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High Costs Cut Nikon Profit

love000911 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:28:31 +0200

TOKYO -- Precision-equipment supplier Nikon Corp. on Wednesday said net profit slipped by nearly a quarter in its fiscal first quarter, as an increase in costs wiped out robust sales of its eponymous high-end digital cameras.The Tokyo-based company, which also makes a range of devices including scanners and microscopes, said net profit for the quarter ended June fell to ¥17.95 billion ($165.8 million) from ¥23.45 billion a year earlier.But Nikon left its forecast for net profit for the fiscal year through March unchanged at ¥78 billion, buoyed by a 6.4% increase in revenue despite the strength of the yen that has crimped many Japanese technology exporters, including digital camera rival Canon Inc."Although we are forecasting declines in the fiscal first-half revenue and profits, strength in the second half should make up for it," Executive Vice President Ichiro Terato said at a news conference in Tokyo.Nikon said first-quarter revenue rose to ¥237.9 billion from ¥223.5 billion. Boosted by strong single-lens reflex digital-camera sales, revenue in the cameras division rose 14% to ¥165.2 billion.The company is slugging it out with Canon, its main rival in the digital single-lens camera market, which is expanding on sales to newly retired, deep-pocketed hobbyists and people who switch over from traditional film models. Each sale -- with price tags stretching into thousands of dollars -- also locks in future profits, as many customers also buy expensive interchangeable lenses.But Nikon's drive to sell move cameras came at a price. Despite the revenue boost, Nikon's operating profit slipped 21% to ¥28.7 billion as selling, general and administrative costs grew 15% to ¥70 billion.The growth in costs was due partly to initial expenses involved in the launch of a new product, such as the D700 single-lens reflex digital camera, and advertising costs in the U.S., where the company aggressively aired TV commercials.Although Nikon expects solid sales and profits in the second half of the fiscal year will help it meet its earnings forecasts, some analysts are not as optimistic."Whether Nikon can achieve its fiscal-year operating-profit target may depend on how well it does during the Christmas shopping season," said Mizuho Investors Securities analyst Yuichi Ishida, adding that sales of compact digital cameras will be key."Canon's stronger international brand equity puts it in a better position than Nikon in overseas markets, especially for compact cameras," said Jefferies & Co. analyst David Rubenstein, who assigns a "bottom underperform" rating for Nikon's stock on a three-rank scale.Nikon also said Wednesday it will invest ¥35 billion over the next three years to upgrade capacity to make steppers, a key component in ultra-high specification scanners used in the production of memory chips.Nikon bases its earnings results on Japanese accounting standards.

Camera makers aim to trim camera depth b...

love000911 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:28:07 +0200

Digital cameras that can use lenses from different vendors could be up to 50 percent smaller in the future, two camera manufacturers said Tuesday. Olympus and Matsushita Electrical Industrial, which makes Panasonic-brand products, will work together to produce smaller, lighter cameras with interchangeable lenses based on the "Micro Four Thirds System."

Caught On Camera: Victim Shocks Lousy Pi...

love000911 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:27:51 +0200

NW MIAMI-DADE (CBS4) ― In the movie "Network", a TV newscaster railed against injustice by shouting "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" That may have been what one South Florida man may have felt when he attacked a thief who was caught picking is pocket, on camera, as he stood in line at a convenience store.
The store's security camera caught the whole thing in living color. The men were in a Marathon gas station in Northwest Miami-Dade, at NW 16th Avenue and 119th street. Clearly, you saw a man look around, and then start creeping toward a customer at the counter. Oblivious to the camera, he knelt down, and snuck his hand into the back pocket of the customer.
He may need to work a bit on his technique. His sleight of hand was a bit heavy handed, and the customer whipped around to find him the pickpocket crouching at belt level.
The angry customer clobbered the guy, and they dropped to the ground and scuffled. The bandit managed to get the best of the customer, and he scrambled off the floor and out the door, zipping off in a waiting gold sedan, also conveniently captured in crystal clarity on a security camera.
Police have plenty of good pictures of the thief, so the man could soon be placed in jail, where nobody has wallets and pickpockets don't have much to do.

