Kirin Europe GmbH, Kirin’s main operating company in Europe, has expanded its presence in the rapidly growing Russian beer market. The company previously tapped the business opportunities here by outsourcing beer manufacturing for the Russian market to a British company and then marketing the products through a local partner, North Wind Distribution LLC (NWD). Now, however, a new licensing agreement means NWD entrusts the production of Kirin’s popular Kirin Ichiban Shibori to Ivan Taranov Breweries in Kaliningrad, a subsidiary of Heineken Russia, while still retaining the responsibility for marketing.
The agreement, which was concluded on July 28, 2006, marks a new phase for Kirin in the Russian beer market, which is anything but pint-sized. After a decade of growth that tripled its volume, it became the world’s fourth largest beer market in 2004. The world’s major beer manu-facturers have all made considerable investments here, leading to fierce competition.
For Kirin, localizing production will bring several benefits. The company will be able to significantly reduce costs, increase price competitiveness as well as strengthen its supply of fresh beer to the market. The aim is to achieve an annual sales volume of 80,000 cases (1 case=7.9 liters) in 2006, more than twice that of 2005.
To Russia with love; Kirin Ichiban Shibori is now produced locally
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Toyo Engineering Works continues to expand its line-up of industrial refrigeration units, this time with a high-speed freezing system that radically cuts the freezing time for large quantities of food.
The new system, known as the “New thermo wave Dash freezer,” or Dash for short, is cooled by carbon dioxide and ammonia and uses two high-pressure jets with newly designed nozzles to cut freezing times over previous models by up to 30%.
The system is ideal for frozen food factories wishing to hygienically freeze large quantities of potato croquettes, dumplings, pizzas, noodles and other pre-cooked foods within a continuous production system.
Meeting the food processing industry’s constant demands for shorter freezing times, greater hygiene, lower space and energy requirements and long-time continuous operation, the Dash system was warmly received by the market after sales commenced in the autumn of 2006.
Very cool; the new freezer cuts freezing times by 30%
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The launch of 8-cm DVD-R and DVD+R discs looks set to further strengthen the position of the Mitsubishi Kagaku Media/Verbatim Group in the rapidly growing market of recording media for digital video camcorders and DVD recorders.
The new discs, which went on sale in April and August 2006, have a storage capacity of 2.6 GB and are the world’s first single-sided dual-layer recordable DVD-R and DVD+R discs of this size. Also launched during 2006 were 8-cm single-sided single-layer DVD-R and DVD-RW discs, both with a capacity of 1.4 GB.
Considering the rapidly rising popularity of 8-cm DVD discs among recording media for camcorders and DVD recorders, they are widely believed to become the number one media of choice for these purposes in the future. Industry analysts estimate global demand for 8-cm DVD discs to rise to some 120 million during 2006 alone.
In focus; the world’s first 8-cm single-sided dual-layer DVD discs
Once recorded, such DVD discs can be played on most home DVD players, and are also easy to use with a home PC. Compared to normal video tapes and Hi8, there is no need to do any time-consuming rewinding or forwarding when searching—the user can quickly and effortlessly find the desired spot in the recorded material.
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Mitsubishi Motors has produced more than 2.5 million Pajeros in the approximately 25 years since the first generation was launched in 1982. With loyal fans in over 170 countries and regions today, Pajero*) enjoys enormous popularity as a sport utility vehicle (SUV) that combines outstanding durability and endurance with safe, secure and comfortable performance over all types of road surface.
With such a large following, it was big news in late September when Mitsubishi Motors unveiled the fourth-generation Pajero (European specifications) at “Le Mondial De L’Automobile 2006” auto show in Paris. The new “global standard all-around SUV” has numerous innovative features such as an all-new environment-friendly powertrain delivering its performance through an all-wheel control (AWC) concept, a 4WD system designed to give even better handling. The engines destined for Europe include a new 3.2-liter 4-cylinder diesel with common rail direct fuel injection or a 3.8-liter V6 MIVEC gasoline unit. The tasteful interior rises to new levels of comfort and entertainment with a newly developed high-power 860 W 12-speaker Rockford Acoustic Design Premium Sound System™.
Debuting alongside at the Paris Motor Show was the similarly styled next-generation Pajero Evolution, which will also participate in the 2007 Dakar Rally.
*) The vehicle is called “Montero” in Spain and “Shogun” in the U.K.
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Mitsubishi Electric has upped the ante in the global solar panel market with a new range of solar panel, or photovoltaic (PV) modules.
The six new high-power PV modules, announced on October 1, 2006 and intended for overseas markets, use larger-sized solar cells to raise output over the previous model by 9%—one of the models is capable of outputting an unprecedented 185 W. Also, by placing individual cells further apart with a reflective film filling the empty space in between, the panel size could be increased at a relatively low cost, further boosting output performance. Finally, the new modules are lead-free, making them even more environment-friendly than their predecessors.
