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21st Indonesia Motor Show presents challenges

JAKARTA, INDONESIA; Each year, the Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) continues to establish itself at an international level. This year, occupying an exhibition area of 75,000 square meters, IIMS took its place as the biggest exhibition not only in Indonesia but in South East Asia. “Major players in the automotive industry are taking IIMS into account as can be seen from the growing number of participants each year, which in turn makes IIMS bigger and better,” said Johnny Darmawan, Chairman of IIMS 2013 Committee. He also added that visitor enthusiasm towards the auto show, with the latest technology of the country’s automotive industry, increases each year. Last year’s IIMS drew more than 368 thousand visitors, while this year the committee targetted 380 thousand visitors to attend the 11-day exhibition in September. IIMS is the place where four-wheel aficionados can meet and mix. IIMS also presents a variety of top-quality programs that engage visitors and pump their adrenaline. It is not surprising that some of IIMS flagship programs are regular features of the show, and have become major attractions for visitors. “We always try to present programs that involve the public in order to reward their loyalty and sense of belonging towards IIMS. IIMS not only belongs to the country’s automotive players, we want it to become a proud symbol of the Indonesian public as well,” said Johnny. Building Commitment Each Year Behind the innovation presented at IIMS each year, one thing remains the same, its consistency to be the vanguard support of green policy. This year was no exception. Carrying the theme “Smart Vehicle Mobility”, IIMS is consistently disseminating the importance of fuel efficiency by introducing transportation systems with efficiency standards that reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Besides introducing fuel-efficient and clean technologies through various automotive products displayed by participants […]

Manufacturing moving at the speed of business

Humans are terrible at gauging speed. Jets never seem to be going 550 mph in the sky and 20 miles per hour in a school zone. Sometimes this seems slower than walking. But, the speed of business in definitely accelerating and the implication of this on manufacturers is telling. Several manufacturer profiles have emerged in recent years. Some still yearn to run their firms in nostalgic, time-tested ways. Some have never snapped back from the 2008 recession and restricted credit days. Some, though, are possessing new forward looking views, processes and technologies that will enable them to match the speed of change in business and eclipse competitors. Look how quickly certain products have been embraced in the consumer world. The Apple iPod went from a simple product announcement to a runaway success in a matter of months. And, just as quickly, some products, like the Sony Walkman, can disappear almost overnight. Change, therefore is not linear and we do our businesses and employers no favours by pretending that it is. For many manufacturers, especially long-lived manufacturers, change has been something to assimilate on their own schedule for decades. If typical, your company possessed a straight line ability to change and adapt that was far in excess of the changes occurring within your business and competitive environment. You probably maintained this ability for decades and it represented a great opportunity for your company. Recently, you may have begun to notice that the industry, your competitors, customers and/or suppliers are changing and demanding changes that are faster than your firm has an ability to manage. This is becoming a growing problem and it won’t get any easier. For example, look at the growth in patent issuances over the last few decades. Patent grants act as a good proxy for understanding the overall growth and innovation within an economy. What’s even […]

Valeo confident of Chinese market

Valeo has officially inaugurated the Valeo Nanjing expansion plant in Yangtze Delta Region, Nanjing, one of China’s major automotive manufacturing bases. This inauguration marks a milestone in Valeo’s strategy of continuous development in Asia and consolidates its position as a global leader in transmission systems. Reducing CO2 emissions and boosting the Group’s presence in Asia and emerging countries are the two pillars of Valeo’s global strategy. The Nanjing plant extension is a further step to accompany the company’s growth in China, alongside their 22 existing plants, four new plants and two other extensions being built this year. On top of current activity for clutches and torque converters, the Nanjing plant will also be the first site in the world for Valeo to produce double-clutch systems. In order to meet the increasing global demand for CO2 emission reduction, auto suppliers are developing advanced transmission technologies. Valeo double clutch system is able to improve energy efficiency during power transmission which leads to better fuel economy. In 2011, Valeo Nanjing was awarded by the Jiangning Environment Bureau ‘Green Company’ certification for its outstanding environmental behavior. It has also been recognized by Shanghai GM for its excellent work in the Green Supply Chain Project. Valeo has received strong support from Nanjing Municipal People’s Government since its establishment. Valeo’s footprint in China can be traced back to 1994. In line with its ‘Becoming Chinese in China’ philosophy, Valeo China has been playing an important role in the local market. Based on its know-how and rich experience, Valeo is gradually improving the production capacity in China. Today it includes 22 sites. In 2012, three new plants were opened (Guangzhou, Wuhu and Huadu). In 2013, three plants are being extended (Foshan, Wuhan and Nanjing) and four other new ones are under construction. Valeo is an independent industrial […]

