Electronics subcontractor M-TEk has selected the Epicor next-generation ERP software to support rapid expansion of its turn-key manufacturing and test services activities.

M-TEK general manager Frederick Kayrouz believes that the system’s flexible out-of-the-box features and customer portals will help streamline the business and drive growth.

“The business challenge we face is having our current ERP system support the plethora of requirements dictated by our OEMs’ most technically challenging designs and complex builds,” explains Kayrouz.

“In parallel, the addition of high calibre talents and business best practices implemented in the operations, process engineering and supply chain business units have further strained our ERP backbone,” he continues.

“Hence our ERP system needed to be phased out and replaced to ensure we can continue to provide the granular details that our customers need in terms of manufacturing operations, lifecycle traceability and supply chain management.”

Kayrouz says that the existing ERP system was really a finance package with an ERP bolt-on and a bunch of in-house developed software solutions to support the required additional functionality.

Epicor, he says, will change all that – not only supporting the firm’s core functional requirements out of the box, but also helping and directing staff to perform tasks more efficiently.

And he adds that it will enable new functions, such as real-time metrics monitoring, through dashboards and custom reports, as well as product lifecycle management and customer portals.

“We want our customers to be able to consult their components stock levels in our bonded stores and monitor live order progress,” states Kayrouz.

“This ultimately gives them the increased confidence of having selected the right partner who is, in return, offering them a 24-hour unrestricted visibility of their dedicated manufacturing slots and the progress and completion rate of their outstanding order book.”

And he adds: “Equally, we want to better plan and control the progress of project elements that we subcontract… Epicor is going to give us internal and external visibility of the business in a way that has not been possible before.”

RedPrairie and JDA Software recognised leaders in enterprise software and services for the extended supply chain, have announced that JDA and affiliates of RedPrairie have entered into a definitive merger agreement. The combined entity will offer a broad portfolio of solutions and services to manage global supply chains – from raw materials, to finished products, into the hands of consumers – through any channel.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, entities affiliated with RedPrairie will effect a cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of JDA common stock for $45 per share. The $45 per share offer price represents a 33 percent premium to JDA’s stock price on October 26, 2012 – the day before market rumours surfaced stating JDA was exploring a sale. The offer price also represents a 16 percent premium to JDA’s all-time high stock price. The transaction has a total enterprise value of approximately $1.9 billion. The Board of Directors of JDA has approved the transaction, which will create one of the largest global software companies with combined revenues of over $1 billion.

To address ever-increasing complexities, manufacturers and retailers increasingly seek best-of-breed solutions and specialised domain expertise for planning and execution. JDA’s heritage of pioneering market-leading supply chain planning, merchandising and pricing solutions is a perfect strategic fit with RedPrairie’s heritage in warehousing, workforce management, store operations and e-commerce. This unique combination will provide retailers and manufacturers with extraordinary capabilities to meet the needs of hyper-connected, mobile consumers.

Belgravium Ltd., the provider of mobile computing solutions to the warehouse, transport & logistics market, has announced the commencement of a significant re-brand initiative.

The company has grown consistently in revenue terms and can list many blue-chip organisations from the logistics and manufacturing sectors amongst its client base. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Belgravium Technologies plc. Other companies within the group, such as TouchStar Technologies (Manchester) also focus on mobile computing solutions and it is this overlap of activities that provides the major catalyst for the re-brand exercise.

Belgravium Technologies has several successful brands within its current portfolio but research conducted in 2011 amongst the existing and potential client base indicated a degree of confusion regarding the multiple branding strategy. Belgravium senior management deemed the issue sufficient to warrant an investigation of re-brand options and the decision was made to adopt the ‘TouchStar’ brand name to underpin all future activities within the logistics and transportation markets for both the Bradford and Manchester-based businesses. The ‘TouchStar’ brand has been utilised for over two decades to promote the organisation’s mobile in-vehicle, tracking and telematics solutions and was favoured primarily because of the level of global recognition it already enjoys.

As of 1 January 2013, ‘Belgravium Ltd’ will transfer to and trade as ‘TouchStar Technologies Ltd’. Mark Hardy, Group Managing Director of Belgravium Technologies elaborates: “The fundamental motivation behind the re-brand initiative is to provide greater clarity of our overall group structure, and the specialisms therein, to our prospective client base. Existing clients can be reassured that the new marketing strategy has not been accompanied by any personnel changes and the staff who have served our logistics client base so effectively over three decades are still in situ. Normal service will be maintained! That said, the re-brand exercise also provides an excellent opportunity for us to extend the profile of the group to wider geographies. “

The switch to the new ‘TouchStar Technologies’ brand will not officially commence until 1 January 2013.