Concord Camera Corp (LENS) holdings redu...

love000911 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:27:31 +0200

LONG BEACH (Mffais.com) - Vanguard Group Inc sold -63,135 (-99.62 %) of their shares in Concord Camera Corp (LENS), bringing their current holdings to 238 shares as shown by filings made public on 2008-08-05. The stock is currently owned by 25 funds/institutions with a total activity score of -0.04. With 31.81 % of owning funds reported recently buying shares, 36.36 % maintaining existing share level and 31.81 % selling shares. Full details for Concord Camera Corp (LENS) available at http://www.mffais.com/lens.html

Rep. Cantor Urges Public Broadcasting to...

love000911 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:27:04 +0200

CAMERA Commends Congressman's Call for ComplianceWashington, DC (PRWEB) August 6, 2008 -- Congressman Eric Cantor (R Va.) is calling on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to develop "a clear mechanism" to assure that recipients of CPB funding meet the statutory requirement for "strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature." In an August 4 letter to Chair Chris Boskin and the other CPB board members, Rep. Cantor said "I remain concerned" about a 2005 Inspector General' s report that noted the corporation had not carried out its statutory obligation to, in the congressman's words, "impose firm objectivity and balance standards on public television and radio." CAMERA (the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America) commends Rep. Cantor's call for compliance. Rep. Cantor wrote Ms. Boskin that he was pleased to learn the CPB launched its current "Project Champion" reform effort in part as a response to the I G's criticism. The 2005 report observed, among other things, that the corporation had failed to conduct regular objectivity and balance reviews of programming by funding recipients such as NPR (National Public Radio) and television's PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). While Project Champion "is a welcome development, I fear that it could detract from the CPB's legal requirement to directly exercise its 'objectivity and balance' oversight of public broadcasters," Rep. Cantor wrote, stressing the corporation's need for an internal means of overseeing compliance by those receiving congressionally allocated funds. "CAMERA applauds Rep. Cantor for reminding CPB of something of primary importance to public broadcasting listeners and viewers, not to mention the ultimate stakeholders in this issue, taxpayers," said Eric Rozenman, CAMERA's Senior Research Analyst and Director of the news media monitoring organization's Washington D.C. office. "That is that the laws creating the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and providing for federal funding have long required CPB to exercise direct objectivity and balance oversight on behalf of Congress and the public. It's past time that the corporation began upholding its obligation." Alex Safian, CAMERA's Associate Director, added that "public broadcasting law prohibits pre broadcast censorship. And it also assumes post broadcast reviews, so that chronic violators -- such as NPR (National Public Radio) with its Middle East coverage routinely biased against Israel -- would be put on notice and, if improvement was not made, future funding requests would be more closely scrutinized. Rep. Cantor's reminder to CPB that it must uphold the objectivity and balance requirement is most timely." The CPB board is expected to discuss "Project Champion" objectivity and balance developments at its September 23 24 quarterly meeting, to be held in Boston. Rep. Cantor, whose district includes the Richmond area, is in his fourth term. He is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and chief deputy Republican whip. To interview Eric Rozenman on these recent developments, please contact Isabel Smith at 818-762-4473 or Isabel@camera.org. For in-depth analysis of media coverage of the Middle East and the Arab-Israeli conflict, please visit the CAMERA website at www.camera.org. CAMERA (the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America), a national non-profit media-monitoring organization headquartered in Boston, works to promote accurate, balanced and complete coverage of Israel and the Middle East. A non-partisan 501(c)3 organization, CAMERA takes no position with regard to American or Israeli political issues or with regard to ultimate solutions to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Pineapple' looks stoned behind the camer...

