Additionally, the range incorporates Polygiene Verimaster security technology to verify the presence of the antimicrobial technology.

"The long-time partner Pylon Coatings is a good example of how our range of technologies can increase the value of our customers’ products by creating more hygienic surfaces, where the antimicrobial effect also can be checked and verified. And for the end user it will help extend the life of their products, resulting in a more sustainable product," says Ulrika Björk, CEO of Polygiene Group.

Pylon's Bio-Guard Coating is used in a variety of industries to create more hygienic environments that complement existing cleaning protocols. Recent success with Bio-Guard has been recognsed in the aged care sector, hospitals, medical centers, commercial furniture and joinery, wall paneling and benchtops, doors, handrails, and is recommended for many surfaces that could pose a threat of cross-contamination.

Pylon Coatings has successfully tested the Bio-Guard polyurethane coating against SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, on treated surfaces. When tested to ISO 21702:2019 Pylon Coatings saw a reduction in SARS-COV-2 on the surface of up to 82% after 4 hours when compared to a control.

Bio-Guard Coating is a dedicated range of antimicrobial coatings that incorporates Biomaster during the manufacturing process to become an integral part of the coating giving permanent 24/7 product protection against harmful pathogens such as MRSA, E-Coli and Legionella and now proven to inactivate the virus SARS-COV-2.

Pylon's Bio-Guard Coating also incorporates Verimaster security technology, a covert identification system designed to verify the presence of the antimicrobial technology. This plays a vital role for this coating range to enable the coating to be identified before and after the job has been installed.

Pylon Coatings is one of Australia’s leading suppliers of premium coatings to the joinery industry and is proud to be 100% Australian owned and made. According to the managing director Ron Pajor, "We are proud to be working with Biomaster and excited to announce these latest viral test results to the industry. This coating system will create more hygienic surfaces to meet the demands for today’s requirements."

www.pylon.com.au/bio-guard/

The partnership will bring Wahupa's probabilistic multi-echelon inventory optimisation (MEIO) to the Kinaxis RapidResponse platform to help companies maximise service levels and lower costs. The new MEIO application will calculate optimal inventory targets and safety stock settings through market-driven service planning, helping companies reach their strategic, financial, and service goals while removing waste from their supply chain.

When combined with Kinaxis what-if scenarios, companies can simulate various strategies, such as network streamlining and portfolio rationalisation, to predict outcomes before choosing the optimal approach. The result will be an inventory plan that optimises across product mix, inventory tiers, and production stages, while considering physical and monetary constraints.

"Traditional approaches to inventory planning assume that everything is known, precise and exact, so any type of volatility can cause chaos. With our probabilistic approach, we help organisations quantify this uncertainty so they can create plans that take into account these variables," said Stefan de Kok, CEO of Wahupa. "Partnering with Kinaxis allows us to realise our mission to minimise waste and margin erosion at a scale that was not possible before."

Wahupa will join the growing Kinaxis ecosystem of Solution Extension Partners. These partners increase the value customers gain from RapidResponse by delivering digital inputs and developing domain-specific applications that leverage the power of concurrent planning and extend the capabilities of the widely-trusted planning platform.

"We believe companies need to better align their supply chain and financial strategies to thrive in the post-pandemic economy," said John Sicard, CEO of Kinaxis. "In times of uncertainty, companies tend to overcorrect and default to carrying more inventory than is actually required, leading to an increase in cost and waste. This partnership with Wahupa will help our clients trade excess inventory for free cash flow without compromising their commitment to service."

www.kinaxis.com

Tribosonics embeds sensors within the moving parts of machinery to monitor factors such as friction, pressure and temperature. It systems incorporate advanced analytics and provide data in real time to help companies improve process efficiency, extend plant life and reduce maintenance and energy use.

Tribosonics’ technology is used in the manufacturing, energy and transport industries. The company has attracted a global client base including ENGEL, a world-market leader in injection moulding, and automotive parts manufacturer Novares.

"Tribosonics is a pioneer of Industry 4.0, which will transform manufacturing through the use of connected machines. Its sensor technology offers huge potential to improve efficiency and reduce energy use, which is a key challenge for industry now," said Will Schaffer, investment director at Mercia. "The company has maintained steady growth and built a strong blue-chip client base since the last funding round. The latest investment will allow the team to develop more novel solutions."

