambitious First Plasma target in 2025 maintained.

The civil engineering project, which got under way in 2010, called for exceptional complex project management capabilities and cutting-edge expertise. The teams working within the VINCI-led consortium set up an agile project organisation enabling them to integrate all design changes requested by the ITER scientific teams as construction proceeded. Beside the use of cutting-edge digital design tools, the construction of the 73 metre high, 120 metre wide Tokamak Building also required production of highly specific concretes. The worksite teams developed about 10 formulations, some of which have unique features enabling them to shield

workers and the environment from fusiongenerated radiation.

Some parts of the Tokamak Building also called for steel reinforcement density rarely used on projects on this scale.

Access to the heart of the Tokamak Building required customised production of 46 heavy doors. Each 70-tonne door was manufactured in Germany (in partnership with Sommer) and, brought to the site, filled with concrete and assembled in the heart of the Tokamak Building.

Limitless energy source A tokamak is an experimental machine designed to exploit fusion energy. In a tokamak, three conditions must be met to

obtain a fusion reaction: very high temperature (about 150 million degrees Celsius); sufficient particle density to produce a very large number of possible collisions; and sufficiently long energy confinement time to ensure that the collisions occur at the highest possible speed.

Tokamak is a Russian acronym standing for “toroidal chamber with magnetic coils.

“In deciding to take part in the leading construction of the particularly complex ITER buildings, VINCI undertook to help write a new chapter in one of the most ambitious and promising research programmes ever undertaken - a programme designed to reproduce on Earth the reactions that have been taking place in the heart of the Sun and stars for billions of years” said Bernard Bigot, DirectorGeneral of ITER Organization.

“Its goal is to harness hydrogen fusion and thereby pave the way for a new era for all humanity by making available a massive source of energy that can be varied at will, is intrinsically safe and has no impact on the climate and the environment. This was a huge challenge to which the men and women at VINCI have been tenaciously and resourcefully rising for nearly a decade. We want to warmly thank Vinci for having been a highly capable, reliable partner sharing our objectives, our standards and our determination. The success of ITER will be theirs.”

Huge technical challenge “We are pleased to announce the completion, following a lengthy and complex process, of the civil engineering works for the main building that will house the ITER Tokamak, the world’s largest fusion

Toroidal Field Coils

machine,” said Laurent Schmieder, who oversees the F4E team in charge of building construction and electrical systems for the ITER project. “F4E is the party responsible for building the infrastructure of this extremely ambitious programme. Our close collaboration with VINCI, its partners and more than 700 workers has enabled us to successfully finalise this stage of the project in compliance with the safety, security and quality requirements.”

“VINCI Construction and its partners Razel-Bec and Ferrovial are extremely proud of having carried out the ITER civil engineering works” added said Jérôme Stubler, Chairman of VINCI Construction. “ITER is a

one-of-a-kind research programme in terms of its complexity, precision and size. It is an extraordinary human undertaking, but also a huge technical challenge, and we were constantly called on to innovate and expand our expertise. With ITER, we are humbly helping to implement one of the greatest and most ambitious energy projects of our time, designed to make electricity available throughout the world without CO2 emissions or radiological risk. For us, as a builder, it is a matter of great pride to have laid the cornerstone of a structure of such n importance to humanity.”

For more information, visit:www.vinci.com Industry Europe 7

NEWS

New developments in the Construction & Engineering industry

ASTALDI TO PARTICIPATE IN CONSTRUCTION OF NEW SANTIAGO AIRPORT

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Balfour Beatty secures

contract to connect British and Danish power grids

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alfour Beatty has been awarded a £90 million contract to deliver the British onshore civils works for the Viking Link Interconnector Project on behalf of joint venture delivery partners, National Grid and Energinet.

As part of the four-year contract, Balfour Beatty will be responsible for the civil engineering and installation of 68 kilometres of high voltage cabling across Lincolnshire; connecting Denmark to Great Britain at National Grid’s Bicker Fen substation.

On completion, the project will form part of the wider 765 kilometres Viking Link which will supply sustainable electricity for 1.4 million homes in Great Britain and improve the security of electricity supply in both countries.

In addition, the Viking Link will contribute to the UK Government’s carbon reduction commitment to reduce all greenhouse emissions to net zero by 2050, by providing access to a well-developed, low cost renewable energy market.

Visit: www.balfourbeatty.com

HOCHTIEF joint venture wins EUR 1.2 billion contract for Dutch motorway

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HOCHTIEF joint venture has been awarded a contract worth EUR 1.2 billion for a motorway project in the Netherlands. In the vicinity of Arnhem the GelreGroen joint venture will extend the A15 for a further 12 kilometres and widen stretches over 23 kilometres of the A12 8 Industry Europe

uevo Pudahuel Consortium comprising Aeroports de Paris (45%), VINCI Airports (40%) and Astaldi Concessioni SpA (15%), will build and manage ‘’Arturo Merino Benitez’’ International Airport in Santiago de Chile, the 6th largest airport in South America, using the concession formula.

The aim of the upgrading and extension project is to increase the airport’s capacity from 15 to 30 million passengers per year, with an expansion potential of up to 45 million.

Works involve renovation of Terminal 1 (119,000 m2), currently in use, and construction from scratch of Terminal 2 (175,000 m2) which will be completely dedicated to international flights. Construction of the new terminal also includes the creation

of commercial areas, VIP lounges, and the increase of boarding bridges from 18 to 55.

The contract also includes commercial management and development of the main areas and services for a period of 20 years.

Visit: www.astaldi.com

Bouygues working on new road tunnels in Hong Kong

he government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has awarded contracts for two road tunnels in the Kowloon Peninsula to Bouygues Travaux Publics, the subsidiary of Bouygues Construction specialising in civil engineering and engineering structures.

These projects form part of a new trunk road under construction, known as Route 6. When completed, Route 6 will provide a rapid east-west

link between West Kowloon and the town of Tseung Kwan O. It will also relieve congestion on existing roads in the centre of Kowloon.

The first contract concerns the construction of a 2.8-kilometre section of twin-tube tunnel linking Yau Ma Tei and Ma Tau Kok, two access tunnels and a ventilation shaft. The works, which are worth €364 million, have already begun and the project commissioning is anticipated in 2025.

The second is a design-build-procurement contract for a 3.4-kilometre underwater road tunnel linking the former Kai Tak airport to Cha Kwo Ling, two ventilation buildings, electrical and mechanical services and additional road construction works.

Visit: www.bouygues.com

and A15 by adding extra lanes. Apart from design and construction, the contract also includes finance as well as operation and maintenance of the motorway until 2044.

The new section of the A15 and the extra lanes on the A12/A15 will open by the end of 2024. Marcelino Fernández Verdes, HOCHTIEF CEO: “Once again we are pleased to be awarded for a major infrastructure project in

the Netherlands, following the success of our highway project SAAOne near Amsterdam.”

In the course of the construction works, 45 bridges, ten road junctions and additional noise barriers are to be built. The centerpiece of the new road axis will be the new bridge over the Pannerdensch Canal, with a length of approximately 2.5 kilometers.

Visit: www.hochtief.com

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NEWS

INDUSTRYNEWS

NCC project uses state-of-the-art digital tools O

ne of the largest property development projects in Espoo, Finland, is underway in the Hatsinanpuisto area of Leppävaara. The first building to rise in this area developed by NCC is Trimble’s headquarters which means a joint expedition to testing and using new digital construction tools. “ Trimble’s and NCC’s joint project is a unique opportunity. We will be the first to test the very latest technology applications available in an optimal environment. We pilot on the equipment and software to facilitate the design and build process and to acquire data which we can utilise in NCC’s projects

VINCI Construction wins a contract to build a water treatment plant in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and operations related to construction and design,” Project Director Pirkka Pikkarainen of NCC states.

Trimble’s design, construction and property development technologies are based on open data exchange, virtual design and construction, and augmented reality. The novel technology is used to imitate reality with digital models which can support all phases of design, construction and maintenance of properties and enable better analytics and data management than any manually managed processes ever.

Visit: www.ncc.fi

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INCI Construction Grands Projets is working with the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority to design and build the Bakheng water treatment plant in the northern outskirts of the Cambodian capital.

The first phase of the project, with a value of $155 million (€141 million), covers construction of: • A first treatment line with a capacity of

195,000 cu. metres per day, • The intake in the Mekong River with a

capacity of 390,000 cu. metres per day, • Two 1.4 metre diameter pipelines with a

Strabag Contract for Road in Uganda

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13 January 2020 STRABAG International signed the contract for the project “Upgrading of Atiak-Laropi Road (66 km) to Paved Standard” in Uganda. The contract value amounts to € 54 million. The project is cofinanced by the European Development Fund.

Start of works will be beginning of March 2020, construction time is scheduled for 30 months.

The Atiak-Laropi Road project is situated about 400 km north of the Ugandan capital Kampala.

It is part of a regional, national and international

Veidekke Logistikkbygg to build Optimera’s new automated central warehouse in Vestby

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he combined office and warehouse building will have a gross area of approximately 23,500 m 2 and will be built in Vestby Næringspark Øst in the municipality of Vestby, Norway. Optimera’s new central warehouse will more than double Optimera’s current capacity.

route connecting the remote North-Western region of Uganda and South Sudan to the Ugandan capital at Kampala via the northern regional capital at Gulu. The 66 km road starts in Atiak at a junction off the Gulu – Atiak - Nimule road and runs in a north westerly direction traversing dry grasslands with short grass and shrubs through Adjumani town and ends at Umi at the ferry landing site on the River Nile.

The existing gravel road will be widened and upgraded to an asphalt road. It will be widened up to 7,00 m carriageway plus 2 x 2,00 m shoulders.

The route leads through about 2.5 km urban and 63.5 km rural area. Drainage works consist of construction of drains, box culverts and pipe culverts. Additionally a ferry pier has to be built on the Nile bank.

Visit: www.strabag.com The building will have a high ceiling with two large automated warehouse systems and will include a so-called HBW installation for storage on pallets, automated storage and picking systems, and a miniload comprising 30,000 boxes for the storage of small products.

“We are very pleased that Anthon B Nilsen has once again chosen us as partner for another major logistics project. We will build

length of 1.5 km to carry water from the Mekong to the treatment plant, • A 2 metre diameter pipeline with a length of

7.8 km (including a 630 metre river crossing to be built using a microtunneling machine) to bring drinking water to more than 500,000 inhabitants of the capital city.

To minimise the plant’s carbon footprint, its electricity requirements will be partly supplied by 27,000 sq. metres of solar panels with 3.8 MW installed capacity.

Visit: www.vinci.com

on the good partnership we have developed through six previous projects, and are looking forward to taking on the assignment. This contract is an excellent fit with our focus on the specialisation, development and building of turnkey non-commercial buildings,” says general manager Roar Kristiansen of Veidekke Logistikkbygg.

Visit: www.veidekke.no Industry Europe 9

NEWS

New contracts and orders in industry

Delta Electronics supplies PV inverters for Oslo buildings

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part of a pilot project, the largest housing and property co-op in Norway, OBOS Group, has invested in PV plants from Delta Electronics on six of their buildings in Oslo in a partnership with Fortum Oslo Varme AS. who provided the EPC services for the project.

Delta, founded in 1971, is a global leader in switching power supplies and thermal management products with a thriving portfolio of smart energy-saving systems and solutions in the fields of industrial automation, building automation, telecom power, data centre infrastructure, EV charging, renewable energy, energy storage and display, to nurture the development of smart manufacturing and sustainable cities. Delta serves customers through its sales offices, R&D centres and manufacturing facilities spread over close to 200 locations across 5 continents.

Andreas Hoischen, Delta Senior Director Business Unit Photovoltaic Inverters, said »Delta Electronics had a very good cooperation on the OBOS projects and is expecting to see more growth with Delta inverters in large rooftop applications within all of Europe as this sector is growing due to the trend to build more net-zero buildings.

Visit: www.delta-emea.com

David Bailey Awarded Healthcare Furniture Contract by Bouygues UK

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avid Bailey Furniture Systems (DBFS), have been chosen by Bouygues UK to provide healthcare furniture for the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) flagship project. The contract covers the supply and installation of approximately 5,000 items of DBFS Healthcare Collection furniture manufac-

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Kiepe Electric to equip trams in Hanover with collision avoidance systems K iepe Electric, a subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse, the global market leader for braking systems and a leading supplier of other rail and commercial vehicle subsystems, has won an order from Hanover mass transit operator ÜSTRA to equip 50 light rail vehicles with collision avoidance systems. Following a successful field trial of a vehicle fitted with the system, further TW3000 vehicles are due to be retrofitted in 2020.

“Our collision avoidance systems for LRVs provide genuine traffic safety benefits in our ever more densely populated cities,” says Dr. Jürgen Wilder, Member of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse AG and responsible for the Rail Vehicle Systems division. “As well as delivering significant cost savings for operators by keeping the network running more smoothly, every

accident that is prevented also means fewer staff having to take time off work, less vehicle downtime and lower repair costs.”

Visit: www.knorr-bremse.com

Langh Tech’s scrubber systems delivered to four gas tanker vessels

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he Finnish scrubber manufacturer Langh Tech has successfully delivered its exhaust gas scrubber systems to semi-refrigerated gas tankers managed by the Danish shipping company Ultragas ApS. The cooperation between Langh Tech and Ultragas started in summer 2018 and the deal includes the components for the scrubber system, commissioning, crew training and classification for four identical sister gas tanker vessels.

The Langh Tech scope of delivery in this project is an open loop side inlet -type scrubber tower with multi-inlet connections for flue gas sources from the main engine and from the three auxiliary engines with bypass tured at the DBFS facility in Broadstairs, Kent together with the installation of approximately 4,500 items of assisted furniture and equipment provided by the UCLH. The contract covers the supply and installation of fitted furniture across 10 floors of the new facility and is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2020.

Managing Director of DBFS, Trevor Gillman, said, “I am delighted that DBFS has

possibility on all. The scrubber is designed for max. 7000 kW engine power with scrubbing capacity for approx. 55.000 kg/h flue gas.

The installations of the first two vessels MV ATLANTIC GAS and MV ADRIATIC GAS were completed in the fourth quarter of 2019 and the two later vessels will dock during the first quarter of 2020.

“All Langh Tech open loop systems are designed as ‘hybrid ready’ with easy upgrade to full hybrid scrubber system, which makes the systems a safe choice with regards to possible stricter discharge limits in the future”, says Langh Tech’s Sales Manager Eero Pajunen.

Visit: www.langh.fi been chosen for this project by Bouygues UK, it is an endorsement of the long-term relationship between our companies, our healthcare specialisation and support of British manufacturing. It is highly rewarding to be involved in support of the Proton Beam Therapy installation which will deliver advanced cancer treatment.”

Visit: davidbaileyfurniture.co.uk

WINNINGBUSINESS

Sierra Wireless selects Rohde & Schwarz test chamber L

eading IoT solutions provider Sierra Wireless has selected the compact antenna test range (CATR) based R&S ATS1800C for mmWave frequencies (FR2) testing thanks to its class-leading characteristics. The transportable solution from Rohde & Schwarz features a state-of-theart golden CATR reflector with rolled edges and a very smooth surface to minimize scattering and to provide precise measurement results as required for operation at high frequencies.

Test and measurement is moving from conducted testing to over-the-air (OTA) testing, especially in 5G NR due to the increased frequency range. One challenge of OTA testing is to maintain a compact test chamber size while providing a large quiet zone (QZ), or useable measurement area, in a wide frequency range.

Rohde & Schwarz developed the R&S ATS1800C to combine all this, meeting current and upcoming requirements for 5G NR OTA testing.

Bill Seefeldt, Senior Vice President of Engineering at Sierra Wireless, commented: “As a wireless solutions leader, we wanted

to find a CATR based solution to ensure the best measurement quality and accuracy. We were impressed with the OTA solutions Rohde & Schwarz offers, and we selected the R&S ATS1800C. Sierra Wireless is a long-standing customer of Rohde & Schwarz.”

Visit: wwww.rohde-schwarz.com

Linde To Provide Hydrogen Refuelling Stations In South Korea

“As a global leader in hydrogen technology and mobility solutions, Linde is pleased to further expand its presence in South Korea through our latest agreement with KEC,” said Sanjiv Lamba, EVP, CEO Asia Pacific at Linde.

“We are delighted to see the growing momentum for hydrogen as a sustainable source of energy across Asia and continue to work with various stakeholders to support the development of a safe and efficient hydrogen ecosystem by deploying Linde’s world class hydrogen solutions,” added Lamba.

Visit: www.linde.com

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ndustrial gases and engineering company Linde has signed a 15-year contract with the government-owned Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC) to build and operate four Hydrogen Refuelling Stations (HRS) in Chungnam, South Korea. The HRS will be supplied with hydrogen from Linde’s manufacturing facilities in the nearby Pyeongtaek area.

Beijer Electronics signs an agreement with Otis valued at more than 150 MSEK.

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he contract spans over a period of five years for the supply of display solutions for Otis product line Compass®. The agreement confirms Beijer Electronics ambition to have some of the world’s leading global companies as core customers in long-term relationships.

Beijer Electronics offers fully integrated and flexible display solutions, tailored to match mission-critical requirements.

“We are delighted to have been chosen

by Otis to provide a custom display solution that will help drive Otis’s success in the market now and in the future. This is the beginning of a partnership for many years that will benefit both organizations.”

Orange chooses Nokia and Ericsson for its 5G equipment.

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okia and Ericsson are long-term industrial partners of the Orange group. They will provide a package of products and services that will enable the deployment of 5G across the country. The agreement includes antennas and associated professional services.

The partnership with Nokia is focused on the West and South-East regions of France, zones where Nokia already supplies 2G/3G/4G on the mobile network (RAN).

The partnership with Ericsson is focused on the Ile de France, North-East and South-West regions, zones where Ericsson already supplies 2G/3G/4G on the mobile network (RAN).

Fabienne Dulac, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and CEO of Orange France, stated: “For Orange , the deployment of 5G represents a huge challenge and is one of the main priorities of our Engage 2025 strategic plan. We are delighted to be pursuing our partnerships with both Nokia and Ericsson, two key long-term partners, in order to develop a powerful and innovative 5G network. 5G will enable the development of new use-cases and new services, and will provide an enriched experience for our customers - both in the consumer and business segments. Through these agreements, Orange reaffirms its ambition to being network leader.”

Visit: www.orange.com

says Haden Howell, Vice President, Key Accounts, Beijer Electronics.

“Our processes now fully match the requirements of large enterprises with high demands and attention to detail, and we are thrilled to take the next steps together with Otis in our collaboration.” says Stefan Lager, CEO of Beijer Electronics.

Visit: www.beijerelectronics.com Industry Europe 11

NEWS

Combining strengths

Korea’s GS E&C Takes Over UK Building Pods Supplier

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outh Korean construction giant GS Engineering & Construction (GS E&C) has acquired a “significant shareholding” in UK-based modular building and bathroom pod manufacturer Elements Europe.

S E&C said that the investment came as part of its commitment to expansion and rapid upscaling of Element Europe’s existing capacity. The purchase price has not been disclosed.

In addition to student accommodation and hotels, Elements Europe has a large presence in off-site residential construction and the company says that it has delivered over 500 apartments recently including two 23-storey residential tower blocks in the London area.

“We are excited to invest into Elements Europe, they have 15 years of experience and a track record of delivery. Added to that, they have built a successful platform and invested heavily into the development of their products, technology, design processes and people in order to support rapid expansion plans,“ said Mr. Yoon-Hong Huh, President of GS E&C. Visit: www.gs.co.kr/en

Fortum to sell its district heating

business in Joensuu, Finland

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ortum has signed an agreement to sell its district heating business in Joensuu, Finland to Savon Voima Oyj. “The Joensuu district heating business is centred around the highly efficient and modern combined heat and power plant. The business transformation to lower carbon intensity has largely been done and the detailed plans for further decar-

EasyJet Partner Wright Electric To Develop Electric Aircraft Engine

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K-based budget airline easyJet is moving a step closer towards commercial electric air travel for short-haul routes following the

12 Industry Europe

bonisation have been prepared. The divestment raised large interest among buyers and provided a great opportunity for us to sell the business to a reliable company with the ambition to further develop the business locally in Joensuu.

“In line with our strategy, this is an excellent opportunity to extend our core district heating business to the Joensuu network in close vicinity to our existing networks. We value the solid fundamentals of the asset and see potential in further developing it along with the existing team, including continuing the peatto-bio conversion of the Joensuu district heating business according to the plans laid out by Fortum,” says Arto Sutinen, CEO of Savon Voima Oyj. Visit: www.fortum.com

announcement that its partner company, Wright Electric, is developing engines for its electric narrow-body aircraft. Wright Electric says it is working on creating electrical systems that are big enough for a 186-seat electric aircraft and a 1.5 MW electric motor.

EasyJet is hoping for electric planes to fly routes of around 500 km (310 miles), which would mean the aircraft could be

used on flights from London to Amsterdam, the second-busiest air route in Europe.

The low-cost airline partnered with US start-up Wright Electric in 2017 to look at the possibilities of short-haul electric commercial flights. Wright has said it wants to conduct onthe-ground motor tests by next year, and flight tests by 2023.

Visit: www.easyjet.com

LINKINGUP Wärtsilä & CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Company Limited to jointly develop hybrid vessels for the future

T

he technology group Wärtsilä has signed a strategic development agreement with Chinese state-owned shipbuilder CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Company Limited Huangpu Wenchong. The five year agreement

is aimed at the joint development of a hybrid powered dredger, but could possibly extend to other hybrid vessels as well.

The purpose of the agreement is to build a cooperation framework and working mechanism

Strategic partnership for compressor solutions at sea

S

auer Compressors and TMC are entering into a strategic partnership to further expand their market position as suppliers for compressor solutions for worldwide shipping and offshore applications. In the future, they will cover the entire product portfolio for all compressed air and gas applications at sea.

With their new partnership, the two companies combine their strengths: the German medium-sized Sauer Compressors group as the world’s leading supplier of starting air compressors and the Norwegian manufacturer TMC, a leading supplier of screw compressors in the maritime sector. For the various compressed air and gas applications on board sea-going vessels, both compressor types are required in many cases and are now available from a single source.

“TMC and Sauer will continue to offer our respective products on a stand-alone basis, but this agreement enables us to cooperate

K+S to work with Spacenus to deliver precision farming

K

+S and Spacenus, a start-up company based in Darmstadt, have agreed to work closely together in developing digital technology in the area of precision farming The Agricultural Nutrient Assistant (ANA) from Spacenus is designed to support farmers in fertilizing plants by using

for the research and development of hybrid power systems. Wärtsilä will support Huangpu Wenchong during the design and construction phases with technology innovations, system selection, performance calculations, and longterm services.

