China Shipping Container Lines Raises Rates
July 7, 2009
Related Posts:
China Dissatisfied About EU’s Anti-dumping Measures
January 31, 2009
The Chinese government expressed dissatisfaction over the EU’s final decision to take anti-dumping measures against China-made fasteners, Yao Jian, spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, said on Wednesday.
Yao also expressed the attitude on behalf of Chinese fastener manufacturers.
Yao said that China believed that practices by the EU’s in the investigation and verdict on China-exported fasteners were inconsistent with WTO (World Trade Organization) rules and EU anti-dumping laws.
“The ruling against the Chinese products lacked justness and transparency, with obvious probability toward trade protectionism,” Yao noted.
This “extremely damaged the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese fastener manufacturers. China will study and assess the verdict and retain right to appeal to the World Trade Organization against the ruling,” Yao said.
On Nov. 9, 2007, the European Commission decided to impose investigation against steel fasteners made in China.
The EU is a major target market for China-made fasteners, accounting for one third of the country’s total exports of such products.
Fasteners, including (strew) nuts, bolts, strews and nut collars, are widely used to manufacture machines, equipment and motor vehicles, build ships, railroads, bridges and structures and to produce tools, instruments and meters.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
Tags: US, chinese products, anti dumping lawsRelated Posts:
Concerns about LPG Powered Cars in Enclosed Car Parks
January 23, 2009
LPG (under a variety of names “GPL” and “Auto gas” also) is widely used as a vehicle fuel in Far East, USA, Europe. USA, UK, Holland, Italy and France have particularly well developed infrastructures.
There are serious restrictions on LPG fuelled vehicles using ferries, tunnels, enclosed car parks. They do check and they turn back vehicles simply when found. All underground car parks in Europe and in the USA have signs banning for LPG powered vehicles.
Since 2001, LPG tanks and fuel systems are fitted with active safety mechanisms that better minimize the risk of explosion or leakage, making it safe to park vehicles also in multi-story and underground car parks. The Italy Interior Ministry allows all LPG vehicles with a safety system that complies to the ECE/ONU no. 67/01 Regulation to park on the first underground floor of multi-story car parks, even when connected to other underground floors.
LPG is pressurized and LPG tanks are sealed. Sealed tanks eliminate evaporative emissions or spillage. Using outage valves incorrectly during refueling, however, could cause excess vapor discharge.
The weight of LPG vapors at ambient temperatures is approximately 150 % the weight of air. If there is a leak, LPG vapors tend to sink to the ground and pool, creating a potentially hazardous situation. In some areas in North America, LPG vehicles are not allowed in enclosed car parks, tunnels. LPG is extremely volatile and burns twice as hot as a gasoline fire. Vehicle fuel tanks in LPG vehicles are of relatively thick-wall steel construction. In the event of a vehicle crash, they are much less prone to rupture or to cause fires than gasoline tanks.
LPG can explode when mixed with air in the range 1.8 % to 8.6 %. It requires a small ignition source, which could be a match, cigarette, electrical spark (think overhead catenary) or even a simple sharp strike against certain materials, particularly metals containing aluminum, magnesium, titanium etc.
You can smell a leak of LPG, but you have nowhere to go to escape in such place. LPG gas sinks so its difficult for the ventilation system to extract it. Spilt petrol falls to the ground, but then it evaporates. Auto gas is more explosive than petrol.
LPG is stored in a closed high pressure system so any breach will leak gas or liquid that rapidly gasifies leading to an air/gas mixture of potentially the correct proportions. Once ignited the explosion is highly likely to lead to fire and subsequent possible death by carbon monoxide poisoning as well as fire and shrapnel injuries.
Federal Council of Switzerland has officially banned LPG powered vehicles from multi-storey car parks! An appropriate sign was developed, but it cannot be used in German-speaking Switzerland because nobody understands the meaning of the French abbreviation GPL. Authorities has written to the Council to launch a debate on both a Switzerland-wide ban and an appropriate sign that can be understood throughout Switzerland, or even throughout Europe. The rules in force do not prohibit the imposition of individual bans. The owner or the management of a multi-storey car parks have the right to ban access to vehicles of this type by putting up an appropriate sign, and naturally such an arrangement would apply to foreign vehicles too.
