The complementary combination of Thomas & Betts’ electrical components and ABB’s low-voltage protection, control and measurement products would create a broader low voltage portfolio that can be distributed through Thomas & Betts’ network of more than 6,000 distributor locations and wholesalers in North America, and through ABB’s well established distribution channels in Europe and Asia. The combined product portfolio and enhanced distribution network will enable ABB to double its addressable market in North America to approximately $24 billion.

“Thomas & Betts is a well-run company with strong brands and excellent distribution channels in the world’s largest low-voltage products market,” said Joe Hogan, ABB’s CEO. “Because our products are complementary, we’ll go to market with one of the broadest offerings in the industry. That creates strong growth opportunities for both ABB and Thomas & Betts, and gives customers and distributors one-stop access to one of the widest ranges of low voltage products.

ABB expects the transaction will deliver approximately $200 million in annual synergies by 2016. The majority of cost synergies are expected to come from sourcing and purchasing efficiencies. “This is a unique opportunity for ABB to grow in the largely untapped North American low-voltage products market,” said Tarak Mehta, Executive Committee member responsible for ABB’s Low Voltage Products division, into which Thomas & Betts will be integrated as a stand-alone unit. “We plan to keep and build on Thomas & Betts’ strong brand and product names. We have complementary products that can be sold together already today and other products that will take some time to introduce to customers.”

Smarter Commerce is unique approach to the commerce lifecycle that increases the value companies generate for their customers, partners and shareholders in a rapidly changing digital world. It is designed to help companies better integrate and more effectively manage their value chain, including buy, market, sell, and service processes to put the customer at the center of decisions and actions leading to greater customer loyalty, revenue / margin growth and agility.

With this acquisition, IBM extends its “buy” portfolio of solutions focusing on the needs of procurement and sourcing professionals. Procurement and sourcing professionals increasingly need better supplier management, spend analysis and contract management solutions to lower sourcing costs, improve contract compliance and help meet growing customer expectations of supply chain efficiency. Emptoris is a market leader in delivering these benefits by automating vendor negotiation, management and compliance to reduce operational cost and risk.

Along with its software solutions, Emptoris brings to IBM a team of over 700 employees around the world. Emptoris serves more than 350 customers in 75 countries. Emptoris will be integrated into the Industry Solutions division of the IBM Software Group.

This new method was developed by Loehne-based software specialist Fast Forward, a partner company of Abaco, as well as IMA Klessmann Holzbearbeitungssysteme from Luebecke, Germany. The project received financial support from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology in Berlin. The two companies from East Westphalia are going to showcase the novel technology at ZOW Bad Salzuflen, on an area of 500 m² in hall 23.2. The title “ZOW 2012 – Supply Chain furniture with RFID” reflects what it is all about: a comprehensive solution for the entire supply chain of furniture manufacturing – from the supplier to the haulage contractor, the manufacturer and finally to the end user. With roughly 15 to 20 companies the RFID showcase at the trade fair centre Bad Salzuflen is taking place at a joint exhibition stand, representing all companies of the supply chain.

Why is new?  The RFID chip is no longer located on the outside of the product, but inside. At IMA’s CNC processing centre, the “abatag“– the name of the new chip – is shot into the panel which is coated afterwards. Thus, the RFID chip is protected during the product’s entire life cycle and cannot be damaged from the outside, what happened to glued chips. The new procedure is more efficient and facilitates a comprehensive use in the supply chain.

Head of Abaco, Horst Koitka, on the new technology: “The ’abatag’ method is a quantum leap in the development of RFID. We are pleased to present it in cooperation with our partners at ZOW in Bad Salzuflen.”  Every year, around 15,000 visitors come to East Westphalia’s supplier fair to be informed on the latest design and technology trends for the furniture and interior design industry.

“For several years we have observed a declining trend in the global markets
for copper and brass radiators. It is necessary for the Group to consolidate
production capacities in order to enhance its competitiveness in this
segment,” said Dr. Stefan Boel, Executive Board member in charge of the
Business Unit Copper Products.

