In July, BizSense covered Steve Haas, a staple at the local farmers markets who forages for wild mushrooms in the woods of Central Virginia. Last time we chatted, Haas was working on a salad dressing product to get on grocers shelves.
"Now that the farmers markets are done with, we're going to focus on getting the dressings to the grocery stores," Haas said.
In November, Haas went to Maui to pick mushrooms, and he's ginning up plans to lead foraging forays on the Hawaiian island for tourists. He's also in discussions with the Cooking Channel to shoot a pilot that follows him on mushroom forays.
In September, we talked to Michael Hild, the head of the Midlothian-based Live Well Financial who spends almost every second of his free time running his other business: Anderson's Neck Oyster Company, based in King and Queen County.
Hild was trying to get the myriad of permits required to sell oysters for human consumption. He was also trying to get permission from various regulators to create floating oyster nurseries called "oysterplexes" crucial to scaling up his business.
Today, Hild's oysters are in restaurants all over town, including the Roosevelt, the Magpie, Mezzanine, 525 at the Berry Burke and Bistro Bobette. And, in December, Hild received approval from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to start building his floating nursery, although he still has a few more hoops to jump through.
Also in September, BizSense told you about Jason Lefton and his laser-etching business, Big Secret, which he had just moved to a storefront in Jackson Ward. Along with the bigger space, Lefton had ordered a much larger laser-engraving tool.
Lefton had his $50,000 laser tool delivered Nov. 30, and business has been blowing up like the Death Star at the end of Return of the Jedi.
"We're booked through January 15," he said. "We've got the holiday rush and some things we are working on for the ad agencies and art directors around town. It's been great."
Lefton said he is still working out the kinks with the new laser – it uses different software than his other, smaller laser – but overall, he's thrilled with the results.
In July, we got to know Valerie Paul, an Ashland native and dog trainer who had just signed a lease on a building off of West Broad Street for her business, Impawsible Pups.
Paul runs her training and dogsitting service out of the location, and business is growing about as fast as she had anticipated. She ran a Living Social deal but is trying to figure out how to turn coupon users into repeat customers.
"Obviously we'd like to be full every night, right from the get-go," she said. "But we are about where I expected to be. I think if we continue to grow at this pace we'll be where we need to be in six months."
It's been about six months since former VCU field hockey coach Kelly McQuade hung up her whistle and launched ZingerFit, a personal training business aimed at women in the Tuckahoe Shopping Center off of Ridge Road in the West End.
She started the business in November out of another gym with two clients, and by the time she opened her location it had grown to 35.
McQuade said the business continues to grow. She now has more than 60 clients, mostly women from the neighborhood.
"I could always use an extra client or two," she said. "But I'm happy with how it's grown. I made a personal commitment that I wasn't going to give myself a raise until I've saved up three months' rent."
2012年12月27日 星期四
2012年12月26日 星期三
The year of the turbine
Plymouth got a little more organized in 2012; it erected its first industrial wind turbine and fielded more requests for solar fields. Plans to build a retail center behind Job Lot in West Plymouth resurfaced, and sand and gravel operations continued.
It was also the year of splitting parcels in half to build one more house, medical office buildings, townhouses and illegal additions.
Plans for a downtown parking garage behind Memorial Hall inched forward. And 2012 closed out with a bang when the owner of Waverly Oaks Golf Club off Long Pond Road filed plans for a subdivision on the course, effectively ending any speculation the property would still be used someday as a movie studio site.
Balboni LLC at Camelot Park erected Plymouth’s first industrial-sized wind turbine. It’s 364 feet high but not close to any residences, so it appeared without much fanfare (pun intended). A small wind turbine was erected at 185 Center Hill Road, but that wasn’t large enough to generate much hot air.
Meanwhile, all but one appeal of Future Wind Generations’ four approved turbines for 810 Head of the Bay Road were settled this year. Associated Wind Developers’ approved wind turbine at 143 Hedges Pond Road is also under appeal and yet to be constructed. Colony Place LLC’s proposal for a wind turbine generated opposition, but its approval was not appealed, probably because the company owns Colony Place and all the buildings therein.
The push back has been hefty, not just from abutters but from legislators like Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, and Rep. Vinny deMacedo, R-Plymouth, who say industrial-sized wind turbines just don’t belong in residential areas. A contradictory state study both acknowledged possible health impacts from these behemoths and denied them. Then a Maine study came right out and said wind turbines can be a health hazard because they can impact sleep.
So, some developers tried a different tack this year, pushing for solar instead. It came as some surprise to residents when they learned that solar farms are allowed uses that don’t require special permits or approvals beyond a sign off on site-plan review. In March, Renewable Energy Development Partners LLC announced plans to construct a three-megawatt solar field on a 17-acre Herring Pond Road parcel. Site plan review on the project was approved and it was given the green light. Then, in May, the Carreau Family Trust, which operates the Ellis Haven Campground, announced its plans for a one-half megawatt solar field off South Meadow Road. The Planning Board voted unanimously to approve the site plan for the project. By August, another solar developer had stepped forward. This time it was Sage Stone proposing a 37-acre solar field off Old Sandwich Road. Planning Board members bemoaned the loss of woodlands to these uses, but there wasn’t much they could do about it.
In other parts of town, 2012 was ushered in with the rise of the medical office building, as these projects sprung up in the Industrial Park next to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, on the Jordan Hospital property and, most recently, at Cordage Park. These plans sounded a more positive note from the town’s planners as the buildings are reasonably attractive and will boost the local economy with additional taxes, require few town services and, possibly, provide some jobs.
Scattered among these projects were several proposals to split a property in half in order to build another home, as Manomet homeowners tried to maximize their land.
And Howland Street weighed in with yet another proposal for townhouses – this time for 22 units in three buildings on land owned by the Stasinos Family Trust, located across from Polar Cat LLC’s property slated to become an 11-unit apartment building. The plans are conceptual at the moment, but Polar Cat’s have been approved.
It was also the year of splitting parcels in half to build one more house, medical office buildings, townhouses and illegal additions.
Plans for a downtown parking garage behind Memorial Hall inched forward. And 2012 closed out with a bang when the owner of Waverly Oaks Golf Club off Long Pond Road filed plans for a subdivision on the course, effectively ending any speculation the property would still be used someday as a movie studio site.
Balboni LLC at Camelot Park erected Plymouth’s first industrial-sized wind turbine. It’s 364 feet high but not close to any residences, so it appeared without much fanfare (pun intended). A small wind turbine was erected at 185 Center Hill Road, but that wasn’t large enough to generate much hot air.
Meanwhile, all but one appeal of Future Wind Generations’ four approved turbines for 810 Head of the Bay Road were settled this year. Associated Wind Developers’ approved wind turbine at 143 Hedges Pond Road is also under appeal and yet to be constructed. Colony Place LLC’s proposal for a wind turbine generated opposition, but its approval was not appealed, probably because the company owns Colony Place and all the buildings therein.
The push back has been hefty, not just from abutters but from legislators like Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, and Rep. Vinny deMacedo, R-Plymouth, who say industrial-sized wind turbines just don’t belong in residential areas. A contradictory state study both acknowledged possible health impacts from these behemoths and denied them. Then a Maine study came right out and said wind turbines can be a health hazard because they can impact sleep.
So, some developers tried a different tack this year, pushing for solar instead. It came as some surprise to residents when they learned that solar farms are allowed uses that don’t require special permits or approvals beyond a sign off on site-plan review. In March, Renewable Energy Development Partners LLC announced plans to construct a three-megawatt solar field on a 17-acre Herring Pond Road parcel. Site plan review on the project was approved and it was given the green light. Then, in May, the Carreau Family Trust, which operates the Ellis Haven Campground, announced its plans for a one-half megawatt solar field off South Meadow Road. The Planning Board voted unanimously to approve the site plan for the project. By August, another solar developer had stepped forward. This time it was Sage Stone proposing a 37-acre solar field off Old Sandwich Road. Planning Board members bemoaned the loss of woodlands to these uses, but there wasn’t much they could do about it.
In other parts of town, 2012 was ushered in with the rise of the medical office building, as these projects sprung up in the Industrial Park next to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, on the Jordan Hospital property and, most recently, at Cordage Park. These plans sounded a more positive note from the town’s planners as the buildings are reasonably attractive and will boost the local economy with additional taxes, require few town services and, possibly, provide some jobs.
Scattered among these projects were several proposals to split a property in half in order to build another home, as Manomet homeowners tried to maximize their land.
And Howland Street weighed in with yet another proposal for townhouses – this time for 22 units in three buildings on land owned by the Stasinos Family Trust, located across from Polar Cat LLC’s property slated to become an 11-unit apartment building. The plans are conceptual at the moment, but Polar Cat’s have been approved.
2012年12月24日 星期一
Grief shared is grief lessened
Something beautiful sprouted from tragedy here in Humboldt, and maybe that’s important to remember this holiday season as our nation reels from the horror of Newtown, Conn. Grief is the immediate focus. But eventually there’s remembrance without such crippling, unrelenting sorrow.
I say this because I met a pair of grieving Iowa mothers who haven’t let the heartbreak of their children’s deaths crush them — in part because they found each other and have clung to each other in their weakest moments.
Renae Dreyer and Candy Robinson probably wouldn’t have become such inseparable business partners and friends if not for the death of Dreyer’s 16-year-old daughter, Brooke, on Aug. 17, 2008, and the death of Robinson’s son, Jordan, also 16, less than a month later on Sept. 7, 2008.