Alstom inaugurates hydropower industrial site in Tianjin, China

Alstom’s largest hydropower industrial site was inaugurated in Tianjin, China on September 17 in the presence of Patrick Kron, Chairman and CEO of Alstom. With an investment of 100 million on this new facility, Alstom aims to further tap into China’s increasing hydropower needs and grow its hydropower business throughout the region. The inauguration of Tianjin’s new site marks the completion of an upgrade programme, without interruption of the production. It includes an upgrade of the existing hydropower industrial facility and the construction of a new production area as well as a global technology centre (GTC). Today, the Tianjin site is equipped with first class facilities and covers an overall area of 250,000 square meters. It houses approximately 2,000 Alstom employees including over 400 engineers. Alstom supplied recently, from its Tianjin site, four 800 MW class units to China’s Xiangjiaba hydropower plant. The most powerful hydroelectric generating units in the world were delivered in a record time for such large machines – at an average of one unit every two months. Alstom is the only manufacturer who delivered such powerful units already in commercial operation. Thanks to the completion of the Phase II project, the new site has 19 critical heavy machines including two new and state-of-the-art gantries. It will be able to deliver on an annual basis up to 26 turbine and generator units. The new global technology centre will address the research and development needs of the Asian market for all types of hydropower equipment. Its major activities include R&D in mechanics, hydraulics and electrical disciplines for hydropower turbines and generators as well as scale model tests of Francis and Kaplan turbines. The new GTC in Tianjin is part of Alstom’s global R&D network and closely linked with its European teams notably in Grenoble (France). The new workshop […]

New features added to ProNest software

A new software update to Hypertherm’s ProNest CAD/CAM software will make it even easier for companies that fabricate or cut metal to increase the cut quality, productivity, and profitability of their operations. The update is available at no charge to customers with a current ProNest subscription. Current subscribers simply need to log-in to the ProNest online knowledge base, then select the ÒdownloadÓ option. A few of the features found in the new update include: 1. Improvements to the software’s scribe text function so customers can add varied information to parts such as a heat number or customer ID. In addition, the new changes allow customers to easily select the font they would like to use on their parts. 2. Tab enhancements for people who cut with laser. The enhancements include lead out on tabs, the ability set a maximum size for tabbed profiles, and to lock undertravel on start point ÒtabÓ leads. 3. A new Customer Experience Improvement Program. This new program collects information about people are using ProNest in an effort to identify which ProNest features to improve. “Our culture at Hypertherm is to continuously improve,” explains Derek Weston, the product manager for Hypertherm CAM. “The people using ProNest software day in and day out are a great source of ideas and we work hard to listen to our customers and make improvements they will find valuable.” ProNest has been the industry’s leading nesting software for two decades, offering best-in-class performance and reliability with a straight-forward, easy-to-use design. ProNest is also a component of Hypertherm’s Built for Business Integrated Cutting Solutions, providing support for True Hole, True Bevel and Rapid Part technologies. Hypertherm designs and manufactures advanced cutting products for use in a variety of industries such as shipbuilding, manufacturing, and automotive repair. Its product line includes handheld and […]

Vietnam is Asia’s new tech manufacturing hub

It all started in 2010. Intel built its $1 billion chip manufacturing plant in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. Vietnam’s electronic manufacturing dream had arrived. Gone would be the days of textile and food exporting. People were saying hello to a hi-tech Vietnam. But later in 2011 and early 2012, the dream was dwindling, as the economy was shot and there was an environment that didn’ t play well for foreign investors, and that was turning people off. The latter half of 2012 saw a change, with electronics factories popping up everywhere as you can see in the list below (dollar figures indicate amount each company has committed to its Vietnamese factory): * Bujeon Electronics (from South Korea), $10 million, October 2012 * Brother Vietnam (Japan), $25 million, December 2012 * Nidec Seimitsu (Japan), $40 million, July 2012 * SOC Vietnam (Japan), $62.5 million, November 2012 * JBL (USA), $100 million, June 2012 * Terumo BCT (USA, Japan), $94 million, May 2012 * Fuji Xerox (Japan), $120 million, November 2013 * Nokia (Finland), $300 million, early 2013 * Samsung Electronics (South Korea), $2.2 billion by 2020, November 2012 Of course, the most significant newcomers in this list are Samsung and Nokia. Nokia is still the dominant player in the Vietnamese mobile market and Samsung contributes 10 percent of Vietnam’s exports. Besides Nokia, most of these electronics manufacturers are from South Korea and Japan. The main draw for companies from these two countries is the low labour wages. In some cases, Vietnamese workers can be paid as little as one-third of Chinese labour costs. Cheap labour is Vietnam’s new brand. And so armed with this low-cost labour, Vietnam will soon become known for hi-tech manufacturing. Textiles are no longer Vietnam’s biggest export. With small companies like Setech Viet building small consumer […]

Foldable micro electric car

PIC CAP Armadillo-T is a small and light pure-electric car that can fold in half for convenient parking. DAJEON, KOREA: Looking for a parking space for hours at a busy shopping mall or being stuck on roads jammed with cars releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide are all-too-familiar scenes for city dwellers. A group of researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) recently developed a possible solution to such problems: a foldable, compact electric vehicle that can be utilised either as a personal car or part of the public transit system to connect major transportation routes within a city. In-Soo Suh, Associate Professor of the Graduate School for Green Transportation at KAIST and his research team introduced a prototype micro electric car called ‘Armadillo-T,’ whose design is based on a native animal of South America, the armadillo, a placental mammal with a leathery armour shell. The research team imitated the animal’s distinctive protection characteristic of rolling up into a ball when facing with threat from predators. Just as armadillos hide themselves inside the shell, Armadillo-T tucks its rear body away, shrinking its original size of 2.8 meters (110 inches) down to almost half, 1.65 meters (65 inches), when folding. Armadillo-T is a four-wheel-drive, all-electric car with two seats and four in-wheel motors. Since the motors are installed inside the wheels, and the 13.6 kWh capacity of lithium-ion battery pack is housed on the front side, the battery and motors do not have to change their positions when the car folds. This not only optimizes the energy efficiency but also provides stability and ample room to drivers and passengers. Once folded, the small and light (weighs 450 kg) electric vehicle takes up only one-third of a 5-meter parking space, the standard parking size in Korea, allowing three […]

Asian markets uninspired by Bernanke comments

Asia-Pacific equity markets were forced to look inward after testimony from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke that contained no real surprises. A few unexpected words from Mr Bernanke can have markets racing, but in Wednesday’s Capitol Hill testimony the Fed chairman merely reiterated that plans to scale back stimulative measures weren’t tied to a pre-set timetable. US markets were relieved with both stocks and bonds rising, but there was little follow-through in Asia. Crédit Agricole said Mr Bernanke’s comments created a positive backdrop for the region in the absence of other driving factors. Mr Bernanke’s appearance before the House Financial Services Committee was the first of two Congressional outings for the Fed chairman this week, with a repeat performance in front of the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. With no press conference planned for the July Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the testimony from Mr Bernanke will be the Fed’s best communications opportunity for some weeks. Indications of stronger economic growth and job creation in the US economy are paving the way for theFed to throttle back its easy monetary policy. That should eventually allow traders to focus on economic fundamentals, rather than reading the runes of central bank officials. But until the Fed successfully negotiates an exit, markets are likely to remain in thrall to the words of Mr Bernanke. In China and Hong Kong, the Shanghai and Hang Seng indices were 1.1 and 0.1 per cent lower, respectively, after the International Monetary Fund warned that China was “too reliant on investment and credit” and urged swift reforms. Meanwhile, fresh data showed new home prices in China rose in 63 of the 70 cities surveyed in June versus May, which could spur Beijing to implement new measures to cool the property market. Overall, new home prices were up 6.8 […]

