Trending Now

Virginia and Baltimore Companies Unite to Solve Shipping…

New Articles

Toyota Material Handling, Cornell Engineering Announce Partnership on Innovative Forklift Learning Studio

learn
Archives, Global Trade Daily, News, Technology

Toyota Material Handling, Cornell Engineering Announce Partnership on Innovative Forklift Learning Studio

Leave a comment
Partnership Aims to Fundamentally Change the Learning Experience by Connecting Theory and Application

Toyota Material Handling (TMH) and Cornell University’s College of Engineering have announced a unique partnership dedicated to the development of an innovative learning studio that incorporates Toyota equipment to elevate immersive engineering education to an entirely new level.

The Forklift Learning Studio will be built and developed during the summer with a goal of officially launching it to Cornell engineering students at the start of the fall semester in August.

Toyota and faculty from Cornell Engineering’s Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) began discussing this partnership late last year as a way to revolutionize the way engineering students learn by finding a more optimal balance between lecture and lab sessions.

David Erickson, the S.C. Thomas Sze Director of MAE emphasized that their students enjoy theory, but they are motivated by action building and testing, so They respond best to seeing engineering systems first and having the system motivate the theory they learn adding that the educational opportunity Toyota is enabling them to bring to life will fundamentally change the student experience by allowing them to see how each area of engineering connects to a larger system – in this case, a forklift.

Erickson intends for this to be the first of multiple learning studios. Each one will be designed to unify multiple courses and link students across classes and skill levels as they engage in work with real-world applications.

They will each incorporate a fully functional system – like a forklift – so that students can use it to perform experiments and model problems that connect to lessons from other classes. This set of lab redesigns is supported by an Innovative Teaching and Learning Award from Cornell’s Active Learning Initiative.

Toyota proposed that forklifts would be a perfect fit for such a learning studio and offered to donate the equipment and branding work necessary to bring the idea to life. Forklifts encompass all aspects of a mechanical engineering curriculum – they use internal combustion engines (thermofluids), bear weight (structural mechanics), and their use depends on dynamic stability (dynamics and controls).

This innovative learning space will provide students with opportunities to discover new principles and to build bridges – both between their courses and from their coursework to their careers. For the college, this model provides an efficient and effective use of space that allows engaging lab work to be spread evenly through the
curriculum.

In addition to modernizing the way students learn, the mutually beneficial partnership will expose them to new products and industries where they could build successful careers. The forklift industry is an essential part of the nation’s supply chain, and it is coming off a record year in 2021 with 334,000 units sold in North America.

The industry contributes more than $26 billion to the United States’ annual GDP and offers wide-ranging opportunities for engineers – including in automation.

Learn more about Toyota Material Handling, the products they offer, and the industry they represent at ToyotaForklift.com.

About Toyota Material Handling

Toyota Material Handling offers material handling products and solutions, including forklifts, reach trucks, order pickers, pallet jacks, container handlers, automated guided vehicles, and tow tractors, along with aerial work platforms, fleet management services, and advanced automation engineering and design. Toyota’s commitment to quality, reliability and customer satisfaction, the hallmark of the Toyota Production System, extends throughout more than 230 locations across North America.

With access to an industry-leading lineup of material handling products, Toyota dealers are uniquely positioned to help solve wide-ranging challenges in warehousing and distribution. Built for every application, Toyota can provide the most complete set of solutions for material handling, automation, energy, advanced logistics, and warehouse optimization. For more
information or to learn more, visit ToyotaForklift.com.

About the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The engineers at the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) in Cornell University’s College of Engineering understand that the problems of the world will not be solved by doing things the way they have always been done. We know that real innovation comes from the marriage of deep technical
knowledge with creative imagination, and our program nurtures both the mind and the imagination.

MAE is home to Cornell’s undergraduate mechanical engineering degree program, as well as graduate programs in the fields of mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and theoretical and applied mechanics. The more than 500 undergraduate and graduate students in MAE are taught and supported by tenure-track faculty, exceptional lecturers, and technical research and administrative staff members. Together, they are creating a better future. To learn more, visit MAE.Cornell.edu.

Kazakhstan
Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

KAZAKHSTAN PARAMOUNT ENGINEERING (KPE) DELIVERS NEW BATCH OF LOCALLY MANUFACTURED ARMOURED VEHICLES

Leave a comment

Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering (KPE), the joint venture between the global aerospace and technology business, Paramount Group and one of Kazakhstan’s leading defence and engineering companies, Kazpetromash, has announced its latest delivery of Arlan 4×4 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) to the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in accordance with that nation’s State Defence Order.

Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering has for over the past four years delivered several batches of the Arlan APC to the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan, where they have since been in operation.

The Arlan, the winterised variant of Paramount Group’s Marauder, is a mine-resistant armoured platform (MRAP) designed to operate in extreme environments to meet the ever-growing array of mission requirements undertaken by Kazakhstan’s Armed Forces, such as quick reaction force operations, infantry fire support or long-range border patrol.

The vehicle is renowned for its adaptability to the diverse conditions of Kazakhstan and the greater Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), with features including pre-ignition engine heating and a dynamic temperature control system that can carry personnel safely and comfortably in winter conditions (as low as – 50 degrees Celsius) and summer temperatures (up to 50 degrees Celsius).

The Arlan armoured vehicles are all locally manufactured (comprising up to 70% local content) at the 15,000m2 KPE armoured vehicle production facility in Nursultan, one of the largest and most modern armoured vehicle factories in the region. Over two-hundred Kazakhstanis are presently employed by Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering (KPE), providing modern equipment for Kazakhstan’s Special Operations Forces and its Ministry of Defense. The facilities serve as a center for excellence and high-skills employment, with the capacity to produce hundreds of armored vehicles per year.

John Craig, Executive Chairman of Paramount Land Systems, stated that, “The COVID-19 pandemic and particularly, its direct ramifications to global supply chains has underscored the critical impetus behind governments honing their home-grown capabilities and emboldening their defence industrial complexes to remain resilient in the face of often-fluctuating circumstances and their exogenous aftershocks”.

The indigenously produced Arlan can withstand the debris and dissipating energy of explosions, its double-skin spaced armour providing outstanding security (including blast protection of STANAG 4569 Level 3a & 3b, stopping power against a 50kg TNT side blast, protecting against roadside bombs and IEDs, and with 8kg blast protection under the hull) while reaching a speed of up to 120km/hr for a range of 700km.

In addition to the Arlan’s advanced protections and durability, with a kerb weight of 13,500 kg and offering up to a 4,500kg payload, the highly versatile APC can ford at 1.2m and is capable of climbing gradients of 60% and side slopes of 35%.

The interoperable vehicle, accommodating two crew members and up to seven troops, is further equipped with a nuclear, biological and chemical protection system (NBC) which can address the challenges of radiation dust spread, gas and/or biological attacks, along with a mechanical 12,7 mm turret. The Arlan can carry extra fuel tanks, water and additional combat supplies, with optional add-ons including however not limited to a Winterisation Kit and Central Tyre Inflation System (CTIS), alongside various weapon and fire suppression systems.

“In 2022, maintaining security of supply in the defence arena will be a key priority for governments across the globe. Accordingly, the successful delivery of this latest fleet of Arlans to the customer emblemises not only our legacy of delivering highly customised solutions on time and on budget, but also our partners’ pragmatic role in mitigating the impact of global threats. KPE is indeed a strategic cornerstone of Kazakhstan’s technological prowess,” Craig concluded.

____________________________________________________________________

About Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering (KPE)

Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering (KPE) is the joint venture between Paramount Group, the global technology and aerospace company, and Kazakhstan Engineering, the leading defence company in Kazakhstan. KPE is one of the leading defence companies in Kazakhstan and the greater CIS region.

About Paramount Group

Paramount Group is a global technology and aerospace business, a leader in defence and security innovation and is a trusted partner to sovereign governments across the globe.

Paramount specialises in the creation of portable manufacturing facilities through technology and skills transfer, resulting in new local capabilities and sustainable jobs, proven to not only benefit local defence industrial capabilities but economic diversification and growth.

Paramount Group has been responsible for the development and production of a broad range of highly advanced armored and mine protected vehicles that are in operation around the world. The family of APC and combat vehicles which has been developed from clean-sheet design is at the vanguard of armored vehicle technologies. These vehicles have been designed and developed to meet the increasing demand for multi-role, high mobility, and mine hardened platforms, providing a solution to the ever-changing demands of the global battlefield.

Please visit www.paramountgroup.com for more information and follow us on Twitter.

For Press Inquiries:

Nico De Klerk

Nico.DeKlerk@ParamountGroup.com

+27769810939

Sam Amsterdam

SamuelAmsterdam@GMail.com

+1 (202) 910-8349

mexico
Archives, Global Trade Daily, International Trade

Mexico Faces a Slow Economic Recovery After a Steep Recession

Leave a comment

Mexico’s economic performance deteriorated steeply in 2020 which may be largely attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and slow government action to curb disease spread. GDP contracted 8.5%, mainly due to steep declines in consumption and investment.

Atradius economic analysts predict Mexico’s GDP will partially rebound in 2021, increasing by 6.1%. The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated an already weak economic situation. Mexico entered 2020 in a mild recession, due to fiscal tightening and falling investments on the back of rising policy uncertainty.

Government leaders face growing concern over health and economic policies

Due to the severe spread of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic downturn, the handling of the crisis by the government has drawn harsh criticism. Compared to most other countries in the region, Mexico took less stringent measures on a national level to contain the spread of the disease.

Some of the poorest countries in Latin America—including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Venezuela—were among the quickest to respond, most likely in recognition of the extremely limited capacity of their healthcare systems to deal with a protracted public health crisis.

While President López Obrador’s popularity has subsequently dropped, approval rates remain high, at about 60%. This is due to some popular measures taken since his inauguration in December 2018, such as raising the minimum wage, reducing government salaries (including his own) and advancements in several high-profile corruption cases. The president’s party thus remains well-positioned for mid-term elections in June 2021. General disillusionment with traditional parties underpin this expectation.

High crime rates and endemic corruption continue to undermine the business environment and state functions in Mexico. The economic repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic particularly hit workers in the informal sector, who amount to about 60% of the total labor force. Consequently, rising poverty could become a major social and political issue if government action is not taken.

Limited fiscal measures in place to counter the downturn

Mexico’s high vulnerability to the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic stems from its relatively weak healthcare system, the close synchronization of its economy with the U.S. business cycle and its relatively high dependence on the services sector. These factors make Mexico more susceptible to external shocks, especially with the stagnant tourism sector.

The 2021 outlook for most sectors in Mexico ranges from fair to bleak, with particular difficulty ahead for construction, engineering, and steel. The automobile sector, Mexico’s leading source of exports, suffered from a sharp fall in external demand and severe supply chain disruptions over the past year.

To help mitigate these impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, the central bank cut interest rates several times in 2020, to a still relatively high 4% in February 2021, while the probability of further monetary policy easing has declined. Inflation is expected to remain at the upper end of the central bank’s 2%-4% target range, mainly due to higher fuel prices and shortages from supply-side disruptions.

A protracted recovery expected in 2021

Due to meager fiscal support and comparatively high-interest rates, Mexico’s economic recovery is expected to be protracted, and GDP will likely not return to its pre-pandemic level until 2024.

Other issues include persisting economic policy uncertainty, concerns about contract enforcement and rule of law under the current government, which may continue to have a negative impact on business confidence and private investments.

Exports in the manufacturing sector should receive a boost from higher U.S. growth prospects, while an infrastructure plan may contribute to a partial recovery of investment. However, this recovery expectation remains subject to a timely containment of the pandemic, including the speed of the vaccination campaign. The government debt ratio is expected to level off in 2022 despite weaker government finances.

The peso exchange rate against the USD sharply depreciated in March 2020, which may be largely due to high capital outflows and the deterioration of the oil price. However, it appreciated again since May, and by the end of 2020, it had almost recovered its lost ground. While the exchange rate is likely to remain volatile in 2021, it is expected to continue its appreciating trend, supported by a global recovery in manufacturing.

There are glimmers of hope for Mexico’s economic recovery in 2021, aided by accelerating growth in U.S. markets on the back of massive fiscal stimulus and vaccination rollouts globally. As long as Mexico can stay on a path toward growth, a partial economic rebound could be possible in 2021.