love000911 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:25:58 +0200

cameras That's the problem with trying to create a good stoner comedy. To get the tone right, the writers, actors and probably the director need to be really baked throughout the creative process. But once they reach that point, they can't focus for more than one or two scenes at a time. Pretty soon the dialogue is filled with non sequiturs, the narrative starts to drag and the production suffers from fits of short-term memory loss.What was I saying?Oh yeah, "Pineapple Express," the latest movie in producer Judd Apatow's hostile takeover of Hollywood (it's like "Red Dawn," except with chubbier Wolverines), is extremely humorous at times but also very uneven. Much as in the recent Tenacious D stoner comedy that only 12 people saw, the pre-credits sequence is the best part. Probably the aspect that makes this film different is the inclusion of 1970s-style action sequences, a concept that is explored only in fits and starts. It's a funny, mostly harmless and entertaining film with a bad case of dry mouth. The movie begins in the 1930s, with a private in the Army smoking Pineapple Express, a super-stony strain of pot that's being grown in an underground lab. "I feel like a slice of butter, melting over a big ole pile of flapjacks. Yeah," says the experiment subject, played by Bill Hader in one of the movie's multiple standout cameos.After a few more minutes of hilarity, we move to the present day, where process server Dale (Apatow regular Seth Rogen) meets with his super-friendly drug dealer, Saul (James Franco). After Dale witnesses a shooting, the two stoners and their cache of Pineapple Express get wrapped into a crime comedy-drama that's two parts Cheech and Chong and one part "To Live and Die in L.A.." It's reminiscent in tone of Doug Liman's underrated druggie dramedy "Go," except this movie is way less tightly paced, and has almost no major female characters. Rogen contributes his usual decent effort, and young director David Gordon Green herds all the cats well. But the real standout here is Palo Alto native Franco, who plays Saul as a really sweet guy who probably needs to cut back on his own product, buy some pants that aren't pajama bottoms and find a nice girl who will let him be a stay-at-home dad. He gets many of the best lines. ("It's almost a sin to smoke this," he says, the first time he lights up some Express. "It's like killing a unicorn.") Franco is the one constant in "Pineapple Express." Usually with these types of films, you figure that there's a producer or a key grip or at very least one of the craft service people who is remaining sober, so the production maintains continuity. On "Pineapple Express," it must have been bong hits all around from the moment everyone walked onto the set. Normally reliable actors break character, entire chunks of dialogue seem to be missing and plot threads are abandoned.Even the action parts seem to come and go on the whim of everyone's mood that day. Unlike the equally funny but much more cleverly structured "Hot Fuzz," the "Pineapple Express" filmmakers seem to forget for huge stretches of time that they're making an action picture. (Everyone was apparently so distracted by all the Fruit Roll-Ups lying around that they even forgot to call Jonah Hill for his obligatory Apatow film cameo.)But when the movie is good, it's memorably hilarious. A car chase that takes place with the driver's foot thrust through the front window generates several building laughs. And credit goes to screenwriters Rogen and Evan Goldberg for writing the first comedy of any kind - bombed or sober - to name-drop Golden Gate Bridge engineer M.M. O'Shaughnessy in a joke. It's also funny to see the normally reserved Ed Begley Jr. throw a few f-bombs, and show that he can handle a shotgun. Now Hollywood will think twice about double-parking in front of his Prius.

Lights, camera ... business as usual for...

love000911 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:25:34 +0200

OXNARD, Calif. – On Wade Phillips' desk is the customary Dr Pepper and some pieces of paper. He is talking to Bruce Mays, the director of football operations, about nothing in particular, when one of the two robotic cameras in his office moves around.

