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Imagery, Kings Norton, Birmingham B30 3HB
the diary 08-13 Sept 2008 03-07 Oct 2008 30 Oct- 04 Nov 08
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means,
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retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the Publisher. ISSN 0026-1033.
MWP Magazine is published by Centaur Media PLC, the UK's premier independent business
publisher. For information about the range of products produced by Centaur Media PLC,
july 2008
IMTS 2008 -
USA’s premier technology
show, with a strong
international
presence -
Chicago
www.imts.com
mike excell
editor
“ITER will
generate
contracts worth 5
billion euros -
procurement is
database driven
and at present
there are only
160 UK
companies
registered, some
of whom have
already won
contracts.”
BIMU/SFORTEC 2008 -
Italy’s major showcase
for machine tools and
automation, and
technical subcontracting -
Milan
www.bimu-sfortec.com
visit www.centaur.co.uk. The site also contains details of vacancies at Centaur. You can also
subscribe online to MWP Magazine at http://sales.centaur.co.uk. MWP Magazine technical
articles of full page length or over are indexed in the Library Association’s Current Technology
Index. The contents of MWP Magazine are reproduced in information storage and retrieval
systems. Subscription, and Reader Service departments address: Centaur Media PLC, as
In the hot seat
Remember the ‘energy crisis’ of the early 1970s? The miners were on
strike, coal stocks were dwindling, oil prices rising. I was working for a large,
traditional metal-bashing company and was conscripted as part of a round
the clock energy consumption ‘surveillance team’ with a hot line to the
foundry and heat treatment departments. Although theoretically
empowered by senior management to make decisions, ’phoning the gnarled,
slag-spattered, tattooed foundry foreman in the dark watches of the night to
instruct him to switch off wasn’t a comfortable experience, and I learned
some colourful turns of phrase which I won’t go into here.
JIMTOF 2008 -
Japan’s premier show for
machine tools and
manufacturing
technology -
Tokyo
www.jimtof.org
More details on the above plus other exhibitions, conferences and company open house events online at www.mwponline.com/events.aspx
It didn’t last long. The pits closed, oil and natural gas production soared,
the crisis passed. Do we have another crisis now? Probably not, but unless
there is a dramatic shift in energy provision and/or useage, there will be one,
some time soon. Fossil fuel deposits took 300 million years to develop. We
started using them in industrial quantities in the middle of the 20th century,
and at the rate we are going, even China - assuming it hasn’t suffocated
under a blanket of coal-fired power station emissions - will run out of coal
by the end of the century. There may still be as much oil under the North
Sea as we’ve already used, and new exploration and extraction technology
may unlock previously untappable resources, but they are finite, and we
haven’t got another 300 million years to ponder on what to do next.
But it’s an ill wind etc, and the new technologies we’ll need - or to be
more precise, that our children and their children will need - will create
some great opportunities for those smart enough to spot them. Our
government has unveiled its renewable energy strategy, which if
implemented would mean for example outfitting 1 in 4 British homes with
solar heating equipment, building 3,500 new wind turbines, and expanding
the national grid. As for ‘nuclear’ - well, a major development programme
would create massive business opportunities. But there’s still much
uncertainty over the UK’s policy, especially with a possible change of
government within the next two years, and long term concerns over disposal
and decommissioning costs (as well as uranium supplies).
However, there is an option you might like to explore, especially if you are
a specialised, high technology subcontractor. Construction of the ITER
fusion reactor in Cadarache has started. It’s a long term pan-European
project which builds on the JET experiment at Culham, and will generate
contracts worth 5 billion euros. 90% of procurement will be handled by
domestic agencies and the European ‘Fusion for Energy’ agency.
Procurement is database driven and at present there are only 160 UK
companies registered, some of whom have already won contracts. More
about all this in the next issue, but in the meantime if you’re interested, you
should register at http://eidi.f4e.europa.eu/
06 November 08
MWP SUMMIT 2008 -
Major one day
networking & seminar
event, on technology &
supply chain issues -
AMRC Sheffield
www.mwponline.com
editor’s comment
quoted above. It is available in the UK on subscription of UK £58.00 Sterling per annum
(six issues pa), Overseas £90.00 per annum (six issues pa). For change of address notify the
circulation manager. Refunds on cancelled subscriptions will only be provided at the
Publisher’s discretion, unless specifically guaranteed within the terms of a
subscription offer.
22-28 Jan 2009
IMTEX 2009 -
Concurrent with
TOOLTECH; India’s
main manufacturing
technology show -
Bangalore
www.imtma.in
MWP
07
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