The market for PV modules continues to grow rapidly around the world. In Europe, the market has been growing some 50% annually due in part to high demand in Germany, Spain and Italy, which use the so-called “feed-in tariff system” introduced through the EU Renewables Directive in 2001. This tariff mechanism encourages renewable energy use by having the government of the country in question guarantee the price that electric utility companies pay for renewable electricity from private generators. In the U.S., the market is picking up rapidly, and it is believed it will grow at a rate second only to Europe in coming years.
The new PV modules will surely energize the global solar panel market
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Monitoring temperatures and humidity is crucial in many industrial processes, in the transportation of refrigerated goods and for energy-efficient use of air conditioners and heat-source equipment.
Modern technology now allows much of this to be done through wireless sensors. However, short battery lives and limited transmission distances have remained critical issues—especially since efficient monitoring and balancing of temperature conditions require an array of sensors that take regular readings from several locations.
Enter Mitsubishi Materials’ Naka Research Center and their newly launched extra-long life temperature and humidity sensor unit, the first of its kind capable of lasting a sensational 7.5 years on one battery. The new sensor transmits at an interval of 10 minutes at an average temperature of 25 degrees Celsius.
The new sensors are very versatile and easy to install
By combining cutting-edge wireless and battery technologies, the Naka Research Center has managed to both improve the sensor’s wireless transmission range and reduce its electricity consumption. These qualities, and its ease of installation and use, means the device is likely to prove very popular on the market.
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In today’s marketplace, a strong brand identity is a key factor behind a company’s success. To this end, Nippon Oil, wanting to present a more uniform brand image to the world and reinforce its brand message “Your Choice of Energy,” has designed a new logo for all of its ENEOS-branded gas stations.
The redesign is part of the company’s strengthening of its overseas gas station network. Starting from September, the new logo is now being introduced at gas
stations across 12 countries. The aim of the new design is to replace the many different ENEOS signs that now exist across the world with one easily recognizable design for overseas customers, and thereby enhance the customers’ affinity and familiarity with the brand.
The ENEOS sign, coming soon to a street near you
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The humble burlap bag, valued for its very strong woven jute fabric, has played a key role in maritime history since the late 19th century as a very inexpensive way of packaging goods. Even today, tens of millions of burlap bags containing merchandise such as coffee beans, grains and feedstock arrive in Japan every year. Now, one of NYK Line’s subsidiaries, Monohakobi Technology Institute, has worked with Kuramoto Sangyo Co., Ltd. to give the bag a high-tech upgrade—an automatic labeling machine that uses a specially developed adhesive agent to attach the label. The label displays key information, such as contents and weight, through a QR Code*) that can easily be scanned by a handheld reader. A patent was applied for in June 2006 and labels became available for commercial use in August.
The new invention certainly looks set to enjoy some tailwind in the market because it will radically cut the time and labor of warehouse management tasks. Handling of merchandise in burlap bags used to be done manually because there were no good adhesives for attaching the labels. Each time a bag arrived at or left the warehouse dock, its weight had to be recorded manually. This was a time-consuming and strenuous task, especially before shipping, when each bag had to be unloaded from the pallet, weighed and then reloaded onto the pallet again.
A newly labeled burlap bag, ready o sail the seven seas
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Asahi Glass to Expand Float Glass Production in the Czech Republic
Asahi Glass has decided to add a new float glass furnace to the two it currently operates in the Czech Republic. In Central Europe, the construction and automobile industries are rapidly expanding, and the demand for float glass for these industries is forecast to grow approximately 7–8% annually. To meet the increasing demand for glass, the company will invest around C100 million (about ¥14.5 billion) in a third furnace with a capacity of 700 tons/day. Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of 2006, with volume production beginning at the start of 2008.
Tokio Marine & Nichido Ready for Typhoon-related Claims
In preparation for this year’s typhoon season in Japan, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance arranged reinsurance cover for about ¥23 billion yen ($200 million) by means of securitization. This allowed the company to be prepared against the payment of claims related to large-scale typhoons hitting Japan. It was the second time Tokio Marine & Nichido arranged reinsurance through a securitization method; the first time was for earthquake risks in 1997. In recent years, financial markets in Europe and the U.S. have seen rapid growth in insurance-linked securities due to a strong demand for investment in natural hazard risks. So far, however, such developments have been limited in Japan.
Mitsubishi Research Institute in Joint Effort to Increase Rural Wireless Broadband Access
Mitsubishi Research Institute has, together with IRI Ubiteq Inc., Intel K.K. and Japan CableCast Inc., launched the “WiMAX Japan Project” (tentative name) to increase wireless broadband access in rural areas in Japan. WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is the standard type of wireless technology allowing transmission over several kilometers from the base station.
The WiMAX Japan Project seeks to establish a business infrastructure that will help to spread wireless broadband services rapidly throughout the country, including rural areas. It will also discuss matters related to wireless businesses and services from the end-users’ viewpoints, and based on this, make proposals to government agencies and to domestic and international standardization bodies.
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