In case of basement fires offer a degree of complexity and hazard beyond the normal building fire due to heat build up and the need for firefighting access being made from above. Enclosed car fires can develop to create an extreme heat and smoke environment, possibly compromising the structure. This may have a direct impact on not only occupants but also firefighter safety, especially in relation to search and rescue.
Insurance Companies in Europe and USA have continued the risk analysis and made recommendations on the construction, equipment and other safety measures of multi-storey enclosed car parks.
Related Posts:
The European Union has initiated a pilot project whose aim is to build secure parking areas
December 28, 2008
The number of attacks on LGVs, in which not only the load is stolen, but also the driver is threatened with a weapon or even injured is steadily increasing. Apart from the long term mental damage to the driver, every year this results in losses of around 8.5 billion Euros, with the trend increasing. The European Union has therefore initiated a pilot project whose aim is to build secure parking areas.
One such automated secure parking area is currently being developed in Germany at the Wörnitz Truck Stop on Exit 109 of the A7 Autobahn, north of the A6/A7 interchange. Wörnitz Truck Stop commissioned DESIGNA and Würzburger Stadtverkehrs GmbH to build a fully automated secure LGV parking area in compliance with the highest security standards.
From December 2008 there will be 25 fully automated secure parking spaces available for LGVs with at risk freight. A special feature of the new secure parking area, which is, of course, fully fenced in and under video surveillance, is automatic photographic logging of the
- vehicle licence plate
- driver
- vehicle from the top left hand side
- and the vehicle from the top right hand side.
This implementation of innovations developed by DESIGNA in the tried and tested PM ABACUS system enables the operation to be fully automated without the operator needing to employ a large number of staff, explained DESIGNAs sales manager, Marten Jentsch, summarising the advantages of the companys system.
Source:Nadine Lübbe http://www.designa.com
From: DESIGNA Verkehrsleittechnik GmbH
Tags: Germany, vat, chinese car parkingRelated Posts:
China’s Zoomlion buys Italy’s construction machinery maker CIFA
October 8, 2008
Local construction machinery maker Changsha Zoomlion said yesterday it has completed its acquisition of Italy’s Compagnia Italiana Forme Acciaio SpA (CIFA), with Goldman Sachs and two other investors.
Changsha-based Zoomlion paid 163 million euros for a 60 percent stake in the Italian construction machinery maker from Italian private fund Magenta Fund and other CIFA shareholders in an all-cash transaction. Goldman, Mandarin Capital Partners and Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital will hold the remaining 40 percent.
The deal is expected to give Zoomlion a foothold in foreign markets and boost its overseas sales by “combining CIFA’s international brands, global sales and distribution network”, Zhan Chunxin, chairman and CEO of Zoomlion, said.
He said he expects the company to generate 40 percent of its sales outside China by 2010. Zoomlion recorded 1.02 billion yuan of exports in 2007, or roughly 11 percent of its overall sales.
CIFA, headquartered in Milan, has a 20 percent market share in Western Europe and ranks third in the global concrete machinery market.
Zoomlion is No 2 behind Sany Heavy Industry in the domestic concrete machinery sector and is expected to be in the top two in the global market after the acquisition.
“The deal will improve Zoomlion’s global sales and technology, which will make it the top Chinese concrete machinery maker by global sales. But Sany will still dominate the local market,” Xu Xingyue, an analyst at Beijing-based Changcheng Securities, said.
But some analysts warned of short-term risk, as concrete machinery is linked to the real estate industry and could be affected by current global economic woes.
The acquisition comes after Sany said it would invest in a new US plant.
China Daily
Tags: Beijing, mechanical parking garages, chinese car parkRelated Posts:
