NEWS
5Sealing Technology October 2006
Borderless business practices requiredto drive successTo be successful in today’s flat andfast world, auto suppliers mustrecognize and accept no limits,time zones or market barriers.
This was the theme of a presen-tation by Dr Mohsen Sohi, presi-dent and chief executive officer ofFreudenberg-NOK, in a presenta-tion at a Management BriefingSeminar. To be successful, compa-nies must adopt and adapt to dif-ferent ways of thinking, and beopen to areas that were once con-sidered borders, he says.
In his speech, ‘Beyond herethere be dragons,’ Sohi shared hisview of a rapidly expanding glob-al business perspective. He urgedsuppliers to look past their tradi-tional views, to a new level ofglobal cooperation. As a companythat maintains a strong globalbalance, Freudenberg-NOK hasattempted to develop and main-tain a seamless flow of technolo-gy, while coordinating a level ofsuperior service to customersthroughout the world. He notedthat while some may protest theglobalization of business, it can
help enhance trade and help dis-parities in socioeconomic levelsaround the world.
In the new world of today, mar-kets such as China and India, whichwere previously valued exclusivelyfor their low cost of labor, are nowseen as emerging markets that aresources of demand.
This concept, he explained, takes aworld perspective to economic activi-ty, and will ultimately raise the stan-dard of living. He also suggested thatexecutives need to conduct a betteranalysis of where labor fits as a com-ponent of the product total cost. Asan example, one production facilitywas faced with significant cost issues.The solution was not to move pro-duction overseas, but to adopt leanmanufacturing disciplines andimprove lead time, delivery and, as aresult, customer satisfaction.
Contact:Freudenberg-NOK GP, 47690 EastAnchor Court, Plymouth, MI 48170-2455, USA. Tel: +1 734 451 0020,Fax: +1 734 451 0125, Web:www.freudenberg-nok.com
New distributor preferred in SouthAfricaAbes Technoseal has become thenew preferred distributor forFreudenberg Simrit in SouthAfrica.
Established in 1937, AbesTechnoseal now has 60 employees,including eight specialists who visitcustomers personally to advisethem on product purchases. Thetwo companies have had a partner-ing agreement since 1950. TheElandsfontein-based firm belongs
to the Hudaco Group. Productsare distributed by a network ofmore than 50 branch offices runby Bearings International in theRepublic of South Africa and othersouthern African countries.
Contact:Freudenberg Simrit, D-69465 Weinheim,Germany. Tel: +49 1805 746748,Fax: +49 1803 746748, Email:[email protected], Web: www.simrit.de
Dow makes major China investmentDow is planning to build a majorliquid epoxy resins plant andalso an epichlorohydrin facilityat Zhangjiagang, China.
The 150 000 MTPA world-scaleECH plant, which is expected tostart up in 2010, would be the first touse a new Dow proprietary glycer-ine-to-epichlorohydrin technology.Glycerine is a bio-renewable productgenerated during bio-diesel produc-tion. The use of glycerine as the
primary feedstock in Dow’s ECHmanufacturing represents a majortechnology breakthrough, providingsignificant cost and environmentaladvantages compared with the con-ventional process technologies.
Contact:The Dow Chemical Company, 2030 DowCenter, Midland, MI 48674, USA. Tel: +1989 636 1463, Fax: +1 989 636 1830,Web: www.dow.com
Conference news
Hard chrome alternative team to meet in JanuaryThe next Program Review for theUS Department of Defense(DOD) Hard ChromeAlternatives Team (HCAT) willtake place 23–25 January 2007 inNew Orleans, Louisiana.
The HCAT/JCAT is solicitingpresentations that provide resultson materials and componenttesting on alternatives to hardchrome and cadmium. Suchtechnologies should be close toor ready for implementation in
production. Of particular inter-est are case studies or rig/fieldtesting of alternative coatings oncomponents. Offers of presenta-tions relating to hard chromereplacement should comprise a title and brief summary, sent to Bruce Sartwell [email protected] details of the meeting areavailable on the website.
Web: www.materialoptions.com
Large order for gaskets from US truckand engine manufacturerElringKlinger will manufacturecylinder-head gaskets, as well asthe oil pan and exhaust tract gas-kets, for a newly developed V6diesel engine for the NorthAmerican market.
Deliveries will start at the end of2007, with projected annual sales ofUS$4–5m from 2008. More thanhalf of the worldwide sales for
ElringKlinger are for diesel engine-related products. In 2005, the com-pany achieved sales of �474.6m.
Contact:ElringKlinger AG, Max-Eyth-Strasse 2,D-72581 Dettingen/Erms, Germany.Tel:+49 7123 7240, Fax: +49 7123 724 9006,Email: [email protected],Web: www.elringklinger.de
Call for nanopolymer papers at new international conferenceRapra Technology has recentlyannounced the first interna-tional Nanopolymers Confer-ence, to be held 12–13 June2007 in Germany.
Nanotechnology is alreadymaking a major impact on newproduct introductions through-out the world, in many industrysectors. Many of these new prod-ucts are based on the materialproperty changes that may beachieved by incorporation ofingredients, at the nanoscale,into polymeric systems.
Papers are now being invitedfor submission, and potentialsubject areas include:
• Aspects and impact ofnanopolymers on specificindustry sectors.
• Production challenges.• Property improvements
achievable with nanoscaleingredients.
• Characterization aspects ofincorporating nanoscale ingre-dients into nanopolymers.
• Market data on growth ofnanopolymers.
• New research and develop-ment in the field of nanopoly-mers.
The deadline for offering sum-maries is 22 December 2006.
Contact:Rapra Technology, Shawbury,Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY4 4NR, UK.Tel: +44 1939 250383, Fax: +44 1939252416, Email: [email protected],Web: www.rapra.net
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