_______________________________________________________________________

Greetje Frankena is a deputy chief economist at Atradius based in Amsterdam.

college
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

Best-Paying Cities for Recent College Grads

Leave a comment

As college education costs climb higher, landing a well-paying job after graduation is even more important than ever before. Over half of young adults who attended college incurred some debt, with typical levels of student loans in the range of $20,000 to $25,000 post-graduation. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), median earnings for recent college graduates working full-time is approximately $50,000 per year. However, the number varies widely by city, college major, and occupation, among other factors.

The good news is that while the median wage for recent graduates (adjusted for inflation) has fluctuated over the last several decades, the number hit a new peak last year, climbing by nearly $4,500 from 2019 to 2020. What’s concerning is that the $50,000 annual wage figure for 2020 is from survey data collected in March of last year, so it does not adequately reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. College graduates seeking employment last spring faced the worst job market since the Great Depression, and it remains to be seen how wages will be affected in the coming years.

Attaining a bachelor’s degree boosts earning potential by a large margin—median annual earnings of recent college graduates is about $20,000 more than workers of the same age with only a high school diploma. However, some fields of study pay off much more than others. The highest-paying majors for recent college graduates are computer science and several types of engineering degrees, such as chemical, computer, and electrical. Median earnings for recent graduates within these majors is $70,000 per year, or about 40 percent higher than the typical graduate.

While academic major is one of the strongest predictors of earnings post-graduation, so too is location. Additionally, large differences in cost of living across locations affect how comfortable it is to live on a given wage and how easy it is to pay off loans. At the state level, recent graduates working full-time in North Dakota and Montana have the highest median earnings after adjusting for cost of living, at $53,751 and $51,337, respectively. Despite being one of the lowest-cost states to live in, New Mexico also reports the lowest cost-of-living adjusted median wage for full-time recent graduates, at just $36,224 per year.

To find the best-paying metropolitan areas for recent college graduates, researchers at Self analyzed the latest earnings data from the U.S. Census Bureau and cost of living data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The researchers ranked metro areas according to the cost-of-living adjusted median earnings for full-time working college graduates aged 22 to 27 with a bachelor’s degree only. Researchers also calculated the unadjusted median earnings for recent graduates and the recent college graduate proportion of the population. Only the 50 largest metropolitan areas were included in the analysis.

Here are the best-paying U.S. metros for recent college graduates.

Metro Rank   Median earnings for recent college grads (adjusted)    Median earnings for recent college grads (actual)    Recent college grad proportion of the total population    Cost of living

 
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA     1      $56,827 $72,000 3.3% 26.7% above average
St. Louis, MO-IL     2      $53,274 $48,000 2.1% 9.9% below average
Kansas City, MO-KS     3      $52,802 $49,000 2.3% 7.2% below average
Pittsburgh, PA     4      $52,706 $48,700 2.8% 7.6% below average
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI     5      $52,466 $50,000 2.1% 4.7% below average
Cleveland-Elyria, OH     6      $52,280 $47,000 2.1% 10.1% below average
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA     7      $52,045 $70,000 3.4% 34.5% above average
Columbus, OH     8      $51,856 $47,500 2.7% 8.4% below average
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX     9      $49,407 $50,000 2.3% 1.2% above average
Austin-Round Rock, TX     10      $49,345 $49,000 3.2% 0.7% below average
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX     11      $49,164 $50,000 1.9% 1.7% above average
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA     12      $48,853 $49,000 2.5% 0.3% above average
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI     13      $48,638 $50,000 2.8% 2.8% above average
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI     14      $48,591 $50,000 3.0% 2.9% above average
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN     15      $48,565 $44,000 2.4% 9.4% below average
United States     –      N/A $45,000 2.1% Average

 

For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on Self Financial’s website: https://www.self.inc/blog/best-paying-cities-for-recent-college-grads

development
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Software

Three Tips to Break the Ice between Your Software Development Team and Product Backlog

Leave a comment

Helping agile teams to improve, I often saw one problem, especially with the teams recently migrated from old-school methods, such as RUP. In these teams, product owners are the only team members proactively involved in backlog management. Such a situation contradicts the Scrum ideology and dramatically decreases team performance. However, just a few simple steps would help to break the ice and improve the situation substantially in weeks.