Their children weren’t brutally murdered; these moms can’t imagine their grief and anger compounded by such malicious violence.
But Brooke’s and Jordan’s deaths were similar in that they were sudden. She was killed in a car accident in Humboldt while driving her Pontiac Bonneville.
He collapsed on the lawn of his sister’s home in Spirit Lake and never regained consciousness; autopsy results months later confirmed a rare, deadly infection.
After the death of a young child you end up “searching for your purpose in life,” Dreyer said. “You’re more intuitive to your surroundings — what’s important, what’s not, what your inner voice is saying.” Something as simple as a box of brownie mix can trigger what had been happy memories, and the tears flow.
People say, “Well, you have two other children,” as well-intended consolation, which only infuriates the grieving parents.
Yet despite their similar circumstances in a town of fewer than 5,000 people, Dreyer and Robinson had never met, other than to pass each other in the grocery store aisle.
Dreyer’s husband runs the tire store in town. Robinson owns a title company. Their two children were buried side by side in the local cemetery. But Dreyer was skeptical when a mutual friend suggested that she and Robinson commiserate in neighborly self-therapy.
“Why do we both want to sit around and be pissed off about what happened?” Dreyer wondered. No, these moms are not shrinking violets. They’re spirited women who romp through a full range of emotions. They cry on a daily basis, but also laugh.
Together they combine their hard-won empathy with a refreshing, off-color irreverence as the shopkeepers of Humboldt Engraving & Gifts, a laser-engraving service that crafts a steady stream of memorial items to help remember the dead.
They engrave granite, wood, leather, whatever material — for happy occasions as well as sad. They gabbed and bonded over a couple of beers when they first met and by December 2010 had opened their shop that they refer to as “the biz.”
Robinson talked about how she used to teeter on the verge of an emotional breakdown in a bathroom stall, madly texting Dreyer: “I can’t breathe.”
They burden each other to help bear the grief. Dreyer pointed to a pink ornament that dangled from the small Christmas tree in the middle of the store.
“That’s my daughter’s signature,” she said. The perky cursive handwriting, complete with a doodled heart, was lifted from the last Mother’s Day card that Dreyer received from her daughter. Another red ornament bore Jordan’s signature from a school paper written three days before his death.
I say this because I met a pair of grieving Iowa mothers who haven’t let the heartbreak of their children’s deaths crush them — in part because they found each other and have clung to each other in their weakest moments.
Renae Dreyer and Candy Robinson probably wouldn’t have become such inseparable business partners and friends if not for the death of Dreyer’s 16-year-old daughter, Brooke, on Aug. 17, 2008, and the death of Robinson’s son, Jordan, also 16, less than a month later on Sept. 7, 2008.
Their children weren’t brutally murdered; these moms can’t imagine their grief and anger compounded by such malicious violence.
But Brooke’s and Jordan’s deaths were similar in that they were sudden. She was killed in a car accident in Humboldt while driving her Pontiac Bonneville.
He collapsed on the lawn of his sister’s home in Spirit Lake and never regained consciousness; autopsy results months later confirmed a rare, deadly infection.
After the death of a young child you end up “searching for your purpose in life,” Dreyer said. “You’re more intuitive to your surroundings — what’s important, what’s not, what your inner voice is saying.” Something as simple as a box of brownie mix can trigger what had been happy memories, and the tears flow.
People say, “Well, you have two other children,” as well-intended consolation, which only infuriates the grieving parents.
Yet despite their similar circumstances in a town of fewer than 5,000 people, Dreyer and Robinson had never met, other than to pass each other in the grocery store aisle.
Dreyer’s husband runs the tire store in town. Robinson owns a title company. Their two children were buried side by side in the local cemetery. But Dreyer was skeptical when a mutual friend suggested that she and Robinson commiserate in neighborly self-therapy.
“Why do we both want to sit around and be pissed off about what happened?” Dreyer wondered. No, these moms are not shrinking violets. They’re spirited women who romp through a full range of emotions. They cry on a daily basis, but also laugh.
Together they combine their hard-won empathy with a refreshing, off-color irreverence as the shopkeepers of Humboldt Engraving & Gifts, a laser-engraving service that crafts a steady stream of memorial items to help remember the dead.
They engrave granite, wood, leather, whatever material — for happy occasions as well as sad. They gabbed and bonded over a couple of beers when they first met and by December 2010 had opened their shop that they refer to as “the biz.”
Robinson talked about how she used to teeter on the verge of an emotional breakdown in a bathroom stall, madly texting Dreyer: “I can’t breathe.”
They burden each other to help bear the grief. Dreyer pointed to a pink ornament that dangled from the small Christmas tree in the middle of the store.
“That’s my daughter’s signature,” she said. The perky cursive handwriting, complete with a doodled heart, was lifted from the last Mother’s Day card that Dreyer received from her daughter. Another red ornament bore Jordan’s signature from a school paper written three days before his death.
2012年12月19日 星期三
Rosati-Kain High School girls help “keep out the rain”
Can you imagine getting rained on while in class? This was a daily occurrence for children at Bar-Ogwal school in Nigeria, Africa.
In order to help solve this problem, Rosati-Kain High School, led by the Overseas Mission Club, held a fundraiser. The project netted more than $1,500 to send to the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) to purchase windows for Bar-Ogwal.
The Overseas Mission Club, or OSM, includes about 25 student members. Each fall, the girls review a list of needs from SSND in Africa and choose one on which to focus. The girls then create a theme for their fundraiser and encourage school-wide participation.
“The club’s purpose is to increase knowledge and awareness of needs outside the school, particularly with the financially poor, and raise funds to empower development,” said Dona Zeidler, R-K religion teacher and the club’s faculty advisor.
This year, Bar-Ogwal primary school had a great need for windows. Any surplus funds sent to Bar-Ogwal will address the school’s need for toilets, desks, text books and other essential items.
The OSM Club spent two weeks in November selling clothing that marketed this year’s theme “Buy a Pane, Keep out the Rain.”
The club, founded in 2003, challenges the R-K community with a new fundraising effort each year for the SSND’s schools in Africa.
One past project, “Bunks for Beauties,” raised $3,075 to build a dorm for school girls who were previously sleeping in a building intended for livestock.
The “Fences for Friends” project raised $3,277 to build a fence to prevent goats from eating the clean laundry at a girls' high school.
In yet another year, the “Help a Sister Out” project provided science lab equipment necessary for girls to pass their national exam.
Club President Jasmin Robles ’13 has been a member of the OSM Club since her freshman year.
“This year’s project is important to me because we are benefiting our sister schools in Africa and thinking about the students there that have to huddle in a corner in a storm,” Robles said. “The fact that we could put windows in helped their classroom environment. This is something we take for granted.”
The rule for reporting to work after a school closing was changed to match other agreements: Come to work as soon as possible; if delayed, make up the hours, take vacation, or take unpaid hours.
School-paid health insurance was increased to keep take-home pay intact. A floating holiday was added and the emergency leave policy was changed. Language authorizing lump sum payments was removed.
Custodial, maintenance and laundry employees earn from $14.51 to $21.89 per hour the first year and from $15.69 to $24.08 the fifth year, depending on the position.
Wage rates were adjusted: A step freeze in Year 1, one step granted in Year 2, and increases in the top step were approved. A shift premium of $.55 per hour applies for shifts beginning after noon. A janitor called back after his shift ends is paid double time for at least two hours of work.
An election equipment cost-sharing joint powers agreement with Anoka County was approved. Some grant money is available to help pay the annual fee.
The board also approved an agreement for providing mental health treatment services at a school site, and the student sex non-discrimination policy.
In order to help solve this problem, Rosati-Kain High School, led by the Overseas Mission Club, held a fundraiser. The project netted more than $1,500 to send to the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) to purchase windows for Bar-Ogwal.
The Overseas Mission Club, or OSM, includes about 25 student members. Each fall, the girls review a list of needs from SSND in Africa and choose one on which to focus. The girls then create a theme for their fundraiser and encourage school-wide participation.
“The club’s purpose is to increase knowledge and awareness of needs outside the school, particularly with the financially poor, and raise funds to empower development,” said Dona Zeidler, R-K religion teacher and the club’s faculty advisor.
This year, Bar-Ogwal primary school had a great need for windows. Any surplus funds sent to Bar-Ogwal will address the school’s need for toilets, desks, text books and other essential items.
The OSM Club spent two weeks in November selling clothing that marketed this year’s theme “Buy a Pane, Keep out the Rain.”
The club, founded in 2003, challenges the R-K community with a new fundraising effort each year for the SSND’s schools in Africa.
One past project, “Bunks for Beauties,” raised $3,075 to build a dorm for school girls who were previously sleeping in a building intended for livestock.
The “Fences for Friends” project raised $3,277 to build a fence to prevent goats from eating the clean laundry at a girls' high school.
In yet another year, the “Help a Sister Out” project provided science lab equipment necessary for girls to pass their national exam.
Club President Jasmin Robles ’13 has been a member of the OSM Club since her freshman year.
“This year’s project is important to me because we are benefiting our sister schools in Africa and thinking about the students there that have to huddle in a corner in a storm,” Robles said. “The fact that we could put windows in helped their classroom environment. This is something we take for granted.”
The rule for reporting to work after a school closing was changed to match other agreements: Come to work as soon as possible; if delayed, make up the hours, take vacation, or take unpaid hours.
School-paid health insurance was increased to keep take-home pay intact. A floating holiday was added and the emergency leave policy was changed. Language authorizing lump sum payments was removed.