AB Graphic International Alliance China

love000911 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:25:10 +0200

printing machine July 2008. In a move to strengthen its presence in the region UK based AB Graphic International has announced Do.WellSwiss International as its Distributor in China. The company will be responsible for the sales and service of the Vectra range of turret rewinders and the Omega label inspection and converting lines. Based in Guangzhou, Do.WellSwiss International manufactures presses and auxiliary equipment for label, flexible packaging and folding carton production and is an established supplier to the Chinese printing industry.
揂B Graphic International is a market leader in label converting equipment for the narrow web printing industry with good reliable products,?says Jules Farkas of Do.WellSwiss. 揥e have extensive experience in the sales and service of equipment in China and the Vectra and Omega lines are a good fit that will enable us to extend our product offering. his cooperation will enable us to further develop our activities in the region and offer a complete service for our products that will include pre-sale, site inspection, machine installation, and maintenance,?adds Tony Bell of AB Graphic International. ur range of Digicon and associated equipment will continue to be handled by the HP Distributor in China, Syntax Technology, (Beijing) A B Graphic International Ltd. is a worldwide supplier of label converting and finishing machines with facilities in the UK, Netherlands, Spain, Germany and United States. The company offers a full range of converting lines either standard or tailored to customer requirements. New products include the Digicon Series 2 modular label converter, the Digicoat to prepare substrates for digital printing, the Digilam film laminator and the FSR film rewinder. Specialised applications include pharmaceutical converting lines, 100% web inspection, off-line RFID, booklet labelling and Braille machines. In 2007 the company was named official supplier of label converting systems for the HP digital print engine normally fitted to the company Digicon systems.

Raising the Roof at MCG

love000911 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:02:56 +0200

IN 2007 the Paarden Eiland-based Metal Closures Group (MCG), foundthat their finished goods warehouse could not hold sufficientstock. The warehouse was 9 metres to the rafters and had fixedracking for 569 pallets.

Production capacity also needed to be increased, and the warehousewas the only area available for expansion.

The problem of increasing storage capacity while at the same timereducing the storage volume was given to site engineer AndrewCousins and logistics manager Alfie Danster.

Their solution was to raise the roof on one portion of the buildingand create a storage area. A mezzanine floor was installed overpart of the existing warehouse and the ground floor was used toaccommodate the new machinery.

Storax Mobile Racking, supplied by local company Barpro Storage,was installed in the remainder of the warehouse volume. The storagecapacity of the mobiles is 855 pallets compared to the 569 palletsthat could be stored previously. This represents a 50% increase ina warehouse where the volume had been reduced by just under 40%.

Capacity could have been further increased if the roof of theexisting warehouse had been raised. However, it was agreed thatthis additional capacity was not required.

Raising the roof was not a simple matter, and the poor winterweather didn’t help. Keeping the storage and productionprocesses operating while the building work was taking placerequired a huge amount of patience and

management

skill.

The project was completed in February this year.

Warehouse foreman Ivan Fredericks is delighted with the results.“I am over the moon with the mobile racking. It is easy touse, I have sufficient additional capacity and can access anypallet quickly by moving the mobiles. Stock control has greatlyimproved,” he says.

“I have labelled the pallet slots and all stock must be putaway as nothing can be left in the open aisle. I have also beenable to consolidate all my stock in one place. Previously I wasusing three offsite warehouses,” he says.

TDG extends LPR pallet facilities

love000911 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:02:35 +0200

As part of its contract with pallet pooling operator LPR, TDG hasinvested in two pallet maintenance facilities to meet increasingdemand.

LPR currently makes 4.7 million pallet movements in the UK eachyear. Since 2003, TDG has handled all contracts in the area,including delivery, collection, sorting, repairing andreconditioning.

The purpose-built pallet sorting facility in Stretton nearWarrington has a throughput of around 26,000 pallets a week formoderate repair and conditioning, as well as measuring the moisturecontent of each pallet to ensure it meets specific contractualcustomer requirements.

The company uses an automated system using rollers and vacu-liftsbefore re-introducing the pallets into the supply chain.