During the last few months, I prepared four separate articles describing how good old requirements management methods may improve your backlog-fu. Now I want to demonstrate how these methods may help to engage your development team into backlog management.

First of all, you don’t want to force them into the backlog. It is against the whole idea of people management in Scrum. Instead, let’s see how you can create an environment where the development team becomes engaged in this job. Or, in other words, let’s facilitate their engagement.

Tip number one. Make sure that your development team can understand the stakeholders.

Developers are skilled in communication with computers, not other people. Do your homework on learning your stakeholders and their language and share this information with the development team. In other words, establish the common language and the frame of reference!

Read more about learning the stakeholders:

https://gehtsoftusa.com/blog/make-sure-your-team-knows-the-client/

Tip number two. Help your development team sympathize with the client.

If you help the development team feel the pain that stakeholders suffer, the boring day-by-day routine will turn into the mission to relieve the pain and solve the problem. This feeling motivates the development team to understand the business values and outcomes and apply their efforts to do the job in the best possible way.

Read more on how to start with the problem analysis:

https://gehtsoftusa.com/blog/backlog-analyze-problems-first/ 

Tip number three. Let the development team apply their knowledge and experience in the areas where they are better than you are.

The requirements are something more than just the “list of stories.” Sure, telling “what the system should do” is your primary responsibility, you are trained to do it, but there are a lot more. All these scary words, such as usability, reliability, and supportability, are as important as functionality is. And your team knows better about these things than you do and often than the customer does. After all, this is their “bread and butter.”

Let the developers understand that their opinion matters. Ask the developers the proper questions. Use URPS from FURPS and development-related attributes from the five-attribute model as a template for your questions.

That would magically turn a scary and odd job of “backlog management” into knowledge sharing and expertise application within clear and well-structured patterns. And I rarely see developers who hesitate to demonstrate their competence in these conditions.

no-code
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Software

How No-code Process Automation is Shaping the Future of Work

Leave a comment

The business world is moving at a dizzying pace, where today’s innovation quickly becomes tomorrow’s norm. To gain a competitive advantage, organizations need to close the gap between business problem identification and deployment of a solution to address it. However, without enough developers on hand, organizations are looking for technology solutions to help transform themselves into a more agile and flexible entity. They are constantly on the lookout for technologies that can bridge the gap between two important employee groups: employees who write code and power users who can’t write code.

In a traditional setup, employees submit requests to an IT queue and then must wait for the results to come back. Often, this wait time is lengthy, with no feedback loop, and backlogs the engineers who perform the tasks. By the time your results are delivered, most requirements have changed and employees are already submitting new requests. A no-code process automation platform can shorten this loop, democratize innovation, and accelerate business growth.

No-code process automation platforms are software programs that require no coding knowledge and empower users with the ability to create enterprise-grade, high-fidelity bespoke applications that automate otherwise manual intensive processes. Such platforms enable organizations to stay proactive, rather than reactive, by bringing far more people with varied skillsets into application development. It speeds up business processes and reduces errors, while freeing employees from mundane and repetitive work. According to Forrester, low/no-code platforms are slated to become a $20 billion industry by 2021.

Enables organizations to tackle challenges with the technical talent shortage

The shortage of technical talent is an issue, and the situation is bound to get even more dire in the future. The demand for engineers from organizations across the industry spectrum has surpassed supply. This has resulted in spikes in compensation, prolonged talent searches, and higher costs to develop business applications and automate business processes. Without enough developers, organizations are looking to technology solutions to help overcome the talent shortage.

While several solutions have emerged, no-code platforms are the most disruptive ones. No-code has replaced the skill dependent, arduous, slow, and inflexible hand-coded application development and process automation methods. It has made it easier for employees without any coding skills to build both simple and complex applications to transform business processes. While these platforms were historically primitive and considered mostly as educational tools, the latest generation of no-code platforms has the potential to change the definition of who can be a software developer.

Allows developers to focus on the bigger picture

While no-code platforms are a viable option to overcome the ongoing talent shortage, they are not meant to replace developers, but rather complement and fast-track the efforts of developers. However, the emergence and rapid popularity of such platforms have caused immense panic, whereby many developers fear that their job will disappear with the adoption of a no-code platform.