Custodial, maintenance and laundry employees earn from $14.51 to $21.89 per hour the first year and from $15.69 to $24.08 the fifth year, depending on the position.
Wage rates were adjusted: A step freeze in Year 1, one step granted in Year 2, and increases in the top step were approved. A shift premium of $.55 per hour applies for shifts beginning after noon. A janitor called back after his shift ends is paid double time for at least two hours of work.
An election equipment cost-sharing joint powers agreement with Anoka County was approved. Some grant money is available to help pay the annual fee.
The board also approved an agreement for providing mental health treatment services at a school site, and the student sex non-discrimination policy.
2012年12月18日 星期二
Close up - first view of Siemens 4MW turbine
The machine represents a second upgrade of the initial 3.6MW geared SWT-3.6-107 platform introduced in 2004 and the current 3.6MW SWT-3.6-120 with enlarged rotor of 2009. Around 500 units of these two offshore models have been installed so far, with Siemens reporting a 1200-turbine order backlog.
The prototype has initially been fitted with a 120-metre diameter rotor, which is offered on the standard SWT-3.6-120. In early 2013 it will be refitted with an in-house developed 63-metre B63 blades to give the turbine a 130-metre rotor diameter.
The nacelle and tower structures are essentially upgraded 3.6MW variants, and the B63 blades are manufactured using in-house IntegralBlade technology eliminating shell bonding joints. Siemens retained the proven high-speed drivetrain concept but incorporates a new higher rated gearbox and introduced an optimised induction generator cooling system.
A 302W/m2 specific power rating represents one of the lowest values for current IEC class I offshore products while the specifications make the turbine potentially well suited for medium and high-wind speed onshore sites too. Although, Siemens chief technology officer Henrik Stiesdal said that such additional onshore market appetite for a machine of this size is hard to predict.
After extensive testing the SWT-4.0-130 will go on sale in spring 2013, with some pilot projects planned for onshore application and serial production start in 2015. One large offshore project where the new turbine model might be employed first is the Gemini 600MW project off the Dutch coast.
A key question for many in the wind industry is why Siemens decided for a new 4MW geared turbine, while having developed the more powerful 6MW direct drive platform. In response, Stiesdal admitted that bigger turbines offer obvious benefits especially in terms of saving on foundations and infrastructure costs. But he added "There are many old offshore permits to consider as well and the offshore wind industry suffers from a long planning horizon, posing unfortunate restrictions on turbine specifications and dimensions to be employed. Another practical parallel consideration was our 3.6MW turbine still had considerable structural capacity left and an evaluation showed that upgrading would involve rather moderate design and overall effort."
The new B63 Siemens blade forms part of a new-generation aero-elastically tailored slender blades and were a key enabler in combining improved performance with reduced turbine loading. A third and final reason for the 4MW turbine, Stiesdal stressed, is that 6MW turbine development should not be rushed. He added that the maximum ramp up rate is limited by parallel requirements for demonstration, intermediate product upgrades and optimising.
Speaking about the SWT-4.0-130's technology features, Stiesdal said that each time a new product is developed, a common idea in engineer’s minds is that all further possibilities have been exhausted already. He added: "Such perceptions are based upon extrapolation of current knowledge mirrored towards the future but most-often prove mistaken because some possible future gains are simply unknown.
"Unexpected and in reality non-predictable innovation potential therefore continues to surprise us. For example when we developed the B52 blade for the SWT-3.6-107 back in 2003 it fully stretched our technological capabilities. Today’s B63 blade weighs less despite being 11 metres longer and remarkably without having to use carbon. Also B75 blade mass is below the value we predicted a decade ago when it would have to be made in carbon."
He further explained that the upgrade follows familiar company lines like conducted with previous 1MW => 1.3MW and 2MW => 2.3MW platform upgrades. "We have built substantial record in upgrading machines and the first rule is always to change as little as possible, for fast time to market and limiting risks of failures and reduced platform reliability."
In a final remark, Stiesdal said: "The SWT-4.0-130 offers around 13% yield increase compared to the SWT-3.6-120 at typical 9-10m/s mean wind speed sites offering faster return on investment and superior CoE."
The prototype has initially been fitted with a 120-metre diameter rotor, which is offered on the standard SWT-3.6-120. In early 2013 it will be refitted with an in-house developed 63-metre B63 blades to give the turbine a 130-metre rotor diameter.
The nacelle and tower structures are essentially upgraded 3.6MW variants, and the B63 blades are manufactured using in-house IntegralBlade technology eliminating shell bonding joints. Siemens retained the proven high-speed drivetrain concept but incorporates a new higher rated gearbox and introduced an optimised induction generator cooling system.
A 302W/m2 specific power rating represents one of the lowest values for current IEC class I offshore products while the specifications make the turbine potentially well suited for medium and high-wind speed onshore sites too. Although, Siemens chief technology officer Henrik Stiesdal said that such additional onshore market appetite for a machine of this size is hard to predict.
After extensive testing the SWT-4.0-130 will go on sale in spring 2013, with some pilot projects planned for onshore application and serial production start in 2015. One large offshore project where the new turbine model might be employed first is the Gemini 600MW project off the Dutch coast.
A key question for many in the wind industry is why Siemens decided for a new 4MW geared turbine, while having developed the more powerful 6MW direct drive platform. In response, Stiesdal admitted that bigger turbines offer obvious benefits especially in terms of saving on foundations and infrastructure costs. But he added "There are many old offshore permits to consider as well and the offshore wind industry suffers from a long planning horizon, posing unfortunate restrictions on turbine specifications and dimensions to be employed. Another practical parallel consideration was our 3.6MW turbine still had considerable structural capacity left and an evaluation showed that upgrading would involve rather moderate design and overall effort."
The new B63 Siemens blade forms part of a new-generation aero-elastically tailored slender blades and were a key enabler in combining improved performance with reduced turbine loading. A third and final reason for the 4MW turbine, Stiesdal stressed, is that 6MW turbine development should not be rushed. He added that the maximum ramp up rate is limited by parallel requirements for demonstration, intermediate product upgrades and optimising.
Speaking about the SWT-4.0-130's technology features, Stiesdal said that each time a new product is developed, a common idea in engineer’s minds is that all further possibilities have been exhausted already. He added: "Such perceptions are based upon extrapolation of current knowledge mirrored towards the future but most-often prove mistaken because some possible future gains are simply unknown.
"Unexpected and in reality non-predictable innovation potential therefore continues to surprise us. For example when we developed the B52 blade for the SWT-3.6-107 back in 2003 it fully stretched our technological capabilities. Today’s B63 blade weighs less despite being 11 metres longer and remarkably without having to use carbon. Also B75 blade mass is below the value we predicted a decade ago when it would have to be made in carbon."
He further explained that the upgrade follows familiar company lines like conducted with previous 1MW => 1.3MW and 2MW => 2.3MW platform upgrades. "We have built substantial record in upgrading machines and the first rule is always to change as little as possible, for fast time to market and limiting risks of failures and reduced platform reliability."
In a final remark, Stiesdal said: "The SWT-4.0-130 offers around 13% yield increase compared to the SWT-3.6-120 at typical 9-10m/s mean wind speed sites offering faster return on investment and superior CoE."
2012年12月17日 星期一
MTA2013 Supports Singapore's Position as Asian Hub
Asia's aviation industry has witnessed strong growth in recent years, and is predicted to progress even more in the future. The opening of the Rolls Royce facility in Singapore earlier in February this year is testament to the growing confidence manufacturing veterans have in Asia's capabilities to manufacturing high-quality parts. With the delivery of the first Singapore-made Trent aero engine for Airbus A380 on 28 November 2012, it further seals Singapore's reputation as Asia's Aviation Hub.
In tandem with this industry trend, MTA2013, returning to the exhibition halls at Singapore Expo from 9 to 12 April next year, is geared to impress industry visitors by unveiling of a specialised group of companies housed within the Capabilities Hub.
The Capabilities Hub will showcase a strong cohort of enterprises that serve the precision engineering industry. These companies will demonstrate their aptitudes in the manufacture of high-quality, advanced solutions - all dedicated to meet the emergent needs of Asia's Aerospace, Complex Equipment, Medical Technology and Oil & Gas sectors.
They include A & One Precision Engineering, ACP Metal Finishing, Beyonics Technology, CEI Contract Manufacturing, Frontken, Fujicon Engineering, Hup Fatt Brothers Engineering, Index Precision Industries, JEP Precision Engineering, JCS-Vanetec, Meiban Group, Microcast, NanoTechnology Manufacturing, Onn Wah Precision Machining Racer Technology, ST Kinetics Integrated Engineering, SolidMicron Technologies Tru-Marine, Trek 2000 International, Vigor Precision Engineering and Wah Son Engineering.
A & One, founded in 1992, has established itself as the premier service provider in the precision machinery industry. The company currently serves customers specialising in Data Storage, Semiconductor, Equipment Manufacturing, Medical Technology, Aerospace, Oil and Gas and Telecommunication Industries.
Mr. Leong Weng Kuan, Corporate General Manager and Sales Director of A & One Precision Engineering states, "Singapore's manufacturing economy is geared towards high value-added, low volume and high mix products. The setting up of the Capabilities Hub provides a platform for local companies to showcase the four high-end sectors Singapore is focusing on to the rest of the international brands present at the exhibition."
Also serving the aerospace sector, Onn Wah Precision Machining, is an AS9100 certified precision machining company. The company deals in complex medium-size components in a high-mix, low volume environment, and serves a diverse range of sectors including the Aerospace, Semiconductor, Oil & Gas, Biomedical and Optics. Company's Managing Director Mr. Lam Keng Yew believes that companies need to be niche to be able to compete in the current manufacturing environment.