The investment will help the company to further develop its ‘sensing as a service’ solutions including polymerSENSE, which helps to reduce waste in the polymer and plastics recycling industry. Tribosonics has increased the size of its Sheffield team by 50% since late 2020, bringing the total to 30, and expects to create a number of new jobs in the year ahead.

"We're on an exciting growth journey as we deploy our innovative, game-changing and IP protected sensing solutions to increase value for our customers and to make a significant contribution to decarbonisation across a number of industries," stated Glenn Fletcher, Tribosonics CEO. "It's important to have the right investors with us on the journey and Mercia has proved to be a great partner, providing not only growth capital but also invaluable support based on its experience and understanding of what it takes to grow a tech business. We’re looking forward continuing the journey, making a real difference and further enhancing our partnership with Mercia across all fronts."

The latest funding round brings the total raised to date to £2.6m and follows an initial round by NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance in 2020.

"Seeing companies like Tribosonics make such an impact on their chosen markets is testament to the North’s ability to create and grow innovative companies and clearly demonstrates the impact NPIF equity funds can have on businesses with skilled teams, ambitious growth plan, and world leading technology," said Sean Hutchinson at British Business Bank. "With further funding, Glenn and his team will be able to roll out a number of new changes, placing them and Sheffield as leaders when it comes to developing sensing systems. NPIF aims to help unlock growth across the North of England, and with this investment, Tribosonics is another example of a business accessing finance to achieve its goals."

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

www.tribosonics.com

WOMEN-LED engineering businesses are benefiting from a programme which enables academia-industry collaboration to create innovative low carbon goods, processes and services.

Autentica Parts, based in Liverpool, is a platform which allows engineers to share designs for parts and components which can be 3D printed by customers anywhere in the world.

It is the brainchild of Irma Gilbert who developed the concept through the Low Carbon Eco-Innovatory (LCEI), a business support programme co-delivered by Lancaster University which gives small companies free access to world-leading academic expertise and cutting-edge resources through funded research and development projects, ranging from one month to 12-months.

Gilbert's research and development was accelerated using a fully-funded intern who helped create a prototype for the platform which now boasts customers in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and South America in a variety of sectors including automotive, electronics, consumer goods, medical services, heavy machinery and energy.

The innovative platform is decarbonising the manufacturing supply chain, reducing customer transportation and logistics costs by 70%, delivery times from three months to 24 hours, and  CO2 emissions by up to 40%.

Gilbert attributes the success of the business to the collaboration with Lancaster University. She now has a team of four and is forecasting a turnover of £6m by 2025.

"As a woman at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution I needed someone to believe in my ambition," she said. "I saw a transformational opportunity to create a marketplace where engineers could share their designs for parts and components, which could then be uploaded to a platform, licenced and downloaded by customers anywhere in the world for additive manufacture.

"We really are indebted to the support offered by LCEI and the expertise of Lancaster University which supercharged my ideas to create a platform transforming supply chains, reducing carbon emissions and building a sustainable future."

Lisa Furlong, managing director of construction-based civil engineers, Mole Group Utilities, based on the Wirral, has also benefited from LCEI. 

Having already pioneered its unique horizontal directional drilling (HDD) technologies to excavate underground pathways for cables, pipes and network links, Lisa used a funded internship to develop a marketing and communications plan which demonstrated its environmental credentials and unique methods.

Helping SMEs address climate change

LCEi is delivered by Lancaster University’s Centre for Global Eco-Innovation which is led by Jess Davies, professor in sustainability. 

Davies, an engineer and environmental scientist, said: "Engineers bring problem-solving skill sets to the table, which are really important to developing sustainable practices, products or services across many areas including traditional areas like energy, transport and wastewater, but also they have much to offer other challenges such as supporting biodiversity. 

"One of the main challenges for women starting out in engineering is seeing it as a profession for them – having great female role models is incredibly important. And while there has been great progress, events like International Women in Engineering Day help celebrate these.

"Irma and Lisa are great examples to show what women can achieve in engineering and we are thrilled to hear that the kind of access to opportunities, resources and support we have offered through our programme has helped with their development as eco-innovation leaders.