In conclusion, Mark Hardy stated: “As we operate within a fast moving marketplace, our strategies to address and exploit emerging commercial opportunities will continue to be dynamic. The re-brand activity is a significant component within a number of fresh strategic initiatives which will help us consolidate our position in existing core markets and push into new ones.”

TouchStar Technologies provide sophisticated mobile computing solutions for a diverse range of markets, including warehouse & logistics, transportation & fleet management, field service and fuel distribution. Further details can be found at www.touchstar.co.uk

Wellingborough, UK – Cost and factory space requirements, particularly in the food & beverage and packaging sectors, are being a significant rise in global demand for operator terminals with embedded PLCs, IMS Research has found.

Sales of operator terminals with embedded PLC hardware will rise from $99 million in 2011, to approximately $148million in 2016; a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 9% over the period, predicts IMS.

The largest vertical sectors for these products in 2011 were estimated to be food, beverage and tobacco machinery; machine tools and packaging machinery.

These sectors together accounted for about 35% of sales revenue. The largest unit shipment growth is also forecast to come from the food & beverage machine builder sector, with annual shipments increasing by more than 5,000 between 2011 and 2016.

“There are two principle advantages for OEMs using operator terminals with embedded PLC hardware: price and footprint,” said Mark Watson, IMS senior research analyst. “Every component has an associated cost and space requirement. By combining two systems into one, both factors are reduced.

This enables further savings as the combined unit doesn’t require extra wiring to communicate between sub-systems and maintenance departments only need to support one product type.”

That said, the advantage is most significant for small machines where price and space are at a premium, contiued Watson. Manufacturers of larger machines, he said, typically have the space and the budget to adopt a traditional solution of separate operator terminal and PLC units.

“This solution also provides flexibility in terms of the component supplier of each unit and enables OEMs to cherry pick the most suitable two components for specific applications,” he commented.

This operator terminal type is forecast strong revenue growth to 2016. However, average selling prices are projected to decrease by approximately 3% per annum to 2016, notes IMS.

Suppliers of operator terminals with embedded PLC hardware, such as Pro-Face, Unitronics and Horner APG, will therefore have to work hard to maintain revenue growth as price pressure drives down selling prices over the next few years, the report concluded.

Austin, Texas – Precision gearboxes and geared motor shipments were 69% higher in 2011 than in 2009 because of increased manufacturing output in 2010 and 2011, an IMS Research study has found

IMS projects further growth in the market for precision gearboxes and geared motors, but expects precision geared product sales to slow through 2016.

In 2010 and 2011, pent-up demand for machine tools and investment in industrial robots for new automobile production lines following the global recession were major driver behind the sharp increase in precision gearbox sales.

Although precision planetary gearboxes sales accounted for the majority of the 69% increase, sales of precision geared motors and right angle gearboxes also recovered to pre-recession levels.

This, said IMS, was due to the overall increased manufacturing output in the North American and Asia Pacific markets, which drove demand for advanced materials handling, packaging and food, beverage & tobacco machinery.

There are two reasons behind the strong growth in sales of precision gearboxes and geared motors, according to Bryan Turnbough, an analyst with IHS:

“Demand for precision geared products continues to be more niche than standard industrial geared products, which allows for greater volatility in the precision geared products market; the other being that the standard geared products are continuing to be replaced with precision geared products in greater numbers due to growing demand for higher torque densities and precision.”

Market revenues for precision geared products are projected to grow on average 6.7% a year from 2011 to 2016. With machine tool and industrial robot sales slowing and the lingering weakness in the global economy, sales of precision geared products are expected to slow from 2012 to 2016.

Overcapacity resulting from the rapid increase in investments in new production facilities amid slow economic growth is also expected to factor in the slowdown of precision geared product sales.

“After two years of very high demand for precision geared products used in machine tools and industrial robots, the cyclical nature of the machine tool and robotics industry can be expected to have the most profound impact on the market for precision geared products,” said Turnbough.

The markets for precision geared products sold into the machine tools and robotics are forecast to be the slowest growing markets with respective revenue compound annual growth rates of 5.9% and 3.2% from 2011 to 2016 according to the IMS Research report.