“Collaboration with industry partners is at the very core of Wärtsilä’s Smart Marine approach to raising efficiencies, and eliminating waste throughout the shipping sector. This is one more example of this philosophy, and we look forward to cooperating with Huangpu Wenchong to create hybrid powered vessels that will benefit the industry by lowering costs, and benefit the planet by reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” says Henrik Wilhelms, Director Offshore and Special Vessels at Wärtsilä.

Visit: www.wartsila.com

more closely and cost-effectively, which could be highly beneficial for both yards and shipowners. We are delighted to team up with Sauer Compressors and its renowned range of German-engineered piston compressors,” emphasises Per Kjellin, CEO of TMC. Harald Schulz, Managing Director of Sauer Compressors, adds, “Customers can now approach one contact person who has all the technical expertise. The combined portfolio enables very fast and efficient order processing.”

Visit: www.sauercompressors.com

a smartphone to detect a plant’s nutrient deficiency at an early stage: ANA combines smartphone and satellite images to indicate the current nutrient supply of cultivated plants. Artificial intelligence (AI) is used, which evaluates satellite images and calculates differences within a field generating a nutrient map.

“In K+S, we have found a particularly strong cooperation partner. Our visions with regard to more efficient fertilization in agriculture are a perfect match. The development of our algorithms is being significantly advanced by K+S and its partner institute IAPN,” says Lionel Born, co-founder of Spacenus GmbH. Visit: www.spacenus.com.

Industry Europe 13

NEWS

MOVINGON

Relocations and expansions across Europe

New Stalatube production line in Lahti S IMH brings 35 years of hydraulic engineering expertise to Port of Blyth

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ndustrial and Marine Hydraulics (IMH) has opened a new facility at the Port of Blyth, UK which is equipped to provide full onsite service and inspection operations IMH, which was founded in Teesside in 1983 by engineer Paul Griffiths MBE, has grown to operate in more than 50 countries and supports customers with hydraulic engineering expertise in a wide range of sectors including oil and gas, subsea, offshore and onshore renewables, nuclear, and automotive.

Companies on the port – which is situated on the coast of Northumberland, North East England – will be able to tap into hydraulic solutions, inspection and service capabilities provided by IMH, including flushing rigs and testing equipment.

James Griffiths, Managing Director at IMH said: “Opening a facility at the Port of Blyth is an important step in our 35-year journey and we’re delighted to be bringing our specialist hydraulic engineering experience to the site. Port of Blyth is rightly considered as one the UK’s leading offshore energy support bases and its development over the past few years means that it is playing an increasingly important role in the marine, subsea and offshore sectors.”

Visit: www.imh-uk.com

Hyundai To Produce Kona Electric In Czech Republic

14 Industry Europe

talatube has launched a new best-in-class production line in the company’s main facility in Lahti, Finland. The new production line produces square and rectangular stainless structural tubes from 25x25 up to 70x70, thickness ranging from 1 to 4 mm, strengthening Stalatube’s offering of special-sized tubes. The new line is in ramp-up phase and will start official production during early 2020.

“We strive to specialize in stainless steel square and rectangular tubes of all sizes to distinguish us from mass manufacturers,” explains Jukka Nummi, Chairman of the Stalatube Board of Directors. “The state-

of-the-art technology enables completely customized tube and production batch sizes.

By investing in a new line, we will continue to improve our competitiveness. ” Stalatube’s CEO Sami Packalén emphasizes customer orientation as the cornerstone of the company’s operations: “The customer is at the heart of everything we do. With a wide range of customized products and services, we ensure that we stand out from the competition and are able to serve our customers in the best possible way, ”Packalén comments. visit: www.stalalube.com

New Toshiba Carrier HVAC plant for Poland

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apan’s Toshiba Carrier Corporation has announced the establishment of a new manufacturing subsidiary in Gniezno, mid-western, Poland. The heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) joint venture represents an investment of around 3.0 billion Japanese yen (€24.7-million) and is part of a push to enhance the company’s business foundation and presence in Europe.

The new manufacturing facility will allow Toshiba Carrier to reduce product lead time by one-third, reduce product costs, and bolster its product lineup catering to particular needs in Europe.

The establishment of the new subsidiary will boost Toshiba Carrier’s global manufactur-

H

yundai is to make its fully-electric Kona model at its plant in the Czech Republic from March, tripling the vehicles availability to customers in Europe. Until now, the Kona Electric has been manufactured in South Korea and exported across the world.

Hyundai’s Czech facility is emerging as the company’s overseas production base for ecofriendly vehicles and the company has already

ing and engineering portfolio, which includes on-going programs such as a new global R&D centre at Fuji Operations and the relocation and expansion of development and manufacturing facilities at Toshiba Carrier Air Conditioning (China) Co., Ltd., in Hangzhou, China.

Visit: www.toshiba-carrier.co.jp/global

said it will produce the Tucson Hybrid and Tucson PHEV at the facility.

In 2020, over 80,000 zero-emissions vehicles will be produced for the European market including Kona Electric, IONIQ Electric and the NEXO fuel cell car. Hyundai says that, with this development, it expects to become Europe’s biggest provider of zero-emissions vehicles in 2020. visit: www.hyundai.com/worldwide/en

NEWS

TECHNOLOGYSPOTLIGHT

Advances in technology across industry

NSK in-wheel motor charges Toyota develops specially wirelessly while in motion designed Fuel Cell N

SK has developed the third generation of its inwheel motor, the world’s first design of its type to feature a complete package comprising motor, inverter and wireless charging unit. The innovative wireless in-wheel motor (W-IWM) for the electric vehicle (EV) market is capable of charging from coils embedded in the road, while in motion.

Reducing CO2 emissions in order to achieve a low-carbon society is a global challenge that calls strongly for reductions in automobile emissions, hence the growing development and take-up of EVs. However, some concerns have been raised regarding the convenience of stationary EV charging and the amount of resources required to produce large amounts of battery cells. Efficient running with a minimal amount of battery cells is therefore required for the sustainable spread of EVs. As a result, wireless charging while in motion has

been capturing the attention of OEMs keen on realising EVs with small batteries.

The third-generation W-IWM developed by the joint research group has vastly improved in-motion charging capability, motor performance and ease of mounting, bringing together the features required for practical application. Importantly, the W-IWM has been developed so that the in-motion wireless power receiver circuit, as well as the EV’s driving mechanism (motor and inverter), fit entirely inside the wheel.

Development of the latest unit was conducted jointly by a research group comprising NSK, the Fujimoto Laboratory at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, Bridgestone Corporation, ROHM Co Ltd and Toyo Electric Mfg Co Ltd.

roupe Renault is developing a solution enabling automatic and secure interaction and communication between cars and connected objects in homes. Otodo, a young French company pioneering smart-home connectivity, will deliver the secure link between the vehicle and user’s home.

This innovative service will be available in all Renault cars that have the new Renault EASY LINK multimedia system, including the All-new ZOE, All-new Clio and All-new Captur.

This service developed by Groupe Renault and Otodo will be available in 2020.

With this new connectivity solution from Groupe Renault, users can now control their home’s connected objects directly from their vehicle’s dashboard, as well as send instructions from their

T

home, using a smartphone or connected speaker, to their connected Renault vehicle to prepare or share an itinerary, for example.

Jean-François Labal, Marketing & Partnership Head for Connected Cars & Services at Groupe Renault, says, “Cars need to blend into our digital lives. With this service, we’re offering our customers a trailblazing experience and a completely secure system to connect their home’s connected objects to their vehicle. The interface to set it up is very intuitive and it comes with two advantages: it’s automatic so it makes life simpler and it saves energy by switching lights and heating on and off as needed.”

oyota has been involved in the Energy Observer project from the start, because of hydrogen being at the very heart of this amazing journey. During a six-year odyssey, which started in 2017, the Energy Observer team is navigating the first energy-autonomous hydrogen boat around the globe. The electrically propelled vessel of the future operates by using a mix of renewable energies and a system that produces carbon-free hydrogen from seawater.

For the next leg in the journey, Energy Observer and Toyota have worked closely together to introduce Toyota’s leading fuel cell technology in the boat. Toyota Technical Center Europe has especially developed this fuel cell system, using components first introduced in the Toyota Mirai and fitted it into a compact module suitable for marine applications. It will deliver more power and efficiency, but also high reliability to cross the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean this year.

The Toyota Fuel Cell System has proven its benefits already for many years in the Mirai, but more recently also in other applications such as buses and trucks. Using it for maritime transportation is again another step closer to the development of the hydrogen society. Toyota believes that hydrogen is the catalyst for energy decarbonisation and the technology acceptance can accelerate with the Toyota Fuel Cell System modular solution, which can be considered for a multitude of applications.

“We are pleased to be able to further demonstrate the versatility of the Toyota Fuel Cell System.

Our European R&D team has worked hard with the team of the Energy Observer to create and install this module in the existing boat. This project shows that the Toyota Fuel Cell technology can be used in any environment and can be spread throughout many business opportunities. It is always inspiring to work with people who aim for the same goals and this project supports even more our vision for a hydrogen society.”

Dr Johan van Zyl, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe.

Visit: www.media.group.renault.com

Visit: www.toyota-europe.com

visit: www.nskeurope.com

Renault and Otodo develop new solution linking cars and homes

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System for Energy Observer’s 2020 Tour

Industry Europe 15

Masterclass in bio-energy efficiency The Bunge Group continues to set global standards for the manufacture and distribution of cooking oils and bio-energy health products. Philip Yorke reports on a company that is seeing strong growth thanks to its health-focused products and expanding product portfolio.

18 Industry Europe

Agriculture

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ounded in the Netherlands, over 200 years ago, the Bunge Group has been supplying world markets with agricultural commodities, such as grains and oilseeds and bio-energy products ever since. The company produces and transports crops and edible oils and connects farmers to customers in ways that helps to ensure food security and environmental efficiency. Bunge provides ingredients and know-how to many of the biggest food processors and foodservice brands in the world. Primarily, it produces high-quality consumer agriproducts to its customers in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Today’s oils are healthy, indispensable cooking ingredients that shape taste, nutrition and the culinary experience of millions. Bunge helps to meet the needs of a hungry and fast-growing world every day through its winning portfolio of edible oil products that bring flavour, health and versatility, to its unrivalled nutritional benefits.

World leaders in premium lecithins Bunge produces oil-based ingredients and products that meet today’s evolving and diverse dietary needs. It delivers high-quality

sustainable foods to chefs and consumers to suit their individual tastes and preferences in every corner of the world.

The Bunge Group supplies food manufacturers, bakeries, restaurants and food service operators with packaged oilseed oils, margarines and shortenings. The company also provides innovative customised solutions that enable its retail customers to deliver the desired tastes, textures and functional attributes that match their changing product requirements.

In Brazil, Europe and Asia, many of Bunge’s branded consumer bottled and packaged oil products are household names and the mainstays of countless family kitchens. The company also fortifies many of its consumer products with vitamins A and D, as well as DHA to enhance their nutritional properties. It also uses innovative packaging, special labelling and enticing new flavours in line with today’s culinary and consumption trends.

Bunge also has a growing specialties business. It is the world’s leading producer of lecithin. This oilseed-processing by-product is essential in making chocolate, baked goods, instant mixes and nutritional supple-

Industry Europe 19

ments. BungeMaxx, is the company’s first global specialty brand and provides highly customised premium lecithins to its customers worldwide.

Meeting the demands of a hungry world The three most important crops in the world today are grains: maize, wheat and rice. They are also the backbone of Bunge’s agri-business activities. As the global market continues to grow, particularly in developing countries, there is a widening gap between where crops are produced and where they are con-

HF Press+LipidTech HF has been a reliable partner for several Bunge projects worldwide during the past almost 40 years.

HF is the world market leader for screw presses (formerly known as KRUPPpresses, a synonym for high performance and high quality equipment), but also considered and worldwide acknowledged as competent technology provider in other fields of oilseed processing, for crude oil refining and animal waste processing (rendering). HF`s business relationship with Bunge`s Martfü plant began many years ago with the supply of numerous components for all different plant sections. Bunge operates more than 40 HF screw presses in various locations.

Besides delivering and engineering new equipment HF and Bunge have a strong partnership regarding the service of wear parts, order on demand solutions and providing technical service to improve everyday performance.

We are looking forward to serve our customer Bunge in the future.

20 Industry Europe

sumed. Complex geopolitics, extreme climate conditions and economic uncertainty mean that trade in basic foodstuffs has never been more complex or more important.

However, this geo-complexity also provides a big opportunity globally for the Bunge Group, which is well placed to meet the growing need. With its integrated value-chain, the company can make the right connections, linking farmers large and small to the global marketplace, and deliver high-quality commodity products to its end-customers throughout the world.

Today the Bunge Group’s global network of facilities, includes grain elevators and port terminals, and together they cover the world’s largest agricultural production regions and the areas of fastest growing food consumption demand. These strategic locations are also designed to be close to major transportation systems and hubs and Bunge supports these physical assets with marketing units, trading offices and joint venture operations across six continents.

Focus on bioenergy It is well established that oilseed oils are among the richest dietary sources of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fats. With its clear commitment to healthier diets, the Bunge Group recently launched BungeMaxx™ sunflower lecithin, a Non-GMO ProjectVerified ingredient.

Lecithin is a natural emulsifier and an important ingredient in a broad range of consumer products, including chocolate, baked goods, instant mixes and nutritional supplements. Every step of the supply chain is managed by the Bunge team, starting with the

Agriculture

sourcing of its sunflower seeds to their final distribution in Europe and the U.S. The Bunge Group is also the foremost producer of sugar and ethanol in Brazil and is a leading trader and merchandiser of sugar worldwide.

Brazil is the world’s largest sugarcane producer and exporter. The company’s eight sugarcane mills in Brazil have a combined capacity of over 20 million metric tonnes. They produce both sugar and ethanol and Bunge is able to adjust its production mix depending on market conditions. They are also equipped via cogeneration to produce renewable electricity that is sold to the Brazilian power grid.

The Bunge Group produces two types of sugar: raw sugar that is similar to the sugar traded on major commodities exchanges and sold almost exclusively for export, and non-refined white crystal sugar that is sold mainly to Brazil.

For further details on the Bunge Group’s latest innovative products and services visit: www.bunge.com

Industry Europe 21

Optical inspection - © Aspocomp

At the heart of the

digital revolution By tapping into the right megatrends in the PCB industry, Finland’s Aspocomp is firmly established on a fast growth track

Innerlayer Developing, Eching and Stripping (DES) - © Aspocomp

22 Industry Europe

Pattern plating - © Aspocomp

Work-in-progress - © Aspocomp

Automation & Robotics Electrical testing - © Aspocomp

In

2019 Aspocomp, the Finland-based advanced Printed Circuit Board (PCB) company, celebrated its 40th anniversary. Aspocomp was founded in 1979 and enjoyed rapid growth during Finland’s cellphone boom. In 1999 it was demerged from the Aspo Group to operate as an independent listed company.

Now in its 20th year as an independent company, Aspocomp sees itself at a turning point. It is expanding its business geographically and diversifying from the telecom sector to other sectors such as automotive, security and defence and IC testing. It now aims to utilise its strong partner network to serve customers during the whole lifecycle of their product.

Mikko Montonen, President & CEO of Aspocomp since the spring of 2014, summarises the secret of the company’s success: “We stepped up our sales efficiency. We shifted from product-focused thinking to a service-oriented, customer-focused approach to operations and harnessed our own strengths.”

The company’s strengths include the specialties of its Oulu plant: high-tech expertise, agility and suitability for producing small series that mass manufacturers in Asia are not interested in or which are simply not a good fit for their processes. “As we developed our own operations, we analysed the markets to identify new fields of business that could benefit from Aspocomp’s expertise – one of these is the automotive industry.”

Fast growing markets The automotive industry is now one of Aspocomp’s fastest-growing customer segments. Whereas a cellphone includes only a few PCBs, one car requires as many as 140 – and in the years ahead, vehicles will feature even more technology.

In addition to the automotive industry, Aspocomp has heavily specialised in product development and testing of semiconductors.

“Aspocomp PCBs are used in the testing of high-tech components

for 5G, the automotive industry, industrial internet, machine-tomachine and digitalisation needs in general,” says Montonen.

5G, the latest generation of mobile data, is now everywhere. It substantially speeds up data transfer and thus paves the way for great changes in many industries. For Aspocomp, this means new customers and projects in years to come.

As well as continuing to develop its high-tech and high-quality operations, Aspocomp has succeeded in identifying the international megatrends that support its own operations and seizing the opportunities they open up. Many of these megatrends are based on technological development. In addition to 5G, these include robotics, artificial intelligence, the industrial internet and the defence and security industry.

Advanced manufacturing - volume production Aspocomp’s business model is based on high-tech advanced manufacturing in Finland and volume supply from Asia. Its manufacturing plant in Oulu, Finland, is a state-of-art quick-turn facility for HDI (High Density Interconnection), advanced HDI, high layercount PCB’s and special technologies e.g. different heat management technologies (Heatsink, Coin etc) As well as its volume manufacturing operations in China, India and Thailand, Aspocomp has six partners in China. All Aspocomp partners have successfully passed VDA 6.3 assessment and have TS16949 certification. They have been carefully selected to provide the best mix of different volume and technology offerings.

Aspocomp’s sourcing and supply management office, located in Shenzhen, China, is responsible for daily supplier activities i.e. delivery monitoring, quality assurance and logistics.

Customers utilising Aspocomp’s unique offering through full product life cycle can expect Design for Manufacturability (DFM) feedback on request, not only for prototypes, but for expected volume manufacturing as well.

Industry Europe 23

Mechanical drilling - © Aspocomp

Growth strategy delivers Aspocomp was able to report on a highly successful performance in 2018. Year-on-year net sales grew 22 per cent, rising to their highest level since 2006. Growth was clearly faster than the PCB market as a whole, which is expected to grow by approximately 5.5 per cent.

The CEO commented: “The customer segments selected in the current business strategy all posted strong growth, with the exception of the security and defence segment. In the telecommunications network segment, demand was strengthened by the development of the next generation of 5G technology and the launch of the first commercial networks and equipment. The segment has over 10 significant customers and total growth was 42 per cent. Development was slightly more moderate in both the automotive industry and industrial electronics segments, about 17 and 15 per cent, respectively. The semiconductor testing segment grew by as much as 54 per cent and its net sales amounted to EUR 2 million.’

Mikko Montonen added: “The ongoing EUR 10 million investment program focuses in the first stage on enhancing the capabili-

24 Industry Europe

ties of the Oulu plant, while the main focus in the second stage is to increase its capacity. Most of the first stage equipment has been ordered and installation will be completed in 2019.”

The results for 2019 are expected to show net sales at approximately 10 per cent higher compared with 2018 and the operating result to be even better. “Sales remained stable despite uncertain market conditions,” said Mr Montonen, “As in the previous year, demand swung to very strong growth towards the end of September and the order book strengthened significantly from the comparison period.

“Cash flow from operating activities was more than double compared to the previous year. The order book was at the record high of EUR 4.9 million at the end of the third quarter, a year-on-year n increase of 60 per cent.”

Mikko Montonen President and CEO © Aspocomp

Automation & Robotics

Engineered precision for ceramics The SITI B&T engineering group of Italy leads the world in the manufacture of complete turnkey production plants and process solutions for ceramics. Philip Yorke reports on a fast growing and dynamic company that has recently made a number of successful strategic acquisitions whilst establishing a major presence in Moscow.

Industry Europe 25

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he SITI B&T Group is listed on the Italian stock market and is a global manufacturer of state-of-the-art production plants for the ceramic tile and sanitary-ware industries. Recently the group enhanced its leading position as a major world player following a number of strategic acquisitions.

More than 85 per cent of the company’s turnover is generated from export sales, with its global network of service companies making it the company of choice for many of the world’s top ceramic tile and sanitary-ware producers.

Asian masterclass The SITI B&T Group recently announced it will supply a complete plant for the production of ceramics to Master Tiles, one of the leading ceramics companies in Asia, which will triple its current production capacity, thus taking it from 15 million, to more than 40 million square metres of tiles per year.

With SITI B&T Group’s latest innovative and sustainable technologies, Master Tiles will become one of the leading Asian companies in its sector. It will also strengthen its leadership in terms of quality, which will subsequently allow it to become more competitive in challenging international markets. The investment has been financed by a group of local and international banks.

“The plant consists entirely of the latest high-tech equipment supplied by our Group, which is a true “Full Provider” commented Fabio Tarozzi, Chairman of the SITI B&T Group. “In addition, at every stage

26 Industry Europe

of the production process it guarantees a highly specialised solution.

This combines production efficiency with significant energy savings, to give the finished product unrivalled value and excellent technical and aesthetic characteristics”.

This order demonstrates the capability and the added value of the Group, which is able to provide complete turnkey plants that boast the very latest production technologies. Examples of this include the new kilns that use the patented Titanium® technology, the high tonnage EVO presses, the digital decorating machines made by Projecta Engineering and the surface finishing machines for ceramic products produced by Ancora, another of the group’s subsidiaries.

Moscow expansion In order to extend its presence in Russia the Group has inaugurated a new branch in Moscow. The Russian market is of great interest to the ceramics sector, and the company intends to consistently develop its activities there. With its existing representative office in Moscow, the B&T Group has now decided to strengthen its Russian presence in order to better serve its customers. This is a permanent, fully operational branch that will handle the region’s broad range of customer services.

“This is another important step to implement our international network”, added Tarozzi, “It fully fits our strategy based on our investments in Research & Development and our direct presence in all major ceramic markets worldwide.”

Automation & Robotics

“By supporting our customers in dealing with everyday problems, we intend to offer qualified assistance throughout the entire life cycle of the plant, ensuring its proper operation through spare parts, maintenance and assistance and thus creating a real competitive advantage for users of our advanced technology”.

Interestingly, in the world ranking of the main ceramic tile producing countries, Russia is recorded as the 11th biggest, with a production quota that amounts to more than 200 million square metres per annum.

New acquisitions driving sales A few months ago, the SITI B&T Group signed a binding purchase contract for the acquisition of 75 per cent of the shares of Diatex SpA of Villaverla, Italy. This is a leading European company that is active in the production of high-precision diamond tools for stone and ceramics processing.

Diatex provides customers with special cutting tools used by the industry’s squaring and cutting machines and for finishing the final ceramic product.

“This acquisition allows us to exploit new synergies with the latest advanced finishing technologies created by our subsidiary

Ancora, and to be able to offer our high-performance products to customers. With this operation, Diatex will also benefit from the Group’s international network to give it a strong export boost”, said Tarozzi The acquisition process was handled and coordinated for SITI-B&T by leading acquisition advisors K Finance of Milan and S.CO.A. of Bologna.