"As a programme, we want to champion SMEs to play a leading role in addressing climate and environmental emergencies. But it is also important that we champion the diversity of these innovators to help overcome barriers and change the traditional culture and norms. We can help drive change by diversifying networks. We need diverse perspectives and lived experiences to form a better understanding of the many dimensions of the problem and we are going to need all the creativity that comes with diversity to help us find good solutions to the major environmental problems of our times."

LCEI is a business R&D consortium, backed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and led by Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) alongside partners Lancaster University and the University of Liverpool.

Since its launch in 2015, the Low Carbon Eco-Innovatory has supported 350 businesses on projects which have saved 10,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases.

www.lancaster.ac.uk/global-eco-innovation/business/lcei

By centralising the dispatching process, users can optimise their operations and create sufficient capacity to participate in a variety of energy markets that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Using the Experion Energy Control System VPP capability, resource owners can unlock power, capacity and revenue from their energy assets, such as DERs, while minimising costs. The solution allows customers to monitor, forecast and coordinate in order to manage and improve the usage of energy assets in response to market conditions. Moreover, the remote management functionality comes integrated within the Experion Energy Control System, meaning existing users do not need to install any additional equipment to begin using it.

Suitable for a range of users including utilities, commercial and industrial site operators and independent power producers, the solution allows for autonomous control and flexibility over when users buy and use energy.

For example, during intermittent weather conditions such as when the sun sets or clouds over, or when the wind stops blowing, users can automate when they choose to deploy energy reserves. Resource owners can also “revenue stack” or access additional revenue streams from resources such as wholesale energy markets or demand response programs. System operators can use the power aggregated by VPPs to provide ancillary services as well. 

"This new capability allows resource owners to maximize every renewable energy resource they have and ultimately make the most of their assets," said Ujjwal Kumar, president and CEO of Honeywell Process Solutions. "As the energy landscape changes, so must our approach to delivering meaningful solutions to our customers. Honeywell’s VPP offering is one of the many ways we are driving change throughout the power sector and helping our customers meet their sustainability goals through a robust portfolio of ready-now solutions."

Honeywell is a trusted provider of automation and control systems, successfully delivering large turnkey automation projects for decades and Honeywell’s VPP offering is being deployed in a similar manner. From the physical storage assets to the automation software being utilized, customers can benefit from Honeywell performance-based guarantees.

process.honeywell.com

With a focus on industrial manufacturing, the latest e-book features exclusive content from major names such as Sensata, Phoenix Contact, Zebra, Honeywell, Datalogic, NetAlly, Rohde & Schwarz, RND, KEMET, Yageo, Baumer, Wachendorff, Würth Elektronik and FESTO, as well as Distrelec’s own in-house product and technical experts.

The e-book covers various topics impacting industrial manufacturing, including new technologies to create better and more sustainable working environments.

"In order to remain competitive, manufacturers must continually seek ways to optimise the technology within their factories," explained Justyna Matuszak, e-book editor-in-chief at Distrelec. "As we move from Industry 4.0 into Industry 5.0, companies will need to focus on digital transformation and advanced production to ensure safer, more sustainable environments, maximum efficiency, and customer and workforce satisfaction.

"We are pleased to provide exclusive content from our partners with insight from our own experts to help manufacturers, irrespective of which sector they operate in."

The e-book can be downloaded free of charge from https://knowhow.distrelec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/eBook-Q1-Industrial-Manufacturing-EN.pdf?ext_cid=prnaabazzen-eBook.

www.distrelec.com

T210 is a shaft-style transducer which measures torque, rotational speed and the angle of rotation; it can be connected easily to devices under test or integrated in test benches, as well as other applications. Thanks to its standard dimensions and known mounting hole pattern, the transducer can effortlessly replace comparable shaft torque sensors in many applications and is also suited for retrofitting. 

This compact, strain-gauge based torque transducer features a precise measuring system, with non-contacting energy and measurement signal transmission. Torque output signals are transmitted via a voltage and frequency-output, making it ideal for use in numerous applications including end-of-line testing or development test benches.