"Singapore's manufacturing landscape has changed drastically. Due to the higher cost and labour constraints, we can only focus on manufacturing high value components which are either mission-critical, of high complexity or with high IP content. This is in line with the aerospace industry, which not only requires higher complexity parts, but also a complete system to ensure full compliances to defined processes with a traceable documentation," states Mr. Lam.
"Having spent the last few years developing ways to produce complex parts consistently with automated documentation flow that fulfil the aerospace requirements, Onn Wah is well prepared to provide such machining capabilities, and we're glad that MTA2013's Capabilities Hub provides a platform for us to showcase what we can offer."
Adding to MTA2013's luminous exhibitor line-up is well-known Singaporean company JCS Vanetec, which specialises in the manufacturing of 3D Compressor Airfoils, or Vanes, for all sizes of commercial and military aircraft engines. JCS Vanetec's services include the manufacturing of sheet metal components and offer Tool & Die turn-key solutions to the local and international gas turbine industry.
In tandem with this industry trend, MTA2013, returning to the exhibition halls at Singapore Expo from 9 to 12 April next year, is geared to impress industry visitors by unveiling of a specialised group of companies housed within the Capabilities Hub.
The Capabilities Hub will showcase a strong cohort of enterprises that serve the precision engineering industry. These companies will demonstrate their aptitudes in the manufacture of high-quality, advanced solutions - all dedicated to meet the emergent needs of Asia's Aerospace, Complex Equipment, Medical Technology and Oil & Gas sectors.
They include A & One Precision Engineering, ACP Metal Finishing, Beyonics Technology, CEI Contract Manufacturing, Frontken, Fujicon Engineering, Hup Fatt Brothers Engineering, Index Precision Industries, JEP Precision Engineering, JCS-Vanetec, Meiban Group, Microcast, NanoTechnology Manufacturing, Onn Wah Precision Machining Racer Technology, ST Kinetics Integrated Engineering, SolidMicron Technologies Tru-Marine, Trek 2000 International, Vigor Precision Engineering and Wah Son Engineering.
A & One, founded in 1992, has established itself as the premier service provider in the precision machinery industry. The company currently serves customers specialising in Data Storage, Semiconductor, Equipment Manufacturing, Medical Technology, Aerospace, Oil and Gas and Telecommunication Industries.
Mr. Leong Weng Kuan, Corporate General Manager and Sales Director of A & One Precision Engineering states, "Singapore's manufacturing economy is geared towards high value-added, low volume and high mix products. The setting up of the Capabilities Hub provides a platform for local companies to showcase the four high-end sectors Singapore is focusing on to the rest of the international brands present at the exhibition."
Also serving the aerospace sector, Onn Wah Precision Machining, is an AS9100 certified precision machining company. The company deals in complex medium-size components in a high-mix, low volume environment, and serves a diverse range of sectors including the Aerospace, Semiconductor, Oil & Gas, Biomedical and Optics. Company's Managing Director Mr. Lam Keng Yew believes that companies need to be niche to be able to compete in the current manufacturing environment.
"Singapore's manufacturing landscape has changed drastically. Due to the higher cost and labour constraints, we can only focus on manufacturing high value components which are either mission-critical, of high complexity or with high IP content. This is in line with the aerospace industry, which not only requires higher complexity parts, but also a complete system to ensure full compliances to defined processes with a traceable documentation," states Mr. Lam.
"Having spent the last few years developing ways to produce complex parts consistently with automated documentation flow that fulfil the aerospace requirements, Onn Wah is well prepared to provide such machining capabilities, and we're glad that MTA2013's Capabilities Hub provides a platform for us to showcase what we can offer."
Adding to MTA2013's luminous exhibitor line-up is well-known Singaporean company JCS Vanetec, which specialises in the manufacturing of 3D Compressor Airfoils, or Vanes, for all sizes of commercial and military aircraft engines. JCS Vanetec's services include the manufacturing of sheet metal components and offer Tool & Die turn-key solutions to the local and international gas turbine industry.
Don't Be Fooled by the Corporate Hype
If you replace all that notorious “foreign oil” with coal you lose. Coal releases the most carbon dioxide, sulfur compounds, mercury, and even radiation of all fossil fuels, all of which kill our own people, wildlife, water and land, and send acid rain into Canada as well.
Replace it with tar sands (think Alberta, Keystone XL pipeline) you lose. Whole landscapes are pillaged to get it, and each barrel of oil produced uses several barrels of fresh water, which itself is a threatened resource.
Try oil shale you lose. Landscape depredation, acid runoff, mercury, arsenic- ick.
Turn it around and export our coal you lose, ‘cuz all that garbage we ship to them returns home to haunt us.
And don’t fool yourself that any of these alternatives will be cheap. The ersatz oil is much more expensive than "light sweet crude" straight from the ground. All versions of it take massive processing even to get to a pipeline. The only reason we’re talking about it now is the price of conventional oil is now consistently high enough the oil companies will bother to invest in it. Coal is cheaper to buy, but much more expensive to clean up.
So if you look only at short term geopolitics any option seems okay, but that’s just it. It’s not. If your Plan B hurts you and yours why would you do it? Focus instead on solar, wind, tide, biofuels and other potential renewable sources and it’s all different.
All the equations change when your Energy Independence is also your Response To Climate Change, because no matter what, it’s coming. On November 24, the New York Times ran an article summarizing a NOAA/USGS report on what different levels of sea level rise would do to a number of US cities, including Seattle (you can see Shoreline - goodbye, Point Wells) and Tacoma.
This is something we, ourselves, can be dealing with. All of us could put up a solar system or a wind generator on our own homes. We have significant tidal flow just off our shore. We could tap all of these options, and we should. I don’t really think we’ll see any advantage to severing our water system from Seattle City Light, but setting up our own electric utility?
That may work beautifully. All that large-scale stuff is fine, but take a look at what the small-scale approach brings to us: resilience.
The more of our own energy we generate here the more we can weather whatever Mother Nature dumps on us. Instead of relying only on hydroelectric dams in the mountains and their huge high-tension lines we could make our own and add it into the grid so when the storms next take out the system we’ll have a backup.
If it’s below freezing and your power is out maybe your neighbor will be generating and will be able to keep you and yours going. Maybe next time you’ll return the favor. Have you ever tripped and fallen? Of course. Everyone has. Have you ever seen a centipede trip itself? No. Can’t be done. It has dozens of legs, all compensating for what happens to the rest. It is inherently stable and resilient.
That’s how we need to structure our electric grid. It’s that new Smart Grid all the cool people are talking about. It's NOT about 'going off the grid' it's about being more completely integrated into the grid- a producer and a consumer!
What we are trying to avoid is a Malthusian world. Thomas Robert Malthus was the first thinker to point out that as population rises it puts greater and greater strains on the food supply and eventually will take care of itself by starvation and disease.
An ugly thought, to be sure, and we’ve so far avoided the worst of the consequences here, but it’s laughable to think we can outrun the Horsemen forever if we don’t repent our rapacious ways. And it’s not like this is all a matter of mere inertia.
Replace it with tar sands (think Alberta, Keystone XL pipeline) you lose. Whole landscapes are pillaged to get it, and each barrel of oil produced uses several barrels of fresh water, which itself is a threatened resource.
Try oil shale you lose. Landscape depredation, acid runoff, mercury, arsenic- ick.
Turn it around and export our coal you lose, ‘cuz all that garbage we ship to them returns home to haunt us.
And don’t fool yourself that any of these alternatives will be cheap. The ersatz oil is much more expensive than "light sweet crude" straight from the ground. All versions of it take massive processing even to get to a pipeline. The only reason we’re talking about it now is the price of conventional oil is now consistently high enough the oil companies will bother to invest in it. Coal is cheaper to buy, but much more expensive to clean up.
So if you look only at short term geopolitics any option seems okay, but that’s just it. It’s not. If your Plan B hurts you and yours why would you do it? Focus instead on solar, wind, tide, biofuels and other potential renewable sources and it’s all different.
All the equations change when your Energy Independence is also your Response To Climate Change, because no matter what, it’s coming. On November 24, the New York Times ran an article summarizing a NOAA/USGS report on what different levels of sea level rise would do to a number of US cities, including Seattle (you can see Shoreline - goodbye, Point Wells) and Tacoma.
This is something we, ourselves, can be dealing with. All of us could put up a solar system or a wind generator on our own homes. We have significant tidal flow just off our shore. We could tap all of these options, and we should. I don’t really think we’ll see any advantage to severing our water system from Seattle City Light, but setting up our own electric utility?
That may work beautifully. All that large-scale stuff is fine, but take a look at what the small-scale approach brings to us: resilience.
The more of our own energy we generate here the more we can weather whatever Mother Nature dumps on us. Instead of relying only on hydroelectric dams in the mountains and their huge high-tension lines we could make our own and add it into the grid so when the storms next take out the system we’ll have a backup.
If it’s below freezing and your power is out maybe your neighbor will be generating and will be able to keep you and yours going. Maybe next time you’ll return the favor. Have you ever tripped and fallen? Of course. Everyone has. Have you ever seen a centipede trip itself? No. Can’t be done. It has dozens of legs, all compensating for what happens to the rest. It is inherently stable and resilient.
That’s how we need to structure our electric grid. It’s that new Smart Grid all the cool people are talking about. It's NOT about 'going off the grid' it's about being more completely integrated into the grid- a producer and a consumer!