In a separate move, the Group also acquired the entire minority share in Ancora, thus completing the purchase of this highly specialised and unique company.

Tarozzi commented, “With the acquisition of the minority share in Ancora we complete the purchase of this successful high-tech company. Thanks to the clear synergies that exist within our Group, it has more than doubled its turnover since 2015. The product range of Ancora has also allowed the group to be identified, with even greater force, as a “Full Provider” of the entire ceramic production line through proprietary technologies”.

This in turn has resulted in the company becoming the supplier of choice with the widest range of specialised products on the market.

For further details of the SITI B&T Group’s latest innovative products n and services visit: www.sitibt.com

Industry Europe 27

Houses on wheels The Elcamp Group, a company from Krakow, is Poland’s leading manufacturer of premium motorhomes under the Globe-Traveller brand. It is also a distributor of motorhomes and caravans of such famous producers as Hymer, Adria and Westfalia.

28 Industry Europe

Automotive & Heavy Vehicles

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he Elcamp Group provides comprehensive maintenance services for motorhomes and caravans. It also offers full pneumatic suspensions, which are the most modern solutions among currently available on the suspension market. Finally, it runs a professional repair centre for damaged tourist vehicles.

“We are appreciated by our customers for the highest quality and timely implementation of even the most demanding maintenance services. We all love to travel by motorhomes and our goal is to create a place where fans of houses on wheels will be able to take full care of their vehicles in a friendly atmosphere, from consultancy, through the service to the purchase of parts and additional equipment for their vehicles”, explains Mr Andrzej Zawilinski, the group’s CEO.

Sport and caravanning The Elcamp Group is a part of the Zasada Group, one of the oldest and biggest Polish corporate groups, bringing together more than 30 companies, in sales, production and services in Poland and throughout Europe. In total, it employs more than 3,000 people.

The Zasada Group was established by Mr Sobieslaw Zasada, one of the most successful Polish sportsmen of all time, who after a sporting career successfully turned to business. As a rally driver he won the European Rally Championship three times (and was the runner-up three more times) at a time when the European champion was in fact the world champion. Furthermore, he was Rally Champion of Poland 11 times and in his entire sports career he has won more than 150 rallies all over the world.

Mr Zasada is an avid fan of caravanning, which helped the Elcamp Group to develop. The company has been operating since 1996 and offers a whole range of motorhomes and caravans: from small vehicles “Westfalia”, through “Adria”, “Carado”, luxury “Hymer” and “Eriba”. In

2011, it opened in Krakow a new facility with a six-storey service hall, a shop with camping accessories, a car wash, a spacious and convenient parking lot as well as a camper park, where guests from all over the world can stop and stay overnight.

Icing on the cake “Our flagship product is the Globe-Traveller camper van, which is made entirely by ourselves and has been on the market since 2009. It is an exclusive vehicle from the market’s premium segment, based on the Fiat Ducato or Peugeot Boxer chassis and handcrafted using the best quality components in our workshop in Karczew, near Warsaw. In terms of aesthetics and the sense of space, our vehicles resemble yachts or luxury liners. Standard equipment is the most comprehensive available on the market”, points out Mr Zawilinski.

The way Elcamp makes camper vans is not a on typical assemblyline. At each step of the process, the uniqueness of each motorhome is considered; all details are adjusted so that the whole construction is complete, and everything perfectly fits together. The company operates its own carpentry shop where furniture for each vehicle is made; it also has as well a technology and design office.

Since the Globe-Traveller is a premium camper van, its standard equipment includes several components, which in the case of other manufacturers, are on the list of extra options. Electric step, passenger airbag, leisure battery, heating, skylights, ‘turbo vent’ are just a few examples of what is included in the base equipment. For those customers who wish their camper van to stand out from the others, the company offers a long list of optional equipment to allow true personalisation of their motorhomes. Leather upholstery, leather steering wheel and gear knob, automatic air conditioning, GPS navigation, solar panels, TV set with satellite receiver, and many more options are available.

Industry Europe 29

Strong European market player The company employs more than 60 people, primarily a team of professionals and enthusiasts who genuinely love what they do. The Elcamp Group’s annual sales reached more than €10 million in 2018; its production output in 2018 was 150 vehicles, while in 2019 it is estimated as 180-200 units. Most of the production goes abroad.

In recent years annual foreign sales have totalled 100-130 vehicles.

Such European countries as Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary are the Elcamp’s main foreign markets.

“We have a wide group of regular customers and an increasing number of new owners of campers and caravans who trust in our team. Interestingly, we have also a group of younger customers who

30 Industry Europe

quickly got bored with the traditional kinds of tourism and turned to motorhomes to be able to take active holidays. They prefer to visit many interesting places instead of lingering in one place”, says Mr Zawilinski.

The market success of Elcamp has not encouraged the company to rest on its laurels. It intensively invests in its further development, e.g. recently it purchased the latest design computer software; it plans to build a new production facility to increase capacity. It also is preparing to expand the range of engines used in its camper vans (currently they are diesel engines) with ecologin cal engines that are the future of mobility.

Visit: www.elcamp.pl Visit: www.globe-traveller.eu

Automotive & Heavy Vehicles

Pioneering greener auto-system solutions HiLite International is a leading global supplier of automotive system parts and solutions with a special focus on greener more fuel-efficient technologies. Philip Yorke reports on a company that is pioneering futuristic technologies that are changing the face of today’s automotive industry.

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he roots of HiLite International can be traced back to 1930, when it was established as the Heller Hydraulic Company of Germany. In 1967 it was acquired by Hydraulic–Ring, a leading German hydraulics company. However in 1999 the integration of the company with HiLite Whitehall and Dallas of the USA saw the group become a truly global operation. Another milestone came in 2002 when the company moved its headquarters back to

Marktheidenfeld in Germany. In 2011 the company was acquired by the UK equity investment group: 3i. Since that time, it has seen exponential growth worldwide.

Global transformation Today HiLite is a truly global supplier of leading automotive parts and solutions, as well as an innovator of engine and transmission Industry Europe 31

products. Through its 3i ownership, it has been transformed from an ambitious and growing automotive business to a global leader in innovative, eco-friendly products for improving fuel efficiency.

Together with the 3i Board of Directors, the group has developed HiLite’s internationalisation strategy. It has also introduced a new Chairman with a strong global sector knowledge and extensive distribution network expertise. In another strategic move HiLite brought in two NXDs (Non-Executive Directors), one with US experience and the other with a Chinese focus, to help develop the Asian market.

HiLite also established a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in China in order to drive Asian sales and the development of a ‘One International HiLite’ culture which has greatly improved operating efficiency through best practice sharing.

Under 3i’s ownership HiLite has seen a 50 per cent increase in its core revenue growth, including sales to China increasing from 0 - 17 per cent in three years. In addition, it won new top-drawer customers globally including Audi and Volvo and provided greater global support to existing customers. This was all augmented by a large scale global-sourcing improvement initiative.

New supply-chain directive Recently HiLite introduced a futuristic ‘Supply Chain Directive’ that clearly defined the logistical requirements for HiLite’s suppliers in order to ensure smooth processes based on a common supply chain management system.

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a process-oriented management approach that covers all flows of raw materials, components, semi-finished and finished products, and information along the added-value and supply chain route from the sourcing of raw materials to delivery of the end product.

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Logistics is becoming increasingly important to the company and, as a competitive factor, is critical for its economic success.

Therefore, it is simply a matter of course that HiLite builds up and optimises reliable and efficient logistics processes with its suppliers.

For this reason, it is important for HiLite that logistics be given priority status for its partners and their own supply chain.

HiLite’s logistical requirements for its suppliers are carefully structured in order to ensure smooth processes based on a common SCM strategy, thereby minimising costs and improving the supply relationship between its partners.

A greener way forward The effects of the growing threat of climate change have become the main issue for the entire automobile industry. All HiLite products make a significant contribution to reducing energy consumption and meeting the strictest exhaust standards. HiLite products also help minimise pollution and significantly save energy.

Today HiLite ensures that environmental protection is taken into account at every stage of its production processes. As a result,

Automotive & Heavy Vehicles

energy consumption is reduced and energy efficiency optimised in all its functions and at all levels of the company’s business.

HiLite’s common aim is to continuously review and improve its existing environmental and energy management systems, as well as all its internal processes and energy-related performance goals.

Partnering for perfection In order to develop further cutting edge, cost effective solutions, HiLite International is partnering with other leading hydraulics manufacturing companies and leading European Universities.

A recent example of the benefits of this strategy is HiLite’s latest partnership with FEV of Germany to develop and manufacture a cost-effective two-stage, variable compression ratio (VCR) connecting rod. The goal of this partnership is to leverage synergies in the development of the product and to devise optimised, cost-efficient solutions for serial production.

According to Professor Stefan Pischinger, President and CEO of the FEV Group, “We have found HiLite to be a strong partner for the final phase of development for the VCR connecting rods, as they have established themselves as a renowned systems supplier within the market.”

David Wei, CEO of HiLite, based in Marktheidenfeld, Germany, gave a positive assessment of the partnership, which initially is scheduled for a period of two years “We supply our customers with advanced and efficient solutions,” said Wei. “By collaborating with FEV and combining our expertise, we will now be able to offer our customers this value proposition in the area of VCR”.

The new VCR technology meets the challenges of downsizing and the associated increase in combustion pressure by enabling optimal adjustment of the compression ratio at any time.

For further details of HiLite International’s latest innovative, ecofriendly products visit: www.HiLite.com

Industry Europe 33

Committed to environmental protection

Investment in a new final absorption tower is boosting efficiency and reducing emissions at Nuova Solmine’s sulphuric acid plant in Tuscany.

In

October 2019 the Italian specialty chemicals company, Nuova Solmine, completed testing on a new DuPont™ MECS® ZeCor® Final Absorption Tower (FAT), designed and installed

by DuPont Clean Technologies, at its double absorption sulfuric acid plant in Scarlino, Italy.

The MECS® ZeCor® alloy tower with MECS® UniFlo® Acid distributor and MECS® Brink® SCII Plus mist eliminators performed 34 Industry Europe

well below local regulator emissions limits (35 mg/Nm3) and acid mist also measured considerably below contractual performance guarantees (30 mg/Nm3).

By early 2017, the brick lining in the old FAT tower had started to deteriorate and required frequent maintenance, which affected production efficiency. DuPont Clean Technologies was awarded the turnkey contract to design, execute, supply and erect a replacement

chemicals, BIOchemicals & offshore

tower made of lightweight and corrosion-resistant MECS® ZeCor® alloy in July 2017.

“We wanted to replace our old final absorption tower with a highly efficient new tower that would guarantee constant reliable emissions control and not require as much maintenance as the last one did,” said Gabriele Pazzagli, Scarlino Site Manager, Nuova Solmine.

From start to finish the complete project took 11 months with the replacement of the old brick-lined tower taking place during a planned plant turnaround in August 2018.

Regional leader Nuova Solmine SpA is a leader in Italy and the Mediterranean basin in the production of sulphuric acid and oleum in various concentrations.

Because of its highly pure qualities, the sulphuric acid produced by Nuova Solmine has many uses in industrial processes, including water purification, synthetic fibres, explosives, pharmaceuticals, pigments, batteries, paper, detergents, tanneries, plant protection products, fertilisers, plastic materials, foodstuffs, and in the iron and steel industry. SOLBAT, another company in the Sol Mar Group, produces and markets diluted sulphuric acid in various concentrations.

Nuova Solmine’s main plant is situated in Casone in the borough of Scarlino (Province of Grosseto) in southern Tuscany. It covers around 140 hectares of land and has an annual capacity of approximately 600,0000 tonnes.

Sulphuric acid is produced at the Nuova Solmine plant using the ‘contact process’. This process has significant advantages for both energy use and the environment. It eliminates the waste from the original procedure of baking the pyrite and significant heat production is generated that allows a large quantity of energy to be produced with zero emission of greenhouse gases (sulphur combustion and its successive oxidation do not produce any carbon dioxide gas emissions).

The energy generated by the sulphuric acid exothermic process at the plant is used to produce electrical energy. Approximately half of the normal production of energy is sold to the national grid and the remaining part is for consumption by the Nuova Solmine plant itself.

Acid from waste The company’s Serravalle Scrivia plant, near Genoa, produces approximately 75,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid and oleum per annum through the treatment of waste containing sulphur and by regenerating spent acid. As a result of its use of advanced technology and the highly specialised skills of the personnel, the sulphuric acid is guaranteed a high grade of quality and purity comparable to that produced from sulphur, while at the same time contributing to the protection of and respect for the environment through the recovery of waste that would otherwise be disposed of.

The plant works in a continuous cycle, thus guaranteeing that clients can deliver their waste products all year round and avoid the

Industry Europe 35

typical problems associated with such deliveries to other recycling organisms. The ample stocking facilities available for various types of waste are an added advantage.

Mediterranean markets Nuova Solmine’s market covers both Italy, where it is the leading company for the sulphuric acid and oleum, and abroad, with special interest in the Mediterranean - Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Israel, Turkey and Greece. Significant sales are also made to Portugal and South America where sulphuric acid plays a major part in the production of metals and fertilisers. Foreign sales are made directly to clients or through international trade. Nuova Solmine sells not only its own sulphuric acid but also sulphuric acid from various production sites abroad.

36 Industry Europe

chemicals, BIOchemicals & offshore

The most important, and nearest, foreign market is Spain (notably the Barcelo area) where Nuova Solmine founded its own company, Nuova Solmine Iberia, with its own storage for local distribution, in 2012. Nuova Solmine distributes its products through tanker trucks and other important facilities. The Scarlino site has a direct pipeline connected to a pier for charging vessels. It has also a railway junction that allows acid and oleum to be moved by train in special containers to its clients.

Nuova Solmine plants work on a continuous production cycle, 365 days per year to produce 670,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid per year, using about 210,000 tonnes of sulphur purchased from the main Italian refineries. Acid and oleum are stored in dedicated tanks

of 76,000 tonnes of volume. Storage tanks charged on vessels are also used for national distribution. In 2013 Nuova Solmine invested in a logistics platform in the port of Vasto (CH) from which it supplies clients in the centre and the south of Italy Respect for the environment, healthcare and the safety and quality of its products are essential to the success of Nuova Solmine. At the Scarlino Plant, an Integrated Management System is used to monitor environment, safety, quality and social responsibility, in addition to compliance with all the current regulations. The success of this management system is evident in the many recognitions and prizes

that the company has received.

Industry Europe 37

Stuart Gregory, the Managing Director of Petrofer UK

Lubricating the Wheels of Growth

PETROFER UK, a wholly owned subsidiary of PETROFER Germany, one of the world’s leading companies for industrial lubricants, oils and specialised fluids, is set to embrace emerging sector changes. Stuart Gregory, the Managing Director of Petrofer UK and a member of the Global Executive Committee, spoke to Romana Moares about the latest developments and upcoming challenges and opportunities.

E

stablished in 1948 in the northern German city of Hildesheim, PETROFER has developed into a leading company in its sector, offering a combination of chemical products, services, and technical expertise in almost 50 countries throughout the world, supported by 14 manufacturing sites. Combining tradition and vision, this privately owned company builds on innovation, quality, expertise and employee dedication.

PETROFER’s portfolio of process fluids and products is divided into ten distinctive product groups; these are used in applications such as metal forming, forging, die-casting, pressing, metal cutting, cleaning, hydraulics, general lubrication, heat treatment and corrosion prevention. All of the products exceed current environmental, H&S and legislative requirements.

Embracing change Mr Gregory, who has been with the company for 24 years, and is also the Technical Co-ordinator for Japanese Business in Europe, as well as the President of the UK Die Casting Society and the Vice38 Industry Europe

Chairman of UK Cast Metals Federation, explained that in addition to its sales team, the UK subsidiary has service engineers covering the whole of the UK along with a laboratory providing regular fluid analyses on the majority of our products to all our customers.

“Our core business is very much market led,” he noted. “Different countries have different sectors which are in focus; for example, Germany is a very much an automotive led country, while Turkey, on the other hand, is perceived as a metal processor or a component supplier. Our product offering reflects local needs and local demand.

However, our global market perspective generally focuses on hot metal industries around the automotive sector and its supply chain.”

He further acknowledged that the company is ready to embrace market developments. “The biggest challenge that we see in the formulated chemistry industry is the huge change in the automotive technology worldwide in terms of electric drives, lower weight, new materials and new techniques. The market is further affected by factors such as the REACH registration of chemicals, restriction of certain products as well as the geopolitical situation in terms of

chemicals, BIOchemicals & offshore

Industry Europe 39

availability of raw materials. So there are several winds hitting the ship, so to speak – a changing society, changing raw material availability and changing legislation.”

“Responding to the new challenges in the die-casting and metal forming processes, we have developed a whole range of new die-casting products that are very efficient, with minimum losses. They have been very well accepted in the marketplace,” Mr Gregory affirmed.

Ergon, Inc. Ergon has been refining the definition of service since 1954 and is the world’s largest producer of naphthenic specialty products and second largest producer of bright stock. The company has earned the trust of customers in more than 90 countries around the world by offering reliable, consistent supply and products of the highest quality. With both naphthenic and paraffinic refineries and a global terminaling and distribution network, they are committed to meeting customer needs for solvency and viscosity. Ergon continues to invest in leading manufacturing practices, innovative service and global distribution, which is enhanced through relationships with suppliers such as Petrofer Chemie H.R. Fischer GmbH + Co. KG. • • • • •

World Largest Producer of Naphthenic Base Oils Global Distribution Network Regional Offices and Depots Secured Raw Material Resources Reliable, Consistent Base Oil Supplier

Learn more at ergoninternational.com.

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Sustainable chemistry As one of the leading suppliers of quality products including industrial lubricants, chemicals and specialised fluids, PETROFER bears a high responsibility for people, nature and the environment. Certified according to ISO 9001 in the UK and ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 at the German manufacturing plant, the company is committed to remaining a preferred partner for quality products and services in the coming decades.

“With our sustainability claim, we strive for ecological, economic and social balance. Specifically, this means for our commercial actions: the conservation of natural resources, the avoidance of environmental pollution, the use of environmentally sound and energy efficient processes and the selection of suppliers according to quality and environmental aspects.”

“All of our facilities are run with environmental protection in mind.

This is reflected in such things as chemical cleaners. With modern chemicals, these can achieve great performance with ambient temperatures, thus improving energy savings as well.”

chemicals, BIOchemicals & offshore

Speaking about current trends, Mr Gregory acknowledged that just like in other sectors, the focus on sustainability is increasing in the chemicals sector. “We produce about 600 formulations globally, and the main drive is to be part of sustainable chemistry for the future. Efforts are directed, in particular, at a reduction in disposal costs, i.e. towards products with longer life expectancy that are sustainable, commercially attractive and offer higher performance for emerging technologies, while reducing impact on the environment.”

Setting the benchmark Today, just like in the past, PETROFER is committed to continuous improvement and technical advancement. The company is growing its global presence, and its research and development sets international innovative benchmarks and quality standards utilising unique know-how.

“Growth is supported on several fronts. We are building a new facility in China, have a new grease manufacturing facility in Turkey and are expanding our operation in India. We are also looking at building a new facility in Brazil. These expansion plans follow the developing economies in those countries. China, India, Turkey, Brazil, and also Mexico with its rising automotive industry are all high growth markets with substantial potential.”

He affirmed that PETROFER’s future is to move quickly with a rapidly changing world and adjust the product range to new technologies. “With new emission regulations looming, many countries are building smart, modern and highly advanced super factories. We need to monitor these developments and match our products to future demand, to continue to stay at the forefront of our sector.” Our company motto reflects this; “We listen, n We develop, We deliver”.

Puraglobe As a strategic partner, PURAGLOBE is proud that PETROFER makes process fluids and industrial lubricants using our sustainable base oils — which are re-engineered from used oil, and processed in ways that mitigate CO2 emissions.

Together, we’re helping to meet the increasing demands for innovative, sustainable lubricants and fluids for metal forming, die casting, and other manufacturing applications.

And aside from satisfying current demands, we’re also working on future innovations. These include developing base oils, lubricants and process fluids enhanced with graphene nano-molecules that could provide outstanding protection against friction and wear — while helping to reduce costs and increase productivity.

These are just some of the ways PURAGLOBE and PETROFER are working together to make manufacturing “cleaner and greener” and more eco-friendly.

Industry Europe 43

New profile technology lifts the Gulf Alphacan is a global leader in the design and manufacture of customised U-PVC profiles for windows, doors and facades. Recently the company showcased its latest extrusion technologies at the world’s largest dedicated windows, doors and facades exhibition (WDF) held in Dubai. Philip Yorke reports on an interview with the company’s Export Sales manager, Edwardo Jimenez and Alphacan’s expanding and uplifting presence in the Gulf region.

44 Industry Europe

Construction & ENGINEERING

W

ith more than 50 years of experience in the production of U-PVC profiles for windows and doors, Alphacan has earned itself an enviable reputation for its high-quality products and continuous ground-breaking innovations. The company operates three state-of-theart production facilities in Europe; these are located in: France, Italy and Croatia and between them employ over 600 people.

Today Alphacan specialises in the lamination and finishing of U-PVC profiles and has developed exclusive technologies designed to customise windows, doors and facades according to the latest fashion trends. The U-PVC profiles are guaranteed by the quality labels issued by authoritative European Quality Management organizations. All Alphacan products offer excellent insulating properties and are reliable, maintenance-free and available in a wide range of colours and creative textured finishes.

Innovation and vision Recently Alphacan Srl exhibited its latest products at the Windows Doors and Facades Event 2019 in Dubai. The company’s Export Sales Manager, Eduardo Jiménez described his strategic objectives and participation in the largest dedicated sales platform for windows, doors and facades in the Middle East region.

“At the big WDF event we showcased our exclusive range of U-PVC profile systems for windows, facades and doors. This is a

complete range of high-performance products driven by Italian style and design, which are designed to appeal to windows manufacturers, architects and designers, as well as to contractors, real-estate agents and construction companies.

Our ‘System Master’ is a unique casement window system that is both compact and modern and especially suited to the Gulf region and Asian countries. Our sliding window systems such as In’Line’ and ‘PFS Mini’ are extremely versatile and offer multiple solutions for every kind of construction need. The former allows the construction of in-line sliding windows and doors for wide openings, whereas the second is a compact system intended for smaller spaces”.

Unique louvre shutter system Also, on show at the exhibition was Alphacan’s innovative ‘Persiana’ series which offer an external louvre shutter system that is available with fixed or adjustable slats. This system enables users to darken and protect their homes from sunlight. In addition, it guarantees customers a fully adjustable ventilation system that provides them with complete privacy.

Furthermore, Alphacan’s world premiere of its customised finishing options available in the form of ‘My- Design’, were showcased via a window made with Alphacan’s System ‘In’Alpha70’, which offers fully optimised thermal and acoustic properties.

