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Rick Schrameck, President and CEO of high performance airplane manufacturer Epic Aircraft, announced a new partnership with Indian billionaire Dr. Vijay Mallya. The deal provides Epic the ability to accelerate the process of bringing the company's growing line of aircraft to the certified market, as well as strengthening the company's relationships with customers and vendors worldwide.
"Epic was really looking for a strategic partner, not just an investor," Schrameck explained. "Dr. Mallya now has a significant interest in our company, and we will immediately benefit from his relationships with a variety of companies, including Airbus and Pratt & Whitney."
Dr. Mallya owns and operates India's premiere private carrier Kingfisher Airlines. Ever since its launch, Kingfisher Airlines has redefined the whole experience of flying. His airline was among the first to order the new Airbus A-380 and is one of the pan-European aircraft manufacturer's largest customers. Dr. Mallya is also Chairman of United Breweries Group, a multinational conglomerate of more than sixty companies. His passions include aviation and cars.
Mallya has won races on the professional international car racing circuits. Schrameck, who also has holds records for wins in automobile racing and from the pylons at the Reno Air Races, acknowledges that he and Mallya have a lot of common interests to set the stage for a great working relationship.
Dr. Vijay Mallya commented, "I am very excited about the phenomenal opportunities that Epic has in the industry today and this strategic investment will pave the way for the company to embark on an unprecedented growth trajectory."
"In fact it's a great relationship," Schrameck added. "Vijay has already brought Airbus into the role of consultants for our certification programs." Epic is in the advanced stages of flight testing for the Dynasty, the 1200hp single-engine turboprop.
The company recently unveiled two new Very Light Jets, the twin-engine Elite and the single-engine Victory. The jets will begin their certification process immediately following certification of the Dynasty.
Epic has recently experienced an unprecedented surge in sales, booking more than USD 23 million dollars worth of orders at the Sun 'n Fun fly-in April of this year, then selling another USD 40 million worth of aircraft only 3 months later at AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Source: Epic Aircraft (27-9-07)
August ’07 - Civil aircrafts market
Alcoa and Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) announced they have signed an agreement whereby Alcoa will supply UAC with advanced metallic materials, modern structural concepts and manufacturing technologies for UAC future generation civil aircraft. The agreement, signed at the Moscow International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKC 2008), includes joint technology cooperation on next generation UAC aircraft and is part of UAC's plan to become the third largest civil aircraft manufacturer in the world by the year 2015.
Agreement between UAC and Alcoa in the sphere of technology cooperation for future generation civil aircraft is a significant and important step to further develops their technical and commercial opportunities. The ultimate objective of this cooperation is the implementation of these solutions on UAC modifications of commercially manufactured aircraft for improvement of aircraft characteristics.
Taking reference to UAC and Alcoa specific competencies, capabilities and joint interests, the main UAC-Alcoa technology cooperation objectives will be:
As part of the memorandum of understanding (MOU), Alcoa will open an Aerospace Technology Centre in Russia to develop specific competencies to support integrated product teams through:
The Alcoa Aerospace Technology Centre is expected to begin work in 2008.
The technology cooperation activities will be supported by organizing Integrated Product Teams, which will be created for the major components for the next generation civil aircraft such as wings and fuselage. These teams will develop, evaluate and realize the most promising technical options in concurrent engineering process. Integrated teams will draft joint activities plans before the end of 2007.
Materials included in the supply arrangement - which includes proprietary alloys, heat-treated sheet and plate, hard-alloy extrusions, and forgings -- will be supplied to UAC from Alcoa's Samara and Belaya Kalitva aluminum fabricating plants, which are approximately 1,000 kilometers from Moscow.
As Aleksey Fedorov, UAC President and Chairman of the Executive Board, said, "UAC, through its vast heritage, has extensive capabilities and knowledge in aircraft design and manufacturing. Taking that knowledge and combining it with Alcoa's technical and materials expertise should further strengthen our positions on the global civil aviation market."
Helmut Wieser, Alcoa Executive Vice President and Group President of Global Rolled Products, Hard Alloy Extrusions, Russia and Asia, stated that Alcoa's connection to the customers and ability to supply cutting edge materials and technologies has helped Alcoa become the worldwide leader for the aerospace industry.
"We look forward to serving UAC and utilizing our expertise to help them achieve their growth goals, understanding clearly, that signing of the Memorandum of Understanding is a new and significant step in development of long-term relationships between Alcoa and the Russian aircraft industry on the whole," Wieser said.