What we are trying to avoid is a Malthusian world. Thomas Robert Malthus was the first thinker to point out that as population rises it puts greater and greater strains on the food supply and eventually will take care of itself by starvation and disease.
An ugly thought, to be sure, and we’ve so far avoided the worst of the consequences here, but it’s laughable to think we can outrun the Horsemen forever if we don’t repent our rapacious ways. And it’s not like this is all a matter of mere inertia.
2012年12月12日 星期三
Europe's Energy Transformation
When residents of the small city of Freiburg, Germany, go to school or work in the morning, they pass dozens of solar installations. There are solar panels on homes, on churches, on the facade of the main train station, on the soccer stadium, throughout a "solar housing development" and a "solar business park" and on the roofs of schools. All told, Freiburg's solar photovoltaic (PV) installations produce enough electricity to meet the needs of tens of thousands of homes.
Additionally, five large wind turbines are situated on hilltops within the city's boundaries and contribute to the town's energy supply. Small hydroelectric plants sit on the river, as well as combined heat and power plants and biomass plants that burn biogas and rapeseed oil, along with other facilities that burn wood chips and pellets.
Freiburg is known as a "Green City," but it is not atypical for the region or the nation. In May 2012, solar PV supplied 10 percent of Germany's electricity. During the first nine months of 2012, Germany produced enough electricity from renewable energy sources including wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectric plants to supply 26 percent of its demand.
This capacity has been growing rapidly from year to year, and renewables already represent roughly double the share of Germany's electricity production as compared to the United States.
A high percentage of renewable energy production is not unique to Germany. Spain has been averaging 30-31 percent renewable electricity in recent months, and Italy reached 24 percent renewables in its electricity production over the first 10 months of 2012. The Czech Republic also has installed enough solar to achieve nearly the same per-capita amount of solar electric generating capacity as Germany. In many other European nations, renewable energy capacities continue to grow rapidly.
In Germany, the shift toward renewable energy is called the Energiewende, roughly translated as the energy transformation. It includes not only a transition away from fossil fuels, but also away from nuclear power, particularly after the Fukushima Disaster of March 2011.
Few Americans know that this process is happening. And among those who do are those who would like to delay it happening here as long as possible.
The experiences of Europe have never been more relevant to our circumstances in the United States than now. Following Hurricane Sandy - the second most devastating storm to hit New York and the Northeast in as many years - the issue of global warming and climate change has taken on a new urgency. With the re-election of President Barack Obama, many environmentalists see the potential for national political action.
You would think that at this moment both activists and policymakers in the United States would be clamoring to follow Germany's lead. They aren't.
There are multiple probable explanations for why this is not happening. Regulatory barriers exist to establishing German-style policies here, but a larger problem is the ongoing political deadlock in Washington. This has narrowed our ideas of what is possible and reinforced an American exceptionalism, where we don't look to successful solutions from other nations.
Another central problem is that the US media has done a poor job of telling the story of the energy transformation, and misinformation abounds. While much of this confusion can be traced to the fossil fuel industries and right-wing think tanks, there is plenty of blame to spread around for the distortion.
Additionally, five large wind turbines are situated on hilltops within the city's boundaries and contribute to the town's energy supply. Small hydroelectric plants sit on the river, as well as combined heat and power plants and biomass plants that burn biogas and rapeseed oil, along with other facilities that burn wood chips and pellets.
Freiburg is known as a "Green City," but it is not atypical for the region or the nation. In May 2012, solar PV supplied 10 percent of Germany's electricity. During the first nine months of 2012, Germany produced enough electricity from renewable energy sources including wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectric plants to supply 26 percent of its demand.
This capacity has been growing rapidly from year to year, and renewables already represent roughly double the share of Germany's electricity production as compared to the United States.
A high percentage of renewable energy production is not unique to Germany. Spain has been averaging 30-31 percent renewable electricity in recent months, and Italy reached 24 percent renewables in its electricity production over the first 10 months of 2012. The Czech Republic also has installed enough solar to achieve nearly the same per-capita amount of solar electric generating capacity as Germany. In many other European nations, renewable energy capacities continue to grow rapidly.
In Germany, the shift toward renewable energy is called the Energiewende, roughly translated as the energy transformation. It includes not only a transition away from fossil fuels, but also away from nuclear power, particularly after the Fukushima Disaster of March 2011.
Few Americans know that this process is happening. And among those who do are those who would like to delay it happening here as long as possible.
The experiences of Europe have never been more relevant to our circumstances in the United States than now. Following Hurricane Sandy - the second most devastating storm to hit New York and the Northeast in as many years - the issue of global warming and climate change has taken on a new urgency. With the re-election of President Barack Obama, many environmentalists see the potential for national political action.
You would think that at this moment both activists and policymakers in the United States would be clamoring to follow Germany's lead. They aren't.
There are multiple probable explanations for why this is not happening. Regulatory barriers exist to establishing German-style policies here, but a larger problem is the ongoing political deadlock in Washington. This has narrowed our ideas of what is possible and reinforced an American exceptionalism, where we don't look to successful solutions from other nations.
Another central problem is that the US media has done a poor job of telling the story of the energy transformation, and misinformation abounds. While much of this confusion can be traced to the fossil fuel industries and right-wing think tanks, there is plenty of blame to spread around for the distortion.
2012年12月11日 星期二
Canon imageClass MF4890dw
The first thing to make clear about the 225 Canon imageClass MF4890dw mono laser MFP is that it’s essentially identical to the imageClass MF4880dw, except for one major addition. This model has an automatic document feeder (ADF) that can duplex, meaning it can turn pages over to scan both sides. For anyone who has to deal with scanning, copying, or faxing duplex documents, this can save loads of time. Canon only produces the MF4880dw in the US, however, so for UK customers, the MF4890dw is your only choice (as shipping from the States will mean the lesser MF4880dw costs more, anyway).
The duplexing ADF also offers a somewhat higher paper capacity than the MF4880dw's ADF, at 50 sheets rather than 35. The MF4890dw is a good choice for either sharing on a network in a micro or small office, or for use as a heavy-duty personal printer. It allows you to connect to either a wired or Wi-Fi network, but limits its Wi-Fi capability to infrastructure mode only, which means you can only connect to a network with an access point.
Basic MFP features include the ability to print and fax from as well as scan to a PC, including over a network, plus the ability to work as a standalone copier and fax machine. When it comes to printing, paper handling is suitable for most small offices with light to medium-duty print needs, with one 250-sheet tray, a manual feed, and an automatic print duplexer.
Very much worth mentioning is the fact that the combination of a duplexing ADF and duplexing printer lets you copy both single and double-sided originals to your choice of single or double-sided copies.
Setting up the MF4890dw is typical for a small office mono laser MFP. Given its size, at roughly 390 x 430 x 360mm (WxDxH), you probably won't want the printer sitting on your desk, but you should be able to find room for it even in a small office without too much trouble. For my tests I connected it to a network using the Ethernet port and installed the drivers on a Windows Vista system.
The default setting for the MF4890dw driver is for duplex printing, which is the setting I used for our official tests. However, there's a significant difference between Canon's ratings for the printer in duplex and simplex (one-sided) modes, at 16 pages per minute (ppm) for duplex and 26 ppm for simplex, so I tested both.
The rated speeds should be close to what you'll see when printing a text file with little formatting. On our tests, I timed the printer (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing) at 9.6 ppm in duplex mode and 12.2 ppm in simplex mode. Not surprisingly, both modes were essentially tied with the performance of the MF4880dw.
A better indication of the speed relative to the competition, however, is that even in duplex mode, the MF4890dw was essentially tied with the slightly more expensive OKI MB451w, even though the MB451w was set for simplex mode as the default setting.
Output quality for the MF4890dw is more than acceptable for most business uses, with text at the high end of the range that includes most mono laser MFPs. Both graphics and photo output are at the low end of the equivalent, but much tighter, ranges for graphics and photo quality.
For text, that translates to the output being suitable by most people's standards for any business use short of high quality desktop publishing. Graphics output is a step down from that level, suitable for any internal business needs, but only potentially good enough for PowerPoint hand-outs or the like, depending on how demanding an eye you have.
The duplexing ADF also offers a somewhat higher paper capacity than the MF4880dw's ADF, at 50 sheets rather than 35. The MF4890dw is a good choice for either sharing on a network in a micro or small office, or for use as a heavy-duty personal printer. It allows you to connect to either a wired or Wi-Fi network, but limits its Wi-Fi capability to infrastructure mode only, which means you can only connect to a network with an access point.
Basic MFP features include the ability to print and fax from as well as scan to a PC, including over a network, plus the ability to work as a standalone copier and fax machine. When it comes to printing, paper handling is suitable for most small offices with light to medium-duty print needs, with one 250-sheet tray, a manual feed, and an automatic print duplexer.
Very much worth mentioning is the fact that the combination of a duplexing ADF and duplexing printer lets you copy both single and double-sided originals to your choice of single or double-sided copies.
Setting up the MF4890dw is typical for a small office mono laser MFP. Given its size, at roughly 390 x 430 x 360mm (WxDxH), you probably won't want the printer sitting on your desk, but you should be able to find room for it even in a small office without too much trouble. For my tests I connected it to a network using the Ethernet port and installed the drivers on a Windows Vista system.
The default setting for the MF4890dw driver is for duplex printing, which is the setting I used for our official tests. However, there's a significant difference between Canon's ratings for the printer in duplex and simplex (one-sided) modes, at 16 pages per minute (ppm) for duplex and 26 ppm for simplex, so I tested both.
