The supply of
electricity by Enemalta leaves much to be desired. The recent continuous power
cuts at Bisazza Street Sliema are once again a show of the shambolic state of
affairs at Enemalta. GRTU – Malta Chamber of
Small and Medium Enterprises insists that business
cannot function when such an essential service as electricity cannot be
assured.
Is it expected that each shop owner keeps a generator on the ready in
top notch places like Bisazza Street and other high value areas? And what is
the new regulator at the Malta Resources Authority doing about this? The
previous chairman at Malta Resources Authority failed miserably to regulate
Enemalta and defend the commercial and domestic users. Is this one any better,
or are we back to the usual sick ineffective public regulation relying only on
excuses that now nobody believes anymore.
Enemalta is in
tatters unfortunately and it is time the Ministry of Finance, the Economy and
Investment took the bull by the horns. And once again it is a situation where
we need to make choices according to priorities. If having a constant supply of
electricity for our business community is not a priority then one wonders what
is? It is of no use stating that the backbone of the economy is built on SME's
and then SME's lack the most essential of commodities, electricity.
The business
community will assess the losses due to these power cuts and will claim from Enemalta. Enemalta should stand up and be
counted. Each business in Bisazza Street or anywhere else and Enemalta have a
contractual obligation with one another, Enemalta to supply electricity and the
other to pay for that service. Whilst the business community pays for the
service from the nose, Enemalta does not shoulder and honor its obligation.
Enemalta is shoddy, shambolic, and operate under crisis
management, keeping their fingers crossed that by tomorrow, either the heat
wave goes away, or else they have thought of another silly excuse which no
longer holds water.
Reducing oil consumption whilst improving product quality
and efficiency – The
Commercial Need and or Opportunity : Lubrication (lube) oils are an
essential part of engineering systems with moving parts. These oils act to
separate the moving parts to reduce friction and fatigue as well as reducing
heat generation, operating noise and vibration.
They are used for a range of
applications including: Steel production, motor oil (cars, trains, and buses),
gear boxes, turbines, hydraulic oils and electrical power transformers. The
overall system is strongly influenced by the condition of the lubrication, this
in turn affects the cost through system efficiencies and maintenance costs.
However, lube oils are prone to
degradation through the accumulation of wear particles and physical
degradation
due to oxidation aging. Oxidation is caused by a combination of oxygen
and
heat. The rate of oxidation is strongly affected by the presence of
contaminants such as fines and polar oxidation products (such as soaps
and
acids) that act as oxidation catalysts. If these catalysts can be
decreased or
eliminate, then this significantly reduces the oxidation rate. A number
of
methods for cleaning of lube oils have been applied including:
Filtration,
Separation and electrostatic filters which remove large contaminant
particles.
However, none of these methods can remove contaminant particles that are
<1μm – It is these small particles (with relatively large
surface area) that strongly affect the rate of oxidation aging.
The
Proposed Technological Solution
The project is based on an innovative
in-line oil cleaning technology that uses liquid/liquid based on a ‘separation
booster' (a chemical composition) combined with mechanical separation. This is
a radical step beyond current technologies in that it removes contaminant
particles (including catalytic fines and polar oxidation products) down to very
small (nano-) size, much smaller than currently achievable. This approach will
enable the development of an in-line process that significantly reduces the
oxidation aging process, increasing oil lifetime and increasing system
efficiency. Combining this technology with advanced filters allows for removal
of contaminants of all sizes. The project has the potential to "close the loop
for lube oil" with a strong reduction in the oil consumption and related
environmental impacts. The specific project aims to overcome the limitations
relate to:
Creation of separation booster
chemicals for specific applications.
Design and development of accurate
dosing system for separation booster chemicals.
Design and development of mixing
system for immiscible separation boosters and oils.
Design and development of in-line
monitoring and control to optimise performance.
To develop an integrated modular
design for the system.
The system will be demonstrated
for up to 10 lubricating oils (from various applications) and validated on one
industry case-study process.
Potential
Impact for the Consortium members
To date the technology has been proven
on the laboratory scale and two 1st generation specialist bespoke units in the
engineering industry. The results to
date have shown up to 90% reduction in lube oil usage for industrial processes
as well as substantial productivity increases, reduced maintenance (and cost). The
validated case study we will develop in the project will clearly demonstrate
the technical and commercial advantages of this technology.