Industry Europe 45

The ‘My-Design’ collection is based on an entirely new printing technology developed exclusively by Alphacan, which allows the customisation of any of its U-PVC windows with any graphic, image and colour that is desired.

Futuristic finishes Alphacan’s designers and engineers have produced an unlimited range of windows and doors that suit perfectly any interior decorative finish. The exclusive and futuristic finishes shown at the event included ‘Tropical Leo Tiffany’ which is a graphic pattern created

by Italian designers and is a novelty in the Middle East region. This clearly demonstrates the diversity of Alphacan’s technologies and what they can achieve in the areas of flexible design and decoration.

All Alphacan’s U-PVC systems are available in a wide range of laminates and colours that boast around fifty different options. These in turn are divided into either solid colours, wooden effect finishing’s or metallic textures. In addition, it is possible to add an external aluminium cladding which makes it possible for Alphacan windows to suit any façade style and colour, with a clean metallic finish.

This year Alphacan exhibited its product portfolio in partnership with the Italian windows manufacturer Tonini Serramenti, which is

46 Industry Europe

Construction & ENGINEERING

already present in the Emirates. This strategic partnership enables Alphacan to give accurate consultancy to its customers on the design and finish of its windows, doors and facades for the Middle East region. Furthermore, Tonini showcased the exclusive finishing of its ‘Fashion Tonini’ collection, a series of luxury windows decorated by hand with real leather and other exclusive fabrics.

Alphacan strongly believes that its products, especially those driven by Italian design and creativity, represent new and interesting building solutions, which are all dedicated to this high-end market segment. This strategy is very much in line with the Saudi Arabia Saudi Vision 2030 program. More specifically, the possibilities of innovative decorations, such as fully customised designs, the use of special designer materials such as aluminum or leather and many more aesthetic novelties help to create a greater share of the Middle East market.

Jimenez added, “We aim to come across with local partners interested in our products and innovations, partners who share our vision on customized architecture and decoration, and who are driven by innovation and design. We believe that all visitors will have appreciated our ‘Made in Italy’ creativity, finding inspiration for their projects, their homes, and entirely new concepts for windows, doors and n facades. We want to transmit our passion in all that we do”.

For further details of Alphacan’s latest innovative windows, doors and facades visit: www.alphacan.com

Uplifting urban environments Today the Gulf region has achieved a very high level of design, construction and architectural techniques, as exemplified in the many exciting buildings recognised all over the world from its skyline.

Alphacan also values its capacity for adopting new technologies and innovations in order to create the world’s most pleasing and uplifting urban environments.

Industry Europe 47

Switched-on efficiency Lovato is a global manufacturer of low-voltage electrical switching devices for industrial applications.

The company leads the field in industrial automation and energy management solutions. Philip Yorke reports on a family-owned institution that continues to set industry standards through innovation and unrivalled customer service.

48 Industry Europe

Energy & Utilities

F

or almost 100 years, Lovato Electric has been designing and manufacturing low-voltage electrical devices for industrial applications. Established in 1922 in Bergamo, Italy, Lovato Electric remains a privately-owned company that is managed by the fourth generation of the same family of entrepreneurs that founded it.

In 1992, Lovato was among the first companies in Italy to obtain the management standard ISO 9001 certification. Today it has a portfolio of over 18,000 products, all of which comply with the strictest requirements demanded by the latest international electrical and safety standards.

Lovato’s extensive product range includes motor protection circuit breakers, contactors, pushbuttons, switch disconnectors, limit switches, and digital multi-meters. This is in addition to its range of energy meters, soft starters, AC motor drives, automatic power factor controllers and engine and generator controllers. It is worth noting that all the company’s products are designed and produced in-house by Lovato Electric.

The company’s mission is to provide competitive products and services in the industrial automation and energy management industries through its 14 overseas branches and broad network of over 100 importers. These carefully selected partners guarantee the availability of Lovato Electric products in more than 100 countries worldwide.

Smarter energy Smart management of energy resources offers a major competitive advantage to any modern company, as it not only provides significant savings in operating costs, but also improves the levels of environmental protection.

Smart energy management requires the thorough analysis of consumption habits and the implementation of one-off and progressive actions, in order to derive significant savings from various targeted capital investments.

Industry Europe 49

One essential aspect of this process is the continuous monitoring of consumption and the analysis of consumption data. This must be achieved using combined and integrated software and hardware systems tailored to meet the needs of the Energy Manager.

Such results are essential to meet the EU’s strict energy audits for large energy-consuming companies. They also facilitate the collection of operational and consumption data that energy service managers need to compile in order to access ‘white certificates’ and in particular those for detailed analysis.

The key objectives targeted by the monitoring process include: The use of no more energy than necessary, flattening off demand, avoiding penalties and identifying all mains supply disturbances.

Lovato’s experience is unrivalled in the management of energy resources and can be relied upon to optimise energy efficiency and certification compliance.

Dynamic switching capacity Lovato Electric is a truly global player and provides a comprehensive range of products and services throughout every continent. The company recently won a major contract to provide a broad spectrum of switchgear solutions for a leading tyre company in Indonesia.

PT. Gajah Tunggal Tbk. is the largest tyre manufacturer in Southeast Asia. The company produces and distributes tyres for passenger cars, SUV’s, commercial vehicles, off-road vehicles, industrial vehicles and motorcycles. The company also manufactures and distributes rubber related products such as synthetic rubber, tyre cords, inner tubes, flaps, o-rings and many others.

50 Industry Europe

Last year Gajah Tunggal built a new state-of-the-art plant in Tangerang, Banten, West Java, called TBR2000, which was equipped with several welding robots. The Indonesian distributor of Lovato Electric, PT Maxindo, was involved from the outset in the project for the supply of components for the manufacturing of seven large dynamic-switching capacitor banks.

Advanced Lovato Electric components have been utilised for the manufacturing of the tyre company’s capacitor banks, which have been configured to take advantage of the master-slave functionality of Lovato’s unique DCRG8: for 6 banks of 3080kVar each. The installation was performed with 1 master DCRG8 and 2 slaves DCRG8 controller, communicating with each other via a Lovato RS485.

In such a configuration, it has been possible to control the total power of 3080kVar on each bank. Each Master controller of every capacitor bank has been equipped with the latest EXP1013 ethernet expansion module. This allows for the remote monitoring of the whole installation using the existing ethernet network that is available in the factory. In total, Lovato Electric Indonesia installed 21 automatic power factor controllers, 21 interfaces and 176 Thyristor modules.

Sustainable energy efficiency UK-based company Fuchs is the world’s largest independent lubricant manufacturer and recently Lovato Electric were asked to develop a system to monitor both their energy consumption and generation as part of their compliance with the ISO50001:2011 Energy Management System.

Energy & Utilities

Fuchs is a company that is dedicated to sustainable manufacturing and has invested in solar panels across their Stoke-on-Trent, UK manufacturing site, which are expected to generate over 380,000kWh of clean, renewable energy every year. This installation alone should generate over 12 per cent of the required energy for their state-of-the-art manufacturing plant.

The Lovato Electric system that has been installed comprises energy meters, data concentrators and power analysers networked via Lovato’s own Synergy software. The new system is measuring electricity consumption that is fed in from its solar generated power systems along with its water and gas usage.

This now allows Fuchs to monitor and report on compliance to ISO50001:2011 and this installation was subsequently highly commended by the BSI auditing inspector.

46 DME Energy Meters, 14 DMG power analysers, EXP expansion modules, DMECD Data Concentrators and Synergy Software are now combining to help this company monitor and highlight areas where they can significantly save energy and in doing so cut costs n and protect the environment.

For further details of Lovato Electric’s latest energy saving and energy management solutions visit: www.lovato.com

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Energising hydro-turbine eco-technology Rainpower is a leading independent energy group based in Norway and specialising in the manufacture of hydro-turbines and power plant modernisation services. The company is also a leading supplier of advanced control systems. Philip Yorke reports an ambitious company that is committed to the development of greener, more efficient hydro-power systems.

52 Industry Europe

Energy & Utilities

R

ainpower’s heritage dates back to 1853 when the company was established in Lodalen, Norway as Kvaerner Energy, which started making turbines for hydro-power in the early 1890’s.

However, it is a relatively young company that was formed in 2007 when General Electric sold its Norwegian hydropower operations to the Industrial conglomerate NLI. Today Rainpower supplies an extensive range of equipment for hydro-power plants that includes generators, valves and turbine governors.

Today, however, the company’s core business activities are focused on new product development, the manufacture of turbines and electro-mechanical solutions for the supply of renewable energy.

In addition, it offers an unrivalled range of tailor-made customer services for the upgrading and modernisation of existing power plants, as well as for the maintenance of hydraulic power stations.

New generation turbines.

Recently Rainpower’s Storm turbines introduced a new type of Francis turbine for low and middle head operations ranging from 50 to 300 metres. This turbine has proven world class technology. The company has developed and tested several different models and offers market leading performance guarantees to its customers.

For turbines with a large head, Rainpower has unrivalled expertise in developing Francis turbines with whole and half blades, which are unique to Norway and to Rainpower. This turbine type is known for its ability to operate stably over a wide area with varying heads and water volumes. A new generation of Francis turbines for high heads called Hurricane has also been introduced with a substantially improved performance.

Rainpower’s Pelton turbines are designed for high heads and low water volume and are often used with heads above 300 meters and for small hydro. One particular advantage is the wide area of operation, making them particularly suitable for small power stations with variable flow. Rainpower is one of the world’s foremost suppliers of Pelton turbines, and delivers turbines with vertical as well as horizontal axles.

Furthermore, a few years ago Rainpower began developing a new generation of Pelton turbines, optimising all components with modern analysis tools, combined with extensive model testing. This latest generation of Pelton turbines offers unrivalled hydraulic performance.

Small-scale power solutions Rainpower’s small-scale power solutions are essentially based on the company’s proprietary turbine technology with parameterised design

Industry Europe 53

adapted to ideally suit smaller power plants. Since 2007, the company has implemented around 45 small-scale power projects comprising 53 turbines with an aggregate output of 323 MW. The company has also carried out important efficiency measurements of Francis and Pelton plants, the results of which exceed all specified guaranteed values.

For heads between 50 and 700 metres, Rainpower supplies one stage pump turbines which are custom-designed and engineered for each pumped storage station. Pump-stored hydropower is the only economic and flexible way to store large amounts of surplus energy today.

This is set to become increasingly important with more and more uneven power sources operating in the national grid, such as wind and solar.

Extensive laboratory facilities Boosting efficiency and creating value is a vital part of Rainpower’s key operations and culture, with the objective of producing more power from the same amount of water. As a result, Rainpower is

54 Industry Europe

able to maintain its position as one of Europe’s most successful hydropower companies. What gives it a competitive edge is the fact that it offers the best available technology in the high head and medium head hydro turbine sector.

In addition, the company has an enviable reputation that has been built up over many years by supplying products and services to some of the world’s biggest blue-chip clients. In order to develop its own turbines, the company relies on its extensive laboratory facilities and the best design tools in the market, which includes ‘element methodology’ and computational fluid dynamics that rely on the latest Ansys / Star software.

For other products in its portfolio, the company offers a broad platform for governing systems and monitoring systems for the lifetime analysis of turbines in the high-head area. These strengths have ensured that Rainpower’s unique capabilities keep it at the forefront of the global hydro-power industry.

Energy & Utilities

Increasing global presence Since 2007, the company has been focused on the development of more eco-friendly hydro-power technology, as well as on international expansion, and this strategy saw the founding of Rainpower China in 2008, Rainpower Sweden, Turkey and Peru in 2010 and Rainpower North America and Switzerland in 2011.

“The hydro market is like a circus, it moves around, so from 2008 until 2012 we saw a lot of projects in Latin America, Canada and Turkey,” Rainpower told Industry Europe. “After that, the market moved to South East Asia, Africa and of course the home market in Norway

and Sweden. The key is to be where the projects are happening, however, the Norwegian market remains stable when it comes to upgrade projects, which is why we have maintained a good order intake in 2019, maintained revenues and also improved margins.”

Rainpower’s main area of expertise lies in the production and development of turbines through Norwegian technology. On top of this, its locations across the globe compete every day to be the n most efficient provider of turbines.

For further details about Rainpower’s latest products and services visit: www.rainpower.no

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Innovative energy solutions Standardkessel Baumgarte is continuing to expand its capabilities in waste-to-energy projects, CHP plants and biomass and primary fuel power plants

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Energy & Utilities

In

September 2019, Standardkessel Baumgarte GmbH was awarded a contract for the supply, construction and commissioning of a new biomass power plant in Belgium. The plant, at Beveren, will be operated by Indaver, a major European player in sustainable waste management sector, and SUEZ, the world leader in smart and sustainable resource management, though their jointventure E-Wood Energiecentrale NV. The new E-Wood biomass power plant is to utilise around 180,000 tonnes of non-recyclable used wood per annum. It will have an electrical power output of 20 MW and will additionally produce high-pressure steam which will be injected into the ECLUSE steam network in Waasland Port.

The plant will be located near the Antwerp container terminal, where the joint owners, SUEZ and Indaver, already operate three waste incineration lines whose steam generators were supplied in 2006, also by Standardkessel Baumgarte.

Standardkessel Baumgarte is a subsidiary of the Tokyo-headquartered international company JFE Engineering Corporation. It supplies turn-key power plants and components for power plants for industrial and municipal energy supply. Its plants enable clean energy to be generated using fuels such as biomass, household and industrial waste as well as coal, gas and oil.

Energy from waste Standardkessel Baumgarte’s energy from waste plants deliver technically sophisticated and innovative boiler and power plant systems for generating energy from municipal waste, residual waste and commercial waste from industrial production. Its services range from the delivery of main components up to the erection of turnkey power plants as an EPC contractor.

Last year Standardkessel Baumgarte received an order for the completion of a sewage sludge mono-incineration plant in Karlsruhe.

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The company started the sale of sewage sludge mono-incineration systems only recently, but this area is now expanding rapidly.

The city of Karlsruhe already operates a two-line sewage sludge incineration plant. In incineration line 1, the entire fresh sludge accumulating in the sewage treatment plant as well as the digested sewage sludge of the surrounding municipalities is currently disposed of.

The old No. 1 plant was already intended to be shut down five years ago to be renewed and replaced by incineration line 2. To continue to secure the waste disposal order for the sewage treatment plant, rapid commissioning of incineration line 2 is necessary.

Standardkessel Baumgarte is currently carrying out the order for the completion and commissioning of line 2.

Steam generators Last year Standardkessel Baumgarte also received a major order for the supply of two identical steam generators and ancillary trades from Siemens Gas and Power. The steam generators are for two gas and steam turbine plants (combined cycle plants) that are to be constructed.at Evonik’s power plant complex at Marl Chemical Plant.

The Marl Chemical Park is one of the largest chemical plant locations in Germany and Evonik’s biggest production location. Evonik and other well-known companies in the chemicals industry operate approximately 100 production plants there.

The combined cycle plants will replace the last coal-fired power plant at the complex. It will produce electricity and steam in cogeneration based on natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas and ensure the economical, ecological and future-proof recycling of various residual gases from the chemical production facilities.

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The new power plant units are linked to existing plants in such a manner in the event of the failure or standstill of individual power plants an uninterrupted supply of steam for the chemical part is guaranteed.

The Power Plant division of Standardkessel Baumgarte GmbH is also currently fulfilling an order for the supply of four steam genera-

Energy & Utilities

tors with ancillary trades to STEAG GmbH as part of a comprehensive modernisation project at the Gelsenkirchen refinery of Ruhr Oel GmbH Raffinerie, the wholly owned subsidiary of BP. The aim is to integrate the new steam supply into the existing refinery and to design it with redundancy so that the reliable supply of the medium steam is ensured at all times. With the planned new steam generating plants, including the ancillary plants, the current reliability of steam supply is to be clearly exceeded and the use of flares is to be reduced. All four steam generators are due to be commissioned by August 2021.

Enhanced management team Last summer Standardkessel Baumgarte’s management team was strengthened by a new managing director, Dr. Christian Storm. Dr Storm joined the existing managing directors, Dr. Siegfried Scholz and Frank Reinmöller, in managing all the company’s operations in Duisburg, Bielefeld and Hamburg and in implementing the company’s international growth course.

Dr. Christian Storm had gained many years of experience and expertise in this sector of industry. Before his move to Standardkessel Baumgarte, he worked in different management positions for 14 years.

The enlargement of the management team is designed to help the company to serve its core markets with the usual high quality standards and at the same time to further develop its international growth n strategy over the long-term.

“We are pleased to have gained, in Dr. Storm, an experienced leadership personality, who makes use of his experience for the development of our company and the implementation of the strategic goals.” says Jörg Klasen, CEO of the Standardkessel Baumgarte Group.

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First call for fire

suppression systems

Marioff is the world’s leading provider of water mist fire suppression systems. This global company supplies unrivalled, high-tech fire suppression systems for a diverse range of applications on land, sea and air.

Its patented Hi-Fog water-mist protection systems use far less water than traditional sprinklers and are much more flexible than any other fire suppression system available, as Philip Yorke reports.

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Energy & Utilities

M

arioff was founded in Vantaa, Finland in 1985 by two Finnish entrepreneurs whose mission was to not only protect people, but also their property. The brand name ‘Marioff’ was derived from an amalgamation of the words, Marine and Offshore and the company has since become a leading global supplier of water mist fire protection systems.

At sea, Hi-Fog systems are installed on almost every large cruise ship in the world and on land it protects a wide variety of structures including tunnels, hotels, stations, energy facilities, heritage buildings, data centres and hospitals. This core group supports a global network of subsidiaries and agents and employs a highly skilled workforce of mechanical, hydraulic and electrical engineers.

Today Marioff is an integral part of the US giant UTC Fire & Security, which itself is a division of United Technologies Corporation (UTC), and the parent of such companies as Pratt & Whitney, Otis, Sikorsky Helicopter and Carrier.

Unique protection for Data Centres Fires in modern data centres are a harsh reality. Such fires result, not only in serious amounts of direct damage, but also in costly indirect damage. This includes downtime associated with server outages and expensive clean-up costs from the fire. These fires are not only dangerous, they can also significantly disrupt modern life.

Traditionally, data centres are protected by gas fire suppression systems. Modern gas compounds are effective agents that are safe for the delicate equipment in data centres. However, gas-based fire suppression systems can be costly, and the price of a gas agent itself can represent a large part of the total. The advantages of modern, ultrafast, targeted fire detection cannot be fully exploited using gas fire suppression systems. Fortunately today, other highly efficient solutions are available.

Marioff’s water mist fire suppression systems use, as the name suggests, one of the world’s most effective fire suppression methods; clean water. The effectiveness of water is fully manifested when spraying it as a mist from sprinklers and saturating the fire with water vapour.

Marioff’s Hi-Fog system effectively cools any combustion zone, precipitates smoke and protects the surrounding equipment and building structures from heating. Fine water molecules hanging in the air around the fire zone absorb heat radiation, thus preventing the fire from spreading. Water damage is minimal because water mist accumulates slowly on surfaces. At the same time, pure water has a distinct advantage - it is completely safe for people.

It should also be noted that Marioff’s water mist systems, unlike gas fire suppression systems, do not require high levels of enclosure integrity. Whether the door to the hall will be closed after evacuation or will remain open is irrelevant. The water mist will work equally

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Energy & Utilities

efficiently either way. This also reduces the build cost, making water mist a more attractive financial solution.

Moreover, Marrioff’s unique Hi-Fog system’s flexibility also allows it to be used in a broad range of applications from historic ‘retro-fits’ to the world’s most modern structures.

Tall order Today Marioff’s unrivalled HI-FOG® fire suppression systems protect Europe’s tallest building. It is the tallest and northernmost skyscraper in the world. It boasts nine-story-tall media screens on its special, ventilated facades. It also has a planetarium hovering over the atrium of the courtyard, and a theatre hall with 494 seats that can be converted from an amphitheatre to a ballroom with panoramic viewing decks under its tower spire. This is the futuristic Lakhta Centre, which is a new, multifunctional complex located in Saint Petersburg, Russia and is where the Gazprom Group is also headquartered.

A public office building of this scale must be built as secure as possible. Fire safety is the Achilles’ Heel of high-rise buildings, and fire protection is one of the first priorities at all stages of design, construction and operation of the building. Fire protection for such a complex project had to be planned with technologies that are modern, effective, reliable and convenient to install and operate.

Marioff’s HI-FOG® high-pressure water mist fire suppression systems were chosen by the project’s designers at an early stage.

These systems offer exceptional suppression efficiency, but consume far less water, which is an important advantage for the design

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of complex engineering systems, especially for buildings of such an impressive scale as The Lakhta Center.

Both the fire suppression system and manual handgun water mist system in The Lakhta Center are HI-FOG systems, exclusively manufactured by Marioff, the undisputed global leader in high-pressure water mist fire protection technology. A dedicated full-scale fire test confirmed that the technical solution meets all given parameters set for the project.

Fire protection of facades using HI-FOG nozzles were tested at a special stand, using full-scale fragments of the facades and a large number of wooden stacks as a combustible load. Test results have proven the effectiveness of facade fire protection and helped to increase fire resistance of the numerous facade elements.

Optimising costs Thanks to Marioff’s latest Hi-Fog technology, the customer has been able to optimise costs and substantially reduce the weight of the building, which is important for such a huge high-rise building. The Lakhta Centre project is extraordinary, and there are few fire suppression projects of this scale in the world. The contract included four pumping stations, 355 kilometres (221 miles) of high-pressure pipelines and 57,000 sprinklers.

Work on the Lakhta Center’s fire suppression system was a challenging task even for Marioff, not only in terms of developing unique n technical solutions, but also in production and logistics.

For further details of Marioff’s latest innovative products and services visit: www.marioff.com

Furniture & Upholstery

Sound sleep solutions Smart technology and environmental commitment are driving success for mattress fabric specialist BekaertDeslee

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In

2018 BekaertDeslee, the world’s leading specialist in mattress fabrics and mattress covers, completed the construction of a new Innovation & Design Center (IDC) in Waregem, Belgium.

The new, 3,575 m² building is located at Groenbek, a business area across the street from BekaertDeslee’s headquarters. The BekaertDeslee IDC is the “home” for the creative and technological heart of the group: the pilot plant, R&D, Engineering, Design, and Marketing & Communication.

“600 million people sleep on our fabrics every night. We spend years on research and development to improve their sleep quality,” said the company. “With the new IDC we are putting a bigger focus on innovation than ever before in order to transform the way we serve our clients, develop our people, and lead our industry.