T210 torque sensors are available in nine capacities; from 0.5 N∙m to 200 N∙m. Accessories such as cables and bellows couplings are also available, making it simple for the user to integrate the sensor into the application or – if required – to change quickly between different measuring tasks.

www.hbm.com

Originally developed for petroleum pipeline inspection equipment, the devices are available in ten sizes from one up to 130 contacts and are equipped with Viton O-rings to withstand exposure to corrosive chemicals and high temperature environments.

Rated for 3500 PSI when mated, these connectors are suitable for the most demanding geophysical and underwater applications.

The connectors feature high density crimp Mighty Mouse inserts, 316 stainless steel or marine bronze shells and a piston O–ring for hydrostatic sealing. Series 802 insulated wire, panel mount receptacles can be ordered as square flange, in–line or jam–nut versions. The integral shield termination platform or accessory thread offer a variety of strain relief options.

The crimp style gold-plated contacts attach to size 12 up to 30 wires with standard mil spec crimp tools. The connectors are backfilled with epoxy potting compound. Hermetic glass–sealed connectors come with solder cup contacts (non-removable) or PC tails. AquaMouse connectors are also 100% tested to meet 1 x 10-7 cc/sec helium leakage.

www.powell.com

DALI-2 certification builds confidence in the interoperability of DALI-based devices from different manufacturers. As a standardised platform, DALI-2 mitigates concerns around proprietary technologies and vendor lock-in, and enables future-proof luminaire and system designs for sustainable lighting.

Driven by the DALI Alliance and building on the requirements of the international IEC 62386 standard, DALI-2 certification requires rigorous product testing. The test results are independently verified by the DALI Alliance. In contrast, DALI version-1 testing was less detailed and relied on self-declaration, without requiring third-party verification of test results. 

DALI-2 certification is now available for all control gear types in common use, including those for colour control and self-contained emergency lighting. DALI-2 also includes a broad range of additional features such as storage and reporting of luminaire, energy and diagnostics data.

www.dali-alliance.org

SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCING label printing errors, the system is three times faster than traditional alternatives and has enabled Whitby Seafoods to keep pace with growing production demands. 

Whitby Seafoods sources, processes, packs and distributes over 9,000 tonnes of seafood each year, supplying several major UK supermarkets and processors. With business increasing, it was evident that its coding and labelling equipment needed to be replaced to avoid unnecessary downtime and increase throughput. However, as the company supplies to a range of retailers, it was important that any new coders and labellers could be networked for various production cycles, to ensure both primary and secondary packaging leave the factory with the correct variable information.

Clearmark identified that its primary and secondary coding portfolio plus CLARiNET networking technology could provide far greater printing capabilities, accuracy and performance for Whitby. It specified a Zodiac HS TTO primary coder and secondary Vulcan Print and Apply labeller on two of Whitby’s packaging house lines. As well as allowing codes to be easily printed onto flexible packaging bags at the desired throughput, the specified solution also enables relevant secondary packaging information to be applied at the end of the line accurately, with minimal wastage.

The ICE Vulcan is significantly more advanced than Whitby’s previous labelling system, running at speeds up to three times faster than traditional machines. Its small footprint enables easy integration, while its sophisticated ribbon drive means it never misses a label, regardless of line throughput, build pack or pack size. And as 80% of traditional wear parts such as the slip clutch and nip drive are removed, the system also delivers vastly improved reliability and reduced expenditure on consumables.  Whitby’s operators can be confident of correct labelling even after a product changeover – something that could not be guaranteed with the accumulation system of the company’s previous labelling solution.

With a smooth installation being supported by an intuitive error-proof operator touchscreen, operator training was simple and easy, causing minimum disruption to production. The benefits to Whitby Seafoods were clear from day one. "The Vulcan labellers have allowed us to significantly reduce label printing errors. Being able to check a job file from the office via the coder touchscreen also provides added peace of mind," says John Tate, asset operations manager at Whitby Seafoods.

Following the project’s success, Whitby has recently purchased a third Vulcan labeller with an accumulation system, delivering a full end-of-line solution. When installed, there will be a Vulcan Print and Apply labeller on all three of the company’s packaging lines.

"Since investing in our first ICE coder, we’ve continued to be impressed with the reliability of the machines," adds Tate. "It makes sense to continue to install ICE printers as we expand, knowing they work well with other machines in the factory and can easily be added to the existing list of networked coders and labellers."

www.clearmark.uk