The rated speeds should be close to what you'll see when printing a text file with little formatting. On our tests, I timed the printer (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing) at 9.6 ppm in duplex mode and 12.2 ppm in simplex mode. Not surprisingly, both modes were essentially tied with the performance of the MF4880dw.
A better indication of the speed relative to the competition, however, is that even in duplex mode, the MF4890dw was essentially tied with the slightly more expensive OKI MB451w, even though the MB451w was set for simplex mode as the default setting.
Output quality for the MF4890dw is more than acceptable for most business uses, with text at the high end of the range that includes most mono laser MFPs. Both graphics and photo output are at the low end of the equivalent, but much tighter, ranges for graphics and photo quality.
For text, that translates to the output being suitable by most people's standards for any business use short of high quality desktop publishing. Graphics output is a step down from that level, suitable for any internal business needs, but only potentially good enough for PowerPoint hand-outs or the like, depending on how demanding an eye you have.
2012年12月9日 星期日
Military industry
The output of machine tools in China is increasing fast in both value and the number of units and the growth in numerical-control machine tools is even greater, indicating huge market potential.
According to a recent report by the German Engineering Federation, the market share of boring milling machines currently in China is only 10 percent but the percentage internationally is 24 percent.
The share of machine centers in the world market is 22 percent and that of grinding machines in the market is 17 percent, roughly 10 percent higher than those in China.
While trade undercurrents have been frosty, German manufacturers have more than enough reason to rejoice as they enter a new sector that has not been well tapped in the past: China's military industry.
The 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) outlined the introduction of deepening industrial reforms aimed at boosting indigenous capabilities and propelling State-owned defense companies onto the global stage.
Against lackluster global demand, China's military industry has in contrast proved to be a "stable growth area" for the German manufacturers, said Hermann Hirsch, managing director of sales and marketing at Metabo-werke GmbH, a manufacturer of power tools and abrasives.
Metabo makes electric tools that are widely applied in metal processing and architecture decoration. But the company is poised to ride the military modernization boom as China wants to be more prominent on the global stage.
"We have participated in this kind of 'official bidding' in the past but now we are a lot more focused on this area because we see more possibilities in the future," Hirsch said.
He revealed that Metabo completed a project on ship maintenance in China by mid-2012 and is now in the final negotiation process with military factories of the Chinese navy.
Metabo's small angle grinders and big hammers will have big opportunities to be the selected tools in the future and it also has a good chance of selling impact drills and sanders to the Chinese military factories, he said.
Furthermore, Metabo made successful bids for two electricity generating sites in Zhejiang province in East China and Liaoning province in Northeast China, where rotary hammers, cordless drills and magnetic core drills are the main products.
According to Leibinger from Trumpf, shipbuilding is a niche market in which it has cooperated. But the Chinese presence is not yet strong because the country's yards still need to move up the value chain by focusing on high quality.
There is a more imminent market for aircraft making, which pushes up demand for engine components built using laser welding, he said.
After listing aerospace as a symbol and target of China's "high-value" ambition, the government pledged 1.5 trillion yuan to develop the industry.
Two years ago, Emag started developing a tailor-made machine for blisk manufacturing, a key component used in the turbines of aircrafts, said Kollmar.
In April, it handed over the first such product to the Aviation Industry Corp of China, China's leading aircraft manufacturer, a subsidiary of which is in charge of making the country's first indigenous plane.
"We definitely see growth and potential for turbine manufacturing, as needs will continue to expand. The biggest demand is in Asia and, of course, China," he said.
The turnover of this business sector has doubled every year since its establishment in 2010. Kollmar expected it to form at least 20 percent of its overall revenue in the coming few years.
Hammerl from Index agreed. He forecast the industry in China will enjoy explosive development in the next five years, with demand for making indigenous spare parts continually soaring.
"China is just at the infancy stage. We see great opportunities but systematic training on the basic know-hows of those machines is critical," he said.
According to a recent report by the German Engineering Federation, the market share of boring milling machines currently in China is only 10 percent but the percentage internationally is 24 percent.
The share of machine centers in the world market is 22 percent and that of grinding machines in the market is 17 percent, roughly 10 percent higher than those in China.
While trade undercurrents have been frosty, German manufacturers have more than enough reason to rejoice as they enter a new sector that has not been well tapped in the past: China's military industry.
The 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) outlined the introduction of deepening industrial reforms aimed at boosting indigenous capabilities and propelling State-owned defense companies onto the global stage.
Against lackluster global demand, China's military industry has in contrast proved to be a "stable growth area" for the German manufacturers, said Hermann Hirsch, managing director of sales and marketing at Metabo-werke GmbH, a manufacturer of power tools and abrasives.
Metabo makes electric tools that are widely applied in metal processing and architecture decoration. But the company is poised to ride the military modernization boom as China wants to be more prominent on the global stage.
"We have participated in this kind of 'official bidding' in the past but now we are a lot more focused on this area because we see more possibilities in the future," Hirsch said.
He revealed that Metabo completed a project on ship maintenance in China by mid-2012 and is now in the final negotiation process with military factories of the Chinese navy.
Metabo's small angle grinders and big hammers will have big opportunities to be the selected tools in the future and it also has a good chance of selling impact drills and sanders to the Chinese military factories, he said.
Furthermore, Metabo made successful bids for two electricity generating sites in Zhejiang province in East China and Liaoning province in Northeast China, where rotary hammers, cordless drills and magnetic core drills are the main products.
According to Leibinger from Trumpf, shipbuilding is a niche market in which it has cooperated. But the Chinese presence is not yet strong because the country's yards still need to move up the value chain by focusing on high quality.
There is a more imminent market for aircraft making, which pushes up demand for engine components built using laser welding, he said.
After listing aerospace as a symbol and target of China's "high-value" ambition, the government pledged 1.5 trillion yuan to develop the industry.
Two years ago, Emag started developing a tailor-made machine for blisk manufacturing, a key component used in the turbines of aircrafts, said Kollmar.
In April, it handed over the first such product to the Aviation Industry Corp of China, China's leading aircraft manufacturer, a subsidiary of which is in charge of making the country's first indigenous plane.
"We definitely see growth and potential for turbine manufacturing, as needs will continue to expand. The biggest demand is in Asia and, of course, China," he said.
The turnover of this business sector has doubled every year since its establishment in 2010. Kollmar expected it to form at least 20 percent of its overall revenue in the coming few years.
Hammerl from Index agreed. He forecast the industry in China will enjoy explosive development in the next five years, with demand for making indigenous spare parts continually soaring.
"China is just at the infancy stage. We see great opportunities but systematic training on the basic know-hows of those machines is critical," he said.
2012年12月6日 星期四
RODE Microphones: the sound of success
THE STORY of how RODE Microphones got its name hearkens back to its earliest days. Founder Peter Freedman started the company in the 1980s by disassembling Chinese capacitor microphones and replacing the electronics inside to yield better performance.
After a particularly successful day demonstrating the product at a convention, the team noted that the microphones were taking off “like a rat up a drain pipe”, which eventually led to the name “Rodent”.
Freedman then arrived at the final form of the brand, RODE, by replacing the O with the minuscule O in tribute to his roots in Sweden, and separating the latter “NT” part of the word to use as a designated prefix for his range of microphones.
Today, RODE Microphones is a name known throughout the global home recording, cinematography and professional sound and music recording markets. All its manufacturing is done at its facility in Silverwater, NSW, and it employs 200 people world-wide.
In addition to its headquarters in Silverwater, RODE Microphones has a design and marketing studio in Surry Hills, an office in Santa Barbara in the US, and an adjunct facility in Seattle, dedicated to R&D for the Event line of studio monitors, which RODE bought in 2006.
The success of the company today is due largely to the drive of Freedman and his staff, their dedication to the world of sound equipment, and his ability to build a business and a highly competent team, as well as a rare dedication to quality Australian manufacturing.
Freedman Electronics started out importing German sound equipment from DYNACORD, and Peter took over the company after his father passed away in 1987. Hoping to expand the company, Freedman borrowed large sums of money in the late 1980s, but then the stock market crash hit.
“I ended up owing a fortune, lost the business, lost my house, lost everything,” Freedman said. “I was looking for ways to try and make money. It was just being at the right place at the right time, trying things. I had access to a recording microphone which we sourced, and modified.”
Freedman managed to catch the wave of modern home and digital recording. RODE Microphones catered to the home users who wanted better microphones, but without the exorbitant costs associated with traditional German units.
From this early success, RODE Microphones continued building on its capabilities, developing its own products, even collaborating with the CSIRO and academic and industry physicists to push the boundaries of what it could do in the area of sound.
“A lot of accountants told us that you could get things in China for very low cost, the labour is great, and people want to supply. Even today, we have great relationships with people over there,” Freedman told Electronics News.
“But I could see that companies there were going to eventually want to do their own thing. And some of the ones that I was talking to did go on to try and do their own brands.”
To protect his company, Freedman started investing in machinery 16 years ago, gradually building up a formidable arsenal of manufacturing equipment, which allowed him to bring more operations in-house.
“It’s taken 15 years of learning how to use the machinery, getting the staff and buying these very high tech machines to get to where we are now,” he said. “I have machines that make labour irrelevant. People ask me about low cost labour, and I say I don’t care, I’ve got no labour in some of the stuff we make.”
But it’s not just about the gear: staff training and know-how is the glue that keeps the model together.
“That’s the secret of Australian manufacturing: high tech machinery and very clever people,” Freedman said. “People think you can just turn on manufacturing by money. You can’t. It takes ages to train people to the point where they understand it. We’ve got many people here who’ve been at it nine or ten years or more.”