Aurubis acquired the Finspång plant as a part of Luvata’s Rolled Products
Division as of 1. September 2011. Despite its high level of productivity and
excellent quality, Finspång has not generated any profit during the past years
due to the decline in its markets and the structural overcapacity in the rolled
products industry. Aurubis therefore plans to relocate the production
volumes, but only parts of the equipment from Finspång to its production site
in Zutphen (Netherlands). In addition, some production volumes may be
transferred to the Aurubis site in Buffalo (United States). The planned move
will enable Aurubis to consolidate production volumes, to improve economies
of scale and to reduce currency risks.

“We plan to keep production at full capacity until mid-2013. After that, we
would gradually reduce the production volumes in Finspang,” said Ari
Ingman, responsible for the Business Line Flat Rolled Products & Specialty
Wire at Aurubis. “We are fully committed to follow legal and customary
procedures in Sweden and to take proper care of the employees affected by
the planned decision. By starting consultation and providing information at
this early stage, we want to ensure that employees have adequate
transparency, that our customers will have a stable and reliable supply and
that all principles of social responsibility are applied.”

The economic climate in North America has continued to worsen. The current economic situation was increasingly assessed as unfavourable. The expectations for the next six months are less confident than in the third quarter but remain in positive territory. In Asia, the economic climate indicator has fallen further and is now also below its long-term average. The expectations for the next six months have deteriorated even more than the situation component. In Western Europe, the economic climate has worsened; mainly because of the significantly more negative outlook.

The inflation estimate for all of 2011 remains at 4.0% on a global average. The majority of WES experts expect unchanged interest rates over the course of the next six months. In the opinion of the WES experts, the euro is overvalued and the yen somewhat more so. On a world-wide average, the exchange rate of the US dollar is expected to remain largely stable during the next six months.

Worldwide, “lack of confidence in the economic policies of their own country” is seen as the currently most important economic problem. In second and third place in the list of problems are “public budget deficits” and “unemployment”. The problem of “Inflation” fell worldwide from the second to the sixth place on the list.

From implementing contracts, monitoring procurement KPIs and offering procurement choices to track all costs across products and services, the new IBX Capture Spend Cloud streamlines the procurement process and allows organizations to capture the benefit of on-line spending, which is often wasted due to lack of compliance with procurement standards. This solution, that combines a consumer-like experience with scalability for global roll-outs, integrates with all major eProcurement systems and links contracts to operational processes to provide improved contract compliance. It will be available across all key markets including the United States, the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands and the Nordic countries.

They offer an economic alternative to conventional heat-transfer pumps that rely on costly, special seals. The Allheat series’ uncooled mechanical seal feature offers users a pump that is capable of performing under high temperatures with an extremely low initial investment and low maintenance costs. New Allheat centrifugal pumps are ideal for high-temperature heat transfer applications such as those encountered in solar installations and during ground decontamination. Available as base-plate, block and inline versions, Allheat pumps include a wide range of standardized parts that makes them economical to produce and simple to maintain.

Finally, a uniform combination of materials covers all pumped liquids. Allheat pumps are extremely versatile, another economic benefit. For example, if an operator decides to convert to modern synthetic oils, he can easily adapt existing pumps to the elevated requirements simply by replacing the insert units. The flexibility of using a single pump type with a variety of heat-transfer liquids should greatly simplify processes for operators and plant designers. “The Allheat series offers a unique, dependable design that results in lower total costs (TCO) than comparable systems,” said Stefan Kleinmann, Vice-President of the Industry Business Segment, Colfax Fluid Handling.

Expanding the system and replacing the old daytime express business software went off without a hitch: “We were simply able to adapt a lot of functionality from the nighttime express spare parts business which has been running on best4log-x since 2009,” explains Simone Engels, IT Manager at LPR.