It is expected that the project will
generate up to €100 million business growth for its SMEs within a 5 year period
creating >100 jobs. All other markets for continuous lube oil cleaning will
also be exploited. The application of this technology to a wide range of
industrial and other sectors will represent a significant step-change in the
cost and performance of a range of sectors where the technology is applied.
They are looking for
EU SMEs to participate in sections:
company that designs, manufactures and sells filtering
technologies.
company that designs, manufactures and sells accurate
dosing / metering technologies.
company that designs, manufactures and sells accurate
mixing technologies.
company that designs and integrates in-line measurement
and control technologies for fluid flow applications.
Businesses wishing to explore business opportunities in
Algeria are incited to participate in a Trade and Investment Promotion
delegation between the 27th
and 31st October 2012. Closing date for applications is
Friday 7th September 2012.
Promising areas of investment, trade and technology
commercialisation include:
Financial
and Professional Services
Food
& Beverage
Telecommunications
& ICT
Oil
& Gas
Education
& Training
Healthcare
Construction
& related services
Travel & Tourism
One-to-one meetings for participants will be set up and if
participating in the whole programme 60% of travel and accommodation for 1
representative per company will be refunded. Contact Abigail Mamo at GRTU if
interested.
Equinox Pharma Ltd is a
well-established entity since 1996, highly active in the Balkans and Eastern
Mediterranean countries. It operates in the sector of
Pharmaceuticals, Food Supplements and Concept Cosmetics other than OTC product
with a vertical positioning in the market and distribution (B2B-B2C).
The
company has a wide variety of products aimed at Health and Beauty care. The
products are backed by clinical studies that prove their maximum absorption and
effectiveness.
With a smart and simple business model
they have earned a reputation of high performance and reliability, which are
based on our key strengths; Innovations, Quality, Partnership and dedicated
Customer Care Service. They aim to provide innovative, high quality products in
affordable prices to their customers. They possess the credentials to invest
and promote the brands and products with high standards and tangible
investments.
They are specifically interested in
export and distribution of their product range.
Innovation is the key to success in
today's business environment. It helps organisations to become more efficient
and effective. The world is changing very rapidly, creating new demands and
expectations. Innovation is a response to this overall change. If there are
much more rapid and unpredictable changes, then the importance of innovation within
this environment is really critical.
This is even so in any economic
scenario. The role of innovation within this context is crucial since the only
way that economies can grow at any reasonable and respectable level is through
innovation.
When we speak about innovation we are
not only talking about technology innovation, rather it is much broader as it
is possible to have commercial innovations where a business model is innovated
without making any technological developments. Innovation can be defined as the
development or procurement of a new or significantly improved product (good or
a service), process, marketing method or organisational method.
How can you
procure innovation?
Today, a good percentage of the
organisation's expenditure is devoted to procurement and each has its own set
of procurement procedures. Existing procurement structures can allow for
innovative procurement. All that is necessary is the willingness of the
organisation to be pro innovation and procure new technologies from external
innovators that address the particular needs of the organisation. Local SMEs
have the potential to produce innovative solutions but there is a need to
create and encourage a market for innovative procurement. In this regard the
organisation can be the first buyer or lead customer of such innovative
solutions.
In order to assist organisations the
Malta Council for Science and Technology has set-up the InnoPro working group
to assist such organisations to engage into innovative procurement. The aim is
to offer the necessary support in order to identifying the organisation's
innovation needs and the process involved in procuring it.
In collaboration with the Department of
Contracts, the InnoPro group will facilitate the procurement procedure involved
by finding which existing public procurement procedures should be used to
undertake innovative procurement according to the various needs of the
organisations.