After a particularly successful day demonstrating the product at a convention, the team noted that the microphones were taking off “like a rat up a drain pipe”, which eventually led to the name “Rodent”.
Freedman then arrived at the final form of the brand, RODE, by replacing the O with the minuscule O in tribute to his roots in Sweden, and separating the latter “NT” part of the word to use as a designated prefix for his range of microphones.
Today, RODE Microphones is a name known throughout the global home recording, cinematography and professional sound and music recording markets. All its manufacturing is done at its facility in Silverwater, NSW, and it employs 200 people world-wide.
In addition to its headquarters in Silverwater, RODE Microphones has a design and marketing studio in Surry Hills, an office in Santa Barbara in the US, and an adjunct facility in Seattle, dedicated to R&D for the Event line of studio monitors, which RODE bought in 2006.
The success of the company today is due largely to the drive of Freedman and his staff, their dedication to the world of sound equipment, and his ability to build a business and a highly competent team, as well as a rare dedication to quality Australian manufacturing.
Freedman Electronics started out importing German sound equipment from DYNACORD, and Peter took over the company after his father passed away in 1987. Hoping to expand the company, Freedman borrowed large sums of money in the late 1980s, but then the stock market crash hit.
“I ended up owing a fortune, lost the business, lost my house, lost everything,” Freedman said. “I was looking for ways to try and make money. It was just being at the right place at the right time, trying things. I had access to a recording microphone which we sourced, and modified.”
Freedman managed to catch the wave of modern home and digital recording. RODE Microphones catered to the home users who wanted better microphones, but without the exorbitant costs associated with traditional German units.
From this early success, RODE Microphones continued building on its capabilities, developing its own products, even collaborating with the CSIRO and academic and industry physicists to push the boundaries of what it could do in the area of sound.
“A lot of accountants told us that you could get things in China for very low cost, the labour is great, and people want to supply. Even today, we have great relationships with people over there,” Freedman told Electronics News.
“But I could see that companies there were going to eventually want to do their own thing. And some of the ones that I was talking to did go on to try and do their own brands.”
To protect his company, Freedman started investing in machinery 16 years ago, gradually building up a formidable arsenal of manufacturing equipment, which allowed him to bring more operations in-house.
“It’s taken 15 years of learning how to use the machinery, getting the staff and buying these very high tech machines to get to where we are now,” he said. “I have machines that make labour irrelevant. People ask me about low cost labour, and I say I don’t care, I’ve got no labour in some of the stuff we make.”
But it’s not just about the gear: staff training and know-how is the glue that keeps the model together.
“That’s the secret of Australian manufacturing: high tech machinery and very clever people,” Freedman said. “People think you can just turn on manufacturing by money. You can’t. It takes ages to train people to the point where they understand it. We’ve got many people here who’ve been at it nine or ten years or more.”
2012年12月4日 星期二
Pinokio lamp is the real-life counterpart
Luxo Jr, the adorable little lamp that appears in the Disney Pixar logo, illustrates how animators can breathe life into mundane inanimate objects. Now, robotics technology allows us to do the same thing in real life, as shown by a trio from the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Using a combination of readily available robotics and automated manufacturing technology, mixed with open-source software, they were able to grace a desk lamp with a little personality.
Pinokio, unlike its fairy tale namesake, needs strings to move – strings of code, that is. Its actions are driven primarily by Arduino and image processing software OpenCV, which searches for faces in the images from its web cam. When it finds a face, it attempts to follow it as if trying to maintain eye contact.
Programmer Shanshan Zhou ensured it would change its behavior with preset "moods" – introvert or extrovert – causing the lamp to recoil or stretch outwards, respectively. When switched off, Pinokio responds by flicking its power switch back on – similar to the most useless machine ever – further adding to its character.
Adam Ben-Dror, who worked out the mechanical details, found that it only took six servo motors to actuate the lamp's hinges. These hinges had to be replaced with ones he designed in CAD, which were then manufactured using a variety of techniques, from 3D printing, laser cutting, water jet cutting, and CNC lathing to good old-fashioned welding. He also had to work out how to fit the halogen bulb (covered with a mechanical iris), a hacked webcam, a microphone, and a pair of servos – including the necessary wiring – into the back of the lamp's shade.
As you'll see in the video below, the end result lives up to the concept sketches provided by the team's designer, Joss Dogget. Pinokio springs to life and engages its audience with seemingly effortless interaction.
FROM filing keys by hand to laser cutting, Rodney Graham has seen it all in the past quarter of a century. The RCG Locksmiths proprietor yesterday celebrated 25 years in the industry. He was just 16 when he embarked on a four-year apprenticeship with Bathurst Locksmiths.
"I finished school on the Thursday afternoon and started there on the Friday morning," he said. As a first-year apprentice, he took home $81 in his first paypacket. He said he's seen many changes in the industry in the past two decades, none bigger than the advances in machinery and technology.
"The mechanics of a lock haven't changed at all. But the technology we use to put that together has changed," he said. "We used to cut keys by hand with a file. You don't miss those days, but you do.
"You learn a lot by doing it the original way." Nowadays, Rodney works with key cutting machines worth over $40,000 each. "They have cameras in them now," he said. "We've got the best and the most advanced equipment in the Central West."
Rodney and his wife have been at the helm of RCG Locksmiths for almost five years. What started as a two-man operation has expanded to involve 11 staff, including three fully-qualified locksmiths and two apprentices, and two shopfronts, one in Bathurst and one in Lithgow.
On the side, Rodney and his wife also run Prestige Embroidery Bathurst and a commercial laundry, R and G Linen.
"When we opened, we were just doing residential work and key cutting," Rodney said. "Now we do residential, architectural, commercial, automatic doors, automotive locks and keys, roller and car remotes, and much more.”
"We just keep expanding. But I love what I do. I work between 70 and 80 hours a week, but at the end of the day, I love helping people and I love my job." he said.
Pinokio, unlike its fairy tale namesake, needs strings to move – strings of code, that is. Its actions are driven primarily by Arduino and image processing software OpenCV, which searches for faces in the images from its web cam. When it finds a face, it attempts to follow it as if trying to maintain eye contact.
Programmer Shanshan Zhou ensured it would change its behavior with preset "moods" – introvert or extrovert – causing the lamp to recoil or stretch outwards, respectively. When switched off, Pinokio responds by flicking its power switch back on – similar to the most useless machine ever – further adding to its character.
Adam Ben-Dror, who worked out the mechanical details, found that it only took six servo motors to actuate the lamp's hinges. These hinges had to be replaced with ones he designed in CAD, which were then manufactured using a variety of techniques, from 3D printing, laser cutting, water jet cutting, and CNC lathing to good old-fashioned welding. He also had to work out how to fit the halogen bulb (covered with a mechanical iris), a hacked webcam, a microphone, and a pair of servos – including the necessary wiring – into the back of the lamp's shade.
As you'll see in the video below, the end result lives up to the concept sketches provided by the team's designer, Joss Dogget. Pinokio springs to life and engages its audience with seemingly effortless interaction.
FROM filing keys by hand to laser cutting, Rodney Graham has seen it all in the past quarter of a century. The RCG Locksmiths proprietor yesterday celebrated 25 years in the industry. He was just 16 when he embarked on a four-year apprenticeship with Bathurst Locksmiths.
"I finished school on the Thursday afternoon and started there on the Friday morning," he said. As a first-year apprentice, he took home $81 in his first paypacket. He said he's seen many changes in the industry in the past two decades, none bigger than the advances in machinery and technology.
"The mechanics of a lock haven't changed at all. But the technology we use to put that together has changed," he said. "We used to cut keys by hand with a file. You don't miss those days, but you do.
"You learn a lot by doing it the original way." Nowadays, Rodney works with key cutting machines worth over $40,000 each. "They have cameras in them now," he said. "We've got the best and the most advanced equipment in the Central West."
Rodney and his wife have been at the helm of RCG Locksmiths for almost five years. What started as a two-man operation has expanded to involve 11 staff, including three fully-qualified locksmiths and two apprentices, and two shopfronts, one in Bathurst and one in Lithgow.
On the side, Rodney and his wife also run Prestige Embroidery Bathurst and a commercial laundry, R and G Linen.
"When we opened, we were just doing residential work and key cutting," Rodney said. "Now we do residential, architectural, commercial, automatic doors, automotive locks and keys, roller and car remotes, and much more.”
"We just keep expanding. But I love what I do. I work between 70 and 80 hours a week, but at the end of the day, I love helping people and I love my job." he said.
2012年12月3日 星期一
Ducted Wind Turbines: An Energy Game Changer?
When it comes to wind power, unconventional schemes to boost power and cut costs have never been wanting. Quiet Revolution offers a vertical axis turbine that looks more like a blender than a power generation device. WhalePower proposes mimicking on turbine blades the tubercles found on whale fins to increase power production. Meanwhile Altaeros Energies is developing a flying donut to harness increased wind speeds found at higher elevations.
Earlier this month SheerWind, a wind power startup based in Chaska, Minnesota, added a new design, INVELOX, to the list. INVELOX, short for “increasing the velocity of wind” is a ducted turbine that looks a bit like a giant funnel sitting on top of an equally large periscope. The ductwork is designed to capture wind from any direction, increase its speed and concentrate the moving airflow before passing it through a relatively small turbine at ground level.