Slower growth in sales of precision geared products through 2016 does not mean the market for precision geared products does not have any long-term potential for further growth.

IMS expects the sales growth of precision geared products to accelerate once industrial demand catches up to production capacity.

Precision geared product suppliers are also proactively developing products for use in other industries such as chemicals and power & energy, and this is likely to promote additional growth for sales of precision gearboxes and geared motors over the next five years and possibly over the next decade.

London – European chemical manufacturers group Cefic has posted an uncertain outlook for the sector, with output expected to contract by 1.5% in 2012 and then to grow next year by just 1% – the sluggish recovery due in part to regulatory burdens.

Noting recent European Central Bank moves, slowing export demand, including from China and India, Giorgio Squinzi, who has just completed his two-year term as Cefic president, said “it remains to be seen” whether there will be enough impetus for growth.

The Mapei Group chief executive went on to note that the EU now represents 20% of global chemical production compared to 36% about 20 years ago.

As well as growth in output from emerging markets, Squinzi linked the decline to EU environmental and energy policy and the burden of regulation.

Meanwhile, Cefic has estimated that the first phase of REACH has cost the industry over Euro2 billion to date – well above the regulator’s estimates. Phase 2, will soon start to take effect, said Squinzi, forecasting that the total cost will be around Euro11 billion by 2015.

As the world’s “most expensive and complex chemicals legislation,” Squinzi said REACH was now impacting on theinnovation needed to secure a sustainable future. In a survey, he said, 63% of EU chemical companies believed that REACH was taking funds away from their R&D.

“We must stress the link between competitiveness and innovation if we are to keep our 1.2 million employees in jobs and to keep the chemical industry based in Europe; making the necessary technology breakthroughs,” said Squinzi.

“Will the EU create sustainable innovation or will it be somewhere else?” he continued. “Innovation is the engine for our sustainability journey and some [EU] policies help us, others not.”

In his first address as new Cefic president BASF chairman Dr Kurt Bock said a lack of consistent EU energy and industrial policies that put the EU sector at a disadvantage with other chemical-producing regions.

Cefic, he added, believes that EU policies must foster more innovation occurring in Europe. The new Industrial Policy and Horizon 2020, he said, are examples that go in the right direction to support member companies within the 29,000-member industry organisation.

“The EU’s progress in sustainability depends on innovation and a strong and competitive economy, which can be achieved with the right framework, set up with the help of EU policies,” concluded Bock.

IDA Ireland wins significant investment from leading life sciences software company

The expansion of the European operations of ArisGlobal in Ireland will enable us to take the lead in providing cloud based solutions for pharmaceutical research and development. In addition this expansion will strengthen sales and marketing and services delivery for the company’s European market as part of our global expansion. 

Mr. Deepak Abbhi, President and CEO of ArisGlobal

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, today announced that ArisGlobal, a leading provider of software for the Life Sciences sector is to expand its European operations in Dublin with the creation of 50 new high quality jobs. The investment is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.
 

ArisGlobal (www.arisglobal.com) is a key provider of innovative software solutions for pharmacovigilance and safety, regulatory affairs, clinical research and medical information. Hundreds of life science companies rely on ArisGlobal’s advanced solutions for maintaining regulatory compliance, workflow automation, improving operational efficiency and easily sharing information around the globe. The company employs over 700 people, across sites in India, the US, the UK, Europe and Japan. It is now actively recruiting for its planned office in Dublin.
 

Making the announcement, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD said:
“A key aim of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs is to attract and grow investment from major companies in the Health and Life Sciences sector.  This announcement by ArisGlobal that it is going to expand its operations in Ireland sends a clear message that Ireland offers a strong business environment in which companies can expand and grow their global presence which will result in the creation of valuable job opportunities for this economy. We in Government are determined to implement policies to continue the strong flow of investment and jobs in this area”.
 

Welcoming the announcement, Mr. Deepak Abbhi, President and CEO of ArisGlobal said, ‘The expansion of the European operations of ArisGlobal in Ireland will enable us to take the lead in providing cloud based solutions for pharmaceutical research and development. In addition this expansion will strengthen sales and marketing and services delivery for the company’s European market as part of our global expansion.  Ireland was chosen as the location for this operation due to the availability of a highly-skilled and flexible workforce and a competitive, pro-business environment. I would like to thank the Irish Government and IDA Ireland for their support in this important initiative and look forward to the continued growth of ArisGlobal in Ireland.’
 