“Through BekaertDeslee IDC, our nine business units are connected across the globe as one virtual network to scan the world for new trends in sleeping technology. This worldwide radar allows us to translate upcoming technologies into innovative products fit for the bed environment.”

BekaertDeslee IDC’s facilities include full production size machines, to enable the development of the latest technology in weaving, knitting and finishing. This fully integrated approach ensures all the company’s units worldwide get rapidly geared up for full production.

BekaertDeslee IDC is also home to BekaertDeslee Academy, a platform for open innovation, where suppliers, customers, scientists,

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universities and research institutes are able to engage with the company in the co-creation of unique products and services.

Merger of equals BekaertDeslee was established in 2016 through the merger of two Belgium based textile companies, Bekaert Textiles and DesleeClama, creating the worldwide leader in mattress fabrics.

The new company brought together 19 production facilities worldwide and about 2,600 employees. Both companies have a long history in the Belgian textile industry. Bekhaert Textiles was founded in 1892 and Deslee Textiles in 1928. The global expansion of both companies accelerated in the 21st century with Deslee Clama opening new factories in Brazil, Romania, China and Estonia and Bekaert expanding its operations to China, Argentina, Mexico and Turkey.

“The Bekaert Textiles - DesleeClama deal fits both companies’ growth strategies and creates important new market opportunities, in particular the increased awareness surrounding the importance of sleep and the increased growth in the worldwide mattress market”, said a company spokesperson in 2016.

Smart solutions BeekaertDeslee declares that change and continuous improvement are at the heart of everything it does, driving innovation in design, technology, services, communication and manufacturing.

Furniture & Upholstery

Its goal is to bring relevant innovation to the market, close to the customer, to meet the worldwide awareness that sleep is crucially important for health, mental wellbeing and performance.

BekaertDeslee ‘Solutions’ offers on trend “sleep solutions” for the consumer who is increasingly aware that quality time in bed is important. With cut & sew manufacturing units in the US, Mexico and Romania, the company produces ready-made mattress covers fitting customers’ exact and unique requests.

SmartSleeve®, for example, is a revolutionary mattress protector that optimises sleeping comfort, health and the hygiene of the mattress. SmartSleeve® combines three top technologies that offer the optimal conditions for a good night’s sleep. The fabric is knitted in a special 3D-structure (CAIRFULL) that permanently ventilates the mattress and reduces the pressure of the body on the mattress. SmartSleeve® also regulates the moisture level and temperature of the sleep environment while a probiotic biotechnology in the fabric keeps the mattress clean in a 100 per cent natural way.

BekaertDeslee also develops ‘smart’ textile solutions for healthcare markets through its Meditiss division. Here the main focus is on the welfare of young and old people who need to spend a lot of time in bed, either at home or in the hospital. The Meditiss products provide an answer to the most common causes of bad sleep such as dust mites and allergies, incontinence and heat and perspiration.

Supporting ocean cleanup BekaertDeslee has recently announced that it is taking part in a massive ocean cleanup initiative – Seaqual.

Every year, 8 million tonnes of garbage reach the seas. 75 per cent lies underneath the ocean’s surface, forming an immediate threat to marine life. Governments, businesses and consumers share the responsibility to preserve the oceans for future generations.

The Seaqual™ organisation pays fishermen from the Spanish coasts of the Mediterranean Sea to collect garbage and bring it ashore. For this initiative, additional garbage harvesting platforms will be built in the Americas and in Asia. Each material, including aluminium, metal, glass or plastic, goes to its own unique recycling chain. Textile technology enables BekaertDeslee to take the plastics found in the ocean and upcycle them into new yarns that are used to produce its high-quality mattress textiles and mattress covers.

Awarding excellence BekaertDeslee has been named ‘National Winner’ in the 2019 European Business Awards, one of the world’s largest business competitions.

BekaertDeslee was chosen from 2,753 businesses named as Ones to Watch in a list of business excellence published in July and selected as a National Winner by a panel of independent judges including business leaders, politicians and academics. It is the best business in Belgium in the category Social Responsibility and Environmental Awareness and will now go on to represent Belgium in the final stage of the competition.

Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards said: “This is a significant achievement and BekaertDeslee is an outstanding leader in its field. To be chosen as a National Winner means you show great innovation, ethics and success. It also means you are one of the best businesses in Europe. We wish BekaertDeslee the n best of luck in the final round.”

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Redefining ‘comfort heating’ The Ariston Thermo Group is a major force in the industrial water heating sector. The company continues to achieve strong growth through its unrivalled centres of excellence, its innovative products and synergistic acquisitions. Philip Yorke reports on the company’s latest advances and its most recent acquisition.

T

he Ariston Thermo Group was founded in Italy in 1930 by Aristide Merloni who began by manufacturing precision weighing scales. Today the Group provides heating solutions based on renewable energy sources, such as solar thermal systems and heat pumps. The company’s continuous investment in innovation for the development of increasingly energy-efficient connectivity has paid big dividends for the Group.

In 2019 Ariston Thermo recorded sales of almost 2 billion euros and sold 8 million products in over 150 countries. The global group also employs around 7,000 people through its 66 operating companies and its 27 production facilities worldwide. The Group also operates 23 centres of excellence and high-tech R&D facilities in 14 countries. Ariston Thermo offers a full range of products, systems and services. These can be found at its flagship brands, such as Racold, Calorex, Ariston, Elco, Chaffoteaux, Atag, NTI and HTP. 66 Industry Europe

Today the goal of Ariston Thermo is to improve the future of thermic comfort by offering an optimal combination of quality, energy savings and increased care for the environment.

Evolving technologies meet new consumer needs Ariston Thermo has always endeavoured to be at the forefront of heating innovation and has tailored its products to meet the latest trends and challenges of the industry. This is particularly true of one of the company’s biggest and fastest growing markets: India.

Recently Racold India, one of the Group’s fully owned subsidiaries in the sub-continent, announced the launch of its two most technically advanced products: “Omnis” and “Aures”.

Home Appliances, furniture & HVAC

This latest ground-breaking range redefines efficiency, energysaving and environmental care in the water heater sector.

Speaking at the recent launch event in New Delhi, Mr. Mohit Narula, Managing Director, Ariston Thermo India said, “Ever since its inception, Ariston Thermo’s Racold, has been setting unprecedented benchmarks for the industry by bringing in new technology that enhances the aesthetics, quality, durability and performance of our products”.

Narula added, “Backed by a deep understanding of evolving consumer needs and our strong global expertise, our company has been the frontrunner of technology in the water heating sector.

Today we are pleased to announce the launch of Omnis, our top-line range, with India’s first Smart Control technology which is set to redefine global water heating efficiency. To add to it, we are launching our new range of online instantaneous water heaters, Aures.

Both these products are a reconfirmation of our ability to constantly innovate and provide optimal value to our consumers.”

Throughout the world it is clear that today, bathrooms are being transformed in response to the ever-changing nature of consumer trends. They are becoming an extension of people’s living spaces and personalities and have undergone a seed change in recent years. The need is all the more pronounced for luxury bathing applications like showers, shower panels and Jacuzzis where the demand for hot water is high. The newly launched ‘Omnis’ and ‘Aures’ range of water heaters are both compact and unrivalled in their performance and energy savings.

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New acquisitions driving sales The Ariston Thermo Group has enjoyed a history of acquiring successful companies that offer unique synergies and high-tech products that are designed to enhance the company’s product portfolio and its global customer services. The Group’s most recent acquisition in association with the Mexican conglomerate, ‘Grupo Industrial Saltillo’ was recently signed in Mexico for an agreement for the acquisition of 100 per cent of Calorex, a company holding a significant market share in Mexico for water heating solutions in the residential and commercial sector.

With more than 70 years of trading behind it, Calorex has achieved a significant leadership in the Mexican market and also boasts a major presence in terms of quality and reliability in the United States and Latin America. In 2019 the company achieved a turnover of around USD 150 million of which over USD 20 million were generated in the United States market.

With this operation, Ariston Thermo consolidated its presence in the American continent, acquiring a leading position in Mexico and building a fundamental base to strengthen the growth potential in North America as well as in Central and Latin America.

Bringing core values to life Every company has its own story, culture and system of values, which characterises its identity. The values of the Ariston Thermo Group are rooted in the cultural and industrial heritage of its founder, Aristide Merloni.

A company spokesperson told Industry Europe, “At Ariston Thermo people come first and we believe that strength lies in diversity. We give people a chance to grow and help to pave the way to make them become successful. Our global Group believes in teamwork and diversity by fostering interaction between different cultures in order to inspire creativity, innovation and discover new horizons.

We encourage resourcefulness, participation and accountability. We

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also believe in merit and create growth opportunities wherever possible, thereby enhancing the best resources of the Group”.

The company creates equal opportunities for its employees and is committed to helping them to learn and improve. Ariston Thermo pursues a goal of being the leader in its field and aims at constant improvement through innovation and the continuous generation of new ideas. It also encourages its people to nurture a passion for learning and for exploring new approaches in order to find new, innovative solutions. Despite its size, the Group is able to react quickly and efficiently to changing market conditions and the latest international legislation.

Ariston Thermo strongly believes in sustainable growth and acts accordingly throughout all aspects of its business activities. The company is committed to guaranteeing the maximum comfort possible at the minimum energy cost. By doing so it contributes to the conservation of the planet by granting access to the most efficient technologies and the best services worldwide.

For further details of Ariston Thermo’s latest products and services visit: www.aristonthermo.com

Home Appliances, furniture & HVAC

Pioneering refrigerated convection Snaigė is a European market leader in the design and manufacture of refrigerators, freezers, display coolers and wine coolers. This award winning, eco-friendly company has pioneered many ground-breaking innovations over the years, including a unique cooling system based on natural air convection. Philip Yorke reports.

AB

Snaigė is based in Lithuania and has been making high quality, eco-friendly refrigerators since 1963. The company has unrivalled experience in the area and has accumulated extensive knowledge of refrigeration technologies and their practical, sustainable use.

Due to the company’s close relationship with its customers, the Snaigė product range has developed over time with some 300 variants across 30 key models currently in production. Over 750 Snaigė employees across Customer Services, Quality Control, Development, Production, Marketing, Finance and Legal are involved in everything the company produces. Its dedicated commitment to its products, the environment and to its employees is exemplified by the awarding and maintaining of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and BS OHSAS 18001.

These certificated processes are embedded in everything that the company does. More than 95 per cent of all Snaigė’s refrigeration components are recyclable. The current capacity of its Alytus facility is in excess of 600,000 appliances per year with around 95 per cent of its products sold in over 30 countries throughout Europe and Asia. Snaigė is a long-standing gold medal winner in the Lithuanian Product of the Year awards and winner of the Lithuanian Innovation Prize. Ordinary shares of SNAIGĖ AB are quoted on the OMX Vilnius Stock Exchange.

Air-cooled efficiency The Snaigė company’s commitment to efficiency and to the environment has made it unique in more ways than one. In addition to being the only manufacturer of refrigeration systems in the Baltics, it is one of the worlds’ most innovative. The company’s unique, air-cooled technology is based on a natural air convection system. The air that is cooled at the back wall, travels down and later comes up after warming. Based on this principle, air circulation in the refrigerator is optimised, as well as making it possible to create separate temperature zones in order to store different types of food.

The main advantage of the system is the creation of an optimum humidity level in the refrigerator. Food is kept fresh and is prevented from drying out as it is able to preserve the necessary moisture levels within the refrigerator. Snaigė has been repeatedly named as the most innovative company in the region and has consistently received multiple ‘Product of the Year’ Awards.

Focus on ecology One of the top priorities at Snaigė is its concern for the environment. All the company’s products meet stringent environmental requirements and it has been awarded may environmental protection awards and certifications to underscore this commitment. Environmental goals are set each year in an annual environmental protection measures programme. This helps the company to do better and be more effective in protecting the environment and to reducing operating costs.

When designing new products, Snaigė says that it always keeps in mind manufacturing techniques that save raw materials and resources, save transportation costs and waste disposal. The company is also aware of the need to use only materials that can be easily recycled. In addition, the company’s surface coating process is nonliquid and is dried by gas, which is completely ecologically clean.

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Home Appliances, furniture & HVAC

What’s more, the insulation used in its refrigerators is cyclopentane which is a hydrocarbon compound the does not create any environmental issues whatsoever. In taking constant heed of consumer demands and their growing environmental concerns, Snaigė produces only safe, ecological and economical refrigerators.

The electricity consumption of the company’s latest generation of refrigerators is less than half of those manufactured ten years ago.

All Snaigė refrigerators are produced without the use of any hazardous substances. In addition, none of the chemicals in the production process pose a danger to the ozone layer or have a detrimental eject on greenhouse gases. Its products are therefore recognised as being both ecologically friendly and kind to the environment in general. All of Snaigė’s appliances meet the requirements of the EU directive “Restriction of Hazardous Substances” (RoHS), EU regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).

The company is proud of the fact that over 97 per cent of its components are recyclable. Its quality systems also fully comply with the requirements of ISO 9001 and are coordinated with and integrated into the company’s environmental safety control systems as required under ISO 14001.

Built-in antibacterial systems A few years ago, Snaigė invited leading scientists of the Kaunas Technology University of Lithuania to create the worlds’ most efficient and eco-friendly refrigerator. Together they created a refrigerator which conforms to the highest standards of sustainability and energy efficiency. As a result, the newest Ice Logic model has earned both the ‘Product of The Year’ award and the top prize for outstanding Innovation.

The new Snaigė refrigerators reflect the latest trends in domestic electrical appliances and do not have any components which could be harmful to people or the environment. Another major benefit is that it has a unique, built-in antibacterial system which protects the refrigerators from noxious bacterium, which can not only cause breakdowns, but also result in serious illness.

The inside panes of the Snaigė Ice Logical series are filled with a special harmless compound that is mixed with silver ions. This combination constantly “fights” harmful microorganisms inside the n refrigerator and prevents them from multiplying.

For further details of AB Snaigė’s innovative refrigeration products and services visit, www.Snaigė.lt

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Building a global future 2019 has been a watershed year for Strix, with a key US acquisition and ground broken on a major new factory in China

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Home Appliances, furniture & HVAC

S

trix, the world’s leading manufacturer of kettle controls, is taking a major new step in its expansion in the huge Chinese market.

This year it signed an Investment Agreement with the People’s Republic of China (PLC) Government for a new factory more than twice the size of Strix’s current premises near Hong Kong. The new factory has 50 years right-of-use granted for the land and it will increase the Company’s operations and provide efficiency improvements, additional automation capability and an opportunity to insource filtration products and processes.

The land for the new plant, at Zengchen, Guangzhou, has already been bought and design work has been finalised. Construction is scheduled for completion in January 2021 with completion of the entire project the following August.

Mark Bartlett, CEO of Strix Group plc commented, “Strix has made significant progress in recent years. This has been reflected in our increasing demand around the world and the consequent need for a new factory which is more than twice the size of Strix’s current premises. Our brand-new facility will be the future of Strix, where we will develop new and exciting technologies and products that provide environmental benefits and promote sustainability. These are

exciting times and we are pleased with the generous support for our project we have received and want to extend our gratitude to our constructors and contractors.”

Expanding in water filtration The news of the go-ahead for the new China factory was not, however, the only major event for Strix in 2019. In February it entered into an asset purchase agreement with HaloSource, the Seattle based water purification company. The assets acquired included HaloSource’s HaloPure division and its Astrea product.

Strix sees this acquisition as an opportunity to acquire extensively developed technology, which is complementary to its Aqua Optima division as well as gaining access to skilled research and development resources in the USA. Strix will continue the process of commercialising the technology and products that it has acquired, leveraging its experience of operating in the water filtration sector and bringing to market new consumer products. And it sees clear potential for operational synergies in China, above all in its new and larger manufacturing facility HaloSource has two primary patented technologies – a brominebased water treatment bead system proven to kill 99.99 per cent+

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of bacteria and viruses, and a composite filter material certified to remove heavy metals from water, with its main differentiator being its lead removal performance.

HaloSource has also developed a consumer product (Astrea) using its filter technology. This product is a reusable portable water bottle with changeable filters that is certified to remove lead from tap water. Lead removal is a major differentiator in the USA in particular, where a number of health scares have occurred due to lead levels in drinking water.

Astrea allows consumers to obtain filtered drinking water at a much lower cost per litre than bottled water, whilst avoiding the negative environmental impact of plastic water bottle usage. Astrea was launched in late 2018 and is available via a number of distribution channels as a subscription product including the delivery of regular replacement filters.

Mark Bartlett commented: “We are very pleased to be adding to our technology and product portfolios through this acquisition of value adding assets. We maintain that the USA is a key geography for us, and this transaction offers us a stronger presence in this market. As well as bringing additional customer and supplier relationships, we see the opportunity to provide increased differentiation to further expand our filtration division.”

Driving thermostat technology Strix Group Plc is a global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of kettle safety controls and other components and devices

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involving water heating and temperature control, steam management and water filtration.

To date, Strix has sold over 1.9 billion units, and management estimate that Strix safety controls are used over 1 billion times per day by consumers, in more than 100 countries, and by over 10 per cent. of the world’s population.

The Isle-of-Man headquartered company was established in 1982

by John Taylor to carry on the pioneering work of Castletown Thermostats, the business his father Eric Taylor had founded to develop the revolutionary thermostat technology that he had invented during the Second World War to control the heated flying suits worn by bomber crews at high altitudes.

By 1998 Strix had become the world market leader for the supply of controls to the domestic water boiling appliances market and in 2009 it celebrated the production of one billion controls. In 2013 it launched its baby formula maker, a diversification that addressed what it saw as previously unmet consumer needs.

Expanding the offer Today enhancing its kettle control offering remains a key focus for Strix with the global kettle market currently valued at retail at around GBP3 billion and projected to expand by around 15 per cent over the next three years.

But Hot Water on Demand (HWoD) is now also a key element in the company’s offering. HWoD is a natural extension to the Strix

Home Appliances, furniture & HVAC

core business and is currently valued at retail at over GBP2.4 billion globally. The market is growing fast thanks to consumers’ increasing need for convenience, speed, and energy efficiency.

Strix has recently implemented a successful collaboration with the USA’s Mr Coffee in the launch for a quality coffee machine and has further expanded its business in China with Zwilling Brand’s launch of the patented IFH “true boil” technology.

Strix also plans to expand from a UK to an international footprint in the Baby Care category, focusing on solutions which offer enhanced convenience and safety. Agreement has already been reached with a leading Asian Baby care brand to launch a range of products in 2020. The Global Baby Care category is valued at retail at over GBP150 Billion Strix’s Water Filtration business had up till this year been limited to the UK market but, with the acquisition of HaloSource, it now plans to leverage its existing technologies and new acquisitions to drive aggressive growth in key global markets. By the end of 2021 its aim is to launch 16 new products including filters, jugs, bottles and appliances. Strix has also secured a global partnership agreement enabling the Astrea product to be distributed under the Philips brand n outside North America.

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Global strategy to serve local markets With a new factory in Poland and growing on-line sales, Ontex is continuing to find flexible responses to world-wide customer needs

In

February 2019 Ontex, the worldwide supplier of disposable personal hygiene products, officially opened its new production facility in Radomsko, Poland. The newly built plant will allow the company to better serve the Eastern European market.

Construction of the facility began back in 2017, with the entire investment estimated at EUR 16 million. The 26,000 sqm factory was built on a 110,000 sqm site. It is an environmentally friendly facility of which the products are marked with a green energy certificate. In the coming years, the facility will expand its capacity from 1 to 4 production lines. By 2020, Ontex Radomsko should employ at least 170 locally recruited employees.

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Until now, Ontex has been serving Poland by importing products from the Czech Republic. The swift development of the Polish market and its advantageous location drove the decision to set up a local facility.

“We are very proud to extend our production capacity in Poland, which is testimony to our strong commitment to the Eastern European market” CEO of Ontex, Charles Bouaziz, said. “At Ontex, we strongly believe in a local market approach, with manufacturing plants which are strategically located to allow us to respond efficiently and flexibly to consumers’ and customers’ needs. The new production facility in Radomsko will help us better serve our expanding retailer customer base in the region”.

The Radomsko factory is the 19th Ontex facility in the world. The Group has other production facilities in the Czech Republic, Brazil, Germany and Australia, among others.

Forty years of innovation Headquartered in Belgium, Ontex designs, manufactures and delivers disposable diapers and pants, pads, tampons and panty

Hygiene, Medical & Pharmaceutical

liners to retailers and healthcare providers in more than 110 countries. With 18 manufacturing bases around the globe, it employs more than 10,000 people and, in 2018, generated sales of EUR 2.29 billion.

Two-thirds of Ontex products are tailor-made for retailers’ own brands and the company has earned a reputation for helping major market players respond swiftly to industry trends and to stay ahead of rapidly changing markets and meet the needs of populations.

Ontex’s close links with the health institutions it supplies go back to 1979, when it produced underpads for Belgian hospitals, clinics and care homes. By the 1980s and 1990s, it had expanded its product range into disposable pants and pads for incontinence, diapers and panty liners and acquired distribution and production facilities across Europe, in the Czech Republic and Turkey. The first Ontex factory outside Europe opened in China in 2006, followed by a manufacturing plant in Algeria.

In 2011 Ontex acquired one of Europe’s biggest disposable hygiene products suppliers, Lille Healthcare and opened plants in Australia, Russia and Pakistan.

In 2013, it extended its range of incontinence products with the acquisition of the Italian Serenity brands.

Another milestone was passed in June 2014, when Ontex was listed on the Belgian Euronext stock exchange, giving the company a strong financial base from which to continue developing new products, working with customers and seeking new markets.

The strategic acquirement of the Mexican Grupo P.I Mabe in 2016 accelerated this transformation extending the Ontex platform outside Western Europe and deeper into growth markets. The

acquisition of the personal hygiene business of Brazil’s Hypermarcas S.A. then further extended its market position in the Americas.

Transform to Grow In May 2019 Charles Bouaziz reported on the progress of Ontex’s growth strategy: “Since its IPO in June 2014, Ontex has emerged as a leading international personal hygiene company, delivering consistently on its strategy to grow outside of Western Europe, increase branded business and expand its presence in Adult Incontinence.

Faced with unprecedented headwinds and challenges in the last two years, Ontex has demonstrated the resilience of our business model.

Yet, further action is required to take Ontex to the next level.”

“Our comprehensive transformation plan, Transform2Grow (T2G), will step-change our operational efficiency and commercial practices. With T2G-enhanced commercial focus and competitiveness, we will accelerate execution of our two strategic priorities: strengthen our current leadership positions and expand into new businesses and geographies within our core categories. Our objectives remain to outperform markets in which we operate and improve our profitability and cash generation.”