The power to create tech solutions has been the role of software developers for years. However, no-code solutions are democratizing the development process, with some industry experts saying that the future of coding is no coding at all. Quite contrary to software developers’ fears, no-code solutions can free up their time to do more of the complex work, rather than the repetitive, mundane tasks.

Compliments well with Edge Computing

Edge computing, which pushes “computational” work as close as possible to the point of data collection, is being heralded as one of the top technology trends in 2021 and beyond. Recent reports suggest that more than 50% of new enterprise IT infrastructure will adopt edge computing as an alternative to massively centralized data centers, for proprietary data or in situations (such as transportation or defense) that need to make real-time decisions and can’t afford the delays caused by multiples trips to the cloud. Additionally, 34% of global manufacturers plan to incorporate IoT technology into their operations and products this year.

No-code platforms sync well with edge computing. No-code apps can easily extract actionable data and business intelligence from connected devices to empower better decision-making, optimize all manner of operations, and explore new opportunities for innovation.

Supplements Remote/Hybrid Working

After 2020’s annus horribilis, 2021 will be a year of returning to normal. However, the transition will be slow and steady. Organizations will need to stay prepared for a prolonged tryst with a remote or hybrid model of work. No-code platforms, which enabled business users across organizations to deliver quality apps quickly during the pandemic, will continue to dominate the business app development landscape. Such platforms will continue to enable business continuity and inspire innovation in the post-pandemic future.

Helps unlock Speed and unleash new levels of productivity

No-code platforms help boost the autonomy of non-development teams within large organizations. Business users can utilize such solutions to fulfill their business application requirements, without inundating IT with mundane and time-consuming tasks. With these capabilities, business users without development skills or expertise in coding can build functional enterprise apps with modern user interfaces that can integrate into core business systems and automate business-critical processes. This alleviates a major burden on the busy IT and development teams, while increasing the overall pace of innovation within an organization. It also enables cost reduction by eliminating the need to hire specialized talent or purchase new enterprise products every time the need arises.

________________________________________________________________

Arindam Ray Chaudhuri, COO at AgreeYa Solutions, has over 25 years of rich industry experience in the technology domain. He has greatly contributed to AgreeYa’s software, solutions and services portfolio, by integrating a global team, defining the technology and business vision of products and services, establishing large scale client engagement and leading time, cost and quality driven value via project governance and solution engineering.

Kinedyne
Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Kinedyne Confirms Prattville Expansion Ready for Operations

Leave a comment

Global cargo control technologies provider, Kinedyne shows no signs of slowing down offering its competitive and consolidated transportation-focused solutions portfolio. The company released information this week confirming the newest Prattville distribution center is fully operational and equipped to support the company’s efforts to improve order processing, lead time and accuracy thanks to advanced technology.

“With over 20 years of experience in operational strategy and global manufacturing, Doug Apelt, vice president – operations, oversees all operational processes in the United States and Canada,” Dan Schlotterbeck, president of Kinedyne LLC, said. “Doug’s operational expertise and leadership of the Prattville team has benefited this expansion initiative and continues to strengthen and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our overall North American operations.”

Kinedyne launched a different approach in operations in 2016 by combining engineering, manufacturing, quality control, supply chain management, customer service and government contract into operations. Boasting several decades and 300 employees in Prattville, the company is also recognized as one of the largest employers for Autauga County. Beyond Prattville, Kinedyne’s footprint spans across a robust network throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, all of which offer the company’s full line of cargo control, capacity and access products.

“This is an exciting opportunity for us to further improve operational integrity through process control and technological advancements,” Doug Apelt, vice president – operations for Kinedyne LLC, said. “Employees and customers will each enjoy the advantages generated by the additional facility, and it positions Kinedyne to successfully manage its customers’ expectations and our own future growth objectives.”

 

Archives, Executive Education, Global Trade Daily

Calling all Engineers! Registration Closing Soon for DesignCon

Leave a comment

The 24th Annual DesignCon Conference, scheduled for January 29-31 at the Santa Clara Convention Center,  is closing its registration soon. The nation’s largest educational conference for chip, board and systems design engineers will feature over 100 sessions from the industry’s top 99 engineers and leaders who carefully review and approve each speaker submission.