Any additional repairs are carried out at the newly extendedrecycling facility at Carnforth in Lancashire, where surplus woodis turned into compost for domestic use or used as fuel at theLockerbie power station.

Alex Clarke, TDG contract manager for LPR, said: SLPR"s pool ismanufactured from sustainable sources, and we work hard to ensurethey stay in first class order. Pallets are returned to our sortingfacility after every trip, so we can carry out maintenance at anearly stage, constantly extending the life of each pallet andensuring they meet the specification required for the FMCG supplychain.

Independent Study Confirms iGPS' All-Pla...

love000911 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:02:17 +0200

Independent Study Confirms iGPS' All-Plastic Pallet IsEnvironmentally Superior To Multi-Use Wood Pallets

2008-08-04

ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- A comprehensive, independentstudy comparing the environmental impacts of iGPS' all-plasticpallet and the typical pooled multi-use wood pallet hasunequivocally documented that iGPS' pallet is far superior. Inevery measured dimension -- including global warming, ozone layerdepletion and acidification -- iGPS' plastic pallet was shown tohave a significantly lower environmental impact.

"This independent life cycle analysis confirms withoutqualification that we have developed the environmentally superiorproduct we set out to create," said iGPS Chief Executive OfficerBob Moore. "Not only is our 100% recyclable plastic pallet lighter,stronger and safer than the typical pooled multi-use wood pallet,but even using the most conservative assumptions, it's also fargreener. The facts speak for themselves."

The analysis, conducted by Environmental Resources Management(ERM), a global leader in environmental consulting services, is thefirst study to measure the total life cycle impact of both iGPS'plastic pallet and the typical multi-use wood pallet.

The study, utilizing internationally recognized methodology,measured environmental impacts, taking into account palletdurability and useful life, material composition, trip distancesand weight. The ranges of environmental impact differences betweeniGPS' pallet and the typical multi-use wood pallet, usingconservative and more realistic assumptions for the impactcategories studied, were --

-- Abiotic depletion: iGPS' pallet had 25% - 35% less impact --Global warming: iGPS' pallet had 65% - 70% less impact -- OzoneLayer Depletion: iGPS' pallet had 91% - 92% less impact --Photochemical oxidation: iGPS' pallet had 60% - 65% less impact --Acidification: iGPS' pallet had 60% - 65% less impact --Eutrophication: iGPS' pallet had 75% - 80% less impact -- Aquaticecotoxicity: iGPS' pallet had 50% to 55% less impact -- Terrestrialecotoxicity: iGPS' pallet had 90% to 92% less impact

"This study sets the record straight with respect to the claim thatthe pooled multi-use wood pallet is the most environmentallyfriendly pallet solution," Moore said. "The dramatically smallerenvironmental footprint of the iGPS pallet establishes it as thetrue benchmark of sustainability for pallet systems. We are proudto offer the world's supply chain a lighter, stronger, safer andgreener platform, and we look forward to the day when our forestswill no longer be sacrificed unnecessarily for wood pallets."

A summary report of the ERM life cycle analysis can be viewed at ,where visitors can also calculate the greenhouse gas emission

reductions and fuel savings made possible by converting to iGPS'lighter, plastic pallets.

About iGPS

iGPS is the world's first company to provide manufacturers andretailers with an all-plastic pallet pool with embedded RFID-tags.iGPS's state-of-the- art pallets are 30% lighter than wood, whichsaves on transport costs, are easier to handle and eliminateprotruding nails and splinters that cause workplace injuries anddamaged equipment. In addition, embedded RFID tags enable shippersand receivers to track and trace shipments in real time. Launchedin March 2006, the company is led by pallet and supply chainveterans with decades of experience. iGPS () is headquartered inOrlando, FL., with offices in Dallas, New York and Bentonville,Arkansas.

Pegasus Capital Advisors, a private equity fund manager withoffices in New York and Cos Cob, CT, retains a majority interest iniGPS. Founded in 1995, Pegasus provides capital to middle marketcompanies across a wide range of industries, with particular focuson businesses that make a meaningful contribution to society bypositively affecting the environment, contributing tosustainability and enabling healthy living.

Glossary of life cycle analysismeasures:

Abiotic depletion is related to the extraction of scarce mineralsand fossil fuels and is arrived at by comparing amounts extractedto remaining reserves.

Acidification is the reaction of acidic gases such as sulphurdioxide that react with water in the atmosphere to form "acid rain"which can cause ecosystem impairment.

Aquatic ecotoxicity is the impact of manmade and natural materialsand activities on aquatic organisms, from the subcellular, throughindividual organisms, to communities and ecosystems.

Eutrophication is the increase in chemical nutrients -- typicallycompounds containing nitrogen or phosphorus -- in an ecosystem. Itmay occur on land or in water. The impact may include excessiveplant growth and decay, resulting in a lack of oxygen, impairedwater quality and increased stress on fish and other animalpopulations.

Global warming potential (GWP) is the ratio of heat trapped by oneunit mass of the greenhouse gas to that of one unit mass of CO2over a specified time period. This trapping of heat has beenimplicated in climate change.

Ozone depletion potential (ODP) is the relative value thatindicates the potential of a substance to destroy ozone gas ascompared with the potential of chlorofluorocarbon-11 (CFC-11) andhas been connected with the destruction of stratospheric ozone,increasing the amount of harmful UV light hitting the earth'ssurface.

Photochemical ozone creation (summer smog) is due to nitrogenoxides and volatile organic compounds combining in the presence ofsunlight to form low- level ozone. At low level, it is implicatedin impacts such as crop damage and increased incidence of asthma.

Terrestrial ecotoxicity is the impact of manmade and naturalmaterials and activities on terrestrial organisms, from thesubcellular, through individual organisms, to communities andecosystems.

Lost in Translation

love000911 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:01:56 +0200

Lost in Translation

By Rick LeBlanc

Date Posted: 8/4/2008

Whether it is in the pre-dawn squalor of a wet and crowded produceterminal loading dock or the polished black walnut of theboardroom, the wondrous importance of the pallet rarely benefitsfrom an adequate translation. Just like the late RodneyDangerfield, the pallet never seems to command much respect. I wasreminded of this in a couple of ways over the last few weeks.

First off, there was a new Italian pallet study on 3rd PartyLogistics providers released in mid-June. It is written inItalian, but with the power of Google Translate, it was revealed tome in that charming, semi-coherent manner that free translationsoftware offers. Case in point is the description of EPAL palletexchange:

In Italy the most common management pallet is the exchange at parpallets EPAL: interchange provides for the refund instant a numberof pallets equivalent quantity and quality to pallets received.

In other words, the most common pallet management approach in Italyis a one-for-one exchange of like quality EPAL pallets at the timeof delivery.

The study itself is the second Pallet study in as many years by theCentre for Research Carlo Cattaneo, sponsored by Assologistica, anational logistics association in Italy. The subject is the impactof the EPAL pallet exchange system for mainstream 3PL providers,including the likes of DHL, Kuenne and Nagel, and others.

The results are predictable to a North American audience. The 3PLproviders dont like exchange very much. At many locations, theyhave trouble getting pallets back. This is true for a number ofreasons, including black market activity as well as the lack ofstorage capacity at many smaller outlets (and Italian groceryretailing is still quite fragmented and predominates to smallerformats in comparison to the U.S. market.)

In some circumstances, exchange works quite well, particularlywhere exchange is deferred until full load quantities of sortedpallets are picked up at a distribution center to return to theproduct manufacturer.