It’s an interesting concept that attempts to address a number of challenges facing conventional wind turbines. The power produced by a wind turbine increases with the cube of the wind speed so any increase in speed could offer a significant power boost. Increasing wind speed also reduces the cut in speed, or the minimum wind speed required to begin generating power. SheerWind officials say that by speeding up the wind they can boost power output by 280 percent and reduce the cut in speed by 80 percent to a wind speed of 2 miles per hour.
Another key advantage touted by SheerWind is smaller, ground-based turbines. A growing challenge for conventional wind turbine developers is the ability to build, transport, and mount giant turbine blades. By funneling the wind down to a smaller diameter duct, SheerWind is able to use a turbine with blades that are 80 percent smaller than those used in conventional turbines with similar output. Keeping the turbine at ground level will also significantly reduce installation and maintenance costs. All told, INVELOX should generate power for roughly one third less cost than conventional wind turbines, company officials say.
All of this sounds great but can INVELOX deliver? Researchers at The City College of New York have done fluid dynamics modeling of INVELOX and say the company’s claims stand up. (The researchers, mechanical engineers Yiannis Andreopoulos and Ali Sadegh and are listed as “technical advisors” by SheerWind but say they have not received compensation from the company for their analyses)
Martin Hansen, a wind energy expert at the Technical University of Denmark, disagrees. He says INVELOX will draw in and speed up the wind as claimed, but when the turbine is placed inside the ductwork it will create such high pressure that little additional air will be drawn into the device, making it a poor alternative to conventional turbine designs.
SheerWind completed it’s first large scale prototype earlier this month. CEO Daryoush Allaei says initial testing without the turbine resulted in a near doubling of wind speed passing through the device as predicted in prior modeling. Allaei says they will now install the turbine and begin monitoring power output.
Earlier this month SheerWind, a wind power startup based in Chaska, Minnesota, added a new design, INVELOX, to the list. INVELOX, short for “increasing the velocity of wind” is a ducted turbine that looks a bit like a giant funnel sitting on top of an equally large periscope. The ductwork is designed to capture wind from any direction, increase its speed and concentrate the moving airflow before passing it through a relatively small turbine at ground level.
It’s an interesting concept that attempts to address a number of challenges facing conventional wind turbines. The power produced by a wind turbine increases with the cube of the wind speed so any increase in speed could offer a significant power boost. Increasing wind speed also reduces the cut in speed, or the minimum wind speed required to begin generating power. SheerWind officials say that by speeding up the wind they can boost power output by 280 percent and reduce the cut in speed by 80 percent to a wind speed of 2 miles per hour.
Another key advantage touted by SheerWind is smaller, ground-based turbines. A growing challenge for conventional wind turbine developers is the ability to build, transport, and mount giant turbine blades. By funneling the wind down to a smaller diameter duct, SheerWind is able to use a turbine with blades that are 80 percent smaller than those used in conventional turbines with similar output. Keeping the turbine at ground level will also significantly reduce installation and maintenance costs. All told, INVELOX should generate power for roughly one third less cost than conventional wind turbines, company officials say.
All of this sounds great but can INVELOX deliver? Researchers at The City College of New York have done fluid dynamics modeling of INVELOX and say the company’s claims stand up. (The researchers, mechanical engineers Yiannis Andreopoulos and Ali Sadegh and are listed as “technical advisors” by SheerWind but say they have not received compensation from the company for their analyses)
Martin Hansen, a wind energy expert at the Technical University of Denmark, disagrees. He says INVELOX will draw in and speed up the wind as claimed, but when the turbine is placed inside the ductwork it will create such high pressure that little additional air will be drawn into the device, making it a poor alternative to conventional turbine designs.
SheerWind completed it’s first large scale prototype earlier this month. CEO Daryoush Allaei says initial testing without the turbine resulted in a near doubling of wind speed passing through the device as predicted in prior modeling. Allaei says they will now install the turbine and begin monitoring power output.
Duluth motorcycle clothing maker's socials boost visibility
The first was to park his Honda Gold Wing next to a nondescript, three-story brick factory building in Duluth's Lincoln Park, walk inside and try on some made-only-in-Duluth Aerostich gear.
"I've got myself in a situation now where I can afford better stuff," said Ramker, 47, who is married and has a daughter in college. "And I'm sick of things leaking. I ride in all sorts of inclement weather. Most riders will pull over to a wayside and wait it out. I ride through it, and I'm sick of being wet."
So Ramker turned to Aerostich, the gear made by Aero Design and Manufacturing. Andy Goldfine established the company nearly 30 years ago in a former candy factory at Superior Street and 18th Avenue West to design and manufacture fine-quality, waterproof textile riding gear for motorcyclists.
"At the time Andy started riding, he wanted to be able to use his bike and ride it as a transportation tool," said Lynn Wisneski, sales and business development director, who started with the company 22 years ago. "And there was nothing at the time that you could ride in to protect you from the rain or from falling. The suits that Andy designed were the first textile rider suits in the world."
Over almost three decades, the Aerostich brand has developed a worldwide following among passionate motorcyclists, Wisneski said. On Saturday, a customer from Texas was expected to arrive to be fitted for a rider suit. Early in her career, a couple from Norway arrived at the factory. The gear has made frequent appearances on the covers of motorcycling magazines.
Aero Design is making efforts to increase its visibility in the Northland. Among them are the "Saturday Motorcycle Socials" at the factory store on the first three Saturdays in December.
Another is a remodeling project that is transforming the entire first floor into retail space.
Already, all of the design, sewing and production take place on the second and third floors. The factory usually is open five days a week, but several employees were working on Saturday to keep up with the Christmas rush. Among them was one man working at the factory's new robotic garment-cutting machine, which Wisneski said has allowed Aero Design to greatly speed production and add a line of rider suits specifically designed for women.
The company has a work force of 60, Wisneski said, down from 113 at its pre-recession height. But the recession allowed the company to rethink what it was doing, she said. Among other things, the company has learned to use social networking as a marketing tool. And it has worked with a team of senior engineering students from the University of Minnesota Duluth to make the manufacturing process more efficient.
The expanded retail outlet is only a small part the company's strategy. Wisneski said Aerostich will remain primarily a mail-order business. But some customers, like Ramker, make the trip to Duluth to be professionally fitted for their garment, or just to rub shoulders with the people who design and make their gear.
Wisneski said Aerostich gets letters testifying about crashes in which the rider was uninjured, or only slightly injured, while wearing the company's gear. A hall is lined with suits that went through crashes. In one of them, the rider was traveling 65 mph when he spilled on dry pavement, slid and tumbled. He was able to ride away from the scene with bruises on his hands and a twisted knee, she said.
Ramker had a similar adventure in his own Aerostich gear years ago, he said, and back then he couldn't afford to replace the suit. The pants purchased on Saturday mark his return to the company's gear, and were the only thing he wanted for a certain holiday."Merry Christmas to me," he said.
"I've got myself in a situation now where I can afford better stuff," said Ramker, 47, who is married and has a daughter in college. "And I'm sick of things leaking. I ride in all sorts of inclement weather. Most riders will pull over to a wayside and wait it out. I ride through it, and I'm sick of being wet."
So Ramker turned to Aerostich, the gear made by Aero Design and Manufacturing. Andy Goldfine established the company nearly 30 years ago in a former candy factory at Superior Street and 18th Avenue West to design and manufacture fine-quality, waterproof textile riding gear for motorcyclists.
"At the time Andy started riding, he wanted to be able to use his bike and ride it as a transportation tool," said Lynn Wisneski, sales and business development director, who started with the company 22 years ago. "And there was nothing at the time that you could ride in to protect you from the rain or from falling. The suits that Andy designed were the first textile rider suits in the world."
Over almost three decades, the Aerostich brand has developed a worldwide following among passionate motorcyclists, Wisneski said. On Saturday, a customer from Texas was expected to arrive to be fitted for a rider suit. Early in her career, a couple from Norway arrived at the factory. The gear has made frequent appearances on the covers of motorcycling magazines.
Aero Design is making efforts to increase its visibility in the Northland. Among them are the "Saturday Motorcycle Socials" at the factory store on the first three Saturdays in December.
Another is a remodeling project that is transforming the entire first floor into retail space.
Already, all of the design, sewing and production take place on the second and third floors. The factory usually is open five days a week, but several employees were working on Saturday to keep up with the Christmas rush. Among them was one man working at the factory's new robotic garment-cutting machine, which Wisneski said has allowed Aero Design to greatly speed production and add a line of rider suits specifically designed for women.
The company has a work force of 60, Wisneski said, down from 113 at its pre-recession height. But the recession allowed the company to rethink what it was doing, she said. Among other things, the company has learned to use social networking as a marketing tool. And it has worked with a team of senior engineering students from the University of Minnesota Duluth to make the manufacturing process more efficient.
The expanded retail outlet is only a small part the company's strategy. Wisneski said Aerostich will remain primarily a mail-order business. But some customers, like Ramker, make the trip to Duluth to be professionally fitted for their garment, or just to rub shoulders with the people who design and make their gear.
Wisneski said Aerostich gets letters testifying about crashes in which the rider was uninjured, or only slightly injured, while wearing the company's gear. A hall is lined with suits that went through crashes. In one of them, the rider was traveling 65 mph when he spilled on dry pavement, slid and tumbled. He was able to ride away from the scene with bruises on his hands and a twisted knee, she said.
Ramker had a similar adventure in his own Aerostich gear years ago, he said, and back then he couldn't afford to replace the suit. The pants purchased on Saturday mark his return to the company's gear, and were the only thing he wanted for a certain holiday."Merry Christmas to me," he said.
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