Support
offered by the InnoPro Group
The aim of the InnoPro
Group is to offer the necessary support to identify the organisation's
innovation needs and the process involved to choose the best procurement
procedure which can be applied for the particular project. In addition the
following assistance will also be offered:
Run the procurement process for external technologists
to come up with new technologies as a solution to meet the WIBGI requirements
Guide the applicant on licensing of the IPRs whilst
ensuring that the contracting authority retains some of the rights in using the
technology. This guidance is particularly relevant when 3rd parties are
required to bid for the building and installation of the technology
In case a prototype proves to be successful, the new
product can be offered in response to future tenders along with conventional
technologies
Other
Benefits
The InnoPro group
believes that in addition to the benefits enjoyed by the organisation procuring
the innovative solution, the community at large can also benefit, since:
Technologists can apply their skills and expertise to
real market needs thereby increasing the chances of their technologies being
commercially successful
Commercialisation of the innovative solution can lead
to the creation of new local jobs as well as increase in the level of exports
and income generated from abroad
The general society would benefit from a better economy
since innovation is a strong tool which can make a difference. This will have
an eventual effect on society's quality of life
Success stories would be publicise in order to
encourage others to follow suit
The Malta Competition and Consumer
Affairs Authority has been notified of a number of products which pose a
serious risk to consumers. The below details refer: Should your company retail, import or
distribute the product in question, you are requested to notify GRTU without
delays, so necessary action is taken as soon as possible. If you are aware of
any person or company who is retailing, importing or distributing this product,
kindly notify the undersigned so as to contact such person or company.
May we remind you of the obligations
under the General Product Safety Act that manufacturers/ importers/
distributors of products on the market in Malta are required to report any incidents
occurring and involving products they represent.
Notification
1: Red-painted metal spade with wooden
handle.
Danger Details: Chemical. The product
poses a chemical risk because lead migration is 1307 mg/kg. The limit value for
lead migration is 90 mg/kg. The product does not comply with the Toys Safety
Directive and with the relevant European standard EN 71-3.
Notification
2: Batch number/Barcode: 0276134000036. A
doll with a hard plastic body, in a violet dress. The toy is packed in a
transparent cylinder on which a permanent CE marking is printed.
Danger Details: Chemical. The products
pose a chemical risk because the dolls contain 9.7 % by weight of bis
(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). According to the REACH Regulation, the
phthalates DEHP, DBP and BBP are prohibited in all toys and childcare articles,
while phthalates DINP, DIDP and DNOP are prohibited in toys or childcare
articles that can be placed in the mouth by
children.
Notification
3: Batch number/Barcode: 8422562691250.
Three-piece child's Musketeer outfit: 1 pair of white, elasticated-waist
trousers, 1 red shirt and 1 red cape. Both the cape and the shirt are secured
around the neck using cords. The packaging is a transparent bag with a card
inside bearing: the image of a boy with the musketeer outfit, the word
"Infantil", the size and information about the contents.
Danger Details: Strangulation. The
product poses a risk of strangulation due to the presence of cords with loose
ends in the neck area which are too long. The product does not comply with the
relevant European standard EN 14682.
Establishment – The Libyan businessmen Council believes
in the importance of the role of economic activity in state-building and
strengthening its existence as well as its movement towards progress and
prosperity, for maintaining the position of businessmen in pushing the economic
activity and enhancing the stability of the market for achieving the goals and
aspirations in building up a free and strong economy that may make all
Libyan citizens enjoy it, in carrying out the role of the Libyan
businessmen, Libyan Businessmen Council has been established on 17/11/2011.
Through this firm, they will be able to
communicate with each other, all state agencies and departments as well as
their counterparts in the regional and international areas. So that they can do
the role they are assigned for and fulfill their objective mission successfully
as it enjoys its own legal personality and independent financial state.
Council's
headquarters
The headquarters of the Council is in
Misrata city and its offices will be also established in the other Libyan
cities.
Council's
Objectives
1- to seek developing and organizing
the basis of the economic activity, through the initiative to improve and
develop the tools of this activity in order to achieve greater growth and
prosperity
2- to disseminate the culture of a free
economy that suits the Libyan society and its economic structure.
3- to contribute to building the state
economic institutions depending on scientific and practical competencies.
4- to participate in the preparation
and drafting of economic legislations and provide opinions on the government
economic trends and policies
5- to develop and strengthen the
economic relations and internal and external trade based on honorable
competition and reject and fight against fraud, counterfeiting and commercial
fraud, which lead to damage the economic infrastructure..
6- to hold economic forums, meetings
and exhibitions and its delegations participate in such economic domestic and
international events for high-lightening the active role of the council in the
formulation of the state economic policy
This consultation is directed at business operators active in
manufacturing, trading or retailing ceramic articles intended for food
contact. There is also a possible extension of the legislation to glass.
.