But non-recovered pallet rates are quite high as much as 10% forone of the seven cases presented. The study determined a cost pertrip for 3PL providers ranging from $1.19US to $1.86US per trip. (This is in addition to pallet costs felt by other supply chainparticipants such as product manufacturer, carrier, anddistributor.) Keeping in mind that typically a 3PL provider isgoing to receive a pallet under load and then ship it out, thepallet cost comes predominantly from fulfilling pallet returnobligations to its client, the product manufacturer.

The study says that the 3PL providers do not have a very privilegedposition in the supply chain, which makes them vulnerable to theinefficiencies of the pallet exchange system. It caught my eye thatof the data presented from seven 3PL operations, the one with thelowest cost per trip was the one that spent the most money onpallet administration. Over half of $1.19 spent per trip ($0.64)was attributable to administrative efforts. This operator more thanmade up for the expenditure by accumulating extra pallets to sellinstead of having to purchase pallets to cover shortfalls inretrieval. Here is my point - why is it still so counter-intuitiveto pallet users that investment in pallet management will pay foritself?

The second story I want to tell quickly has to do with a C-storedelivery program in the United States. The distributor noted thatit didnt seem to be getting its pallets and assorted reusablecontainers back from the various outside trucking firms it wasusing to make the deliveries. This negative trend prompted thedistributor to launch a tracking program to ensure it would get theassets back.

The new system provided notice to the drivers on the dock. Thesales group that ran the program was assigned to forward theinformation to the C-store customers and the management at thetrucking companies to make sure everybody knew about the assetmovements.

Pallet tracking software was introduced. At the end of the firstmonth, reports were run, and the result was downright scary. Veryfew of the pallets were coming back. It was projected that thepallet and container loss for the modest program would reach wellinto six figures per year.

The ledgers were faxed or emailed to the carriers by the DC palletcontroller. Carriers were encouraged to make the returns so as toavoid deductions from their checks. The controllers phone startedringing as every carrier account manager phoned to say that no onehad told them, but now they were aware of the problem. Carrierscommitted to try to comply as best they could, as long as theC-stores could safeguard the assets for return. Apparently none ofthe C-stores knew about the problem either.

The sales group, predictably seemed distracted by all this talk,and began to calculate if they could tweak up the margin enough tonot bother with this tracking nonsense at all. No respect, like Isay. Or as my friend Mr. Google translates in Italian, &nonrispetto.

Pallets finish season undefeated

love000911 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:01:31 +0200

local roundup

August 4

Pallets finish season undefeated

The Times Leader staff

The Wyoming Valley Pallets completed a perfect season by beathingSweet Valley 12-6 in the 14-16-year-old division championship.

Dave Drahus led the Pallets with a double, two singles and threeruns scored. Kevin Bott had three hits. Chris Murphy and Ken Sorickeach had a double and a single.

Murphy picked up the win in relief of Drahus, striking out six infour innings of work.

Sweet Valley was lefy by Adam Paulauskas, Justin Cornell and JoshEverett who each collected two hits.

Kyle Levalley, Dylan Wasylyk and Tom Smith each had hits for SweetValley.

Grocer Users & Pallet Leaders Unite,Indu...

love000911 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:01:12 +0200

Grocer Users & Pallet Leaders Unite,Industry Leaders Launch BlockPool Initiative

By Chaille Brindley

Date Posted: 8/4/2008

Pallet management has been the next big thing for wood pallets forthe last ten plus years. But it has yet to materialize in theUnited States in a big way due to the fragmentation of the whitewood pallet industry. That may all be about to change.

The Board of Directors of the National Wooden Pallet and ContainerAssociation (NWPCA) assigned a blue-ribbon task group to explorethe concept of an industry-wide pallet management system uniquelytailored to the needs of the U.S. grocery market. This group hasworked closely with representatives of the U.S. grocery industry togauge customer interest and to iron out a few specifics. A lot ofdetails are still in the draft stage.