JSC UAC was incorporated according to the Decree #140 "On Joint Stock Company United Aircraft Corporation" signed by RF President V. Putin on February 20, 2006. The corporation was incorporated on November 20, 2006. UAC's priorities include design, manufacture, sales, maintenance, upgrades and utilization of civil and military aircraft.
The size of UAC's chartered capital is 96.7 billion rubles. Russian Federation holds 90.1% shares of the corporation. UAC is formed by the following companies: Sukhoi Aviation Holding Company, Irkut Corporation, Ilyushin Finance Corp., Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, Joint Stock Company "Ilyushin Aviation Complex", Nizhny Novgorod Aircraft building plant "Sokol", Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association, JSC Tupolev, Finance Leasing Company.
Alcoa is the world's leading producer and manager of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina facilities, and is active in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa's businesses to customers. In addition to aluminum products and components including flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, Alcoa also markets Alcoa(R) wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, structures and building systems. The company has 122,000 employees in 44 countries and has been named one of the top most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. •
Aeroports de Paris (Pink Sheets:AEOPF) (Paris:ADP) has invested 25 million euros to revamp the international passengers' circuit of South Terminal at Paris-Orly airport.
These upgradings will increase by 10% the terminal handling capacity, which should, eventually, reach 12 million passengers. With 25.5 million passengers in 2006, Paris-Orly airport is the 2nd French airport and the 10th in Europe. The South Terminal handled more than 9.5 million passengers in 2006, including 70% international and French Overseas Department passengers.
"For summer departures, we offer our international passengers departing from South Terminal a series of new developments to make their airport experience easier: a single space regrouping all the departures checks, a very large boarding concourse of 7,000 sqm, a new business lounge. And for arriving passengers, a large baggage delivery area of 5,600 sqm. In a few months we will unveil the new service and duty-free area which will triple the surface ", stated Patrice Hardel, Managing Director Paris-Orly airport.
Thanks to these upgradings, the international area of Orly South Terminal benefits today from 14 security checkpoints regrouped right after passport control.
Thanks to the new organization, 1800 to 2000 passengers per hour can go through security checks, instead of 1500 before.
Once they go through security checks, passengers walk into the largest boarding concourse of Paris-Orly airport, a single area of 7,000 sqm, more spacious and more ergonomic, where, by May 2008, Aeroports de Paris will gradually fit out the area with a number of services and Duty-Free boutiques covering more than 2,200 sqm (against 880 sqm today).
Entirely revamped, the Icare lounge offers access, to business passengers of more than ten airlines, to 67 seats over 260 sqm, in a muffled atmosphere with VIP reception. A work area offers three wifi-equipped computers while flat information screens display flight times.
Arriving passengers will also benefit from a simplified circuit. From now on, passport control will take place on the ground floor.
Travellers can pick up their luggage faster in a new delivery area of 5,600 sqm, twice the size of the previous area. Equipped with two large 80-meter carousels, this area allows jumbo jets passengers to pick up their luggage faster. Information about baggage delivery times is displayed on screens.
All these developments confirm the international position of Paris-Orly airport and reinforce its strengths: proximity to Paris, user-friendliness of airport facilities and reduced distance between the runways and the terminals.
Aeroports de Paris builds, develops and manages airports including Paris-Orly, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Le Bourget. Aeroports de Paris is the 2nd European airport group in terms of airport turnover and the 1st European airport group in terms of cargo and mail. Aeroports de Paris accommodates nearly 460 airlines, mainly the major actors of air transport.
Benefiting from an exceptional geographical location and a major trading area, the group's strategy is to modernize its terminal facilities and to upgrade its quality of service. It also intends to develop its retail and real estate business. In 2006, Aeroports de Paris Group had a turnover of 2,076.8 million euros, and a net result of 152.1 million euros. Aeroports de Paris handled 82.5 million passengers in 2006. •
September ’07 – Ceramic substrates
Corning Incorporated today announced the introduction of the Celcor(R) 600/2 substrate, a next-generation ceramic substrate for light-duty gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles. With its ultrathin walls, the new substrate enables reduced fuel consumption and increased engine power through low exhaust system backpressure.
The Celcor 600/2 product is designed with six hundred cells per square inch and walls that are two mils thin - about the width of a strand of human hair. This cell geometry results in an extremely light-weight ceramic substrate that provides excellent cold-start emission reduction benefits. Corning began manufacturing and supplying the Celcor 600/2 substrate in the third quarter of 2007 for inclusion in 2008 model-year vehicles.