Although Ontex’s sales in its European markets were 6 per cent lower in Q3 2019 than in the same period the previous year, revenue in the AMEAA Division (Americas, Middle East, Africa and Asia) was up 6.6 per cent in Q3. “We continue to perform well ahead of our markets based on solid commercial execution and innovations supporting our own local brands,” said Mr Bouaziz. “Sales increased in all three categories and most geographies of this Division. Our local brands continued to generate solid consumer demand in Brazil and Mexico, driving revenue growth in both countries. US sales Industry Europe 77

continued to be strong and revenue in the Middle East, Africa and Asia also grew in Q3 despite a challenging political and economic environment in some markets.”

Expanding on-line sales Last August Ontex launched its Little Big Change diaper subscription service in Benelux. Following its successful launch in France in June 2018, the new subscription service is now available in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The Benelux Little Big Change launch is supported by an online sales platform and significantly increases Ontex’ presence in Direct-To-Consumer e-commerce.

“The launch of Little Big Change in Benelux is an important step in the digital transformation of our company,” said Charles Bouaziz.

“It’s the first Ontex baby diaper available exclusively through an

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online subscription model, providing parents with a flexible and highly customisable purchasing and delivery service. Little Big Change is our response to changing consumer behaviours and needs. The subscription business model is an important pillar for the n company’s future growth.”

Leading the world in surface finishing Germany’s Atotech continues to expand its technologies and its markets with strategic acquisitions and new product development.

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Hygiene, Medical & Pharmaceutical

In

August 2019 Atotech, a global leader in advanced plating chemicals, equipment and services for the printed circuit board, IC-substrate, semiconductor and surface finishing industries, announced that it had acquired J-KEM International.

Based in Rosersberg Sweden, J-KEM is a global supplier of highquality chemical products and processes for the printed circuit board and general metal finishing industries. J-KEM’s strong technology and customer relationships complement Atotech’s product portfolio and will help expand addressable markets and drive future growth.

J-KEM’s customers now have full access to Atotech’s regional and global product development, production and technical support capabilities, including its world class and accredited material science and analytical services.

Geoff Wild, Atotech’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are thrilled to add J-KEM’s strong products and technologies to Atotech. We see substantial opportunities to further grow our business with this set of new and excellent products. In particular, J-KEM brings to us a graphite process that gives superior performance, an accelerator-free system in collaboration with an EDTA electroless copper process, as well as a palladium-based direct metallization process.

“These additional capabilities will help expand our reach into exciting growth markets like flex-PCBs and exotic materials.

J-KEM’s strong reputation for technical performance fits well with our unique solution-based approach that combines a comprehensive offer of proprietary process chemicals and equipment with best local service.

“This acquisition is representative of our strategy to drive growth and expand the scope of our technology so we can address a

greater share of the market. We will continue to look for opportunities that make us a more important partner to our customers.”

Johan Lundqvist, J-KEM’s Chief Executive Officer, added, “We are pleased J-KEM is joining the Atotech family, as it makes sense for both sides. J-KEM will contribute to Atotech’s portfolio, and existing J-KEM customers will benefit from Atotech’s best-in-class service.

We look forward to being part of the Atotech team.”

A Vital partner Atotech is one of the world’s leading suppliers of specialty chemicals and equipment for the printed circuit board, chip carrier and semiconductor industries, as well as decorative and functional surface refinement.

Since it was formed in 1993 from a merger of the Elf Atotech group of companies with M & T Harshaw and Schering’s electroplating division, it has become a vital partner for countless industries that require both functional and decorative surface-finishing solutions.

Today Atotech is present in more than 40 countries and runs 17 TechCenters, 14 chemistry, and 2 equipment production sites It is a

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world leader in pioneering innovations in the industry, with over 2,100 registered active patents - 1,700 for chemical processes and 400 for equipment. Its global headquarters are in Berlin, Germany, and its regional HQs are in Yokohama, Japan, and South Carolina, USA. The company currently operates in two business segments: Electronics (“EL”) and General metal finishing (“GMF”). Its systems and solutions enable the creation of the electrical conductivity integral to the function of printed circuit boards and semiconductors and also provide functional and decorative surface finishing for a wide range of applications, including applications subject to stringent environmental regulations Atotech products and solutions can be found in a wide variety of crucial end markets. These include surface finishing and electronics for the automotive industry, communication applications for smartphones, next generation connectivity and cloud computing, big data processing infrastructure, medical equipment, household appliances and much more.

Polygon PLB In June 2019: Atotech announced a new line of innovative horizontal production equipment – the POLYGON PLB LINE. This new production equipment is designed for printed circuit board manufacturers with high reliability and high performance demands in multilayer, rigid-flex and HDI panel processing taking advantage of a complete wet-in-wet in-line solution.

The POLYGON PLB LINE is a new de-smear and electro-less copper production line that provides Atotech’s customers with numerous production advantages, including excellent process performance due to an advanced fluid delivery system, reduced consumption rates for chemistry and water, and an operator-friendly design for best-in-class process control and maintenance.

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Designed in Feucht, Germany, and built in Guangzhou, China, Atotech’s new POLYGON Line series features all production-critical characteristics and applies them to a highly reliable, high-volume, and cost-effective machine.

Employer award In 2019 Atotech once again received a top employer award in Germany from the Top Employers Institute. Atotech’s focus was on employee development through talent management and training and development programs, leadership development, career and succession planning, and compensation and benefits.

Dirk Schepers, Personnel Manager of Atotech Deutschland GmbH, said “We are very happy about this special award as Top Employer. It not only rewards our aspirations and activities for ongoing employee development, but also reflects the outstanding achievements of our colleagues working and making Atotech successful. “ Annette Döring-Nahas, HR Business Partner at Atotech, adds: “We are particularly proud of our initiatives to digitize HR processes and roll out talent management programs that we will continue to n invest in the future.”

Hygiene, Medical & Pharmaceutical

Sector Innovator LINET spol. s r.o. is a member of LINET Group SE, a leading global supplier of hospital beds headquartered in the Netherlands. The company’s long-standing success and growth is based on innovations that help improve the standards of healthcare in more than 100 countries worldwide. Romana Moares reports.

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ith an annual production of more than 66,000 beds and a geographical coverage spanning over 100 countries, LINET is a clear leader on the European market. The headquarters of LINET spol. s r.o. as well as its production plant continue to be based in Želevčice u Slaného in the Czech Republic, where it has been located since its establishment in 1990. The Czech factory, today employing some 900 people, manufactures around 40,000 hospital beds per year, the vast majority of which are sold in the export markets.

In 2011, LINET spol s .r.o. became a division of the multinational holding organisation LINET Group SE, that has grown into a global player with numerous subsidiaries and local distribution partners worldwide.

Over the years, the company has won a wide range of prestigious industry and business awards. It is regularly ranked in the top ten of Industry Europe 83

the CZECH TOP 100 poll of most admired firms, at the European Business Awards 2011 it won the Ruban d´Honneur medal, and has won the Award for Design Excellence four times. The company founder and co-owner Zbyněk Frolík was presented with the Businessperson of the Year award in 2003, and was decorated by the President of the Czech Republic with a State Honour – the Medal of Merit – in 2011.

Synergy of functionality and design The company’s portfolio includes solutions designed for intensive care, products for regular in-bed treatment and also special beds for old people’s homes and long-term care facilities, as well as a wide range of accessories such as anti-pressure ulcer mattresses,

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and healthcare furniture. In addition, LINET offers its customers a number of related services, so that they can make the maximum use of the technological and functional potential of the products.

LINET’s international success and growth were initiated at the turn of the millennium following the introduction of its Eleganza and Multicare beds that created considerable interest not only as a result of its technological value but also becuase of its attractive design.

Today, the work of leading designers is reflected in practically every LINET product – it is the synergy of functionality and appealing design that has differentiated the company from its competitors and created a distinctive brand.

The Multicare bed, suitable for the demanding environment of the intensive and emergency care units, continues to be the company’s

Hygiene, Medical & Pharmaceutical

flagship product, a true representative of the company’s offering in the sector of health care beds.

Multicare is a sophisticated resuscitation bed that represents the highest level of care for critical patients. It is equipped with a series of automatic intelligent functions which increase the patient’s safety, support treatment and facilitate the demanding job of critical care professionals. The Multicare portfolio is supplemented by nursing care beds and antidecubitus mattresses that play an important role in the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers.

Global expansion LINET continues to introduce solutions with innovative features and functions that reduce physical demands on staff, enhance the efficacy of care provided and increase patient comfort. Recent examples include a fundamental innovation in mechanical lung ventilation that was delivered

by LINET Canada in Toronto at the Critical Care Canada Forum 2019.

“The effect of automatic lateral therapy on the Multicare bed is to promote ventilation distribution. With EIT, we now have continuous, real-time ventilation imaging to adapt lateral rotation to the

patient’s current condition and needs,” explained Martin Ričl, Global Clinical Research Manager for LINET Group. “Using ALT plus EIT is a real breakthrough because it allows treatment to be individualised for each patient and it is much safer and easier for both the patients and the physicians,” he added.

LINET Canada was founded only in February 2019, joining the group of LINET’s subsidiaries, together with LINET Australia also opened in 2019, in line with the Group’s ambitious plans for further expansion.

Succinctly summarised by Mr Frolík, who, after nearly 20 years, is leaving executive positions in the company to join the Supervisory Board: “The company’s ambitions remain as high as possible: double the size of the company within five years. It’s clear that organic growth won’t be enough, despite the fact that LINET has long outperformed its competitors. This means we won’t be avoiding acquisitions; on the contrary, that’s the path we are likely to take. If 70 per cent of our sales are currently coming from Europe, in the future we want to have more than half of our sales outside of Europe, primarily n in the United States,” he affirmed.

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The beauty of botanicals Joanna Cosmetics is Poland’s biggest and most successful cosmetics company and a market leader in Europe. It is a fast evolving company which constantly develops new innovative products and adds many new lines to its extensive product portfolio every year. Philip Yorke reports.

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Hygiene, Medical & Pharmaceutical

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he Joanna Cosmetic Laboratory was founded in 1982 in Warsaw and initially only manufactured simple haircare cosmetic products. In the early 1980s, Joanna’s products were sold directly from the company’s small local office in Warsaw. However, the political and economic transformations that took place in Poland at the turn of the 1990s created a unique opportunity for the company to dramatically expand its fortunes. Subsequently Joanna Cosmetics seized the opportunity and achieved significant success in both its domestic and foreign markets. It was subsequently able to expand into the body care products sector and more recently into the more lucrative professional product line segments.

Today, the company’s production area covers over 5,500 m². The recent major expansion of the factory, along with a new modern park for bottling machines, dispensers and equipment for bottling and packaging cosmetics, has allowed Joanna to increase its production capacity by almost forty per cent this year.

New body-care botanicals The company recently added an exclusive new bodycare line to its product portfolio having already gained recognition for it among its many customers. Joanna constantly strives to expand its product range with new, efficient and enjoyable products which offer consumers the ability to care for the health of their whole body. This in turn allows customers to choose from a wide range of enticing, fruity aromas backed up by scientific research, and each providing a unique, sensual experience.

A fast-growing new product line is the company’s latest range of fresh naturally scented botanicals for Europe’s home spa market.

These offer customers comprehensive bodycare by utilising carefully selected plant extracts that provide beneficial effects for the skin.

The new series of products consists of three distinct fragrance lines, each with a different active ingredient: black rose, oatmeal, and hemp. Individual products in the botanicals range include shower gel, body balm, hand cream and skin peeling balm.

Revitalising Argan oil The company’s unique Argan Oil line is a carefully balanced range of products designed specifically to care for hair that is dry, weak, brittle and showing split ends. It is also designed to revitalise hair which has proved difficult to restore to its natural beauty.

The formulas of these latest cosmetics are based on one of the most valuable hair care ingredients on earth, Argan oil, which is also called the ‘liquid gold of Morocco.’ Argan oil is derived from organic sources and is the most valued oil in the world in terms of its special nutritional properties.

It is produced from the fruit of the Argan tree, which only grows in one place in the world – south-western Morocco. Since ancient times, Argan oil has been used for revitalising skin and hair care, and is now available in Joanna’s latest line of cosmetics and hair care products.

Unique hair-care expertise Joanna Cosmetic’s researchers are experts in the field of personal care, creating a wide range of nourishing and hair styling products for consumers. This is in addition to offering lightening, colouring and professional cosmetics products for hairdressers.

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Hygiene, Medical & Pharmaceutical

The company told Industry Europe, “We are the largest company in Poland to be focused on hair care cosmetics. Our range of products includes hair dyes, hair-styling products, shampoos, conditioners, peels, shower gels, depilatory products and professional hairdressing cosmetics. Our mission is to specialise in cosmetic products that fully meet our customers’ body and hair care needs, and to be recognised for our very high-quality products which are offered at a very reasonable price.”

“We continuously monitor the needs of our customers in order to meet their expectations in the best possible way. Our brand is known for clinically tested and proven quality, flexibility, modernity, and the brand loyalty of our clients. We constantly improve our formulas and expand our range of exciting cosmetics. Our product development team works closely with dermatologists and hairdressers alike. This means that we can be proud of the fact that our company experiences continuous year-on-year growth, thus positioning us amongst the leading cosmetics companies in Europe.

Expanding global reach Today the company has a portfolio of more than 600 products, and each year dozens of new lines are introduced to the world’s expanding and hungry markets. Joanna’s annual production capacity is now more than 50 million units, with an option for further expansion as demand grows. With an excellent level of brand

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awareness amongst consumers at home, Joanna is also increasing its international exports.

Only a few years ago, the company’s export sales accounted for just 8 per cent of its overall turnover. However, at the end of 2018 it was estimated to be close to 20 per cent of its annual revenues. This has been achieved through the development of high-quality products and working in close partnership with its overseas distributors.

The outstanding success of Joanna Cosmetics has also been achieved through its policy of close cooperation with its many supply-chain partners. Furthermore, it only invests in the best raw materials, which are purchased from leading suppliers throughout Europe. The company also cooperates closely with its many local, Polish suppliers. For example, its attractive packaging comes exclusively from leading Polish packaging producers, which are well known and appreciated not only in Poland, but also worldwide. n For further details of Joanna’s latest innovative hair and body-care products visit: www.joanna.pl

Logistics & Transport

Go with the flow Vanderlande is a global leader in the design and manufacture of multi-functional sorting systems for airports, warehouses and parcel hubs. The company continues to extend its competitive edge with its latest award-winning baggage-flow solutions that eliminate traditional labour-intensive practices and optimise the cost of total ownership, as Philip Yorke reports.

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anderlande Industries was founded in Veghel, the Netherlands in 1949 and began by manufacturing conveyer systems for the loading of agricultural produce onto ships. Today the company is a major force in the development of automated handling technology and acknowledged as one of the world’s most innovative. Its core businesses provide a wide range of fully automated material handling systems for baggage flow at airports, as well as for providing advanced robotic systems for warehouses and postal distribution centres.

Today the company’s extensive product portfolio of integrated and intelligent software and life-cycle services, provide fast and reliable automation solutions worldwide. Currently the company has over 6,000 employees and in 2018 recorded revenues of more than 1.6 billion euros.

Unrivalled “end-to-end” logistics Despite stiff competition, Vanderlande’s new ‘BagFlow’ system has been selected as the winner of this year’s inter airport Europe Industry Europe 89

Excellence Awards in the inter-future Special Award category.

The end-to-end baggage logistics concept claimed the top spot and confirms Vanderlande’s continued commitment to developing solutions that guarantee greater efficiency and success for airports, airlines and passengers.

The inter airport Europe Excellence Awards acknowledges the aviation industry’s best solution-focused technologies that help to further develop the market. The inter-future Special Award category recognises visionary and bold new ideas, products and services that help to build a platform on which to define and create the ‘airport of the future’.

By establishing an integrated approach to the total bag sorting process, from the bag-drop right through to the aircraft, Vanderlande’s BagFlow system allows airports to handle more bags in the same footprint, optimise resource use, and keep costs under control. The award was voted for by the international airport community, and Vanderlande was formally presented with the special prize during the opening and awards ceremony earlier this year.

Vanderlande’s Board Member and Executive Vice President Airports Andrew Manship accepted the award on behalf of the company: “Winning in this category is confirmation that we not only understand the challenges facing the aviation industry, but are able to define solutions that help it overcome them. I am delighted that BagFlow has received the top honour this year. Vanderlande prides itself on continuously listening to its customers and working closely with them to define future-proof concepts that significantly improve overall operational performance.”

with the aim of optimising efficiency and lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO).

The latest Vanderlande ‘evolution solution’ comes in configurable modules, tailored to the specific needs of each parcel depot. This helps to reduce the initial investment and puts the correct volume of parcels at the operative’s disposal at the right time. It also permits the introduction of new technologies, which can reduce an airport’s dependency on manual labour, facilitate growth and reduce operational costs.

The modular configuration of Direct-Sort means that it can be easily adjusted to each sorting centre’s ongoing needs and then expanded to match any future requirements. New modules can be fully tested and integrated in an extremely short period of time, mitigating any operational impact. In addition, Direct-Sort is very robust in terms of maintenance and the handling of changes in parcel flows.

“The drive towards automation continues to grow as both labour and space become ever scarcer,” explains Vanderlande’s Market Director Parcel Rob Qualm. “This means that parcel companies must maximise the throughput from existing and future assets, while delivering the highest possible service level to their customers.

Direct-Sort can help to match the ebbs and flows with changing market demand.”

Vanderlande is also launching ‘The hub of the future’. This is its vision on how sort-on-demand solutions and can be modular and scalable by design, thus helping to answer the continuous need for convenient delivery windows, consolidated and high-speed deliveries, easy returns, and efficient parcel tracking.

Directly scalable solutions

Multi-functional hubs

Recently Vanderlande launched the next instalment of its innovative scalable solution systems known as Direct-Sort. This latest modular parcel sorting solution offers a modular, future-proof and straightforward system that sorts parcels from the moment they are unloaded

A little earlier this year Vanderlande shared a number of market insights relating to its automation and storage solutions at this year’s Parcel Forum in Dallas, Texas. Today it is recognised that consumer demand is at an all-time high and parcel companies must cope with

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Logistics & Transport

the increasing demand for speed, flexibility and higher service levels.

In addition, building space in urban areas is already at a premium and labour is increasingly hard to source.

Until a few years ago, the ‘push’ concept was the standard procedure, in which products were pushed through the supply chain to be sent out for delivery. However, this led to high levels of consumer dissatisfaction due to the limited delivery options available. In the ‘pull’ concept, the buyer is always firmly in control by demanding convenient delivery windows and keeping track of items.

Automation is essential in realising these new requirements and Vanderlande has vast experience in the smooth integration and installation of automated storage and retrieval systems. The inherent flexibility of such multi-functional sorting solutions allows parcel hubs

to seamlessly move away from traditional ‘pull’ methods, embrace new business models and rapidly respond to changes in the market.

Vanderlande told Industry Europe: “Modular sort-on-demand solutions offer the potential to create a temporary storage option to quickly adapt to changing delivery times or locations. Hubs will benefit from higher levels of service, flexibility and operator efficiency, as well as shorter loading times. In addition, it will facilitate the effective consolidation of orders and enhance route planning. Furthermore, its integrated and intelligent automation software can provide full control over the entire sorting process.”

For further details of Vanderlande’s latest multi-functional sorting systems and services visit: www.vanderlande.com

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Where mobility meets sustainability Industria Italiana Autobus (IIA) is Italy’s largest and foremost bus manufacturer. It is the designer, producer and distributor of the famous European Menarininibus brand. Philip Yorke reports on a company that has come through a difficult period in its history, to emerge as a much stronger and more innovative leader in its field.

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he IIA Menarinibus company was founded in January 2015

by Finmeccanica and the Del Rosso group, which specialise in the manufacture and distribution of leading bus brands in Italy. In addition to inheriting the production plant of BredaMenarinibus in Bologna, the company also took over the former Irisbus plant of Valle Ufita located in Flumeri. A few years later, the company entered into an agreement with Rampini Carlo SpA for the development of eMobility vehicles and components.

Today Karsan (Koç Holding Group), which has already owned the production license of the BredaMenarinibus brand buses since 2010, became the key foreign partner of the newly formed company.

Currently IIA builds and markets a broad range of vehicles from 8 to 18 metres long and with all sizes and types of motive power. It is also the owner of the Padane brand, which is well known for its tourist vehicles

Logistics & Transport

that were built between 1943 to 1996 and still remains a symbol of engineering excellence today. The company currently employs more than 500 people at its offices and two state-of-the-art production sites in Italy.

Providing modern, tailor-made solutions The Italian province of Rome recently ordered 227 buses from Industria Italiana Autobus SpA (IIA), in which today Karsan is a 70 per cent shareholder. The 10-metre and 12-metre diesel and CNG buses ordered by the Rome Municipality will be manufactured by Karsan in their Bursa facility in Turkey for delivery by the end of 2019. The new Menarinibus Citymood buses will be focused on serving Rome, a city that receives approximately 7.2 million tourists every year.

Karsan’s CEO, Okan Baş, stated that with the buses to be delivered in Rome, the total orders the company received in 2019 reached 320 units amounting to EUR 61.3 million. He commented: “From the commencement of our cooperation with IIA, we will have exported a total of over 1000 units of Menarinibus Citymood buses by the end of this year”.

By providing modern and tailor-made solutions to meet the mass transport needs for every city, Karsan continues its significant increase in exports helped by its 70 per cent shareholding in Industria Italiana Autobus SpA. The latest result of this strategic move has provided Karsan with an order of 227 buses for the province of Rome which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in

the world. Karsan will be manufacturing these luxury 10-metre and 12-metre buses at its Bursa facilities and will be delivering them by the end of 2019. The latest Menarinibus Citymood buses will be put into service in Rome forthwith.

A spokesperson for IIA told Industry Europe: “The IIA partnership is a crucial move in our strategy to become a global brand. Our increased share in IIA gives us the opportunity to move forward in Europe with stronger and more confident steps. The year 2019 has become particularly importance to us in the export of our highly successful Menarinibus Citymood buses.

“With the buses ordered for Rome, we have reached a total commitment of 320 units for the Menarinibus Citymood range, amounting to EUR 61.3 million in the first five months of this year. Moving forward from our cooperation with IIA, our total exports of the Menarinibus Citymood will exceed 1,000 units by the end of this year”.

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Logistics & Transport

Sustainable mobility The move to producing more sustainable and eco-friendly transportation has taken off in a big way in Italy. Natural gas and electric powered vehicles are seen as the current answers to achieving far greater protection of the environment and more sustainable manufacturing processes.

The new natural gas buses are equipped with three double-leaf doors, a large internal corridor and 23 seats, four of which are reserved and

specially designed for people with mobility problems. This innovative layout allows for a total load of more than 100 passengers.

