production world
Hanover Industrial Fair 2008
highlights energy as the major
issue for industry in the future
By Manik Mehta THE 10th international annual conference of the European Society
RISING oil prices are
causing many
industrialists,
entrepreneurs and
corporate executives to
wonder how their
manufacturing
operations are going to
cope. ‘Energy has become
the oxygen which keeps
the manufacturing sector alive,’ said Ravinder N Khanna, an Indian expert
on energy and the chairman of the Delhi-based Control & Switchgear Group
whose products include components and complete systems for power
generation. ‘Economically viable supply of energy is essential for the
industry’ he continued in an interview at the Hannover Industrial Fair. The
world’s largest industrial show had energy as a key theme; indeed, the
organiser, Deutsche Messe AG, had even arranged a ‘World Energy Dialogue’
which had experts talking about the challenges facing the industry as far as
energy supply was concerned. An expert told this writer that an adequate
and reliable supply of energy will be the ‘mother of all issues’ for industrial
production in the future.
While many pundits attributed the dramatic surge in energy demand to the
ambitious industrialisation programmes of energy-hungry China and India,
Khanna said that India would need more power plants. India’s present capacity,
he said, was around 160,000 megawatts. ‘India is adding 100,000 megawatts in
the next five years ... subsequently, it will add another 100,000 megawatts in the
following five years. If India’s economy is to grow, it must ensure adequate
power supply,’ he added. Khanna, whose company sells to buyers in 70
countries around the world, said that nuclear energy had reached the ‘critical
mass’ level. Indeed, Khanna warned that many industries could perish if the
energy issue was not resolved satisfactorily.
India’s global engineering exports are continuing to grow, according to the
Engineering Export Promotion Council, which is charged with promoting
India’s engineering products. Bhaskar Sarkar, the EEPC’s additional executive
director and secretary, said that India’s engineering exports for the sevenmonth
period from April to October in the fiscal year 2007/08, had amounted
to $4.3 billion, up from $3.2 billion in the year earlier period. The total value of
exports for the entire 2007/08 period touched nearly $6 billion.
‘We see good demand for castings, forgings, including auto components,
sheet-metal components, textile machinery and parts from India,’ Sarkar said.
‘Paradoxically, the weakness of the US dollar has, in fact, increased our export
value by some 21% although there has been a decline of 2% in quantity terms.
This is because the weak dollar has forced Indian exporters to increase their
prices which, in turn, have led to a decline in quantity,’ he explained.
For the full text of this feature go to the Features Zone at:
www.mwponline.com
What could you make with this TM-1 Mill
for less than £58 per week? *
*All offers are subject to status. Delivery is not included. The above example is hire purchase fixed rate based on a VAT only deposit and a cost price of £11,995 +
VAT. 60 equal payments of £249.80. A documentation fee of £100 will be collected with the first payment. Total amount payable is £14,988. Typical APR 9.9%.
For details, or to view this machine locally call 01603 760539 or visit www.haas.co.uk
14 MWP july 2008
Studer hosts EUSPEN
conference delegates
for Precision Engineering and Nanotechnology (EUSPEN) has just
taken place in Zurich. At the fringe of this event and in order to
promote its proximity to the industry, about 30 EUSPEN members
visited Fritz Studer AG to find out more about the latest trends and
findings regarding cylindrical grinding. EUSPEN was founded within
the framework of the EU program on ‘Competitive and Sustainable
Growth’ in 1999. It has more than 550 individual members and
about 90 company members from leading industry organizations,
universities and research institutes.
Studer, as a market and technology leader, enjoyed providing the
visitors from three continents with a broad insight and a programme
of specialist talks and practical applications. The insight given by Dr
Fiebelkorn, Engineer, Head of Product Development, Research and
Technology, generated particular interest, with demonstrations of
the S12 production cylindrical grinding machine with linear
technology, as well as the S32 with high-speed grinding, and the
S242 combined machining unit to include cylindrical grinding/hard
turning/milling/drilling. Based on benchmark tests, the participants
were able to see the competitive advantage offered by the
StuderGRIND grinding programming software in comparison to
typical programming.
Contact with science and research is very important for
Schleifring and Studer, who annually invest a considerable sum for
innovation projects at the Grindaix Institute, affiliated with WZI
Aachen. Studer is also part of ‘inspire AG’, which works closely with
IWF at the University of Applied Sciences in Zurich; and also
cultivates direct contact with the next generation of scientists, for
example via the Fritz Studer Award research prize, awarded for the
second time for 2008/2009.
www.studer.com
£58 pw*
To view a Ceros magazine you need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser and have the flash player 8 or higher installed. To install the latest flash player, click the icon above, install the flash plugin and then click here to refresh this page.