Commenting on the announcement, Barry O’Leary, CEO of IDA Ireland said, ‘The decision by ArisGlobal, to locate its European operations in Dublin, marks an important win for Ireland in developing the pharmaceutical regulation and compliance industry, in which ArisGlobal plays a pivotal role. ArisGlobal is a strategic brand name in the health care sector and its presence in Ireland has the potential to act as a magnet for the company’s impressive client list in the health care sector; a sector is a key focus for IDA Ireland.’’

Today SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) is hosting its first Start-Up Focus Forum in Ireland at its newly established AppHaus in the Citywest Business Campus, Dublin. As part of SAP’s strategic efforts to work and engage with start-up companies in major innovation hubs around the world, the Forum will enable SAP to share its innovative technologies with start-ups from across the UK and Ireland, with the intent of identifying and cultivating groundbreaking products that can deliver high quality solutions to real-world problems using SAP HANA.

At the Forum, 27 start-up companies interested in using SAP HANA will present their solutions and use cases to a panel of SAP executives, including Liam Ryan, MD of SAP Ireland, Mark Brennan VP of Development at SAP Ireland, and Kaustav Mitra, SAP’s Global Head for the Start-Up Focus Program. Following their presentations, the start-ups with the most promising ideas will be selected to join the SAP Start-Up Focus Program, through which they will receive free SAP HANA test and development licenses for up to one year in order to transform their concepts into real-world solutions. The start-ups will also be invited to enrol in an intensive boot camp on SAP HANA and have the opportunity to explore funding opportunities with SAP Ventures. They will also present their solutions at SAPPHIRE NOW 2012, SAP’s largest trade fair with over 10,000 customers, partners and influencers (November 13-16).

The start-up companies presenting at the forum are involved in a wide range of areas including analytics, big data, cloud, and SaaS.

Mark Brennan, VP of Development in Ireland said “the program is exciting for many different reasons; not only does it equip start-up companies with the tools and resources they need to get their solutions market-ready, it also ensures that SAP fosters relationships in the ICT sector and promotes knowledge-sharing. I am looking forward to welcoming the innovative start-ups to the Forum and watching as they leverage the true power of SAP HANA in the near future”.

Similar SAP run events are also taking place worldwide.

THE DIGITAL Hub added 18 companies to its list of tenants last year, bringing to 70 the number of businesses based at its Dublin 8 campus.

According to the agency’s 2011 annual report, published yesterday, the Digital Hub had 95 per cent office occupancy last year, with the companies based there employing more than 800 people.

The Digital Hub was established by the government in 2003 with the aim of fostering the State’s nascent digital media and technology industry.

Well-known digital companies such as Daft.ie, Havok, Houghton Mifflin (Riverdeep) and Amazon have rented office space at the site at various stages of their development.

The Digital Hub Development Agency, which manages the Digital Hub, was identified as one of the State bodies that may be merged with other agencies as part of the Government’s public-sector reform plans.

The 2011 annual report shows that the agency’s chief executive, Philip Flynn, was paid a base salary of €177,828 last year, while a pension contribution worth 25 per cent of base salary was also paid. In addition, he received a motor allowance of €12,000.

In total, the agency received income of €4.385 million last year, up from €4.291 million the previous year. Exchequer funding accounted for more than half of the agency’s income, with commercial income from rents totalling €1.85 million.

Mr Flynn said that, while the agency charged market rates to tenants, the entrepreneurial environment and flexible approach to contracts were key attractions for tenants.

However, he said the issue of limited space was a key challenge for the agency. “Despite the current market conditions, companies are continuing to expand, and there’s demand for larger units on campus.”

The agency recently submitted a campus development strategy to the Government, a 10-year plan that involves the private investment market.

In 2010 the agency took an impairment charge of €39.5 million on its properties. Mainly as a result of this writedown, it had an accumulated deficit of €42.2 million in 2011.

Last year was a positive year for a number of Digital Hub tenants including payByMobile, which launched in the UK, and animation company Kavaleer Productions, which recently announced the creation of 30 jobs.

As well as hosting companies, the Digital Hub has an educational remit. The educational programme includes Future Creators, an after-school scheme for 13- to 16-year-olds.

The Irish Times – Friday, August 3, 2012

SUZANNE LYNCH