"Corning is pleased to introduce an advanced ceramic substrate that can reduce overall system cost, optimize performance through low back pressure, and offer increased design options for vehicle manufacturers," said Thomas Appelt, vice president and general manager, Automotive Technologies, Corning Incorporated. "We leveraged our expertise in materials, product design and manufacturing to develop an innovative ceramic substrate with improved attributes. We will continue to research, develop and design next-generation substrates that help our customers achieve greater system optimization."
Corning's innovation leadership has enabled the company to continually advance ceramic substrates and diesel particulate filters to meet the most demanding global emissions requirements. Corning substrates and filters are available in a wide variety of lengths, contours, and cell densities, enabling more design options for on-road and non-road engine and vehicle manufacturers.
Corning is a leading supplier of advanced ceramic substrates and diesel particulate filters for all of the world's major manufacturers of gasoline and diesel engines and vehicles. The company invented an economical, high-performance ceramic substrate in the early 1970s that is now the standard for catalytic converters worldwide. In 1978, Corning developed the cellular ceramic particulate filter to remove soot from diesel emissions.
Corning Incorporated is the world leader in specialty glass and ceramics. Drawing on more than 150 years of materials science and process engineering knowledge, Corning creates and makes keystone components that enable high-technology systems for consumer electronics, mobile emissions control, telecommunications and life sciences. Our products include glass substrates for LCD televisions, computer monitors and laptops; ceramic substrates and filters for mobile emission control systems; optical fiber, cable, hardware & equipment for telecommunications networks; optical biosensors for drug discovery; and other advanced optics and specialty glass solutions for a number of industries including semiconductor, aerospace, defense, astronomy and metrology. •
August ’07 – Transport Intelligence report
The contract logistics market in western Europe grew by 6.7% in 2006 to reach EUR 49 billion. This is one of the key findings contained in European Transport and Logistics Markets 2007, the latest report to be published by leading research organisation Transport Intelligence.
Some of the highest rates of growth were in the Nordic region. Finland in particular has benefited from increasing trade with Russia, and is well on the way towards positioning itself as a gateway to the fast growing markets in the East.
Expansion in the more developed markets, however, was slower. In Germany, low domestic demand resulted in below average growth despite buoyant imports and exports. In Spain the drivers of contract logistics market growth were reversed with strong domestic consumption making up for relatively low levels of international trade.
In France the contract logistics sector actually outperformed the overall logistics market as a result of a higher take up of out-sourcing and a demand for higher value add services. The Netherlands benefited from global trade due to its popular location for European Distribution Centres, although domestic demand was weak.
The report also found that there was no evidence to suggest that the UK's strong affinity with the contract logistics sector would end soon. Above average growth was strongly influenced by buoyant international logistics activity, but domestic demand growth was also a factor.
John Manners-Bell, Chief Analyst at Transport Intelligence, commented, 'On the whole, it was another strong year for the contract logistics industry in Europe. Most countries experienced solid growth, with markets at the periphery of the region enjoying the most significant development, albeit from a smaller base.'
European Transport & Logistics Markets provides a 'road map' to a complex market environment. It includes a wide range of data, forecasts and analysis examining all aspects of freight movement--from sea ports, road networks, airports, railways and distribution property. The report studies country logistics markets and includes rankings of the largest companies as well as contract logistics market sizes and forecasts.
Other contents regarding TI reports.
Headquartered in the UK, Transport Intelligence is the world's leading provider of expert research and analysis dedicated to the global logistics industry. •
Cantabria infinita
Cueva de El Soplao • Año Santo Lebaniego • Turismo y gastronomía
Propuestas en Brasil
Cabo Frío: paraíso a 200 km de Río • Niterói: playas, arquitectura y agenda cultural • El camino de Niemeyer: recorrido arquitectónico
Propuestas en Argentina
Ruta Nacional 40: Recorrido de la parte Norte • Recorrido del Centro (Cuyo) • Recorrido de la parte Sur (Patagonia)
Propuestas de turismo
en la Comunidad Valenciana
Ibi, Onil, Foia de Castalla • Belén de Tirisiti - Patrimonio cultural en Alcoi • Los Baños del Almirante (Valencia del s.XIV) • Mundo Naval en el museo Príncipe Felipe • Arte rupestre valenciano (Museo de la Valltorta)
Transporte aéreo
Air Nostrum • Ryanair • Spanair • Vueling