Currently the limits for the release
of metals from ceramic materials and articles into food are set out by Council
Directive 84/500/EEC. Under this Directive, only Lead and Cadmium are
regulated. EFSA published in 2009 and 2010 opinions on these two metals. From
these opinions it follows that the limits under the Directive are too high to
adequately protect the health of consumers.
The current limits in force are
0.3mg/l food for cadmium and 4mg/l food for lead. These values should be
interpreted as the maximum amount of cadmium or lead migrating into 1 litre of
food stimulant using a standard migration test.
In addition to the EFSA opinions, the
Commission received indications from the Member States that also the limits for
other metals would need regulation in the scope of a new measure, and that
other materials, in particular glass, may need to be added as well.
To achieve these objectives, the
Commission has adopted a two phase approach:
In the first phase new limits for lead and cadmium will be laid down in
a new measure under Article (5) of Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 on materials
and articles intended to come into contact with food. This new measure will
supersede the current Directive.
In
the second phase other objectives including new limits for metals other than
lead and cadmium and materials other than ceramic material (notably glass) will
be investigated.
The current time line foresees
adoption of the new measure laying down new limits for lead and cadmium in the
second quarter of 2013. The value of the limits and the entry into force of the
limits is subject of this consultation.
Proposed values for Cadmium and Lead
In the context of the first phase,
the Commission considers to propose the values of 5 μg/kg food for the
release of cadmium into food and of 10 μg/kg food for lead as new
limits.
These proposed values
are based on health based guidance values set in EFSA opinions:
Lead: EFSA defines a Benchmark Dose Lower Confidence
Limit (BMDL01) of 0.5 μg / kg body weight (b.w.) / day
Cadmium: EFSA defines a Tolerable Weekly Intake (TWI)
of 2.5 μg / kg b.w.
Subsequently the conventional
assumptions to calculate release limits for food contact materials have been
applied to these values. According to these assumptions a 60 kg adult consumes
daily 1 kg of food in contact with ceramic materials.
Because the total exposure to all
sources of these metals (e.g. from the consumption of food) is in the range of
the guidance values set by EFSA, an allocation factor of 10% is applied for
food contact materials.
Thus release limits for cadmium of 2 μg/kg food and lead of 3 μg/kg food, result.
The experts of the Member States
indicated that these release limits would provide largely adequate limits on
the basis of the toxicology and exposure. However from their comments it
becomes clear that in particular the limit for lead maybe too high, because of
the high exposure of the population to lead from other sources. This would
justify an allocation factor lower than the applied 10%.
To derive the proposed
limits the following factors were also taken into account:
expected analytical difficulties in determining lead
and cadmium concentrations at the low levels;
difficulties for industry to comply;
consistency with the limits set in the Drinking Water
Directive (DWD, Council Directive 98/83/EC10 on the quality of water intended
for human consumption).
Based on these considerations the
Commission considers proposing the above mentioned values of 5 μg/kg
food for cadmium and 10 μg/kg food for lead as new specific migration
limits. This
proposal would reduce the limits currently in force by a factor 60 for
cadmium
and a factor 400 for lead.
Why
did you become an entrepreneur and how have you come to choose your line of
business?When
I look back it seems that it was decided for me. I was a teacher, we were
actually a group of teachers at University, physicists, biologists, etc… and we
started a club as amateurs learning how to dive.
The Manager of the Mellieha
Bay Hotel used to help us out when we were still learning and he asked if I
could help him by getting a licence and start teaching tourists that wanted to
learn how to dive. I helped him and I loved doing it and was successful so it
developed into a business. My children were very young at the time and it was
not normal for teachers to return to work when raising a family and this gave
me the flexibility I required.
Where
did you go on your last holiday?
Thailand
for diving. For diving some places were really nice while others not as much. I
have been to a lot of countries diving and what always strikes me is how much
the Governments of these countries help them and they operate without any kind
of problem, no red tape, no complication just easy accessible diving. This is
something very far from our reality in Malta.
What
is your earliest memory?
I
remember always loving the sea. I was a bit of a tomboy when I was young. Me
and my group of friends would cross the harbour in Senglea from one buoy to
another. Today I realise how dangerous it was. We were little dare devils.
If
you could chose to be someone famous who would you be and why?
Jacques
Custeau probably. He was a pioneer in diving. I admire people like him. I would
also have loved to know how to sing properly though. I love singing but I'm not
good musically, can't tell a note from another.
The supply of