Here is what we do know. The effort will be coordinated by anot-for-profit organization that is governed by both palletcompanies and pallet users. The pool will utilize a block palletthat is tracked using secure software on an individual palletbasis. Similar to the EPAL and CPC pools, the pallets will be madeand repaired to a specific quality standard. The NWPCA stated thatpallet quality will be guaranteed through rigorous and continuousthird-party inspections by qualified inspection agencies.

The NWPCA intends to operate the tracking system in cooperationwith pallet suppliers and owners. According to the NWPCAannouncement, the program will be ISPM-15 compliant.

Modern Materials Handlings

Web site recently carried a news article on the program. BruceScholnick, president of the NWPCA, told

Modern

, This will be a guaranteed buyback system, so once its up andrunning it will be a nominal cost program funded by itsparticipants. Well repair the pallets and the pallets will belongto the system. The participants will own a fraction of the system.

A buyback system is unique compared to the CPC and EPAL systemsalthough some EPAL producers offer their own buyback programs forcustomers. Much of the particulars about how the system is going towork have yet to be decided. Currently, the task force behind theinitiative is looking for input and participation from both palletcompanies and users. Contact the NWPCA directly at 703/519-6104 ore-mail

bscholnick@palletcentral.com

to share your thoughts. A presentation and discussions on theconcept will occur at the upcoming NWPCA Recycling and PackagingConference & Exposition, held September 10-12, 2008 inMinneapolis, Minn.

One thing that makes this initiative different is that the groceryindustry appears open to the idea. Concerns over pallet quality aswell as rising demand in some sectors for block pallets could beforming the perfect situation for an industry cooperative programto work.

MaterialsHandling.Net will have more analysis and information onthe new pallet management initiative as plans develop in the nearfuture.

Get Trucking: Is Plastic the Future Afte...

love000911 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:00:50 +0200

Thats the pitch from iGPS, an Orlando, Fla.-based company thatsays

plastic shipping pallets

could do for the trucking industry what Congress so far hasnt:provide relief from high gas prices. Its the latest sign that highgas prices have even plastics companies jumping on the greenbandwagon.

The logic is straightforward. Most tractor trailers carry lots ofheavy, wooden pallets, whether fully-loaded or not. That addsweight to every trip, lowers fuel economy, and means extraemissions of greenhouse gases. Replacing the wooden pallets withlonger-lasting plastic shipping pallets could bring savings acrossthe board, iGPS says.

High prices for gasoline have paled beside even higher prices fordiesel, which truckers use. That has sparked a revival of the

hot fuel movement

consumer revolts against super-heated fuel at gas stations thatshortchanges customers, especially high-volume truckers. Morebroadly,

high fuel prices have disrupted global trade

, throwing a wrench in the wheels of globalization.

Now, the battlefield is heading inside the semis. Plastic palletshave several advantages over their wooden cousins,

according to an independent study

carried out by Environmental Resource Management. They lastlonger, they weigh less, and they dont need paint or chemicaltreatments. Since a plastic pallet can easily handle 100trips versus two trips for a single-use wooden pallet thedifference in greenhouse-gas emissions is stark: 45,000 kilogramsof carbon dioxide for the plastic pallets, compared with 300,000kilograms for the wooden pallets. The iGPS website has a

calculator

which lets shipping companies tally how much fuel theyd save byswitching from wood to plastic.

Most importantly, says iGPS, you dont have to chop down trees toget plastic pallets: A Virginia Tech study found that

40% of the U.S. hardwood harvest

goes to wooden pallet production.

But plastic pallets are a petrochemical creationall plastic. Thetop-of-the-line pallets use virgin plastic, which isnt the mostenvironmentally-friendly. The bulk of the emissions from theplastic pallets comes during production, rather than daily use. Toget around that, pallet makers have launched a couple of greenerblends, from 15% recycled to 100% recycled plastic.

Everybody from T. Boone Pickens to Al Gore is pitching ambitiousplans to change Americas energy mix. Maybe the lowest-hangingfruit, even if its plastic, can be the juiciest.