CEO confidence in growth down

Only 36% of CEOs worldwide are ‘very confident’ of their company’s growth prospects in the next 12 months, according to PwC’s 16th Annual Global CEO Survey. That’s down from 40% who were ‘very confident’ of short term growth last year and 48% in 2011, but still above the lows of 31% and 21% in 2010 and 2009. Looking at the economy generally, 28% of CEOs say the global economy will decline further in 2013, and only 18% predict economic improvement; 52% say it will stay the same. While the CEOs outlook remains gloomy, the forecast is an improvement on last year when 48% of CEOs predicted the global economy would decline in 2012. CEOs in Western Europe were least confident of short term revenue growth. Faced with ongoing recession, just 22% 0f Western European CEOs said they were very confident of growth, down from 27% last year and 39% in 2011. Confidence in short term growth also declined in North America to 33% (42% in 2012) and in Asia Pacific to 36% (42% in 2012). Even in Africa, seen by many as the next high-growth economy, CEO confidence in company growth slipped to 44%, from 57% last year. Latin American CEOs, however, bucked the trend. Their short term confidence rose to 53% of CEOs, up slightly from last year. At the country level, confidence varied widely: CEOs are most confident in Russia where 66% are very confident of revenue growth in 2013, closely followed by India (63%) and Mexico (62%). They were trailed by countries including Brazil (44%), China (40%), Germany (31%), the US (30%), the UK (22%), Japan (18%), France (13%) and finally Korea, where only 6% of CEOs are very confident of revenue growth in the year ahead. Longer term, overall CEO confidence remained stable; 46% of CEOs […]

Remanufacturing PIC Singapore establishes PIC

Remanufacturing Centre established

The Advanced Remanufacturing & Technology Centre will drive value-added manufacturing activities here through private-public R&D collaborations. SINGAPORE: The establishment has occurred of the Advanced Remanufacturing & Technology Centre (ARTC), the first centre in Asia to look into research and development (R&D) to develop technologies for remanufacturing that can be readily adopted by industry. These technologies will enable companies and businesses to translate end-of-life products into ‘good as new’ ones for the market through a sustainable process, contributing to greater cost and materials savings and, potentially, higher profit margins. Six industry leaders, namely Boeing, Rolls-Royce plc, Siemens Industry Software, ABB, FUCHS Lubricants and Carl Zeiss, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Centre to look into collaborative R&D to bridge technological gaps in remanufacturing for the aerospace, oil & gas, marine, energy, automotive and engineering industries. In doing so, ARTC will tap on A*STARÍs Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology’s (SIMTech) R&D expertise in automation, manufacturing systems and processes, as well as the strong capabilities of local universities such as Nanyang Technological University, to carry out R&D in production-ready technologies in the areas of repair and restoration, surface enhancement and product verification. Eight local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have also joined the Centre to co-develop technologies along with leading multinational corporations (MNCs). By engaging local SMEs and MNCs, ARTC is encouraging leading companies to develop new high value manufacturing activities in Singapore while cultivating the local supply chain in this new growth area. Said Dr Raj Thampuran, Executive Director of the Science and Engineering Research Council, A*STAR, ‘The Advanced Remanufacturing & Technology Centre will help industries realise remanufacturing’s economic and environmental potential through public-private collaborative R&D. Member companies can leverage on our spectrum of relevant capabilities, advanced infrastructure and high quality talent, while at the same time contribute to value-added […]

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