The latest LNG-fuelled vehicles have already made their debut in Rome. Their recent purchases also form part of the company’s three-year investment plan of over EUR 211 million, which includes new buses that offer high environmental compatibility, including a range of new electric vehicles.

Cutting-edge urban transport In terms of innovative high-tech solutions, IIA’s urban transport portfolio is impressive. The Vivacity 8 is the leading bus range in the segment for medium-short buses, which are ideal for service on crowded roads and found in small and medium-sized cities across Europe.

The company’s latest Citymood range comes in three different lengths from 10.6 metres to 18 metres and combines stylish Italian design with innovative technical solutions. In addition, the all new Citymood 12E is also available today with the latest electric drive n engines and are the first of their kind in Italy.

For further details of IIA’s latest eco-friendly buses and customer services visit: www.industriaitalianaautobus.com

Costa Eugenio Srl Costa Eugenio Srl is a specialized Company in Transport Temperature Control Systems, Thermo King Authorized Dealer since 1974.

We are at our customer’s disposal to study the best system application for their bus, taking full responsibility for the climate control of the passengers and driver areas and ensuring the best reliability available on the market.

Our Service Network is present all over the world, with a 24/365 Service, depending on the after-sales support from the most extensive Dealer network in the business.

We support our customers with training, technical support, after-sales attention and parts supply for the entire life of their bus.

We care about the environment: less refrigerant, lighter components to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

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Metals, Metalworking & Mining

A European leader in electrical laminations New investment in advanced production equipment is keeping Italy’s Sitem at the forefront of the industry

In

June 2019, Sitem, the Italian family-owned electrical steel manufacturer, expanded its offering to customers with the installation of two Schuler Smartline high speed presses. The SA-135S presses are being used to punch motor packages for electric cars.

The 315 tonne press force of the machines is fully available over the entire output range from 100 to 400 strokes per minute. The new interlocked packet control increases productivity by up to 30 percent. Die life is also extended by 30 percent thanks to Schuler’s depth penetration control and slide guidance without play. Both

developments also have a positive effect on the process reliability of the complex dies designed by Sitem itself.

The Sitem industrial group based in Trevi, halfway between Rome and San Marino, has two further locations in Italy and one each in France and Slovakia. With more than 700 employees and a turnover of over EUR 160 million, it is one of the largest providers in the market.

In 2016 Sitem took over Stanzwerk AG from Unterentfelden in Switzerland to prepare for the growing eMobility market. Stanzwerk specialises in the stamping and stacking of laminations. Using magnetic sheet metal, it manufactures stator and rotor stacks needed to Industry Europe 95

construct electric motors. The latter are then used in drives, steering systems, electric tools and ventilation systems.

The latest investment in Schuler’s high-speed presses marks Sitem’s continuing advance in this market as well as its continuing investment in increasing its production efficiency and quality standards.

Extensive range Sitem currently offers customers a large range of products and services, including electrical steel lamination stamping for electric motors and transformers, aluminium die-casting for rotors used in electric motors, lamination annealing heat treatment, design and construction of tungsten carbide tools for electrical lamination stamping, laser cutting of carbon steel or other materials reaching thickness up to 100mm and.

Sitem produces a wide range of laminations for electric motors between 0,09 kW and 2000 kW, transformers and alternators.

Sitem products are employed in a wide range of applications including ventilation systems, industrial pumps, burners, wind generators, elevators, gear adapters, air compressors, refrigerators, brushless motors and transformers.

The company is a major force in the Italian market and has established strong positions in both the European and global markets.

It is currently active in France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, UK, Denmark, Greece, Turkey, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Croatia, Serbia, South Africa, Taiwan, USA, Argentina, China, Brazil and Mexico.

Production sites Sitem’s main Trevi site covers an area of 82,000 m2, 19,000 m2 of which is covered, and is divided into six divisions. The Lamination

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stamping shop operates 30 production lines including stamping presses of several sizes, from 100 to 400 tonnes. The site also includes three ovens for heat treatment: and 16 die-casting production lines as well as automated lines for rotor machining, including inside and outside processing, polishing and heat treatment. There are 10 lines for stator production and more than 150 hard metal stamping tools.

The Trevi site also operates the latest laser cutting systems and a fully automated coil cutting line that can cut steel coils from 0.23mm to 2mm in thickness at speeds of up to 300m per minute.

Sitem’s Canegrate (Milan) facility operates 15 lamination stamping presses for electric motor and special components used in wind machines as well as seven stamping presses for transformer laminations.

There are also a total of 10 production lines for die-casting aluminium products such as electric motor housings and other aluminium components and nine fully automated production lines for aluminium die-casting for rotors.

The Sitem production site in Limbiate, Milan specialises in magnetic transformer laminations and small motor laminations. The 25 highly specialised workers, with years of experience in design and production of tools and rapid metal stamps, operate the latest generation machinery and work in the temperature-controlled rooms needed for the entire production.

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Sitem’s Slovakia plant was established in 2004 at Spisska Nova Ves to enable the group to expand into the fast-growing eastern European market. It was an investment that proved to be strategic for the entire Sitem group and enabled it to serve customers such as Bosch-Siemens, Whirlpool, Aweco, Askoll, ACC (Nidec group), Best and Rosenberg.

The plant currently operates eight rapid metal lamination stamps, two heat treatment ovens, three lines used in die-casting of aluminium or other alloys for rotors and three lines for automated soldering.

Decoup, Sitem’s French production site, specialises in grain oriented magnetic lamination for single-phase and three-phase transformers.

Last September the SITEM Group continued its participation in major international trade fairs by presenting its latest offerings at COILTECH 2019 in Pordenone, Italy, COILTECH is an international exhibition focused on materials and machines for the production of electric motors, n generators, power transformers and electric windings.

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Optimising machine tool efficiency LNS, the one-stop shop for machine tool peripherals, has introduced a new product line to its global customers

At

the EMO machine tool exhibition in Hannover, September (2019), the world leader in bar feeding, air filtration, coolant management and chip management systems for machine tools, the Swiss-headquartered LNS Group, introduced its new “Chipblaster” product line.

With over 1000 employees, a global sales and service network and nine production sites on three continents, the LNS Group intends to leverage its worldwide presence to introduce the “Chipblaster” product range to the world-wide market.

The LNS Group acquired Chipblaster Inc. in October 2018.

Founded in 1994 in Pennsylvania, USA, Chipblaster Inc. is an established market leading manufacturer of high-pressure coolant systems, coolant chillers and cyclonic filtration systems – making it a perfect fit into the LNS Group portfolio of products and services.

The Chipblaster Inc. range of integrated machine tool accessories include the “Chipblaster” high-pressure coolant system, the “Chipchiller” series of high-performance coolant chiller units, the “Skim98 Industry Europe

blaster,” oil skimming unit to eliminate tramp oil and the stand-alone or modular Cyclone filter system for fluid filtration down to 2 microns.

Commenting upon the acquisition, LNS Group CEO Gilbert Lile says: “Chipblaster” is a market leader in the U.S. high-pressure coolant industry and is a natural fit into our machine tool peripheral product portfolio.

At LNS, we plan to leverage our global sales and service network to sell “Chipblaster’s” technologically advanced products on a worldwide basis.

A common thread running through both companies is the goal of helping manufacturers optimize the efficiency of their machine tools to improve performance, productivity and profitability.”

Covering machine tool needs Since it was established in the Jura Arc region of Switzerland in 1972, originally to develop mechanical bar loaders for precision-machining used by watchmakers. LNS has grown to become the global machine tool industry’s leading supplier of advanced barfeeders, chipconveyors and cooling air-filtration systems.000 air filtration systems

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Today there are over 160,000 LNS bar feeder units installed worldwide as well as 140,000 chip conveyors, 35,000 coolant systems and 13,000 air filtration systems.

LNS bar feeders are universally recognized for their groundbreaking Hydrobar bar-guiding technique. In the most varied applications, LNS bar feeders ensure maximum productivity on all types of fixed or sliding headstock lathes. In addition, LNS bar feeders offer record reliability and flexibility and the fastest diameter changeover available today.

LNS also specializes in a wide range of airfiltration solutions for the elimination of pollution related to the metal manufacturing environment. Originally developed for the elimination of mist, aero-

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sols and smoke typical of metal cutting operations, these filters can also be employed in applications like Grinding and Electro Discharge Machines.

Introduced in 2016, LNS’ Turbo SFcompact is a completely new approach to fine filtration. With its compact size, self-cleaning filtration to 50 microns, easy handling of most materials and chip types, excellent return on investment, modular design for easy maintenance and low energy consumption, the SFcompact is, the company believes, a revolutionary system in air filtration.

“The SF-compact combines more than 30 years of knowledge in designing, manufacturing and servicing chip and coolant management products for the machine tool industry. It is the culmination of

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years of development and testing – a true high-tech fine filtration solution complementing the rich product portfolio of LNS”, explained Jamie Towers, Global Product Manager CCM at the LNS Group.

Chip conveyors and coolant systems LNS’ conveyors and complete chip disposal systems are designed for all machine types (milling, turning or machining centres) For the most varied applications a complete range of conveyors covers all material types and chip shapes. Additionally, LNS chip conveyors can be equipped with up to 50 microns filtration systems.

LNS offers a complete range of high-pressure coolant systems and tramp oil removal systems that guarantee optimal lubrication allowing a considerable increase of machining speeds. The additional benefits are an improved surface finish of the parts, increased lifespan of the cutting tools and superior chip management.

since the creation of LNS in 1973 has allowed the group to be finetuned to be even closer to its regional markets and to respond even faster to the future technology evolutions.

The LNS market is managed through a network consisting of sister companies and exclusive agents. This global distribution network, which has been built over nearly 50 years, allows the Group to create customer loyalty and to acquire new customers. This distribution network is being constantly expanded in order to cover new n regions as efficiently as possible.

Expanding markets As well as offering a complete product range, LNS is engaged in a constant search for new technologies and solutions that will allow customers to maximize their productivity. The experience gathered

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Same values, new profile

With a new image, Italy’s Profilglass is highlighting its continuing diversification and innovation in the aluminium industry

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In

June 2019 Profilglass, the Italian specialist in aluminium profiles and flat rolled products for the construction, automotive, electronics and household appliances industries, launched a new company logo and a new motto – ‘People, Passion, Aluminium’.

The new image represents both the company’s long experience of producing the highest quality aluminium for almost 40 years as well as its growth into a major group employing almost 1,000 people and exporting to almost 90 countries around the world. “‘People’ stands for our conviction that our success rests upon our commitment to always working closely together as a cohesive team and also for our close relationships with the local community,” the company explains. “‘Passion’ declares our constant commitment to our work and our continuous investment in research and technology. ‘Aluminium’ is, of course, the heart of our history and, we believe, the metal of the future.”

Diversification strategy Founded in 1982 in Fano, in Pesaro-Urbino, by brothers Giancarlo and Stefano Paci, Profilglass has expanded and diversified its business. Originally it produced spacing and decorative profiles for double glazing units but, especially since 2000, it has also established

a significant presence in the flat rolled products industry, supplying customers in the construction, automotive, electronics and household appliances sectors Today the company processes over 250,000 tonnes of aluminium every year and has established itself as major player in the international aluminium industry, currently exporting to more than 85 countries worldwide.

The spacing and decoration profiles for double glazing that have characterised Profilglass since it was established continue to represent a major part of its production. But these are now complemented by a wide range of flat rolled products.

Profilglass’ current range of flat rolled products includes discs, sheets, strips and bands that can be supplied to deliver tailor-made solutions to a wide variety of industries. The company’s roughturned and plate warehouses contain an average of 30,000 tonnes of material at any one time; together with its rapid production capability this stock ensures flexible and timely delivery to all customers.

Advanced production processes Profilglass’ foundry section is equipped with modern plate pouring furnaces and state-of-the-art degassing and filtering systems which guarantee high quality standards.

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The six lines for continuous casting at Profilglass are fitted with furnaces using innovative liquid metal treatment systems which allow for perfect homogenising as well as degassing and filtering devices which ensure the correct quality standards in aluminium.

The company’s hot rolling mill is designed for the hot lamination of about 150,000 tonnes/year of aluminium plates up to 4 mm thick. The coils obtained from intermediate forging, continuous casting or bought from others, can then be processed in four cold

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rolling systems, where they reach the thickness required by the client, from 8mm to 80 microns. Equipped with efficient automation systems to control the process, thickness and planarity, these reversible and single-direction installations can reach a production capacity of about 180,000 tonnes/year.

After lamination, the aluminium undergoes heat treatments which give the material the necessary mechanical characteristics for processing during the finishing phases.

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The aluminium cycle at Profilglass is then completed by various kinds of annealing - partial, complete or homogenising - in ten dedicated furnaces, which allow for precise and accurate temperature control and, thanks to the inert atmosphere inside, preserve the typical sheen of aluminium.

Three degreasing, alkaline and electrochemical lines carry out surface treatments to improve the material’s performance levels, for example by facilitating the adhesion of coatings/paints or decoration and protecting it against corrosion to preserve its appearance over time.

The finishing phase is the pride of Profilglass, As many as 20 machines ensure the production of belts, slipped coils, discs, metal sheets, strips, ovals or triangles with the utmost cutting accuracy and exact compliance with the tolerance values, no matter how small, required by final customers.

Specialised companies Profilglass’ aluminium tubes and pipes are produced by Eurotubi, a company within the group that specialises in items for the home furniture, garden, sport and leisure, and healthcare markets. With a

large number of profiling machines, the company is a leader in the production of electrically welded aluminium pipes in different alloys and sizes from 5 to 70 mm in diameter.

Established in 2017, LamiAl, is a new company within the Profilglass group that specialises in the production of aluminium flat rolled products for automotive, transport and industrial applications.

LamiAl’s advanced technologies enable it to process materials to the very highest standards throughout the production process, from cold-rolling of aluminium to finishing and surface treatment.

Committed to sustainability Aluminium, Profilglass’s raw material, is, of course, 100 per cent recyclable but the company has also developed a comprehensive range of sustainability policies over the years, with a strong commitment to managing its resources in a responsible way.

A huge advance in making the company’s facilities as environmentally friendly as possible was achieved by the installation of a large-scale photovoltaic system on the factory roofs. This solar system has a power capacity of 16.2 MWp, enough to meet the energy n requirements of more than 4,500 households.

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Smarter sustainable telecoms 106 Industry Europe

The Prysmian Group leads the world in advanced energy and telecom cable systems.

The company is proactive in every aspect of power transmission and telecommunications technologies. Philip Yorke reports on a company that continues to build on its enviable reputation as a world leader in sustainability and a dynamic pioneer of innovative, ground-breaking telecoms technologies.

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he Prysmian Group’s structure is organised around three key business units: Projects, Energy and Telecoms. Today this diverse high-tech Group operates in the business of underground and submarine cables and systems for power transmission and distribution. It is also active in the manufacture of speciality cables for applications in many different industries. In addition, the Group produces medium and low voltage cables, mostly for the construction and infrastructure sectors.

Prysmian also produces voice, video and data transmission cables and accessories for the telecommunications industry, offering

a comprehensive range of optical fibres, optical and copper cables and high-tech connectivity systems.

With almost 150 years of experience and sales exceeding 11-billion euros, the company employs more than 30,000 people at its 112 plants worldwide.

Pioneering renewables Prysmian Group’s work in the renewable energy transmission and distribution sector is often ground-breaking, and it is involved in the development and operation of some of the largest solar and wind

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farms in the world. The new projects awarded to Prysmian for the construction of inter-array submarine cable systems have additionally confirmed the competitiveness of the Group’s offering and its countless pioneering, sustainable technologies. Among the recent contracts secured by Prysmian was the Group’s first cable project for a floating offshore wind farm, involving inter-array and export cables for a major floating offshore wind farm.

Furthermore, the Group won contracts to supply submarine cables for the Hornsea 2 project in the UK, the world’s largest offshore wind farm (66kV), and to construct an inter-array submarine cable system between the turbines of the Borssele III and IV wind farms in the North Sea (731.5 MW). Prysmian has also successfully implemented the inter-array cable system for the Wikinger wind farm, located in the West of Adlergrund cluster in the German Baltic Sea.

Integration driving growth The smooth integration of General Cable into the Prysmian Group is a milestone in the Group’s history and a strategic and unique opportunity to create even greater value for its shareholders. Thanks to this union, the new Group will be even better equipped to face and overcome the challenges of the global economic and political environment, along with those of the growing competition in the cable and systems industry.

The General Cable Company recently acquired by Prysmian Group, has been awarded a contract by Northwester NV for the construction of an inter-array submarine cable system to connect the Northwester 2 offshore wind farm, in the North Sea. In another major development in Argentina, the Prysmian Group will supply 3,600 km of cables and a PRY-CAM monitoring system for a new solar farm in Cauchari located 4,100 metres above sea level in one of the world’s most concentrated areas of solar radiation. The 315 MW photovoltaic plant will provide the Argentine grid with an annual average of 660,887 MWh for 20 years.

A central role for sustainability With its fully integrated group strategy, sustainability plays a central role throughout all Prysmian companies, which are committed to promoting a business model that integrates economic, social and environmental responsibility in all aspects of its business activities.

Prysmian promotes a business model based on the concept of shared value. The strength of this approach is the constant monitoring of the Group’s sustainability performance along its entire value

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chain, with the aim of not only assessing performance, but also of developing a proactive attitude in all decision making processes, thus enabling it to anticipate and seize new opportunities as they arise.

The Group’s bold sustainability strategy is the result of an analysis that considered the context both externally, through the identification of the main trends in the global and sectoral context, and internally, via the priorities expressed by the Compensation, Appointments and Sustainability Committee of the Board of Directors.

The mapping of Prysmian’s sustainability priorities has therefore considered 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 (SDGs) defined by the United Nations, requests from major International Sustainability Indexes (Dow Jones Sustainability Index, FTSE4GOOD, CDP, Bloomberg ESG, etc.) and the needs and expectations of the Group’s stakeholders, mapped each year through stakeholder engagement initiatives undertaken by the Group. The analysis of the above has allowed the Group to establish its strategic priorities, its targets and the actions necessary to achieve its defined sustainability objectives by 2020.

Smarter cable technology Prysmian Group is currently launching its Pry-ID smart cable technology, which provides easy, real-time access to comprehensive information regarding cable status.

In a scenario in which connected objects represent the present and future for businesses of all kinds, and in a sector such as the cable industry, where products and accessories require constant monitoring, Pry-ID acts as a digital fingerprint for cables.

This makes it possible to provide access through radio-frequency identification technology to the full suite of critical information regarding cables and accessories, including cable type, length, origin and the components to which it is connected. All in a single, easily exportable file, available via the app.

Pry-ID offers significant advantages, such as accurate identification, a very high level of precision and savings on installation time.

These activities translate as energy savings and the simple, reliable location of cables and components in buildings, which results in increased safety. It does not require external power and lasts for the entire life of the cable, even in the most difficult environments.

Advanced EV charging The Prysmian Group has joined the Charging Interface Initiative, or CharIn, the industry group supporting, through standardisation, a super-fast charging infrastructure that allows electric vehicle (EV) drivers to easily and quickly recharge on the road during longdistance trips.

Consumers want to feel reassured that charging stations are as easy to find and use as petrol stations. The automotive industry and CharIn, therefore, have stepped up to back the European “Combined Charging System” (CCS) as the global standard for charging electric powered vehicles. Ultra-fast CCS-standard charging enables EVs to replenish for up to 400 km of range in only 15 minutes with powers ranging from 150 kW to 350 kW. With CCS, drivers of any type of electric vehicle can choose between normal and fast charging as well as AC and DC. They only need a single system for all these options.

The CCS also has the advantage of being accepted and supported by a significant number of major companies from different industries: CharIn’s founding members include Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, Ford, General Motors, Daimler and Tesla, the leading seller of electric cars, as well as component makers like ABB, n Bosch and Siemens.

For further details of the Prysmian Group’s latest innovative technologies and products visit: www.prysmiangroup.com

Industry Europe 109

Definitive beauty in print The Arctic Paper Group is a major European producer of fine graphic papers for a broad range of modern print applications. Philip Yorke reports on a company that leads the field in meeting the demands of today’s high definition digital revolution and sustainable, optimised production methods.

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T

he Artic Paper Group has been involved in papermaking since 1740 when it commenced with Arctic Paper Grycksbo in Sweden, Arctic Paper Munkedals AB was established in 1871 and the company’s mill in Kostrzyn, was established in Poland in 1958.

Today’s Arctic Paper Group originates from the Trebruk AB Group that was established in 1983 with Munkedals AB as one of the major mills. Trebruk opened sales offices all over Europe and in 1993 Trebruk acquired the Kostrzyn mill from the Polish state. Today the aim is to ensure that all units within the Arctic Paper Group act as one single company. On January 1st, 2003 the Group changed its name to Arctic Paper.

Subsequently the Arctic Paper Group has become a major player in the manufacture and distribution of high-quality graphic paper products with annual revenues of more than PLN 3 billion (EUR 700 million). The Group is listed on the Warsaw and the NASDAQ Stockholm stock exchanges.

Focus on flexibility Each year the company delivers almost one million tonnes of premium graphic paper to the global print industry. These high volumes are achieved by the endeavours of more than 1,300 dedicated employees that work at its three state-of-the-art European paper mills.

Arctic Paper’s strong and recognisable brands are synonymous with quality and environmentally friendly production processes.

Thanks to the flexibility that exists within the company’s three paper

mills, it is able to adjust its production processes rapidly in order to respond to market changes and the needs of its customers.

Perfection by design The Arctic Volume Range is well-known for its exceptional print quality and distinctive feel, and now the launch of its latest ‘Surface series’ is designed to show how the unique qualities of its latest high-quality paper can bring out the true expression and detail in the beauty of photographs.

Today Arctic Paper’s new Surface portfolio is showcasing the work of some of the world’s most celebrated photographers, including prints by Magnum photographers Bruce Gilden and Christopher Anderson, award-winning photography legend Sebastião Salgado, and upcoming artists like Weronika Gęsicka, Fleur van Dodewaard, and Olya Oleinic, who were all recognised recently for their talent by the Foam Fotografie-museum in Sweden.

The unrivalled quality of Artctic Paper’s Surface edition represents a wide and fascinating range of international contemporary photography, thanks to varying artistic styles and technical approaches that range from analogue creations to high-end digital artworks.

However, one thing connects all the art in this edition of Surface: every photograph, no matter how unique and standalone, highlights and celebrates the world in all its detailed beauty.

“This incredible portfolio of various perspectives, landscapes and textures pays homage to precision, alongside the singularly natural

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and characteristic feel of Arctic Volume paper”, said Global Marketing Communications Manager Martina Rosendahl.