“Every year DesignCon puts together an unmatched educational conference that is tailored specifically to the interests of our community of engineers,” said Suzanne Deffree, Brand Director, Intelligent Systems and Design, UBM. “We are excited to provide an event that speaks to the fundamental trends and future innovations across electrical engineering, and features presentations from some of the brightest minds in the industry.”

Additionally, attendees are given the opportunity to earn accreditation from the The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and receiving an official IEEE certificate based on the hours invested during the conference.

This year’s event will feature four primary formats inclusive of:

–Three all-day training boot camps for hardware design engineers with topics covering  the art of signal integrity analysis, machine learning, and artificial intelligence for hardware and electronics design.

–Panel discussions analyzing 112 Gbps package challenges, PCI Express ecosystem planning for 32 GT/s, and optimizing 400-GbE signal intergrity.

–Three-hour tutorial sessions focusing on design and verification for high-speed I/Os and lowering the barrier to entry for electronic and photonic ICs.

–Over 80 Technical Sessions with feature presentations and research on issues such as Using Multiple Huygens Boxes to Detect & Quantify the Coupling Path from Noise Source to Victim.

Amazon Lab 126, AMD, ANSYS, Broadcom, Cadence, Cisco, Google, Huawei, IBM, Intel, Keysight Technologies, Mentor, Molex, Raytheon, Samsung, Samtec, Siemens, Synopsys, TE Connectivity, Tektronix, and Xilinx are some of the leading companies that will share key insights and industry knowledge during the event.

Don’t miss the industry event of the year, register HERE.

Source: Globe Newswire

Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Bechtel Advances Australia LNG Project

Leave a comment

San Francisco, CA – Bechtel has successfully ‘hydro-tested’ two additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks built on Curtis Island in Queensland, Australia.

The tests confirm that the tanks built for the Australia Pacific LNG and Santos GLNG plants are ready to store LNG and follow the successful test of a tank at the Queensland Curtis LNG project earlier this year. Bechtel is the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor for both projects.

Hydro testing takes between two and four weeks to complete. Water is pumped into each of the tanks and held for 24 hours while various tests are carried out.

Once testing is complete, it takes about five days to empty the tanks. Hydro-testing verifies that each tank can hold its design capacity of LNG at -260 degrees Fahrenheit.

Each of the QCLNG and GLNG tanks is capable of holding more than 140,000 cubic meters of LNG with Australia Pacific LNG’s tanks each holding 160,000 cubic meters.

In addition to the work on Curtis Island, Bechtel is the principal downstream contractor for the Chevron-operated Wheatstone Project in Western Australia.

Bechtel also constructed the LNG facility, in Darwin, in 2005 and is responsible for about half the LNG liquefaction capacity under construction.

International engineering giant Bechtel operates through five global business units that specialize in civil infrastructure; power generation, communications, and transmission; mining and metals; oil, gas, and chemicals; and government services.

Since its founding in 1898, Bechtel has worked on more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents. Currently, the company is involved in diverse projects in nearly 40 countries.

08/21/2014

 

Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Jacobs Contracts to Design, Manage Major UK Tower Project

Leave a comment

Pasadena, CA – The Jacobs Engineering Group  will provide design, engineering and project management services for the Brighton i360 project now being built on the Brighton seafront in the UK.

The Brighton i360 is a 540-foot-tall tower with a moving passenger pod that travels up the tower to a height of more than 450 feet, providing 360 degree views of the surrounding countryside.

Jacobs was part of the team that designed and built the London Eye, Europe’s tallest observation wheel and still the UK’s most popular paid-for visitor attraction 14 years after opening on the banks of the River Thames.

Now that same team of architects, engineers and contractors is reunited on the new project, the company said.

Jacobs designed the engineering structure for the project; in effect, a vertical cable car on a large scale. The i360 passenger pod is 59 feet in diameter with a capacity of up to 200 people.

The Brighton i360 is the first of its kind and once completed, will be the tallest visitor observation attraction in the UK outside of London.

California-headquartered Jacobs is one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of technical professional and construction services.

7/16/2014