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EU PUSHES ON WITH TECH INSTITUTE DESPITE CRITICISM
The European Commission will press ahead with plans to create a technology institute to help the EU to compete against the United States and Japan, despite charges it may harm universities and haemorrhage money.
Both critics and supporters of the proposed US-style European Institute of Technology (EIT), agree the European Union lags countries in Asia and North America in research and development, and in turning innovation into commercial profit. The EU executive, which sees creating the institute as a way to catch up,
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EURO BOOST FOR SMALL FIRMS
Small firms will be eligible for ?Ñ1.5m in state start-up aid under a new lighter approval regime to boost investment in research and innovation, the European Commission has said.
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes outlined to EU competitiveness ministers her draft rules on how state aid could be used to promote research and give fledgling firms based on innovative projects the risk capital they need to get going.
Kroes said state aid should not be used to avoid structural reforms of economies.
Helping sm
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WIRELESS IN AUTOMATION TO TAKE OFF
The world market for wireless communications in automation is forecast to grow at an average of 28.1 percent per year over the next five years, according to IMS Research.
Wireless is not widely used within the automation environment at present, but a proliferation of new products is being introduced currently. Senior market analyst John Morse commented, ?¨Of the three market regions covered in the report, Asia-Pacific is projected to grow at a rate higher than either EMEA or the Americas.
This is true for most of the
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SHANGHAI AIR APPROVES
Chinese regional carrier Shanghai Airlines has approved its board had approved an $85m aircraft maintenance venture with Boeing Co. and a local partner.
Boeing will hold 60 percent of the venture, with Shanghai Airlines holding 15 percent and Shanghai Airport Authority taking 25 percent, the carrier said in a statement carried by the Shanghai Securities News.
The business will maintain, refurbish and convert aircraft, sell equipment, and provide technical services.
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E-NEWSPAPERS JUST AROUND THE CORNER.
The newspapers of the future ?± cheap digital screens that can be rolled up and stuffed into a back pocket ?± have been just around the corner for the last three decades. But as early as this year, the future may finally arrive.
Some of the world's top newspapers publishers are planning to introduce a form of electronic newspaper that will allow users to download entire editions from the web on to reflective digital screens said to be easier on the eyes than light-emitting laptop or cellphone displays.
Flexible ver
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UK EXECUTIVES HAVE ?´NO TIME FOR HOLIDAYS??
Desk-bound UK executives in the manufacturing sector are failing to take holidays despite acknowledging the benefits of a break from work, according to research published by the Chartered Management Institute. The survey also reveals a 'swap shop' mentality, with many executives wanting to trade annual leave for other benefits.
The survey found an overwhelming majority in the manufacturing sector are not using their full holiday allowance, while almost half are losing up to two weeks holiday each year because they fai
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DEUTSCHE POST'S DHL TO INVEST IN RUSSIA
Deutsche Post has said that its express and logistics unit DHL would invest $250m in Russia over the next four years as it targets organic growth in the booming petro-economy.
DHL Russia's shipment volumes grew by more than 30 percent in the first quarter of the year, and it is looking for rapid expansion from core clients in the oil and gas industry and auto manufacturing.
"Russia is an important part of our global growth strategy," Deutsche Post CEO Klaus Zumwinkel told reporters in Moscow. "The planned inves
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GERMAN STEELMAKERS SHOW SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT
When chancellor Angela Merkel formed her government last year there were few expectations that it could engineer an economic turnaround.
But we are now seeing a revival of the construction sector, an upturn in manufacturing, and stronger domestic consumption - which does not seem to have been restrained by increases in Euro interest rates.
Steel production and consumption are running higher than in 2005. German steel output was depressed in the early part of this year by a melting shop accident at a plant in Duisburg
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TOP FIRMS SEEK TO PLUG GAPS IN CONTAINER SECURITY
Top firms from Europe, Asia and the US have joined forces to promote new technology to secure global container traffic, cautioning that it remained vulnerable to terrorist threats.
Containers are used to transport an estimated 90 percent of world trade, and experts fear huge casualties and damage to the world economy if terrorists used one to smuggle a bomb into a major seaport.
While much work has gone into securing container traffic, efforts have been held back because the equipment used by the companies and auth
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EU READY TO SWITCH ON BATTERY RULES
This summer the EU will approve a new battery law intended to spare the environment from dangerous metals, but many aspects remain unresolved and some critics say it doesn't go far enough.
The law, a product of years of debate and study, replaces an old battery directive from 1991, to harmonise measures and minimise the negative impact of batteries on the environment.
Some EU countries already collect batteries. In 2002, Belgium collected 59 percent of all portable batteries, Sweden 55 percent, Austria 44 percent,
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Furness and West Cumbria’s West Coast is about to experience a major investment that will strengthen the tourism and industry s ...
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At the pinnacle of its construction, the National Stadium in Beijing had 7,000 workers toiling over the infrastructure. ...
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No smoke without fire
It seems that commentators, industry heads, central bankers and, dare I say it, Industrial Focus’s own journalists have made so ...
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Innovation for the nations
Hope for the future has arisen from the turmoil of the last few months, as industrial technologies have spun out some marvels o ...
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Supposedly the construction
materials of the future, composites are increasingly seen in
applications where optimum efficiency is paramount including
aircraft construction and renewable energy. As two research
examples show in this video, composites really are the future
for efficiency.
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