First choice of print experts Arctic Paper has recently introduced a new super-brand known as the ‘G-Range’. This latest, specially coated, wood-free paper range is intended specifically for print experts, who want to main-

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tain a consistent and exceptional print quality for both small and large print runs.

Arctic Paper’s latest creation offers a number of key benefits; unrivalled high definition print results, excellent print runnability, a smooth matt finish and true paper stiffness. These are just a few of the many advantages of the company’s new G-Range, which is based on its well-established G-Print brand. In addition, the range

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has now been extended with the new ultra-white shade, G-Snow, thus offering an even wider range of print options.

All this explains why print experts choose G-Print, G-Smooth or G-Snow. Their unmatchable quality provides a clear competitive advantage to print houses worldwide. The G-Range is made in Sweden. The production process of the G-Range is carbon neutral and fully in line with Arctic Paper’s commitment to the preservation of nature and the environment.

Keen environmental focus Arctic Paper is recognised internationally as a flagship company when it comes to protecting the environment. Arctic Paper told Industry Europe, “The absolute goal of our environmental work is that our industrial processes should have the lowest possible impact on the environment. Our strategy is to stay one step ahead of official requirements by implementing an active environmental management system and to continuously improve our environmental standards.

To achieve this, we undertake a number of specific actions, for example in the following areas: Energy saving. We are continuously analysing ways to reduce the energy we use in our processes. Today our average usage in all mills is within or below the levels prescribed by the EU standard, BAT (Best Available Technique).

Re-using water. We are minimising our water consumption by recycling huge quantities of water. Our current water consumption throughout the Group is, on average, less than 10 litres per 1 kg of paper, while the mill at Munkedal uses 3-4 litres, this represents the lowest consumption in the entire paper-making industry.

Discharge into water. Protecting life in the Örekil River and Gullmarn fjord is a matter of course and a priority here at Arctic Paper Munkedals. Our discharge into water is now among the very lowest in the industry. At Arctic Paper Kostrzyn we also have systems for effective purification of our process water. In relation to our waste products at Arctic Paper Munkedals, we separate bio-sediment that fulfils the criteria for use within agriculture, thereby creating a natural eco-cycle.

Therefore when it comes to recycling we strive to be as economic as possible with all our materials and energy usage. For any waste that is created at our paper mills, we have developed systems for sorting and recycling materials and achieve optimal energy recovery”.

For further details of Arctic Paper’s latest innovative and sustainable paper products visit: www.arcticpaper.com

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Recognising excellence Henkel Adhesives Technologies continues to celebrate the strategic partnerships that drive its market-leading innovations

At

its annual supplier award ceremony in Düsseldorf in November (2019) Henkel Adhesive Technologies has once again recognised the outstanding performance of its strategic partners and their close and successful collaborations across the value chains. This year the companies Eastman, BYK and Evonik won awards in the categories of Operational Excellence, Innovation and Sustainability.

“The close collaboration between Henkel and our strategic suppliers is a key success factor for our business”, said Michael Todd, 114 Industry Europe

Global Head of Innovation and New Business Development at Henkel Adhesive Technologies. “Their know-how and performance enable us to continuously drive powerful innovations and to unlock new potentials across our businesses. These strong and trustful partnerships are essential to developing innovative solutions for our customers and to further gain competitive advantages in the diverse markets we serve.”

“The close cooperation and open exchange with our strategic suppliers throughout the entire value chain enable us to translate the needs

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and expectations of our customers into tailor-made and meaningful solutions,” added Thomas Holenia, Corporate Vice President Purchasing at Henkel. “By aligning our strategic priorities and supply chains we increase agility and quality and achieve excellence in supply performance, innovation and sustainability. This is even more important in today’s challenging market environment across the globe.”

Operational Excellence Award: Eastman Henkel presented the Operational Excellence Award to Eastman, a specialty chemical materials company headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA. The recognition was granted for Eastman´s outstanding supply performance over several consecutive years, as well as its ongoing efforts to ensure competitiveness in an increasingly challenging market environment. Eastman has delivered an excellent service level degree with best in class ‘On-Time’ and ‘In-Full’ scores.

In addition, the company demonstrated its commitment to top tier quality standards as well as to strong mutual cooperation among the Supply Chain Teams of Henkel and Eastman – a first-class delivery performance along with an exceptional view on chemical feedstocks.

Innovation Award: BYK Henkel’s Innovation Award went to BYK, a leading provider of additives for a broad range of industries, headquartered in Wesel, Germany and a member of the Altana group. BYK’s additives are performance-critical ingredients in a variety of formulations across adhesives, sealants and construction chemicals. Its collaboration with Henkel was based on open exchange and an early access to innovations which resulted in BYK’s growing contribution to numerous innovation projects and successful product launches by the Adhesive Technologies business unit. BYK was recognised for its strong customer-orientation and excellent technical customer service. Customercentricity has also been proven through digital training and information sharing via exclusive tools and channels that helped to increase the interconnectivity of BYK with Henkel´s global R&D community.

Sustainability Award: EVONIK Henkel presented the Sustainability Award to EVONIK, a global specialty chemicals company headquartered in Essen, Germany. The recognition was granted for EVONIK´s achievements in developing

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innovative product solutions while reducing its environmental impact.

In 2019 EVONIK demonstrated excellent support for Henkel’s sustainability targets and made the best contribution to Henkel’s sustainability objectives. The strong partnership between both companies was characterised by open exchange and access focused on sustainable innovations. This strong collaboration resulted in a solution-based project portfolio including bio-based materials, improvements for a circular economy, replacements of substances of very high concern (SHVC) and transparency on CO2 footprint data

In the General Industry business area, a comprehensive portfolio of products is offered for the manufacture and maintenance of durable goods while its Electronics Business delivers a specialized portfolio of innovative high-technology adhesives and materials for the manufacture of microchips, electronic assemblies and thermal management systems. The Adhesives for Consumers, Craftsmen and Building business area markets an extensive range of brandname products for private, trade and construction users.

World leader

Today Henkel Adhesive Technologies is making a vital contribution to the transformation of the automotive industry. The car of the future will be electrified, connected to its environment, autonomously driven, and even shared among several users. Optimising the design of these future vehicles will require a combination of engineering and material science expertise.

Henkel Adhesive solutions include thermal interface materials, like gap filler technology, which will help batteries run safely at a consistent temperature. Other technical examples from the portfolio include adhesive technologies for bonding battery cells together, and UV light purification solutions that reduce cycle times and lower processing costs.

“Our portfolio includes thermal interface materials, adhesives, sealants and functional coatings for battery packs, but also other specific components on the car,” says Frank Kerstan, director e-mobility & Powertrain at Henkel. “We combine this material expertise together with engineering support to work with our customers on new designs in a very early phase, to ultimately allow them to achieve smarter and more n cost-efficient designs for certain components.”

Henkel Adhesive Technologies is the global leader in the adhesives market – across all industry segments worldwide. It is one of the three business units of the Henkel Group. Like Henkel’s Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care businesses it operates globally with a well-balanced and diversified portfolio and holds leading positions in both industrial and consumer markets thanks to strong brands, innovations and technologies in adhesives, sealants and functional coatings.

Its industrial product portfolio is organised into five Technology Cluster Brands - Loctite, Bonderite, Technomelt, Teroson and Aquence. For consumer and professional markets, it focuses on four global brand platforms Pritt, Loctite, Ceresit and Pattex.

In the Packaging and Consumer Goods Adhesives business area, Henkel works with major brand manufacturers and international customers to develop innovative and sustainable solutions for food packaging and consumer goods. Its Transport and Metal business area provides customers in the automotive, aircraft and aerospace, and metal processing industries with outstanding system solutions, a comprehensive technology portfolio, and specialised technical services.

Driving the future

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Revolutionising industrial thread technology The UK’s Coats Group is a global leader in the development and manufacture of industrial threads and yarns. The company has evolved over its 200-year history to become one of the most innovative and visionary of its kind. Philip Yorke reports on a group that continues to lead the field in product sustainability and digital technology.

T

he Coats Group was founded in Paisley, Scotland, in 1775 by James and Patrick Clark. Its activities began with the production of loom equipment and silk thread at a small workshop.

Today the company operates globally in more than 50 countries worldwide and in 2018 recorded revenues of almost USD 2 billion, generated by a workforce of around 20,000 people.

Each year, the group makes enough thread to go into 8 billion pairs of jeans and every month produces enough to stretch all the way to the sun - a distance of over 92 million miles. In addition, more than 100 million airbags are made using Coats’ high-performance thread, as well as over 450 million pairs of shoes.

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Harnessing talent and technology For over 200 years, Coats’ has worked to harness the talent and technology that exists in the textile industry in order to enhance people’s lives. This embraces everything from sewing thread to medical sutures and fibre optic cables, and from high performance threads used in planes, automobiles and safety equipment to the yarns, that have inspired designers around the world. The Coats Group are also restless pioneers forever seeking to create new materials and to partner with customers to help them realise their goals.

The company’s vision is to become the world’s leading and most diverse industrial textiles Group, delivering innovation, digital solutions

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and sustainable value to all its stakeholders. Today Coats’ customers are looking for unique products, optimal services and advanced digital solutions in order to support their future business objectives.

The company’s shareholders also require a strategic balance of growth and efficiency, to deliver sustainable, high quality earnings.

When it comes to its employees, the group provides an environment that offers them growth as well as one that allows them to reach their maximum potential within a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace.

High-tech innovation hubs Earlier this year, the Coats Group completed the opening of its series of three Innovation Hubs in the EMEA region. At its site in Bursa, Turkey, the company’s latest dedicated Innovation Hub was officially unveiled by Rajiv Sharma, the Group’s Chief Executive at an event attended by government representatives, customers, global brands and members of the Coats Group Innovation team.

It follows the recent opening of another Innovation Hub in Asia in Shenzhen, China. In North America, the company’s first Innovation Hub there, in North Carolina, became fully operational just two months ago. These dedicated, high-tech innovation centres are located at strategic sites around the world. This enables Coats to collaborate with a broad range of innovative partners in a diverse range of industries as well as customers, suppliers, universities and start-ups.

Together these strategic partners will develop pioneering new products and processes in Apparel and Footwear and hi-tech products for end uses in automotive, oil and gas, protective wear and telecommunications sectors. By providing creative and inspiring facilities where an innovative concept can be developed collaboratively, prototype products can be rapidly worked into a prototype design which can then be manufactured in a secure, stand-alone pilot facility.

Rajiv Sharma, Group Chief Executive, Coats, said: “Coats is a pioneering company and innovation is crucial to our success. To help

structure our approach to innovation we are developing Innovation Hubs at key locations around the world. These are centres of excellence where we can develop new and potentially industry disrupting ideas. Our EMEA and Asia Hubs coming online is an exciting step in our new approach to innovation.”

Each of the Coats Innovation Hubs has distinct areas of focus.

The customer experience zone facilitates collaboration and creation of an initial idea. Dedicated flexible manufacturing processes enable innovative prototypes to be produced with speed and accuracy.

In addition, Coats’ high-quality laboratory proves that concepts designed and created there fully meet the functional parameters of the final product or garment.

Pioneering a sustainable future Recently the Coats Group launched two exciting, new 100 per cent cotton products. ‘Tre Cerchi Vero’ and ‘Tre Cerchi Vero+’ are both made from completely sustainable raw materials.

Adrian Elliott, President, Apparel and Footwear at Coats, said: “As our customers strive to achieve their sustainability goals, we can support them by exploring innovative solutions and products which are then independently verified as being made from sustainable raw materials. We are doing our part to contribute to an end product that the consumer can trust has been made as sustainably as possible and without compromising on quality and performance.”

Through continual development and the pioneering work conducted by its global teams and communities, Coats has been able to create two new 100 per cent cotton threads that offer uncompromising looks and performance in one completely sustainable package. The two new ‘Tre Cerchi’ products extend Coats’ existing range of sustainable threads. These eco-friendly products enhance the company’s popular EcoVerde range, which include Coats’ Epic Ecoverde and Coats Gramax EcoVerde brands which all boast 100 per cent recycled sewing threads.

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PAPER, PACKAGING & PRINTING Mesdan SpA The partnership between Mesdan and Coats has a long lasting history of almost 30 years and represents an example of a successful interaction between an equipment supplier and a quality minded commodity manufacturer, on a global scale. The spark that lighted up this cooperation was, on one end, Coats sensibility to quality and its commitment to deliver high quality threads.

On the other end, Mesdan leadership in the field of yarn joining.

Later, this cooperation was extended to various Mesdan-Lab QC equipment. Some Mesdan products have become a standardised tool within the group, some examples: • Jointair® 110R and 110M for knotless joining of filament yarns • Jointair® 4941A for knotless joining of synthetic sewing threads, especially popular in the finishing winding • Aquasplicers® 4923B for knotless joining of cotton threads, • Splice Scanner, transportable yarns strength tester complete with data processing system and printer • NATI (Neps and Trash Indicator), to measure and classify Neps and Trash content in cotton and polyester raw material • Other testing equipment such as Tenso-Lab strength testers, Twist testers, Autowash colour fastness tester, Count Analysers, Wrap Reels, etc.

It is worth noting that ‘EcoVerde’ offers the same proven level of performance as the industry’s leading non-recycled threads. In March this year, Coats published its first sustainability report, titled ‘Pioneering a sustainable future’. It also launched a new sustainability strategy which set out seven ambitious targets in order to accelerate the company’s progress towards a significantly more sustainable future.

Futuristic digital technology Towards the end of 2019, the company launched Coats Digital. This visionary and futuristic integrated technology business brings together

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all its software solutions under a single brand which describes and aligns with the offering to its customers across the apparel and footwear industries. Coats Digital provides in-depth industry expertise combined with the practical application of the latest technology, including Big Data and AI, delivering market leading software solutions.

The key benefit for Coats’ customers will be its one-stop-shop approach and an unrivalled suite of advanced, progressively integrated solutions, which will also include the new Coats Digital branding. For more details of the Coats Group’s latest innovative n products and services visit: www.coats.com

Plastics & Rubber

Sustainable Solutions Enhancing Performance

Dow Performance Silicones, a unit within Dow’s Consumer Solutions business, builds on seven decades of innovation and proven performance from the heritage Dow Corning silicone technology platform, pursuing the goal of becoming the most customer-centric materials science company in the world.

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T

he company delivers a portfolio of performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of customers and industries around the world—from transportation and lighting to building and construction and chemical manufacturing. Always striving to stay at the forefront, the company has been responding to both current and anticipated market trends, especially the increased interest in environmentally-friendly products.

Ms Nathalie Gerard, EMEA Silicone Elastomer Market Manager, emphasized Dow’s focus upon sustainable solutions: “Sustainability is a key concern for many customers across a range of applications worldwide. In terms of silicon elastomers, this means that customers are looking for higher performing, more resilient and longer lasting products that will create less waste at the end of their life cycle. This concept is nothing new for us at Dow; we have always focused on developing high performing and long-lasting products, and that focus has been further intensified.”

Ms Gerard explained that in response to these customer demands, Dow recently launched two new products that meet sustainability criteria while providing substantial benefits to customers: SILASTIC™ LTC 9400 Series Liquid Silicone Rubbers (LSRs) and SILASTIC™ 3D 3335 Liquid Silicone Rubber.

High-performing materials SILASTIC™ LTC 9400 Series LSRs are low-temperature-curing elastomers that enable increased design freedom and process effi122 Industry Europe

ciency by allowing over-moulding of LSR elastomers onto thermally sensitive substrates and components, such as low-melting-point plastics—an application previously not possible for LSRs. This innovative series will expand through further research and development. “The LSR series currently includes three product choices and a cure acceleration additive. Ongoing product development will provide additional options in hardness and other performance properties, allowing this low-temperature-curing, injection-moulding technology to be used in a wide range of applications,” said Ms Gerard.

Beyond design and application flexibility, customers can also expect to see greater efficiency, processability, robustness and energy savings when incorporating SILASTIC™ LTC 9400 Series LSRs into their specifications.

Plastics & Rubber

The second innovation, SILASTIC™ 3D 3335 Rubber, is a groundbreaking silicone material formulated specifically to combine the performance benefits of silicone rubber with the design and processing advantages of liquid additive manufacturing (LAM) 3D printing.

Benefits of this product include optimised supply chain, elimination of the need for injection-moulding machines and tooling, and faster time to market for new articles in a manner unachievable through conventional technology. It can be used in applications such as fast prototyping, small manufacturing of complex parts, creation of customised parts and/or new designs and even applications where typical LSRs are used.

Committed to innovation

Meeting these demands for sustainability requires much collaboration. Ms Gerard affirmed that Dow has an excellent R&D team that works closely with the commercial and technical departments to make sure new products fully match market needs. This sort of cross-functional collaboration is an important part of Dow’s customer-centric approach.

“As a global leader in innovation and silicon-based technology, we are committed to bringing new solutions to the market that do more for our customers and continue to improve the lives of consumers worldwide. Our efforts are geared towards providing solutions that are innovative, sustainable and—first and foremost—that meet the n customers’ needs. That is the key to success.”

Ms Gerard emphasized the customer-centric basis of these two innovative products: “These two additions to our portfolio respond to the latest trends and customer preferences for sustainable, highly reliable products that reduce waste.” And, as she explained, the requirements for meeting those demands can be different depending on the business sector.

“Sustainability in consumer applications pertains to reusable, longlasting, resilient and reliable products. Alternatively, in the mobility sector, sustainability involves sustaining and improving performance in very harsh conditions, e.g. high temperatures or chemical contact.

The ultimate demand is for products that perform faultlessly and reliably over a longer period of time.”

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A legendary brand With the recent relaunch of its iconic Swiss jacket, Strellson marks a quarter century of the finest fashion in modern menswear.

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Textiles, Home & Personal Care

L

ast year (2018) the Swiss producer of quality menswear, Strellson, launched an anniversary collection to mark 15 years of production of its legendary Swiss Cross coat. This iconic casual jacket was originally developed from old Swiss army blankets and launched as a limited edition in 2003.

The hooded jacket became instantly famous thanks, in part, to headlines in the British press pointing out that it included a Swiss Army-style knife attached by a chain in a pocket. As the sale of knives to minors was illegal in Britain, retailers in the UK were initially forced to withdraw the product.

In fact, the Swiss Cross coat swiftly became a must-have item.

Strellson had started with a limited production of 3,000 pieces but after the company placed an ad in one of Zurich’s main newspapers, the whole lot sold out in a few days. For a while, the company couldn’t even get its hands on enough army blankets to meet demand. As one its designers said at the time, “Somehow we just managed to hit the Zeitgeist.”

Over the years, the shape of the coat has been refined, but the integrated penknife remains part of the design. And the jacket actually led to Strellson’s expansion into two product lines – the brand was split into a sportswear and a business line, each with individual distribution strategies.

Ever since, Strellson’s Premium Line has focused on business suits, while the Sportswear Line continues to revolve around the coat.

Three brands Strellson AG is an international fashion and lifestyle company based in Kreuzlingen, in Switzerland. It is the country’s largest menswear manufacturer, producing mid-range products aimed at men between 25 and 40. Together with the well-known fashion

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brands Windsor and Joop, it is today part of the Swiss-owned Holy Fashion Group. All three brands are managed individually, each with their own distinctive strategy and orientation The Strellson range is characterised by bold and straightforward design that is Innovative and cosmopolitan. The brand stands for premium fashion with a distinctive silhouette for ambitious men.

The aim is to produce both tailored and casual clothing for active and stylish men of today and tomorrow. All Strellson garments are designed in Switzerland.

JOOP! is the premium design brand of German origin with a clear market position and a high degree of recognition. Its comprehensive product portfolio offers a modern lifestyle for men and women who value fashion and design. JOOP! stands for the natural combination of a sense of style and the finest quality – always with the unmistakable signature of the brand: contemporary and effortless.

Windsor, for the Holy Group, is more than just a brand - it stands for not just fine menswear but a whole way of life. Windsor, charac-

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terised from its beginning by elegant English fabrics and styles and now known for the finest Italian wool used in its suits, jackets, blazers and coats, caters to people for whom quality and modernity are core values. The brand has indeed been synonymous with premium fashion for over 100 years.

Reaching new markets Strellson’s European expansion began in 2008 with the opening of a Strellson Sportswear monostore in Berlin, Germany. In the next year more monostores were opened in Graz (Austria), Lille (France) and Moscow (Russia) as well as a number of stores in China.

In 2011 the first flagship store opened in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Further stores were opened in Lyon (F), Toronto (CA), St. Petersburg (RUS) and Poland.

These were followed in 2013 and 2014 by stores in Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Shanghai, Minsk, Hong Kong, Gdansk and Mexico City.

Textiles, Home & Personal Care

In recent years the company has strongly focused on the expansion of its e-business, with the launch of new branded online shops for Strellson, Windsor. and JOOP! In 2015 the HOLY FASHION GROUP strengthened its individual brands through differentiated positioning and organizational focus.

Windsor womenswear and JOOP! womenswear were established at the headquarters in Kreuzlingen while JOOP! moved into the spectacular JOOP! Villa in Hamburg, where the brand’s history began.

2016 saw Strellson entering the US market and the foundation of the Russian subsidiary Strellson Russia OOO. This was followed in 2017 by the establishment of the Canadian subsidiary Strellson North America Ltd. in Toronto.

Welcome to New York Strellson’s Winter 2019 collection is themed around New York, USA. The campaign identifies the city as the place where English attributes merge with the clarity, openness and modernity of New York and the urban lifestyle of the ‘New Generation’. The new lines combine a natural simplicity and authenticity with a rediscovered elegance. New shapes and volumes influence the look and accordingly formal and sporty-looking elements are represented in the styling over a soft, relaxed silhouette. The workmanship and interplay of style and fabric become a central aspect.

The collection also features an outdoor material mix in which nylon and bonding qualities come into play. This material mix combines with the finest finishing and treatments to give the individual styles n and qualities new authenticity for the fabric.

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ADVERTISERSINDEX

Almec Angelico Aratz Aven Axens

104 127 54 112 Inside Back Cover

Intermarc Interroll

43 91

Janus Vaten

43

Bech Packaging

88

Kindlimann

CAAC Pioneer Logistics Cauvin Metals Chimar CMR Group Costa Eugenio

12 97 47 27 94

Linpra

116 41

NLMK

Eastman Chemical Company Ergon

Fresche Bioscience FTS Drytec

65 82

Gekoplast

71

HF Group

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20

Mesdan MP Filtri

OMR Optima Opus Automazione Orbotech

Pentre Plastik Provita Puraglobe

100

Inside Front Cover

120 16

Outside Back Cover

51 79 36 24

107 78 85 42

Reimo R&R-BETH Rubinetterie Ritmonio

30 59 68

Saia-Burgess Controls Salico schlaeger Sensicom Speck Triplex Pumps

100 104 33 74 62