In the medium term, LPR plans to replace all company IT solutions with best4log-x, thus operating just one integrated software platform across the entire group of companies. Engels is convinced that “best4log-x provides the best way to do this. The solution is an ideal match for our particular requirements, and its modular structure allows for easy expansion.”

best4log-x is suited to LPR’s broad range of services. “We deliver used and replacement parts throughout Germany, perform on-site repairs, provide disposal services, and administer all subprocesses transparently and reliably, up to 1000 times a day,” explains Engels. When printers don’t print or PC screens go dark, LPR is ready to help by providing logistics or technical services. Trained LPR couriers exchange defective parts or equipment in just a few hours if necessary. best4log-x helps the company keep track of both service trips and parts. If the technical couriers are not up to the task, LPR can call on more than 200 trained service technicians. LPR is thus able to service products throughout their life cycle, and can even handle certified disposal.

“To be able to do this, we clearly need highly detailed information about the recipient, the delivery time, and the delivery address, as well as information about the on-site service level agreement,” says Engels. It is possible to access a wide variety of information, including the customer’s idle times, exact directions leading right to the office door, or the equipment defects reported by the customer. “best4log-x provides all this information, and changes are also quick, reliable, and automated” explains Engels. This functionality comes in handy when a replacement courier has to step in to handle a customer’s toner replacement, or if the end customer postpones a scheduled installation appointment. Scanned information such as serial numbers, installation locations, and signed acknowledgments of receipt also flow automatically into the ERP software. “The need for manual intervention and the associated risk of errors have decreased significantly,” confirms Engels. The system manages all this while at the same time providing customized, real-time information as needed.

 best4log-x is the first complete ERP solution designed for logistics service providers. It ensures easy access to all logistics and commercial processes, including contract management, transport scheduling, billing, customer service, and warehouse logistics. Alongside the traditional transport processes, it also provides tracking and tracing and value-added services.

The same is true for reporting. Logistics specialists today use best4log-x to generate a wide variety of reports and analyses for both internal and external use. LPR is thus able to document activities reliably and on a daily basis, such as which employee installed what kind of equipment and replacement parts for a particular end customer. “This information is not only essential for warranty purposes, our customers are also asking for it,” adds Hartmut Jadallah, Marketing Manager at LPR.

arvato Systems targets its SAP-based best4log-x software solution package toward medium-sized transport and logistics service providers, providing a full range of services from design to implementation and operation. best4log-x is developed and marketed jointly by arvato Systems, dbh Logistics IT AG, Quentia AG and Weber Data Service.

The robots will be used mainly for spot welding and material transportation on the car body assembly lines in both plants. Beginning at the end of 2011, a total of 500 industrial robots will be shipped to the two Ford plants in Europe under the terms of the blanket order signed in August 2011.

“We are pleased to have received this order from our longstanding, important automotive customer,” said Dr. Till Reuter, CEO of Kuka AG. “The order strengthens our position in our core market, Europe, and thus helps us expand our international business.”

Equipped with four-sided, positive inserts and high performance cutting materials, this tool is highly suited for economical roughing operations and the pre-finishing of tool forms. Thanks to the efficient and robust high-feed cutter geometry in some materials, a maximum feed per tooth (fz) of 2mm is possible at cut depth up to 1mm. According to the manufacturer, tool and mould makers should be especially pleased with the Tetra HF as it comes into its own in profile and copy milling with high chip volume and high feed rates.

The insert grades 5020 and 1130 can be used on a wide variety of materials. Grade 5020 consists of a fine grained substrate with a wear-resistant and tough PVD coating (TiAlN-TiN), which prevents the formation of hairline cracks. Besides machining steel and stainless steel, the universal tool material easily chews its way through temperature-resistant alloys and titanium. For spheroidal graphite iron and cast iron, 1130, the temperature-resistant CVD coating (TiCN-Al2O3),  is especially tough and prevents pitting.