Content about machinery

Rolls-Royce has won a £24 million order to design and equip four offshore service vessels to be built by COSCO (Guangdong) Shipyard in China.

The Rolls-Royce UT 771 CDL vessels will feature a fully integrated equipment system including highly efficient diesel electric propulsion, deck machinery, bulk handling equipment and automation and control systems.

The vessels will be equipped for transporting pipes, equipment and cargo to and from pipe-laying barges, oil drilling and production platforms, as well as for fire fighting.

 British American Tobacco’s Nigerian subsidiary has a near-monopoly, commanding 80 per cent of the market—but this position has not been achieved without hard work and a positive strategy towards health and economic development.

After completing the acquisition of Bucyrus earlier this year, Caterpillar is selling part of the former Bucyrus distribution business to the Industrial Division of Malaysian-based multinational Sime Darby Berhad.

The transaction, valued at approximately $360 million, involves the Sime Darby Industrial Cat dealerships operated by Hastings Deering in Queensland and the Northern Territory of Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia.

Neil Robinson, managing director of WearCheck, talks to Jayne Alverca about the value the company can add to a myriad of operations that rely on oil-lubricated plant and equipment.

For those of you who are blue in the face following yet another conversation about where costs can be reduced, the fact that cost cutting features at the top of discrete manufacturers’ business strategies for the next two years, will come as no surprise.

As concerns about rising costs of raw materials show no signs of abating, and prices continue to be driven down, the only variable left to influence profitability is the manufacturing process itself, so cost reduction must be an ongoing focus.

China will loan nearly $700 million to Zimbabwe in a deal that will provide a major boost to the struggling southern African nation.

The loans awarded by China’s Export-Import Bank include $342 million for agricultural equipment and machinery, $99.5 million for health equipment and supplies, and $144 million for the renovation of Harare’s water and sewerage system.

China also provided $102 million to Zimbabwe’s government and two grants worth $14 million.

Caterpillar Inc. announced today that it plans to open a new manufacturing facility in Thailand to build underground mining machinery.

The company will break ground on the new factory in early 2011, with production scheduled to begin in late 2012. The facility will produce a full range of underground mining articulated trucks and loaders, which are used by Caterpillar customers around the world in hard-rock underground mining applications.

Jane Bordenave talks to David Bickford and Ahmet Uslu of Tüprag Metal Mining Industry and Trade about the largest open pit gold mine in Turkey and the company’s subterranean plans for the future.

Even before terrorists flew hijacked airplanes into the Pentagon building outside Washington, DC on September 11, 2001, Bybee Stone Company had already worked on several projects atthe headquarters of the US military. When efforts to rebuild the Pentagon were put on a fast track, Bybee’s existing relationships and its unique skill set helped it become the cut-limestone supplier for the project.

A journey, not a destination
As part of the renowned Tata Group, Voltas Limited has improvement in its DNA but as its vice president of Business Excellence Prashant Karkare explains to John O’Hanlon, its definition of this word extends far beyond financial results and reaches deep into Indian society at large.
Voltas is a diverse engineering group, publicly quoted and India’s largest exporter of electromechanical projects—recent major examples include the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa, where Voltas installed HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, and Ferrari’s massive new theme park in Dubai where the company won the $330 million contract for the electromechanical work.

An uplifting success
If you want a loyal customer base and a sound reputation, it rarely pays to cut corners. Dan Johansson, area sales director for Swedish forklift manufacturer Svetruck, tells Andrew Pelis about the company’s unwavering dedication to quality.
Materials handling can be an exacting science. In today’s pressurised business environment, nothing can be left to chance, so it pays to invest in quality to achieve operational excellence.